Chapter 293: The first stage begins

Rodcorte clutched his head and began to wonder if the top of his head was the natural resting position for his hands. In recent times… in what was very recent times to Rodcorte, he had been clutching his head in his hands very frequently.

It felt very natural for him to clutch his head like this as he tried to escape from reality.

“… What am I to do,” he muttered, coming back to his senses.

This was not a question for himself, but a confirmation of his own intentions.

He wanted to do something about the ‘Avalon’ Rikudou Hijiri, the ‘Braver’ Amemiya Hiroto, and he also wanted to do something about Amemiya Hiroto’s daughter, the split entity of Vandalieu, and the several reincarnated individuals that had been deceived by that split entity.

There were still dozens of reincarnated individuals in Origin. However, Rikudou Hijiri and Amemiya Hiroto had more power than most of them. Rodcorte very much wanted these two to cooperate with him and defeat Vandalieu when they were reincarnated in Lambda.

Although they were not exceptionally powerful in Origin, if Rodcorte were to make some adjustments before they were reincarnated, and they underwent some Job changes in Lambda, they would likely be more powerful than the potential heroes that Alda and his allies were nurturing.

And yet, the two of them were on a collision course with each other in Origin. That fact alone wasn’t something that Rodcorte minded. After all, what Rodcorte wished to avoid most was for them to live for decades more and reach old age.

They were his potential trump cards to play against Vandalieu, but they were worthless if they stayed alive and were never reincarnated.

However, the problem was that Rikudou Hijiri was trying to make a move on Amemiya Mei, who was possessed by Vandalieu’s split entity.

“What does he intend to do if his soul is broken?”

It was possible that Vandalieu’s split entity did not have the ability to destroy souls, but Rodcorte had no way of knowing whether that was true or not without putting it to the test. Testing it with Rikudou Hijiri or Amemiya Hiroto’s soul would be problematic.

Thus, Rodcorte had sent a Divine Message to Rikudou Hijiri, instructing him to stay away from Amemiya Mei, but… it had been surprisingly ineffective.

“Judging from his behavior, my Divine Message has only reached him in the form of an indistinct idea. Still, it’s fortunate that he didn’t approach the Amemiya residence.”

Amemiya Mei possessed real death-attribute Mana, and Rikudou Hijiri believed that investigating her would allow him to acquire the power of the death attribute for himself. Thus, he was trying to obtain her skin cells, hair, blood, whatever he could get his hands on.

He had intended to attend the party at the Amemiya residence himself.

He had given up on that, likely because of the possibility that there was something lurking in the Amemiya residence, something that had destroyed the artificial spirit sent by the ‘Shaman’ Moriya Kousuke, and because of the ominous thoughts sent to him by Rodcorte in the corner of his mind.

Or rather, I’d like to think that my Divine Message had at least that much use…

The problem was, how would things turn out now?

Rikudou Hijiri had learned that Amemiya Mei possessed an affinity for the death attribute through sensors he had placed on the body and clothes of his body double… the ‘Metamorph’ Shihouin Mari.

He was currently forming a plan to acquire Mei at any cost.

Though he will certainly fail.

That much was a given. After all, a split entity of Vandalieu was protecting Amemiya Mei. There was no chance of success for any plan that aimed to acquire her and perform tests and experiments on her.

In fact, he must not succeed.

If, through some miracle, Rikudou Hijiri suppressed Banda and acquired Mei… it was extremely likely that the real Vandalieu would come to Origin.

The method he would use to do so was unclear; perhaps he would descend from outer space in soul form, or perhaps he would appear by breaking the boundary between worlds, or perhaps he would take over the body of one of the humans he had guided through dreams. Since he was allied with the god of Origin and Zuruwarn, the God of Space and Creation, this was possible.

If that happened, the situation would be out of control. The damage would be far greater than that caused by a single split entity.

No matter what reckless things that split entity does, I will be able to suppress the damage to some extent. If its targets are Rikudou Hijiri and his subordinates and collaborators, then I will manage. At worst, a single continent will be lost.

Using his authority as a god, Rodcorte had forced his familiar spirit Aran to use his power and calculate the power of Vandalieu’s split entity, Banda.

