"Impossible..." Raymond watched all the fire bend around the traveler with wide eyes. "He's a Volatile?"
"This must be a joke..." Shiina was equally surprised.
"Volatile? What does that mean?" Luna, despite not understanding much about magic, was confused as to why Sariel could use fire magic. Not only was he manipulating that element, but the power he could control was on the same level as when he fought Indra with Ice.
"Volatiles... are extremely rare and unique individuals who are capable of changing their element at will," Raymond explained to the princess. "Remember when he said it's impossible to change one's element?"
Luna nodded.
"Well, Volatiles are the only exception, but they are so rare that it's not even necessary to mention it."
"How rare?"
"Entire generations can pass without even one appearing... The longest period we went without a Volatile was five hundred years; we even thought they were extinct... Sariel is the first Volatile to emerge in two hundred years."
Luna turned her gaze back to the traveler. Because of the distance, it wasn't possible to see his face clearly, but it was more than clear that the tide of the battle had completely turned.
"But... how did someone like that go unnoticed by the Council?" the princess asked.
"That actually makes sense; Volatiles have always been very discreet. Even in eras when we knew one was alive, it was very difficult to find them; it's as if they purposefully avoid being discovered."
Luna turned her gaze back to Sariel, making her feel even more curious about that mysterious person. Who was he? How did he manage to change elements? Why did he hide this secret? There were so many questions.
Meanwhile, the battle had momentarily paused. Both faced each other intently, while Sariel was enveloped in fire, saluting his majesty.
Aegreon had brought the traveler to that place because his power would increase there, thinking he was leading prey into his trap, but little did he know he was following a wolf into its den.
Sariel was in no hurry; he knew he had complete control of the situation.
"Well, then? Still want to fight?" He smiled presumptuously at the Pillar.
Aegreon stared at him intently while remaining silent. That situation was not at all favorable, but he still had to test how well Sariel could control fire. It wasn't possible that he could use all elements with the same proficiency, right?
Without caring about all the surrounding lava, the Pillar of Conjuration advanced towards the traveler while purple flames covered his entire body.
Sariel didn't move, yet a powerful tornado of flames formed around him, making his cloak billow furiously without burning.
Waves of lava began to form and advance towards Aegreon, and numerous magma dragons formed in the lake.
Dozens of bright, extremely brilliant spheres began to form around Aegreon, as if they were miniatures of the sun itself.
It was almost as if fire and lava were moving of their own accord to protect their master.
Then, all the red spheres flew coordinately towards Aegreon.
Knowing he would be unable to dodge them, he launched purple fire flares against them, which exploded upon contact.
However, there were too many spheres to block, and inevitably, he ended up being hit by numerous moderate explosions, large enough to cover his entire body.
In just a few seconds, the area was relentlessly bombarded by Sariel's magic. It was like a concentrated meteor shower, making that area even more intense and deadly.
The Pillar of Conjuration was powerless and could only resist as much as possible.
The traveler, after maintaining a barrage for several uninterrupted seconds, suddenly stopped his attacks, revealing the Pillar relatively well with lava reaching up to his knees.
Aegreon remained still and watched Sariel carefully, waiting for his next move.
However, the traveler simply abandoned his battle stance and turned his back on him.
"Well, I hope you've taken enough of a beating to understand your place. Let's go back." Apathetically, he began to walk back towards the others.
Aegreon gritted his teeth in a mixture of fury and frustration. He wanted to continue fighting, to kill him right there, but it would be impossible in that situation. No, killing him now had become basically impossible in any situation.
Furthermore, Sariel had belittled him by refusing to fight further after having covered him in fire and explosions, as if to say he could defeat him if he wanted.
So, trying his best to control his anger, he followed closely behind.
And, as expected, everyone looked at Sariel as if he were an alien; perhaps Ardos would be the only person capable of causing a similar reaction.
Due to their "shy" nature, little was known about Volatiles, but one thing was indisputable: their deeds. The few surviving stories about them recount their heroic acts, always protecting humanity.
And, as they looked closer at him, they noticed that his glaive had changed color too, with the metal acquiring a golden-orange hue and the stones becoming ruby red.
The fact that both the weapon and the brooch reacted the same way, with the stones turning red and the metal golden orange, could be an indication that both were made in the same way, using the same materials.
His eyes, weapon, and brooch, all changed color according to his element now: fire.
"It's a shame I had to reveal this secret so early..." he lamented. "At least this makes some things easier now; I can simply absorb the Fire power in the region and even recover some of the magic I spent."
As he said this, everyone noticed the heat around them becoming weaker.
"So that's how you stopped the eruption of Fire Mountain..." Raymond commented.
"And now I understand how you heard my conversation with Aegreon in Fordurn... You used Illusion..."
Now that some of the surprise had passed, many questions were answered, although countless others had arisen.
"Sariel, I'm glad you're okay, but..." Luna looked at the assassin, then at the Pillar. "Aegreon, you planned to kill him, and Shiina, you knew about it, but said nothing, despite the conversation we had about trusting each other."
