Why is the Fire Spirit Prometheus here in the Wedding day episode? That's a creature that doesn't even appear until after Keith's death episode. Why is the difficulty level like this?
"Rajir, behind you!!" I shouted while sprinting toward him—yet suddenly I felt my arm being restrained.
"Don't be insane, Keith! Are you going to leave me here? With my unconscious fiancée! At the very least, you should wait until Great Magician Epsilon returns." Rodhius grabbed my arm, his face filled with panic.
I turned toward Rajir, where I saw the Count trying to support Yuvri, whose leg was clearly broken.
"Your Highness, I must go there for a moment. I'm sure of Epsilon's abilities—he'll teleport back in any second now. So you must let me go for a while."
"Are you saying a Count's life is more valuable than the life of this Kingdom's future king?"
His face twisted in irritation, but I bit down on my lip. Whatever the case, I wanted to save both Rajir and the Count.
Xerta could only defeat the Fire Spirit Prometheus in the future chapter, when the god Helius blesses him. At that time, he was desperate to protect Leyla, even prepared to die for her. But the Xerta here and now… could never defeat him. Let alone Rajir!
"Let him go, Rody." Nicholas spoke with a grave tone. He pried Rodhius's hand from my arm.
"Go, Keith. I'll watch things here." Nicholas's words carried conviction.
"Alright. I'll leave things here to you, Nick."
Then I sprinted forward. Even though the flames roared with heat, I managed to reach Rajir's side.
"What's the situation?" I asked quickly.
Rajir looked startled but swiftly regained focus."This is a Fire Spirit. I don't know when it got here, but I assume it causes the blaze."
"Fire Spirits only manifest if someone summons them—and makes a contract."
The future scene in Xerta's episode involved a magician, expelled from the tower and harboring a grudge against Xerta, who summoned the Fire Spirit after being manipulated. However, this situation was different. This time, the question was: who had summoned Prometheus?
"How is Count doing?" I asked.
"I'm fine, only struggling to breathe. More importantly, I worry about Leyla." Count Nerwine turned to me, eyes burning with concern.
"Yuvri, can you move?" I asked, glancing at her.
"My leg's trapped under debris. Running will be difficult."
My gaze drifted back to Prometheus. The towering titan's form subtly altered, as if its attention flickered away. Then, it began to move, each step a silent weight.'Where is it going?'
"Keith!!"
I heard him—Epsilon's voice calling through the fire. "Why are you there? Are you alright? I heard the situation from Nicholas."
"Epsilon! What about the door?"
"I've opened it. But the flames keep spreading unnaturally fast. We must get out quickly."
"Rajir, go first… I'll check on Leyla." I whispered to him.
Rajir hesitated, then exhaled. "Don't fight that Fire Spirit. My attacks didn't even scratch it."
I nodded. "Epsilon!! People will be coming through soon—help them!"
"Keith, wait—where are you going?!"
Without looking back, I dashed ahead. Though the flames surged, I slipped through where the fire had yet to spread. Bit by bit, I reached the front. Scanning around, I found Leyla collapsed, with Xerta standing before Prometheus.
"Xerta!!!"
He caught the sword I threw to him, then smiled. "Aura Sword." In an instant, he cloaked his blade in aura and slashed Prometheus. The fiery form split in two.
"Leyla, are you alright? Can you stand?" I crouched beside her.
"I'm… fine… cough..." she whispered. Up close, her dress was covered in dust and blackened, but one thing was missing—no wine stains.'Wait. From the start… there was never any stain…'
There should've been. Cynthia had been in her waiting room when the explosion began. 'Is that really like I thought...?'
Roarrrr…
Prometheus's voice echoed, its body reforming, untouched as if Xerta's slash meant nothing.
"My sword doesn't work." Xerta looked at me grimly.
Right. This was like skipping entire episodes ahead. Damn it. He hadn't even found the holy sword from the underground dungeon yet.
How could he possibly hurt Prometheus with just my blade?
"Keith! Take Leyla away—I'll hold it off for now." Xerta braced himself again.
"What are you saying? You should be the one leaving, Xerta! That's a Fire Spirit! You think you can defeat it!?" I yelled.
"And what about you, bastard? What can a man with no mana even do?" He shut his mouth quickly, then diverted his eyes. "At least save Leyla."
Nearby, I saw the priest's corpse, crushed under rubble—someone dear to Xerta. Dead even before his canon death in the novel The Way to Save Her.