From that, he had learned that nobody in Origin was currently capable of defeating Banda other than the reincarnated individuals. Even if all of the most exceptional mages of this world, the latest weapons that combined both technology and magic, fighter aircraft, helicopters, missile-launching satellites, and the toughest soldiers were all expended until there was nothing left, there was no hope of defeating Banda.

Even in such a scenario, Banda would be able to protect Amemiya Mei, Hiroshi, and a few other people who happened to be present. His materialized body was made of fragments of the Demon King. Every metal that existed in Origin was as brittle as candy to him.

Even if napalm bombs were used to asphyxiate him, he would likely absorb the heat of the fire and extinguish the combustion itself in order to protect Mei and any others that were present.

It was possible that the Bravers, the reincarnated individuals, would be able to defeat Banda… though the probability of them being defeated by him was greater.

To begin with, having them gain experience in Origin is the first step for them. They are supposed to spend this time gaining experience so that they won’t die so easily in Lambda, and so that they can contribute to the world’s development. Why has Vandalieu, who has already been reincarnated in Lambda, sent a split entity here?!

They were at different stages. There was no way that the reincarnated individuals could defeat Banda in an ordinary battle.

And Rikudou Hijiri is planning to acquire Amemiya Mei using just the forces that he has built up himself. Even if that means turning Amemiya Hiroto, Narumi, and all of the reincarnated individuals that are not a part of his organization against himself… There is no chance that this will succeed.

Depending on the plan that Rikudou Hijiri came up with, it was possible that he would defeat Amemiya Hiroto and kill all of the reincarnated individuals allied with Amemiya. But he would fail, because he would never be able to defeat Banda.

“If things turn out this way, then Rikudou being defeated and killed by Amemiya Hiroto would be the more desirable outcome for me. That split entity may be able to break or devour souls, after all.”

If Amemiya killed Rikudou, Rodcorte would be able to inform Rikudou regarding various things and make his request when his soul came to this Divine Realm.

Rodcorte’s goal was no longer the development of the world of Lambda. It was the erasure of Vandalieu, the destruction of his empire, and the annihilation of its people that were aware of Rodcorte’s existence.

If he succeeded in this goal, it would become possible to remove the world of Lambda from his system, and then he wouldn’t need to concern himself with whether Rikudou acquired immortality or not. Of course, the ideal scenario was for Rikudou to die in the battle as well, thus removing all anomalies from Lambda and allowing Rodcorte to continue managing it.

“The worst-case scenario is Rikudou’s plan succeeding and causing Vandalieu to appear in Origin. The souls of Rikudou, the reincarnated individuals who are his underlings, and the leaders of the political and business circles and the criminal organizations that support him will certainly be devoured. And it is even possible that he will devour the souls of Amemiya and the rest of the Bravers. Origin would then face an unprecedented danger.”

Simply imagining the damage that Rodcorte’s circle of transmigration system would sustain in such a scenario filled him with despair. He was already guiding human souls in Lambda through unimaginable means such as concerts and hair-growth creams.

Now that things had come to this, it was actually a good thing that the god of Origin had allied itself with Vandalieu. Rodcorte could at least believe that Vandalieu wouldn’t destroy and extinguish the existence of a world that was his ally.

As Rodcorte deliberated over the situation, his familiar spirits gave their own opinions and suggestions.

“Then how about you send a Divine Message to Amemiya as well, not just to Rikudou? I think it’ll be more effective on him than Rikudou,” said Aran.

“Yeah,” Kouya agreed. “Thanks to being influenced by my ‘Oracle’ and Asagi, Amemiya respects gods to some extent. Not that he got into any particular religion, though.”

Amemiya Hiroto had been a comrade to Aran, Kouya, and Izumi when they were Bravers, and Rikudou was a man who had betrayed their comrade. Even Rodcorte, who struggled to understand humans, could tell whose side they were on.

“… Very well. I too would prefer that Vandalieu’s split entity does not get involved,” said Rodcorte.

To pour a vast amount of effort into Rikudou’s side to grant him the tiniest chance for a miraculous victory, or to give a little help to allow Amemiya Hiroto to win.

No thought was needed to know which was the correct choice.

“But I do not know if I can allow Amemiya to achieve a perfect victory. Be aware of that,” Rodcorte told his familiar spirits.

