Envidia was now enveloped in flames.
Her body which was previously made from molten rock and lightly coated with a weak set of flames now raged with power.
It was power which she had acquired through her own jealousy.
Envidia did not know this herself, but the power which she acquired through the skill [Allocation of Jealousy] was a summation of the jealousy she held towards all who she envied.
The girls who had beaten her senseless, while Envidia was powerless to fight back.
The Knights who mocked her day in and day out.
And most importantly her own sister, and the woman who acted as her 'mother', Misticia.
Envidia made her way down the mountain as a number of trees caught fire. The snow around her feet melted as she walked and the ground became charred.
"Why do I have to be the only one??? Why am I the only one who is treated differently? Isn't that the way it's always been? Just what is it.... that made me so different?"
Envidia talked to herself with madness as her walk transformed into a sprint. She barreled down the mountain towards the village.
"Heh.... haha.... sister, it looks like I really was different from everyone.... heh.... it looks like they were right after all about me, weren't they? I'm just a good for nothing troublemaker.... it's because I'm a flame elemental, isn't it? We're just.... monsters, aren't we? Hahahahahaha.... even father was nothing more than a traitor!!! And it looks like I'm going to follow in his footsteps!!!"
At this point Envidia began floating above the ground, her own body propelled with her new flames.
Her hair was restored and more prominent than ever, forming a zigzagged pony tail which draped all the way down her back while flaring back and forth.
Covering her body was a dress of flame, and she flew through the sky towards the city at immense speed.
In mere seconds Envidia had arrived at the bottom of the mountain top, stopping before the walls.
Looking up, she noticed the knights before her.
"What.... who is that?"
"A flame elemental!? And just when we got rid of that little one...."
"Do you think....."
The knights looked to one another and then back to Envidia with shock, as if they had come to a realization.
"Like father like daughter....."
"Did that brat go and bring another one of them here?"
The knights looked at Envidia with anger, grabbing their icy bows from their backs.
"Flame elemental!! You are not welcome here!! Leave for your own city or be shot down!!"
"If you intend to attack this city then you will not make it past us!!"
The knights shouted to Envidia who looked up to them with a crazed grin.
"Ah..... do you not recognize me? How jealous I am of you.... to be able to simply forget the face of the person you tormented....."
"Tormented? What are you talking about!? We of the Knights of Iciclaris would never torment another person!! We have honor greater than any, and we will serve our Captain until our dy-"
"Quit the bullshit. You really don't recognize me, do you? What a joke. You think that I'm some outsider who just made her way here? Is that who you think I am?"
"O....of course!!! We've never seen you in our lives!! I would certainly remember if someone with your.... appearance were to encounter me."
"My appearance? Ah, that's right. You'd remember if a flame elemental were to encounter you, right? Because you wouldn't spend a moment without shitting yourself over how much you hate us."
Envidia walked up to the wall, sticking her own hand to it.
"W-what are you doing!? Are you trying to melt the wall? Fool!! This wall is made from reinforced ice, and won't go down so easily with only a single attacker!!! Men, fire on her!!! She is attacking the city!!! There is no longer a need to hold back!!!"
Envidia merely looked up with a grin, placing her own hand in front of her face.
Holding her palm out in their direction, she spoke to the men.
"Go ahead and shoot me."
The men loosed a volley of icy arrows, which crystalized in the air as they hurled towards Envidia.
As soon as they came near her, her hand erupted into flames, melting not only the arrows that were shot on her, but a large portion of the wall next to her.
The jaws of the knights dropped as they watched their attacks be so easily repelled, and Envidia then walked forward- straight through the wall.
As if it never existed in the first place, the wall melted before she even came into contact with it until she had made her way straight through the wall.
As she exited, the wall crumbled to the ground- unable to hold the stress which it previously bore after a chunk of it's base had melted away.
"Agh!!!"
The men around the area were killed in the collapse underneath the rubble, screaming only for a moment before they were crushed and shattered.
"Hmm.... I feel like my power has reduced just slightly. I suppose whoever was inside that crystal was right.... I am literally running off of my own jealousy."
Envidia looked at her hands with a light giggle, entering the city without a care.
"Then.... I guess I won't have a problem. After all, I'll never run out of that so long as sister remains alive."
----
Three girls walked together, laughing as they traversed across the city of ice.
"Did you see her face? Is she really a flame elemental? She's so weak!!! They're the ones who have always been on the offensive, so how is she so weak? It's hilarious!!"
"And did you see her when you mentioned her father? I'd kill to see that look again. Her eyes were all like 'don't ever speak of my father.' What a joke!"
"Hahaha!!"
With mocking expressions the girls made their way to their homes.
"Do you think she'll remember and stop trailing her sister?"
"I don't know about that. We might have to give her another lesson."
"What, is she trying to follow in her footsteps or something? A loser like her? She'll never mount up to Evelyn."
"Mhm."
"That's right. And why would she? Evelyn is the future Captain of the Knights for a reason. They can't just pick anyone."
