Chapter Twelve: Extinguishing the Flame

Vini had just landed her first strike on the real person and was taking deep breaths to calm the tremor in her heart.
Even though the target was a dead man, delivering that strike was no easy task—not only because killing a human versus killing a beast brought entirely different emotional reactions for a newcomer, but also because the man who had died like a pig on the dining table was someone Vini and her two companions actually knew!
Bob, Porky Bob—at least half of the households in Solace City had bought meat from him. On this special night, the usually quiet and reserved Bob could become wildly fierce, swinging his sword at a dead acquaintance—wasn’t that another form of madness?
Just then,Neo suddenly stood up. Eric, who was about to stab Bob with his sword, was startled so much that he almost lost grip on it.
“Collectors are here. A tough opponent. I suggest you leave.”
“Collectors? What do you owe him?” Matt asked casually, surprised byNeo’s calm tone.
Neo, having fastened the straps of his helmet, replied, “My life.” With that, he grabbed his new bundle wrapped in ham and armor and rushed outside.
By the time Vini and her two companions reached the door, filled with confusion and curiosity,Neo had already vanished. Instead, a thunderous pounding sound could be heard clearly. Soon after, they heard the roar of the Evil Flame Puppet, followed by pounding sounds that doubled in intensity. Then they saw the “collector” mentioned byNeo—a giant burning devil! It rushed past them from less than 5 meters away like a gust of wind. Yes, in the minds of Vini and her companions, such a terrifying and monstrous creature was a devil.
Once the Evil Flame Puppet detected its target, it would end its “random search” mode and switch to “targeted pursuit” mode. At such times, as long as it wasn’t in the way or attacked it, even an archbishop of the Light Church standing beside it wouldn’t catch its interest.
“It seems that guy wasn’t lying. And he might be someone important. Otherwise, why would a devil be chasing him?”
Eric glanced at Matt and snorted, “Maybe he betrayed the devil again?”
“Under these circumstances?”
“So what? Even Bob could become a Dark Priest. This world is crazy.”
“Enough, shut up. Let’s follow them,” Vini interrupted the argument between the two boys.
“Huh?” Eric and Matt looked at Vini in surprise.
Vini had already rushed in the direction of the Evil Flame Puppet, followed by Matt. Eric shook his head and muttered, “This world is indeed crazy.” Then he rushed after them too. “Hey, wait for me!”……
From early on,Neo had been pondering one question: If he had to fight the Evil Flame Puppet, where should the battlefield be?
His first choice was naturally the Light Church—a sacred place that already exerted strong pressure and weakened all dark forces. Not to mention its main hall, where the holy light shone, causing continuous damage to devils.
However, this ideal location wasn’t amongNeo’s options today. He believed it was the center of today’s dark storm, and going there now would likely mean stumbling upon an ongoing sacrilegious ritual.

When conventional methods failed, Neo had to think of alternative solutions. After much consideration, he came up with one: the Magic Garden.
Frey is a place of great freedom. This freedom made it the wealthiest nation in Aemera, but it also sowed some seeds of trouble. For example, the Dark Cultists, one of the main culprits behind today’s chaos in Solis, could not have hidden so easily if they were in the Holy Ode Kingdom, where church services are mandatory for citizens.
Of course, arguing for or against a rule involves much more than just a few superficial points. The Magic Garden, for instance, is only found in the cities of the Frey Free Alliance because only Frey allows mages to build arcane towers in cities.
Mages prefer to build towers designed for developing spells in sparsely populated areas, while constructing arcane towers in densely populated towns. In Aemera, life itself is the magic catalyst, with intelligent beings being the most potent form.
People admire the magical wonders but also detest its harms, such as radioactive contamination. On one side are the rapid fermentation pools of arcane energy, and on the other, damage to citizens’ health. The Magic Garden was created to balance these two aspects.
The Magic Garden in Solis City is located on the edge of the northern district, more precisely in the northwest part of the city. Solis City is divided into sectors in a fan shape, and the Magic Garden spans the boundary between the western and northern districts—Otta Street.
Even in the depths of winter, the Magic Garden remains lush with green trees and filled with the songs of birds and the fragrance of flowers. At night, the petals of fluorescent flowers and the floating pollen of magic peonies create a dreamlike beauty.
Neo disrupted the tranquility of the Magic Garden like a rude brute, breaking through bushes and trampling over flower beds as he rushed inward. About thirty meters behind him was the True Representative of the Bull-Chewing Peony— the Evil Fire Puppet. Its movement was far more than just trampling; wherever its blazing green flames reached, plants were burned to ash, and even areas further away suffered from decay.
Demons are the archenemies of all life, and their forces are known as “Dark Evil Energy.” The main characteristics of this energy are hellish burning, evil withering, and filthy corruption, manifesting as burning, decay, and rot.
The Magic Garden is an ecosystem that relies on large magic arrays as conduits and arcane energy as its power source.
Normally, no one bothers these plants. These special plants thrive by absorbing residual energy emitted by arcane towers. The amount of arcane energy needed to maintain this garden’s ecosystem is minimal, and coupled with public safety treaties, mages are happy to help city administrators.
One of the terms states: To absorb radioactive contamination as much as possible and ensure that the special plants in the garden remain green all year round, arcane energy is fully accessible to the system.
This information wasn’t a secret, and Neo, who had an excellent memory, used it as a crucial element in dealing with the Evil Fire Puppet today.