He had decided to have Amemiya Hiroto win, but it was difficult to weaken Rikudou and his allies starting from now. It was possible for him to withdraw his divine protection from them, like he had done with Carlos and Ediria in Lambda. However, this would not cause Rikudou Hijiri and his allies to lose power; it would only decrease the rate at which they progressed and remove their additional room for growth. The progress they had already made so far would remain as it was.

Rodcorte couldn’t do anything about their cheat-like abilities and their fortunes until they died and appeared in his Divine Realm. And because the fortunes that protected the reincarnated individuals were something that both Rikudou and Amemiya possessed, they would cancel each other out.

On top of that, the Status System did not exist in Origin.

If this was Lambda, the concept of Vitality… in other words, HP, existed. Thus, a strong individual would not be killed by a lapse in concentration. If a strong individual was stabbed in the back by a child with an ice pick, or tumbled down a flight of stairs, they would feel some pain and then walk it off. Even if they were shot by a high-caliber rifle, unless they were shot in the eye or the mouth, they would get away with just a light wound.

But in Origin, no matter how well-trained a strong person’s body was, it was possible that they would die if they were stabbed in the back with an ice pick or tumbled down a flight of stairs. If they were hit by a bullet, the resulting wound would not be a light one.

Considering this, it would be difficult to have Amemiya Hiroto achieve a moderate victory. After all, Amemiya Hiroto’s side overwhelming Rikudou’s was not a desirable outcome for Rodcorte, either.

If it was an overwhelming victory, it was possible that Amemiya Hiroto would not kill Rikudou and his allies and would instead try to punish them within the means of the law. And if the sentence given to Rikudou was life imprisonment… he would end up living a long life, and Rodcorte would not acquire him until decades later!

Of course, that would make Amemiya Hiroto’s death a distant event as well.

But there is no use in putting more thought into this. If possible, it would be best for both of them to kill each other, but if Amemiya Hiroto were to be defeated and Vandalieu descended upon Origin, everything would be meaningless. I will have Amemiya Hiroto win and prepare some additional power to grant Rikudou once he comes here. As a side-effect, his lifespan in his third life will be drastically shorter, but that is of no consequence.

With his plan decided, Rodcorte began thinking of the Divine Message he would send to Amemiya Hiroto.

As the nobles entered the period for events in high society, there were tremors in the Guilds of the Orbaume Kingdom.

Up until now, many among the Guilds outside the Alcrem Duchy had viewed things optimistically. They had believed that the duke’s deranged actions were just an act for Vida worshippers or a bluff for political bargaining.

But it was around this period that they realized that the duke was not deranged; he was genuinely trying to make reforms happen. And it was becoming clearer and clearer that a significant number of nobles, including Earl Morksi, were supporting these reforms.

The Adventurers’ Guild in the Alcrem Duchy had sent notifications to the Guilds in neighboring duchies, telling them that they were free to post commissions requesting for Ghouls to be slain, but if it were discovered that Ghouls within the Alcrem Duchy had been killed as a result, harsh punishments would follow. These notifications had made it impossible to continue ignoring reality any longer.

The Adventurers’ Guild had hastily spread this information in areas bordering the Alcrem Duchy, and meetings were to be held to discuss whether Harpies, Centaurs, and Ghouls would be allowed to become adventurers in the future.

Of course, significant chaos was also taking place in Guilds within the Alcrem Duchy.

When Duke Alcrem first announced the reforms, a large number of nobles had opposed them and taken the stance of not abiding by them.

But the head of the Posser House, Theodore, had suddenly declared that he would support and cooperate with the reforms, and other nobles had followed Marquis Posser’s lead.

But the implementation of the reforms in the Adventurers’ Guild in Morksi, one of the Alcrem Duchy’s cities of commerce, was already complete.

The most open Adventurers’ Guild in human society now was likely the Morksi branch.

One person who was living proof of that fact was currently standing in front of the commissions board with her arms crossed.

“I should leave the Goblin-hunting commissions to the newer Guild members, and the other requests are for gathering medicinal herbs and maintenance work on the highways… There aren’t any jobs that stand out,” she murmured to herself.

At a glance, she was just an ordinary young female adventurer. She was tall for a woman, and she was equipped with plate armor, a longsword, and a shield; nothing about her was out of the ordinary for a member of a veteran party. The only thing about her that drew attention was an awkward collar around her neck.

But she was neither a veteran nor, strictly speaking, an adventurer.

“Juliana-chan,” someone said, calling out to her from behind. “Are you out on an errand?”