"Ah really? How unfortunate. I guess some people just aren't fit to lead others. Isn't that right?"
"Yes yes. That's exactly the way it is. Wait.... who said that?"
The three girls without a doubt heard a voice, yet it was not one of their own.
Turning around, they saw behind them a woman dressed in flames, folding her arms and leaning against a building as she stared at her nails.
"Nice to see you again so soon. So? What's next on the agenda? Perhaps go out for a meal or go drinking for the night? Or maybe you're going to go to the clubs to pick up some guys like the whores you are."
"Wha- who are you!? What is a flame elemental...."
"Do you really not remember the face of the person you just beat up? I guess you messed me up so much that I look like a different person. After all.... those knights didn't recognize me either."
The girls looked at Envidia with disgust, however this disgust soon turned to fear as the woman stepped towards them- the ice beneath her feet melting with each step she took.
"How fragile this city is. And to think that I once couldn't even melt the ground with my flames. I guess you're right, I was pretty weak. But....."
At that moment, the being of flames disappeared.
In a moment she reappeared, inside the water elemental.
"Not anymore."
A vapor spread throughout the air. These were the only remains of the girl which signaled to the other two that she had not merely disappeared.
"Agh!!!!!"
"Help!!!!! Knights!!!! Somebody!!!! There's.... there's a flame elemental here!!!!"
"Kya!!!!!!"
The girls screamed in terror as they backed away from Envidia, who looked over to them.
"So when you're on the attack you threaten people so they won't snitch on you, but the moment you're faced with danger yourself you're crying to the Knights?"
Envidia let out a light pfft before she disappeared in front of the other two, too fast for them to see. In an instant her flaming hands were inside the heads of the girls, whose lives flickered away just like the sparks of electricity that jolted about one of them.
"Tormenting those weaker than you is something that you were always doing.... ah, how jealous I was.... how much I wanted to be a part of that, but you never let me.... I was never able to take part because I was the weak one."
The bodies of the two dropped to the ground, the crystals which lay inside them shattering and their elemental coverings spreading into the atmosphere.
"Now I see why you did this so much though. It really is enjoyable."
Envidia walked forth, leaving the bodies in the middle of the torn up streets- heading towards the barracks of the Knights.
"Now there are just a few more people I would like to take care of. Ah.... how envious I am..... but perhaps tonight my envy will be soothed."
----
Evelyn and Melissa arrived at the barracks together.
"Envidia.... got into trouble again today, didn't she?"
"She did..."
The two walked awkwardly, unsure what to say.
"She...."
Evelyn started to say something, but stopped herself.
"She's becoming a bit too rebellious. Don't you think?"
Melissa said these words, looking to Evelyn with a concerned expression.
"She sticks out too much.... and her own actions make her stick out even more. At this rate... do you think she'll even be able to graduate? Isn't there some sort of limit on how many times you can get a detention?"
The two looked down, slightly concerned.
"I.... I think she'll be fine. She's always just figured things out on her own. She.... is stronger than me. Even without the help of the knights or Misticia, she's always managed one way or another."
Evelyn spoke kindly of her sister, with a tone of admiration that contradicted her own behavior in public.
"If I was in the same spot as her.... I'm not sure what I would do. But she is stronger than me, and for that reason she has always been fine."
"I see. Then, we had better hurry up and become respected knights!"
Melissa smiled as the two looked forward.
"We may be the future Captain and Vice Captain, but that doesn't mean we can slack off, right? We better work hard so that we can actually become strong and respected knights for this city!! We'll lead the other knights and spend our lives helping people. Right?"
"Mhm! We'll do that! But first we need to become stronger than we are now."
Evelyn gripped the sword at her side.
It was her mother's blade.
It was just a handle without a blade. As an ice elemental, her mother would create a blade using her own magic from this handle, and through many years of practice Evelyn had eventually managed to train herself enough to use this blade.
"Have you noticed the way she is treated then?"
"I....."
Evelyn looked down with guilt.
"I've noticed.... but I don't know if there's anything I can do.... won't doing something make things worse for her?"
"Maybe you're right...."
The two looked down at the ground as they entered the building, welcomed by a woman made from mist.
"Welcome home, girls!! How was your day at school?"
"It was... fine."
"It was good."
The two replied quickly as the woman placed on a table dishes of frozen meat which had been cooked and then chilled in a freezer.
"I've prepared dinner. Come, let's eat."
"Shouldn't we wait for... Envidia?"
Evelyn earnestly asked this question as she placed her bag down next to her while she took a seat.
"Oh, she's probably in detention again, isn't she? There's no need to wait for a rebellious girl like her. If she's late that's her fault, isn't it?"
With a conflicted expression, Evelyn replied slowly.
"I.... suppose so...."
"Eat up before it gets warm. You don't want it to get all soggy and floppy."
"Mhm..."
The two girls and the woman began to eat together as a family, without so much as waiting for Envidia to arrive home.
