"The flames of pure magia?", Seventeen asked.
Prime mused, "You mean the Purity Flame?"
"That's the same name we use.", Zephyrus remarked.
Prime thought for a minute, "In fact, the Purity Flame actually makes sense.", he said.
"Hold up.", Seventeen was confused, "How come I've never heard of this flame?"
"Ah.", Zephyrus said, "It is not unusual that you've never heard of the Purity Flame. Only a few know of its existence. You do know of the different flames right?", he asked.
Seventeen nodded, "Of course. I learned about them in the library and also from the information provided by Prime."
"It is common knowledge among fire users that not all flames are the same. Some are born with different and unique flames.", he said.
Zephyrus nodded. "Exactly. And a good example is your flame. It's called the Phoenix Flame, a rare flame that is not only powerful but can heal the user and boost their abilities."
Seventeen opened his arm and a small golden-red flame sparked to life, "Healing magia is useless on me since I am an inorganic being but I can benefit from the ability boost. It was also able to melt the ice of the Aevas."
"Yep. Only a few flames can do it.", Zephyrus confirmed it.
"Anyway. According to the Vaharis King, Jerares, this monster can only be destroyed by the Magia Flame.", he said.
Prime thought aloud, "The detonation of the Silver Pin created Purity Flames for a moment which wounded Lazarus. So the monster's weakness is the Purity Flame."
"Well. About that.", Zephyrus pointed out, "We currently don't have Purity Flames. It is the rarest flame in this world. It is so powerful that it can burn space and time."
"What does that mean?", Seventeen asked. "Exactly as it sounds. The Purity Flames leave a tear in space where there is no flow of time. It is a pretty complex process. I'll explain it later.", Prime answered.
"Gee. I think I should expect a lecture about Spacetime.", Seventeen replied. He turned to Zephyrus, "What do you mean that there are no Purity Flames?"
Zephyrus sighed, "Purity Flames must've been abundant ten thousand years ago but now only one individual possesses it."
"Who?"
"The strongest spirit in the world. Inferno the Fallen Slayer.", Zephyrus answered.
Seventeen whistled, "Inferno. That is a good name. I guess he's a fire spirit? Does it mean he's the strongest fire spirit too?"
Zephyrus nodded, "Indeed. His power is only second to the mythical queen of spirits."
"Sounds powerful indeed.", Seventeen remarked, "So where is he?"
"We have no idea. He is a mysterious spirit despite his reputation for destroying thousands of Fallen.", Zephyrus shook his head.
"He's a possessive spirit who needs a host or master to use his powers. Unlike other spirits, Inferno doesn't have a physical body.", Prime suddenly spoke up.
The other two stared at him, "Is that true?", Zephyrus asked in shock. Prime nodded. "But how do you know that?", Seventeen asked.
Prime smiled, "This world isn't the only one where Inferno can exist."
"So Inferno also existed in your world.", Seventeen understood what his creator said.
Prime nodded, "In my world, there were only four races, human, vampire, dragon, and demon. But our demons were completely different from the ones in this world. They hate the guts of the other races."
"Unlike Dragon Slayers, there were only seven Demon Slayers and Inferno was the seventh. The interesting thing was that Inferno's power can be passed down from one person to another but there was a condition for it to awaken."
"And what is the condition?", Zephyrus asked, intrigued.
Prime had a grim smile on his face, "Inferno's power can only be awakened by the death of the other six demon slayers."
Seventeen whistled, "Damn. I hope our Inferno isn't like that."
Zephyrus frowned, "We have Fallen Slayers but they are only able to kill Fallen who are up to CAT 1. But Inferno is on another level. He killed thousands of Fallen regardless of their strength. Fallen dragons, demons, vampires, half-bloods. All fear him."
"But if what Prime said is true and he's a possessive type of spirit. Then we have to find his host and train them if the power hasn't awakened.", he suggested.
"What if the power is already awakened?", Seventeen asked. "Then they would already know.", Prime replied.
Zephyrus nodded, "The Purity Flame is no small matter. The Council of Seventy and the Cardinals will know about its existence, especially the Fire Cardinal."
"So we have to find this guy.", Seventeen mused. He sighed, "This is going to be hard."
"We will do that. I will utilize my connections to get any information about Inferno but before that.", Zephyrus said, "We must first go to Ethereos and see the creature."
