The heat was too strong. As the flames engulfed his body, Roman felt like the flames were sucking him inside, and the heat was burning him down.
‘This is bad.’
Wheik.
Wheeik.
He was out of breath. The flames were so hot and roaring brightly that they blinded him, and the state of invulnerability that he had to cold and heat had no effect. Terrible pain radiated in every part of his body that was touched by the flames. The cold energy did block the heat to some extent, but the flames of this Fire Demon were so different from normal flames.
This was infernal. However, he had already expected it. If this was something that could melt the frozen World Tree, then he knew that controlling it wouldn’t be easy.
‘Infernal Fire Arts.’
Wheik.
He began to raise his mana. The energy in his dantian began to circulate around his body to push out the flames. A massive explosion erupted from within him. Every time his mana and the flames collided, Roman Dmitry’s face would turn red, and his skin would crack. And the moment he got pushed back even once, he knew that the situation would be irreversible. The fire he was facing now wasn’t something he had faced before.
‘The only way to fight the fire that is around me is to accept it. As if the flames are being controlled by the Infernal Fire Arts, I will embrace them slowly. Even if the heat burns down my skin and pushes me into unbearable pain, I need to become one with it.’
Wheeik.
The fire intensified. As Roman Dmitry drew his breath and embraced the flames, the flames of the Fire Demon burned as if in rage. It seemed like he understood why the dwarves didn’t want to touch it. The mass that was tightly packed with fire showed how savage it would be if someone got close to it.
His skin was melting. Parts of his body that couldn’t handle the heat began to fall to the ground, causing him unimaginable pain.
But still, Roman Dmitry didn’t step back. Living a life of struggle and suffering, he accepted that as his reality, and his body didn’t escape the control of his mind under any circumstances. He had the strongest control. It was a firmer force than the pain of the flames.
The flames of the Fire Demon tried to break his mind by pushing him through pain, but Roman’s head was as calm as a ship in a typhoon.
‘Now.’
Wheik.
He opened all his senses to the fullest and accepted the fire.
The Human Stage. Once his body was suitable for nature, he would become one with nature through the stage of intellect.
Also, the flames of the Fire Demon were a part of nature. The fire was surely chaotic, yet it was the most basic force, and Roman Dmitry’s intention was to assimilate with the fire that caused pain to his body.
And from then on, his skin began to regenerate at the same pace as it was melting. While burning, his body continued to restructure itself, and the skin that had melted was regenerating.
If he hadn’t taken a step higher before coming here, this fire would have eaten him alive. It was Roman’s fate to come here and meet the Fire Demon that appeared in this place. Wouldn’t accepting the flames be what the being that had brought him to the Salamander Continent also wished for?
Then what was the purpose that this fire had? He had never made a choice against his will as he lived as Roman Dmitry, and that would still continue to be the case.
Protecting the land and becoming strong—that was it. As for the issue related to the World Tree, he took the risk because their interests aligned.
‘If the path I am moving on and the purpose that my destiny desires are the same, it isn’t the result of fate but a life created from my choices. I thought it was fate that had led me to this flame, and I accepted the pain on my own terms.’
Wheeik.
The fire roared. In the heat that burned fiercely as if it was going to destroy him, Roman Dmitry withstood the pain.
Wheik.
Wind rose. The flames that were sticking to his skin began to get pushed back, and Roman’s skin quickly regenerated. As it returned to its original form, the flames could no longer burn Roman’s body.
At that moment, Roman Dmitry’s consciousness had fallen somewhere beyond the world.
The Salamander Continent. The beginning of this world that the people lived in came from flames.
Salamander appeared in the world, and it coughed up a fire that was strong enough to burn everything, and what crumbled from that ended up as the foundation of this continent.
People accepted that as a legend and orally spoke about it to each generation, but the person who first spoke of that said he didn’t know the full truth.
A world made from fire. Roman Dmitry plunged into the source, and when he opened his eyes, there was fire everywhere, and it burned everything red.
[He who has received the blessing of flames. Accept me. My Heavenly Order is tied to you with a link.]
A voice echoed through the space. The flame was shining everywhere, expressing its presence. The power that the Fire Demon held was amazing.
Just as Felix manifested the power to burn the world by summoning the fire spirit, if he accepted this, he would be able to enter an entirely different level than before.
But Roman Dmitry didn’t accept the devil’s words. Looking at the Fire Demon, who spoke sweet words by mentioning the Heavenly Order, he showed unwavering eyes.
“I do not care who you are. If you want to join me, you will follow me.”
Fate and order, or words that spoke of such an irresistible connection. Roman Dmitry wanted to hold this power. The Fire Demon told him that if he wanted to accept this power, it wanted the human to be under its control.
That was the life of Baek Joong-hyuk, the Heavenly Demon. Even when he fell to the coldest bottom, even when he was forced to go through trials because he was the son of the Heavenly Demon, he always broke the chain of fate and rose to the top.
Always. The initiative of life was in him. The cruel reality may have been driven by fate, but it was one’s willingness that made it happen.
Wheik.
The flames distorted, and then came a laugh.
[Such an incredible answer.]
Wheik.
Rumble.
