The Seeker Of The Flames

"All right, I'm in your hands! I won't do anything, so just freely attack me."

He had become vulnerable and defenseless on purpose. Freya couldn't have a better chance. The destiny had gifted her an enemy who wanted to die; what could be better than that?

She had a special sharp blade, hidden under her black mantle for close-range combat. Thirty years ago, she asked a blacksmith dwarf to make it for her from some rare materials, which she herself had found.

Gripping the blade with her left hand, Freya charged at the man before her as he just awaited the sharp tip of her blade to stab him. She targeted a vital point of his body, going for the heart. The blade touched the man's skin, trying to make its way to his heart. However, it couldn't even go through the skin, shattering into pieces immediately as if it was against a diamond.

"What!? What is this? What's your skin made of? Dragon Scale??" Freya exclaimed in surprise.

—Damn, it's like he actually meant it when he said he can't kill himself. So it wasn't due to the lack of courage? Damn. Only dragons possess such a hardness, but he's just a human. How can he be like this? There are so many questions. All right, if physical attacks won't work, then...

She stepped back instantly, uttering incantations in order to cast a spell.

"Grant us the privilege to be a part of your body. Fly through the breeze and descend to the ground. Last as the final days of darkness disappears. Become one with the night to finally see the light."

A series of bright, blazing spheres emerged from the floor. Those were not normal fireballs that the amateur magic users would try to make in the first step of learning magic; they carried a lot more power than a standard fireball. Anyone who got hit by that fierce magic would completely burn in seconds.

She launched the fireballs on her standing target. As they reached him, the bursts of fire began blasting and blazing fiercely. The surges of explosion brightened the surroundings intensely, booming all about the place with a loud, thundering sound.

Freya's self-made version of fireballs never let her down when fighting with a powerful opponent, so she never thought it'd ever fail, feeling smug and self-satisfied after seeing the blasting waves of the explosion.

Expecting to see an ablaze figure appearing through the flames and to hear the distressed cries of pain, she directed her attention at the center of the blasts.

"All right, that should've fi—" Freya paused suddenly as she saw him unharmed, "WHAAAAAAAT!!?"

When the fire receded enough, she could see the expected ablaze body, but no scream could be heard.

Giving more attention, she noticed that man's face. He was looking at her, having his two eyes turned to her. Those eyes carried a great amount of disappointment and anger, but even more importantly, they looked so bored and tired as though they'd burned so many times that they could no longer feel the burning pain.

Eyes widened to the ultimate extent, Freya could do nothing but to look at him in return, staring in wonder and astonishment. He had taken a direct hit of the fireballs and was still standing there as if nothing had happened.

"I-is... Is he a monster?"

She started to have second thoughts about his identity. Could he truly be Adin the Immortal?

—No, no, no... that's impossible! That's not possible! I should stay calm and think logically. He can't be a human, yet I can't sense any demonic energy from him. But why do I have this bad feeling whenever I come to look at him? Keep calm Freya, keep calm, I need to concentrate and come up with a plan

She turned her face to see the armed lines of guards. Freya was the most talented magician among those wizards; if she couldn't damage him with one of his best spells, would any of those be able to do anything? If quality magic didn't stand a chance against this man, would some sloppy weak spells be of any use?

"No, there's nothing else to do. We won't know unless we try."

Through telepathy magic, Freya explained the situation to the wizardry squad. She then asked them to prepare the most lethal destructive spells, regardless of their type. All she needed was a lot of damage to assure the death of this man.

The sorcerers and sorceresses in behind of the formation began chanting different incantations to prepare their most skilled spells and attack him with all of their force. The colorful rays of magical energy, from blue to red and white to green, descended upon him. The loud bangs boomed over the place unceasingly as the descending beams of magic kept hitting the vulnerable man.

"All right, keep going like this! Let's see how much he can stay indifferent!"

—One hour later—

Most of them had already been out of mana. The signs of fatigue and tiredness could be seen on their faces, sweating and breath coming in heavy gasps.

"Damn, he's still unhurt..."

"But no, we can't give up just yet! Anyone who still has mana, keep attacking him with your magic!"

—Another "One hour later"—

No one in the wizardry squad could be found conscious. They'd fainted as a result of using all of their powers. Although they were the ones attacking, their bodies touched the ground sooner than their target.

Freya's self-assurance had long faded away, but she didn't want to admit her weakness. Although now she understood how pointless it was to try to kill him, she had to try every possible, albeit useless, way.

She pointed toward the knights, ordering them to rush forward with all of the swordsmen and archers.

"All right, soldiers," one of the knights shouted, "let's finish him off! All Attack!"

—Again, another "One hour later"—

The shatters swords and the unconscious bodies covering the floor, the armed squads no more had an organized order. Most of them had already lost their spirit, although their enemy hadn't attacked even one single time. Many of them just didn't care about protecting the Oracle anymore, running straight away or becoming insane after seeing their efforts are useless.

"Don't surrender yet! Fight with your spirit rather than swords!"

—One more "One hour later"—

The bodies of the soldiers covered the ground along with the broken swords, and the outcries of battle died down as no one had the spirit to fight anymore. Even the knights were defeated.

She heard Adin's stepping ahead. He was finally moving after standing still for so many hours. Adin reached to Freya and shook his hand before her eyes.

"Are you OK? You seem to have a problem. By the way, now that I'm still alive, can you tell me where's the Oracle as promised?"

Freya was no more concerned about the Oracle. She didn't care about that anymore. She looked so mentally broken, smiling in insanity. Her dark eyes implied her deep bewilderment and desperation.

"The Oracle? Oh, yea... Go straight, you will find a door engraved with golden dragon symbols, that's where she is..."

When Adin wanted to thank her, she started to fall down. He grabbed her quickly before touching the ground.

"Are you OK?" Adin asked.

"Thanks but," Freya said. "Can you please wear something first?"

In an awkward situation, Adin realized he's totally n.a.k.e.d while holding a woman in his arms.

The magic spells must have had destroyed his garments. It wasn't something new to him since his clothes would always get ripped off when trying to kill himself.