"She has already lost her mind, Buldrokas'tee!"
Kashchey continued to fan the flames. "Did you not hear her? She intends to burn all of Ursus to the ground."
"Your Infected won't be an exception!"
Patriot remained silent, his halberd consistently leveled at Kashchey.
"Facing such an evil god, do you plan to just stand by?" Kashchey grew frantic. "You know we can't give her time to grow, or we all die!"
Despite the urgency in his voice, he hadn't truly grasped the horror of the Frenzied Flame. To him, the fire he saw was merely something being sealed away.
"You seem to misunderstand my nature," Xia Yu said, tilting her head toward him. "You think I am the Frenzied Flame?"
Kashchey turned to her. "Do you still intend to deny it at this stage?"
"No, I just think you're blind," Xia Yu smiled. "The Frenzied Flame... I have never yielded to it. I am the seal, the vessel. I was meant to use my own life to carry this cluster of angry fire away from this world."
"Over the years, I have walked many paths: Victoria, Columbia, Leithanien, Kazimierz... No place could quiet it."
"In Victoria, the Tarans are being systematically persecuted. The Dukes harbor their own ghosts, their ambitious eyes fixed on a vacant crown!"
"In Columbia, this thriving nation looks glorious on the surface, but the grand pioneers' movement is built on the sacrifices of countless Infected. When I discovered they were selling ordinary painkillers to the Infected as suppressants, then sending them into Catastrophe-ridden zones to pioneer wastelands, I knew I couldn't stay there."
"In Leithanien, the passing of the Witch King brought a backlash from the nobility. They are gradually seizing control of social mobility, and contradictions are mounting. Even so, it was a livable country for me—until I realized the Witch King had left a terrifying 'grand finale' over Zwillingstürme."
"In Kazimierz, the prosperity of mobile cities has left most rural areas in a state of de facto anarchy. Catastrophes and man-made disasters ravage those fertile Golden Plains."
"I went to Kjerag. Kjeragandr did not welcome me. Rightly so—who would welcome an unstable time bomb? But that kind deity still gave me one of the few blessings I received on this journey."
"I also went to Sami. Ah, Sami, that generous elder. I intended to spend my remaining days there, but His condition is truly poor. Sami is vital to Terra; I couldn't add more trouble to the guardian of this land."
A hint of self-mockery flashed in Xia Yu's eyes. "Then, I accepted the advice of a Cyclops. She told me that by heading east, I would find my path to salvation."
"So I followed the snowfields of Sami eastward, intending to pass through the no-man's-land between Ursus and Yan, reach the sea, build a raft, and end my life there."
"Originally, I didn't plan on living much longer."
"Until, due to getting lost once, I met Alina. I saw her," Xia Yu looked up at Kashchey. "And Talulah, the last scion of the Red Dragon. I was relieved that her ideals were so pure."
"At the same time, I saw you, the undying Black Snake."
"Do you know? That night, I almost embraced the Frenzied Flame," Xia Yu murmured. "Why? Why must we endure so much suffering?"
"As the last Draco, could I watch you, a despicable Black Snake, steal her body? In Victoria, I endured so the flame wouldn't erupt there. I endured the hardships of this entire journey..."
Her emotions appeared increasingly unstable. Clusters of Frenzied Flame erupted from her body as if the seal could no longer contain them. "I have endured so much! Why did fate make me encounter all this just as I was prepared to die!"
Xia Yu looked up, her eyes burning with a soul-piercing yellow fire. "So, I wavered."
"Looking at these precarious Infected, watching the actions of Ursus, seeing what you've done to Talulah..."
She gave a smile that made Kashchey's skin crawl. "Until now, I suddenly find that perhaps the mad purpose of the Frenzied Flame... isn't so incomprehensible."
Kashchey watched in terror as the flames spread wildly around Xia Yu. Damn it, he had underestimated this thing!
Before, the scale looked like mere Collapsal residue—capable of pollution but not a major threat, far less dangerous than the dragon that crushed ten warships. But as Xia Yu gradually released the restrictions, allowing its true essence to manifest, he realized with a shock: this had absolutely nothing to do with Collapsals!
"Look at this fire," Xia Yu raised her hand. A string of flame crouched submissively in her palm, but in Kashchey's eyes, that 'submissive' fire was baring its fangs at the entire world.
"It was born from the oppression of a race under a once-mighty dynasty. Before those nomads were locked underground to starve to death, their despair and curses summoned this frenzied flame."
"They wanted this fire to burn the world to ash, returning everything to chaos. That way, there will be no more oppression or suffering—only silence."
Xia Yu murmured to the flame, 'I once rejected this vision. How can one deny all the beauty in the world just because of suffering?'
'But after this journey, even if I won't admit it aloud, my heart has begun to understand those desperate souls.'
'Yet, I was still holding to my oath, wanting to take it beyond the borders of civilization. Until I came to Ursus.'
"Heh, Ursus," Xia Yu's smile gradually distorted as Kashchey's heart hammered. "It uses suffering as power and chaos as its vision. In other countries, only my will wavered. The seal on the Frenzied Flame remained untouched."
"Until I came to Ursus. Seeing those mines on the snowfields, looking at a powerful nation built on piles of white bones... the power of the Frenzied Flame surged for the first time, to the point where the seal in my body can no longer hold it..."
She shifted her gaze from the flame to Kashchey. "Despicable Black Snake, I will give you one last chance."