There was an explosion. The fire covered the land, and Roman Dmitry’s existence was swept away by it.
Even at the moment when everything was vanishing, Roman’s spirit remained intact, and he watched the process of being pulled into the fire.
When he opened his eyes, his throat felt dry. When he raised his body a little with a frowning expression, the first thing he saw was someone who looked like Brown Rock.
“… You really succeeded.”
It was Brown Rock. He looked thrilled. The dwarves found the Fire Demon that could save the World Tree by chance, but they couldn’t touch it because they would die, so they had to bite down on their anger.
And from beyond the Endless Mountains, there was a world that Brown Rock’s generation had never experienced but that their blood had longed for. And at the thought that someone from there could finally save the tree, he couldn’t hide his emotions.
Tuk.
“Take this.”
Roman Dmitry handed him something. It was the Fire Demon. It was like a crystal. It was a small, reddish bead that contained a burning flame inside that was enough to make one feel warm at the touch of it.
The dwarf who touched it trembled. Actually, they thought that the human would be greedy, but he kept his promise.
Humans—they didn’t like them. Their ancestors’ experiences of the greed of humans were passed down to them as lore. However, Roman Dmitry was different.
Brown Rock, who led the dwarves, remembered the benefit they got from the man.
“While Roman Dmitry was fighting with those flames, I had a few conversations with Dmitry’s people. I heard that Dmitry is a city blessed with people who are blacksmiths. In return for this, apart from the favor that Roman Dmitry is asking, we, the dwarf race, will devote ourselves to the Dmitry family from now on. We will pass on our blacksmith skills for the development of your people, and we will build a solid wall so that no one can invade Dmitry. If needed, we will even prepare weapons to arm your soldiers.”
His voice trembled. He was expressing his gratitude.
“The elves who occasionally bring us news said this to me. The cold wave in Arcadie is getting worse with each day, and now the life of the World Tree has reached its limit. We are on the verge of losing our home. If it weren’t for Mr. Roman’s help, we would have given up.”
He was crying. For the last 280 years, he has lived in this underground. Their ancestors said that the dwarves had a home in the vast lands, but Brown Rock had never seen them.
Roman Dmitry. He didn’t know this human, but he gave him hope. Brown Rock didn’t think of Roman Dmitry as a passing relationship.
Roman Dmitry said,
“That is enough. Dmitry will never be against you.”
A reason to trust and a reason not to be hostile—Brown Rock’s eyes were proof of them.
The case was settled. The development of the iron mines had been halted, but the blacksmiths were rather excited to have a close relationship with the dwarves.
The skills of the dwarves—wasn’t it the dream of all blacksmiths to learn from them?
And on that day, Roman Dmitry stood alone in the training hall. He raised his sword and created aura, and the energy of flames sparked.
‘The flames of the Fire Demon have settled inside my dantian.’
In the world he was in when it happened, he knew the Fire Demon was real. The process of accepting it was now a reality, and Roman Dmiry felt his dantian burn. The crystals that he had given to Brown Rock were just a part of it.
However, with that alone, the purpose that Brown Rock had wanted him to fulfill was over. At his will, the flames roared. It was unlike magic, and it had the power to manipulate fire.
‘I need to think about how to use this in the future.’
What was certain was that he had taken a great stride this time.
‘The reconstruction of my body by itself had to be the main thing.’
Lately, he has taken a step into a new stage. However, due to an unintentional change in his training, he was able to step up to a higher level than before. It was a growth rate that was overwhelming, even compared to his previous life.
In his past life, it took him a considerable amount of time to reach that level, but in this life, he shortened it by a shocking amount of time. For now, he had to check his strength and see how much he had changed.
What was the power of this flame? In order to defeat his opponents in the future, he had to figure out how far he could go.
He took a step.
The shadows, the assassins of Ecorche, and the Fire Demon. Even after experiencing such a series of events, Roman didn’t take a rest and headed to the workshop, where people weren’t allowed to enter. And just like that…
Kik.
Thud.
For his closed-room training, he disappeared into the darkness.
One month later, Hans headed to where Roman Dmitry was training.
‘He said he would be back in one month.’
He walked hurriedly. A few days ago, a guest arrived looking for Roman. Of course, Hans told the person to come back again as he was now in closed-room training, but the guest was so stubborn that several days had already passed since he stayed in Dmitry.
So for that person’s sake, he had to bring Roman to him. When he arrived at the workshop, he found Roman, who had already come out of the door.
“Young Master. Did you finish your training?”
“Thankfully, I was able to focus on my training. While I was gone, were there any special problems?”
“There was a guest who came looking for you. Please go there at once. He has been waiting for the Young Master for several days.”
He did call that person a guest, but it felt odd. Hans’s reaction meant that he was a new face. So he headed to the guest room.
And the person who was waiting there impatiently got up with a bright face at the sight of Roman.
“Nice to meet you. I am Count London of Redford.”
Count London. He was a 1st-degree assassination target on Ecorche’s list. He was the guest who came for Roman.
And at the same time, Hans, who went to clean up the place where Roman had been training, opened his mouth wide at the charred place.
It was a sight that couldn’t be explained unless one was in a place that had been burned. He couldn’t understand just what had happened in this place.