"I love you two so much.... Melissa, you're doing so well in your studies and in your training.... and Evelyn, you remind me every day more and more of your mother. I miss her so much..."
"Ah, thank you."
Evelyn smiled at the compliment before finishing off her meal.
"It was delicious. I'll be heading upstairs to study now."
"So diligent. You two are always working so hard at everything."
"Mmm...."
The girls got up from their seats, heading towards the stairs.
It was at that moment that they heard a strange creaking sound.
"Hm? What.... what's that sound?"
Evelyn and Melissa looked around as the building seemed to creak with strain, and suddenly the front door began melting.
"I'm hoooome!!! Ah!!! Cold meat again!? You know that hurts my heart, don't you Misticia? Hahaha.... but I guess it's not like you ever cared about that."
Envidia burst into the home, melting everything around her as she walked.
The three couldn't help but lower their jaws in shock at watching the person before them who was bathed in flames.
"W.... who are you?"
"What are you doing in our home?!"
The two girls hugged one another in fear at seeing this stranger burst into their home, but Misticia glared straight at the woman with pure hatred.
"Envidia.... you.... you've gone and done it now."
"What's with that glare, Misticia? Ah ah.... is that the same look you gave my father?"
Keeping her eyes on Envidia, Misticia held out a hand and barked out an order to the girls behind her as she stood up.
"Girls. Get out of here. Envidia has lost her mind."
Evelyn heard these words, and her own heart sunk.
'Eh?'
'That.... that's.... my sister?'
Frozen with shock, Evelyn could not move.
"Come on. We need to leave."
Melissa grabbed her hand and pulled Evelyn away, but Evelyn was too overcome with shock to move.
"Envidia? Is.... is that really you?"
The being before her was an existence of chaos.
She was a flaming ball of jealousy, and her eyes were filled with madness.
"Of course it's me, sister!!! Even you don't remember me? Hahaha... I guess not, right? After all.... you were always too good to even so much as look at me."
"Get away from here, girls!!! This place is dangerous!!!", Misticia shouted as she unsheathed her own sword of mist.
"I'm dangerous? Ah, I guess that's how you've always seen me, isn't it? I'm a threat. I'm the daughter of a traitor. I'm a being of flame in a city of ice. Isn't that right?"
With a smirk, Envidia stepped forward casually.
"And you've always been afraid that I would melt everything around me."
"Silence!!!"
Misticia shouted out with fury towards Envidia, losing her composure.
Holding her sword in her hands, she didn't back down before the flaming woman.
"What are you doing with yourself, Envidia? What have you spent your life doing? You've done nothing but rebel against everyone and everything around you."
Closing her eyes, Misticia gripped her sword tightly while glancing back to the girls behind her.
"If your mother saw you, she would surely be disappointed."
As Misticia said these words, Evelyn looked to her sister with heavy heart.
'Sister.... what.... what happened?'
With these thoughts in her mind, she watched as Envidia laughed it off as she always had.
"Hah..... heh.... hahaha... I'm a disappointment?"
Holding her flaming hand to her forehead, Envidia began to laugh even louder.
"Hahahahaha!!!!! A disappointment, you say?"
The laughter stopped, and Envidia gave the mist elemental before her a sinister grin.
"Is that all?"
These words dropped like a hammer, and in an instant Evelyn could feel herself sweating horribly.
'This heat.... ugh.....'
The pressure was immense.
It happened in a moment, but before she even knew it Envidia was walking towards the mist elemental.
She merely walked forward.
She didn't disappear, nor did she increase her own speed to a level which Evelyn could not see.
She merely walked.
"You're approaching me? I'll strike you down if you come any closer, Envidia."
"For what reason, Misticia? Do you feel threatened?"
Envidia continued walking forward, the ice around her melting.
"Do you feel the flames of death approaching?"
"You've gone too far, Envidia. I didn't want to do this."
Misticia then shot forth, thrusting at the heart of Envidia.
Closing her eyes, Envidia dodged the thrust with ease and walked straight into Misticia, whose mist dissipated, and her eyes went wide as she was engulfed in flames.
"Goodbye, woman."
Evelyn watched as the woman who raised her was killed by the very sister who she had lived with all her life.
Tears of ice came to her eyes before melting under the immense amounts of heat which Envidia was giving off, sliding down her face.
"Sister..... why?"
"Why?"
Envidia begun to laugh as she heard the desperate voice of her sister.
"Why...."
Just as desperate, Melissa spoke breathlessly.
"Why.... did you kill my mother?"
Envidia turned around, walking out of the building which continued to melt in her presence.
"Hahaha.... why indeed. Why does nothing ever go the way you want? Sister, Melissa, I will give you a little hint."
The woman walked away with eyes closed, not even bothering to turn back.
"Life is unfair. From the moment we all are born, everyone else has more. It's as if we were created merely to writhe in our jealousy of the things which others have.... and those which we do not."
----