Tensura: The Odyssey

Chapter 6

Fire.

The world around me is burning. The shrill blare of sirens fills my ears, drowning out everything else. My mother's embrace should bring comfort, but it doesn't. There's nothing left to save us.

We... we are going to die.

I can feel her tears dripping onto my head. Desperate, I cling to her, pulling myself closer, but it doesn't matter. The flames are coming for us. I know it. I see it, feel it. The heat, the fury. It's all-consuming.

Gah! It burns. It burns. It burns. It burns.

The searing agony grips me, but then, suddenly, it's gone. Cold. An overwhelming chill wraps around me, and I find myself collapsing onto a damp, stone floor. With all the strength I have left, I look up. A man stands before me—blond, long-haired, cold as ice.

I can feel my body breaking down. Burns ravage me, ripping me apart from the inside out. His eyes... they're filled with something I don't want to understand. Disappointment. Like he's looking at a broken thing, a defective product. I try to speak, but my voice fails me. I can only mouth the words.

Save me.

His eyes never change. I can see his lips move, but no sound reaches me. Before I can process it, a man made entirely of fire appears. His fiery form is inhuman, and yet, somehow, familiar. He nods to the other man. Without a word, the burning man hovers toward me, moving faster than I can comprehend.

No... no, no, no...

"NOOO!!!"

I shoot up from my makeshift bed in the temporary camp I set up near the edge of Jura Forest. Suddenly, pain erupts in my chest, and smoke rises from my body. I can feel it—Ifrit—trying to seize control of me. Trying to exploit my moment of weakness, to wreak havoc and return to its master.

But I can't let that happen.

This tug-of-war continues as the pain intensifies, sharp and relentless. Then, just as suddenly, it stops. It decides to let go for now, but I can still feel it, lurking—watching me, like a hawk, waiting for the next opportunity to strike.

"Haah... Haah..."

I struggle to catch my breath, slowly pulling myself out of the camp. The view of the rising sun is as beautiful as ever, yet... I hate this world.

Sensei, you will come back for us, right?

Please be safe, Shizu-sensei...

Sensei, you don't have to go alone, I can help.

No. Not yet. I can't give up. Not while there are kids depending on me.

I haven't saved them yet. Not from their fate.

With that thought in my mind, I pull on my mask and get ready to set out. The first rays of sunlight wash over me, but I don't feel the warmth. I know what's ahead of me.

There must be something left behind in his old castle. Some clue. Some trace of hope.

For them, I must hold on.

***

"For a newborn, you handled the situation quite well, Rimuru-sama. As expected of someone chosen by Veldora-sama himself," Treyni said, sipping tea with her usual grace.

Wait a second. Where did she get the tea and the cup from? And how did she prepare one for me too?

...You know what? Best not to think too hard about it. But still, being called a "newborn" is embarrassing for an adult like me.