Liberation of The Slaves

Chapter 97 – Flames Of Heaven And Fires Of Hell

— Freed’s POV —

Oblivious to the outside world, hidden beneath the forest’s shade, I had devoted myself wholly to training—relentlessly chasing the advanced element known as Heavenfire. Days turned into months, and months into over a year of unyielding effort.

“Haa… Haa… Haha… Hahaha… Hahahaha…! Finally, I’ve achieved it! Hahaha! I’ve done it!”

【Congratulations, Master.】

Collapsing to the ground, breathless and drenched in sweat, I stared at my outstretched palm. A gentle, ethereal white flame flickered there—soft, warm, and alive. After fifteen months of constant struggle, I had done it. Heavenfire was mine.

For a moment, pride swelled in my chest. I thought back to how it all began—Selena’s simple suggestion to blend my light and fire mana. But I had pushed far beyond that.

I experimented endlessly—fusing fireballs with lightballs, forging blades from both elements, intertwining mana and aura in ways that bordered on reckless. There was even a time I combined everything I’d learned and caused a massive explosion—so violent that it triggered the defensive alarms of the house and nearly cost me my life. If Selena hadn’t arrived in time to heal me, I might not have survived.

But now, with the Heavenfire finally dancing in my hand, a sense of purpose returned to me.

<“Do you believe this is sufficient to break her curse?”>

【Yes. Leave it to me, Master.】

<“Haa… this training makes me hungry… I wonder if Selena has prepared breakfast.”>

【It’s already 11:25 AM, Master.】

I blinked. My head jerked up.

<“…What did you say?”>

【It’s already 11:25 AM.】

<“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?!”>

【Because I sensed you were on the verge of obtaining Heavenfire. I didn’t want to disturb your concentration.】

My heart thumped. Breakfast was always served by 6:00 AM. A delay of an hour or two wasn’t unusual if Selena was preoccupied, but five hours? It’s almost lunchtime!

A cold ripple of unease ran through me. I leapt to my feet and dashed toward the house.

“Selena!”

The kitchen was empty. The bathroom, untouched. I stormed through the hallway, my footsteps quickening. A growing pressure pressed against my chest.

Please… please just be resting…

I threw open the bedroom door.

And froze.

There she was—collapsed beside the bed. A deep, dark pool of blood had spread beneath her, enough to fill several glasses. My vision swam.

“Selena…?”

I dropped to my knees and turned her gently over. Her skin was pale, her face streaked with blood. Her body radiated an alarming heat, like she was burning up from the inside.

“Selena!!”

I gathered her into my arms, her blood smearing across my clothes. I didn’t care. Her body was limp. Her breathing faint.

I carried her to the bed with trembling hands, placing her carefully on the sheets now stained crimson.

The warmth of triumph faded like smoke.

And all that remained… was fear.

My hands trembled as I slid beneath her blood-soaked pajamas, pressing my palm gently against her feverish chest. Her skin burned under my touch—far too hot. I flooded her body with my light mana, desperately trying to stabilize her.

<“Aza—”>

【I know!】

There was a hitch—barely perceptible—but it was there. Aza’s voice, usually composed, was rushed.

【Master… it’s worse than before. I’ve already begun analyzing the curse, but… something’s changed.】

A faint sound escaped Selena’s lips.

“Ugh… Freed…?”

My breath caught.

“Selena! You’re awake!”

A glimmer of hope surged through me.

But then, she smiled weakly, her gaze hazy.

“Are you… finally releasing your lust on me…?”

Her voice was hoarse, laced with both pain and mischief.

“Stop joking!” My voice cracked. “I’m checking your condition!”

“Ah… that’s right… I haven’t made you breakfast yet… cough… cough…”

Blood splattered from her lips. My heart dropped.

“Don’t talk! Just stay still! You’re the only thing that matters right now!”

“It’s fine… Freed…” she whispered, eyes fluttering. “I… I think my time’s nearly up…”

“No! Don’t say that! You promised, remember? We were going to travel the world together!”

【Her curse is evolving rapidly. If the rate continues, she’ll die within a week. If it accelerates further… perhaps even three days.】

<“What…? But we had two months left!”>

My teeth clenched. I pulled my hand away, my fingers trembling. I couldn’t believe it.

What was supposed to be a three-year window had crumbled—seventeen months had already passed, and we thought we still had two more. We were wrong.

“I’m sorry… I couldn’t keep our promise…”

She coughed again, violently—more blood spilling from her mouth.

“No! Not now! I just mastered Heavenfire! I can heal you! We’re not done yet!”

She smiled faintly, tears catching at the corners of her eyes. “Fufu… You liar… You’re only saying that to comfort me… But it’s okay… I’m already happy. If I die beside you, I won’t be alone…”

“No!” I shouted, desperate. “It’s real! Look!”

