I felt Evelyn tense in my arms as the chaos unfolded around us.
I didn't blame her. After all, it seemed completely out of the blue.
Towering pillars of crimson flames erupting in the distance, disturbing the wintry night.
Men, women, children, and guests of all sorts panicking at the unexpected sight.
Even Maximilian looked uncertain, his golden eyes sweeping across the main hall, sharp and calculating. As if trying to find who dared disturb his plans.
Of course, he wouldn't find anyone. But I was sure that he'd be wracking his mind thinking who was bold enough to make a move tonight.
As for the reason I was so sure...
Well, the system wasn't working right now. But I still remembered a certain Talent that had recently been appended to my status.
===
Seablaze (Equipped) - You can summon inextinguishable flames that emit a pressure as vast as the ocean depths. Range is a radius of (total mana pool) meters.
===
Yes. Seablaze, the upgraded ability that I obtained by equipping my Aquaburn Orichalcum Ring which had been leveled up in that Gate where I altered Alex's history.
And, though I wasn't exactly sure of the exact number at the moment, I remembered that my Mana Pool was definitely over 1000.
Which meant that I could summon flames anywhere within a one kilometer radius.
Of course, that meant that the entire locale we were having the Winter Gala at was in my range.
I hadn't used it until now on purpose. After all, I couldn't risk anyone tying it to me.
As far as anyone but me was concerned, it was a completely unknown ability being wielded by an unknown assailant intent on ruining the Winter Gala.
Which, of course, was the point.
A spanner in the works. A nuke in their plans.
That was the only way to create the opening I needed to save Eve.
And like this, three objectives were completed.
First, make people wary of me. Considering how calm I was right now, they would doubt me. The strong and the cunning would assume I had hidden depths... which was true. And the foolish would assume I was an idiot, setting up opportunities for them to test me later and for me to prove myself by using them as stepping stools.
Second, Void Sovereign wouldn't act. The primary objective of that person was to generate as much chaos as possible. Thus, by causing this, that person would refrain from acting since the objective of the Void Arbiters was to create as much fear and disorder as possible to strengthen the Demon God when he descended.
...It was kind of annoying that I had to balance that fact and keep it in mind. But I definitely didn't want to experience what happened if that person decided to reset the world and try again.
So, I had to make sure they were 'winning' for a while until I could completely flip the board over and be certain about victory. I had to lose battles to win the war... or at least make it seem like they had the advantage.
Never back them into a corner. That was the one tenet I needed to follow.
...Fortunately. Or maybe, unfortunately... that would be hard to do.
I'd written them to be very capable. Despite Roland winning at the end and getting HIS happy ending, along with saving the world... from the average citizen's perspective, it was a pyrrhic victory.
But anyway, that was a sidetangent.
The third, and most important, objective that using Seablaze like this accomplished was raising the wariness of all parties.
The Void Arbiters would pause to reassess the situation, reporting back to Void Sovereign.
Maximilian would be forced to play the role of the competent Crown Prince and quell the crowd.
The Headmistress and various professors would be securing the perimeter and hunting for the culprit.
And the various guests would be on edge against each other.
Vigilance, overall, would increase.
That removed the more subtle countermeasures Maximilian had. After all, while he wanted to get rid of Eve, he needed to do so in a way that didn't dirty his hands.
...Of course, if he was cornered, he would do it anyway. But that man was also prideful. He wanted the throne in a way that made it seem like he deserved it.
Altogether-
"..ex! Alex!" Eve cupped her hands around my cheeks and said, "What are you doing?! It's dangerous! We need to move!"
I blinked, bringing my thoughts back to the present. Then I smiled and said, "What are you worried about, Eve?" I gently pulled her hands off and kissed her cheek. "It's fine."
Eve instinctively leaned into my kiss before pausing. She huffed and said, "I am being serious here! Just look around us!"
I did.
Heroes, standing and holding makeshift weapons from whatever was available, eyeing everyone around.
Students, having returned after grabbing proper weapons from the nearby armories, guarding their family members.
Professors, trying to call out and calm the panic.
The Imperial Guards surrounding the perimeter and preventing people from leaving.
And in the crowd, I was sure that the Void Arbiter spies were stuck as well, trapped in here with us.
I noticed that Professor Elio was gone. Probably off to try and sort out any potential dangers in the surroundings.
But Headmistress Lux was getting ready to make a speech. Staff in hand, professional demeanor already worn like a familiar mask, she made her way to the center of the room and opened her mouth to talk.
'Alright. It should be done then.'
While Eve's problem still existed, like this, I had neutralized the external threats at least. Nobody could act openly at the moment.
So-
A sudden chill. Sheer frost so cold that it stopped my Seablaze flames in their tracks for a single second before the inextinguishable trait of the flames kicked back in.
But I didn't care about that.
Danger.
A variable.
Something I forgot to consider in the midst of everything else.
A movement completely out of character.
I jumped back, grabbing Eve as I did.
She gasped and clung close, opening her mouth to question me.
But I ignored her and screamed. "HEADMISTRESS! DUCK!"
Headmistress Lux was confused and tilted her head.
I saw it.
Only I could see it, since only I had been looking.
A blade of pitch black ice slicing through the air.
Demonic energy wreathing it as the blade extended across the entire hall.
It would connect.
In a second, Headmistress Lux- No.
Sophia would die.
That kind-hearted and wise headmistress would lose her head. Literally.
If not, her body would be frozen through.
Eve's eyes widened.
I saw Professor Elio run back, mouth opened in a desperate plea.
Sophia's eyes widened, realizing the danger. She stepped back and moved her staff, a spell on her lips.
But it wouldn't work.
That wasn't magic. Not normal magic. And it wasn't an Art either.
It was demonic energy, wrapped up in the form of ice. Something that would cut through.
Something that shouldn't exist. Not yet.
Time slowed to a crawl.
*tick*
I summoned Seablaze flames in an instant, trying to deflect or stop the attack.
*tick*
My flames scattered, the slash moving through them and reaching just in front of Sophia's neck.
*tick*
A desperate move. A fragile hope.
If Sophia died here, in the grand scheme of things, it would be worse than Eve dying. Without her, the Empire would fall. Without her, so much would go awry.
I had to stop it. So I pulled out Artemis, blasting the demonic ice blade with Lunar light.
At the same time, I drew Rebellion and faced Sophia to get the buff that the blade gave me, adding her total stats to mine in order to try and reach her.
*tick*
The demonic ice blade reached Sophia's neck.
I swung Rebellion.
And-