I Possessed the Heroine’s Teacher

Gawain spewed fire as though vomiting it, but the water pillars Lorcha conjured quickly suppressed the flames.

“Why not stop and surrender? I might consider sparing your life. Or at least grant you a painless execution.”

“Surrender… huh? If I surrender, do you think you’ll let me live? You’d probably drag me off somewhere and use me as an experiment subject for the rest of my life.”

That wasn’t the plan at all, but his imagination seemed to run wild even before doing anything. Clearly, he must be lacking in iron. Since I’m contracted with the Steel Spirit King, it felt like my duty to help him—even if he was a villain. After all, aiding the sick aligns with the philosophy of “benefiting humanity.”

“Scales of the Iron Dragon, pierce my enemy!”

I unleashed thin steel scales at Gawain. They were sharp enough to cut through bone like tofu—but that was only if they hit. However, the steel melted before even touching him. The entire iron mine had been heating up like a steam sauna, and the air itself was growing so hot that even breathing felt searing. If this kept up, we’d be at a disadvantage due to potential respiratory burns.

Lorcha must have been thinking the same thing because she cast a high-level spell.

“Horn of the Water Dragon, pierce and kill!”

Conical water pillars erupted from the ground, but Gawain evaded our attacks with movements that resembled acrobatics.

“If you thought such antics could defeat me, you’re sorely mistaken. Come on, fight me for real!”

Lorcha clenched her teeth. Sure, her contract with the Water Spirit King had dramatically enhanced her magic power. But it was difficult to use truly high-level water magic here, as most of it was unsuitable for the confines of the iron mine. Water magic tends to be large in scale, and if she wasn’t careful, both of us could end up drowning in this place.

“Well, your mother couldn’t even handle a single old beggar on a bed, but you’re quite the fighter.”

His taunts were sharp. Back when I used to moderate online forums, I’d never encountered such brutal trash talk. This must be the wit of someone worn down by 12 years of grueling work.

“Hahaha! So, you’re trying to provoke me with such lowly insults!”

“Yeah, the only low thing here is the brothel your mom used to work at.”

“Too bad! My mother burned to death giving birth to me!”

“Oh, so she went out like a well-done steak, crispy and fiery. At least you saved on cremation costs—you’re a good son, a real filial one.”

Apparently, she had no concept of restraint. Gawain, on the other hand, was laughing as though thoroughly enjoying himself, flames engulfing his body. His bulging veins ignited, burning like fire itself, while his glowing eyes emitted blue flames.

“Let me tell you something interesting.”

“What, the location of your mom’s grave? Or maybe the brothel where she worked?”

“Science class is in session!!! Water evaporates, and steel melts!!!”

Gawain roared, unleashing a torrent of blue flames. Both Lorcha and I immediately recognized the danger.

“Coil, oh Water Dragon!”

“Spread your wings, Steel Dragon!”

A massive dragon of water enveloped Lorcha, while steel wings formed a protective wall in front of me. This should be enough to block the flames.

“Hahaha! You fools! How long do you think your feeble magic will last?!”

The water dragon shielding Lorcha began to evaporate, and the steel wings guarding me wouldn’t hold out for much longer either. It defied common sense. Gawain was unleashing waves of fire strong enough to melt steel, yet there wasn’t even a hint of magical energy coming from him. If this wasn’t magic, it had to be his physical ability.

How could someone produce flames at this level purely through physical means? I’d read some medical books for work in my previous life, but I’d never come across anything about a body that could emit fire. Logically speaking, humans aren’t Charizards—how the hell was this possible?

“Should I turn up the heat? So both of you can end up like well-done steaks, just like my mother!”

Damn it, this bastard had been saving up that kind of insult. Why did Lorcha unleash such vicious barbs on someone so unstable?

“Let’s raise the temperature, shall we? Enough to make you both nice and crispy!”

It was already tough to endure, and now he wanted to increase the heat even more? If this kept up, we’d end up like that tribal chief known for being crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. This meant I had to use the power of the Spirit King to counter it.

The problem was that I didn’t have many Spirit King spells at my disposal right now. Moreover, the only defensive spell I could use could protect only one person at a time.