I opened my hand, summoning the sacred white flames. The Heavenfire flickered to life instantly, graceful and beautiful, no longer just a theoretical fusion—it was mine.

Her eyes widened slightly, their brilliance dimmed by exhaustion. “Is it… real…? Am I… dreaming…?”

“It’s real, Selena! We can start the purification! Can you still use your aura?”

“Yes… I think so… cough… cough…”

【Her life force is dangerously unstable. We must purify her immediately. Sit her upright—now. Her clothing is restricting aura flow. Ventilate the room. We can’t risk combustion or internal collapse.】

I rushed to the window and flung it open. Cool air swept into the room.

When I turned back to her, she was gazing at me—eyes glossy with tears.

“Freed… I want to live…” Her voice cracked, trembling. “I… I don’t want to die yet…”

Her frail arms clung to me, hands gripping my shoulders with all the strength she could muster. The raw honesty in her eyes broke the heart inside me.

“I won’t let you die. You’ll be okay. Here, can you sit up? I’ll help you.”

I guided her upright, settling her onto the bed. But the moment I released her, her body slumped, collapsing backward like a lifeless doll. The strongest woman I know can’t even sit up anymore.

“Selena!”

【Let her lean against the wall. We’ll do it from there.】

With care, I lifted her again, letting her back rest gently against the wall. But even then, her body sagged, teetering to the side.

【Support her upper chest with one hand. From that position, the purification can still proceed.】

“Selena, let’s try again.”

I cradled her with my left arm, keeping her upright, my hand resting just above her heart.

“Selena… I’m sorry, but I have to remove your clothes.”

Her head dipped in a faint nod.

I moved slowly, reverently. Each button felt like a prayer as I unfastened her pajama top, one by one, revealing her bare, battered body. Her skin was flushed with fever. Her chest—exposed, vulnerable—rose and fell in shallow, strained breaths. Her long, silver hair spilled down her back like a curtain of silk, matted with streaks of dried blood.

Even on the brink of death, she found the strength to smile mischevously—half-lidded eyes meeting mine with teasing warmth.

“Your face is so red…” she murmured, lips curling into a ghost of a smile. “Are you getting turned on?”

“S-shut up!” I snapped, ears burning. “I'm a man, not a monk!”

How can she still have the time to joke around when her life is on the line!?

She chuckled weakly, then grimaced as pain rippled through her body. Her breath hitched.

<“What now?”>

【Both of you must channel Heavenfire aura into her heart. I’ll guide her aura using yours. Together, we’ll burn the curse from within.】

“Selena,” I whispered. “You need to focus. Channel your Heavenfire aura to your heart. I’ll guide it… We’ll do this together.”

“O… kay…”

“Let’s begin.”

I pressed both hands gently against the space between her chest and shoulders, her skin still burning with fever. My breath caught for a moment—but I couldn’t afford hesitation. I closed my eyes, and so did she. Our hearts aligned.

I channeled my Heavenfire aura into her body.

The instant it flowed into her, I felt it—Aza took over, guiding the stream of pure, white flame down through the corridors of her veins, winding its way toward her heart.

Our auras intertwined in a delicate dance—a bit of my mana slipping into her heart, hers meeting it, wrapping around it like a desperate embrace. My remaining aura circled her heart like a protective shell, a guardian surrounding a battlefield.

Inside her heart, I felt it—a pulsing, grotesque mass of dark aura and corrupted mana—the curse.

【Now, visualize the Heavenfire consuming the curse.】

“Selena—imagine our Heavenfire burning it away.”

We both focused. In our shared vision, white flames flickered into existence around the core of her heart, spiraling inward, licking at the edges of the writhing darkness.

*Whirrrr!*

The moment our combined aura brushed the curse, it howled to life. The dark presence twisted violently, revolting like a beast backed into a corner. It thrashed, desperate to survive, but our fire clawed deeper.

My presence inside was minimal. It was Selena who bore the brunt of the battle from within.

Then—the curse lashed out.

*Cough!* *Cough!*

“Selena!”

Blood erupted from her mouth—thick, dark, and laced with black. It stained her lips, dripped down her chin, and splattered my hands. Panic surged, a scream building in my throat.

【Don’t stop! Master, maintain focus! If you let go now… she’ll die!】

Aza’s voice jolted me and I repeated her instruction to Selena.

“Don’t stop!”

Selena groaned, her body twitching as the pressure built within her. But even in agony, her aura held—flickering but never fading. She was fighting.

And then, with cruel intent, the curse struck harder. It began consuming her aura directly from within her heart.

