"Flame Molten Armor: Overdrive!"
A burst of fiery flames flared forth on Sariel's avatar, incinerating everything within 10 meters of his vicinity in the radiant red fire cast out from hell.
"Fall back, everyone! That's Sariel's signature move!" The leader of border defenders waved at his squad to retreat to a safe zone. He can't dispel the fact they're being an extra weight on Fargil's shoulders if they still remain.
Facing Sariel alone is harder than it already is during a war, but fighting while protecting his allies is an entirely different league only he can handle; hence they call him the Top Support of Alfahim Kingdom.
Nonetheless, the silver vines that bound Sariel to the ground were diminishing; after all, Sariel earned his title as Overlord of Flames due to his proficiency in melee combat, despite his class job being categorized as caster.
Casters are often powerful by keeping their distance and firing spells with long incantations behind the team, allowing them to strike a devastating blow on their opponents.
Flame Molten Armor, Sariel's most powerful cultivated skill, is a buff-type spell that offers him a boost in Health and Defense while generating a burning effect over his body that prevents those scorched from receiving heals.
His flames could shred an ascended tank's shield, and his ferocious glare could scorch cunning assassins trying to slip by behind his weak spots; Sariel had no openings, even if he was pinned down on the soil entangled in Fargil's silver vines.
"FARGIL! I will burn you multiple times so you may know the fury of an overlord!" yelled Sariel. He channeled his Mana Points into his spell, repeatedly attempting to melt Fargil's Vine Prison with a blast of fire.
Fargil maintained his foot stomped on Sariel's posterior, turning the war into a battle of attrition. He's holding Sariel's flames like a man, making sure no one else gets burned while keeping his adversary in his palms.
It was then the five rings equipped on his fingers in his right-hand let out a shimmering dim light like before. And just as his Health Points drop to zero, Fargil like a true phoenix reborn from ashes revives once more.
Fargil kept reviving no matter how many times he died, as though he was used to it. He burns brilliantly in a glorious symphony of blazing brittles, reviving himself over and over; death, as he claims, cannot kill the Top Support of Alfahim Kingdom.
He took the famous words from his favorite anime, "People die if they are killed," and took them to a whole new level. Although, Fargil can't be killed if he really can't die in the game.
However, it's a matter of time before Sariel could escape Fargil's grasp. Once Sariel escapes the chains of silver vines, Fargil knew Sariel will go all-out and lay waste before he could protect everyone and himself.
Besides, Fargil won't simply buy time just for nothing. As Sariel turns his head to mock Fargil while the vines were on the verge of collapse, instead; he was the one who was caught off-guard having a glimpse of a demonic smirk written on Fargil's face.
"Checkmate, Sariel," Fargil muttered. He faces above, gazing at the sole hope gleaming in the starless sky.
"What are you..." Sariel suddenly felt coldness running across his spine.
"Have you forgotten that my role is to support?" Fargil taunted Sariel. "It turns out I'm actually just your typical support, but with a better mind than yours, General Sariel." And it was exactly what he wanted him to understand: the sense of defeat over someone lesser than himself.
"You are...!" As the vines melted under the weight of his molten flames, an incandescent pillar of light appeared directly above them, to which Fargil swiftly escaped sideways, knowing that his role had been fulfilled.
The guiding light wiped the rising flames, and what emerged from the crater of destruction was a gallant figure of a lady dressed in golden grace, her armor plates enchanted to the utmost conceivable limit of enhancement possible.
She lowered her pointed helmet, revealing her long ears and shoulder-length sparkling black hair. The lady, holding a legendary sword in one hand and a massive shield in the other, flung his huge shield and crashed on Sariel's back, personally detaining him after Fargil stalled Sariel and waited for her arrival.
"You are... Maqirelle! Why are you here?! My squadron should've decimated your capital city if you're here; is it worth a price to keep me here?" Sariel lowered his voice, perspiration visibly pouring down his sideburns.
"The Grand Paladin has arrived! We've finally been saved!" One of the border guards was relieved that Maqirelle had been dispatched as reinforcement.
Nobody can ever forget the former top player of Alfahim Kingdom, Maqirelle, also known as the Dark Maiden, who has been the best player in their forces since the beta release of Arkmeria Conquer Online.
Fargil kept Sariel under his captivity because he was waiting for Maqirelle, whom he believes can completely kill Sariel since he, a support player, is incapable of dealing the finishing blow. It was said those who get a glimpse of Maqirelle's gleaming black hair are supposed to be doomed to the judgment of his sword.
"Ha! You definitely are full of surprises, Fargil! Your plan worked as expected, but to think your dying strategy performed spectacularly, I guess I'd offer my respect after you got my number one spot!" Maqirelle chuckled. Her sabaton effectively pressed on the midsection of Sariel's spine, preventing him from forming the flame wings that would allow him to flee.
"I would not allow you to–" Sariel attempted to perform his pyromantic spell, but it was too late.
"Become the sinner of my restless soul: Holy Judgement!" Maqirelle emits a blinding light, seizing the opportunity to spin the blade as she struck the tip of her radiant sword exactly behind Sariel's back, directly striking his heart, his Health Points dropping from a hundred to zero in the blink of an eye, finally defeating the Overlord of Flames through trust and teamwork altogether.
"I will... Take my revenge–" Sariel's avatar dissolves along with the ether particles, dying with his greatest blunder and returning him to his respawn point at their base, defeated by the support he thought he could overcome.