Prime nodded, "Very well. I will relay any information I can remember through Seventeen. Since I am just a consciousness I cannot do much. I would be needing your help, Seventeen.", he looked at the android.
Seventeen shrugged, "Sure. And try to remember any other feature I have, even a user's manual would be helpful."
Prime smiled, "Sure.", he shook hands with Zephyrus, "See you later, Leonard Zephyrus."
"You too, Arthur Prime.", Zephyrus said with a smile, "Please tell me about the dishwasher when we meet again."
"It would be my pleasure."
The room dissolved into the vast white space and then everything went black. Seventeen and Zephyrus opened their eyes. The latter looked at the clock.
"Only five minutes have passed. That Mindscape is amazing.", he remarked and looked at Seventeen, "That was a lot of information."
The latter nodded, "I will get ready for tomorrow. I am going to ask Ruth to cover for me.", he stood up and proceeded to leave the office.
"Very well, Seventeen. We leave for Ethereos in the morning. I have a feeling it's going to be a long day.", Zephyrus said.
Seventeen nodded, "See you later, Headmaster.", he opened the door and exited the office. He leaned against the wall and sighed.
"This is huge.", he remarked.
(I didn't mention this in our talk with Zephyrus but do you remember the unsettling feeling you had in Elvenglade?)
'Yeah. What about it?'
(That was from Lazarus.)
'No wonder.', Seventeen walked towards the staffroom.
'Hey, Prime. Do I stand a chance against this monster?', he asked in his mind.
(Maybe. At your current strength, you can take on three Cardinals at the same time and still emerge as the victor.)
Seventeen frowned, 'Frigus is a Higher Dragon. Shouldn't the Cardinals be on the same level as him since they are high-level CAT 0?'
(I agree that Frigus is a Higher Dragon but sometimes dragons can get stronger. I'm surprised you didn't use your magia scale to measure the CAT of Frigus.)
'I have a magia scale? Prime get that manual prepared as fast as possible.', Seventeen grumbled mentally.
(Hm. You know what? I should start working on that manual.)
Seventeen replied with some unflattering things as he entered the staff room. As it was the day off, the room was mostly empty.
"Instructor Seventeen!", a young woman approached him. She was a demi beast with pointed feline ears and a black tail.
She is Anne Felicity, the instructor of Class D. She is a proficient bow user with the lightning attribute. Anne is a good instructor and carried herself with confidence. But now she looked a bit nervous.
Seventeen smiled, "Ah, Instructor Anne. Why do you look so nervous?", he asked. 'It's probably about the incident with Arthur.', he thought.
"Um.", she fidgeted as she came up with the correct words, "Some of my students tried to attack one of yours but instead they were the ones who were beaten. I apologize for their actions and I hope you can forgive them.", she said with a bow.
Seventeen was taken back. He expected some accusations since Arthur wasn't particularly gentle with his attacks. An apology was the last thing he expected.
"No need to apologize. It's not your fault.", he smiled. Anne became flustered and rubbed her head sheepishly, "That idiot Ren and his cronies are always bullying students, especially from Class E. I didn't know he would target your class next. But still, serves him right."
She smiled, "Your students are amazing. They are not affected by their weaknesses but instead use those weaknesses to get stronger.", she sighed, "Wish I had a fellow instructor like you."
"I believe that would be pretty annoying.", a familiar icy voice said behind Seventeen. He turned around, "Ah ice queen. Did you take care of Jason?"
Ruth looked like she had just come back from a fight, which she did. Her daggers were fastened to her belt and still emitted mist.
She was giving Anne a piercing look, "What was this about our class?", she asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I'll tell you that later but first, did you take care of Jason?", Seventeen asked again.
"Of course I did. If you want confirmation, go to the infirmary.", Ruth replied.
"No thank you."
Anne looked from Seventeen and Ruth. She giggled, "I will leave you two alone.", she winked at Seventeen and went out. Ruth turned a bit red in the face. She then went to her place, plopped on her chair, and sighed.
"That must've been a tiring fight.", Seventeen remarked as he took a chair and sat beside her. He took a paper and handed it to her.
"Don't tell me about it.", she sighed as she started writing a report, "So what was this about an apology?", she asked, glancing at him.
Seventeen smiled, "Oh well. It's an interesting story."
Ruth shrugged, "I like interesting stories."