Memoirs of Your Local Small-time Villainess-Chapter 305 - Past and to the future

As the world around them twisted, Scarlett felt the air thicken, as if bracing for some profound upheaval. The stone chamber where they had stood began to dissolve at the edges, its walls bending, splintering, and re-forming until an entirely new landscape stretched out before them. They now stood atop a tall hill, overlooking a vast valley with a sprawling city at its heart.

The city was a labyrinthine array of towering buildings carved from white marble and cold grey stone. Arched bridges spanned wide spaces, while spires reached skyward with a near-audacious elegance. It was a metropolis of staggering scale, at least by this world’s standards, its architecture reminiscent of the ancient designs of the Rising Isle and the grand edifices of the Ascendant Court in Elystead.

In other words, a Zuverian city.

White rifts dotted the streets and surfaces, hovering like open wounds in reality, their edges faintly shimmering. Although the city appeared solid, nearly tangible, these fractures gave it an eerie quality, like fleeting glimpses into an unsettling void that gnawed at its fringes. No signs of life moved within its walls.

A deep, thunderous hum filled the air, resonating through the ground beneath their feet. Scarlett’s gaze lifted. Above the tallest buildings, that same indistinct form from before loomed — an enormous, shifting grey mass, impossible to fully perceive. It coiled and unfurled, emerging from a web of rifts that tore the firmament asunder.

Its sheer scale almost defied comprehension. The entity’s form pulsed with disturbing energy, warping the landscape around it as though poised to devour the city below.

Beside her, Scarlett heard several sharp intakes of breath.

“A Zuverian city…” Gaspar murmured, his tone low and full of disbelief as his wide eyes scanned the ancient cityscape. “How can this be?”

Scarlett didn’t respond. Her attention was fixed on the being above. While she disliked admitting it, there was a primal part of her that clawed at her to turn and flee, that screamed that this being was nothing like facing her ‘counterpart’. She could feel, in her very core, that it was truly something aberrant.

“Are we…supposed to fight that?” Allyssa’s voice wavered, the tremor in her words betraying the fear and uncertainty.

Scarlett watched as tendrils of dark grey energy spiralled from the Anomalous One, crashing across the city with the force of a thousand meteors. Where they landed, the dark shapes twisted and writhed, morphing into new forms — some resembling real creatures but distorted, others entirely unrecognisable. These monstrosities began slowly prowling the streets.

There was something about this scene that seemed…familiar. Her eyes narrowed.

…She’d seen this before. Back when she first encountered Thainnith’s remnant and received his inheritance. At the time, she’d glimpsed fleeting visions. One of them showed this exact moment: the Anomalous One descending upon the city.

So, this had happened before. An actual event from history? Why would the Anomalous One re-create a Memory like this specifically? If Scarlett understood Memories correctly—which she wasn’t sure that she did—they drew from something outside this world, some form of collective record of all that had transpired. Was the Anomalous One perhaps using this Memory because it was one of the few that allowed it to manifest in this form?

“Yes,” she finally said, steadying her own voice in response to Allyssa’s question. She drew a slow breath, then added, “That is what we are meant to fight. If we do not stop it now, we may lose any chance we have.”

The problem was that she couldn’t say how they were meant to fight it yet.

“What is that?” Gaspar asked, his gaze now fixed on the gargantuan shadow in the sky. “…How can such a thing even exist?”

“It is the entity that the Hallowed Cabal sought to release — the Anomalous One,” Scarlett replied. “…Though this is only a fragment. A mere shard. If it were more…” She let her words trail off.

Gaspar looked at her, confusion written on his face. “Anomalous One? I have never heard of it.”

“I am not surprised,” she said simply, choosing not to elaborate further.

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“And what do you intend to do, now that you are here?” the other Scarlett asked beside her.

Scarlett spared her doppelganger a single glance before returning her focus to the Anomalous One. Its shadow seemed to corrupt the streets below, and more of its tendrils stretched beyond the city, inching towards them.

Even if she poured every ounce of her magic out, exhausted every last reserve of mana, she wasn’t certain she could leave so much as a scratch on this thing. The Anomalous One was simply too vast.