Xia Yu looked mockingly at the pale-faced Snake. "Come. Persuade me. Make me abandon this dangerous thought."
"Otherwise..." The flames around her surged instantly. "I will release the Frenzied Flame and burn Ursus to nothing but ash!"
"...You can't do it," Kashchey countered, though his face was grim. "Ursus spans east to west; it is vast. A mere spark..."
"Want to see?" Xia Yu's lips curled. "How the Frenzied Flame destroys a land?"
The fire ignited.
First the air, then the town beneath her feet, then the snowy forests on the distant mountains... the bright yellow fire seemed to ignite the world in the blink of an eye!
"Over these months, tens of thousands of Infected have gathered here," Xia Yu said softly amidst the Black Snake's horror. "They were rescued from the mines by the Guerillas. Their suffering is enough to ignite the land for a thousand miles."
"And those rescued are only a minority. Ten or a hundred times more Infected die of exhaustion, beatings, or cold in the snowfields and mines before the Guerillas can reach them..."
The shadow of the Great Dragon manifested behind Xia Yu again. "When I fully embrace the Frenzied Flame and spread my wings, even a thousand miles of snowfield is but a moment."
"I will sow the seeds of fire from the sky, igniting suffering. Kashchey, do you think you are fighting me?"
Xia Yu mocked, "No. You will be fighting the millions of oppressed in Ursus, fighting the suffering you brought upon them, paying the price for your recklessness!"
"In such a war, the proud Ursus military can do nothing. Are the grassroots soldiers not also members of the suffering? When my fire burns, whether they are willing or not, the suffering they carry will push them toward destruction."
"How do you plan to fight me then?" Xia Yu looked at Kashchey. "Will the noble lords of the Empire personally pilot warships to charge me?"
"True, I likely cannot burn the entire world; many entities won't just stand by. But burning all of Ursus before they can react? That is more than enough!"
Kashchey was utterly stunned.
As the flame was fully released, he finally saw the essence of the Frenzied Flame.
A chaotic fire that burns everything.
It truly could follow the trail of suffering to burn anywhere. The vast territory of Ursus was irrelevant under this irrational trait and the wings of a dragon.
Now, Kashchey completely abandoned his small schemes.
He had to save Ursus.
"I can tell you were once a noble knight," Kashchey chose his words carefully, speaking slowly to Xia Yu. "Using yourself as a seal to rid the world of the Frenzied Flame's calamity—you are undoubtedly a hero!"
"After traveling through many nations and enduring countless hardships, you still thought of taking this disaster beyond civilization. It shows how sublime your nature is. I truly judged a person of virtue by the standards of a base man."
Though he could not fathom where this fire came from, it didn't stop him from praising Xia Yu. If she lost her mind and decided to self-destruct along with Ursus, what then?
Even if the fire didn't end Ursus, it would leave the nation riddled with holes. In the current international climate, being wounded meant certain death. Other nations were like powder kegs looking for a vent; if Ursus were severely weakened, the former anti-Gaul alliance might just become an anti-Ursus alliance.
Kazimierz would be all too happy to take Ursus's place.
This was something Kashchey could not accept. Why did he plot so much? Was it not to create a powerful Ursus?
"Mm-hmm," Xia Yu nodded. "And?"
"I wish to explain the reasons for my actions," Kashchey spread his arms wide. "I occupied Talulah's body, originally planning to control the Infected, lead them to seize an Ursus border city, and then find an opportunity to provoke a war between Ursus and Yan."
"Ursus was founded on martial might. Years of eastward expansion have enriched the military nobles. The country cannot function without them. Now that there is no war, the conflict between the military group represented by the Great Nobles and the imperial power represented by the Emperor and civil officials is becoming glaringly obvious."
"The current Emperor lacks his father's ability. And even his father—the one who led Ursus to win the Battle of the Four Emperors—was betrayed after losing to Kazimierz and Higashi. What of him, who has no achievements?"
Kashchey spoke with genuine emotion. "If a war isn't provoked now to divert internal pressure, the infighting will only worsen until the country splits. A brutal civil war is imminent."
"So I had to do this. Provoke a war. It doesn't matter who wins."
"If Yan wins, Ursus only loses some troops and cities. They won't make territorial demands; they have enough internal problems as it is."
This was why he chose Yan over an old rival like Kazimierz or Leithanien—if Ursus lost to them, they would actually invade.
"If Ursus wins, internal contradictions are diverted by the spoils of war, and the nation moves forward."
"Even if we lose, enough military nobles will be buried to dismantle that interest group, allowing the voice of Ursus to be unified."
Kashchey looked at Xia Yu. "Therefore, this war is a necessity for Ursus. Talulah's identity is vital to the plan."
"I hope you can understand. I have reasons why I must do this..."
"And what does that have to do with me?" Xia Yu laughed mockingly. "What is the life or death of your Ursus to me?"
"On the contrary, I would love for you to explode right now. Let the nobles, the Emperor, and the bureaucrats declare each other traitors while their warships clash. Then I'll spread the Frenzied Flame across the land and burn Ursus into a white wasteland."
"But what about the Infected behind you?" Kashchey looked at Patriot, FrostNova, and the Shieldguards. "Do you intend to burn them all to death as well?"
Xia Yu was about to say yes when Patriot raised his halberd.
His scarlet eyes locked onto Kashchey, and he spoke word for word: "I would ask for nothing better!"