“Spirit King of Steel…”

“Spirit King of Water…”

It seemed Lorcha was in a similar predicament. My contract with the Spirit King was still recent, making even the spells I could use unstable. That meant it would be the same for Lorcha, who had just finalized her contract as well.

“Protect my friend.”

Heroic sacrifices to protect a friend aren’t really my style… but I couldn’t let someone I dragged into 12 years of hardship suffer burns because of me. However, what Lorcha said next took me by surprise.

“Protect my precious friend.”

We both froze, mouths agape, at each other’s incantations. What the hell? Why were we both risking ourselves to protect the other when our magic was unstable? Shouldn’t we just focus on defending ourselves? If we combined our spells, even an attack like this would have been easily blocked. Instead, we ended up with two imperfect shields rather than one solid defense.

Before I could say anything, a water formation in the shape of a whale enveloped me. Meanwhile, the spiked steel dome I conjured protected Lorcha. Then, Gawain’s blue flames engulfed us. Fortunately, water magic is effective against fire, so I escaped without major injuries—though the evaporating water did scald me with its steam.

However, I was worried about Lorcha. Steel heats up when exposed to such temperatures. Could she have survived inside a dome of searing hot metal?

Gawain, having expended himself with such an intense flame, was gasping for breath. Every power has its limits. I quickly ran to Lorcha, dispelled the magic, and checked on her.

“Lorcha! Are you okay?”

“Yeah… aside from the heat inside, I’m fine.”

Lorcha swept back her hair dramatically, emphasizing her intact condition. Once I confirmed she was unharmed, a surge of anger rose to the top of my head.

“Are you insane? You should’ve been protecting yourself! Why would you suddenly decide to shield me? If I hadn’t cast a defensive spell on you, you’d have ended up like that steak he was talking about!”

“I could say the same to you! You’re already injured—why didn’t you prioritize yourself? Why stick your neck out for someone else? Without my defensive magic, you’d have been barbecued alive! You almost died, you know that?”

There was no middle ground. We had both acted foolishly, and we had both saved each other. Despite knowing this, all we could do was yell at each other—because we had both nearly lost someone we considered precious enough to risk our lives for. The anger wasn’t about our own safety; it was about the other nearly dying.

“Hahaha… so, you little brats are having a petty lover’s quarrel in front of me? That’s basically asking to die!”

“Hey, drop the bluffing.”

“What?”

“You can’t muster the firepower to kill us right now, can you? Stop lying unless you’ve got a death wish.”

“…How did you know?”

It was simple. If he could’ve unleashed flames like that from the start, we would’ve been dead on the spot. Instead, he started with weaker flames, gradually increasing the intensity. No one would deliberately hold back like that unless they had to. Real battles aren’t games—you use your strongest attack first.

That meant one thing: he couldn’t release intense flames immediately. He needed to gradually heat his body to build up to that level. Once he reached his limit, he’d have to cool down before repeating the process. During that cooling phase, his flames would reset to their initial weaker state. Sure, even his weakest flames could incinerate ordinary knights or monsters, but against two Grand Mages contracted with Spirit Kings? No chance.

“Looks like the tables have turned, you bastard.”

“Heh… you think I don’t have a card to play against the two of you? You really underestimate me…”

Damn it. Did he have another trick up his sleeve? I moved to shield Lorcha, but then—

“As much as I hate relying on the crap Lancelot gave me… time to say goodbye.”

Gawain tossed a smoke bomb. If he thought that alone would obscure our vision, he was dead wrong—except… the smell. Damn it, it was laced with paralytic poison.

“Lorcha, close your eyes and cover your nose and mouth!”

The poison could infiltrate through the respiratory system or even the mucous membranes of the eyes. Gawain used the distraction to escape.

Once the smoke cleared, I chased after him, but it was no use.

Outside the iron mine, there was no sign of him. Instead, we were greeted by the battered and bruised Glacier and the slightly tattered Airi.

“Iris… did you see a thin, blonde guy run this way? He goes by the name Gawain.”

“Not at all.”

A growing sense of dread crossed my mind, and the worst possible scenario struck me like lightning.

“We’re heading to the Holstead Estate immediately!”