547: Out of the Rubble and Into the Fire

“Cough! Ptheh! Cough!” Beatrice coughed and spit in her body’s natural response to free her airways from all the tiny particles that seemed to have gotten into every hole Beatrice had. “Cough-Ember!?”

Beatrice called out to Ember, though she could barely hear herself. Her ears were ringing, and her watery eyes were proving hardly more useful. She couldn’t see anything at an arms distance through the thick smog that remained after apparently an entire building collapsed on top of their heads.

Everything happened so fast: the deafening noise, the screams, soldiers running in every direction, the rubble that fell on everyone; Beatrice couldn’t even tell how she did not end up buried alive. She dodged one boulder, then Ember appeared next to her… The only clear image—a split-second flash—was a blazing flame that engulfed a dozen Purple Capes who had clogged one of the exits from the dome.

Beatrice took tiny uneven steps over the rubble, leaning against larger pieces for support.

“AGH!?” Beatrice recoiled her hand after burning it against what should have been a cold, dusty former part of a supporting wall.

-5 HP

For some reason, the rock was as hot as a kettle. Thankfully, the pain passed within seconds. And though the smog was thick, now that Beatrice knew what she was looking for, she also saw dancing lights around her. Somehow parts of the collapsed structure also caught fire.

Ember, the answer was obvious to Beatrice. Though usually her bodyguard had limited herself to only burning people, sometimes buildings ended up as collateral damage.

“Ember!” Beatrice called out again, this time she heard herself a little better. And with the gradual return of her hearing Beatrice heard screaming coming from all directions. Considering how large Belmot’s fortress was, its collapse in the middle of the city must have been catastrophic. Then Beatrice noticed a movement just a little bit in front of her.

“Ember!?” Beatrice hurried to the moving figure, obscured by dust and smoke.

“STAY AWAY!” the figure screamed and showed Beatrice away.

“Wha-AAAAH!!!”

-120 HP

Beatrice grabbed her arm from the excruciating pain as she fell from the powerful shove. Though the contact did not even last a second, this did not compare to the gentle kiss from the previous rock. Beatrice lifted her arm to look at it closer and felt her skin peel off as she let go of the burnt area.

“Ugh,” Beatrice grimaced. Even with blurry vision it was obvious how nasty the burn was. Third degree, without a question.

-10 HP

Figures, Beatrice thought when she got another system notification of damage while her skin all but sizzled. The only source of relief for Beatrice was her broken health recovery that already went into effect the second she took damage.

Health Points

943/1060 (+1.64/sec)

The first burn had healed before Beatrice even had the chance to linger on it. And even this was somewhat bearable thanks to the rapid health recovery.

-10 HP

Beatrice counted in her head from one.

-10 HP

Eleven seconds, Beatrice counted. More than covered by my regeneration. Beatrice breathed a sigh of relief. Her arm already not only felt better, but even looked better, instead of worse how it should have been. Beatrice literally watched her flesh heal in real time. If only the quality of the picture was better, Beatrice thought as she futilely rubbed her eyes, shifting the dust from one corner of the eye to another. But—

-10 HP

“EMBER!!” Beatrice shouted. “What the fuck!?”

“S-sorry,” Ember muttered weakly, still lurking in the shadows. Of course, Beatrice couldn’t hear that. After Ember shoved Beatrice away, she had moved further back out of Beatrice’s sight and only now rose into view.

-10 HP

“This is the second time now!” Beatrice reminded Ember of the incident at the inn. “Ever heard of friendly fire?”

“Didn’t you want me to be more friendly?” Ember asked as she approached Beatrice.

“…”

“Sorry, I… I had to-to do that,” Ember said unusually sheepishly, looking down and away from Beatrice.

“You look terrible,” Beatrice said, finally able to take a somewhat decent look at her bodyguard.

That they both would be covered in an inch of dust was a given. But Ember looked… spent.

“That… That spell… I don’t use it for a reason,” Ember said, still not looking at Beatrice. “Several reasons. If I was alone, it wouldn’t be that much of an issue. Moving with you while not turning you into charcoal was a challenge on a whole other level. Every second was taxing. I… I won’t be of much use for some time now.”

“Well… Thank you for saving me!” Beatrice said.