“Ah, Rock-san. Hello. Have you just returned after completing a request?” said Juliana, a half-Minotaur with the horns and tail of a bull.

Officially, she was not an adventurer, but a monster that had been tamed by an adventurer.

Ordinarily, she would be treated as an animal or monster rather than a person, and she would not be allowed into the Adventurers’ Guild building.

“No, I’m taking a day off today,” said Rock, the leader of the C-class adventurer party known as the ‘Iron Boulder Brigade.’ “I heard there was a dissection of a rare monster from ‘Garess’s Ancient Battleground’ taking place in the dissection room in the back, so I was watching that. What about you, Juliana-chan?”

He did not scold Juliana and toss her out of the building as the Guild’s rules demanded.

In fact, he was having a friendly conversation with her. And none of the other adventurers or Guild employees saw a problem with how Rock was treating Juliana.

This was proof that in this Adventurers’ Guild branch, Juliana was a person and not a monster or animal.

“I’m just checking the commissions. I was asked to find a request that seemed good and could be done in two or three days,” said Juliana.

“A time limit, huh… Considering your skill and the skills of those guys, then these are a bit questionable,” said Rock, looking at the postings on the commission board once more. “Simon, Natania, and the ‘Heart Warrior Brigade’ are all B-class now. They’ve all gone and surpassed me.”

Simon had spent about ten years living in solitude, but Natania had become an adventurer more recently than Rock, as had Arthur’s party, the ‘Heart Warrior Brigade.’ From Rock’s perspective, they were all his juniors.

But Rock had been a D-class adventurer until he advanced to C-class after the Dungeon monster rampage that happened earlier in the year. Meanwhile, his juniors had recently reached B-class.

The status of C-class was proof that one possessed extraordinary strength as an adventurer, and it was certainly a respectable achievement. But it couldn’t be compared to B-class.

Of course, Rock and his companions worked together on commissions with Simon and the others and fought practice battles against them for training, so Rock knew how skilled they were and wasn’t jealous. In fact, given that they had the talent to progress so quickly, he figured that they would eventually be promoted to A-class.

He wasn’t suspicious of Simon, as he believed his long slump was because he had lost his dominant arm. That was how much respect he had for Vandalieu’s technical skills, as he was the one who had built their artificial limbs.

“… I don’t understand how I haven’t been surpassed by Vandalieu, though,” said Rock.

The fact that Vandalieu was not even E-class, but still F-class, was the thing that Rock found most incomprehensible.

F-class was for apprentices and ordinary people doing some side work, and they weren’t even able to accept commissions in which combat was a possibility.

But Vandalieu entered Devil’s Nests and Dungeons outside the city on his own without taking any commissions requiring him to do so, and he hunted monsters whose meat was sold as skewers at his food carts.

“Master is underage and has still not enrolled in the adventurers’ school,” said Juliana.

Vandalieu was also a tamer who had supposedly tamed Juliana.

No matter how one thought about it, he was not an F-class adventurer, but thanks to the Guild’s rules, he was forced to stay in F-class.

“I’m sure he’d be promoted right away if he asked Berard-san, though. He’s acquainted not just with the lord of this region, but with Duke Alcrem as well, isn’t he?” said Rock.

“I believe you are right, but it seems that Master is interested in attending the adventurers’ school,” said Juliana.

“… The special adventurers’ school they say is in the capital, huh.”

Ordinary adventurers’ schools were nothing outstanding. They were training facilities to teach the skills needed to accept combat-related commissions… in other words, the skills needed to defeat a Rank 2 monster in one-on-one combat, to underage individuals who wanted to be adventurers.

They would also be taught basic reading, writing, and arithmetic, how to identify the plants they would be asked to gather, and the skills needed to take apart monster corpses – skills that the Guild wanted adventurers to have.

Schools also provided a place for young adventurers to find people to form parties with.

This was the kind of facility an ordinary adventurers’ school was.

There were no requirements for enrolment; anyone, even adults, could enroll if they wished to.

But the adventurers’ school in the capital of the Orbaume Kingdom was different.

People enrolled in this school were the third or fourth children – or illegitimate children – of noble families, who could not become head of their house due to being born later than their siblings and who were of no use in political marriages. There were also the children of influential merchants, the children of adventurers who had made a name for themselves, and children who were born with Unique Skills.

