When the words came out of the butler's mouth, everyone jumped out of their seats.
Dariush: "What!? How!? Where!?"
Dariush thought at the same time: Already I have a lot of debts to pay! This is bad, extremely bad! But calm down, Dariush. You need to think before doing something. (He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.)
Kian and Eira both looked worried and concerned.
The butler answered with urgency: "In the center of the city of Lamnia—it's part of your estate. The biggest market in the city has caught fire."
Dariush had already started walking, with Kian and Eira following him closely. Dariush said with urgency: "Then let's not waste time. Let's go as fast as possible."
.
.
.
The air outside was cold, the sky full of clouds, birds, harpies, and wyverns. The city was more bustling than usual. The red carriages had steam technology on them instead of horses, all of them moving fast toward a very big, enormous, and long building that was on fire.
Some people came out of the carriages with black and yellow firefighter suits, and all of them had masks, but it was obvious that not all of them were human. The leader of the firefighters, who was a
tall Black elf woman, shouted: "Nexus, out!"
She summoned a black grimoire. Other firefighters summoned different things with different looks—some grimoires, some staffs, some had their necklaces or rings or earrings glow. And from some, a faint light emitted from their bodies, some from their hands, some from their hearts or brains, or even their tongues.
The same woman shouted: "Now, start!"
Everyone started to shoot water at the building in various ways and directions. From above, wyverns who had tattoos on their bodies—a mix of hammer and axe, colored red—started to shoot water from their wings and mouths onto the building.
At the same time, Dariush, Kian, and Eira arrived at the scene.
Eira and Kian both stood close to Dariush.
The people were watching the firefighters work, but they didn't step closer. They just kept watching from very far away. Their faces showed sadness and worry.
At the same time, more firefighters came and entered the building while other firefighters kept shooting water.
The firefighters' leader, when she saw Dariush coming with Kian and Eira, bowed slightly for a moment and said: "Greetings, my Lords and Duchess."
Dariush greeted her too and said: "Greetings to you too, Shira."
Eira said with a slight smile: "Shira, I am happy to see you again."
Kian nodded for acknowledgment and said: "I greet you too, Shira."
Dariush thought: Now that I've seen her, I remember fully. Her name is Shira Delester, the leader of the firefighters, strong and beautiful. And yet, she is one of my soldiers too—or let's say one of the soldiers of my estate, and her rank is high as well.
Shira pulled off her mask, showing her light brown skin, white and long hair, yellow pupils, and a beautiful face. A small scar was on her jaw too.
Shira said firmly: "The situation is under control, fortunately, but it's extremely bad—more bad than I thought."
Dariush rubbed his eyelids and said: "How much is it going to cost? Both in money and in lives?"
Shira's expression darkened as she looked away: "I did everything I can... But it may cost more than—" Dariush interrupted her and said: "I asked how much." (The anger was evident in his voice and expression.)
Shira felt a shiver run down her spine and said: "Probably more than 900 people and 600 million Lari."
Dariush sighed deeply and said: "Fuck." — He cursed and rubbed his eyelids again.
No one dared to say more. At the same time, Dariush crossed his arms and thought: Currently, I have almost 200 billion Lari in debt combined—to many nobles, clans, industries, and even the Nari empire itself. With this one too.... I am completely cooked. For real, I am cooked this time. (His jaw tightened.)
Dariush sighed again and said with acceptance: "Very well. Shira, I just want you to do something, and it's to do your best. Okay?" (He smiled softly.)
Shira wasn't used to Dariush's smile; she blushed and then said: "Yes, milord! I will go and do my best as you ordered!"
She ran away and said to the other firefighters: "Come on, you bastards! Lord Dariush has hope in us! And he wants us to do our best! So do your best!"
At the same time, she summoned her grimoire and started to shoot water at the building with newfound determination. The other firefighters too—their eyes now burning with determination as they put more effort into their work. And all of them said at the same time: "YES!"
At the same time, one by one, those firefighters who had entered the building came out with two to three people in their arms.
The fire started to calm down slightly. Fortunately, more firefighters and wyverns arrived for more help.
The other people who were all watching—as they heard that Dariush had hope in the firefighters—suddenly started cheering for the firefighters, and some for Dariush.
Dariush saw this scene, just smiled warmly, and showed a thumbs-up to the people. And it made the people stop for a moment because of Dariush's approval before they started cheering even louder for the firefighters.
Some firefighters who were exhausted had their positions replaced by other firefighters for shooting water. At the same time, more firefighters entered and came out of the building with injured people.
Shira was sitting on the ground, drinking a bottle of water. She was sweating and exhausted but had the same determination on her face.
A part of the building exploded, and it looked normal at first, but suddenly a large piece of cement was thrown out of the building. Firefighters stepped back several steps but kept working.
But what no one noticed at first was that the piece of cement was moving toward Shira, who was still on the ground. Everyone was stunned; no one dared to risk their life.
The speed of the cement was high, and Shira noticed it very slowly.
When the cement was only several steps away from falling fully on Shira, Shira braced herself and closed her eyes, arms together—but something happened. A loud sound of "THUD" could be heard.
At the next second, when Shira opened her eyes, she saw something very horrifying that made her scream.
Other people started to scream and yell and shout in fear and horror.