“There it is.”
Dariann quickly found the furthest storeroom from the stairs and ran toward it, standing in front of the door.
“Millie!!! Millie!!!! Are you in there!!!”
He shouted loudly, wondering if Millie might have fainted inside or if she wasn’t there at all.
At that moment.
Save me!!! Mooooom!!!
“…Alright! I’m not your mom, but I will definitely save you.”
Hearing the faint voice of a child from beyond the door, Dariann smiled in relief, realizing he hadn’t been mistaken.
Just as he was about to open the door…
Clunk, clunk—
“Damn it! What’s this? Is it stuck on something?!”
The thin door blocking Millie and Dariann’s way refused to move, as if something was wedged against it.
“Millie! Is there a problem inside?!”
Ah…ah…! The… the… warehouse…! The wooden boxes…! Hhhuu! Hwaaah!!!
“Damn, looks like something heavy is blocking it?”
Dariann finally realized that the room Millie was in had been repurposed as a storeroom.
Since storerooms usually contain heavy items, a fire must have started, and somehow heavy objects had blocked the door, preventing Millie from escaping, even though she was conscious.
‘There’s no time. The smoke is getting thicker. If I can’t open this door, we’ll both die.’
“Haah… Hhhaah!”
Crash—!
Making a quick decision, Dariann released the handle and swung his axe with both hands.
The heavy axe made a large hole in the center of the door, allowing him to peer inside.
“Damn.”
What he saw beyond the door was even worse.
The area inside was completely blocked by various pieces of furniture and heavy objects, making it impossible to get through, even if the door was broken down.
It wasn’t something that could be dealt with by a single person wielding an axe.
Though the hood might protect his body a little, Dariann was drenched in sweat, and every time he moved roughly, the hot smoke directly entered his lungs.
If things continued like this, both of them could die.
“…Dammit!!!!!!!”
Crash—!
But Dariann kept swinging his axe.
“The firefighters…!!! They save people!”
Crash—! Crack!
“Calm the citizens…! Rescue from the raging flames!!!”
Crack—crack—!
“I am… I am…!!! A firefighter!!!”
Crash—!
He had to do his best in what only he could do to save people.
Dariann was a firefighter.
And firefighters don’t give up.
But despite Dariann’s passion, his body began to slow down as he inhaled the smoke, and his consciousness started to become blurry.
The sense of crisis, the threat of death, loomed right before his eyes.
He could perhaps survive if he abandoned Millie and left now.
He had a beloved husband and two children waiting for him at home.
And he also had to think about the chaos that would occur if the head of the family died.
“…I should have left a note or something.”
But Dariann silently gripped the axe.
He knew well why Freya had fallen for him.
“Just once, just one time…”
Dariann held the axe handle so tightly that it almost broke, instinctively realizing that this would be his final swing.
If this swing failed, it would be the end.
But Dariann didn’t hesitate.
As he always did, he simply swung the axe.
At that moment, Dariann felt an odd sensation.
“Damn, what’s this?”
It felt like time was slowing down, as if everything around him had frozen.
The heat of the fire, the suffocating smoke, the sound of wood burning.
None of it was felt.
Only himself and the axe in his hand seemed to remain in this world.
Thump, thump—
Despite the bizarre stillness, Dariann could feel his body moving slowly, and his heart was pounding wildly in this calmness.
In the midst of this strange and unknown phenomenon, Dariann was bewildered.
Thump, thump, thump, thump—
His heart was pounding wildly, and soon the flames that had been devouring the building were replaced by translucent, bluish flames that flickered in his hand.
Aura.
In the midst of the life-or-death situation, Dariann finally gained the aura.
The aura blossomed from the tips of his fingers, slowly wrapping around the axe handle, climbing up, and eventually engulfing the blade with blue flames.
The area before his eyes lit up, his body filled with energy, and Dariann felt satisfaction in this quiet moment.
The blade of his axe slowly touched the door, which he had struck countless times before.
Crash—!
Then, the axe blows that had previously felt like chopping firewood shattered the door, sending everything behind it flying—including heavy objects and furniture.
As the furniture exploded, a young girl, panting heavily, collapsed on the floor, surrounded by the debris.
“Damn…!”
Witnessing the scene, Dariann threw the axe aside and immediately ran to pull her into his arms.
“…She’s still breathing. It’s alright. It’s okay.”
Dariann, holding the faint girl in his arms, smiled brightly despite the slight breath still lingering in her.
“How much time has passed?”
“She’s probably already burned to death inside, isn’t she?”
“Why did I rush in? A young man’s life has been lost… tsk tsk…”
At that moment, the fire had been contained, but the building was now fiercely burning up to the second floor.
The people around thought that Dariann had already perished in the flames, but the woman who lived in the house, Lirin, simply clasped her hands together as if in a chant, staring at the burning building.
“I’ll save you. Wait here.”
In a sense, it was an empty promise.
The building was already being consumed by fire, and there was no way it could be safe.
Her thoughts, clouded with confusion, were interrupted by Dariann’s words as he confidently turned his back.
But despite the worst circumstances, she still held on to the belief that he would come to save her.
At that moment.
Crack!
“W-wait, look over there!”
A crack suddenly appeared on one of the walls of the second-floor building, and people’s gazes turned toward it.
Creak—crack—CRASH!!!
The crack in the wall widened, and a hole big enough for several people to pass through opened up.
Soon after, something resembling a human figure jumped out, escaping the building.
Black hair, a menacing appearance.
“…Gasp!”
“Is that…?!”
“It’s… it’s the Count… The Count…!”
“Why is the Count…?”
“F-Fall to your knees…! Hurry!”
As Dariann’s appearance was revealed, hidden under his hood, the murmuring crowd fell silent in shock.
They immediately began to bow, pressing their foreheads to the ground.
Ordinary citizens in a territory rarely saw or remembered the face of their lord.
But Count Evergarden was no ordinary lord.
The face of Count Evergarden, infamous for his policies and tyrannical actions, was well known throughout the territory.
They had even been advised to lower their heads when they saw him, as a precaution against making a mistake that could cost them their lives.
Not recognizing him could result in an immediate execution, so it was important to memorize the tyrant’s face.
And now, that very tyrant had appeared in the midst of a fire.
Furthermore, he had come directly into the fire scene, hiding his identity until then.
Thus, the people were confused, unable to understand why their lord was doing such a thing.
Step, step—
As Dariann walked past the people who were bowing to him, his gaze fell upon Lirin, who was still stunned and looking up at him, unable to process the situation.
“Ah… aah… aaah…!”
As everyone else was bowing on the ground, when Lirin saw Dariann approach her and take her into his arms, she burst into tears.
“I inhaled some smoke, but if I rest, I’ll be fine.”
“S-sake—sake…”
In his arms was Millie, who had just been wearing the hood, now peacefully asleep.
“I told you, didn’t I? I would definitely save you, so just wait.”
“T-thank you… Thank you so much…! Really… thank you!!!”
With a smile, Dariann reminded her of his promise and handed Millie back to her mother.
Now, Lirin could hardly contain her tears, repeatedly bowing her head in gratitude.
“Yeah, that’s all that matters—”
Thud.
“…Huh? Why am I looking at the floor?”
Dariann, who had been proudly watching the scene, suddenly realized the change in his perspective and spoke with surprise.
“Ah, I must have collapsed.”
After saving the girl, Dariann collapsed onto the ground and fainted.