Luke hurled the fireball at them without thinking twice, and before the guards could even react, the heat melted them. Only the leader of the guards there was left standing because he had used mana to shield himself at the right moment.
He looked around and saw the melted bodies of his partners—rage, sadness, fear—it all filled his heart. He gritted his teeth, looked Luke right in the eye.
"If I go down, I go down in a blaze of honor. As a Royal Guard of Vermillion, my flames will burn like the flames of the Phoenix," the man roared. It was a chant, a chant said by knights who were about to sacrifice themselves for the kingdom.
And when those words left their mouth, it meant there was no turning back for them. This Royal Guard understood that, and he understood the gravity of the situation he was in. He was alone, the last man standing between Luke and the civilians.
