"Yeah…" Florian exhaled.
"But I'm really too old for this."
They had barely begun to catch their breath when another Fire Demon stepped out from between the trees.
Its eyes glowed red, and its voice rumbled like distant thunder.
The battle… was far from over.
The Old Fire Mages and the Golden Dragon
"A fourth demon?" Florian sighed.
"Well, we're screwed."
"Got any magic left?" Albert asked.
"I'm completely drained," Florian waved dismissively.
"Like a bottle of good wine after the two of us get our hands on it."
"So this is the end?"
"At least I won't die alone."
"And we did kill three of them," Albert added.
"I'll take care of the fourth one too," Florian growled, pulling out a rune stone.
"I've got a nice explosive rune here.
If you don't mind, I'll blow us all to hell and take this damned demon with us."
"A suicide blast?" Albert raised an eyebrow.
"Well… better than letting a filthy demon finish us."
Florian prepared the rune stone.
The demon approached cautiously — it knew that even dying mages could be dangerous.
Only a few seconds remained before Florian activated the explosion…
…when golden flames rained down from the sky and incinerated the demon in an instant.
The two old mages stared upward in shock.
Lightburp descended from the sky, Amelia in her arms.
"You wrinkled old fart!" Lightburp shouted at Florian.
"You're not dying on me until we've farted the whole alphabet together! Got it?!"
"Fireburp?!" Florian gaped.
"How did you get so big? And what is this golden form?!"
"A golden dragon…" Albert whispered.
"By the Holy Dragonfang… I lived long enough to see this?"
"My name is Lightburp!" the girl declared proudly.
"This golden form is only temporary power.
Right now, two beings are one: the dragon girl Fireburp and the Golden Stag, Aurelyndra."
Albert's eyes widened.
"The legendary Golden Dragon… a fusion of two beings?!"
"Whatever it is," Florian grumbled,
"you saved these two old, crusty asses."
"That fire elemental of yours stood out pretty clearly from the sky," Lightburp said.
"I figured it was your doing.
Though it's kinda pathetic that it took both of you to summon it."
"You're talking?!" Florian barked.
"Without the Golden Stag you wouldn't have dared face a single Fire Demon!"
"For your information, I defeated one of the Clan Leaders!"
"Not just your chest got bigger — your mouth did too!" Florian shot back.
"Wait—my chest did get bigger!" Lightburp grabbed her torso.
"You think Young Wolf will like my new form?
Who's prettier, me or Noelle?"
"That's a stupid question," Florian waved.
"It's like asking Young Wolf which scone is better: cheese or crackling."
"Um…" Amelia spoke up carefully.
"I don't want to ruin the mood, but we're in the middle of a battlefield.
Shouldn't we go find Young Wolf?"
"Finally someone with common sense," Albert nodded.
"It wasn't just the fire elemental that stood out in the forest," Lightburp said.
"I also saw a golem to the west."
"Floralys!" Florian slapped his forehead.
"Then we head that way."
"Agreed," Albert said.
"I'm not carrying three people at once," Lightburp declared.
"We're going on foot."
The Demon General: Wildfire
Lightburp and Amelia joined the two fire mages, and together they headed toward Floralys's golem.
Master Florian and Albert had escaped death by mere seconds —
but other knights were not so fortunate.
Especially those who had crossed paths with Wildfire, the Demon General.
Among them stood the Lieutenant of the Wolf Knights, Janos Wolf,
and the Lord of House Redwood, Lajos Redwood.
The two lieutenants stood in a clearing drenched in blood and ash.
Around them lay the bodies of an entire company of knights —
all slaughtered by the same demon.
"So this is the strength of a Demon General…" Janos said, watching the shadow moving within the flames.
"He wiped out a whole company alone," Lajos replied.
"What a monster…"
"Wildfire…" Janos growled.
"He didn't get that name for nothing."
"Wildfire, huh?" Lajos clenched his fist.
"His name is as terrifying as his appearance."
Slowly, the demon's form emerged from the smoke:
tall, with glowing cracks across his body, and a mane of living fire rising like a raging inferno.
"Falling to a Demon General is no shame," Janos said.
"Don't you want to run, Lord Redwood?"
Lajos shook his head.
"Run? And leave where?
My daughter is somewhere in this forest.
If we buy even a little time… it might be enough.
She might survive."
Janos nodded.
"You're right.
We win simply by delaying him as long as we can."
Lajos drew his sword.
The blade shimmered with a reddish tint — the secret craft of the Redwood family's forge.
"I'm skilled with the sword myself," he said.
"That is the secret of House Redwood.
And I am also Lieutenant of the Red Wildrose Knights."
Janos allowed himself a faint smile, despite the hopelessness.
"Then let's see…
what two Lieutenants can do against a Demon General."
The flames parted, and Wildfire stepped out.
The ground trembled beneath his steps.
The two lieutenants raised their swords.
And the battle began.
Janos Wolf's Memory
In the burning forest, standing face‑to‑face with the demonic form of Wildfire, Janos Wolf's heart pounded violently.
The closeness of death stirred something strange within him —
a memory of a conversation he had with his father, Arpad, many years ago.
Wolfwood Castle – Training Grounds, a few days after the Blue Ogre's defeat
The sunlight bathed the training yard in gold.
In the dust, two young female Wolf Knights — Andrea and Anita — were sparring with Young Wolf, with such fierce determination that even the veterans paused to watch.
Arpad and Janos stood by the wooden fence, arms crossed, observing the three young warriors.
"What a beautiful sight," Arpad, Captain of the Wolf Knights, said.
"The next generation's Captain and Lieutenant… look at them.
Their eyes shine, their fighting spirit never tires."
Janos smiled, though something bitter lingered behind the expression.
"In the end, I never became Captain…"
Arpad patted him on the shoulder.
"Captain, Lieutenant… what does it matter?
A knight's true strength isn't defined by rank.
I only became Captain because the Wolfwin and Wolfbane knightly families fell beside Andor Wolfwood in the final battle against the Empire."
"Too many great Wolf Knights died in that war," Janos said quietly.
"By now, only the Wolf family remains of the old knightly lines," Arpad nodded.
"The others belong to history."
Janos looked at the young fighters.
"So our fate will be to fall against the Demon Army?"
Arpad sighed.
"As a father and grandfather, I ask only one thing from the Goddess:
that I die before you."
"You could just as well ask that all three of us survive the demons," Janos muttered.
"A true knight's destiny is to die in battle," Arpad said, as if stating the most natural law in the world.
Janos laughed.
"I'd rather die old, in bed, with three young women beside me."
Arpad rubbed his forehead.
"It's a miracle your wife hasn't left you."
"As Lieutenant and bodyguard of Bandorn, I earn too well for her to walk away," Janos grinned.
"She wouldn't care even if I slept more in the brothel than in our own bed."
Arpad snorted.
"Good thing Andrea didn't take after her mother."
The two men laughed together —
not knowing how dark the times ahead would become.
The memory faded, and Janos found himself back in the present.
Wildfire's flames illuminated the clearing, the ground sizzling beneath the demon general's steps.
Janos tightened his grip on his sword.
"Father… looks like I really will die in battle."
But at least…
not alone.
The Death of Two Lieutenants
The images of the memory faded from Janos's mind,
and the merciless reality of the burning forest dragged him back into the present.
The two lieutenants charged at Wildfire at the same time.
Bravely.
Determined.
And completely in vain.