I Reincarnated to Another World as a Woman-Chapter 187: Uncontained

Claudia is not wrong.

Rhaenas is currently having way too much fun.

If struggling to control a very large fire tornado can be called fun.

Theo’s plan sort of works. In fact, it works too well.

Arthur manages to create a humongous fire pillar, not a fire tornado. When Julian, Liam, and Maeve try to create one as well, their fire pillars somehow join Arthur’s, making it even bigger.

But it doesn’t move. It just shoots straight up into the sky.

"Why isn’t it moving?" Julian wonders. "Try to move it, Art."

"I can’t. I’m trying, but it won’t move." Arthur frowns, still attempting to control the fire pillar.

"I forgot," Theo says over the earpiece.

"A tornado means wind. We need wind," he explains.

"What’s the word for wind? Let me try," Liam says.

"As much as I commend you for wanting to try, you won’t be able to control it. Not when the fire pillar is that big. I’ll do it," Theo says, completely forgetting that he is "Thea" right now, who is also supposed to be just as much of a novice as the rest of them.

Maeve can only hold her breath. But Theo doesn’t seem to realize it. He is already concentrating, summoning wind to combine with the fire pillar.

When the men don’t seem to notice either, Maeve exhales slowly and makes a mental note.

I need to remind him again.

Theo’s wind starts as a breeze, slowly building up as it meets the power of the fire pillar. When they combine, a massive fire tornado is formed.

"Jesus!" Julian exclaims.

"We need to leave!" Arthur shouts, trying to be heard over the roar of the tornado.

The three men scramble toward Maeve and Theo.

Around them, Theo has already erected a strong barrier, protecting them from the insects and now from the fire tornado’s suction.

"That is massive," Liam comments.

"You think that’s as big as an F5?" Julian asks.

"I don’t know. But it sure feels like it," Liam replies.

Arthur watches as Theo controls the giant fire tornado sweeping through the dungeon. Because of its size, it moves slowly, but it pulls everything toward it and burns it all.

"Maeve, can you see the haelions being pulled in?" Arthur asks.

Maeve nods. "Yeah. Like dust to a vacuum cleaner. It sucks everything."

If Captain Chambers were to see this, he would pass out, unable to process it.

Julian laughs. "A vacuum cleaner. What an accurate description. Look at the dungeon. Everything is being pulled into it and burned to ashes once it gets within a few hundred meters."

"I can’t really feel it since we’re inside a barrier," Liam mutters, clear admiration in his voice. "But I can imagine how scorching the wind must feel out there. How suffocating."

Arthur watches in silence. Something doesn’t sit right with him, but he can’t pinpoint what it is. Still, something is tugging at the back of his mind.

He decides to ignore it for now. Not dismiss it, just set it aside.

"Whoa!" Julian suddenly exclaims.

As Earth-aligned, he’s the first to notice it. The ground is shaking.

"What is— whoa!" Liam staggers slightly. He feels it now.

"The ground is shaking!" Maeve exclaims. She snaps her gaze to Theo.

Theo is smirking. Not looking at them, but at the tornado.

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While Rhaenas is admiring the fire tornado’s overwhelming display of power, the ground outside the dungeon begins to shake as well.

Especially around the site.

Inside the tent, panic spreads quickly.

"Claudia, we need to evacuate." Linus says firmly.

"But, Dad—"

"Now." Linus doesn’t wait. He grabs Claudia’s hand and drags her out.

Captain Chambers and his subordinates cling to the tables and monitors, struggling to keep their balance.

"What is going on?!"

"I don’t know, Captain. This has never happened before. At least not on record."

Captain Chambers snaps into his communicator.

"Evacuate the site! NOW!"

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"I see the King! It’s out!" Maeve says sharply.

Everyone snaps their heads around, searching.

Everyone except Theo.

"There," he says calmly. "Right in front of the tornado. It’s not being pulled in. It’s floating. Facing us. It knows we’re the cause."

Arthur, Liam, and Julian squint, straining their eyes. Heat distortion from the fire tornado warps the air, making it hard to focus. They can only see its silhouette, a thin, jagged outline suspended unnaturally in front of the roaring inferno.

"Is that what I think it is?" Julian asks, uneasy.

"That one in the middle?" Liam adds, frowning.

"It looks like... a mantis?" Arthur tries to confirm. "Is that it?"

"Yes," Maeve replies without hesitation. "That’s the King."

"It’s tiny," Julian comments, disbelief creeping into his voice.

"Well, compared to that giant thing," Liam gestures vaguely at the fire tornado, "everything is tiny, Jules."

"Art," Theo says evenly, his eyes never leaving the figure. "It’s not getting pulled in. Want to try shooting it from here?"

"I’ll try."

Arthur steps forward, heart pounding despite his steady hands. He concentrates, blocking out the noise, the heat, the chaos. He raises one hand, shaping an imaginary bow, while the other draws back an invisible string.

Slowly, a bow and arrow made of fire materialize, crackling with compressed heat.

Arthur takes a breath, aims carefully, and releases.

The fire arrow shoots forward like a bullet.

It pierces straight through the Haelion King, tearing a hole clean through its body.

For a split second, nothing happens.

Then Rhaenas cheers.

But not for long.

The Haelion King’s body shimmers, its outline flickering unnaturally, as if reality itself is failing to decide what it should be.

Then, directly in front of it, a small hole forms in the dungeon itself. Black. Swirling. Pulling.

The air screams as it bends inward.

It starts sucking everything in.

Including the massive fire tornado.

"Oh my god! How can that be?!" Maeve gasps, eyes wide, fear finally breaking through her composure.

Theo doesn’t know the answer. But instinct screams that this is bad. Very bad.

He releases control of the tornado and shouts, "Get behind me. NOW!"

The other four obey without hesitation.

As the black vortex pulls harder, faster than a speeding car, Theo erects barrier after barrier after barrier, each one snapping into place with brutal precision.

The barriers don’t touch the ground. They float, carrying the five of them inside.

Yet they remain unmoved.

The black swirl cannot pull them in.

Everything else is swallowed.

In less than a minute, the dungeon is stripped bare. Barren. Formless. Silent.

Silence falls.

Time seems to stop.

Then—

It explodes.