The first thing that Shiki does, when the flames suddenly leap out of control, is grab Tsumiki.

Tsumiki is the one sitting closest to her. She 's also a non-sorcerer who has no practical way of defending herself from something like

this.

A faint white glow suffuses the air around both of them as Shiki 's hand closes over the other girl 's wrist, right before the fire reaches their position. And then they are engulfed by the ravenous flames, as is everyone else around them.

Something

hums

in the air for a brief moment, tension pulling taut.

Then, nothing.

There 's nothing but

fire

'fire that seems to burn nigh-endlessly into the infinite horizon-line.

'

This isn 't regular fire.

That much isn 't difficult to discern, not with how there 's something in the environment that seems to

shift

between one moment and the next. Which is most certainly

not

characteristic of regular flames.