His gaze shifted to Aeloria as he recited the last words.
Just then, as if summoning the wrath of the seven layers of hell, the flame engulfed Aeloria. It covered her entire body like a blanket of fire. Though the flames itself was invisible, her clothes ignited into the familiar orange color of fire, burning every pore of her skin.
With her clothes gone, she was covered in the fire like an orange and crimson gown, only, this gown covered her face too.
The man watched, expecting to hear screams of agony, however, the Cannibal's expression remained unchanged.
'I know it's painful because the flame does not only burn your flesh, but also ignites from the inside out. The flames will not stop until every inch of her is burned to ash. This attack requires me to sacrifice a fourth of my years after all. So how is she so calm?' The man's face was a mask of confusion.
Aeloria had been through so much agony and grief, so much so that pain became a close friend of hers. This was something the Thornsleeper had no way of knowing.
'I have to admit, this is quite painful. I didn't expect him to b able to do something like this without even using his viper abilities. If only I could use the cursed tongue to counter. Sadly enough, my throat is burned from the inside, making it difficult to speak. And I'm not proficient enough to use the cursed tongue with just a thought. What's worst, I'm healing slower than the damages the flames are dealing. I can't attack too, since my flesh is tearing faster than it heals, it'll only make my attacks predictable. I thought I had fully recovered from King Draven's encounter, but now I see it was only the important parts of my body that recovered first.'
Migard dashed forward in an attempt to attack the Thornsleeper. 'Maybe if I take him out, the flames will go away too.'
However, Migard took two sidesteps the moment he noticed a presence behind him. His quick movement, allow him to evade an ambush from Kromel whom he had taken down earlier.
However, Kromel was not the only one attacking.
Migard had charged in to face the caster of the flame, as such, he was unprepared for the synchronized ambush from Kromel and Dargo.
He managed to evade the sneak attack from Kromel, however, he could not escape the pill attack from Dargo.
Dargo slammed the pill directly into the face of Migard, exploding it on impact and forcing him to inhale most of it on the spot.
Just like Hanon and Krazel, Migard fell to the ground unable to command his own limbs.
"I have to admit, you were one annoying opponent." Moseah said to Migard as he approached Hanon.
"Seriously, what does it take to make you guys stay dead?" Migard spoke as he forced his himself up, however his body did not respond.
"There's only one set of group capable of harming us, they are the Protectors." As he spoke, his gaze shifted towards the unconscious Hanon.
'I should feed him this.' Moseah took out a tiny bottle filled with black liquid. 'It would be troublesome if he woke up before we could complete our task.' He positioned his hand to pour the liquid in Hanon's mouth. However, a flaming feet slammed into the side of his head, sending him crashing all the way into the oak tree.
There stood Aeloria burning from the flame. Black smoke filled the air, overshadowing the white smoke that healed her flesh, followed by the foul smell of burning flesh.
The only problem was that, Moseah had managed to feed him three drops before she attacked him.
'Judging by the smell and smoke, I'm certain she's burning, so how is she still walking around in that condition?' Zilel could not contain his expression as he stared at Aeloria in wonder.
Aeloria wanted to ask what the liquid he fed Hanon was, however, due to the constant burn of her throat, she could not speak yet.
'If you won't die, then I'll have to give you a little push.' The caster of the flame thought as he prepared another attack.
"On me, all of you, we move in at once." With that, the four charged in, circling the burning maiden.
"Hells, I can't stand the foul stentch, how has she not choked on it already?' Kromel twisted his face in disgust as he got closer to the smell.
Kromel and Dargo aimed for the tendons in her calves while Moseah and the caster aimed for the ones in her arms. Aeloria had used the last bit of her will to stop Moseah from feeding Hanon the strange liquid. Now, her movements were slow and disorganized, unable to react to the attacks properly.
They all struck true, forcing Aeloria to her knees as blood oozed from her opened flesh, sizzling in the flame like burning oil.
'Those flames are the real deal. I extended the dagger enough to avoid coming into contact with it, yet the heat still turned my skin black.' Dargo squeezed his face in agony as he stared at his burnt wrist.
"It was tough, but this is the end." Moseah said, now aiming the dagger at Aeloria's throat.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you. You see, Lady Nyxelene has been watching us the entire time." The moment Migard said those words. All the Thornsleepers withdrew their attacks, scanning the space for any sign of the Queen.
The tension in their shoulders eased the moment they realized they were the only ones in the field.
"Curses, to think you would use such a childish trick, do you think this is a board game?" Dargo cursed but could not calm the uneven beating of his heart. 'I thought I was dead for a moment there. Lady Nyxelene, the frost Queen. The only human who is worshiped by her people. Even her subjects thinks she is above the ruler of the third sky. The All-mother, the last person I want to cross paths with. My heart won't stop beating just from the thought that she might pop out of nowhere.' Dargo looked at his companions and noticed that he wasn't alone. All of them had weary eyes as they scanned the space multiple times.
"I've changed my mind, let's deal with that idiot first." Feeling agitated that they had been mocked, the caster pointed his dagger at Migard.
Migard then looked at Aeloria as the men charged towards him. He gave her a smile that said, 'you should use this chance to escape.' However, one thing Migard did not know was that, the burning maiden was going nowhere without Hanon. Since she was still burning, touching Hanon would only hurt the Protector, and so her only option was to get rid of the Thornsleepers.
The four Thornsleepers had charged towards Migard, however, they all stopped in their tracks when they heard the galloping of a horse. Atop sat a man with blond hair, looking down at the burning maiden. "I see my arrival was untimely. My apologies, everyone."