#052. White Sun (2)
As the iron gate opened and the figure appeared, the children couldn't help but feel a chill run down their spines.
“Wh-what is that…?”
“Oh my god…”
The figure’s entire body was engulfed in bright red flames.
It looked as if oil had been poured over their skin and lit ablaze.
They didn’t writhe on the ground or scream in agony.
Instead, they advanced with mechanical, unflinching steps.
Whoosh! Crackle!
Small flames scattered wherever they passed.
The horrific sight—something none of the street-hardened children had ever witnessed—planted primal terror deep in their hearts.
Someone swallowed thickly and managed to croak out:
“Wh-who is that? Wh-what is that?”
Lips trembled.
Bodies dripped with cold sweat.
If even one child fled, it would trigger a chain reaction. Everyone knew it.
Yet no one moved.
Desperately, they tried to guess the figure’s identity.
The conclusion came as a whisper:
“It’s Ray…”
The words slipped from Veronica’s lips.
Only Ray and a coated man had entered the abandoned factory.
The flaming figure’s build matched Ray’s exactly.
Veronica’s certainty grew as she recalled their recent conversation about the ‘Ignition’ spell’s properties.
“Sh-shouldn’t we save him?”
“B-but he’s…he’s moving normally…”
No one stepped forward.
—Thud.
Ray halted.
His head slowly turned toward a scrap metal pile.
Whoosh!
A fireball materialized beside his temple and shot forward.
BOOM—!
Burning debris erupted in all directions.
Flames devoured flammable materials, swelling rapidly.
Within seconds, the entire pile became an inferno.
Crackle! KABOOM—!
Each shift of Ray’s gaze repeated the catastrophe.
“D-did Ray just…?”
“Y-yeah…he did.”
Fear ballooned uncontrollably in the children’s hearts.
They needed to run.
Mental images flashed of themselves burning and thrashing on the ground.
Yet their feet remained rooted as if chained.
Gulp.
The children exchanged trembling glances.
Their sole consolation was Ray’s apparent focus on destroying scrap piles—as if cleansing a junkyard.
“Th-the piles are spaced apart…f-fire won’t spread much.”
“R-right! There’s so many…he’ll exhaust himself first.”
As hope flickered—
Whoosh!
Ray pivoted sharply.
His new trajectory led straight toward the residential Sector.
The air froze.
Chests tightened with unvoiced panic. All eyes turned to Philip—their quickest thinker, their anchor in crises.
But Philip had never faced anything like this.
His blood turned to ice.
His shirt clung to him, soaked through.
“Veronica.”
No response.
She kept staring at Ray, face rigid, as if analyzing something invisible.
The weight of leadership settled on Philip. He envisioned the coming disaster—Ray reaching the Sector, unleashing unstoppable fire, civilians panicking…
‘Magic becomes violence when wielded like this. People could die. And they’ll attack Ray trying to stop him.’
“Fetch the water truck from the hotel! NOW!”
“Y-yes!”
“On it!”
Designated runners sprinted away.
The hotel’s makeshift water truck—drums, hoses, and carts cobbled together—could handle contained fires.
Thud—thud—thud—!
Philip turned from the retreating footsteps, ready to confront Ray himself.
‘Maybe we’re overreacting? Maybe he’s still in control—’
“Ray’s in danger!”
Veronica’s shriek snapped everyone to attention.
“His mana barrier’s failing! The flames will consume him!”
The protective shield around Ray flickered, overwhelmed by its own fire.
Why wrap flames around such a frail barrier? The Ray she knew would never be so reckless.
‘Was it because I explained Ignition magic…?’
Tears welled. She bit her lip.
Thud!
Veronica lunged forward—
“Aah!”
—and fell, twisting her ankle.
“What’re you DOING? Save our leader!”
Cedric’s roar cut through the paralysis.
His fury acted like smelling salts, sharpening their minds.
Clarity returned.
Purpose crystallized.
“HYAAAA—!”
A child charged after Cedric.
“SAVE THE CAPTAIN!”
“HE’S OURS TO PROTECT!”
They surged forward as one.
Sssss-BOOM!
Fireballs rained down.
Kids rolled and dodged, the ground erupting in soot and debris where they’d stood moments before.
“It’s us! We’re here!”
“Captain! Snap out of it!”
Ray showed no recognition—only hostility.
“Shirt’s on fire!”
“Strip it off!”
Though terror screamed at them to flee, the children held fast.
Scorched skin, scraped limbs, throbbing bruises—all secondary to the yellow-bright courage burning in their chests.
Cedric’s courage shone brightest.
In his eyes reflected another boy engulfed in flames—the boy who’d once extinguished his despair.
Ssss-KABOOM!
“IT’S ME! CEDRIC!”
Now it was his turn to return the favor.
As the stalemate stretched, disaster struck:
“Gale! Look out!”
A fireball hurtled toward a fallen boy. Too far to help.
CRASH!
A transparent dome shield materialized around Gale.
“What the…?”
Two sets of hurried footsteps approached through the smoke.
“Ray!”
“Hear me! It’s Philip!”
Veronica limped forward, supported by Philip.
Ssss-BOOM!
Another fireball—blocked by a newly formed barrier.
KABOOM! CRASH!
The shield advanced with them, fracturing and reforming under relentless assault.
“I’ll handle the others,” Philip said.
Veronica nodded.
Ray’s flaming gaze locked onto the barrier. Each explosion deepened cracks in the shield and the caster’s stamina.
Veronica’s vision swam.
Gray smoke. Crimson flames.
Between them—Ray’s eyes.
Dry. Brittle.
Filled with hostility and bottomless cold.
‘Mana poisoning.’
The diagnosis clicked. Ray’s habitual mana manipulation had backfired catastrophically.
Terrified? Yes.
But retreat wasn’t an option.
‘His barrier’s failing. He’ll burn alive.’
She remembered Ray’s words:
“Debts must be repaid.”
Now she whispered through tears:
“Debts…must be repaid.”
He’d saved her bookstore. Been her light in lonely days.
Brief acquaintance, profound connection.
Two options:
Stop the flames internally—impossible in his state.
Extinguish them externally—beyond her half-trained abilities.
All she could do was endure until the water truck arrived.
BOOM! CRASH!
The silver lining: Ray’s flames weakened with each attack.
‘Hold on. Just until his fire dies.’
Her barrier’s regeneration slowed. Cracks multiplied.
White mana flooded Veronica’s vessel, coalescing around an existing form at its core.
BOOM!
‘Please.’
CRASH!
‘A little longer.’
BOOM!
‘At least until—’
The shield shattered.
A final fireball—twice as large as before—ignited.
Veronica closed her eyes.
Time stretched.
A tear traced her cheek.
‘Let him survive.’
KAAAA-BOOOOOM!
Heat whipped her hair back. No pain came.
Ray stood before her—flames gone, revealing unscathed skin.
His gaze fixed on the white sun blazing in Veronica’s vessel.
“Veronica…?”
Tears streamed down his face as he beheld its radiance.