"Wasn't that taken care of now?" Fargil approaches Maqirelle. He flicked his fingers, and the cloak he had thrown aside magically returned, enveloping his shoulders.
"Same on my end. As you said, they are no more than foot soldiers. Anyway, we better get out of here before more players flock to us for saving them." Maqirelle raised her left eyebrow as she noticed the border defenders approaching them.
"All right, hang on now," Fargil said as he stroked Maqirelle's pouldron, and in an instant, the ring on his pinky finger gleamed, and they were gone from the scene.
The border defenders' chief shook his head. His grin was genuine, as he thanked the best players who helped them win that day.
"Let them be. The least they wanted now was our attention, which slowed them down." He simply admits that he's a dead weight, but that doesn't mean he should give up so easily now that he's seen with his own eyes that a support player can reach the top, what more of a warrior like him?
Nonetheless, somewhere far outside the boundaries of Alfahim Kingdom, Fargil merely placed a misleading cover to make them invisible, passing past the mob so he could talk privately with Maqirelle.
The wind sure was cold, separating Fargil's warm breath as he tries to muster up his courage to say something.
"Ehem..." Fargil pulled back his hands. Maqirelle was casting a recalling magic circle to their base.
"We shouldn't stay on the battlefield; I'll listen to you once we get back to our Sovereign Catalyst," Maqirelle said sternly. Her blue eyes were intently examining the surroundings, and her instinct as a top player to be on alert at all times remained effective as long as an unseen danger lingered in the shadows.
"O-Okay..." Fargil agreed.
They successfully recalled back to their base. What greeted them first is the towering Sovereign Catalyst of Alfahim Kingdom, the Ancient Tree of Eonia with its branches scaling big as towns and cities, covering them in the canopy of its verdant crown.
Sovereign Catalysts are the most guarded artifact or object that once destroyed by the opposing rivals, the nation or kingdom that owns the Sovereign Catalyst will submit to the conqueror.
Even its fallen leaves were larger than a small cottage, which provides healing to allies below.
"Now that we're here, what do you want to say?" Maqirelle asked, returning her weapon and shield to his inventory.
"Remember what you said a week ago? That I will tell my real name once we win the last tournament later? I just thought that maybe... You could also tell yours..." Fargil shrinks in embarrassment, trying to score on the pretty lady whom he took his top position from.
Maqirelle's cheeks puffed out as Fargil moved backward, believing he'd get smacked on the face for making a rude request, and soon she giggled, squirming quite a bit before tugging Fargil by her side, her arm wrapped over his shoulders to make him even more uncomfortable than he currently is.
"Hey, hey, what do we have here? Finally interested in romance? When I was giving you my attention a month ago, you were grinding a dungeon and leveling up alone even though you're a support main, which made me sad, you know." Maqirelle pointed, blinking twice and three times to indicate her frustration.
Fargil changed his mind. "I'm sorry. Forget it," he said. He turns around and opens his system interface, logging out to hide his flushed cheeks.
"Wait! I never said no! I will tell you if we win, okay?" Maqirelle's retinas glowed like the blue ocean's graceful waves. She grasped Fargil's avatar, snatched his arm, and linked their pinkies before he vanishes altogether.
"Fine... I promise." Fargil sealed the deal so he logged out and woke up in the real world on his bed.
Fargil tugged the Oracle Headgear clamped over his face, the gadget that transmits the user's seven senses to recreate their reality in a virtual environment, unable to restrain his emotions. He hurled the helmet at his gaming rig, which was next to his bed.
He rolled over in his bed like a girl, wanting to forget he had made a move on Maqirelle, which he never did in his entire life.
"What the heck happened to me? How can I even tell her that Fargil is my real name...? In any case, I left her on a whim, but I should inform Maqirelle of our next strategy. I'll get in ACO again and act as if nothing happened before, hoping she doesn't tease me during our meeting..."
As a result, Fargil grabbed the alloy helmet from the floor. He wore it over his head and detected a little spark somewhere in the haptic glass.
"What was that...? Must have been my imagination," Fargil said as he logged into the realm of Arkmeria Conquer Online.
The magical particles displayed on the login screen were present. It was fine at the avatar rendering loading screen until a tremendous spark unfolded and his vision was quickly filled with nothing but utter void.
It was dark and cold, and all he could hear was the voice within his head.
"Where... Where am I...?" Fargil pondered as he tried to open his eyes again as if centuries had passed by on the breeze of time.
However, as soon as Fargil embraced the bright morning sun, he discovered that the same kingdom he adored, the Alfahim Kingdom, was being ravaged by war and fire.
And what shocked him the most wasn't the fact he could see the expanding horizon clearer than a telescope's lenses; he was bewildered learning that he had become the Sovereign Catalyst; he became the Ancient Tree of Eonia and he couldn't stand nor move, naturally, because he's a tree.
"Reincarnation...? But how? This shouldn't be real... Is this even possible? Am I dreaming? What the hell should I–" As Fargil threw an endless barrage of questions right at himself; he heard a familiar voice calling out for help.
"Someone! Anyone! Please help me...!" cried a wounded woman below the woodlands, and Fargil couldn't mistake the one calling for help.
"That was Maqirelle! But how can I save her when I'm... A tree?" His question was his problem, considering how he can save a companion that he truly adored in his current state as an Ancient Tree.