Siblings Reincarnate as Enemies

Chapter 70 – In which they bring light (3)

At the edge of the darkness sat a young woman.

She was tied up with thick ropes and wrapped in numerous earth gods related inverted symbols.

Behind her, people stuck together, seeking warmth and protection, but she kept her distance.

Rather than curling up with everyone, she was glaring at their captors, playing cards and chatting some distance away.

She was the first to notice the abnormality.

The mage she was glaring at suddenly leaned to the stone beside him and started to whisper something to it. Then he chuckled.

She then saw another mage jump as she stared at her bag, grab a long stick and smash it with all her might. She seemed to shout ‘Snake! Snake!’.

Others just looked at her with amusement and shook their heads, mumbling ‘That girl should get some sleep’.

It was clear there was no snake in the bag.

Straining her ears, the female captive heard some nonsensical conversations.

“Such a beautiful crystal!”

“That’s a pinecone.”

“And yet it shines like a yellow light of the sun!”

“What? Have you lost your mind? The sun is white, you idiot.”

“There is obviously something wrong with all of you, the sun is Red! Capital letter Red! Just like His Reverence!”

“… Oh, I don’t know, brother, the fire is turning purple again.”

They were all slowly slipping into insanity.

And yet, no one seemed to notice.

No. They did notice but…

“Hey, doesn’t your brain also feel a bit sluggish?”

“Mm, the mana in my stomach seems to be freezing. I think it’s something we ate.”

“Damn it, I knew that this stew was suspicious.”

They were completely oblivious to the strangeness of all of it.

The woman had no way of knowing it, but mixed with the powder of black sandthron, which Amara threw into the air, were a few calming herbs.

Normally they were popularly used herbs in teas and simple remedies, without any side effects, but prepared in a certain way and most importantly coupled with the black sandthorn, they caused mages’ sense of danger to fell to the bottom.

What the woman knew was that her captors suddenly fell into some kind of mind-alternating state.

But how?

She knew well that if their mind was attacked, either spiritually or magically, they would immediately raise their defenses and look for the enemy.

Similarly, if their water, food or even air around them was poisoned, they would be able to detect it and enter the defense mode.

For them to fall into such state without their slightest knowledge was unheard of.

If Amara heard her question, he would smile politely and say:

— Why should you treat medicine as something dangerous and defend yourself against it?

Every ingredient Amara used, even the black sandthorn, were herbs used in medicine.

The mages’ defense mechanisms weren’t programmed to fight those.

Even if they abide the principle ‘Every medicine can be a poison, and every poison can be medicine’, those were for overdose, when they became harmful.

Right now they were only experiencing side effects of ‘improperly’ mixed medicine.

It wasn’t dangerous. Therefore, it didn’t raise an alarm.

While the woman observed the mage camp slowly turn into a mess, music entered her ears.

At first, it was quiet, barely a far away whisper.

Then it grew louder, spreading in the darkness.

It was a cheerful and energetic melody, but at the same time, when it echoed in the darkness, it was strangely haunting.

She looked around, searching for the source.

Others around her did the same.

They all heard it.

And soon they saw.

The shadows dancing in the dark, advancing forward through the crowd of people.

There were three of them.

The two danced, shaking the instruments and creating a wild melody.

They circled around the third, who leisurely advanced forward without any big movements.

Only sometimes the third figure shook the chimes in their hands.

Their black robes seemed to merge in the darkness, making it hard to notice them if not for the music and their wild movements.

Soon they moved to the edge of the area illuminated by fire, and the mages, who were late to notice them, stirred.

They jumped and tried to cast spells, but there seemed to be some kind of problem.

The magic circles drawn in the air came out crooked. They didn’t activate.

They didn’t give up though, and were trying to draw them again. Gradually they were turning cleaner and cleaner.

But the three strange shadows paid them no mind.

They stepped into light and their dark clothes turned red and orange, matching the light of the fire.

Basking in the light, they walked towards the enormous fireplace in the center.

The mages, who were drawing the magic circles, looked dumbfounded.

In a few seconds, the three invaders reached the fireplace.

The two figures, who were dancing before, fell to their knees and bowed. And the third figure…

Stepped into the fire without any hesitation, disappearing in the flames.

And then…

The flames rose and exploded, devouring the surrounding,

And the figure became visible again.

The bells in their hands rang out, as they twisted their body in the chaotic dance, the flames following their every movement.

“The fire…!”

Someone shouted, but they didn’t finish as the fire exploded again, following the figure’s gesture, and poured down.

It fell on the tents and mages’ robes, and though they surely were equipped with protection against fire, they caught on fire and burned brightly.

The camp fell into chaos.

“The fire spirit! The fire spirit!”

Someone was shouting, it was hard to tell if their voice was filled with horror or awe.

The fire danced.

And it spread…

The woman realized that not only her captors’ camp was burning.

Lights erupted in the darkness where the captives were held.

‘How? What are you doing?’

She soon found her answer.

The shadow, the one who was dancing before and bowed to the fire, suddenly appeared at her side.

They were holding a small torch.

Without waiting for anyone to comprehend the situation, they brought the torch to the ropes biding the captives.

And the fire jumped like a hungry beast, devouring them much quicker than it should be naturally possible.

Besides that, there was one other strange thing.

‘It’s not hot…’

Even though the fire was literally at her fingertips, she didn’t feel the heat.

It didn’t burn her.

The only target of the fire were ropes biding her.

The woman looked at the figure dancing in flames, as the thought struck her.

Besides her, the shadow, who brought light, spoke, confirming her suspicion.

“This is the fire dance of freedom. And you were granted freedom by the fire, so don’t waste it. Go. Go east. There is a temple there, which will take you in.”

The shadow spoke, their voice changing with every word, making it hard to memorize.

She tried to look at their face to memorize it, but even the face seemed to be changing every time she blinked.

She gave up and just nodded.

The moment the ropes were released, she helped the others at her side to get free and then ran east, towards the forest.

The magic defenses, which kept her locked up here, burned like lanterns illuminating her path.

She was suddenly glad there were no trees here.

Because when everyone left, the fire could burn this ground to ashes.

*~*~*