“So, let’s turn this place into a very big torch,” I said briefly.

But Sigren said everything with his eyes. What are you talking about?

“Does this mean that we’re all going to be grilled together?”

I laughed briefly. “It’s not like that… Anyway, I’m going to burn down the entire headquarters.

‘If you’re going to do it, you have to do it right.’

“So, that’s what you mean.”

“Exactly, except the central barracks, I would burn down some of the trees after having all the people gather there. This way, I could control the monsters and only need to protect this place.”

Fortunately, the central barracks was the largest barrack in the headquarters, which was why it was called ‘central’. Also, the location was on the edge. So there was no fear of being surrounded by flames.

I continued to persuade him. “You know right, we cannot kill all the monsters nor wait for reinforcements to arrive.”

“Isn’t this plan a little dangerous?’

“If it’s a wildfire, don’t worry. I’ll control it to some extent, and it’ll rain soon. Rather, I’m afraid it will rain before the operation begins.”

That was the reason I was in a hurry. If it started to rain, there was really no way out.

“No, your body. Is it okay if you pour out that much power?”

“Me?”

Hmm, in fact, my remaining mana was scarce. The number of monsters was large. And my remaining mana couldn’t cause an explosion strong enough to kill them. Because, even before I could unleash the explosion, my strength would run out. So, that was why if I wanted to use all my energy, I needed a more efficient way to use my remaining mana. Now I found the answer. There was no need to kill all the monsters. We could just stop fighting them. Let’s retreat rather than kill. Survival was a victory.

That was my point.

“I think I’m okay?”

“I hear your questioning tone. So, it doesn’t look good.”

“No, wait. Well… I’m going to faint anyway… I could always endure that much. Besides, I can’t just watch people die, this is a way.”

There were very few options considering there were not enough people to protect the noblemen and ladies, and non-combat personnel as well as stop the monsters, and especially if it rained. Reinforcements would definitely be delayed.

My strategy was also a bit of a gamble, though. If the transformed monsters overcame their instinct in the middle and realized that they had become stronger, my strategy would fail. But I set this possibility as very low. They might have transformed and a considerable amount of time has passed, but not enough time for the monsters to have realized they have become stronger.

At my persuasion, Sigren finally nodded his head with a reluctant face. “Okay, let’s do that.”

Fortunately, it didn’t take long to gather people.

Well, in the first place, the non-combat personnel and the wounded were already in the central barrack, and only the combat personnel were holding out the monsters. In the end, all we had to do was gather those who were barely holding on.

Sigren and Abel helped the people to retreat.

As soon as Abel saw me, he flicked his finger lightly at my forehead.

“It seems that this ignorant plan came out of your head as well.”

“Ouch.. Sigren is here too, why do you think it’s me?”

“Sometimes, you are so bold that it’s scary.”

Really? I honestly didn’t know. The only thing I did at Heilon was kill monsters.

“Okay, let’s start playing with fire.”

I secretly stuck my tongue out hearing his word choice. ‘Playing with fire’? He really was too much. I’m doing this to save people.

Abel and Sigren stood on either side of me. It was like they were protecting someone.

The monsters made a growling sound and scratched the ground with their front feet, perhaps they felt something strange.

I spoke without sincerity.

“Yes, yes. Now we’re starting the whole roasting operation.”

***

The operation to hold the monsters out was starting and no one was allowed to come out. Nevertheless, Eunice poked her head out of the tent. This was because the noble lady who helped her evacuate was not in the tent. As soon as she looked outside, her eyes squinted for a moment. This was because the outside of the tent was terribly bright. It was literally a wave of fire. Surprisingly, the fire was not lit close to the tents. So there was no difficulty in breathing.

As soon as Eunice’s eyes could adjust to the bright light, she finally saw the scene. It was an amazing sight. She couldn’t believe she could see such a big fire up close.

‘This is magic.’

There weren’t many mages. In addition, most of them stayed in the capital, so Eunice, who lived in the outskirts of the countryside, hardly had a chance to see a mage. Enthusiastically, Eunice slowly turned her gaze around. There she saw an even more bizarre sight. A woman in her late teens was standing there. She was standing far in front of the central camps. It was not an exaggeration to say that she was standing in the middle of the flames. However, the woman looked fine. Vermilion sparks flew around the silver long hair. But not a single strand of the hair was burned. Perhaps, because of that, the burning flames were like jewels decorating her hair. The red eyes like red jade were clear enough to show the sway of the flames.

Eunice couldn’t take her eyes off the woman. Because the scene was really strange. That woman was a lady of her age, but she stood lofty in the midst of the flames. Against the vermillion background, the woman smiled faintly and changed the direction of the flames as if she were playing around. It was a sight that overturned the common sense of ‘people are burned’. And that inhuman appearance evoked a terribly foreign and terrifying feeling.

‘No, I’m not simply afraid. Rather, more than that—’

“As expected, Fiona Heilon.”

Eunice was startled by someone’s voice. Next to her, there was a man and woman. Just like Eunice, or even more openly, they were looking outside after rolling up the fabric at the entrance. Both were famous people. Arrendt Clovis and Livya Priscilla.

Arrendt looked at Fiona and said, “So, she is more powerful than I thought. That Lady Fiona.”

He also roughly collected some information about Fiona. It was a little hard because Abel had hidden the information tightly.

It was the same for Livya.

“You’re right. It’s really mind-blowing, but at the same time, it’s a very terrifying sight.”

“Really enchanting.”

Livya narrowed her eyes and then smiled. “I hate to agree with you, but .. you’re right, Marquis Clovis.”

Eunice, who was listening to the conversation, quietly agreed with the both of them. Everything was right. Sometimes people rejected peculiar things, but there were also times when people were attracted to that oddness. The sight was foreign to these people, gave a dangerous feeling, but very alluring.

‘Lady Fiona.’

Eunice thought that she would like to talk to her one day.