Nero and Gareth split apart and circled the burning section of Thornveil, carving a massive trench around the wildfire's path.
By the time they met back up, both of them were breathing heavier than before.
Nero glanced toward the firebreak stretching through the forest.
"Did you make sure it's wide enough all the way around?"
Gareth gave a firm nod.
"Yeah."
He wiped sweat from his forehead.
"I kept it wide enough to stop the fire from jumping across."
Nero looked back toward the raging flames.
Then slowly raised both arms.
Before he could begin—
Gareth spoke.
"Wait."
Nero glanced sideways.
"Are you going to use that same flame attack again?"
"No."
Immediate.
Flat.
"The fumes from that flame are toxic."
His eyes remained on the inferno ahead.
"I'll use a normal flame this time."
A brief pause.
"Just… much stronger."
Gareth frowned slightly.
"Then aren't we already in danger from breathing those fumes earlier?"
Nero looked visibly irritated by the timing of the question.
"Not really the best moment for explanations."
He exhaled slowly.
"You won't die from exposure out here."
"It's an open environment. The concentration can't build up enough to become lethal."
Then his voice lowered slightly.
"If this had happened in a closed room…"
His gaze stayed fixed on the burning forest.
"…we wouldn't still be alive having this conversation."
Silence followed.
Gareth's eyes widened slightly.
For the first time, the full danger of Nero's flames truly settled into his mind.
But he said nothing.
Nero kept both hands raised.
Then slowly inhaled.
A fireball began forming between his open palms.
Small at first.
Then larger.
And larger.
The surrounding air distorted from the heat as its brightness intensified.
Nero narrowed his eyes slightly.
Need to spread the output wide enough… without blowing it up in my face.
Gareth watched carefully as the growing sphere illuminated the smoke-filled forest around them.
Then—
Nero opened his eyes fully.
His fingers spread wider.
And the fireball erupted.
Streams of flame burst outward in a massive arc, spreading across the remaining forest still trapped on the wildfire's side of the trench.
Trees ignited instantly.
Dry brush vanished beneath the inferno.
Anything the wildfire could still consume—
Nero burned first.
For nearly five minutes, he maintained the relentless output, making absolutely certain nothing combustible remained beyond the trench.
Only once the area had been completely scorched did the fireball finally begin to shrink.
Slowly—
Nero brought his hands closer together.
The flames compressed inward.
Smaller.
Smaller.
Until the fireball vanished completely.
Steam and heat rolled through the forest.
Nero turned toward Gareth and gave him a quick nod.
Gareth returned it immediately and stepped forward.
Planting his feet firmly into the ground, he spread both arms wide.
Then exhaled.
Wind surged outward from his palms.
Powerful currents blasted toward the newly ignited flames, forcing them inward toward the advancing wildfire.
The plan was working.
At first.
The two fires began converging toward each other exactly as intended.
Nero walked toward the trench and knelt beside it.
"Just to be safe."
He placed a hand against the ground.
Ice rapidly spread outward from the trench walls, coating the surrounding earth in a thick frozen layer to prevent stray flames from reigniting beyond the barrier.
Then—
Something changed.
The flames shifted unnaturally.
Not inward.
Toward them.
Gareth frowned immediately and pushed harder.
The wind pressure intensified.
But the flames pushed back harder.
His expression changed instantly.
Eyes widening.
"Something's wrong!"
Nero looked toward him sharply.
"What do you mean?"
Gareth strained against the opposing force.
"I don't know for sure—"
Another surge slammed against his wind current.
"—but it feels like someone else is pushing the flames this way!"
Nero's eyes widened.
Inside his mind, Angelo's voice exploded urgently.
"Make him stop! NOW!"
"If both sides keep pushing—"
Nero immediately finished the thought aloud.
"It'll create a fire vortex."
He lunged toward Gareth and forcibly shoved his arms downward.
"STOP PUSHING!"
Gareth halted immediately, breathing hard.
"But if I stop, the flames will spread back to this side!"
"If you keep forcing wind against another current—"
Nero's voice hardened.
"—the collision will create a rotating thermal column."
His expression darkened.
"A fire vortex."
Gareth's face paled instantly.
"…Then what do we do?"
Another violent surge rippled through the flames.
"Who the hell is pushing back against us?"
Nero froze for a second.
Then realization struck.
"The signal flare earlier…"
His eyes narrowed toward the distant side of the wildfire.
"It came from that direction."
Gareth understood instantly.
"The guards."
Nero clicked his tongue in irritation.
Of course they were trying to contain the fire from the opposite side.
Gareth looked at him urgently.
"What now?"
Nero raised one hand.
"Give me a second."
He thought rapidly while watching the unstable flames churn violently between the opposing wind currents.
