Hordes of people from inside their homes rushed out, trying to find out what had caused that explosion that they have never heard of before.
Daizen Shizaki couldn't believe his eyes.
They all saw it. The black smoke rising in the distance. The raging fire.
People had already descended into chaos, but Shizaki's legs refused to move as he could only witness the dreadful sight in silence, with screams, shouts and cries all around him.
"Oh my god!"
"Find the village chief and the Royal Knights! Quickly!"
"Is there anyone who went into the forest!? We need to save them now!!"
His eyes twitched, and as if a switch had just been flipped--
"....Sekoto Forest! That's no good! It's gonna spread like wildfire! And Alexandriya and Gariah are in there!!"
--Shizaki instantly took off, with his heart pounding deeply in his chest.
Oh, God!!! What should I do!? They're somewhere in there!!!
Bolting at top speed, Shizaki's legs worked at their maximum output, despite his entire body being unable to shake off a chilling feeling within. This was huge trouble for anyone who might have wandered in the immense forest, but especially to his friends who had been waiting for him.
As he darted, he began to fear the worst. He couldn't take this matter lightly. Lives were at stake here.
"Please be okay…both of you!!!"
Thanks to his incredible sprinting and stamina capabilities, he reached the border between Sekoto Village and the forest in under two minutes, and thanks to a shortcut that he knew, he had reached his destination faster than most others. Even so, many were already at the site of the fire, doing their best to alleviate the damage with their magic.
In front of him, the fire had spread to a great extent, engulfing most of the trees and leaving a hot sensation that prevented anyone from staying too close. Still…
"Everyone!! Please use whatever magic you can to lessen the fire until the Royal Knights arrive!"
A man shouted out those words, and in reply, many villagers used Water, Wind and Spirit Arts magic in succession from a distance.
Even a mage arrived, and holding out her scepter, a great volume of water protruded from it, colliding into the flames.
A part of the blaze seemed to cower in fear as the water rushed through the soil, branches, roots. The sound of a loud sizzle roared as the flood of water ran against the fire.
Even so...
This is bad, really, really bad… it's hardly stopping, and this is most likely a quarter of the Forest burning up already!
Beads of perspiration trickled down his face as he contemplated what to do next. Of course, he had made it here in order to save someone, hell, anyone, but now that he was here…
...How exactly should I do this?
He hadn't thought of a strategy, and time was of the essence now. The more he kept thinking, the more time would be wasted, and the worse the situation would become.
Of course, heading straight in would probably be suicide.
Should he try his Affinity of Wind at full power?
No, there was a reason why he didn't use his magic in the first place.
He subconsciously held his head in his arms, already determining the excruciating pain he would have to endure because of shattering his Soul Realm even more.
If only the drawbacks didn't feel like a light stabbing into my skull when attempting a full output with a fractured vessel…
Dammit, he thought. Even if he tried to do it anyway, the strength of his full capability could hurt people close to him.
I…just have to go in! I don't have much time!
Having no proper solution, Shizaki took a step forward, relying on sheer willpower to make it through the raging blaze.
If he ran at full speed, would he be able to do it?
No, it's not a matter of if I can do it right now!
However, before he could move, he heard a familiar voice shouting out.
"Daizen!?"
Hearing his first name being called, Shizaki's heart almost jumped for joy as he turned around.
A boy with black hair and brown eyes jumped towards him, and embraced him tightly.
"Shit, Daizen, it really is you!! You're okay!!"
"Gariah!!! Thank goodness!!!"
With his heart skipping beats from anxiety, Shizaki stooped down, trying to calm himself down. Also, Gariah took a couple of deep breaths before speaking once more.
However...
"Alexandriya Aya-san…I haven't found her anywhere outside of Sekoto Forest, Daizen!"
"Wha-!? You mean…!!?"
He stared at him with a fearful look in his eyes, and the same expression was returned to him.
"I arrived late, Daizen!! I….didn't make it to the forest on time for our hangout!!! Then the explosion happened!!I searched everywhere around this area for her...fuck…no…!!"
Slowly tilting his head to his right, Shizaki blankly faced the burning forest, and then widened his eyes with dread.
She might be in there!!! She's always early to our meetups!!!
Daizen Shizaki stood up and tried to control his swaying body.
"No….we gotta…I gotta…!"
"It's too dangerous, Daizen! We just…hic…have to…hic…pray she makes it!!!"
Sensing the sobbing of his friend beside him, he did not turn back.
There was a good chance that his other friend was still in there.
Biting his bottom lip hard until it started to bleed, Shizaki narrowed his eyes, and made his final decision.