It was an adventurers’ school that could only be attended by those who could receive monetary support from their parents and those with talent.

The basic curriculum was the same as other adventurers’ schools, and they could be graduated from just as easily once students earned enough credits. But the school had an exceptional lineup of instructors, and many of its graduates reached C-class; some had even reached A-class.

This was how the royal domain nurtured and retained powerful adventurers who were capable of dealing with unexpected situations such as monster rampages from Dungeons.

But upon hearing that Vandalieu intended to enroll at this school, what came to Rock’s mind was…

“Does he plan to recruit promising individuals there while they’re still young?”

Even though many of the school’s graduates ended up reaching C-class, it was difficult to imagine that Vandalieu, who already possessed the strength of a B-class adventurer or greater, could learn anything there.

“I think so,” said Juliana, who was in agreement with Rock.

She suspected that Vandalieu intended to form connections with the children of nobles and encroach upon the royal realm by winning over its policymakers.

This would involve recruiting people on a greater scale than what Rock was imagining, but Juliana didn’t elaborate on this topic with him. She believed that he was a trustworthy person, but whether the god he worshipped was trustworthy was another matter.

“I see… It’s gonna be lonely around here starting next year, then,” said Rock. “Sorry to change the topic, but do you know any gods with six characters in their name where the fourth character is ‘da?’”

Indeed, the topic had been changed. It looked as if the god he worshiped would soon be the same one that Juliana worshiped.

“… A god whose name is six characters, and the fourth is ‘da?’ Is this some kind of quiz?” asked Juliana.

“Y-yeah. A trivia question that one of my friends asked me. I’m at a total loss because I can’t think of the answer,” said Rock.

“I see… I’m sure you’ll figure it out soon.”

I’m sure he’s still half-doubting whether he should connect the divine protection he suddenly received with the dream he had.

But he would soon understand that he had come into contact with a great being… though there were multiple others who had received the same divine protection at around the same time, so it was possible that he would arrive at the answer much more quickly after talking to them.

With these thoughts running through her mind, Juliana looked at Rock with the expression of someone looking at their junior or younger brother.

“I-I see. Well, I suppose you’re right. Umm, say…” Rock stammered.

Sensing fanaticism as well as affection in Juliana’s gaze, he felt confusion and a sense of danger, and he attempted to change the topic once more.

“Say, you said that you were looking for a commission that you could get done in two or three days, right? Do you have any plans coming up?” Rock asked.

Rock knew that Vandalieu and Darcia were currently not in Morksi because they were attending the party held by the Alcrem House. Darcia had announced during her last live performance that she wouldn’t be on stage for a while due to her attendance at the party.

Rock remembered it well because he had been worried that foolish nobles and spoiled young men would cause trouble with Vandalieu and Darcia.

“Yes,” said Juliana in response to Rock’s question. “Once Master and Darcia-sama return, we are planning to visit the autonomous regions of the Centaurs and Harpies, so we will not be back here for a while. Simon-san, Natania, and the members of the ‘Heart Warrior Brigade’ are also planning to come with us.”

This was the truth, but not the entire truth. After visiting both regions, Vandalieu intended to teleport to the Demon Empire of Vidal, to the Demon Continent, and to Gartland, making preparations for the plan, and then executing it – the plan to carry out the instructions in the goddess’s Divine Message.

“I see. Darcia-san is a saint of Vida, after all,” said Rock, not finding anything suspicious with what Juliana said. “Tell everyone to do their best.”

And with that, he waved goodbye and walked off.

Juliana left the Adventurers’ Guild as well to meet up with her friends that were waiting outside.

Maroru, Urumi, and Suruga, the three rat sisters, were charming passersby with their three-meter-long bodies and their big, round eyes, performing in return for donations… snacks.

“You are popular as usual,” Juliana said to them.

The three rat sisters squeaked happily in response.

Meanwhile, Fang let out a tired growl.

His Rank had increased and he was now an Orthrus, a two-headed dog that was larger than a three-horse carriage. But unlike the rat sisters, his fur was safe to touch, so he had become a plaything for children.

He had originally been a dog that didn’t have a very sociable disposition, but because Kanako’s teachings of striving to be a mascot character had been drilled into him by the rat sisters, he was unable to fend the children off.

