Chapter 183: Witness the Power of the Fire Mist Warrior!

  “…So, those monsters I just fought are called Rinne, subordinates of the Crimson Lords. The Crimson Lords are powerful beings from another world, and in order to maintain their form in this world, they must consume the Power of Existence—preferably from humans… In other words, they are man-eating monsters. That’s an accurate way to put it, right?”

  Sitting in a fast-food restaurant, Alex idly swirled his milk tea while gazing at the girl before him. She was still cd in her bck trench coat, but the fiery red hair that had once looked like it was abze had now turned a deep shade of bck.

  “And when these monsters devour a person’s Power of Existence, it weakens the bance of the world, potentially leading to catastrophic consequences. That’s why warriors like you—Fire Mist Warriors—exist, to stop things from spiraling further out of control… Is that the right understanding?”

  “Correct.”

  The girl nodded, taking a bite of her pineapple bun while furrowing her brows as she studied Alex intently.

  “…How interesting.”

  Alex chuckled at her response, then turned his gaze outside the window. Out there, the buildings that had colpsed during the previous battle had already been restored, and the people who had been caught in the crossfire were once again going about their daily lives as if nothing had happened.

  Yet, according to the girl, these people were now nothing more than empty shells. Their souls—or rather, their Power of Existence—had been taken by the Rinne.

  Once a person loses their Power of Existence, they cease to exist—not just physically, but in every possible way. Their past, their lingering presence, even their memories in the minds of others would be erased completely. As if they had never existed in the first pce.

  If it were just one or two people, the world might be able to correct itself. But if thousands of people vanished at once, an irreparable gap would be left behind. A single cssroom missing one or two students could be overlooked, but if only one or two students remained in an otherwise empty css, forcing others to accept that as reality would be impossible.

  From a certain perspective, it was simir to programming—if too much of the code were missing, the software would inevitably crash. That was why, just moments ago, the girl had demonstrated her ability by repairing the world using Power of Existence…

  Fascinating world…

  Alex was certain he had never watched this anime before. If he had encountered such an intriguing premise, it would have stuck in his mind without question.

  “Hey, you still haven’t expined who you are.”

  As Alex was lost in thought, the girl suddenly smmed her palm on the table and gred at him sharply.

  “You’re not a Fire Mist Warrior, and you’re not a Crimson Denizen either. So how were you able to move freely within the Fuzetsu? And you even managed to kill two Rinne? Who exactly are you?”

  “My name is Alex. I’m currently a teacher at Yuki High School.”

  Alex set down his milk tea and met the girl’s gaze as he answered. Her brows furrowed even deeper upon hearing his response.

  “I seriously doubt an ordinary teacher could move freely in a Fuzetsu, let alone kill Rinne.”

  “Well, I’m also a mage. And a Padin.”

  Alex had always been honest with beautiful girls.

  “A mage? A Padin?”

  As expected, the girl’s face twisted in confusion at his words.

  “What’s that? Astor, do you know?”

  “Hmm…”

  As she asked, the strange pendant on her chest began to glow once more.

  “I’ve never heard of such an existence…”

  “Well, I only just found out today that Fire Mist Warriors are a thing.”

  Alex remained unconcerned. At the very least, thanks to this girl, he had a clearer grasp of the world’s mechanics. That alone made the encounter worthwhile.

  “Thank you for the expnation. Now that it’s getting te, I should take my leave…”

  As he spoke, Alex rose to his feet, preparing to leave.

  But just then, the girl’s gaze sharpened, and she suddenly called out—

  “Wait!”

  "Is there something else?"

  Hearing the girl speak, Alex raised an eyebrow and looked at her. However, she remained unfazed, staring straight at him before extending her hand.

  "You obtained a Treasure Tool from a Mystes earlier, didn't you? Hand it over!"

  "Oh?"

  Hearing this, Alex smirked slightly.

  "Interesting. A Treasure Tool? And is it yours?"

  "It does not belong to me, but Treasure Tools are extremely dangerous artifacts. You are not a Fire Mist Warrior, so you don’t understand the risks involved—"

  "Sorry."

  Before she could finish her lecture, Alex raised a hand to interrupt her.

  "I may not be a Fire Mist Warrior, but since that thing is now in my possession, I have no intention of handing it over. That's all there is to it… As for what I pn to do with it, well, that's a trade secret."

  Hand over something I just acquired? Yeah, right.

  Although Alex wasn’t entirely sure what this Treasure Tool was, the fact that it was needed to unseal the Soulstone meant it was an important artifact in this world. With that in mind, there was no way he was going to just hand it over to someone else.

  "You…!!"

  Hearing Alex’s response, the girl’s expression immediately darkened.

  "If that’s the case, then I’ll just have to take it by force!"

  "Oh? You want to fight?"

  Looking at the girl before him, Alex pondered for a moment. If his guess was correct, she was likely one of the main characters in this world. Well, whatever the case, if she was interested in a battle, he was more than happy to oblige. This would be a good chance to see just how powerful these so-called Fire Mist Warriors were.

  "There are too many people here. Let’s change locations."

  No matter how many times he saw it, this ability was seriously convenient.

  Standing by the riverbank, Alex looked around at the space now bathed in crimson light. He couldn’t help but marvel at it.

  He had already learned from the girl that this space was created using a magic barrier called Fuzetsu. But contrary to his initial assumption, it didn’t actually function like a "time stop." Instead, it separated a portion of space from the world's causal flow, temporarily creating an isoted dimension.

  It was simir to taking a component off a conveyor belt, making some modifications to it, and then pcing it back for further assembly and processing. If the component was never returned, the entire system could malfunction or even break down.

  Either way, this magic was incredibly convenient.

  If he could use Fuzetsu in his main world, he’d never have to worry about leaving behind traces of battle. Just patch things up with some Power of Existence, and everything would be fine.

  But for now…

  With that thought, Alex lifted his head and looked at the girl before him.

  "Are you ready?"

  At this moment, she had once again returned to her bzing-haired form—though, to Alex, it honestly looked like she had a serious dandruff problem. Maybe he should recommend a good shampoo brand to her… something like Head & S—

  "Come at me, little girl."

  As he spoke, Alex casually reached into the void and drew his Void Severing Sword.

  "Let’s see just how strong you Fire Mist Warriors really are."

  "You sure talk big…"

  Hearing Alex’s calm tone, the girl frowned, her expression turning cold and clearly displeased.

  "Then let me show you… the true power of a Fire Mist Warrior!!"

  (End of Chapter)

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