Reincarnated As The Villainess's Best Friend

I ran into the town, as fast as I could, trying to keep up with the creature in the air, who for some weird reason kept changing directions without warning.

My mission was simple: No new fires.

'Simple', was preventing the fires. Catching up to the Wyvern? Not so simple.

As I made my way through the streets, the smell of smoke and burnt wood filled the air, almost choking me. One of the buildings nearby was on fire, and I quickly extinguished it with a spell.

The alleys were crowded with worried citizens, afraid of the loss of their household goods.

After running through and over houses, cutting through alleyways, and bumping into people, I finally made it to the creature.

The Wyvern's scream pierced the air once again, and I knew what was coming next.

I stopped right ahead of it, then thrust my hand up.

"Wind Vortex!"

The wind around me began to spin upwards, until a large column of air formed, turning at incredible speeds.

Right on cue, the Wyvern unleashed its fiery breath, but this time, the whirlwind caught the blaze, keeping it burning in the sky until it dissipated.

One down, a lot more to go.

Lucy was somewhere in the town, scouring for a platform which she could enchant for her flight.

Her plan could go wrong in so many ways, but for lack of a better one, we decided to carry it out.

But as I chased after the Wyvern, I failed to shake the dangers of her half-baked plan off my mind.

*****

"How do you plan on doing that?" I asked after Lucy revealed her not-so-good idea.

"I just need to find a way to touch it and the shadows should do the rest."

I folded my hands. "What makes you so sure? Have you tried it before?"

Lucy stared at me for a moment. Her lips remained sealed, but her eyes told me all they needed to.

"You've never actually done this before, have you?"

She shook her head.

"You can't be serious... "

"It's not like I come across a different beast every day," she argued. "But I know it can work. Just help me find a way to reach it."

I remained silent for a moment, weighing options in my mind.

"Sasha's platform," I blurted out.

"What?"

"Sasha's platform. The one she used to hover across the arena. You can enchant a flat object like that to lift you in the air."

"Great. How do I do that?"

"Find a board. Cast a gravity spell to keep yourself on it. Then you cast a levitation spell to send you to your target."

"Okay, I can do that. What will you do?"

"Well... I'll stay on the ground and find a way to prevent more damage."

With our objectives laid out, it was time to activate our plan. We ran off in different directions, each of us hoping for the best.

*****

"Wind Vortex!"

A towering column of air spiraled upwards, trapping another of the beast's flames.

I had lost count of how many fires I had stopped, but at this point, it was getting quite repetitive and boring.

"Wind Barrier!"

I swept my hand, deflecting a falling wooden beam from crushing a fleeing family.

"Next time, run when the monster shows up, not after," I muttered.

I wondered how long it'd take Lucy to enchant a board to lift her, but just when I thought she might have failed, I heard a low whistle in the air.

Right behind the Wyvern, was Lucy, hovering on a knight's shield.

She actually did it.

With a sudden haste, I sprinted up the highest building I could find to witness what would happen next

The Wyvern began flying eastward, towards one of the bell towers. Then with a loud bang, it crashed through the stonewall structure.

The tower broke apart, with stones falling in every direction. Some of them crashed into nearby stalls, while some buried themselves in the ground.

Beneath the tower, was an elven woman running for safety with her child.

The stones were going to crush them!

I opened my mouth to whisper a spell, when Lucy, moving as fast as an arrow, swooped down and fetched them, just before the huge stones fell on them. She placed them a few metres away from the site, and returned back to the skies.

Close on the Wyvern's tail, she stretched her arm toward the beast. Within minutes, she closed the gap between them and reached for the Wyvern's back.

The beast's tail swung upward and Lucy swerved to the side, narrowly avoiding a gruesome death. Once again, she chased after the beast, but this time she overtook it and stopped right in front of it.

Noticing her, the beast suspended its forward movement. Then, it opened its mouth, spitting a ball of fire at Lucy.

I expected her to dodge away, but Lucy stood her ground, or shield. Eyes locked onto the beasts, she whispered a spell, raising an arm towards the beasts.

"Flaming Spear!"

Another powerful burst of flame emerged from Lucy's hand, bright and beautiful. The two flames collided, resulting in a brilliant explosion of light and smoke.

I stared at the colliding flames, amazed by how powerful Lucy was already. She was just a C-Rank Spellcaster, but her mana capacity and spell proficiency could easily place her at mage level.

The Wyvern's flame faded, but Lucy's surged on, blazing through the sky until it struck the winged beast in the eye.

The creature let out a furious wail. Knowing it had met its match, it made a full turn, flying back in the direction of the castle.

Lucy kept on its heels, bombarding the creature with flame after flame, keeping it on course.

I stepped down to the streets, headed in the direction of the castle as well, if Lucy could get it to land, we could easily move on to the next phase.

The Wyvern kept on track, with Lucy following close behind it. With the beast almost at the castle, she made one last move to touch the creature.

Without warning, the Wyvern swung its tail upward. This time around, Lucy failed to notice it.

The tail smashed through her shield, sending her tumbling through the air in a shower of splinters.

Lucy fell through the air, and crashed into one of the wooden buildings below.

I ran even faster, closing the final gap between us in a few seconds.

"Lucy," I called out, lifting her body from the rubble. Her skin was cut in a few places. "Lucy!"

I placed a finger beneath her nostrils. She was breathing, but it was slow and laboured. My heart began to race. She'd pushed herself too far. Despite my nudges, her eyes remained shut.

She had spent more than half her mana, trying to protect a town that hated her. That was enough, she didn't need to fight anymore.

"You did well," I said, laying her down gently. "I'll take care of the rest."

I stood up, turning in the direction of the Wyvern. Suddenly, Lucy grabbed my arm.

"No," she said, leaning forward. "I started this fight. I'm going to end it."