Splash
A blob of water emerged from thin air and burst open almost instantly to splash cold water over the raging flames. The woman's body, having fallen to the ground and quavering around, let out hot steam before she stopped moving.
A brief silence fell before, among the nearby people who'd retreated in haste, a young man rushed out with an ashen expression. He knelt down beside the half-burnt woman and hesitantly shook her body.
"A-aunt!? Aunt Maria!"
His face was somewhat similar to the woman's, indicating their probable relationship. At the young man's touch, the woman's body flinched slightly before beginning to quiver. Listening closer, her breathing could also be heard, though choked and pained.
Alaric was fast enough this time to distinguish the fire. Almost as if he was already prepared. He, who had managed to save someone's life with his quick reactions, stumbled back in shock as if still not believing what had happened.
Despite Alaric managing to save her life, the woman called Maria was still in critical condition. Her charred back was exposed through her burnt clothes, swollen here and there, red all over. Her breathing was also weak. If left in this state, she wouldn't last long.
"Call a doctor! She needs immediate help!"
The guards jolted out of their daze at Ian's hurried tone. They were supposed to block the entrance, but at this rate, the victim would die regardless of how miraculously was she saved. After a brief hesitance, one of them ran out to the nearest medical center while the others stepped forward, calming the panicked guests and moving them away from the woman.
"Oh my god. May Sun God protect us all!"
"M-Maria was set on fire!"
"She... She was set on fire... Almost as soon as she insulted that witch!"
"It was her doing. It's proven now!"
"They should take her to the jail, why are they keeping that girl in here? It'll only cause more danger."
"Hey, shhh! She might hear! Do you also want to be burnt as well?"
Though they were trying to calm the crowd, no one could help the mumbles and mutters of the horrified people.
"Don't touch the blisters like that!"
Upon being shouted at, the young man kneeling beside the woman, who had just called her 'Aunt', retreated his stretched-out hand. Before he could say or do anything, his body was mercilessly pushed away by the cloaked young man from before.
Ian knelt down beside the victim and began scrutinizing the body. Her back was the part with the most damage while the other areas were left with minor burns. Her breathing was stable, though she had a pained expression while unconscious.
Before anything, Ian moved her body a little bit to ease her breathing, then took out her golden necklace and other accessories. He tore the clothes and pulled back her hair, before looking up at Eleen who was standing right next to him.
"Ah, here, here!"
She hastily handed him a drenched white piece of clothing. As a doctor, she always had her medicine bag with her, thus she had anything needed for first aid. As he took and placed the clothing over the wound, Ian's gaze moved up to the black-haired youth standing not far away. Kieran nodded and moved forward, standing in front of Ian and blocking the crowd's sight.
'I don't think anyone will notice it like this.'
After making sure about being completely hidden from sight, Ian sighed as he let go of a small bit of warmth through his fingertips. Tiny specks of golden dust seeped into the white clothing before entering the woman's skin, applying faint healing to her wound.
Beside her, Miss Eleen's eyes widened at the sight, and she gave Ian an astonished look as if asking 'You could heal wounds all along?'. She was first taken aback when Ian ran past her to tend to the patient when SHE was the doctor here, but it seemed she understood now.
Ian couldn't help the girl's racing thoughts, but he hoped she wouldn't reach unrealistic conclusions. It'd be a pain to explain things to her later.
'Well, I'm neither a healer nor has my power awakened much, so all I can do is prevent her death and apply faint healing. I can do this only because of my unique Aether, and only after meditating for so long was I able to obtain enough power to barely activate this ability. But it's still not enough. A large scar will remain on her back and she might need to rest for several weeks to get better. No matter what I do, I can't be as good as a real healer.'
Such a shame.
'Now that I think about it, we should also look for a healer. That man, I mean. He should've awakened his powers by now, right? I should fetch him on our way back. His powers will be needed later on.'
Ian made a mental note.
Still, it was good that he could prevent the woman's immediate death. Also, it was actually Alaric who saved her. Ian was shocked at first at how fast he managed to react. It was almost instatious. As soon as the flames came to life, so did the water spell.
'He must've been on guard all the time. The spell was probably prepared in advance.'
That was good thinking for someone who's been learning on his own and has zero combat experience. Ian thought he needed to praise the boy once they left this place.
'Also, it's good that Kieran understands me so well.'
A brief look into the eyes, and he realized the situation. Truly a remarkable knight. Should he also praise Kieran? But the boy didn't seem like the kind to enjoy such stuff. Nope. Forget about it.
'Also...'
-Master, master, there is something here! It's so bizarre! I can't see it, but I feel it getting closer. It's scary! Eugghhh!
