I am the fire.

The fire is my element.

The flames do not harm me, and it burns like a part of my spirit.

It creates and destroys, and ancient civilizations have long worshiped this fundamental energy that sits at the center of human life. A single stray ember can set an entire village ablaze, yet we tolerate the flames in the hearths of our straw-thatched homes. It is a contradictory and fickle element, capricious, provocative, and prone to dancing in the wind.

I don't know why this form of magic manifested inside of me.

I don't consider myself particularly hot-headed or temperamental.

I don't even like conflict.

I am not fond of destruction.

I hate it when people are hurt, and I am reluctant to incinerate my problems with sprawling infernos that stretch all over the red skies. Napalm¹Napalm is an incendiary mixture of a gelling agent and a volatile petrochemical (usually gasoline (petrol) or diesel fuel). (see Wikipedia) is very cruel, and I will never forget the first time I watched in horror as my so-called 'enemies' were charred to blackened husks. Their terrible screams sang in an ear-splitting chorus while the acrid stench of burning flesh saturated the air. Immolation is an excruciating way to die, and I can't even imagine the terrible pain of being enveloped in an inescapable coffin of flames.

In ancient China, they used to torture prisoners by dipping them in cauldrons of boiling oil.

I can only imagine that death by fire is worse, since it is agonizingly slow.

A witch who is burned at the stake dies of suffocation before she is cooked to death.

Sometimes, I feel like my powers are a sick joke.

I didn't even want them.

Yet as the years passed, this terrifying magic only grew stronger.

When I am together with my master, my mana reserves can reach a maximum of nearly twenty times that of the average player. It is a ridiculous amount of destructive energy, and unleashing it all once can produce a catastrophe at a scale equivalent to an archmage's most powerful spell.

I am @Fiie — a person — yet in eyes of some people, I am a weaponizable incendiary bomb.

I hate bombs. All they do is rain indiscriminate senseless misery from the skies.

It's almost impossible to detonate one without inflicting civilian casualties.

⚘ ⚘ ⚘

"Ceasefire!"

I cried into the wind.

I had no idea if the knights could hear me, but I shouted at the top of my lungs.

It was difficult to have an accurate sense of scale in the high skies. Even if something appeared close, the object was very likely to be much further away than it looked. A hundred meters was almost nothing, and many of the pegasus knights were circling thousands of feet above the Felicity. It was unlikely that they could hear my frail voice.

Another explosion rocked the side of the airship, and I grabbed the two chained girls tightly.

"Seems like they're ignoring you," the vampire girl remarked snarkily.

I clenched my teeth. I didn't know how else to be more obvious than literally lighting up our position.

"I don't understand," I cried out in frustration. "If they came all the way here to rescue you, why aren't they doing anything? Why would they recklessly toss your lives aside like this!"

@Priscilla grinned at my helpless distress.

"Vengeance. Spite. It's better for us to die than fall captive in enemy hands. We already lost our levels anyways."

The giant Laguna banked to the side and circled around to approach the Felicity. The flying whale slowly opened its enormous mouth, and a large ball of glowing energy expanded inside of its maw, almost like it was charging a small dwarf star.

"So are you going to kill us now? Are you going to make good on your threats?" She taunted me.

The Laguna's ball of concentrated energy suddenly erupted in column of pure light. The powerful beam of destructive magic was utterly blinding, and for a moment it wasn't impossible to see anything but a brilliant flash of white.

The shield generators on the dorsal surface the airship burst like a deafening crack of thunder, fried by the overwhelming surge of magical power. A chain reaction of multiple explosions slammed through hull of the Felicity, and the ship lurched as if struck by a metaphorical tsunami.

We dropped to the floor, desperate to keep our footing. A precarious whirlwind of flying debris and clanging metal tore up the airship's hull. I reflexively shielded us with a small barrier of magical fire, and @Priscilla's jeers quickly evaporated when she realized that stray pieces of shrapnel were more likely to kill her than anyone else.

We were so small in this chaotic panorama of destruction.

I didn't know the full extent of the damage, but the Felicity was probably crippled beyond repair. The destabilized airship was slowly pitching below the horizon, which meant the navigation controls were no longer functional. Somehow, the smoking wreck was still afloat, but this was probably because the Laguna's crew had intentionally avoided striking our levitation array.