The Evil Fire Puppet possesses a innate trait—Hellfire, which inflicts dark, malevolent forces centered on “Hellish Burning” on all creatures within its range. This trait is undoubtedly devastating, yet everything has its dual sides; the drawback of Hellfire’s effect is its high energy consumption. Such consumption isn’t noticeable under normal circumstances, but the Magic Garden is different. In a sense, it is a place of life regeneration. When plants wither, the ecosystem activates, instantly replenishing arcane energy, allowing these magic plants, with their strong “Energy-Draining Revival” ability, to recover rapidly. And the Hellfire trait triggers automatically against life…

A place of life regeneration is just one of the reasons why Neo chose the Magic Garden. Another reason is the magic springs within it. These cool and pure waters, highly popular among people, not only beautify the environment but also serve to water the plants. They are also part of the ecosystem; though they flow gently, they never run dry. The source of these springs is the Sun and Moon Wheel Fountain beneath the Arcane Tower at the center of the Magic Garden.

The Sun Wheel Fountain is ring-shaped and divided into four pools by a large crossroads. Besides flowing water, there are also fountains within the pools. What caught Neo’s attention was its connection to the Water Element Plane.

The Moon Wheel functions more like a buffer zone. It is closer to the Arcane Tower than the Sun Wheel Fountain and appears to be an artificial river of flowing water, but its flow is also due to its connection to the Water Element Plane. The enemy of darkness is light, and the opponent of fire is naturally water—flowing water is another reason for choosing the Magic Garden.

There’s actually a third reason: although the Evil Fire Puppet didn’t intend to do so, destroying the Magic Garden extensively while chasing Neo is a fact. Since the Magic Garden is supported by a complex, large-scale magic array, it should have countermeasures. Of course, this is just theory. Perhaps the so-called countermeasures are merely mild penalties such as repeated magical warnings and an upgraded version of the stun spell. Neo isn’t sure about this, so he doesn’t place high hopes on them.

The Evil Fire Puppet chased closely behind, wielding its flaming battle axe. However, eating, losing weight, and resting had already restored Neo’s overall strength to a considerable extent. Coupled with Neo’s natural agility, he focused solely on escaping, making it difficult for the Evil Fire Puppet to catch up to him in a short time.

Through bushes and forests, Neo played hide-and-seek with the Evil Fire Puppet in the Magic Garden. The ferocious Evil Fire Puppet continued to charge recklessly, burning forests and leaving behind a devastated landscape that needed to be healed.

Neo climbed up a large tree. The Evil Fire Puppet launched several flame slashes, but Neo, perched on the tree, dodged them effortlessly. Instead, the falling branches severely impaired the Evil Fire Puppet’s vision. Hmph! Hmph! For the Evil Fire Puppet, a tree that one person could hardly hold was nothing more than a simple target that could be felled with a few axe swings. As the tree fell, Neo leaped onto another tree, its branches high and lush. It was difficult for the Evil Fire Puppet to lock onto him and deliver an immediate attack.

One tree can be cut down, and two trees as well. The Evil Fire Puppet can’t climb trees, but brutish forces have their own ways—after all, how much effort would it take to cut down this entire forest?

Indeed, the entire Magic Garden was filled with thick trees spaced at appropriate intervals—only this area had such features. But the problem was that with all this chaos, the ecological system of the Magic Garden had been completely activated, with arcane energy flowing wildly. Although the trees couldn’t regenerate as quickly as plants, the rapid circulation of life energy transformed by arcane energy used each plant as a stronghold to fight against the Hellfire innate ability of the Evil Fire Puppet. The Evil Fire Puppet’s energy consumption kept increasing, showing an unstoppable trend akin to leakage.

