Lady Thorn let out a bloodcurdling scream, falling back as the purple fire engulfed her hand.
Lady Thorn wildly whipped her burning hand onto anything in her vicinity: books, desks, shelves, and anything that would douse the flames. But no matter what she did, that unholy purple fire seemed to refuse to be quelled. Her hand had already burned black, and the flames began crawling up her arm.
Thorne thrashed about on the floor, screaming, "Get it off! Get it off!"
Selene paced frantically shouting, "I don't know what to do!" She looked about the room wildly, after which she sprinted to the door and yanked it wide. "Fire!" she yelled down the hall.
Within the next few seconds, knights, maids, and butler Alaric flooded in. Seeing the purple flames nibbling at Thorn's hand, they stood in place and didn't move, as if held in hypnosis by this view.
"It's... so beautiful," one of the maids whispered, wowed with eyes wide. "I've never seen anything like it." The fire, while wholly destructive, glittered almost hypnotically-the deep purple hue dancing in the air and giving off an eerie, otherworldly glow.
Selene stood in utter shock for a moment, mouth open. Are they kidding me right now? she thought, astonished that they were just standing in wonder at the fire without lifting a finger to intervene.
Her shock faded, and Selene finally shouted, "Stop gawking and put out the fire!"
Alaric shook himself, as if coming out of a trance, and moved forward. "Right, right. A water spell!" he muttered quickly, and suddenly a jet of water spurted towards the fire. In the instant, it came into contact with the flames, it vaporized into steam.
Frowning, Alaric tried this again, using a stronger emphasis on the spell this time. However, it turned out to just be the same, the fire simply would not be extinguished.
"What?" Alaric scowled, repeating the spell. "Why isn't it working? What kind of fire is this?"
The knights, who, for whatever reason, did not seem to find this setting particularly weird-stepped forward, heading to Thorn, who by now was screaming louder than before.
"Stand back; we'll handle this," one said, reaching for her arm.
"NO! It will burn you if you touch...!" Selene scared
But before she could finish, the knights rudely cut her off, "We don't have time for this!" he barked. "She's dying!" And with utter disregard for Selene's warnings, he kneeled beside Thorn to use his gloved hands to smother the flames.
Selene's eyes went wide with horror. "No!"
But the knight didn't listen, reaching out to take Thorn's arm and trying to smother the fire. The instant his hand came into contact with hers, his own arm erupted in the same purple flames.
"AHHHHH!" he screamed, flailing around the room.
Selene threw her hands up. "Ah. For the love of God."
Selene slammed a hand on her forehead in frustration, watching as the knight flailed helplessly, now being burned by the same flames. These people are completely hopeless, she thought, her heart sinking.
It painfully came clear that nobody in the room knew anything about unholy flames.
The other knight backpedaled, eyes wide. "What. What kind of fire is this?!"
"It's unholy flames!" Selene shouted. "Water doesn't work, and touching it only makes it worse!"
Alaric watched the fire climb up the knight's arm before he turned around, facing Selene. "Unholy flames? How do we stop it?"
"I don't know!" Selene exclaimed, voice trembling. "But touching it or using water certainly isn't helping!
Lying on the ground still, sobbing in pain, Thorn yowled, "You cursed child! You have ruined me! Do something!"
"What do you want me to do?" snapped back Selene, equally flustered. "I didn't even know this would happen! Stop blaming me!"One of the maids, still entranced by the fire, hushed, "It's so. captivating. Look how it dances."
Selene groaned, "Are you people serious right now? Can someone please focus on the fact that two people are on fire?!"
The knight, now on his knees, begged, "Please. Make it stop! Do something!"
Selene rubbed her temples in frustration. "Take off the gloves, and it might stop burning you. Just make sure not to touch it with your bare hands."
He did as he was told, and surprisingly it worked; however, the tips of his fingers were burnt.
"Too bad Lady Thorn isn't so lucky," Selene muttered under her breath.
Miserable, frantic attempts by Thorn to douse the flames became more frantic.
She screamed, "Why won't it go out?!" she again slapped her hand against the floor. Her voice cracked with hysteria. "Somebody help me! I'm burning alive!"
