He came unprepared; using his ice affinity was not the right choice right now because he might overdo it in this situation. He was not in the right state of mind right now. He was moving like a madman right now due to the fire; searching for his sister in this fire without any equipment or protection would cost his life.
But he didn't care at this moment. His life is not important compared to hers.
"Nasharis!"
He called for his sister. How long has it been? It felt so long, like hours of searching without any clue or guidance, like searching in the dark. He coughed after he had consumed more smoke than he wanted.
It's fine; he would be fine. As long as Nasharis is fine.
"Nasharis!!"
He avoided the rumble that was falling here and there. He really wanted to use his ice affinity right now, but he might freeze Nasharis along with the whole house. It would be bad; he doesn't have full control over his ice affinity just yet because he could freeze but not defrost.
Also, he didn't know the exact location where Nasharis could be. This is just the third house; he had frozen the first and second houses he looked for after he didn't see Nasharis in any of those two houses. There are too many houses to check one by one right now.
The more time he takes, the more dangerous it will be for both Nasharis and him.
"Mhm!"
"Nasharis!!"
He ran to where he heard the sound, avoiding the raging fire and the fallen rubble. This house would collapse at any moment.
"Nasharis!"
He opened the doors one by one, and lastly, at the last door in this house, he finally saw the figure he was searching for.
"Nasharis!"
He jumped from the fallen rubble to go near his sister, who was lying on the wooden floor. Her hands were tightly tied to her back, and her mouth was tied by a cloth. Her legs were also tied together.
He quickly put out the fire that was burning her sister. His eyes are bloodshot when looking at the burn mark on her skin. He gritted his teeth when he saw tears streaming down her face. She must have just lost consciousness.
"Nasharis, hey!"
Michaelis cradled the little girl into his embrace, but the lack of response scared him. He quickly carried his sister out of there. Before he managed to use his ice affinity to freeze the house, a cracking sound was heard, and a large pile of rubble with fire fell on him in an instant.
He jumped away from the rubble at the last minute, but his leg was pierced by the nails in the wood. Michaelis groaned.
Without putting down Nasharis, he kicked the wood away with his other leg. There was blood coming out of the wound, but he ignored it to quickly get out of there.
Tik.
Michaelis froze after he managed to hear another sound other than the burning wood around him.
Of all time, he just managed to hear the sound now? Michaelis began to panic.
Tik.
Two times now, he didn't know if freezing the house managed to stop the bomb or not. It could, but it also could not. Because the bomb might be some kind of magic or something unstoppable. He was in a dilemma. No, he has another option.
He activated his aura and focused on creating a large portal that was large enough for two people to go in. This is what he learned recently by using his aura.
His attribute.
An attribute of an aura, which he was not told about by Terenis the other day. An attribute an aura user could use. This attribute is like a special characteristic of an aura for the aura user. It could be anything that was not associated with nature. A superspeed just like Grole, a metal creation, or a portal just like him.
His attribute is some kind of portal.
More likely some sort of blackhole, which was to consume everything near it. He could use this power to move inside it by creating an exit somewhere nearby. Just like a combination of a black hole and a white hole.
It was a little contradictory and something opposite from what he had learned about black holes, but he managed to manipulate their characteristics to his liking. Thus, he could use the black hole as the front door and the white hole as the back door.
A black hole is a place in space that has a strong gravitational attraction; even light would be absorbed into it. A white hole is something that has not yet been discovered and is just a theory that has the opposite function of a black hole: a place in space that will reject anything that comes inside it.
He could also create balls of black holes to pull apart anything in the universe, even the air. Just like a black hole, its balls would absorb anything toward their singularity and not return.
He just managed to discover that attribute, thanks to Leviathan. If not, he could have injured people without noticing. He had been practising, but the blackhole attribute was much more difficult than an affinity.
The blackhole attribute has more mechanisms he can manipulate and think of, so he needed more time to specialize in it. This attribute also consumed his aura a bit too much.
"Let's get out of here, Nasharis."
"Bro...ther?"
Tik.
He looked down for a moment when he felt a slight movement from his sister. He smiled a little when he saw those eyes slightly open to look at him.
'She is fine. She is alive.'
