Chapter 124: Through Ash and Flames

The Fire roared as loud and as violent as it could, its smoke spilling out and spreading across the rest of the lands. The Citizens would notice such smoke and see the fire consume such a large forest, quickly alerting the authorities to try and put it out, yet everyone would only watch. They would watch such embers strike at the wood and consume what it wants, unable to avert their eyes at such a disaster. The Queen and her Guards would look onward once enough commotion was made, making them just as concerned, yet just as entranced to its warmth and sight, watching it bend and dance along with the winds. "Oh Dear....these are the knights I hired...aren't they?" She mumbled to herself, watching such arson unfold. Small specks were seen escaping the fire, alarming and garnering lots of attention from the civilians before they'd be able to see something come out from them: A Foam-like substance that started to quickly put it out. The fires quelled themselves the more the foam bathed under it, relaxing the people somewhat, especially the Queen. As the Guards would try to approach the scene, the Queen made her way back to her castle, at least somewhat content that such problems resolved themselves with enough clarity.

Meanwhile, After holding him down and pushing him to do the right thing, Harvard, under surveillance of the others, would do his best to put out the fires, using the Ice Spell embedded in one of the cards to chill and freeze over the fire, the frost and snow slowly burying the fire, putting it out as much as he could. The boy made sure to get every inch covered, so that the flames do not go further out into the wilderness, maintaining his movement to preserve each and every acre among the pines. He'd take a deep breath, losing a lot of energy in the process of such preservation, almost being half of the forest because of their antics, with Lamia by the boy's side to act as fast as possible. The child turned towards his friends, hoping he would be given a break. "Do we.....HAVE....to save this forest? It's just a story-"

"YES!!" They yelled unanimously. Their expressions were prevalent: They were mad. They did soften a bit once they saw such progress was almost done, yet such progress took a heavy toll from the child's energy, allowing him to rest somewhat as they looked upon the blackened ash that was once a lush land. "Alright. I think that should be enough. Sorry for pushing you a bit there." Zazel would state, to which Harvard simply brushed off such an apology, not feeling it as a burden.

"Well, on the bright side, this might ACTUALLY get people to like us a bit. Not every day where you get a whole forest fire taken down with a single spell." Solomon would add, investigating the area, swatting away any smoke and debris that would clog their smell. Stolas followed in pursuit, checking the earth to ensure the Devil of the Sea doesn't dare try to resurface again.

"Solid question...What EXACTLY was it doing anyway? I'm not gonna lie....I think we went a bit overboard on it." Stolas would ask, to which Solomon answered almost instantly.

"Easy. It was doing the same gimmick me and Harvard saw back on the outskirts of Salvandi. There was a whole monster that was capable of manipulating their muscles through magic to attack us. That's probably what the Nuckelavee was doing, only theoretically better due to his muscles being outside rather than in. Problem was, it also left a giant weakness on the Monster entirely. I'm pretty sure even IT knew about such a weakness, and hence why it struggled like mad." As he explained such words, something would shake within the earth. Something that the children quickly heard. Enraged that such a creature lived, Solomon would prepare the arrows once more, being held back by his friends whilst Harvard and Lamia investigated the scene for themselves. "HE'S STILL ALIVE!??! AFTER ALL WE DID, AFTER ALL THAT ABUSE, ITS STILL A-FREAKING-LIVE!?"

"Calm down! Calm down!! It's not gonna hurt you. It's ok. It's ok. Deep breaths dude, Deep breaths..." Stolas and Zazel tried to satiate such bloodlust from the Biblical Sorcerer, as his shadow quickly stretched out to find such answers as well. When the trio did such a search amidst the ashy fields, they would find a somewhat disturbing sight: The earth was starting to pulsate. While faint, its movements were being visible, and small bits of red was seen along the ground. "So what's the verdict?? It's noting to worry about, right?" They would ask, to which Harvard looked towards them in concern.

"Yeaaaaaaaah....I think its....fusing with the ground now." The boy's sheepish words made the other children stunned at such words. They looked amongst one another, before looking towards Harvard, recognizing what must be done.

As the Queen and the Citizens would look away, meanwhile, smoke was being visible once more upon the horizon. Confused, Everyone would turn their eyes to the source, seeing now a larger and harsher fire, burning down the forest in its entirety, as well as some explosions to detonate the land within to ensure no further plant growth. The people would be disgusted at such a sight, with the Guards now in hot pursuit to apprehend the children and explain themselves at the situation that made them choose such arson as a plausible solution. As the Children naturally complied, they would notice that multiple people are starting to have such similar eyes, yelling at the child in such an aggressive manner, lunging death threats after death threats to them, some even trying to reach out and attack the children, however the Guards shoved them out the way to ensure they are protected. The boys couldn't help but sigh, not knowing if they were willing to listening to them.