Chapter 31: The Flame That Burns the World (4)

Rumble…

It began with a faint vibration. Those present, feeling the slight tremor of the building, turned to look at the curtained windows.

“An earthquake?”

Someone voiced their doubt, but no one could provide a clear answer. Instead, the sound of something pelting against the windows, like hail, reached their ears.

“Is the weather bad or something…?”

Chernin, wearing a deliberate smile, pulled back the curtains and froze in place. Black stones were pouring down from the sky.

‘What is this?’

He turned around in confusion, meeting the equally bewildered faces of those behind him. No one seemed to understand what was happening.

“It seems we should end the meeting—ah!”

The ground rumbled again, this time with more force than before, causing everyone to sway slightly.

‘This is quite a strong earthquake!’

The question marks above their heads turned into exclamation marks. A sudden sense of crisis swept through the room, prompting chaotic movements.

Amidst the commotion, a man raised his voice.

“A volcano! It must be a volcanic eruption. D*mn it, why now of all times?!”

The Duke who had betrayed the Kingdom of Jeren spat out his complaint, his tone far too coarse for someone of his rank.

“Didn’t the volcanoes in the Kingdom of Jeren go dormant long ago?”

“Then, Your Highness, what does this look like to you? I’ll be leaving now. See you later.”

Chernin didn’t even have the chance to reprimand the Duke for his insolence. The man burst out of the room, disappearing in an instant thanks to his exceptional physical abilities.

“……”

“……”

“……Ahem, well then, I’ll excuse myself as well.”

The other nobles, sensing the atmosphere, began to leave one by one. If it truly was a volcanic eruption, they needed to run as far away as possible, and quickly.

As the group gradually disbanded, Duke Fernand called out to Chernin.

“Your Highness, before it’s too late, we should also—”

“Duke Fernand.”

Chernin, still facing the window so his expression couldn’t be seen, interrupted Britan. His voice was calm, yet it carried an undertone of simmering anger.

“Why? Why is the volcano erupting?”

His crimson eyes were fixed on the scene outside the window. Black volcanic ash fell like snow over the heads of the panicking crowd below.

‘I checked so many times.’

Chernin clenched his teeth. Anger and frustration surged within him.

He hadn’t been careless or complacent. He had meticulously ensured the safety of this location before gathering the heart of the rebellion here, which only made the betrayal of nature feel all the more bitter.

The historical fact that the volcano in the Kingdom of Jeren had been dormant for centuries was beyond dispute. He had even borrowed the knowledge of black mages to predict when the phoenix, slumbering deep within the lava, might next awaken. Even in the worst-case scenario, it was supposed to be decades away.

‘Those incompetent dark mages!’

As a precaution, he had even stolen the phoenix’s egg to eliminate any variables. Yet not only had the egg been stolen back, but the timing of the eruption had also been disastrously wrong.

Chernin turned to face Duke Fernand with an expression twisted in fury. With everyone else having fled, there was no need to maintain a facade.

Britan, feeling the oppressive aura radiating from Chernin, rubbed his stiff neck before responding.

“Rather than figuring out the reason, we must prioritize our safety, Your Highness.”

“But, Duke! It won’t end just because we escape. You know how many of our troops are stationed here!”

The failure of the meeting was tolerable. What wasn’t tolerable was the prospect of losing the core members of the rebellion, gathered in Jeren, to this disaster.

Everything had been meticulously planned. Occupying Jeren, seizing command of the army, using Duke Fernand to control the soldiers, gathering the shamans—all of it.

The grand operation they had spent years preparing was now on the verge of collapse. The final pieces—striking deals with foreign nobles, spreading ominous rumors in the capital, and inciting the soldiers—were just about to fall into place.

This couldn’t end in such absurdity.

“Is there any way to minimize the damage?”

“How can mere humans stop a natural disaster?”

“Duke Fernand!”

“I didn’t wish for this either, Your Highness!”

Britan snapped irritably at Chernin’s almost childlike demands.

His tone was far from what one would expect when addressing an Imperial Prince, but their relationship had long since deviated from formalities. Without the support of the Fernand family, the rebellion wouldn’t have been possible in the first place.

‘He really thinks he’s above me just because I humor him as a prince.’

If he had chosen to act as a figurehead, he should have known his place and behaved accordingly.