“How many of you can still fight?” she asked loudly, equipping her [Crown of Flame’s Benediction] along with the rest of her gear. She looked at Gaspar and the remaining Isle wizards. Those still standing appeared dazed, their eyes locked on the Anomalous One with expressions of defeated apprehension. Gaspar and Magister Penney exchanged somber looks before Gaspar barked at his wizards to pull themselves together.

“Few,” he answered grimly, his gaze seeming to linger warily on the circlet Scarlett wore for some reason. “…We have little mana or strength left. A handful of us can still cast, but don’t expect much.” A brief scowl formed on his face. “…Not even from me.”

Scarlett frowned, then scanned her own party. Allyssa looked tired, but she was at least alert. Shin gave a small nod, sword and shield in hand. Fynn was still unconscious, and Rosa lay slumped on the grass, offering an apologetic smile.

“I’m sorry, Scarlett,” the woman said softly. “I barely have any left in me.”

Scarlett’s eyes stayed on her for a moment before returning to the looming threat. “…So be it,” she muttered, watching as several of the Anomalous One’s ‘minions’ landed across the hillside, their bizarre forms creeping and crawling closer. “What we have will simply have to suffice.”

Raising a hand, she summoned a cage of flame around one of the creatures, a monstrous amalgamation resembling a bear with two deformed heads. Within moments, it was reduced to ash. Yet, as the remains fell, some of the particles simply…reformed. It was as if its essence defied the very concept of destruction, immune to the rules of common sense.

Scarlett unleashed another surge of fire, scorching it again and again until, at last, it seemed to learn its lesson and stayed as ashes. But that was just one. Across the hillside, dozens more advanced, while the city below teemed with countless others. Their slow, deliberate movements might have made them manageable in smaller numbers, but at this scale, brute force alone was futile.

Her eyes swept the area until she spotted one of the Anomalous One’s rifts etched into the ground ahead. She channelled her flames, focusing her energy on the rift in an effort to seal it. Yet as her magic surged forward, the rift pushed back with an unexpected force, its resistance nearly catching her off guard.

“This is not one of your Memories,” the other Scarlett remarked, her tone calm, almost indifferent. “You will not be able to simply break it.”

Scarlett glanced at the other version of herself, irritation flaring momentarily before she redirected her focus to the advancing creatures. She spread her flames wider, slowing their progress as she tried to think of alternative approaches.

“You did not have to follow the others here,” the other Scarlett continued, observing her efforts. “You could have remained safe.”

“And allow that thing to establish its foothold?” Scarlett retorted.

She didn’t fully understand what it would mean for the Anomalous One to take control here, to seize command of the Hall of Echoes, but she knew it could be catastrophic. If there was a chance to stop it, it was now, while the entity was still in its formative state.

A guttural sound split the air as one of the creatures before them suddenly shifted from its lumbering crawl to a frenzied, erratic sprint, as though it had just learned to wield its limbs properly. Scarlett immediately focused on it, unleashing a precise burst of fire that engulfed the creature. She followed with sharp, slicing blades of water, cleaving through its form. But even as she managed to destroy it, others began to adopt the same unpredictable speed, flowing forward with alarming agility.

Scarlett’s flames expanded, spreading to cover most of the hillside in an effort to counter the creatures’ chaotic movements.

A sudden eruption of shattering glass burst nearby as one of Allyssa’s vials exploded, creating an icy torrent that froze three creatures in their tracks. A heartbeat later, Shin charged forward, shield raised high as he slammed into another beast, his sword gleaming with a silvery light.

Gaspar, Magister Penney, and a handful of their wizards joined the fray, casting a flurry of spells. Fire, water, and other elements rained down on the creatures, with barriers of rock rising to impede their progress. Scarlett met Gaspar’s gaze, noting the tension on his face as he fought to cast his own spells, and gave him a nod.

Conjuring more flames, Scarlett combined her fire with Allyssa’s ice to immobilise and impale several creatures. Yet even under her and the wizards’ continuous assault, few of the monsters truly perished. They seemed impervious to death unless Scarlett expended far more mana than she was comfortable with on any single one. Still, at least for now, they were keeping the creatures at bay.

As the battle dragged on, the sky above grew darker, an oppressive grey spreading like ink across the heavens. The tallest structures within the city were distorting even further as the Anomalous One’s presence deepened its hold, appearing as though viewed from a haze.

“What’s it doing?” Allyssa’s voice pierced through the clamour of spells and fighting.

