Chương 59: Eating Fire

"Why do you think I brought this disaster?" Ren lifted a brow, their eyes meeting. The beast's amber eyes held no blame. More strangely, it was so gentle that Ren felt disturbed. Even the alien slit lying horizontally didn't unnerve him.

"The why and the what of it are irrelevant now, young human," it said, voice soft.

"Disaster follows the footsteps of humans; it always does. And now that it has knocked at our door, we need all the help we can get, or we will lose our precious homes completely. So I'm asking again, can you help us?" The beast let out a steamy breath, its gaze expectant.

"As you can see, I am already trying," Ren said, keeping his tone mocking. Of course, he didn't fear it, but he had to admit he felt guilty for causing the destruction of the forest and, in turn, their homes. Disaster follows the footsteps of humans, huh, he thought, forcing back his wry smirk. So… I ran into a racist beast. Perfect. Even if he bore indirect responsibility, such words were truly heavy and a little irritating, too.

"If you have a better solution, I'm all ears," he added, seeing it remained silent. Phantom Blade took a deep look at him.

"You can't quench the flames of a fire spirit just by refining the ambient energy," it said, explaining slowly and softly.

"As it's impossible to deplete all the ambient energy it can feed on, you have to be direct and devour its flames; only then can you weaken it. After all, even your strong girlfriend is nothing in front of nature."

"And by help you mean?" Ren asked, ignoring her little remark.

"We can devour them; our bodies are better suited for such things. But we are still flesh and blood, and need outside help to cool ourselves down. It won't be easy, of course, but it's the only viable way instead of this vain effort." It slowly nodded its head and added, "You can give it a try if you don't trust my words. I won't blame you." Ren raised a brow, his mind quickly processing. He found what was said logical, cursing at himself for forgetting such a simple problem: ambient energy.

The ambient energy could refill the gap faster than the flames could be quenched. Unless he used Total Serenity, of course. That, he was sure. He could wipe it clean for the next few hours with just a few bubbles, and if he really lost his mind, ten bubbles would probably be enough for a few days. Let alone the abuse my body had to endure for that, it might include the flames, too, making me a humantorch. Even the idea of it caused him to shiver.

Setting that 'nuclear-like' thought aside, he knew the enforcers were powerless if they had to devour the flames. Despite a few of them having an affinity for the fire element, they were only silver-masked, and Golden Core simply wasn't enough to withstand such a wildfire. As for spiritual beasts, as Phantom Blade said, they had an innate advantage: the ability to devour elements even if they had no affinity for them, though it would slow their cultivation for a time. There's no fire beast among them.

He couldn't help but give Phantom Blade an appreciative look. The plea for help was genuine. Still, a strange feeling rose inside, accompanied by a ridiculous question. The beast's way of explaining… was too detailed and careful, as if it were fearing he wouldn't understand. He couldn't grasp the reason, and he didn't like such things. Fuck it, I don't have that much to ponder over this. First, let's take care of the problem.

Trees flashed past in the corner of his vision, surrounded by raging flames, a tiny boat in struggling in a fierce storm. Even so, Ren couldn't bring himself to turn to their help. Maybe it was just old habits acting up, or maybe he didn't want others to hurt themselves for a mess that traced back to him… Can my body, refined by moonlight, endure devouring such flames? He didn't know, but it wouldn't hurt to try, right? World at Palm, Ren willed, raising his hand. The spiritual energy obeyed him without a fuss.

It gathered over his open palm, created a perfect ball, and seeped into his skin, Little Sapling gulping them greedily. The next second, he took back some of the moonlight energy that kept the flames at by around his hand. As if noticing their prey getting away, the flames agitated and quickly followed, too. It tickled at first, the pain not so noticeable, no different than putting your hand over a lighter. All good.

He continued to lessen his energy output, which intensified the pain, though it wasn't something he couldn't handle— A sharp pain akin to a violent punch to his stomach erupted. Ren folded in on himself, his vision blurring as tears spilled over. They vaporized in no time. Waves of pain and something he could only interpret as distress spread from Little Sapling. A throne image materialized behind him for a split second, his Foundation triggered.

Then all the flames he absorbed converged and were driven out of his body. Only then did Ren manage to let out a turbid breath. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"That was… raw, young human." Phantom Blade sighed, its bulky claws clenching and unclenching. Then it reached toward him. Ren didn't move, sensing no ill intent; he was more curious than cautious about it. A lamb may bite— a Phantom Blade never will. His memories were reassuring, too. The beast patted his head, messing with his hair, but careful not to hurt him by mistake. Its hide was coarse, feeling like sandpaper, and as he was at the same height as only its fingers, the act was too absurd.

However, that simple touch dissipated the heaviness in his lungs and the lingering pain. Ren's strange feeling had intensified, but the beast continued without noticing.

"Have you decided to lend your power to us?" it asked, pulling back its claw. Ren threw a glance at the sky, but he couldn't see or sense anything out of the ordinary. He also noticed Demoness had a frown. Their gazes met for a second, and the girl subtly nodded. Another huge sigh threatened to escape him.

"You've heard it; do your best to help," he said to enforcers, swallowing the urge down.

"Wise choice, young human," Phantom Blade muttered, rising to its full height. It opened its jaw wide, and the flames poured in as if drawn by an irresistible force. Gulping it all down, they lit up everywhere they passed; even its thick hide failed to dim the fire's brilliance. Ren felt a deep respect for the beast's innumerable faded scars, crisscrossing almost every part of it, now illuminated like stars against the night. They bore witness to its struggles and perilous encounters.