In other words, they weren't even using the full extent of their power.

It was a completely one-sided massacre.

⚘ ⚘ ⚘

Four pegasus knights dived down and swooped around our exposed platform as the whirlwind of smoke cleared.

They were close enough that I could almost see the exquisite details on their armor. Their painted helmets obscured their faces, but each of them had slightly different designs and configurations to their chosen attire. Some of them wore heavy pauldrons, while others preferred a more minimalistic breastplate that left their midriff exposed.

I withdrew slightly and pressed my dagger against the bunny girl's throat.

"Surrender the hostages," the leader of the formation demanded after coming to a slow glide in front of me.

The knight took off their helmet, and then I realized the pegasus knight was actually a man.

He had silvery blue hair and a deeply scarred face. 

I didn't even realize that there were men in a radical feminist transgender organization like Ovum.

His eyes were cold and unforgiving, and they looked resentful as if he was staring at a box full of cockroaches. I could vaguely sense that he was surrounded with a powerful aura, and I immediately had the impression that this knight captain had at least a decade of experience the server.

"@Adrian." The bunny girl in front of me spoke up. "We're okay. We're totally fine. There's no need to overreact."

The blue-haired knight narrowed his eyes, examining the scantily clad woman.

"What the hell did they do to you, @Trisha?"

"Nothing major. You really didn't have to come for us. The fleet's assault on Tower Anchorage is a bigger priority."

"The fleet is fine. On the other hand, you don't look anything close to fine," he growled in muted irritation.

The knight circled closer, and I immediately shot out a burst of flames as a warning.

"Stay back!" I hissed.

My tail was raised and aggressive.

The other three knights were flying circles around us, and it made me feel deeply insecure. It was impossible for me to keep an eye on all of them, and there was no way for me to know if any of them would attack without warning. I was a cornered animal, desperate, and surrounded on all sides with no escape route. 

"I want safe passage. For myself and my master." I demanded shakily. "Let us leave in peace."

The blue-haired knight stared at me.

"Your people have lost. There is no one on your side left."

He turned slightly and gestured at the sky.

The battlefield had already gone quiet. There were no longer any criss-crossing spells or other major explosions, and it wasn't because of an armistice. The pegasus knight was right. It was a total rout, and not a single defender remained in the skies. Too many had been killed or captured. Any remaining mercenaries had likely retreated back into the ship's narrow corridors, but they would likely die with the burning ship as soon as the knights chose to deal a finishing blow.

My heart suddenly ached for @Jasper.

What had happened to him?

My hands suddenly felt weak, and my grip on the dagger loosened slightly.

Without warning, two pegasus knights behind me charged with their lances. They came at the moment I was least prepared, and I spun around in a panic. I didn't have any counter for abrupt melee attacks, and for a moment, I thought everything was over.

There was a loud clatter of metal.

It rang out like a crisp bell reverberating across the sky.

I blinked, shading my eyes from the brilliant sun, and then I realized it was @Jasper.

He had appeared out of seemingly nowhere, bleeding, yet still armed with an enormous heavy halberd. He was riding atop of a hoverboard, which was smoking and damaged. There was something wrong with its gyroscope, because it wouldn't stay still. The flying board continuously tilted to the left, and it sagged underneath my master's weight as if it could barely hold him up in the air. 

He had deflected both of the lances in one fell swoop of his polearm.

"Master!" I cried out in relief.

I was so relieved to see him.

He glanced at me momentarily, but spun back around to face the pegasus knights who had circled back around in the air.

The blue-haired knight captain stared at @Jasper warily.

"I presume you're the leader of this basket of deplorables?" He said slowly, clearly enunciating every syllable.

"That would be me, yes." My owner answered calmly.

"Surrender."

"We would be happy to," @Jasper responded with mild sarcasm. "In fact, we've had our white flag raised since the very beginning. Your knights didn't seem very interested in respecting that convention, so we figured you were hell-bent on annihilating us regardless of anything we said. For the most part, it seemed like that assumption was fairly accurate."

"You will submit yourself to a public tribunal where you will be judged for your crimes."

"Sure. I'll be happy to cooperate." He said casually. "Mind if you leave my cat alone, though? He's a sweet little guy."

