The fire still raged wildly, towering high in front of the man. Tongues of flame danced and licked at one another, sending heat out across the area around him. The glow of the blaze lit up his figure, revealing a face that stayed cold, without the slightest change of expression.
But beneath that outward calm, something inside him was trembling.
The incantation he had just spoken still lingered. Every word he had uttered seemed to leave a heavy sensation on his tongue, reminding him of a power he had long possessed but rarely used. It was as if he had just reopened something he had deliberately kept shut for a very long time.
The man did not move right away. His eyes stayed on the blaze in front of him, watching the red and orange flames keep climbing, swallowing the creature he had just faced. Its body now lay in the middle of the inferno, hidden beneath flames that burned on without pause.
"Ah... I used it again at last. Nagini is going to be furious," he murmured.
His words sounded like a small complaint aimed at himself. There was no clear regret in his tone, only an awareness that what he had done this time might draw Nagini's anger. Even so, he did not look away from the fire. His face was as cold as before, as if the terrifying sight in front of him were nothing that deserved any further reaction.
***************
Elsewhere, Rika was struggling to lift Arya's unconscious body. With great effort, she slipped one of his arms over her shoulder and held him up so he wouldn't fall. Arya's weight forced her to put in extra strength just to keep her balance.
Her footsteps slowly lost their steadiness. Several times she had to adjust her grip so that Arya stayed supported and didn't slide off her shoulder. But she did not stop. Arya was still unconscious, and Rika kept trying to carry him away from that place.
"Hang in there..." Rika whispered. Her voice was so faint it was almost drowned out by the sounds around her. The words sounded like a prayer for Arya, a hope that he would make it through the situation they were in.
"I've finally found you, little girl," said Nagini.
The woman's voice was sharp and piercing, as if each word could cut through the silence between them. Her arrival was so sudden that Rika stopped in her tracks. Rika staggered slightly. She instinctively turned toward Nagini, fixing her eyes on the woman in the red gown who now stood not far from her. Nagini looked back at her with a threatening gaze. That look made Rika realize at once that this woman was not someone to be taken lightly.
"What are you doing? I'm trying to help him, you know?" Rika tried to sound strong, but her voice shook.
Nagini looked at her sharply. "And what exactly can you do?" she asked, full of mockery.
Nagini began to walk toward Rika and Arya. Her steps were slow and calm, without the slightest sign of hurry. Her red gown moved with each step, while her gaze stayed on Rika. The distance between them kept shrinking, making the air around them feel even more suffocating.
As Nagini came closer, Rika slowly lowered Arya from her shoulder. With careful movements, she laid him on the ground, making sure her friend wouldn't be bumped or hurt any further. Her hands hesitated for a moment before finally letting go of Arya completely.
Fear showed clearly in her movements. Her gaze was tense, and both of her hands trembled slightly. Even so, she kept going without rushing. Arya now lay unconscious in front of her. Meanwhile, movement in the fog drew attention once more.
The huge figure who had earlier been thrown back by Rika's attack now reappeared from the clumps of fog. His eyes went straight to Rika. When he saw the girl standing not far from Arya, it was as if he remembered his original goal. Without wasting any time, Buto charged at them.
"He's my prey!" Buto roared.
His deep voice echoed through the fog. His huge body moved fast, running toward Rika and Arya with steps that pounded the ground. But before Buto could reach Rika, Nagini noticed his movement and turned her eyes away. Her gaze, which had been on Rika, now swung sharply toward Buto as he came charging at them.
In an instant, Buto froze in place. His massive body suddenly lost the ability to move, as if every joint had been locked by something invisible. Even his steps, which had been so savage a moment before, stopped at once. Then a tremendous force slammed into his body.
Nagini did not need to lift a hand or say a single word. Buto's body was hurled away at incredible speed. The giant shot far from where he had stood, smashing through building after building along his path.
Crash after crash rang out. The walls crumbled as Buto's body punched through them, leaving ruins and dust scattered through the air. The force of the blast carried him through nearly every building along his path before he finally landed far from Rika and Arya. And all of it happened because of a single glance from Nagini. The woman in the red gown didn't even need to change her position. She stayed where she was, and turned her eyes back to Rika, as if to say that throwing a giant aside took no real effort at all.
