The carriage hadn't even fully stopped before Ryn felt the shift in the air.
Not metaphorically, or poetically…but literally.
Smoke carried through the air coming from nearby. Amelia pushed the window flap aside just as a gust of ash blew past them.
Her eyes narrowed.
"Something's going on," she said quietly.
This was sharp, mixed with the ever-present metallic smell of blood.
Something was burning.
A knight galloped back toward them.
"Young Master Ryn! Lady Amelia! A village ahead is under attack!"
Ryn instinctively looked at the knight, signalling for him to continue.
"Monsters, dozens of them. From what I saw, there were—"
A beast lunged at the knight's horse, the creature creating huge gashes as it brought down both mount and rider.
"Stop the carriage!" Ryn screamed at the coachman, looking out the window to see what had happened.
The knight was surrounded by a pack of monsters, his mount lifeless as it continued to bleed out.
One of the creatures attacked, lunging straight for the knight with its fangs. He barely managed to repel it back before Ryn and Amelia got to the front lines.
Now that he was closer, Ryn knew what these monsters were. The creatures were no larger than dogs. Their fur glowed a molten orange, shifting like a living flame. Embers crackled along its pelt, drifting off its tail in fiery wisps.
Fire Foxes.
Normally, they were elegant, almost mystical. Some folk stories even depict these creatures guiding lost travelers home like a lantern.
But these weren't the gentle spirits from those stories.
The fox in front of them snarled, its lips peeling back to reveal glowing red fangs. However, most noticeable of all, their eyes glowed a bloodshot red.
Ryn reached into his Dimensional Ring and pulled out an arming sword. After the Cathedral, he made a mental note to never go anywhere without a weapon. The world was a scary, scary place after all.
Amelia stepped forward, expression sharp. "Fire Foxes don't attack humans. Not unless provoked."
As if to prove her point, the nearest fox lunged without the least bit of warning.
Ryn dashed in, catching its leap on the flat of his blade, shoving it down before it could tear into the knight's throat.
Ryn kicked it away, sliding into a guarding stance.
"Yeah," he muttered, "they're definitely not in a friendly mood."
Amelia's flames lit up behind him, bright and hot.
"Then we put them down."
Before Ryn could even form a plan, she was already moving.
Her hand snapped up—elegant and precise, as a concentrated burst of flame erupted from her palm.
FOOM—!
The fire shot forward in a clean, spear-shaped arc, slamming into the nearest Fire Fox like a hammer. The creature was blasted off its feet, smashing into the dirt with a yelp.
Ryn blinked.
That's the Flame Queen for you—
But his thought froze halfway.
The Fire Fox stood back up.
Completely unharmed, skin barely charred from the blast.
Normally, getting a Blessing that allowed you to use magic was enough of an achievement to warrant a family feast, no matter how low-ranked it was.
Even a C-Rank, Fire Apprentice was able to burn through layers of thick iron armor with relative ease.
Now compare that to Amelia's S-Rank, Flame Queen. Combine that with the fact that one of her attacks did no damage to a Fire Fox—was beyond Ryn.
And it seemed the concept was definitely beyond Amelia herself, as her eyes narrowed at the possibility.
The fox shook itself once, flames rippling unnaturally across its fur like someone pouring oil over fire.
"Careful," Ryn warned, stepping closer. "Something's off with—"
He didn't finish.
A second Fire Fox shot out of the smoke like a living arrow, its claws dragging streaks of sparks across the ground as it lunged straight for Amelia's side.
Steel met burning claws, sparks scattering as the fox's momentum slammed into him. The force pushed Ryn back a half-step, boots grinding into the dirt.
Stronger than I thought.
The fox twisted midair, trying to rake at his face.
Ryn's [Enhanced Senses] kicked in—the world slowed, just enough for him to duck under the swipe.
He inhaled, holding his breath, as he delivered a slash horizontally across its flank.
A burst of cold erupted from the impact, frost rippling across its body as Cold Aura manifested into spikes of ice, jamming themselves into the fox's stomach.
Ryn exhaled through his nose, flicking the blood off his blade.
"Thought so," he muttered. "Cold works."
It shook violently, molten fire exploding off its body like shrapnel.
"Persistent little thing," Ryn said.
Amelia spared a glance as she deflected another fox—and her eyes widened.
"Ryn… you froze it?"
He didn't answer because a third fox lunged in from the left, jaws wide.
"Light the way—Aquila."
[MP: 90/110]
He could see the line of light approach his left shoulder, so with a twist of his blade, Ryn positioned his sword right on the fox's trajectory.
Its momentum did the rest, as the fox was sliced clean in half.
Ryn took a small breath, wiping the sweat off his forehead. The first fox that had taken his Cold Aura was starting to get its senses back.
He had to finish his fight before Amelia got angry over the fact that her attacks did no damage. An angry Amelia was worse than any S-Rank monster.
Ryn tightened his grip on the hilt.
"Alright, round two."
The fox darted forward, faster than its earlier lunge. Its paws scorched the ground as it zigzagged, flame trails painting arcs in the air.
Ryn's [Enhanced Senses] flared again. His increased eyesight allowed him to predict the fox's attack by where it was looking, and right now, that was his abdomen.
He dropped to one knee, blade angling low.
However, Ryn had underestimated the fox's speed, as he barely managed to angle the fox's attack upward, at the cost of a scratch on his sword hand.
[HP: 97/100]
A burst of cold erupted from the blade as Ryn thrusted upwards, impaling the fox and freezing it midair. Its body hit the ground with a dull thud, steam spilling from its frozen limbs.
[STR: 10 → 11]
[DEX: 11 → 12]
Ryn looked at the status panel, quite pleased.
Then, a loud explosion came from his left. Snapping his head toward the sound, a fox had flown past him and made contact with a nearby tree, going limp.
Amelia lowered her hand, embers rising from her clothes like drifting fireflies.
Ryn stared.
"…Show-off," he muttered.
But he couldn't deny it. Even if it was a bad matchup, the Flame Queen still has plenty of firepower. Pure, overwhelming, S-Rank firepower.
Ryn wondered if the Vitalis Core wasn't for her survival, but to keep everyone else safe from the day she finally unleashed her full power.
He wiped his sword with a handkerchief to clean off the blood, to prevent a nice sword from rusting early.
Amelia approached slowly, boots crunching against scorched dirt. Her expression wasn't angry, but it wasn't neutral either. It was the exact look nobles used when preparing to interrogate someone.
Great.
"Ryn," she began, crossing her arms, "I have a question."
"What's up?" he said, aiming for innocent but landing somewhere closer to suspiciously casual.
Amelia pointed at the frozen remains of the first fox he'd fought.
"That wasn't normal."
Ryn blinked. "Which part?"
"The part where you froze a fire-aspected monster mid-air," she said flatly.
"And the part where you twist your body so fast that even I couldn't see the full motion."
"And the part where you—" She stopped, inhaling sharply. "—used the Arctis Sword Technique."
Ryn coughed lightly and looked away. "Ah. Yeah. About that."
"How do you even have that! And what's up with those movements?!"
He opened his mouth, ready to deliver the most half-baked excuse known to man—
A knight sprinted toward them, panting.
"Lady Amelia! Lord Ryn!" he shouted. "Dumos Knights are approaching!"
Amelia narrowed her eyes at Ryn one last time.
"This conversation," she said, "is not over."
Ryn sighed.
Of course it wasn't. Because nothing was ever that easy, but at least he was free from scrutiny...for now.