Water Mage in the Flame Realm

"This fire, it's terrifying..."

Andrew's eyes were sharp.

As a Magic Lord, Andrew now completely regarded the territory and its inhabitants as part of himself.

Actually, regardless of Andrew's personal thoughts, through the "Gate of Enlightenment," he and Wildfire Town, as well as the Lake of the Ocean, were indeed inseparable.

In a sense, the territory was like a gigantic magic crystal located outside of Andrew's body!

However, just after realizing that the path a Water Mage took was so fundamentally different from that of a traditional mage's Lord Style cultivation route, he looked up only to see Ivan enveloped by large swathes of "Molten Rock Fire" with the appearance of flowing flames!

"Is this the legendary 'Molten Rock Fire,' the foremost of the Eight Strange Fires..."

Andrew observed intently.

Although not within the fire, because he already knew that between himself and Ivan they were "Soul Contracters," when Ivan suddenly suffered an attack from the erupting Cursed Power, Andrew felt as though he was also being attacked.

He even faintly felt that part of his body was temporarily isolated and segregated by the "Molten Rock Fire."

"—So the feeling of being a Magic Lord is fundamentally different from being a traditional mage."

A layer of understanding surged within Andrew's heart: "I must save Ivan, help Ivan break through this suddenly erupting Cursed Power; only then, as a Water Magic Lord, will I be truly complete!"

The Soul Guard, a once-in-a-lifetime pact, if killed, there's no chance to sign another one.

Thinking of this, Andrew looked at the Molten Rock Fire, and his gaze gradually transformed from "astonished surprise" to "cold fury."

Even if Ivan wasn't his Soul Guard, in Andrew's original concept, Ivan was also an important partner.

Andrew looked at the Molten Rock Fire that wantonly enveloped Ivan, thinking, you didn't even give me a heads-up before attacking my people, are you not taking me, the Water Magic Lord, seriously at all?

An intense feeling of disgust surged stronger in his heart.

It was like facing Pete at the time, that aversion from the soul, and even more intense now!

Andrew took a deep breath. After quickly observing, he roughly had an idea of how to deal with the sudden situation.

But then he heard Ivan, inside the fire, struggling to resist the flames, shout loudly.

He yelled, "Don't help me!"

"?" Andrew slightly frowned, temporarily halting his actions.

What does this mean, he thought?

Could it be that Ivan had to rely on his own strength to break this "Earth Fire Curse" to become a true Deep Blue Guard?

If so, acting rashly might not be good.

Ivan wanted to become a true Deep Blue Guard, and Andrew also wanted as powerful a Soul Guard as possible.

The Magic Power State had silently switched from "normal" to "double state."

Andrew's fingers slightly twitched; he already held in hand a Water Magic technique seemingly tailor-made for this situation, ready to help Ivan at any moment.

The Molten Rock Fire, in the hands of an Earth Fire Scholar above a Grand Mage, naturally possessed immense power.

The power of the Earth Fire Curse triggered when a Tier Nine Desert Hunter attempted to break through to a higher tier was absolutely formidable.

"But right now, this is just an 'early eruption' of the Earth Fire Curse, both in power and spirituality, it's actually not something that's difficult to handle!"

Andrew was very confident.

If he were still a traditional Water Mage without the state of the Gate of Enlightenment, it might indeed be troublesome.

Yet now, holding the Gate of Enlightenment, having become a Water Magic Lord, his essential life form had already changed.

If he still allowed his Soul Guard, in front of him, to be burned to death by an uncontrollable Molten Rock Fire, Andrew felt he might as well crash himself into this temple and be done with it! Forget about going back to the surface to continue his ventures of extinguishing fires.

Because of this confidence, when Andrew heard Ivan's shout, "Don't help me," he immediately stopped.

He paused, not rushing to take action, listening to what Ivan had in mind—

Ivan's thinking was actually simple; he thought he was beyond saving.

Just now, when the Gate of Enlightenment was triggered by Andrew, Ivan, like Andrew, naturally knew: the truth about the Desert Hunters and the relationship between him and Andrew.

At the same time, through his soul connection with Andrew, he finally knew Andrew's identity: "So... it's a Water Mage," Ivan thought to himself. "I see. No wonder! That explains the previously unbelievable actions of this kid."

So yes, Ivan was now in this Flame Realm, besides Andrew himself, the only one who knew Andrew's identity.

Though Ivan clearly felt: he couldn't withstand the Earth Fire Curse for much longer.

Yet simultaneously, he couldn't help but feel elated.

He originally thought his conflict with the Earth Fire Mages was just a personal vendetta.

Only now did he realize that the entire Desert Hunter tribe was the target of persecution by the Earth Fire Mages!

The existence of Andrew, this Water Mage, in Ivan's eyes, will certainly become the nightmare of Earth Fire Mages in the future!

"So, I can die, but Andrew cannot. I'm beyond saving, but I can't drag him down with me either! This is the mission of me, a Soul Guard, at this moment!"

Ivan thought.

Talking about regrets, there surely are some.

Mainly because I just found out about my identity, and now I have to die. There's always a bit of unwillingness.

But what can I do?

After all, this is the Molten Rock Fire, the leading of the Eight Strange Fires!

