85 2.40 Aftermath - Part 1

The huge block of ice at the center fell on the ground as the flames extinguished. After it did, I flew towards Zagan but as things couldn't be assessed with certainty, I stayed vigilant.

"Did it work?"

"I am not sure kid, but it's better to be safe than sorry."

He was right. It would be better to stay vigilant and observe for a while before celebrating the victory. There were several instances where people became careless when they were close to victory, and that carelessness cost them the victory. This occurrence was common throughout history in my previous world, and I think the same would be true in any world.

"Kid, you can go to your friends down there. I will keep an eye on things here for now. We also need to find a way to get that nectar out of that ice. Maybe it is possible to combine those pure flames with holy magic too."

Before, there was no way to get the nectar out of her pocket without defeating her. And now that she was trapped within the block of ice, we would need to partially melt it to get it out of there.

It was a good thing that this was magical ice that could recover itself by absorbing the surrounding mana. But taking the vial out would be another trial entirely, for now, it was a good idea to take a momentary break.

I slowly flew towards the ground where Yoru was taking care of Marina and Lucy. She had made them lean comfortably by the wall.

"How is she doing?" I asked as I landed close to them.

"The fairy is alright, but the girl, she has a fever."

"Thank you for your help, Yoru."

Marina's body looked red, so the fever must be really high. I touched her forehead to check how high it was, and as I thought, it was high enough to make you feel relieved that she was still holding on despite that.

I remembered Flare telling me that her flames could heal anyone whom I considered friends. And now that my feelings were directly linked to these flames, I was hoping they would be able to heal her more effectively.

I slowly brushed her pink hair. Despite the condition we were in, I couldn't help but smile when I saw that cute face and those cat ears. I remembered how shy she was when we first met, and how we grew this close, this soon.

Despite the lack of confidence, her feelings were always true. She never envied or hated anyone from heart and wished for everyone's happiness. She was a really kind soul, and a really good person.

I slowly took off my crown of golden flames with both of my hands and placed it over Marina's head. And as I did that, her whole body was covered in pure golden flames. I wasn't sure if it would work or not, but I was hoping with all my heart that it would.

"Nara, is that you?" Marina said but her eyes were still closed. As she said that, the flames covering her body disappeared along with the crown, and the crown appeared back on my head.

"I am sorry. I am so sorry."

Tears started welling up in her eyes as she was saying that, but before I could console her, they started falling on her cheeks. I wasn't sure what to do, so I placed my right hand over her head and started petting her.

"It's alright now. Everyone is alright."

When I said that, Marina leaned forward and hugged me, and as she did, I kept on petting her head. I could understand how hard it must have been for her to be in a place like this.

"I couldn't choose Nara; I couldn't be selfish. I couldn't choose Ronald over all those people."

"It's alright. You did nothing wrong. We still have a way to save Ronald, so don't cry."

"Really?" She moved back and looked at my face as she asked.

"Yeah, we defeated her. She has something that can save Ronald. All we need to do is get that and get out of this place."

"DO YOU THINK IT WILL REALLY BE THAT EASY?"

A loud voice echoed through the air. I looked towards the source of the voice, and as feared, the voice was coming from the magical ice that was on the ground around five hundred meters away from us.

Right after the voice was heard, the ground started shaking and a large quantity of mana started gathering around the ice. I looked towards Zagan for an explanation, but he too was staring at ice looking uncertain as to what was happening.

Before we could figure anything out, the ice that was transparent a while ago turned green. And as it did, large cracks started appearing on its surface.

"Uh-oh! Kid, this doesn't look too good. That energy is way stronger than what she was showing us a while ago."

Right after Zagan fished saying that, the ice broke into pieces, and there she was standing unharmed despite being frozen for this long. Something about her form was different though. She had two long horns coming out of her head. Her fangs that looked human a while ago, looked like beast claws and green scales were covering her cheeks and arms. She looked somewhat similar to Miss Lilith, but I could sense a way stronger energy coming out of her.

"Damn! Kid, let's forget about that nectar and get the hell out of here. She is too much for us to handle. In fact, she is too much for anyone to handle. Even if I was outside, I would be no match for her in this state."

I was confused as to how to respond to that. The situation wasn't in favor so what he said was logical. But after coming all this way and enduring all the suffering, I was hesitant to let this opportunity slide.

I looked towards Marina whose eyes were open wide in shock and made my choice. At this point, it looked like a pointless battle with no chance of victory. The small ray of light that was visible at the end of the tunnel, disappeared.

'But even if we try to fall back, would she let us?'

Everything was uncertain at this point. What little hope we had was lost. Expecting miracles to happen at this point was pointless. What options did we have at this point?

Too many things came to my mind and I wasn't certain about anything. But everyone was expecting me to make the choice at this point.

"Stay strong kid. At some point, you need to make difficult choices in life, just make a choice that you won't regret."

"Yeah— "

Before I could conclude my sentence, Olive charged right at me. I was at the position where I couldn't dodge. Marina was right behind me.

In that form, she was too powerful for me to even block. All I could do was brace myself for the impact. But right before her claws could reach me, her arm was caught by someone who appeared out of nowhere.

"Calm down Green. You are overdoing things here."

I looked up at the source of that familiar voice, and the one standing in front of me was a tall middle-aged man dressed in a long black trench coat. He had long black hair and despite having his aura suppressed, the air around him was giving a strong vibe.

: Aftermath - Part 2