Chapter 29 – When Flames Meet Flames (Three)

Ray’s footsteps halted.

A question blossomed in his mind.

Why on earth was Philip?

To save Cedric?

With that uncomfortable body of his?

“Hurry up and go! Don’t worry about me!”

Philip’s shout.

It wasn’t directed at him.

Outside the dueling hall.

Beyond the burning drum barrels.

The hotel children who had come as attendants were at a loss, just staring at Philip’s back.

“I’m not forcing you to help! If you don’t have the courage, get out now!”

Philip’s shout followed.

The children, biting their lips tightly, began running around the drum barrels encircling the dueling hall toward the exit.

Thud! Thud-thud!

Even as the sound of footsteps faded into the distance, Ray couldn’t take his eyes off Philip.

Suddenly, the conversation they’d had at the hotel came to mind.

「You said you’re old friends. Don’t you want to mend the broken relationship?」

「That’s… true. If I could.」

「Come to the duel location with me. After the duel is over, I’ll arrange a chance for you to talk with Cedric.」

Could it be because of that that he’s trying to save Cedric?

Even if that were the case, was it worth risking his life for?

‘It was only two days ago that Cedric almost killed him.’

It was an ironic situation.

Right now, Philip was trying to save the life of the person who had tried to take his own, and he was risking his own life to do it.

Crackle! Thud!

Ceiling structures fell around them, scattering sparks.

Whoosh! Whoosh-whoosh!

The flames viciously expanded their territory.

“……”

But Ray didn’t move.

He was confused.

However, one thing was certain.

The fact that Philip’s Vessel currently contained an amount of Mana that couldn’t be described as merely enormous.

He had never seen Mana of such intense saturation seep into a Vessel before.

White Mana shining like freshly fallen snow.

A sharp, bright lemon-yellow Mana like sunlight.

‘Worry. And courage.’

In Ray’s pupils, the image of Philip, straining to lift the fallen Cedric, was reflected.

Thud.

Ray lifted his foot as if entranced.

He strode step by step into the dueling hall.

Arriving before Philip, who was panting, drained of strength, he asked.

“Are you trying to drag Cedric? All the way to your wheelchair over there?”

“You’re still here.”

Philip, lifting his head, confirmed it was Ray and managed a strained smile.

“I thought you’d be the first one out. You’re quick to judge situations.”

“…….”

He probably would have been.

If it weren’t for this immense curiosity churning his insides right now.

“Answer me. Did you stay to save Cedric?”

“Yes. Sorry, but could you help me get Cedric into the wheelchair?”

Philip spoke in a voice that was urgent but trying its best to remain calm.

However, his expression wasn’t great, likely from enduring the pain of forcing his unhealed body to move.

“…….”

Ray silently looked around once.

Whoosh! Whoosh-whoosh!

Inside and outside the dueling hall, the entire factory was already engulfed in flames.

His vision was dyed red and yellow, and the heated air was slowly constricting his breath.

‘It’s already too late to escape.’

But Ray didn’t point that out. He was curious about what Philip intended to do.

“After you get him seated?”

“Take Cedric and get out of here. You can have all my share of the other money.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll be fine.”

“You’ll be fine?”

“No matter how strong you are, you won’t be able to take care of me too. Just take Cedric out. Please.”

“That sounds like you’re telling me to save Cedric instead of you.”

Philip fell silent for a moment.

Because Ray’s words were accurate.

“…I’ll be fine.”

Contrary to his trembling voice, the Mana in his Vessel was unwavering.

The emotions of worry and courage had expanded enough to fill the Vessel, and their saturation remained unchanged.

“I really will be fine. So….”

The moment Ray realized Philip was sincere, his doubt amplified greatly.

Ray had always lived observing people’s emotions and the actions that followed, and thanks to that, he held more samples in his memory than his years would suggest.

‘Everyone’s most important thing is their own life.’

In the face of death, all other emotions held their breath, and only the desire to survive and fear stood rigidly tall.

But now, an exception had appeared.

It was the first time since Niles.

“What were you going to do if I wasn’t here? Even if you somehow managed to get Cedric into the wheelchair by yourself, what then?”