“I do not know,” Scarlett replied, watching the unnatural scene.

“Do we need to stop it?”

“Most likely.”

“How?”

Scarlett hesitated. “…That, I have yet to determine.”

“Oh? And you, who were so confident?” her counterpart cut in, arms crossed. “Now here you stand, uncertain how to extract yourself from the very predicament you so eagerly entered.”

Scarlett turned, meeting the other Scarlett’s gaze. The woman hadn’t lifted a finger to help, but she also hadn’t interfered. She simply observed, as if the chaos unfolding around them was a mere spectacle.

“…I am Scarlett Hartford,” Scarlett declared. “Regardless of which version of me stands here, past or present, there will never come a day when I do not stand resolute in my chosen course. That is part of who I currently am.”

The other Scarlett regarded her in silence, then inclined her head with a slow nod. “That, at the very least, I can respect.”

A series of deafening crashes echoed as more of the Anomalous One’s tendrils slammed into the hillside, their forms quickly rising as more monsters advanced towards Scarlett and her allies. Scarlett was once again forced to turn her full attention to the battle, falling into a tight rhythm with the others as they worked to repel the creatures. Yet with every passing moment, she could feel the Anomalous One’s hold tightening on the Memory, its presence bleeding through the scene like ink on parchment. If it fully overtook this Memory, she doubted there would be any reclaiming it. The Anomalous One would anchor itself here, gaining a direct connection to the Rising Isle through the Hall of Echoes.

As she fought, a thought nagged at the back of her mind. When she received Thainnith’s legacy, she had glimpsed a vision of this scene. But it hadn’t been quite like this, had it? One detail stood out, distinctly different.

From experience, she knew that creating a Memory didn’t grant its creator absolute control. If anything, a Memory was more like a stage production — a structured reenactment woven from events that had once transpired, drawn from somewhere beyond this world. While deviations could occur—she’d seen that with Vail’s unexpected appearance—Memories generally seemed to follow a defined course, a narrative that sought to play out as intended.

So even if she couldn’t break this Memory, maybe…just maybe, she could buy some time by steering it back to its proper path.

Turning to Gaspar, she spoke quickly. “I need a moment. Hold them at bay for as long as you can.”

The man’s brows furrowed. “What are you planning?”

“There is no time for explanations.”

He hesitated, then gave a tight nod, signalling to Magister Penney and the other wizards. Together, they stepped forward, forming a line of defence as determination hardened their expressions despite the exhaustion written across their faces. Scarlett could see them drawing on the last dregs of their strength as they prepared to shield her.

Wasting no time, Scarlett turned her focus inward, shutting out the chaos of the battle. At the same time, her eyes searched the grey-streaked sky, scanning the rifts scattered across it like scars. Her gaze settled on one huge rift dominating the horizon, stretching from one end of the city to the other. Drawing deeply on her mana, she conjured a wave of flames and directed them towards the rift, pushing her power as far as it would go.

The rift resisted her influence, recoiling against her magic. Even as she tried tapping into the strange, intangible connection left behind by Thainnith’s legacy—that echo of the Anomalous One’s own power—she couldn’t force it to yield. Gritting her teeth, Scarlett adjusted her approach, releasing the forceful grip of her magic and instead gently nudging the rift, trying to coax it open rather than forcing it to surrender.

She wasn’t sure how much time passed, but eventually, the resistance softened. The Memory itself seemed to respond, aligning with her efforts. The rift widened, revealing even more of the endless, blank whiteness beyond. Her flames suffused the opening, casting it in a deep crimson light. Reaching deeper, Scarlett sought a connection she wasn’t even certain existed. When she found it, relief surged through her.

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A torrent of mana left her, mingling with something powerful and immense that she couldn’t even begin defining. The rift expanded further, and within its depths, a colossal silhouette began to take shape — indistinct at first, like a creature caught in the liminal space between worlds. Gradually, its form grew more defined, consolidating into enormous wings that unfurled like the arms of a slumbering titan.

And then, from the heart of the rift, a dragon emerged.

Its massive body stretched across the sky, each scale a gleaming slab of iridescent hues that glinted like fractured crystals. Its underbelly gleamed with a pearly white brilliance, and its jaw parted in a silent roar that vibrated through the air. Horns spiralled from its head like obsidian spires, and its molten eyes blazed with an ancient light. Spines the size of towers lined its back, and as it spread its wings, it blotted out what little light remained, plunging vast swaths of the city into shadow.