He focused back on his task of creating a black hole portal. Sweat trailed down his entire body due to the heat from the fire. He needed to be fast; the bomb might explode at any moment.
"You.. come."
"Yes, I am. We will go out from here now. Please wait, Nasharis. You will be fine. I will save you."
Tik.
The air was becoming distorted, and he could feel the attraction in front of him. Just a bit more, and both of them would fit into the portal. He can't make any mistakes here; if not, it will be their death in the black hole. They might not be able to go out of the portal anymore if he makes even a single mistake.
Creak!
His eyes darted to the ceiling, and it collapsed immediately. He quickly threw Nasharis towards the black hole when the large rubble fell on top of them.
His entire body was consumed by the rubble. Michaelis groaned.
"Bro—"
Tik.
He could see Nasharis' eyes widen a bit when looking at him. He looked at her with blood staining his face.
'You save now.'
He closed the black hole portal right after he saw Nasharis engulfed in it before opening another one outside, somewhere. He could feel the presence of a body thrown out of the portal he created before he closed his aura immediately.
Tik.
It's hot. He felt his body was burning, and a hot liquid oozed out of his body, making him uncomfortable. He can't breathe, and his ribs are hurting so much. His body was shaking, and his eyelids were closing.
Ah, he would die. Finally, he would die. He would have no regrets if he died here.
At least she is safe now. That was his goal all along, after all.
It is sad. Kristafall's family and Rezal must be sad if Michaelis died now.
However, it was his time. He can't do anything, and he doesn't feel remorse over his situation right now.
'Is this what Marya felt in her last moment? It is hot. I hate that she felt so hurt in her last moment.
It is okay now. This is his punishment for letting her die alone in that fire. He deserved to die like this. Suffocating and burning, a punishment for a sinner just like him.
His eyelids closed.
BOOM!!
×××××
The galloping approached the area. From afar, Asteric could see the smoke rising in the air. The smoke was so thick that he thought the entire place was on fire.
He stopped his horse from moving further.
"Your Majesty!!"
He got down from the horse, followed by those two tutelages. He rushed towards the houses on fire.
"Your Majesty, His Highness is—!"
Asteric stopped in his tracks to look at one of the construction site workers when he heard that.
"What happened?" He urged the worker.
"His Highness arrived ten minutes ago, and he went inside one of those houses alone! I tried to prevent him, but he said that he had no time! He was still in—! Your Majesty!"
Asteric ignored the rest and ran towards the burning houses. The other construction workers saw him and called for him, but he ignored all of them.
"Your Majesty, it's dangerous! I'll go in your stead!"
"Shut up and let me go!"
He pushed the tutelage, who dared to prevent him from running into the fire in rage. He just needs to use his aura to stop the fire and save his children!
Buk!
The sudden sound of something falling attracted the attention of one of the tutelages. The tutelage ran in the direction where he saw someone lying there, unmoving, out of nowhere. When he looked closer, he knew the identity.
"Your Majesty! Princess Nasharis is here!"
Asteric looked at the tutelage and widened his eyes. His daughter is there. So where is his son? How did she suddenly appear there? Does his son still live in the burning houses?
Asteric activated his aura immediately before he created a large ball of water that could put out the fire. He just noticed two houses were frozen, but that is not his concern right now.
Before he could engulf the water towards the fire, a deafening sound was heard.
BOOM!!
The people nearby were thrown away. Asteric rolled on the ground after the explosion that occurred just now. His ears are ringing; someone is calling him, but his eyes are trying to focus on what transpired in front of him.
He heard a groan. He touched his head, which was dizzy, and shook it. He stood up, wobbly, with the help of someone. His eyes darted towards the fire.
'No.'
The houses that were engulfed in fire were nowhere in sight. The houses turned into a tiny pile of rubble that is still on fire. He didn't notice the blood dripping down his forehead due to the hit from one of the pieces of rubble that flew in his direction.
That is none of his concern. He looked in Nasharis' direction; she had been protected by one of the tutelages, and then he looked back at the broken houses.
Michaelis is in there. Michaelis is in there. Michaelis is still in there.
"Micha!!"
His world shattered, just like the house in front of him.
He is late again.