The tiny wolf stuck its body to Ian's thig, whimpering and trembling. As Lior was a spiritual creature itself, it must be feeling the entity's pressure much clearer than Ian did.
Stroking the child's back with one free hand while the other was still supplying Aether to the injured, Ian raised his head to glance over at a young girl not too far away.
The subject of all the gossip and terror, the teenager named Doris, was shivering on her spot. Her eyes were locked on the fallen woman's body, her face paler than before. Slight blood was dripping down the edge of her lip which she kept biting on as well as her fingertips, which she kept grazing.
As if noticing a gaze lingering on her, Doris raised her head and locked eyes with Ian. She blinked a few times, looked in between Ian and the unconscious Maria, then desperately shook her head from side to side.
'I know it wasn't your doing. Why are you even trying to prove that to me?'
Talk to these people instead! Why not tell them that you are merely a mage and not some kind of cursed being? Wait, what if she also didn't know about the truth? This place is a small city far from any large states, so knowledge about mages and natural blessings must be limited, right?
'Hm, none of my business.'
Ian looked away from the girl and back to the injured. He was done with forcing Aether into her wound. More than this might be suspicious as well as dangerous. Ian was about to retreat his hand when he suddenly paused, his brows knitting slightly.
'Um... This was also none of my business...?'
The life of a random woman he met while working somewhere... Why would that even matter? Wouldn't it be better if they'd run out of the theater now that the exit was opened? Uh, why did he even waste Aether on her...?
"...."
Anyway!
Ian got up to his feet. He didn't want to think about it any further. It was already done so contemplating about the cause was pretty much useless. Rather, he walked towards the teenager, allowing Miss Eleen to continue checking on the woman's condition.
Doris, this time, didn't look at Ian, but her eyes were staring deep at a spot in the thin air. The more she looked there, the paler she got. She looked to be about to scream in fear or break into tears, but she held back and merely trembled on her spot akin to a young branch exposed to winter winds.
'As I thought.'
Ian could feel an invisible mass in the location where the girl was staring at. Lior, sitting atop his shoulder, rubbed its head against Ian's neck, restless. He too was feeling distressed from that existence's presence.
'It must be an elemental.'
Elementals were creatures born out of nature. They were bound to the World Tree, located at the heart of Perennial Forest, and lived in harmony with the elves; but that didn't mean that they were only found in those locations. The Elementals were scattered across the world. They were tame creatures that liked peace and ease and, thus rarely got involved with humans or anything that might pose danger to them. Even if they did, these lovely beings were quite tame and easy to get along with.
However, there were situations where these elementals would act completely opposite to their nature.
'It's probably a fire elemental... And in a dire situation, at that.'
There are instances where elementals behave violently, almost like a wild beast or a bloodthirsty monster. They lose control over themselves and gradually turn into wicked beings who lust for lives and destroy anything in their paths.
That mostly happens when they lose a great amount of Aether, due to various reasons.
"Ah? Huh?"
As if witnessing or hearing something incredibly frightening, Doris gasped multiple times while staggering back, attempting to create as much distance from the 'thing' as possible. However, as she did,
Fwosh
One of the curtains suddenly burst into flames. The curtain burned and turned into ash in a second as if it was instantly devoured.
"Uh, uh..."
The girl froze on her spot as if splashed with cold water. Ian could notice her mumbling under her lips. She must be having a conversation with that elemental, or something close to that.
'This won't do.'
Things might get out of hand if a crazed fire elemental made contact with a mage with fire affinity.
"Do you think a contract with a mage can save you?"
Tap.
Ian stepped towards Doris, standing in between her and the spot she was staring at. He snapped his head to the side, to something invisible in the air. He couldn't see what was there, but he could feel its presence. This was probably how Alaric sensed Lior's location; unable to see him but feeling the intervention of space around the location where the being was stationed.
Through this vague insight, Ian realized the being's movement coming to a halt. Probably recognizing the aura of a saint or the presence of Aether around Ian, the elemental stopped approaching the girl, howling around in the air.
It was true that the elemental's current state was due to a lack of Aether, but it didn't mean that being supplied with Aether could help them recover. In this one's case, which seemed severe, it would probably be purified and vanish if exposed to the pure holy power.
"Stop bothering people."
And get lost.
Ian kept the last part of his sentence to himself. It was true that the being in front of him was a wicked existence, but Ian knew too well that it wasn't the elemental's fault that it fell into such a state. And even now, all it was doing was follow basic instinct, not anything else. Judging by its situation, the elemental wouldn't last more than a few days if left alone and would silently cease to exist.