Britan forced himself to relax his furrowed brow. There was no time to waste arguing with the prince over trivial matters in such a dire situation.

“Please evacuate immediately. Your safety is paramount to ensuring our future.”

While his words were calm and rational, Britan’s insides churned. His immense self-restraint was all that kept him from lashing out and destroying the building in frustration.

How could he not regret abandoning everything they had painstakingly prepared? The time and resources poured into this rebellion were immeasurable.

Britan took a deep breath, determined not to let his emotions dictate his actions. The weight of his achievements demanded a cooler head.

“Duke, is there truly no way? You’re a Sword Master, are you not?”

“Even a Sword Master is human, Your Highness. How could a human stop nature?”

Though it was self-evident, Britan felt a pang of wounded pride as he furrowed his brows.

What did enhancing one’s body and wielding a sword have to do with preventing earthquakes?

‘Maybe if I were a mage…’

He paused.

A sudden thought made him glance out the window. Though the volcano itself wasn’t visible from this angle, the billowing black clouds rising into the sky were unmistakable.

An unexpectedly active volcano. The phoenix slumbering within it.

The stolen phoenix chick, said to have been discovered and raised by the mage Chloe.

‘Did the Grand Duke betray us?’

It was a plausible thought. After all, he had always intended to turn against them eventually.

But it was hard to believe that a mage still affiliated with the Mage Tower would deliberately orchestrate such a massacre. It didn’t seem like something that would significantly impact the continent either.

‘Still, I’ll keep it in mind.’

Narrowing his eyes, Britan placed a firm hand on Chernin’s shoulder, who still seemed too stunned to move.

“Your Highness, forgive my rudeness. We must leave immediately.”

“I can’t lose everything like this…!”

Crack.

The building began to fracture. The rumbling ground signaled the onset of a full-fledged earthquake.

The already darkened sky turned pitch black, and the ground split apart in jagged, unpredictable patterns.

As the building swayed precariously, Chernin, his face pale, gave up his resistance and allowed Britan to carry him.

“To the warp gate, quickly!”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

He should have listened earlier.

Though irritation bubbled within him, Britan had no time to dwell on it. Smashing through a window, he sprinted toward the warp gate with all his might.

“Ahhh! Save me!”

“Run!! The volcano is erupting!”

The streets were already filled with panicked crowds trying to escape. In their frantic rush to flee the sudden catastrophe, anyone who fell was trampled to death by the others.

From the sky, volcanic ash poured down, while screams echoed from the ground. The city was engulfed in a terror greater than war, an unstoppable calamity.

And the situation was no different at their destination.

“The warp gate is broken!”

“What?!”

“The earthquake disrupted the magic circle… It’s not functioning anymore.”

Britan and Chernin exchanged stunned looks. Now they understood why no one else had been using the warp gate—it simply wasn’t an option.

“…We have no choice. I’ll carry you as we run, Your Highness.”

Chernin, his face contorted with frustration, complied with Britan’s suggestion without protest. Even now, amidst the splitting earth, the safest place was the back of a Sword Master.

The two of them were just about to leave the capital behind.

Rumble—!

A thunderous noise came from the opposite volcano, causing Chernin to turn around. His face froze in shock at the sight before him.

“How… how is this possible…?”

The volcano wasn’t even that close to the capital of Jeren, yet the lava seemed to be pouring out as if it would reach them. This meant that the shamans gathered at the secret base near the volcano had no hope of survival—they were all surely dead.

But that wasn’t the worst of it. What truly filled Chernin’s pupils with despair was something far more catastrophic.

A massive dust cloud, taller than the buildings, loomed black and ominous, rushing toward the city like a colossal tidal wave engulfing a coastline. It swept over the city in an instant.

Even the speed of a Sword Master couldn’t outrun it. Countless people were swallowed up without even a chance to scream. Calling it a massacre wouldn’t do justice to the brutality of the scene.

It was a disaster, a calamity beyond human control—the worst kind of catastrophe.

“Ha… ha…”

Chernin, who had just lost everything he had planned and built for the rebellion, stared blankly at the devastation before lowering his head.

Duke Fernand’s earlier words rang true. Humans could not stand against nature. 

And Chernin had come to realize this in the worst way, at the worst possible time.