However, because his Rank increase had raised his intelligence as well, he had learned perseverance and how to restrain himself and be thoughtful of others. Thanks to that, he was unable to slip away from this situation.

These children were friends of Juliana’s… in a way, childhood friends.

“Everyone, we must leave now, so please let Fang go,” Juliana told the children.

“Ah, it’s Juliana-chan!” one of the children said excitedly.

“She’s gotten even more huge!” said another.

“I am in my growth period, after all. And it is not very nice to call a girl ‘huge,’” Juliana said, scolding the second child as she began taking the children that were sitting on Fang’s head and putting them on the ground.

And then she returned to the home where her companions from her previous life were waiting.

Incidentally, all of these companions had grown to about the same height that they’d had in their previous lives, so Vandalieu had purchased the houses on either side of his house and attached them to it; the house was about the size of a small mansion now.

A fleet of seven ships sailed through a clear winter sky towards the Demon King’s Continent.

“Now then, let’s begin stage one,” said Vandalieu.

“… So, the time has finally come,” said Luciliano, who was standing behind him.

“Yes, the time has finally come,” said Juliana.

Luciliano and Juliana’s words were almost the same, but the emotions behind them were the exact opposites.

“My lord, you intend to experiment with ‘Muscle Technique’ as well, do you not? What will we do if they cannot withstand it? Should we retreat in the middle of things?” asked Bone Man.

Vandalieu thought a little about this question.

The first stage of the plan was another distraction battle, just like the previous ones, other than that Vandalieu had increased the strength of his fighting forces a little. The second stage was the main one, and his plans would have to change if the forces defending Botin were defeated during the first stage.

“In that event, let’s not retreat and continue on to stage two,” said Vandalieu. “The preparations themselves should be complete, after all… other than my son.”

“It’s time for his nap, isn’t it?” said one of Legion’s personalities.

“Once he falls asleep, it’s hard to wake him up. It’s a child’s job to sleep, so that’s fine, though,” said another.

Indeed, the Elder Dragon that had hatched from the egg created between Vandalieu and Tiamat was not very good at waking up. Although his body was already capable of withstanding battle and he had the strength to munch on monsters of Rank 10 and below like they were snacks, he would never wake up during his nap time.

“Mom, Pauvina, Luvesfol, and Fidirg are watching over him, so I’m sure things will be fine even without me there. I’m a little worried about Luvesfol’s safety, though,” said Vandalieu. “Now then, full speed ahead.”

But despite his words, he showed no signs of fear or worry as he ordered Cuatro to sail forth.

He had already overcome a great trial… the ceremony to celebrate the completion of the enormous idol of Vandalieu. After that, a battle against the forces defending Botin was nothing to fear.

《The Levels of the ‘Strengthened Attribute Values: Reigning,’ ‘Strengthened Attribute Values: Worshiped,’ and ‘Strengthened Attribute Values: Demon Empire of Vidal’ Skills have increased!》

《You have acquired the ‘Muscle Technique’ Skill!》

Monster explanation (Written by Luciliano): Orthrus

According to Master, Orthrus is the younger brother of a dog that guards the gates to hell in the mythology of other worlds. To think that it has two heads, teeth sharp enough to tear through an Earth Dragon, the ability to produce a breath of hellfire while being resistant to that hellfire… the afterlife of those worlds must have perfect security.

Or so one would think, but the legends apparently say that it was beaten to death by a hero.

Fang has gone from a Rank 6 Garm to a Rank 7 Huge Garm, and is now an Orthrus. A short while after battle one day, his head apparently split into two all of a sudden, and after regeneration, he had two separate heads and necks. Simon, Natania, and Arthur’s party, the ‘Heart Warrior Brigade,’ were no doubt very surprised by this development.

… Surprisingly, I was able to read a detailed report written by Lady Miriam, who had committed the event to memory. As expected of a true friend of Master; she certainly has guts.

From this Rank increase, Fang has acquired the ‘Rapid Regeneration,’ ‘Disease and Poison Resistance,’ and ‘Parallel Thought Processing’ Skills, but it seems that he has not gained any additional personalities at this stage.

I would certainly like to observe what happens if he becomes a Cerberus, the older brother that guards the gates of hell, so I am looking forward to his continued progress.

Ah, it seems that he has also acquired Zantark’s divine protection. That is likely to be because he is rather fire-attribute-ish, I suppose.