Level 5 meant level 5—fierce and swift. In less than ten minutes, the forest was completely chopped to pieces.Neo moved like a monkey that had knocked down trees, darting through the broken trunks and debris, using obstacles as cover. This was originally the strength of the Dark Clan’s wolves, andNeo had mastered this skill since childhood. Using it now greatly made up for the level difference.

The Evil Fire Puppet still acted as its pioneer, striding over or crashing through obstacles, combined with the slashing blows of its Flame Battle Axe, it was like a rampaging flaming war chariot.

Finally, with a whoosh! The ultimate recovery state of the ecological system was triggered. A complex magic array flashed across the ground in this area, and then life energy formed countless upward-floating lights like goose feathers—this was a large-scale life healing spell.Neo was quite surprised because this power also had a significant positive effect on him. Not only did it reduce his fatigue and restore his stamina, but it also alleviated the growing tearing pain in his body.

However, life energy was harmful to the Evil Fire Puppet. To resist this rising force, it let out howls as even more intense evil flames burst from its surface. The frantic burning made its body even hotter, so bright that its outline could hardly be seen.

Seeing that enough had been achieved, though the life healing spell was great,Neo didn’t dare stay too long. He needed to cross a flower bed area, and on this nearly 200-meter stretch, there were no large forests for him to hide in.

The large-scale life healing spell trapped the Evil Fire Puppet like in quicksand. SeeingNeo rushing toward the Arcane Tower, itwithout hesitationly used “Flame Axe Throw” again. It wasn’t completely stupid—it knewNeo wouldn’t be interested in its burning weapons, so even if thrown a hundred times, there was no risk of them being seized.

Thanks to his sharp ears,Neo heard the whistling sound of the spinning Flame Axe. His alertness greatly reduced the impact of the level disparity. Dodging such attacks was as difficult as dodging a close-range frontal strike from an enemy of the same level. Still, since this “Flame Axe Throw” came from a level 5 warrior, its residual force was quite considerable.Neo had no choice but to roll around desperately to mitigate the force acting on him.

As if wading through mud, the Evil Fire Puppet barely managed to get out of the range of the Great Life Healing Spell and strode after Neo. However, the ultimate restoration state of the Magic Garden’s ecosystem had already been triggered; the corrosive effect of the Hellfire on every shrub and plant triggered a rebound of vitality. Though not as powerful as the Great Life Healing Spell, the effect was still considerable. The Evil Fire Puppet seemed to be walking on a carpet of light—with each step, a swirl of fire and light, decay and regeneration. At this point, the earth’s effect on the Evil Fire Puppet was even stronger than the Druid’s “Thorny Entanglement,” with thorns at every step.

The Evil Fire Puppet remained fierce. Who was it? A hunter personally guided by the Dark Messenger Dantestine—how could it fail against such minor obstacles?

Boom! The flames surrounding the Evil Fire Puppet grew even more intense, reaching the level of a Flame Body. Now, the forces of life could no longer bind it. This was the ultimate state of the ecosystem, and after all, this was not a targeted spell but merely a conflict caused by opposing elemental properties.

The Evil Fire Puppet charged forward, grabbed its Flame Battle Axe, recharged it, and threw it again without hesitation. It didn’t expect the “Flame Axe Throw” to kill Neo outright—it only needed to disrupt Neo’s escape. This wasn’t difficult to achieve. Neo dodged desperately once more, got up, and continued moving forward. Though agile, he inevitably lost some time.

Over a hundred meters wasn’t short, but it wasn’t extremely long either—especially for warriors like Neo and the Evil Fire Puppet, who could cover that distance in just a dozen seconds. By the time Neo reached the Sun Wheel Pool, the Evil Fire Puppet was already less than 10 meters away. The attack radius of the axe in the Evil Fire Puppet’s hands exceeded 4 meters, meaning it could launch a direct attack with just a little more proximity. With that in mind, the Evil Fire Puppet didn’t even bother using its Flame Slash, focusing solely on chasing Neo.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh! Neo moved along the edge of the pool. Boom! Boom! The Evil Fire Puppet smashed through the pool’s edge and advanced straight ahead. Hiss! The collision of water and fire caused massive amounts of steam to rise around the Evil Fire Puppet, blurring its vision. It swung its axe twice, but Neo narrowly avoided both attacks.

