Chapter 347

Mr. Dave also entered the airship that had been prepared for him.

After taking a seat, however, he frowned as he looked down at his hand.

He could be said to be extremely familiar with energy.

And right now, he felt as though something had been taken from him.

The sensation was vague.

Almost impossible to pinpoint.

But it had occurred the moment that Arc member had bumped into him.

His gaze shifted back toward the gray-haired officer, who was currently discussing something with several colleagues nearby.

As the airship slowly began to lift off, Mr. Dave’s eyes caught something.

Wait...

Was that gray-haired Arc officer smiling while looking at him from the corner of his eye?

He frowned.

But when he looked again, the man appeared completely normal.

He was busy explaining the situation regarding the portal break to several curious personnel.

It must be because of my drained energy.

Mr. Dave shook his head.

Suppressing Ronan had exhausted him far more than he had expected.

Soon, he relaxed against his seat.

The airship gradually ascended into the sky before flying away.

Meanwhile, back on the ground—

"What?"

"Are you serious?"

"The beast type was the Dragon Newt?"

Mike asked in shock.

These creatures, which looked like a mixture of dragons and humans, were notoriously powerful and extremely difficult to deal with.

And now the report claimed that an entire group of them had emerged from the collapsed Red Portal.

It simply didn’t make any sense.

A portal break of that scale should have been impossible.

"I told you, there are many of them. Probably around two hundred or so."

Mike, the gray-haired officer, spoke seriously.

"Should we call the other guilds for help, or do you think Sir Crimson can handle it all by himself?"

"Who do you think Sir Crimson is?" one Arc member snorted.

"He is an extremely powerful S-Rank Hero, and you think he can’t handle a bunch of A-Rank beasts?"

"Dragon Newts aren’t just weak A-Rankers."

Mike shook his head.

"They are among the strongest creatures in the A-Rank category, and there are hundreds of them."

"I am not confident that Sir Crimson can stop them all by himself."

He paused briefly before continuing.

"I would suggest that we send a message to the S-Class heroes and have them lend Sir Crimson their assistance."

The five were still arguing when one of them suddenly pointed toward the sky and frowned.

"Wait... is that a star?"

"A shooting star?" another wondered as they all looked upward.

There, something was moving through the sky at an immense speed.

"Wait, that doesn’t look like a shooting star."

Another person frowned as he stared at the incoming dot.

It didn’t take long before they realized that whatever was approaching them was definitely not a star.

It was something far more terrifying.

Because when it came within several kilometers of their location, a tremendous wave of heat assaulted them.

The air itself began to distort.

And alarms instantly rang in their minds.

Something was terribly wrong.

"Wait... isn’t that a young man?"

One of the group’s eyes widened as he recognized a face that was extremely well-known throughout the world.

"Isn’t that Sir—"

Before he could finish speaking, the figure arrived.

BOOOOM!

The figure landed directly among them.

An overwhelming wave of heat erupted outward.

Their clothes instantly ignited.

The force alone sent every one of them crashing to the ground unconscious.

Except one.

Flame slowly turned his burning gaze toward the gray-haired Arc officer whom he was currently holding by the neck.

His voice was low.

Cold.

Haunting.

A voice that promised destruction.

The gray-haired agent trembled in fear.

His uniform had already been partially burned away, and his skin was beginning to blister beneath the unbearable heat.

Yet Flame didn’t care.

He wasn’t in a state of mind where he could consider such things.

There was only one thought inside his head.

One goal.

Kill him.

Kill that bastard Ronan Steele.

"Tell me."

Flame’s grip tightened.

"Where is Ronan Steele?"

---

Ronan sat on the medium-sized bed inside his prison cell, staring at the ceiling.

With his powers locked away and himself confined within Arc, there was no way for him to go out and assist Han in clearing the massive influx of portals appearing around the world.

Still, he was somewhat concerned about what would happen if Clara failed to find evidence proving his innocence regarding Blazer’s murder.

Wouldn’t things become troublesome then?

He wasn’t particularly worried about himself.

Instead, he was far more worried about his friends.

They would never stand by and watch him be executed.