A question implying that without the strength to push the wheelchair, he would ultimately fail to escape.

Philip wasn’t unaware of the question’s intent.

“I didn’t think that far ahead when I moved. There was no one else trying to save Cedric. So I came to save him.”

“What benefit do you get from that?”

“Benefit?”

“You’re good with calculations. What’s the profit for you in risking your life to save Cedric?”

It wasn’t that he had never seen people sacrifice themselves.

But those were usually due to coercion from an organization, a street gang, or some group they belonged to.

Or cases where there was a special personal gain to be obtained through the sacrifice.

True, voluntary sacrifice in its purest sense did not exist.

At least not in the world Ray had experienced.

So Philip must have a purpose.

Especially since he’d staked his life on it.

‘He must have some benefit in mind. The benefit he’ll gain from saving Cedric.’

Moving for safety and profit.

That was the basic behavioral principle of the animal called a human.

But the moment Philip, who had been licking his lips, opened his mouth.

“Benefit… there isn’t any.”

Ray couldn’t help but feel as if he’d been hit on the head.

“There’s no benefit…?”

“I told you. I didn’t move thinking about the consequences.”

“Then why on earth? You had plenty of time to evacuate with the hotel children. Why did you do something that was obviously going to get you killed?”

“Because Cedric and I are friends.”

Because we’re friends.

The short sentence that flowed into his ears fell into the boy’s arid heart and caused ripples.

It was a very strange moment.

‘Weird.’

For a moment, it felt as if the surrounding sounds ceased.

‘My chest….’

An indescribable itch squirmed inside his chest.

「I’m just giving it to you. Because Ray Hyung and I are friends.」

Memories submerged in the boy’s subconscious began surfacing simultaneously.

「The reason you used expensive medicine to save me?」

「Because there was a person right in front of me freezing to death. I just thought I had to save them first. I didn’t think about the pros and cons before saving them.」

His head spun.

The boy’s feet momentarily staggered.

The past when his emotions were completely blocked.

The sentences he had clearly passed by without finding any meaning back then were now surfacing, radiating clear meaning.

To the present, now, this very moment.

「Because we’re friends.」

If he just reached out a little more.

It felt like he could touch the true meaning held by those words.

No. It’s useless.

At the same time, he felt that no matter how hard he tried, he wouldn’t be able to reach it.

‘…….’

One thing was certain.

The fact that some anomaly was occurring in his emotional well right now.

Ray bent his knees and crouched down.

He rolled the fallen Cedric’s body forward to check his breathing.

“You’re going to help? Really?”

“It’s too late to escape. The fire is already all around us.”

Only then did Philip, who properly looked around, open his mouth with a small groan.

“Ah….”

“It might be safer to just stay still here. The fire hasn’t spread to the inner part of the dueling hall yet.”

Ray suddenly took off his outer shirt and tore it into three large pieces.

Riiip─! Riiiiip─!

“You, suddenly, what are you…!”

Ignoring the startled Philip, he mixed in Atmospheric Mana to blend colors.

Huuuum─!

A chillingly blue Mana gathered onto the torn clothes in the form of spheres.

Then, Attuning to Ray’s will, it transformed into water and splashed down, soaking the pieces of cloth.

Ray used the wet cloth pieces to cover Cedric’s mouth and nose, calculating the space for breathing.

And he handed one piece to Philip as well.

“Put it over your shoulders and cover your mouth. Try not to inhale the smoke directly as much as possible.”

“You… is that Magic right now?”

Philip couldn’t close his surprised mouth.

Thanks to the goosebumps rising all over his body, the heat clinging to his skin dissipated in an instant.

He roughly knew what Magic was.

When you pick up street rumors, you inevitably hear stories not grounded in reality.

But he had never believed in Magic.

Not once in the over ten years he was born and raised on the streets.

Starting a fire with bare hands.

Creating ice. Conducting electricity.

Moving objects without touching them.

For a child who grew up in back alleys full of filthy water and dust all his life, it was a story not easily pictured in his mind.

Even more so for Philip, who had lived facing reality much earlier than his peers.

That’s why, when he received Ray’s request to search for a Wizard.

It was true that a part of him had thought.