And it still remained so gentle… It took a few seconds before Phantom Blade slowly shook its body, the light fading as the beast burped unceremoniously. Bon appétit, monsieur, Ren thought, stifling a chuckle as he rolled his neck until it cracked.

"Just transmitting my energy is enough, or?" he asked, jumping to his feet.

"That energy… You used on the tiny one… to heal it… using that should be enough…" it answered, frequently pausing to breathe heavily, its voice getting weaker. Ren frowned at the implication, yet he chose to shelve it for now. He floated beside it and put his right hand at its neck. Unlike when he transmitted just a tiny bit of his moonlight energy into Ashthorn, fearing it would explode, he had no reason to hold back this time.

The beast was a Nascent Soul, after all, and given its sheer size, Ren wasn't even sure whether his meager Foundation Establishment energy would even make a ripple. Its quality should do something; his mind wandered as a flood of silvery light poured out of his hand. And if it's not enough, Little Sapling is always greedy for more. Phantom Blade's yellowish eyes widened for a second when the energy poured into its body, though it remained silent and reopened its jaws, inhaling deeply.

This time it didn't hurry, instead let the flames pool into its mouth in an endless wave. Only when the flames around them thinned and started to fade into sparks did it stop. Gulp. The beast instantly turned into a light beacon. The scales around its throat began to crack, and some even melted instantly. A massive plume of steam billowed up from it, its bulky legs almost buckled. Frowning at the intense heat on his palm, Ren didn't hesitate to pour more and more of his energy.

He even took back the energy isolating heat around his body. Thankfully, whatever his energy was doing seemed to be working, as the scales stopped breaking down, giving the beast enough time to stir its energy. A gentle, silky-like aura rose in tandem, quietly subduing the flames boiling in the pit of its stomach. Ren opened his armored hand and used World at Palm again, but didn't let the flames come closer.

He created a cycle at his core that revolved around his left hand to right, nonstop supplying all the energy he got. At the same time, he threw a quick glance at the enforcers and saw them at the outskirts of the wildfire, supplying their energy to the struggling beasts with tight frowns.

"Next place," Phantom Blade growled only a few minutes later. Its hide seemed to take a darker shade. But its steps remained steady. Ren just followed it, repeating the same process. The spread of the flames slowed down not long after, yet it felt like it had been hours since they started, and finally, the fire golem came into view a few paces from them. It had already stopped trashing. The vortex at its eyes had slowed down, too. It… gave up?

Ren couldn't help but think it resembled that of a sulking child while Demoness still seemed relaxed. Yet he didn't miss the charred spots crawling toward her robes' sleeves. Hope so. He thought about urging Phantom Blade, but the idea dissolved as soon as he turned to it. The beast was panting heavily, breath wheezing from its open mouth as it struggled to stay upright. It had long lost all its teeth, and its scales on its neck and underbelly weren't faring any better, exposing the tender, pink flesh.

Even the moonlight energy couldn't regenerate them faster than they melted. He had urged it to stop and rest more than ten times already, only to meet with the stubborn goat lying underneath its gentle surface. Ren shook his head. This wasn't just about losing some progress. The beast was running toward a sure death, and an extremely painful one even. He considered forcefully stopping it for a second, but the crazy glint in its beastly eyes stopped him. Is this a beast's love toward its home?

The ball in his palm— though it was hard to call it that way considering it wasn't any better than a few slivers revolving— rippled amidst his turbid thoughts. What if it wasn't this forest, and instead my home? Can I do the same? A wry smile settled at his lips. Do I even have a place I can confidently call… home?

"O-Only… one mowe… p-p-placey… heft…" Phantom Blade whispered, more like to itself than Ren, its charred tongue not working properly. Still, it opened its mouth, or more like its lower chin fell under its weight. With a deep inhale, the flames were once again drawn. That tore his mind away from the thoughts, his frown deepened, and his fingers twitched involuntarily. He blinked. Hesitation gnawed open his chest and lingered there like there was a scratching at his heart.

The beast's yellow eyes turned to him slowly. Not a trace had remained of its former grandeur, but those eyes, those eyes! How can they remain still so gentle… still so soft?

"T-thank… you… human…" it said despite struggling, as though it knew this might be its last chance, then it closed its eyes. The gnawing suddenly tore out a huge chunk of his rib cage. Only a hollow feeling was left behind, a kind he hated all his life. A kind he could never get used to, despite countless times he had to experience it. Beast or not… related or not… right or wrong— A kind Ren refused to accept! His gaze sharpened as he suddenly snapped his left hand close, pulling the pooled flames out of its mouth.

"I won't let you die in front of me." His will, invisible and intangible, flared. Time slowed to a crawl. His skin tingled. Sounds dinned in his ears, then all cut short as if someone pressed the pause button. His vision changed, the colors fading out of the world, and he saw it. Lines. Bright, dazzling lines gathered into chaotic piles. Green for the Phantom Blade, but almost fully blackened; crimson for Demoness, viscous like blood; and a fiery orange one, erratic and flickering. This is…

Pressure hit behind his eyes. Right. Immediate troubles. Feel awe later. Scowling, he directed that breath onto the fiery lines. A purple line, emerging from his forehead, answered immediately, reaching toward the orange pile. He had to be careful not to spook the newborn will, so he tried to slowly— Shit! The single-line shot like a bullet, crashing into the chaotic pile before he could react. A desolate howl shook the whole forest.