And if things truly reached that point, he was certain they would be willing to stand against the entire world for his sake.

If that happened... 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

War would seem inevitable.

The words Crimson Scale had spoken echoed repeatedly inside his mind.

Ronan frowned.

He didn’t want war.

So all he could do was place his trust in Clara.

She would definitely uncover evidence proving his innocence.

Once that happened, this entire trial would finally come to an end.

After thinking that, Ronan closed his eyes, intending to take a short nap and clear his thoughts.

Then suddenly—

His eyes snapped open.

"What is causing this heat?"

Ronan frowned.

The entire prison room was becoming hotter and hotter with every passing second.

The temperature was rising at an alarming rate.

His instincts immediately sent blaring warnings throughout his body.

Danger.

Extreme danger.

Ronan tensed as he looked toward the reinforced mirror.

The sound of footsteps echoed through the vast prison corridor where his cell was located.

Step.

Step.

Step.

He stared through the reinforced glass.

And then he saw it.

A figure made of fire walking forward.

The very ground beneath each step melted into liquid slag.

At this point, the temperature had become almost unbearable.

Ronan’s expression darkened slightly as he recognized the approaching figure.

The man eventually stopped directly on the other side of the reinforced mirror.

Ronan stared at the hero standing before him.

The one who probably wanted him dead more than anyone else in the world.

The Undying Flame.

The man who believed Ronan had murdered his brother.

"What do you want now?"

Ronan asked plainly as he looked at the Rank 3 Hero standing at his doorstep.

Flame’s gaze remained locked onto him the entire time.

His fists slowly clenched.

He dares...

He dares wear that look on his face.

Flame felt his rage boil over.

The flames surrounding his body intensified, causing the corridor itself to tremble.

How could he look as though he didn’t know what he had done?

Was he really trying to lie his way out of this one just like he had attempted to do back in the trial hall?

"You damn liar!"

Flame shouted, the fire surrounding him roaring outward in violent waves as it reacted to his raging emotions.

"You killed him first!"

"And then you killed all those people!"

"And now you’re standing there acting as if you have no idea what you’ve done!"

His furious voice echoed throughout the prison corridor.

Ronan merely stared at him blankly.

What exactly is he talking about now?

Ronan wondered.

The judge had already spoken.

No one was supposed to touch him until the trial was concluded.

As one of the S-Class Heroes, surely Flame wouldn’t dare go against an order like that.

At least, that was what Ronan had thought.

But no matter how he looked at the situation unfolding before him right now...

Flame clearly wasn’t here to talk.

He was here for a fight.

Perhaps even worse.

"You damn liar!"

Flame shouted again.

His eyes burned with hatred.

"I’m tired of listening to your lies."

"You monster."

"Die!"

The final word exploded from his mouth like a thunderclap.

He raised one hand.

A small ball of flame immediately appeared above his palm.

For a brief moment, it looked harmless.

Tiny.

Insignificant.

Then it expanded.

The small flame rapidly grew into a massive sphere of blazing fire.

The surrounding temperature skyrocketed.

The air itself began to distort.

Without hesitation, Flame released it.

The fireball shot forward.

The moment it came into contact with the reinforced glass separating them, something terrifying happened.

The supposedly indestructible barrier began to melt.

Not crack.

Not shatter.

Melt.

It dissolved as though it had never been anything more than ordinary glass.

This was the same reinforced material capable of enduring countless high-level attacks.

A barrier designed specifically to contain dangerous awakeners.

Yet before Flame’s attack, it offered absolutely no resistance.

In fact, the glass had already begun melting before the fireball even physically touched it.

The sheer heat radiating from the attack was enough to reduce it into liquid.

Ronan couldn’t understand what was happening.

One moment, Flame had raised his hand.

The next, the reinforced mirror was gone.

Completely gone.

And the terrifying sphere of fire was roaring through the air directly toward him.

The blazing inferno reflected within Ronan’s pupils.

The heat assaulted his skin.

The pressure crushed down on him from every direction.

As the fireball rapidly grew larger in his vision, only a single thought echoed through his mind.

Clear.

Sharp.

And undeniable.

I’m in danger.