In an instant, Liana's body went rigid as the memory of Lianka's body slowly turning to ash flashed through her mind again.
Her body began to feel hot, even though the flames hadn't touched her at all. "Leave me alone!" Liana whispered.
Lumos only laughed at her words. He had no intention of giving up. Now, Lumos was ready to attack Liana with a blast of his flames.
Just before the flames touched Liana's body, a powerful gust of wind suddenly blew through. Liana and Lumos were both momentarily stunned by the blast.
The wind grew stronger, sending dust and leaves flying around Lumos.
It moved as if it wanted to stop Lumos from attacking Liana. Because of its force, Lumos had trouble seeing, and his body was surrounded by a terrifying whirlwind.
In the middle of that horrifying situation, Liana heard a man's voice whisper in her ear. "Lianka, run!" the voice ordered.
In an instant, Liana's strength returned, and she ran as fast as she could, putting as much distance between herself and Lumos as possible.
Liana kept running without looking back. Then, miraculously, she suddenly found herself right in Ami's front yard.
"This... this is Ami's house!" Liana muttered, still panting.
Feeling safe at last, Liana's body gave out, and she collapsed onto the ground again. She had been tense the entire time, and now that she was sure she had reached a safe place, all her strength left her body.
Ami, who had been waiting for Liana's arrival, was startled to see her collapse in exhaustion. "What's wrong, Li?" Ami asked worriedly.
"I'm fine, Mi!" Liana lied.
"How are you fine? You're drenched in sweat! Did you just run here?" Ami asked curiously when she saw Liana panting.
"Hehehe, yeah!" Liana replied with a smile.
"Oh my God! All right, come on, let me help you up!"
With great difficulty, Liana tried to stand. Luckily, Ami supported her. Otherwise, Liana might have fallen face-first onto the ground again.
"Come sit down first! I'm going inside to get you something to drink!" Ami said.
Liana was afraid of being left outside alone, so she asked to go inside Ami's house with her.
"Can I come in with you?" Liana asked.
"Of course! Come on in. We can talk about your college stuff in my room!" Ami said.
Liana was incredibly grateful to have such a wonderful best friend. The two of them had been friends since childhood. Their families knew each other well too. Liana's parents considered Ami like their own daughter, and Ami's family felt the same way about Liana.
As soon as they reached Ami's room, Liana immediately lay down, feeling utterly exhausted. She had almost closed her eyes when Ami returned.
"Do you want to sleep for a while?" Ami asked when she saw that Liana had briefly closed her eyes.
"No need! I'm not sleepy," Liana lied.
"All right, drink this first!" Ami said, holding out a glass of sweet drink that looked incredibly refreshing.
Liana immediately grabbed the glass and drank it all. "That hit the spot," she remarked.
"Were you thirsty, or did you just like it that much?" Ami teased when she saw Liana empty the glass in an instant.
"Hehehe, I just ran here, Mi! It's only natural that I was thirsty," Liana replied.
"Besides, why were you running? Your house isn't that far from mine! You could've walked here in ten minutes."
"I took a detour through the park first!" Liana answered, making up an excuse.
"Ugh, seriously!"
Ami didn't want to press Liana any further about why she had gone to the park. She assumed Liana had simply been bored and wanted to get some fresh air.
Without Ami knowing it, Liana had just escaped a horrifying death.