It's gonna hurt, but…!
He took a step forward.
However, he was immediately tugged back by something. More specifically, a hand had pulled his collar. And as he turned back, he saw Gariah with a petrified face.
"Gariah!?"
"Please....don't go!!! It's dangerous!"
"But, our friend-"
"I can't risk a chance of losing you too!!!"
"I have to save her, dammit!!!"
"If you go in there....you don't understand!!"
"What...are you trying to say!!?"
After a constant increase of yelling and screaming from both sides, silence finally broke out between them, as a confused yet nervous Shizaki stared into the frightened eyes of Gariah.
Then, as the silence persisted, Shizaki took his hand off of his collar.
"We don't have time for this!! Listen, Gariah. Don't come after me. If I don't make it-"
"Please….don't."
"Tell my Gramps that I finally tried to do something useful."
Those were the final words that he told him, before turning around and immediately sprinting will all of his might into the burning forest.
He ignored the screams that followed.
"DAIZEN SHIZAKI, YOU IDIOT!!!!"
"Hey, did that kid just run into the forest!!??"
"Someone stop him!!"
"Shit, it's too dangerous for that damn kid to enter with no magic! It's suicide!!"
Spotting the fearless boy slowly disappear into the bushes, Nadeko and his team could only look on in shock, and Nadeko bit down hard on his molars before clicking his tongue in anger.
"That idiot!"
And with the confusion that followed, Gariah fell down, covering his face.
"....It begins."
***
Beads of sweat dampened Shizaki's troubled face as he ran deep into the blazing forest. That sweat slowly dissipated along with his hope of finding any survivors as he kept running forward.
"Hello! Anyone! If you can hear me! Please yell, as loud as you can!"
He kept shouting at the top of his lungs as the noise from the crackling and burning due to the fire was loud enough to surpass any sound that might have been calling for help.
Soon, though, his running came to a halt as his body stood still in shock.
"You're…kidding me…"
A red sheet of fire throughout the entire forest…was all that he could see. Everything was enveloped in searing heat. From where he was standing, it seemed as if the fire was about to close in on him.
Shizaki turned around, looking for any other routes that he could take. But…
I'm…lost, I think.
He couldn't think of a way to get back out. He had run so far and so deep into the forest that the farthest thing he could see beyond the trees at any position were simply more trees.
Covering his nose and mouth, Shizaki prepared to jump over a huge drop, a crevice in the forest. The smoke was finally getting to him, and it wouldn't be long before the heat would get to him as well. He was already hot enough from the heat, but as long as he kept moving, he might be alright, he thought.
After taking a running start, Shizaki leaped across the void of deeper soil and landed with an awkward stumble, bracing his arms as he collided with the burning soil.
A quick pain rose as quickly as it was about to fall. Slowly getting up, he realized that the heat was now starting to get to him.
Sweating profusely was not all, his body was not reacting quickly enough now. He panted heavily as he slowly limped forward with fire all around him, trying his best to keep conscious, holding his breath but failing as he tried to avoid the smoke.
Every breath got heavier. His body felt like it was burning, melting as the fumes rage against the wind around him. Shizaki's eyes watered as he thought about the possibility of death.
Tripping and falling, he tried to get himself back up. And then…
"No…way…"
Just ahead of him, the figure of a hooded person sat at the base of a tree that was yet to catch on fire.
Vigor and hope flooded into Shizaki. He took one last spring and ran towards the person.
"H-Hey! Are you badly hurt?"
Finally catching up to him, he stood above him with eyes of desperation.
This is it, a survivor. It wasn't his friend, Alexandriya Aya, though. That realization hurt him, but even so…
Shizaki leaned in to look closely at the person. Their face was covered with a wet cloth, and the body remained motionless.
Did they pass out?
The body seemed to be in very good condition. In fact, there were hardly any burnt marks or bruises-
No. There were actually…
Shizaki: "No injuries whatsoever…he's unharmed in this… blazing forest. How is that… even…possible?
Suddenly, an eerie chill ran down Shizaki's spine.
He felt a presence behind him.
He turned around.
There's nothing...I think. Dammit, I gotta get outta here, quickly though!
Feeling a sense of urgency to leave, he turned back and prepared to hoist the person onto his back, but...
His eyes caught a small, white and circular box right next to the person's hands.
Instinctively, he reached for it, and the coarse, burning fingers of Daizen Shizaki touched it.
In an instant-
--Daizen Shizaki's life had changed forever.
-----------------------------------------
(Chapter 2: The Beginning of the End.)