Had the Anomalous One not been so immense, Scarlett might have doubted that any single creature could grow to such an unimaginable size.

“Is that…?” Gaspar’s voice trailed off as he and everyone else stared at the dragon in stunned silence.

Scarlett nodded. “Olgolzkreh, Lord of the White. An ancient dragon — and the one that will one day come to be known as the ‘Dragon of Devastation’.”

Now, with this, the scene mirrored the vision she’d once seen.

Scarlett spared a glance at the unconscious Fynn. Perhaps it was just as well that he wasn’t awake to witness the battle about to unfold.

The dragon launched itself at the Anomalous One, roaring with a force that shook the city’s very foundations. When the two behemoths collided, the warped cityscape below seemed to stabilise, if only momentarily. Olgolzkreh’s fangs tore into the Anomalous One’s amorphous form, forcing it to recoil in a twisting mass of dark energy. For the first time, Scarlett saw the Anomalous One falter, even if only slightly — a small victory that nonetheless kindled more than a flicker of hope within her.

Allyssa tore her gaze from the surreal sight and stared at Scarlett in disbelief. “Did you just…summon the Dragon of Devastation?”

Scarlett looked at her, then at Rosa. The bard appeared just as stunned as the rest.

…If they made it out of this, she had a feeling her reputation was going to grow far more annoying to manage. She would need to do something about that.

“I…I am at a loss for words,” Gaspar murmured, shaking his head as he looked between Scarlett and her doppelganger. “Who—no, what—are you?”

Scarlett met his gaze evenly. “I am Scarlett Hartford.”

Another roar split the air as Olgolzkreh and the Anomalous One clashed, their impact rattling the ground beneath. The dragon’s claws raked deep into the entity, exposing patches of squirming grey void beneath. The creatures advancing on Scarlett’s party slowed, some faltering completely.

But even as the dragon fought with a power beyond almost any mortal’s reach, the Anomalous One seemed to recover, retaliating with equal force. Tendrils of dark-grey energy erupted from its mass and from the rifts in the sky, winding around the dragon’s wings and attempting to pierce its scales, even as the Anomalous One’s presence warped the space around it and gnawed at the dragon’s essence.

Olgolzkreh wrenched free, rearing its head back to unleash a torrent of icy fury. The breath swallowed the Anomalous One, flash-freezing the ground below and leaving pockets of jagged craters in its wake. Yet, despite the devastating power, the Anomalous One was barely affected. Its amorphous form absorbed the frozen parts of its body as it retaliated, tendrils lashing out towards the dragon.

“A valiant attempt,” the other Scarlett said. “You continue to surprise me with your skill in wielding borrowed power. Nonetheless, this alone will not be enough. The outcome of today’s events was decided long before now. Merely restoring what once was will not alter that.”

“…I suspected as much,” Scarlett replied under her breath.

While Olgolzkreh would without a doubt survive this battle, she’d doubted the dragon could truly vanquish the Anomalous One. Watching the titanic struggle unfold, the land trembled beneath their feet as waves of force rippled outward. The dragon’s gleaming scales deflected many of the Anomalous One’s attacks, but as the fight drew on, the outcome was becoming evident. In a war of attrition, the Anomalous One would inevitably prevail. Whatever damage Olgolzkreh inflicted, the entity simply regenerated. Worse still, while the Anomalous One’s influence had slowed with the dragon’s arrival, it was slowly creeping ever outward, its tendrils growing thicker and more numerous each time they ensnared the dragon.

Below, the creatures that had stalled eventually began to move again. Scarlett turned her focus back to defending their group. Waves of fire and water rose up to fend off the creatures, but she felt the strain of her earlier efforts. Bringing Olgolzkreh into this Memory had drained her. She couldn’t afford to expend much more magic.

Gaspar and the other wizards were in similar states. Many had already collapsed from overexertion, while those still standing were visibly struggling to cast even basic spells. They were holding on, but this couldn’t continue.

To truly change the course of events, they needed something more. More than Scarlett could muster with her own power or Thainnith’s legacy. But what?

Hints of despair tugged at the edges of her thoughts, creeping in like shadows, but Scarlett refused to let them take hold. She combed through every possibility in her mind. Her gaze briefly flickered to Olgolzkreh, the dragon’s roars cutting through the air as it clashed with the Anomalous One.