【The curse is retaliating! Sustain the Heavenfire—it’s the only barrier keeping her alive!】

The blackness surged outward like a tide, reaching for the shell of Heavenfire I had placed outside. A tremor shook my hands.

“Ugh…”

I grunted as the impact struck me—pain spiking through my chest as if the curse had reached through her body and touched mine.

Still, I poured more aura into her, refusing to let go.

Selena gasped but followed. Her Heavenfire pulsed, flared—unyielding.

But it wasn’t enough.

【The curse has adapted… it’s devouring your aura from within. She must expand her aura field—immediately! Her entire body must participate. Head, limbs, core—every cell needs to fight. Now, Master!】

“S-Selena!” I shouted, strained. “Expand your aura! Fill your body—your arms, your legs, your head! Don’t leave a single part untouched!”

She obeyed, and her body pulsed with a new wave of warmth.

But the curse anticipated it.

The moment she expanded her field, the curse devoured the last threads of my aura from inside—and then it broke loose.

*WHIIIIIRRRRR!!!*

A roar like a hurricane tore through the room.

The darkness exploded outward.

Black flames erupted from within Selena’s body, coiling around her like demonic tendrils. Her back arched, her scream stifled as the corrupt fire began consuming her from the outside in—scorching skin, hair, and bone.

The curse had turned Selena’s body into its own burning pyre.

“Selena!!”

*Cough!* *Cough!*

Her coughs now came with blood so dark it was almost tar, splashing across my face.

【...It’s evolving again. Master—this isn’t purification anymore. This is a war! Use everything! All of your Heavenfire, now! Surround her! Burn it out before it consumes her body and soul!】

Without hesitation, I unleashed it.

My full Heavenfire aura surged forward, erupting from both palms in a blinding inferno of white flame. It collided with the blackness like lightning splitting the earth.

*RRRUUUUMMMBBBLLLEEEEE!!!*

But we weren’t alone.

From within the swirling mass of dark fire—another surge answered. White Heavenfire exploded outward from Selena’s body. Her aura joined mine—fierce, wild, desperate.

Together, we struck.

My white fire from the outside and her white fire from the inside, caged the black fire that engulfed her entire body.

““HAAAAA!!!!””

We shouted in unison, our voices raw.

*RRRUUUUMMMBBBLLLEEEEE!!!*

The room convulsed. The bed cracked beneath the strain. The wooden floor quivered as if the world itself rebelled against what we summoned.

White and black flames surged through the air, hotter than any natural flame. Smoke billowed through the open window, carried on winds born from colliding elements. The heat was suffocating. My sweat evaporated the instant it formed.

The curse writhed and howled, its form unraveling like thread set aflame.

Selena’s body—engulfed in darkness—now radiated bursts of blinding white light from within, like a fragile lantern fighting to survive in a violent storm. Every second was a battle. Her skin trembled beneath my hands. Her breath was shallow, her pulse fluttering.

And still, the curse endured.

*WWWHHHHIIIIIRRRRRR!!!*

The black fire surged again—roaring, writhing, refusing annihilation. It coiled tighter, thickening, growing fiercer. It wasn’t dying—it was fighting back.

Our Heavenfire cracked.

The brilliance faltered, flickering like a candle in a hurricane.

Then—her scream.

“AAARRRGGGHHHHHH!!!”

A piercing cry tore from Selena’s throat as the black fire bit deeper into her core, desperate to consume her in one final, monstrous surge. Her back snapped taut. She vomited a mouthful of black blood, drenching her chest and my trembling hands.

“SELENA!!”

*WHHIIIIRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!*

The curse screamed. And then—a deep darkness surged up from within us.

Pain shot through my lungs.

*Cough!* *Cough!!*

My head throbbed as I hacked violently, splattering dark blood across the sheets. My body trembled, my jaw clenched so hard I heard it crack. The curse was lashing out—not only through her, but into me.

But Selena was worse.

Her breaths came in short, shallow gasps. Her entire body convulsed. More blood spilled from her lips as the curse shredded her from within, fighting with every ounce of its hateful will.

From the corners of our tightly shut eyes, black tears trickled down—thick and oily, like shadows given liquid form.

Not just pain.

Not just pressure.

It was grief. Agony. A soul-deep corruption that defied cleansing.

Blood poured from our mouths—dark, bubbling, wrong. Our bodies jerked violently as the air thickened with the stench of burning rot.

*RRRRRUUUUUMMMMBBBBLLLLEEEEE!!!*

Darkness and light exploded across her body—white and black flames writhing in a cyclone of violent, radiant chaos. The bed lurched beneath us. The walls shuddered. Wind howled through the windows, fanned by the roaring storm of curses and purity clashing.

Our vision shattered into static.

And then—

Everything vanished in black.