Teacher Tiara's voice seems to have an effect on the lady. The lady suddenly stops and the fire seems to be temporarily tamed. Temporarily, because it bursts out of control again. I tried to cleanse THE THING as soon as it went wrong, but the fire pushed me back. The three of us are thrown out with a barrage of fire trying to hit us. Fortunately, Master Merlin teleports us to safety while Linda uses her space magic to seal the fire. If it weren't for her, we'd both be badly burned.
"It's working, but we need more time and more support..." [Tiara]
"We will retreat first. It's better for us to repair our equipment and heal our wound" [Khamisah].
"But she looks tired too, shouldn't we keep pushing?" [Dana]
"It's compelling, but considering how unpredictable she is in her emotions and power, it's better for us to temporarily retreat and rest, and then come back for another war of attrition" [Khamisah].
"I see. That makes sense" [Dana].
"If that's what Ms. Saga said, then everyone, retreat!"
"Stay in formation."
"Don't forget to use the shield as well. We can't afford to take any more damage."
We quickly retreated and set up a temporary camp. There it's decided that the others will also try to keep her in place while extinguishing the fire. Master Merlin and Ms. Linda will use their space magic to bind them, while others will focus solely on reducing the power of the fire.
As soon as we were ready, we all went back to face the lady. She's getting closer and closer to Amleth. Judging by her speed, the adventurers and knights expect her to arrive in two days and burn everything in the city. Our goal is not to let her pass through the nearest village, so we all roared forward, hoping for the best.
Every time Teacher Tiara and I are able to get closer to her, she'll have another emotional outburst, and when she does, her fire power improves drastically. If this continues, I don't think we'll make any progress. I told them all this as I ask for their opinion and they seem to agree with me to start talking to the lady as well. A conversation to ask her what happened to her and why she is in constant pain and suffering.
It's midnight when we decided that I would talk to her. It's midnight, but should it be so pitch black? Obviously the answer is no, because the fire of the devil king made the surroundings darker and darker.
We thought about resting for a while, but since she doesn't even rest and keeps taking one step at a time, we are all afraid that she will burn everything if we rest. Of course, it's important to rest as well, so we all take a breather. Breathing in and out. It's hard, considering how much soot there is, how hot it is, and how we're all in a messy mess, but we're doing great, considering there are no sacrifices from our side.
When we approach her again, she cries her heart out. We are all ready to fire our spells at her. We are all ready, but...
"Can you guys please not..." [Diana]
"Then how will you approach her?"
"You will be severely burned!"
"You're already tired, and you have a number of injuries as well, so please don't take any unnecessary risks"
"I know... But... I can't explain... It just... Feels wrong" [Diana].
"Are you sure, dear?" [Khamisah]
"I am" [Diana]
"Then at least let me come with you" [Dana]
"I will follow as well" [Merlin]
"I cannot leave my two younger sisters alone. Linda, take the lead in case something happens. Tiara, if you see the moment to control them, don't hesitate" [Khamisah].
"Right" "Careful" [Linda] [Tiara]
"Thank you all. Let's go Fie" [Diana]
"Meow" [Fie]
They are all worried. The sister and the priest from the church keep giving me blessing after blessing. The good lady from the knight applied some heat resistant lotion for me and told me to be careful while the adventure offered me their heat protective equipment. I thank them all and they wish me luck. They're worried about letting me go into the Devil King's fire, so they have that worried face that Nar usually make. I feel sad that I made them worry, but I convinced them that everything will be fine.
Together with Master Merlin, Sister Khamisah and Dana, we approach the lady. The heat is intense, and the wind blowing from her can cause severe burns if it weren't for all the protective spells, equipment, and blessings we have applied. She continued to cry, but the moment she noticed us approaching, she became angry again.
"Mother..." [Diana]
I don't know why I said that. It just slipped out of my mouth.
"!?" [Valerie]
"I'm sorry, I mean... you're a mother, aren't you..." [Diana]
"Don't..." [Valerie]
"Hey... Can I... Can I talk to you..." [Diana]
I approach her alone. I walk slowly as the fire tries its best to consume me. It hurt. It really hurt. I'm glad that the ice fairy dress I used can withstand all the heat and lessen some of the damage. I'm also glad that my water armor spell, along with all the blessings and equipment, allowed me to walk through that fire. It really hurt. My eyes feel like they're being grilled. My skin feels like it's peeling off. I can hear my heart beating faster and faster. The sweat evaporates the moment it leaves my skin. I feel like my hair is about to catch fire, but
"Why are you always crying?" [Diana]
"They....they killed my children... Some just like your age..." [Valerie]
I put my knee on the ground and start talking to her. The fire from the Devil King keeps trying to push me away, but I can also see that the lady here is trying her best not to hurt me. She is starting to take control of the fire herself. I can also tell from a distance that Teacher Tiara is trying her best to control the lady. It all helps to reduce the damage I take.
"I see... I'm sorry. My friend. They kidnapped my friend when I was in Emas, so to save her from being eaten by a giant snake, I have to defeat the Imperial soldier who was sent there. I don't know who your son is, but I might hurt him in the process..." [Diana]
"I see... Why are you crying..." [Valerie]
"Am I? I don't know why... Seeing you all burned up... It's just sad. It's sad to see you screaming while you keep mentioning the names of your children... I lost my parents too, they were killed in front of my eyes... They... They torture me then... I don't know... I don't know why they did it. I am angry, I am sad... I don't know why, but I feel like you feel the same way. Every time you cry, my heart hurts too..." [Diana]
It is sad. I feel like I want to cry, but the tears don't flow. Is it because of the intense flame, or is it because I cried so much before that it emptied my tear duct. I don't know. I don't know. It feels frustrating. I can't just understand, from why they killed my parents to why their children were killed. Why someone wanted to interfere with the Salin event. It just confuses me. This is frustrating, so much so that all my bubbling emotions suddenly burst out, but again, no tears come out.
"There there... It must have been frightening" [Valerie].
"It's... Warm..." [Diana]
"To see you, just the age of my youngest daughter, crying... They killed her too... They burned her alive with the same flame. I... I then take control and kill everyone, even the newborn, with this flame. The only thing I kept thinking was... that someone in Amleth was responsible, but when I see you, I can't help but feel sad as well. I can't blame you... You're still a child. You also seem to have gone through a lot..." [Valerie]
"I see... I guess we are the same... so warm, your hug is warm..." [Diana]
"!" [Valerie]
The fire, which is fierce, slowly dies down as we both cry our hearts out. I don't remember what happened next, but I'm sure everything is okay.