If there was a way, she would find it. She had to. Call it responsibility, instinct, or duty — whatever it was, the burden was on her. To ensure they all saw it safely through this.

Suddenly, a brilliant red blaze lit up a distant section of the grey-tinged sky. Gaspar shouted a warning, and Scarlett’s strained mind registered a streak of crimson fire hurtling towards them like a falling star. Reacting instinctively, she raised her hands, attempting to summon a barrier before it was too late — but before she could, the fiery streak struck the ground in front of them.

A shockwave of living flame exploded outward, consuming the hillside in an instant. The fire surged like a ravenous predator, sweeping through the Anomalous One’s creatures. They disintegrated into ash almost instantly, the flames devouring even the lingering traces of their forms. Smoke billowed upward, casting a strange, spectral glow over the battlefield.

The sudden, destructive force left everyone stunned. Scarlett stared, her gaze tracing the path of the attack to a distant hill. There, emerging from one of the white rifts, were faint, shadowed figures.

“Always…these unpredictable elements,” the other Scarlett muttered beside her.

The air shimmered before them, a ripple forming as space itself seemed to part. Through the tear, a vision of an ashen sky with flames licking a boundless horizon could be glimpsed. Three figures emerged from it.

The first was a tall woman in pristine white robes, her face obscured by a deep hood. Beside her stood a man with combed auburn hair retreating slightly at the temples, his bright green eyes sharp and his beard neatly kept. He carried an intricately carved staff. At the forefront was a woman dressed in dark robes, her raven-black hair falling in straight locks past her shoulders, with a stark streak of white above her left temple. Her pale green eyes, touched with faint lines and shadows, held an intensity that felt almost piercing. Two beauty marks adorned her skin beneath her right eye. She carried a dagger that seemed forged from molten lava, its blade glowing faintly.

Scarlett stared at the woman. “…Arlene.”

The woman’s pale green eyes met hers, and a small, knowing smile formed on her lips. “It looked like you could use some help,” Arlene said lightly. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything important.”

Her words were punctuated by another booming howl from Olgolzkreh as the dragon continued its fierce battle with the Anomalous One.

“In all my years, I have never seen a spectacle quite like this,” the man behind Arlene spoke in a measured, dignified tone. His gaze swept over the city and the chaotic clash above. “An ancient dragon, here? And hovering over a genuine Zuverian city?” He shook his head slowly. “Where in Ittar’s name are we?”

Scarlett’s attention shifted to him, and recognition dawned. It was Delmont.

“While I certainly understand your interest, Delmont, I’d say this is far from the best time for answers,” Arlene said without looking at him, stepping forward to assess the battlefield.

Delmont glanced at her, studying her face for a few seconds. For the first time, Scarlett noticed the age etched into his features. He looked several years older than Arlene now, a reversal of how she remembered them.

“I suppose you are right,” the man finally replied. His gaze held an odd mixture of relief and sorrow. “…I’ll consider myself fortunate just to see you like this again, Arlene. It has been far too long.”

Arlene’s smile softened, genuine warmth lighting her expression as she turned to him. “It has. Though it seems you’ve aged far more than you had any right to. And when did you start losing your hair?” She gave him an appraising look. “Elisa must have had quite a bit to say about that.”

Delmont’s brow furrowed slightly as he touched a hand to his temple. “…At least I haven’t gone grey like a certain sister of mine.”

“White, actually,” Arlene said with a chuckle. “But fair enough.”

The exchange had the attention of everyone around them. Scarlett’s party, along with the wizards, simply stared. Gaspar appeared particularly shaken.

He turned to Scarlett, stepping closer to her, his voice almost a whisper. “Are my ears playing tricks on me, or did she just call him…Delmont?”

Scarlett simply nodded, most of her attention still on Arlene. Questions and concerns swirled through her mind, but she tried holding them back, knowing there were more pressing matters at hand. It wasn’t easy, though.

“Impossible,” Gaspar murmured, seemingly mostly to himself. “He looks exactly like… And that spell earlier — not even my father…”

Scarlett stepped forward. “Arlene…” she began. “…Are you—”

Before she could finish, Arlene’s attention shifted to the white-robed figure that had arrived with her. The figure’s gaze was turned skyward, watching the battle between Olgolzkreh and the Anomalous One.