The second battlefield was this Sun Wheel Pool. The pool wasn’t very deep, especially since its edge had been damaged, causing water to flow out. What remained was only up to the knees. But after the central fountain’s pipes were destroyed, water surged violently. Neo’s goal was to keep the Evil Fire Puppet in the turbulent area, as this would not only drain the Evil Fire Puppet’s strength but also impair its vision due to the steam, reducing it to below a normal level 5 fighter. Yet, despite these calculations, unexpected things kept happening. The level disparity and the Evil Fire Puppet’s special abilities meant that every attack it launched was a deadly move that Neo had to avoid. Meanwhile, the pool water also restricted Neo’s agility, affecting him just as much as the Evil Fire Puppet.

From one pool to another, and then to a third, the Evil Fire Puppet remained formidable, while Neo could no longer hold on. He rolled and crawled across the path, lost his balance, rolled down a small slope, and tumbled into the Moon Wheel Artificial River. The Evil Fire Puppet still seemed strong, striding forward and following Neo into the river almost immediately.

Neo inwardly groaned in frustration—he had underestimated this Evil Fire Puppet. He didn’t know that Dantestine was one of the Twelve Dark Apostles, guided by the Dark Apostles; how could she be compared to an ordinary being?
Boom! Splashes erupted as white waves surged. The Evil Fire Puppet’s axe strike was incredibly powerful. Though Neo wasn’t hit directly, water transmitted force far more effectively than air. Affected from such close range, he felt as if he had been struck hard. Spurt! Blood gushed out.
The Evil Fire Puppet roared and swung its axe again. Boom! This time, Neo couldn’t even dodge properly. A wound over a palm long appeared on his left thigh, deep enough to reach the bone. Blood gushed forth, turning a large area of water red.
The Evil Fire Puppet raised its axe for the third time.
Bang! Amid a sudden surge of aqua-blue light, the Evil Fire Puppet was frozen inside a huge transparent ice mass. Even Neo was affected, half of his body turning blue from the cold.
Neo struggled desperately to swim away. He knew this ice mass couldn’t trap the Evil Fire Puppet.
Boom! The Evil Fire Puppet broke free from the ice, its gaze fixed on Neo as it moved forward through the water.
Bang! It was the Ice Purification spell again, but clearly more powerful this time. The aqua-blue light contained a frosty brilliance, and its range was much wider. Though Neo swam farther away, he was still eroded by the cold, nearly freezing solid. That half of his body felt like it belonged to someone else, devoid of sensation. Thankfully, it was the injured leg that was frozen; otherwise, with one side frozen and the other injured, he would have sunk to the bottom.
Using all his strength to paddle, the not-so-wide Moon Wheel River now seemed like a kilometer-long stretch, making it seem utterly unreachable to Neo.
Boom! The Evil Fire Puppet broke free from the ice once more.
This ice-binding spell was a punishment from the Magic Garden’s ecosystem for those who severely damaged vegetation. First came a warning, followed by paralysis and unconsciousness spells—all aimed at the Evil Fire Puppet. Neo was busy escaping, and the puppet had raging flames, so the magical light was hard to see. It wasn’t until the puppet resisted repeatedly, causing the counter-punishment to escalate to its ultimate form, that visible effects appeared.
This time, though the ice purified, the flames on the Evil Fire Puppet dimmed significantly. Still relentless, it charged straight at Neo.
Bang! Crackle!
The ecosystem’s most advanced ice-binding spell turned even the water of the Moon Wheel River icy. At that moment, Neo was dragging his half-frozen body, desperately trying to climb up the slope. The icy mist pursued him closely, spreading down to his feet and turning a section of the slope white with frost before its power faded.
In the river, ice masses the size of small mountains glowed blue, crystal-clear like glass. The Evil Fire Puppet remained trapped inside, in a monstrous posture.
“Huff, huff!” Neo lay on his back on the slope, propping himself up on one elbow, gasping for breath as he watched the Evil Fire Puppet.
Crackle! Crackle! Splash!
The ice broke again, with ice blocks falling like rain. The Evil Fire Puppet, like corroded steel parts, struggled onward toward Neo, its flames completely gone.

Neo no longer had any strength left, and coupled with frostbite, it was impossible for him to run. As he prepared to roll sideways in a final struggle, the Evil Fire Puppet suddenly let out a low howl. The eerie glow in its eyes gradually dimmed and disappeared. It stopped moving, standing on one leg with its upper body leaning forward and hands stretched out. Soon, a layer of frost covered the surface of its dark, shiny stone body.