Rika clenched both fists tightly. Her fingers trembled as she held back a mix of anger, fear, and despair that was growing harder to contain. Her eyes flicked now and then to Arya, lying unconscious, before returning to Nagini, who stood blocking her way.
"No matter what, I have to take him to Mama. She'll surely know how to save him. Don't get in my way!"
Rika's voice shook. Even as she tried to keep it firm, there was a pain she could not hide. She wasn't trying to start a fight.
To her, taking Arya to her mother was the only path still open to save someone she considered a friend.
Nagini raised an eyebrow slightly. Rika's words had caught her attention, especially when the girl mentioned someone she called Mama.
"Mama? Who do you mean?" she asked, sounding a little puzzled.
Rika did not answer right away. Instead, she glared at Nagini even harder. Tears began to well in her eyes, blurring her vision a little. But she tried to hold them back so they wouldn't fall. Both of her hands were still clenched, and her exhausted body seemed to be fighting to stay upright.
"Don't get in my way!" she shouted.
Her voice rose higher. This time she was trying to fight the fear she felt toward Nagini. Rika's cry echoed, breaking the silence between them. Nagini suddenly moved at a speed too fast for the eye to follow. In an instant, her attack struck Rika and threw her hard into the fog, and a sound rang out.
CRASH!
A heavy impact echoed as Rika's body slammed into a wall. She then fell and collapsed onto the ground. Pain spread from where she had been hit. Her head was bowed, but her eyes went wide as she stared at her palms, covered in dust.
"Enough of this drama. You don't even know who you are," Nagini said coldly.
Her eyes were fixed on Rika, still sprawled on the ground. Her expression did not change in the slightest, as if the girl's outburst of emotion and despair meant nothing to her at all. Her tone was flat, but every word carried a firmness that left no room for argument.
The girl slowly raised her head. Blood was still visible at the corner of her lips, and her breathing was heavy from the blow she had just taken. Even though her body ached, she tried to gather her strength and look back at Nagini.
"I don't care who I am. All I know is that I have to save him. If you want to stop me, then I'll fight you," Rika said.
Her voice trembled. There was clear weakness in every word, but her resolve did not waver. She knew how huge the gap in power between them was. But none of that changed her decision. Nagini studied Rika for a few moments. Then the corner of her mouth slowly lifted into a sneer that showed how little she thought of her.
"Try, little girl. But I warn you, I won't hold back."
Her words were calm, almost without emotion. There was no doubt in her voice, and no empty threat. Nagini seemed to truly be giving Rika a chance to fight her, while also warning her that she had no intention of limiting her power this time. Rika moved first. With what little strength she had left, she lunged at Nagini and unleashed a flurry of attacks. Punch after punch was aimed at the woman in the red gown, followed by kicks that tried to reach every gap in her defense. But not a single attack landed.
Nagini dodged every strike with ease. Her body moved as lightly as the wind, as if she could read the direction of each blow before Rika even threw it. Sometimes she only needed to shift her body or step slightly to the side to make Rika's attack miss. Even when Rika tried to speed up, Nagini avoided her without any sign of difficulty.
Rika's punches and kicks kept coming, but none of them made any difference. The distance between them changed again and again, while Nagini stayed calm against every attack.
Then, at last, something inside Rika began to change. The change happened slowly, but it was clear enough to see. The color of her eyes, once golden brown, began to shift, turning a blazing red. Her gaze changed so sharply that it seemed as if another being had arrived, using Rika's body.
"Stop bothering us," she said.
Her voice sounded strange and heavy. Two different voices seemed to be layered into one, creating an unnatural echo from behind her lips. Nagini, who had been dodging Rika's attacks all this time, finally stopped moving. She narrowed her eyes, watching the change in the girl before her. A faint smile slowly appeared on her face, as if the appearance of this being were no surprise to her.
"So you've finally shown yourself," Nagini murmured.
Her eyes stayed on Rika, or more precisely, on the being that now spoke through the girl's body.
"But I'm sorry, I will not back down. I will destroy you, along with all your puppets."
This time, Nagini's voice was far firmer. The relaxed manner from before was gone. She stood facing the being that had just emerged from within Rika, her gaze showing that she truly meant to put an end to it.