Shiina looked at the princess and was about to say something, but the traveler spoke first.
"We can trust her; she didn't agree with Aegreon's plan. As for him..." He looked at the Pillar.
"Wait, how did you know I didn't agree?"
"The owl..." Aegreon remembered the hooting of the owl the night he told Shiina his plan.
The assassin, after a brief thought, connected the dots.
"It's true... you talk to animals... so you knew everything..."
"Yes, that's why I'm willing to trust you. As for Aegreon," Sariel took a step closer to him, "this is my last warning: if you try something again, or if we encounter another Pillar in the future, I will get rid of you. You're lucky you're a Pillar; I still don't feel good about killing you."
"Empty words coming from someone who just killed Indra."
"Aegreon, I'll have to agree with Sariel. If you try to hurt him, I'll protect him." Luna stopped right beside the traveler.
"I echo Luna's words," Raymond agreed.
"Aegreon... just stop this. He's a Volatile, we need him." Even Shiina sided with him.
Aegreon stared at the four for a long time, still holding his scythe.
Then, he simply put his weapon behind his back and walked to the horses without saying anything, but, judging by his contained frown, it was obvious he didn't like that.
Sariel didn't pressure him further; the situation they were in was more than clear.
With that, the group, in a tense atmosphere, gathered and departed, crossing the Volcanic Plains.
However, it wasn't long until questions arose.
"How do you change elements?" Luna was the first to break the silence.
"I can't explain it well; I just concentrate, and it happens. It's kind of like how I taught you to use your first magic, visualizing the cold, but I can somehow feel the nature of the element changing."
Questions about his past were repeated throughout the journey, and Sariel always answered with little information and vaguely. They even asked him to recount his story again, and he retold it without adding much new information.
"Where did you find this glaive? It seems to change color," Shiina asked.
"Ah... that's a good question. It was in an angel sanctuary in Eribur. When I found it, I was sure it was a special weapon, as it reacted to my element the moment I touched it."
"But isn't that common?" the princess asked.
"For the brooches from the Angelic world, yes, but for a weapon, this is something entirely different. I had never seen an entire weapon have the same phenomenon, I always believed this was something exclusive to the brooches."
"It's probably a powerful weapon made by angels that was abandoned during the war," the bodyguard surmised. "You're lucky you found it."
"Indeed, thanks to it I was able to overcome several difficulties."
"And what else did you find in the sanctuary?" Luna asked.
"There was nothing besides this weapon. Everything else was completely destroyed, as was any knowledge of the angels."
Hours passed, and night fell without them realizing it, as the constant light emitted by the lava in the area and the ash clouds covering the sun made the cycle of day and night hard to perceive.
The next day they continued their journey and crossed that infernal place, encountering a canyon that stretched to the horizon. The landscape finally stopped being gray and red; now it was colorful and vivid.
After another full day of travel, they decided to stop again and sleep until the next day.
As always, Sariel and Raymond dedicated some time to train Luna, with the bodyguard teaching swordsmanship and hand-to-hand combat, and the traveler teaching magic.
When they finished, they lay down to sleep, but the princess was having difficulty with it, despite having just come from a tiring environment and still trained.
Looking around to make sure everyone was sleeping, Luna got up and moved away from the camp.
It wasn't long before several animals approached her and played with her.
The princess was distracted by the various animals, giving cuddles, talking, and playing with them.
After some time, she noticed someone approaching behind her. She didn't turn around, as she already knew who it was.
"Can't sleep?" Sariel asked.
Luna nodded silently.
The traveler approached and sat beside her.
"Is something wrong? You've been acting strange since the battle."
"I just... I can't look at you with those eyes, it's strange." She avoided looking at Sariel.
"Strange how?"
"I don't know, it makes it seem like those eyes don't belong to you."
"Well, you'll have to get used to it; they'll change a lot in the future, but for now, I can change them to the color you're used to."
As he said this, he closed his eyes and concentrated for a few seconds. Afterward, his brooch gradually changed color until it acquired a light blue and silver hue.
"So?" He looked at Luna with his "normal" eyes.
"Better..." she replied, still looking down.
"There's still something else bothering you, what is it? Are you still upset about Indra?"
Luna remained silent. Sariel had guessed precisely.
Noticing her silence, the traveler changed the subject.
"There's something I need to teach you, but I'll tell you when you're asleep."
"Asleep? How will I hear you then?"
"You'll see." He stood up and began to walk away. "The sooner you sleep, the sooner you'll find out."
Knowing she was curious, the traveler used this to his advantage to persuade her, and it worked perfectly.
After a few minutes, Luna returned to the camp and saw Sariel sleeping soundly. Curious, she soon lay down and tried to fall asleep, which took a while, as the anticipation of sleeping prevented her from accomplishing that very task.
The minutes passed painfully slowly until the princess finally fell asleep.