Xerta slashed again, but Prometheus's flames melted his aura sword. Then the Fire Spirit exhaled a torrent of fire at him.
In panic, I shoved him aside with my shoulder. We fell, but the attack blasted apart the church wall, revealing daylight.
"Xerta, are you okay!?" I shook him.
"Take Leyla and leave through there." I pointed at the opening.
"You go! Damn it!"
I punched him hard in the face. Even Leyla gasped, covering her mouth.
"Bastard, be a responsible husband and save your wife!"
Clutching his cheek, Xerta looked up at me—his eyes burning with anger.
Then the ceiling began to collapse. I shoved Xerta toward Leyla. Rubble crashed down, cutting off my sight.
"Keith! Keith!"
"Are you alright, Keith?!"
"…"
"Keith… Keith… uwaaa… Keith!!" Leyla's sobbing voice reached me faintly.
"I'm fine! What about you and Xerta?"
"Th-thank goodness, Keith… What about Prometheus…" Xerta's voice called out.
"If you can still move, get out. Take Leyla with you."
"Alright… wait for me, Keith. I'll come back." His voice was resolute.
Meanwhile, I faced that damn creature—no sword, no mana.'Damn it… I'm sure dead now.'
Blargh!
Prometheus unleashed a wave of scorching fire at me. I rolled aside and dashed desperately. I needed a weapon. Fists couldn't fight this.
Prometheus split apart—its flames scattering and devouring everything nearby. My lungs burned. No oxygen left.
Fwooshh!
Fire licked the floor. I bolted over burning ground, but ahead were only the ruins that had crushed the priest.
'Am I cursed with this luck?!'
Leaping onto the debris, I tried shielding myself, but flames still caught my leg. I frantically tried to put it out—yet the fire clung, refusing to die.
Splash!
Water surged over my leg. Looking up, I saw Nicholas standing there.
"Nick? What? Weren't you with Epsilon?"
"Who said that? I'm still here. No way I'd leave you." Nicholas turned toward Prometheus. "So that's the Fire Spirit? Whew… badass."
"This isn't the time to admire it! How do we beat it?"
"Why worry?" Nicholas pointed at the ceiling. "We've got a Great Magician, don't we?"
'What?'
Suddenly, the roof blocking the sky was torn away—swept aside by wind. Above hovered Epsilon, his expression deadly serious.
"Epsilon!!"
"Keith… sorry to keep you waiting."
He raised his hand toward Prometheus, a crimson magic circle forming. The fiery spirit swirled violently, then lifted into the air.
It roared at him, but Epsilon didn't flinch. He formed three fingers, aimed, and tore a hole straight through Prometheus with a devastating water blast.
Every move precise, he dismantled Prometheus's fire form in moments. Smoke billowed as the Spirit faltered, then retaliated—hurling fiery disks at him.
A blinding wall of wind, a whirling vortex of unseen force, slammed before Epsilon. The air howled, a deafening shriek as it engulfed Prometheus, twisting him into a rigid cube. The fire, once a dancing inferno, then the wind snuffed out it, and the only sound was a final hiss that marked its demise.
Epsilon defeated the Fire Spirit in one minute.
Watching from below, I chuckled. 'Damn cheater character… just how strong are you, really?'
Epsilon glanced at me with a smile, ready to descend—but then a chill crept up my spine.
"Wow… amazing…" Nicholas murmured by my ear.
Then, faintly, I heard: "tic…toc…tic…"
"Your Highness, watch out!!"
BOOM!
The church exploded, debris flung skyward. Epsilon's eyes widened—Keith was nowhere in sight.
"Keith!!"
He blew away smoke with wind magic, but only made the flames grow. Quickly, he cast a massive circle, pouring out most of his mana. Torrential rain hammered down, extinguishing the fire.
But no Keith. He searched desperately. Even the rubble had crumbled to dust.
"Keith…"
"Epsilon!!"
His eyes lit up—there, outside the church, Keith waved. Nicholas lay beside him, sprawled.
"Good job putting out the fire." Keith smiled with a thumbs-up. His clothes were shredded, soot blackened his face, and his hair was in disarray.
"I thought I was dead…" Nicholas groaned, pushing himself upright.
"Keith… you—" Epsilon began, then stopped, staring straight at him.
"I thought you were dead…" he muttered.
"What?" Keith shouted. "Did you say something?"
"Nothing, idiot!" Epsilon walked toward him, smiling faintly.
From afar, a dark silhouette observed, its form a stark shape against the fading light, the air still and heavy with unspoken secrets.