Now I had to co up with a plan. I could not allow Iris to burn to death. She had helped so much, and without her I would have starved to death in so alley long ago. My life in the lower district would have been a thousand tis harder without her.
I muttered,
"I wish Iris would return to her normal self."
It was a huge risk, since I had no idea what kind of price I would have to pay. But if it worked, it would be worth it. The mont I voiced the wish, flas appeared out of nowhere and spread across my entire body.
Raven rushed toward , pulled the hilt of his sword from his coat, and the watery edge ford as soon as it was drawn. He then unleashed a wave of water that slamd against the wall, extinguishing the fire.
He sighed in relief, then said as he stared at suspiciously,
"What just happened?"
I stood up as the burns covering my body began to heal rapidly, then said,
"I was trying sothing."
"And this experint of yours was...?"
"Rember my ability to grant wishes? I thought I’d try to see if I could save Iris with it."
The inspector’s assistant, who had been watching us silently, stood and approached, asking curiously,
"Did you say grant wishes?"
I nodded and continued,
"Have you ever heard of an Authority capable of that?"
His face tensed for a few seconds, as if he was searching through his mory, then finally he said,
"I have never heard of such an Authority, but there is an old legend that sounds similar."
"What did that legend say?"
He shook his head gravely,
"The legend says that in a distant ti, when the three continents were still connected, there was a sorcerer who road the world. He offered everyone he t a single wish. And if they accepted, the wish would co true. But not in the way they imagined."
Raven cut in,
"This is the first ti I’ve heard that story."
The assistant said,
"It’s not well known. My grandmother was the one who told . She used to recite it to before bed."
I asked,
"And what was this sorcerer’s na?"
He answered in a low voice, barely audible,
"The Miracle Maker."
Before I could respond, the sound of a violent explosion thundered as the wall beside us shattered with a massive fireball. Raven jumped toward , grabbed with one hand, pulled the assistant with the other, and raised a water barrier. The barrier evaporated quickly, but the flas had already dissipated.
We ran in different directions, dodging the flas raining from the sky, where Iris was unleashing waves of fire at Raven and the trainee.
Strangely, she did not launch anything at , as if she was ignoring . She did not chase , nor did she attack . After I ran far enough, it beca clear that she did not see as a threat, or maybe so part of her still refused to hurt .
I considered going back. Maybe I had to approach it from another angle. Instead of making the wish myself, why not make Iris the one to wish?
A gamble? Yes. But weighing the risks against the gains, I believed it was worth it. I ran until I caught up with Raven, who was leaping in every direction, dodging fireballs.
I shouted,
"Raven! Give your sword!"
He turned toward without saying a word, but his face scread, "Why in the Creator’s na would I do that?"
So I said with forced confidence,
"Trust , I have a plan to stop Iris."
I did have a plan, at least theoretically. But having a plan and having it actually work were two different things. So technically, I was not lying.
Luckily, he threw his sword to . I caught the hilt, and the watery blade appeared instantly, but this ti it seed more... I cannot explain it, but it felt more liquid like, I guess.
Raven said while trying to catch his breath,
"Be careful. Using it weakens the bones and muscles gradually."
I nodded, then lifted the sword in my hands. At that mont, my body felt much lighter than usual. I flipped backward with ease, then leapt high and perford a set of acrobatic moves I had never imagined myself capable of.
I looked at Raven, who was still running to dodge the relentless fire waves, and he shouted,
"Is this your plan?!"
I moved swiftly, deflecting several fireballs in the blink of an eye, then replied with sarcasm,
"Trust ."
Raven sighed, and I caught a glimpse of what looked like blind faith in his expression, then he said,
"I trust you."
Did he really say that? Just like that? When I looked at his face, he seed completely serious. Why now? Did he actually believe the nonsense I said earlier? I could not understand, and he was not the type to trust so easily. But I had no ti to think.
I rushed forward, searching for the assistant, until I found him huddled behind a wall. I approached suddenly, and he gasped in panic,
"You scared ! What do you want? You’ll expose my position, you idiot!"
I said as I caught my breath,
"If you’re this scared, why don’t you just run away from the Eighth District?"
He replied,
"I can’t. If I go any farther, she’ll burn without hesitation."
I felt like he was hiding sothing, but I ignored it for the mont. I handed him the sword and said,
"Can you unseal this weapon?"
He frowned,
"Are you insane? Do you intend to release raw Authority in this place?"
I answered mockingly,
"And what’s the problem? Didn’t you do the sa with Iris?"
"And look at what beca of her!"
"Can’t you at least partially unseal it?"
He fell silent for a mont, then said,
"Theoretically, yes. But the consequences would be ten tis worse, and reversing it would be nearly impossible."
I said without hesitation,
"That’s fine, do it."
He sighed wearily,
"As you wish. But don’t bla for what happens afterward."
He gripped the hilt of the sword and muttered words in a strange language. Suddenly, the hilt glowed with a bright blue light. He handed it back to imdiately, and as soon as I touched it, my eyes lit up with the sa color, and I felt a strange energy flooding my limbs.
I moved with incredible speed and charged toward Iris, who was flying in the sky. I raised my sword, leapt high until I reached her level, and unleashed a water wave that pushed her slightly backward.
She noticed , but it seed she decided to ignore . She turned away toward the assistant, raising her hand to launch a massive fireball at him. I jumped in front of him at the last second and released a massive water wave that blocked the attack.
Iris, who had been avoiding all along, suddenly attacked without warning. She fired a barrage of fireballs, and I moved swiftly between the buildings, dodging them. I retaliated with several water waves, one of which struck her and sent her crashing to the ground.
But she quickly rose, dashing at like an arrow, flas coiling around her body like serpents. I raised my sword, and we clashed. At the mont my watery blade touched her body, I saw her face clearly. Half of it was burned.
I tried to speak to her, to ask her to make a wish, but the flas around her intensified and blasted away with unbelievable force.
I lifted my sword again, its watery edge growing until it towered above . I charged at her as she forged a spear of fire. We collided violently, and I shouted, trying to make my voice reach her,
"Iris! Wish for survival, just wish for it!"
But she did not answer. She kept pushing back each ti, then soared into the sky, unleashing waves of fire in every direction. I moved swiftly between the buildings, blocking as many as I could before they struck the ground.
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