Inside his mind, Angelo spoke again.
"We need to go there."
A pause.
"And stop them."
Nero exhaled sharply through his nose.
Then turned toward Gareth.
"Start counting to fifty."
Gareth blinked.
"…What?"
"After that," Nero continued, "use your wind magic again."
His silver eyes locked onto the unstable inferno ahead.
"And push harder."
Gareth stared at him.
"That's your plan?"
"Yes."
"..."
Gareth clenched his jaw.
"Fine."
He looked even more confused now.
"What are you going to do?"
Nero pulled his hood back over his head and turned toward the flames.
"I'm going to stop the guards from pushing back."
He answered over his shoulder—
Then moved toward the burning forest.
Ice rapidly spread across Nero's body as he broke into a sprint toward the trench.
Without slowing down—
He jumped straight through the frozen barrier and into the flames.
Behind him, Gareth began counting.
"One… two…"
The inferno swallowed Nero whole.
"Three… four…"
Smoke and fire consumed his vision almost immediately.
"Five… six…"
Nero held his breath and pushed deeper through the blaze.
"Ten… eleven…"
A burning tree cracked loudly overhead and collapsed toward him.
Nero twisted aside at the last second, barely avoiding the flaming trunk as it crashed into the ground behind him.
"Fifteen… sixteen…"
The ice coating his body hissed violently as the flames melted it away.
Nero immediately froze another layer over himself.
Again.
And again.
"Nineteen…"
Meanwhile—
The guards continued forcing the wildfire backward with wind magic, completely unaware of what was happening on the opposite side.
They were trapped inside unbearable heat and choking smoke.
Coughing.
Sweating.
Barely able to breathe.
"Twenty-five…"
One of the guards suddenly froze.
His eyes widened toward the flames.
"Sergeant—!"
He coughed violently and pointed into the inferno.
"T-There's something in there!"
The sergeant narrowed her eyes through the smoke.
"Twenty-seven…"
Then she saw it too.
A silhouette.
Human-shaped.
Moving through the flames.
Her voice dropped.
"…What the hell is that?"
Suddenly—
Nero burst out of the inferno.
"Twenty-eight."
The guards recoiled in shock, instinctively reaching for their weapons.
"Thirty."
Smoke surged between them.
Nero vanished.
"Thirty-one."
He exploded out from the left side of the smoke cloud and drove a brutal kick into one guard's neck.
The man collapsed instantly.
Unconscious before he even hit the ground.
"Thirty-two."
Nero pivoted immediately and slammed his fist into another guard's jaw.
CRACK.
The second guard dropped beside the first.
"Thirty-three."
A third guard turned toward him—
Too slow.
Nero grabbed the man by the head and smashed him face-first into the ground.
The impact knocked him limp.
"Thirty-four."
Another guard desperately raised his hand to cast magic—
Nero crossed the distance instantly.
A punch slammed into the man's stomach.
Air exploded from his lungs as he crumpled to the forest floor, gasping soundlessly.
"Thirty-five."
A sword flashed toward Nero from the smoke.
One of the remaining guards charged recklessly.
Nero's palm shot forward and grabbed him by the face.
Then—
SLAM.
He drove the guard straight into the ground hard enough to knock him unconscious instantly.
"Thirty-six."
The sergeant's hand trembled as she finally pulled her sword free.
Her breathing was uneven.
Every one of her men already lay scattered across the burning forest floor.
She was alone.
Then she saw him again.
Just for a moment.
A figure moving through smoke.
Silver eyes.
Then gone.
"Thirty-seven."
Ice rapidly formed in Nero's hand.
Condensing into a solid frozen rod.
"Thirty-eight."
Nero appeared directly behind her.
The sergeant's eyes widened—
Too late.
CRACK.
The ice rod shattered against the side of her head.
She collapsed immediately.
Unconscious.
Nero didn't waste a second.
With a sharp flick of his arm—
Ice exploded outward across the forest floor in a perfectly straight line.
"Forty."
The frozen path surged through the burning woodland, extinguishing flames wherever it passed and carving open a temporary route to safety.
"Forty-three."
Nero immediately began dragging and shoving the unconscious guards onto the ice path one by one.
"Forty-five."
Their bodies slid rapidly across the frozen surface as Nero pushed them farther away from the wildfire.
"Forty-seven."
The ice road extended deeper and deeper toward safety while thick walls of stone erupted behind it—
Blocking the incoming flames.
"Forty-nine."
The last guard slid beyond the immediate danger zone.
Then—
"Fifty."
Far behind the inferno—
The green aura around Gareth's body flared brightly once more.
His hands were already raised.
Wind exploded outward from his palms with overwhelming force.
The wildfire roared as the violent wind slammed against it—
And forced the flames backward.