It’ll be a futile search.

Because things like Magic don’t exist in this world.

“…….”

But now, Magic had appeared right before his eyes.

And in the hands of a person he thought was the epitome of worldly realism.

He even felt a bit cheated.

But the shock was brief.

‘Wait. If he can create water, maybe he can put out the fire and escape this place─.’

“Magic isn’t something you can use indefinitely. The more you use it, the more tired you get. Among the things I know how to use, there’s nothing that would be of great help in this situation either.”

“Ah….”

Ray answered as if he had read his thoughts again this time.

“If you have questions, I’ll talk about them later. Right now, I’d like you to answer my question first.”

“…….”

Philip faced Ray.

Ray’s characteristically calm tone and serene face made the current situation feel extremely unreal.

Whoosh! Thud!

A burning piece of debris falls.

A drum barrel topples and the flames gradually spread inward.

The children evacuated long ago.

The only ones left in the factory are the three lonely people here now.

At the end of the flowing time, only death awaits.

But Ray had no sense of crisis or tension.

Part of it was due to his lack of emotion preventing him from feeling fear, but right now there was a reason beyond that.

「Because we’re friends.」

All his focus was concentrated on the words Philip had thrown.

He felt a desire.

An intense desire to resolve the question itching at his heart as quickly as possible, even for a moment.

Whoosh! Thud!

Debris fell right nearby.

But Ray, like a person completely cut off from his surroundings, stared straight at Philip.

“What do you think a friend is?”

“Is that… an important question for you right now?”

“It’s important. Very much so.”

Philip was bewildered.

He couldn’t understand the intent of the question.

No matter how he looked at it, it seemed insane, but the other’s attitude was so serious that he stammered out a reply.

“A friend is just a friend. It’s a word commonly used in daily life.”

“It’s not a word I don’t know either. But the friend I know and the friend you spoke of seem different. You said you stepped out to save Cedric simply because he’s a friend. Not for any benefit.”

“…What do you think a friend is?”

Ray answered immediately.

“A person you’ve known for a certain period.”

“…….”

It wasn’t a wrong answer, and it was an answer that could have easily come from someone else’s mouth.

But why?

That sentence uttered through Ray’s lips, combined with his obsession with the meaning of ‘friend,’ came across as incredibly strange.

“…….”

Philip suddenly felt he understood.

The identity of the inexplicable sense of incongruity he’d felt while dealing with Ray.

Whoosh! Thud!

Had the feeling of growing calm somehow been transmitted to him from Ray?

Taking a steadying breath, Philip continued in a composed voice.

“What you said isn’t a wrong definition of a friend either. But it’s insufficient.”

“Then?”

“A person you can help without expecting anything in return. And a person you can receive help from. That’s a friend.”

“By ‘in return,’ do you mean material things?”

“Anything. Whether it’s material. Or some other form. Just because it’s that person. Because you’re worried. Because you want to look after them. Actually, the word ‘family’ might be more fitting than ‘friend.'”

Philip added.

Except for the mother he parted with in childhood, Cedric was the only person in his life he could call family.

“Don’t you regret the choice? You’re going to lose your life here after all.”

“I don’t regret it. I was true to my feelings.”

Screeeech──! Thud!

The increasing falling debris.

The crimson flames approaching right up close.

“What do you think the feeling of ‘worry’ is?”

“The desire to protect that person.”

Continued questions.

Continued answers.

Whoosh! Thud!

Ray felt nauseous.

It felt as if something small and sharp like a beak was persistently poking the inside of his chest.

Also, countless past memories he had dismissed as meaningless scattered in his mind like sheets of paper, confusing his thoughts.

Creeeak──!

It was then.

Above the two boys’ heads.

A huge steel beam forming the ceiling tilted and then.

Creek! Whooosh──!

Its connection severed, it began to fall.

“The desire to protect?”

“Yeah. Just because it’s that person.”

However, the two boys, too engrossed in their conversation along with the surrounding noise, failed to notice that fact.

“The desire to protect….”

The boy’s lips slowly repeated the sentence.

At that moment.

Huum.

It stirred.

The White Mana in the atmosphere, which had shown not even a flicker until now.