“This looks dire, wouldn’t you agree, Meneth?” Arlene asked.

Scarlett blinked, pausing at hearing the name. It was unfamiliar to her, at first. Then, a notion—an image—sprang forth in her mind, courtesy of the legacy.

“…I never expected to witness such a sight again, yet here it is,” the robed woman said in a thin, almost melancholic voice. Her focus fixed on the dragon’s gargantuan form. “Olgolzkreh will not emerge victorious today. Iradartis will fall once again. Events of the past seem determined to repeat themselves…perhaps with graver consequences this time.”

Scarlett stared at the woman, then at Arlene. “…What did you call her?”

The robed figure—Meneth—turned towards Scarlett with graceful yet almost otherworldly movements. The hood obscured most of her face, but Scarlett caught a glimpse of pale, nearly translucent skin framed by elongated, pointed ears, with delicate, arching brows and a pair of milky white eyes, unfocused and distant.

“Impossible…” Scarlett breathed. “How…?”

A Zuver. The woman was a Zuver. But they were supposed to be gone, with only three left — no, that wasn’t it. It wasn’t just that Meneth was a Zuver. Her name. That name belonged to one of the divinarchs, the near-mythic beings who had once ruled among the Zuverian civilisation.

Meneth’s lips quirked in a faint, curious smile. “And who is this, Arlene?”

Arlene eyed the ‘divinarch’ briefly, then looked at Scarlett. “She is my student.”

For a moment, Scarlett was genuinely speechless.

“Your student?” Meneth’s eyebrows rose slightly, surprise flickering across her otherwise serene expression. “I never imagined you would take on a student.” Her clouded eyes remained on Scarlett. “You are a difficult one to see,” she said thoughtfully. “But…you have been touched by Thainnith? I cannot fathom how that came to be, yet… It gives me hope.”

Scarlett’s gaze darted between the woman and Arlene, her mind racing to process all the implications here. Even more questions burned within her, countless thoughts vying for her attention to the point where she couldn’t settle on a single one to voice.

“Not to intrude,” Allyssa began, her tone a blend of bewilderment and urgency. “I don’t really understand what’s going on, but you’re here to help, right? If so, can you…help us with that?” She pointed to the Anomalous One as its shapeless limbs and tendrils entwined around one of Olgolzkreh’s wings.

Meneth turned to Arlene, a gentle smile now gracing her lips. “Such a straightforward child. Unfortunately, my days of direct intervention are long past. But…” She gestured towards Arlene and Delmont. “My friends, however, are more than capable.”

All eyes shifted to Arlene, who had returned to surveying the battlefield with the calm determination of one preparing for an oncoming storm. Across the hillside, new creatures began to emerge from the thickening grey haze that bled from the Anomalous One. Almost as if stirred by these newcomers, they moved with a renewed ferocity.

Arlene’s voice pierced through the rising tension. “Delmont,” she said without turning. “I will need some time. Can you hold them back?”

Delmont gave her a long, careful look, then nodded. “Yes,” he replied. “…Though I would appreciate it if you could answer a few questions after this, if that’s possible.”

“…We shall see.”

Delmont raised his staff, gripping it with both hands. With one deft motion, an array of fiery runes ignited around their group, weaving into an intricate lattice of protective flames. At its center, a set of rotating glyphs flared in a series of controlled explosions, and with each, a creature ignited in searing bursts. The execution looked deceptively simple, almost mundane, but the sheer force of the magic drew audible gasps from the wizard onlookers, Gaspar among them.

Arlene glanced back at Meneth. “Are you ready?”

The robed woman inclined her head. “I am.”

“Wait,” Scarlett interjected. “There is something I must know.”

Arlene turned to her. “…I know you have questions,” she said, with a hint of regret colouring her tone. “Believe me, I wish I could answer them all. But right now, as things are…” Her gaze shifted to the battlefield, where the Anomalous One’s tendrils were binding one of Olgolzkreh’s wings and snaking towards their group.“…No. there isn’t time.”

The tendrils slammed into Delmont’s net of runes and flames, which contracted and flashed in response, incinerating the attacking limbs. Meanwhile, more and more creatures surged forward, but Delmont layered additional spells that continued to repel them.

