Chapter 150 - After Ritual - Part 8

I quickly took Violet and jumped out of the sigil, seeing it on fire. The fire came without warning, rushing in to burn the ground along with the lines on the sigil as if they were the fuel for its flame. The blazing golden sparks outshined even those who shone in the sky, leaving us on the ground bewildered.

"Did you do this?"

"No…" she shook her head, watching the fire with pure astonishment. "I—I didn't, right?"

The fire quickly showed us the glory of its flames, devouring almost everything in its path. It was getting bigger, but never to the point where it went beyond the sigil. It was burning the circle around the sigil, trapping the children inside between the flames and separating us from them.

Is this what happens when you mix the blood of a white witch and a black witch? They caught on fire? Or, is this someone else's doing? There could be two possible answers.

First, Violet started this fire, and it is helping us destroy the sigil. Second, this fire was started by another witch, and it is preventing us from destroying the sigil.

"Water! Water!" I heard Andrew shout, running away from the fire as if he was going to die anytime soon. "No, snow! Throw the snow in!!" He shouted, looking directly at me. I frowned. Is he ordering me right now?

Andrew's shout caught the attention of the surrounding warriors, who were busy carrying the puppets, making them rush over to help.

"Wait," I said, raising my hand to stop them from coming. I beckoned for them to return to what they were doing, ignoring Andrew's frantic wails.

I expected the blood on the sigil to simply vanish after mixing with Violet's blood, but who knew this fire would come up instead?

I glanced towards the people around us, feeling my brows drawing together when I saw them still in the same state. Is this fire not supposed to destroy the sigil? And what should we even do with the children trapped inside? 

I turned towards Violet, seeing how she was staring so intently at the fire that the purple in her eyes seemed to turn to the same color as the fire in front of us. The look on her face didn't exactly say that she was appalled by the fire, but rather, she was intrigued by it.

She looked like she was in her own world, lost in a world where her surroundings had vanished away, leaving only her with the fire before us. She then reached out her hand, as if to touch the fire, but I caught her hand before she could do so.

"What are you doing?" I asked as I stopped her, seeing her finally coming back to her senses after being hypnotized by the fire.

"Huh?" She tore her gaze from the fire, then smiled sheepishly as she woke up from her trance. "Did I do something?"

"You were trying to touch the fire," I said, weakening my grip on her hand. Did she not realize what she was trying to do?

"I… did that?" She scratched her head, seemingly confused about what was happening. She then returned her attention to the fire, which had now calmed down, circling around the inner part of the sigil that still remained untouched. 

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

She stayed quiet for a few moments, thinking about what was wrong with her. Pulling the two of her hands, she rubbed them against each other as if she was feeling cold when there was a scorching hot fire right in front of us.

"I—I don't know," she shook her head, frowning. "I feel weird. When I see this fire, I feel a strong urge to go closer—just like what happened when I saw the blue flowers around your manor."

If such was the case, then there's more to this fire than meets the eye. It was strange enough that this fire appeared out of nowhere, and now it became even stranger knowing that it has the same effect as the blue flowers.

"And… the fire doesn't feel hot," she said as she walked closer to the fire, holding her hand out—this time, consciously.

"What do you mean?" I followed suit, staying a few steps behind her to avoid getting too close to the fire. Though I can stand extremely cold weather, hot weather can be quite the challenge. "It's scorching hot—even from here," I said as I grabbed a handful of snow, smearing it all over my torso.

"It's hot?" She asked, as though she couldn't believe my words. She said she couldn't even feel a hint of warmth. "That couldn't be," she hesitated before opening her fingers, again trying to touch the fire. "Do you think I started this fire?"

Given that the fire appeared shortly after she mixed her blood, it's fairly possible. And the fact that she couldn't feel the heat from the fire could be due to the fact that she was the one who started it, so the fire had no effect on her.

"Most likely," I said.

She held out her hands for a few more seconds before turning to face me, her uncertainty gone from her voice.

"I think I need to go inside the sigil," she said, picking up the knife on the ground. "If it's true that I started this fire, then it only means that this is a way to destroy the sigil. I need to add more blood to the sigil so that we can burn it as a whole and return these people to normal."

"How do you plan to step inside the sigil? The fire is separating us from—" I came to a halt when I noticed she was dipping her hand into the fire, making me pull her hand out without sparing a second longer. "What are you doing?!"

This woman—is she trying to give me a heart attack?! I've never seen anyone so bravely jump into a raging hot fire, almost as if she was asking to be burned.

When I pulled her hand out, she showed no reaction but only smiled so innocently, saying, "It doesn't burn."

Though I didn't believe her at first, I changed my mind after seeing how her hand had no redness and didn't feel hot despite being roasted in the same manner as a roasted turkey. The fire really had no effect on her.

She freed herself from my grip and waved her arm into the fire, moving it right and left as she was intrigued by this fact herself. "See? The fire won't harm me, so I can walk right through it."

I put a hand over my chest, trying to calm my racing heart after witnessing her brave yet hasty act. I suppose this is another situation where non-witches will be unable to relate to what is going on. Witches are sca—amazing.

"What about the children?" I asked, pointing at the children who stood still by the middle of the sigil. She may be unaffected by the fire, but the same won't happen to those children—probably.

With a closer look, I noticed that the children were standing together by the middle of the sigil, a few feet away from the lines that drew the sigil. If the fire will only burn the sigil, all they need to do is withstand the heat of the fire.

Violet smiled as she realized I'd gotten the answer on my own, preparing to enter the sigil. Though I wanted to follow her inside, the heat was too much for me to handle. I won't be able to walk right past it as she did, or I'll be burned alive.

Knowing that I'd be worried, she patted my shoulders, saying, "Trust your mate."

Andrew was right. She's changed. She's no longer like the scared little bunny I found on the side of the road, but a brave rabbit who will throw you a flying kick should you get into her way. She's no longer someone who needs my help in a lot of things, as she has matured into someone who can give you her help instead. She had found her power, and all that I had to do was to believe in her.

Though it didn't look like she would mess up, I could simply break through the fire if I found her in trouble—no matter the cost.

Violet turned her back towards me, facing the raging fire in front of her. With the same knife in her hand, she took a deep breath, then walked right into the fire. Her small figure vanished into the blazing golden flames, leaving me behind to cling to my faith in her.

The flames welcomed her inside, burning even hotter when they met. The previously calm fire became harsher, rising to my height the moment she stepped into the sigil.. In the midst of the raging fire, I found her standing brave, untouchable, burning with determination as hot as the fire around her.