Previously
Lodian demonstrates his fire abilities to Thiel, who is fascinated rather than afraid because it is not the ice magic used by her abusive grandfather.
Unlike Lodian, Birdie was not a natural-born genius.
While Lodian excelled in the practical use of power, Birdie's talents shone in scholarly research and the theoretical study of it.
This was partly because Birdie's obsessive drive was far sharper than anyone else's.
For Birdie could only wield roughly half the power Lodian could.
Thus, the fact that Birdie could now control his power to this degree was purely the result of painstaking effort and hard work.
It also meant he was far better equipped to teach Thiel how to wield her own power and properly put it to use.
Looking at the flame still dancing in Lodian's palm, Birdie gently closed and reopened his own hands.
And then—
Whoosh!
A colossal blaze flared in Birdie's hand.
It was a massive pillar of fire, mirroring Lodian's own.
Thiel's eyes widened.
Birdie's soft voice settled in her ears.
The pillar of fire surged higher, as if about to swallow the boy whole.
Soon, the surging pillar of fire
gradually took form above his hand.
It surged upward with such force that it broke through the training room's wide-open ceiling, eclipsing Lodian's flames.
The moment Birdie spoke, the flames shifted rapidly.
As if recognizing its master, the pillar of fire enveloped Birdie, blazing so fiercely that nothing could draw near.
Startled by the raw display, Lodian swiftly pulled Thiel into his arms and stepped back.
Thiel stared at Birdie in awe.
A brief gap parted the inferno, revealing Birdie standing at its core.
It was an astonishing display of power. But…
‘He looks strange.’
Birdie's face was deathly pale. It looked as though… the flames would consume him at any second.
No, as if he had already been devoured.
Before long, the blaze grew even more violent.
Holding Thiel tight, Lodian hurled all sorts of curses at his brother.
Lodian gritted his teeth.
Held securely in Lodian's arms, Thiel watched Birdie with anxious eyes.
Birdie was acting strange.
Lodian noticed it too.
Even so, Birdie kept going, acting as though he were entirely unaware of his surroundings.
Yet Birdie seemed unable to hear him.
Unlike Lodian's controlled fire, these flames threatened to incinerate the entire training room, bearing down menacingly on Thiel.
It looked as though Birdie had completely lost control of his power!
Thiel gripped Lodian's clothes tightly.
Lodian gently set Thiel down in a safe corner.
That madman had completely lost his senses.
After emphasizing it repeatedly, the boy stepped away from Thiel and ignited a fire in his hand.
A flame rivaling Birdie's in size flared in Lodian's palm, then forged itself into a fiery blade.
‘It makes no sense. He doesn't usually lose control of himself like this…’
Every member of the Astrian family suffered from madness brought on by a curse.
Among them all, Birdie's curse was the most severe.
Though he possessed immense strength, he had been constrained from wielding it freely because of that curse.
Yet never to this extent! What he was currently releasing was only a fraction of his true power.
Lodian and Birdie had wielded their abilities alongside each other for a very long time.
So Lodian knew Birdie better than anyone.
He was not weak enough to succumb to madness over something like this.
‘Why did it happen so suddenly, then? …Dammit, Birdie!’
Lodian cursed aloud and hurled himself straight into the raging inferno.
Watching the scene unfold, Thiel gasped.
Lodian threw himself into the blaze, driving his sword right into the heart of Birdie's flames. A thunderous roar shook the room as the boys' fires collided head-on.
Boom—!
Thick smoke billowed outward, shrouding the entire training room.
Thiel coughed, barely able to keep her eyes open.
‘Is it over?’
Yet Birdie showed no signs of relenting.
Instead, Lodian was the only one injured, writhing in pain. Thiel's eyes widened in terror.
Lodian shouted through his coughing.
Lodian's voice broke through the haze, scattering into the air.
Thiel knew instinctively that Birdie was in grave danger.
Birdie was in trouble.
The fire had clearly started from Birdie's hand, yet somehow it had raged beyond his control.
Why on earth had things turned out this way?
She had only… she had only wanted to learn how to properly use her power.
All of this had happened because she had wanted to use her power properly.
Guilt pressed down on her fragile heart like a massive boulder.
Thiel wanted desperately to turn back time, if only she could.
Before the flames consumed Birdie.
No, before she had ever asked him to teach her…
At that moment—
Unknown voices whispered in Thiel's ears.
Her trembling eyes darted between Birdie and Lodian, and she bit her lip.
Someone was speaking to Thiel, telling her that she could save him.
Only you can calm him down.
Thiel knew nothing of the madness that plagued the Astrian and Nestian bloodlines, but…
She knew one thing for certain: Birdie was in danger.
And so, without a second thought, Thiel leaped through the smoke and into the fire.
Her trembling gaze locked firmly onto Birdie, refusing to waver.
Lodian lunged forward to stop her, but it was already too late.
Thiel stood resolute before Birdie, who had lost all control.
Birdie's lips parted as he breathed her name.
Thiel nodded and drew closer.
“Don't come near me… you'll get hurt…”
She had known it all along.
Birdie and Lodian would never hurt her.
Even though the boy before her seemed wild and hostile, he was the very person who had gently warmed her cold hands.
At that instant, the boundless, raging fire parted to clear a path for Thiel.
Without hesitation, Thiel rushed up to Birdie and threw her arms around him.
Then she remembered. That feeling back in the basement.
Herself crying, Cassius calling out to comfort her, and…
the warm light that had enveloped her whole body.
She could do it, so long as it hadn't been a dream.
The moment she murmured the thought, a golden light burst from Thiel's hands.
Golden rays cascaded like waves from her tiny palms.
Soon, two little golden fish leaped forth, swimming in circles around Birdie and Thiel.
Luminous as if woven purely from light, the fish rode the pillar of fire as though it were a stream, gradually growing in size.
The fish, initially no bigger than tiny goldfish, now swam through the training room on a scale larger than the flames Lodian and Birdie had summoned.
And right at that moment—
A beam of light extended from Thiel's hands, and a colossal fish born of that light surged outward like a tidal wave beyond the training room, coiling protectively around Birdie.
The entire Astrian palace glowed with warm radiance.
Before long, the raging fire settled, flickering out completely.
Dazed, Birdie finally regained his senses.
He blinked in astonishment when he saw Thiel in his arms.
Then, realizing why she was holding him, his eyes flew wide.
Lodian and Birdie shouted in unison.
Birdie held Thiel tightly, terrified her tiny frame might break or slip away, while Lodian rushed over to check on her.
Not long after, Cassius and Alfinos arrived, having caught wind of the commotion, and threw open the doors to the training room.
By the time they stepped inside, Thiel's light had already blanketed the entire Astrian estate.