My eyes suddenly widened.

@Jasper was accepting the terms of an unconditional surrender.

What the hell was he thinking?

Surely, my owner must have known that turning himself in to a group of radicals like Ovum was worse than death. There were many rumors that circulated on Vetita about the type of punishments that the extremists employed, and they were essentially terrorists. They tortured their prisoners to strike fear into the hearts of their enemies all across the world.

"@Jasper!" I cried out in a flustered panic.

However, my master immediately raised a hand to silence me.

"@Fiie, release those hostages."

"—But!"

"There's no point in fighting over a lost cause."

"I still have plenty of mana. You can use me! If the two of us are together, we still have a chance! It doesn't have to end like this!"

"Stand down, @Fiie. Save your magic for another day. That's an order."

My ears and tail sank hopelessly.

My knees suddenly felt weak, and my hands trembled as I slowly lowered the dagger from the bunny girl's throat.

The two flanking pegasus knights swooped in and seized @Jasper by his arms.

He didn't lift a single finger as they confiscated his weapon and bound him.

@Trisha smiled at me as she tugged lightly on the chains that bound her wrists. My grip was soft like butter, and the metal links slipped out of my hands without any degree of resistance. I was too dazed to stop her, and she easily pulled herself free of my control as I watched blankly in disbelief.

"Please, don't let them mistreat him," I whispered to her pleadingly, even though I knew deep down inside that it was probably useless.

She nodded at me and smiled widely.

It suddenly struck me how sickening that smile was.

"Don't worry," she said warmly. "Your master will get exactly what he deserves."

The two girls turned and started walking across the ramp.

⚘ ⚘ ⚘

They reached the other end of the platform and climbed onto the back of the pegasi that were waiting for them.

I stared at @Jasper, who was now firmly restrained by the knights.

His amber eyes were steady and peaceful.

He was looking at me expressionlessly.

"@Jasper, please." I begged with a voice that was barely audible.

My hands were shaking, and my emotions were spinning like a rowboat in a tumultuous storm.

My owner shook his head.

"Don't try to follow me," he said quietly.

One of the pegasus knights walked up to him and abruptly plunged a sharp dagger into @Jasper's stomach.

My eyes widened in shock.

@Jasper immediately sagged, gasping silently as crimson fluid stained his clothes.

"Just something to keep you nice and comfortable," the knight said coldly. "I have to bleed the prisoner out a bit until they're unconscious. It's a precaution of sorts, since you'll be riding with me. It's a security hazard to fly if you're too healthy."

My owner closed his eyes, not responding to the knife at the slightest.

The knight twisted the hilt inside @Jasper's guts, as if trying to elicit some kind of reaction.

Tears suddenly spilled from my eyes like a fountain.

"Oh come on. No comment at all? At least say something." The female knight said casually.

The other pegasus knights turned around and glanced at the knight who had stabbed @Jasper, but none of them reacted. Apparently, this type of behavior wasn't anything abnormal. Many people had vehement feelings about slavers, and my master was the epitome of an evil figurehead who was responsible for all kinds of suffering.

My vision blurred with hot tears and frustration.

"How does it feel to have the roles reversed?" The woman whispered viciously.

She pulled out the knife and stabbed it in again.

And again.

Then again.

My insides quivered like they were in excruciating pain, and the misery in my abdomen surged like boiling magma in a volcano. There was an overwhelming feeling of existential despair that swelled from the bottom of my soul, and it seared my heart like a hot scalpel that was cutting through the fibers that held every little bit of my emotions in check.

Tears were flooding out so uncontrollably that I couldn't see anything.

Everything looked red like blood.

I couldn't breath, and my lungs hurt.

@Trisha turned back to glance at me for a moment, as if she vaguely sensed an ill premonition.

But at that point, it was already too late.

I burst apart without warning.

An explosive firestorm swallowed the Felicity in a raging whirlwind that extended far up into the skies. It spun like a fiery tornado ripping apart anything that stood in its way, and the conflagration burned like the surface of the sun. Every ounce of energy was sucked out of me like a vacuum, and my magic howled like the blazing wind.

My feelings spilled out of me violently.

But then I was spent and empty.

I have no memory of anything that happened after that.

⚘ ⚘ ⚘