As Arlene held Scarlett’s gaze for a moment longer. “I cannot say whether I was ever a good teacher. In all honesty, I may have only added to your burdens in ways you do not even realise.” A rare, sober expression softened her features. “It’s remarkable that, after deciding to carry the weight of everything I left unresolved—along with so much else—you still stand here with the same determination. Do you yourself even comprehend how much it is that you force yourself to bear? And you do so with more strength than I could have ever had.”

Scarlett looked at her. The way Arlene spoke… It was as though she actually knew of the things Scarlett had done outside Freymeadow, which…she shouldn’t.

More questions burned at the forefront of Scarlett’s mind, but Arlene continued, her voice quiet but firm. “Just this once,” she said, with what might actually have been a warm smile touching her lips, “release yourself from the idea that you must handle everything yourself. This time, leave it to me. It’s the least a teacher can do for her student, particularly one as stubborn as you.” She inhaled deeply, the air around her humming with energy. “I’m not quite saying goodbye, mind you — but if you wish, you may think of this as a final lesson.”

Meneth stepped forward and placed her palm on Arlene’s back. A soft, ethereal light radiated from her palm, its glow spreading outward. More gasps left the surrounding wizards, and even Scarlett was surprised. She was terrible at perceiving these things, but it seemed to her that the woman was starting to channel mana into Arlene — a feat that Scarlett had heard was supposedly impossible.

Arlene closed her eyes and began casting her spell. Quiet, deliberate words fell from her lips. Words of power. Each word was an arcane key, unlocking a strange energy that grew stronger with every utterance.

Scarlett quickly realised what was happening. It was something she recognised, after all, even if she had never truly witnessed it firsthand. The sheer magnitude of the magic being woven was almost tangible.

The Anomalous One, too, seemed to sense the gathering power. Its attacks redoubled, its colossal form releasing Olgolzkreh entirely to focus on this new threat. More tendrils lashed out in greater numbers, hammering against Delmon’s fiery defences with relentless force. Runes flared, resisting the strikes, even as Delmont grit his teeth and poured all of his mana into the barrier.

The urgency of the situation spurred those standing still into action. The Isle wizards, Scarlett’s party, and even the exhausted Gaspar joined the fight, throwing every last reserve of strength into fending off the advancing creatures and buying Arlene time. Scarlett herself worked to conserve what remained of her mana, drawing upon the remnants of Allyssa’s ice to create spears of water that pierced one creature after another.

Arlene’s chanting grew louder, her voice imbued with a primordial power that seemed to defy the limits of the reality around them. Or, rather than defying, they reinforced that reality, as if by some hidden, unspoken law. Slowly, gradually, flames began to spiral around her hands, expanding outward in large arcs, their heat shimmering in waves as Meneth continued to feed her mana. The flow of power became so intense that it was visible even to the untrained eye — a brilliant, blinding stream of energy connecting the two women, making Scarlett question exactly how much mana the Zuver woman held within her.

A thunderous rupture echoed as Olgolzkreh completely broke free from the Anomalous One’s grip. The dragon roared, releasing another massive blast of frost that cascaded across the sky. But the Anomalous One ignored the dragon now, focusing its full attention on Arlene. Its massive form twisted violently, a rain of shadowed tendrils shooting towards her.

Through it all, Arlene continued her spell. High above, the spiraling flames she had summoned converged, forming a single, blazing star that pulsed with a radiant orange light. The heat it radiated was so intense that it warped the air, distorting the space around it. Complex runes etched themselves into the fiery core, patterns so intricate they were impossible to make out.

The Anomalous One unleashed a final, frenzied barrage, clashing endlessly against Delmont’s spells. With each subsequent impact, the barrier was pushed further and further, nearing its limits. Dark energy churned and reformed in a relentless cycle, clawing at the edges of the spell, desperate to stop what was coming.

And then, with a single, resolute word, Arlene released her spell.

A blinding curtain of power unfurled as countless fiery arcs burst forth from the blazing star above, flooding the sky with a brilliant inferno of red and orange. The flames spiralled and surged, twisting through the air like molten rivers, melting and scorching everything in their wake. Even the very air seemed to ignite, and for a fleeting moment, it felt as though the heavens themselves had unleashed a final, unstoppable force — a cataclysm of fire that devoured all.

And it all descended upon the Anomalous One.