"Andrew, this kid, although he's a Water Mage, probably doesn't know either: the truly terrifying part of Molten Rock Fire."

Ivan thought, "The truly troublesome thing about Molten Rock Fire lies in its hidden function akin to a 'destiny lock.' Once targeted by Molten Rock Fire, even if you survive one disaster, there'll be a second, a third! Therefore, even if Andrew can barely save me, I can't let him take action—"

"Hey." A voice sounded beside Ivan.

"?!" Ivan turned his head, instantly stunned.

Seeing Andrew somehow burst through the flames from outside the Molten Rock Fire, standing shoulder to shoulder with him.

The Molten Rock Fire, as expected of the leader of the Eight Strange Fires, Andrew, relying on "Flame Immunity," had also equipped himself with several layers of "silk wings" when charging in, yet he still couldn't fully withstand the scorching damage at the moment of contact with Molten Rock Fire.

"Damn, this fire is really freakish." Andrew muttered in complaint, then looked at the bewildered Ivan, "You should speak up — why tell me not to help you? If you must tackle Molten Rock Fire alone to transform from a Desert Hunter to a Deep Blue Guard, then... should I leave?"

Ivan glared at Andrew, suddenly shouting in anger, "You… you idiot! Why won't you listen, you little brat? I told you to not help, dammit!!"

Andrew was dumbfounded, silly as he said: "Yeah, I heard you, that's why I asked why."

Ivan: "..."

He had already prepared himself for death, but now he took a deep breath, thinking before dying, he must throw this foolish kid out! But can this kid really be okay? Can he truly become the hope of the Flame Realm's people?

He reached out directly to grab Andrew's collar.

However, his outstretched hand, before touching Andrew, was instead seized by Andrew's hand.

Andrew grabbed Ivan's wrist, his face already devoid of the earlier feigned ignorance.

Actually, before rushing in, he had already sensed Ivan's determination to die.

The question is… I have the ability to save you. As my Soul Guard, shouldn't you have a little more faith in me? Andrew thought.

"So you initially didn't want to burden me, which is why you asked me not to help you."

Andrew shook his head at this moment, smiling helplessly, "How come you still don't get it? I'm not here to 'help you,' nor to 'help myself,' but to 'help us.' Soul Contracter means partner, means companion. It's not something you wish to not burden me and can actually avoid doing so.

If you truly don't want to burden me..." Andrew fixed his gaze on Ivan's eyes, word by word, "then take down this Molten Rock Fire! Live on! And then, together with me, let's accomplish something great!"

Ivan's whole body shuddered, his eyes seemed to momentarily shine.

But soon he shook his head again, saying: "You don't really understand the terror of Molten Rock Fire. The Eight Strange Fires, each one isn't easy to mess with, Molten Rock Fire and Fire of Extinguishing, are the hardest two among them..."

Andrew directly interrupted Ivan's words, somewhat displeased, and said: "Of course I know the power of Molten Rock Fire! But... together, you and I are mightier than any Molten Rock Fire or Fire of Extinguishing! Now that you understand the truth about Desert Hunters and know my identity, at least have a bit of faith in this newly formed team of ours, right?"

With that, Andrew released Ivan's wrist.

He raised his hand and pointed faintly.

The Water Magic that had been prepared beforehand, almost as if crafted for the current situation, was unleashed. But not towards the tightening cursed cage formed by Molten Rock Fire.

Instead, it landed directly on Ivan's chest.

——The "Chest Armor" from the "Deep Blue Armament Series"!

Beforehand, Andrew had used this Water Magic to transform the Guardian Array around the Water Tower Tree Shire.

But actually, the "Deep Blue Armament Series" is a Magic Series created specifically for Soul Guards, for Deep Blue Guards, exclusively belonging to Soul Guards.

What's applied to Ivan right now is just the "Chest Armor" piece. As Ivan's strength continues to grow, the chest armor will naturally extend to other parts of the body, transforming into shoulder plates, arm guards, wrist guards, gloves, belts, war boots... eventually forming a complete combat suit.

By then, that is the true "Deep Blue Armament"!

The cage formed by Molten Rock Fire had finally completely taken shape, vaguely seeming to form a human-beast-like shape, roaring as it charged towards Ivan and Andrew!

Andrew stood still on the spot, not moving an inch, as if he didn't see the Molten Rock Fire at all.

Just seeing Ivan wearing the "Chest Armor" gifted by Andrew — Andrew had essentially given the entire "Deep Blue Armament Series" to Ivan, letting him fill in the other parts of the series himself — Ivan stepped forward, blocking Andrew's front.

Then, Ivan merged man and armor into one, directly grabbing that imposing Molten Rock Fire with both hands, breathed deeply, and suddenly exerted strength, tearing the bizarre existence condensed by Molten Rock Fire, which was human-beast-like, into two halves!

Ivan: "..."

He looked at his hands, then at the Molten Rock Fire that, once split, rapidly extinguished as if losing its master and vitality, hardly believing this scene was real!

Andrew, however, upon the curse's disappearance, truly felt the tighter bond between him and Ivan, different from that between him and the territory or its people, thinking: "Now, I can truly consider myself a preliminary complete Water Magic Lord."