"....."
Meanwhile, the girl was also frozen on her spot, shifting her gaze between Ian and the elemental. Ian didn't respond to the teenager's display of curiosity. He shook his head first before glancing at the entrance.
Just then, a few men in white clothes ran into the theater hall, instantly rushing at the unconscious Maria. Eleen was pushed aside ruthlessly and the town doctor took her position. Two men in knight attire also stepped in. They were the city guards. The city guards grabbed a chubby man, the theater director, and dragged him out of the building, ignoring the weeping and crying of his daughter.
A group went up the stage to collect the burnt corpse. Someone stood at the exit, writing down everyone's name and address before allowing them to leave. It seemed that they had discussed and reached an agreement about how to deal with these people on their way here. On the other hand, a few people cautiously approached Ian, or better to say, Doris who was hiding behind Ian.
"What about her? Should we take her to the prison or let her go like the others?"
"Isn't it safer to capture him?"
"Well, yeah."
Despite them whispering among themselves, Ian could easily hear them out. Heaving a sigh, Ian took a step closer to the two officers.
"I'm sorry, but I don't think it's possible to take someone to lock up with no proof about their involvement in the incident."
Wait a minute, why was he even defending this girl? Huh? Ian, come back to your senses!
"Uh, who are you? Why are you hiding your face?"
Right? Who was he to interfere with the matters?
"Because I'm so ugly that it's disgusting for people to see my face."
"Huh?"
"Anyway, you can't take an innocent person away without having any proof."
The officers exchanged dumbfounded looks for a second before nodding their heads. It was understandable to hold the theater owner responsible for the chaos he's caused, even if he wasn't directly involved in anything, but a random girl who was merely accused by people with no proof was different. Even if someone who cursed her got burnt down by sudden flames, there was nothing pinning the blame on her.
"N-no, wait!" Doris, who was hiding behind Ian till that second, suddenly jumped out. "It's alright! You can take me. I-it's okay, drag me to the prison or something. Hurry up!"
"Wha-"
Not just Ian, but even the officers and the surrounding people were taken aback by her sudden action. The girl didn't stop there and even reached out her arms, ready to be bound by strings and taken away just like how the theater owner was treated.
"Uh? But-"
"H-hurry up please!"
What's wrong with this girl? You want to be captured? Why? Come on, I just defended you, don't embarrass me!
However, Doris was perfectly ignoring Ian's widened eyes and only staring at her clasped hands. She took another step closer to the officers as if to urge them to act, but before she could say anything, a deep male's voice loudly echoed in the hall.
"DORIS!"
The whole thing happened in the blink of an eye. A middle-aged man with a fairly good build rushed into the building, right to where Doris was curled up in fear, grabbed a handful of her neatly tied hair, and yanked her away with sheer force.
"Kyaa!"
"What are you doing here, you fucking bitch!"
The girl's scream was drowned in the man's loud cursing.
"I'll have to talk things through with you again, huh? Dumbass bitch! What were you doing here? Answer!"
"W-wait! Father, wait!"
Crash. The half-closed door was kicked open and the man stomped out with the girl being dragged behind him. Ian, who was about to intervene, hesitated after hearing the girl referring to the man as 'father' and stood back, watching the scene with eyes wide open.
'Uh, what the hell...'
-...Master, what was that...?
Ian had no answers to give to the child. He was also clueless.
"Um... Shouldn't we do something?"
Eleen also asked, puzzled. She, as well as Alaric, were both staring at the exit with a shocked and dumbfounded mixture of expressions.
'Well, um... If he was her father I'm sure it'll be alright... He won't possibly hurt his child or anything-'
"Oh, the poor girl is gonna die for sure."
"....."
"...."
Four pairs of eyes turned to the officer who muttered that. Faced with the sudden attention, the man flinched before hastily explaining.
"He's kind of, you know, a fierce man... Um, that kind with a nasty attitude especially when drunk. Uh, I guess it would indeed be safer for that girl to stay in prison rather than in her father's house... Of course, if she doesn't set that man on fire first... Um... I don't know."
"...."
"...."
The four pairs of eyes shifted away to glance at each other.
Guys, do you think we just kind of... messed things up?
'Should I have not intervened...?'
Ian was struck with sudden guilt. Was it his fault? But he knew nothing of the situation. That's right, he shouldn't have stepped up when he knew nothing about the others! Why did he butt his head in other people's lives? This was none of his business!
"Mhm... Anyway... Let's just leave."
They didn't have any right to pursue that father and daughter or stop that man. They were total strangers. It was best if they just left and didn't worsen the situation.