Still pacing wildly in panic, Selene shouted, "Stop hitting everything! It's not going to help!" But Thorn was the past reason, lost in agony to listen. The flames continued their remorseless climb up her arm.
Alaric looked utterly perplexed now, as for the third time his water magic had not been able to douse the fire. "This fire. It's unlike anything I have ever seen before," he muttered, his face pale as he turned to Selene. "What did you do? What kind of magic is this?"
Selene flinched, her lip going between her teeth in a nervous bite. "It wasn't on purpose! I—I just—" she stammered trying to say, tripping over her words in explanation. "Well, she tried to burn me first."
The maid, who earlier was marveling at the beauty of the flames, was now whimpering quietly in a corner. "But it's. It's so beautiful," she whimpered. "How can something so beautiful be so... deadly?"
By now, Selene was speechless.
Alaric, clearly desperate by this time, tried to think of some other spell. "Maybe we need to cast something stronger, a more advanced spell—"
"No!" Selene exclaimed, shaking her head furiously. "Magic won't help! It might make things worse!"
Another knight yelled, "We need a healer! A healer, quick!" He backpedaled, trying to get himself as far as possible from the two burning victims.
She ground her teeth, knowing well that even a healer wouldn't stop the fire. It all just hit her like a punch to the gut: if I don't do anything, they are going to die. The furious voice of Thorn brought her back.
"This is your fault!" wailed Thorn, wild-eyed with fury despite the pain. "You cursed brat! You'll pay for this!"
"Listen here, you old auntie; if you don't stop calling me a cursed child, then I will leave you to burn," Selene scolded, "Now shut up so that I can concentrate."
However, before she could even start, there was a loud shout from the door. "What is going on here?"
Everyone froze, turning toward the door. Duke Magus was standing in the doorway, an eyebrow furrowed in concern, while beside him, Duchess Evangeline stood, gasping at the purple flames.
"What. what is this?" Duchess Evangeline whispered in shock, her eyes wide.
Duke Magus turned to his wife, confusion written on his face. "Evangeline. Have you seen anything like this before? Why are the flames... purple?
The sight drained the color from Evangeline's face. "I... I'm not sure, but. It looks like unholy flames," she said with a shaking voice. "Though I've never seen purple ones before. This is. unnatural."
As Evangeline's gaze finally found her, narrowing suspiciously, Selene felt an icy shiver run down her back. The duchess strode forward towards Thorn, but a knight jumped into her path in one swift movement, raising a prohibiting hand. "My lady, it is dangerous! Please do not come any closer!"
Evangeline just ignored him and fell to her knees beside Thorn, who had fainted from the pain that was obviously unbearable. She started to chant a spell of purification, and her hands began to glow with soft golden light.
Selene's eyes widened in panic. "No!" her voice silently screamed, her mind flashing back to what her status interface had said-holy magic won't work. Her mouth opened to try to speak, but before she could get the words out, the flames suddenly furled higher and spread down Thorn's arm with increased rapidity.
Thorn sprang from his sleep with a blood-curdling shriek, contorting on the floor. "It hurts! It hurts!"
The knight in alarm dragged the duchess away from Thorn. "My lady, get back!"
The fire now was beyond Thorn's elbow and continued to spread too fast. Selene knew that she had to think fast, or Thorn would be completely consumed. Her mind was racing frantically in attempts to think of something. Then, in an inspired flash, she remembered an anime where the character had uncontrollable firepower. In that show, whenever the protagonist loses control, a drastic yet effective method was used in order to save him.
With the flames now licking at Thorn, Selene's hands were shaking, yet she knew well what she had to do next. Turning around without further hesitation, she ran towards one of the closest knights and pulled his sword out of its sheath.
The knight blinked in surprise. "Lady Selene, what—
Selene ignored the weight of the sword in her hands, focusing on Thorn's writhing body. The beating in her ears was her heart as she brought the blade high above her head. Thorn's arm, now completely engulfed, jerked violently as she seized.
"No time." Selene whispered under her breath, her resolve hardened.
With a swift motion, she brought the sword down, severing Thorn's arm just below the shoulder.
There was a moment of stunned silence, save for the dull thud of Thorn's severed limb hitting the ground.