A/N: This chapter is quite short as I need to speed up the pacing. No more 10k words chapter guys! Those killed me! This chapter might have so problems as I didn't have time to look through them, but its probably fine!
I couldn't finish the book in time so no wattys! But thats fine! The show must go on! Two chapters left until the book ends!
Enjoy!
——
CONTENT WARNING: GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION OF MATURE CONTENT. You have been warned.
After being bombarded with questions—from concerned friends to upset ones—I took a step back.
"I... what just happened?"
I held my hand out, pushing Al away. He'd been trying to suffoca—hug me, and I wasn't having it. Not now. I could still vividly remember running into a room and—
The memory cuts off there. Someone had tampered with my memories. Again.
"You erased my memories?! Why?!" I shouted when Al explained everything that happened.
"Because you were screaming! You were in so much pain that you were bleeding and—!" Al cut off, his eyes teary. I let out a sigh and lowered my hand. He enveloped me in a hug.
"I'm so happy you're okay. I was worried that this was all my fault..."
No, it was my fault. But I didn't want to ruin the mood so I kept quiet. He let me go and I noticed Geo staring at me.
"Are you alright now?"
"Yeah." I hope so...
Nio, Caesar, and Ophelia let out sighs of relief. Q who'd been trying to hide behind the crowd of students, also relaxed. Oden reached out and hugged me.
"Thank gods you didn't die as well..." He seemed to be more emotional than usual. I hugged him back, a bit startled.
"What do you mean? Who died?"
Oden diverted his gaze. "It's... Weiss. He fell off a cliff because of me."
I blinked. And then I lightly slapped his shoulder. "Don't worry about it. He's fine. You're acting as though you killed him."
"But I—"
"Once we're out, just apologize or buy him something."
Oden bit his lip, unsure of what to say.
"Is he still alive?" He spoke after a few seconds.
I raised an eyebrow. "You think the Academy would force hundreds of students inside this trial if they didn't make it out alive?"
Oden closed his mouth. Claus stared at him, his face expressionless. I watched them for a few seconds before turning to Geo.
"Thank you."
"For what? I didn't do anything."
"Still... thank you." He looked away, slowly crossing his arms.
While smiling at the embarrassed Geo, I spotted Q who was peeking from behind Erica and a few of her friends, and he ducked when we made eye contact.
"Hey—" I tried to call out for him.
«The Floating Island of Desires has finished. Survivors are rewarded 50 points for the third trial.» I was cut off by the 'voice'. What can I even call it? Announcer? A system?
«The last trial will begin shortly. The time limit is 12 hours.» The voice finished.
I blinked. No further information? Why hadn't they said anything? I glance at my friends, seeing them equally as befuddled as me.
Still confused—I was teleported out of the white space. When I came to, I was on a long road. I saw the remaining students stand right next to me. We stood still, unsure of what to do.
But then one of the students began to run and we all followed along. I had a gut feeling that something might begin chasing us soon. I sped up, not wanting to risk it.
Since these past few trials had been everything but easy.
——
Though the students had long since left the Island of Desires, it still existed. All of the creatures, monsters, and races in it were real. They were just unable to leave.
A breeze flew by, before materializing into a petite elf. The elf leaned against her staff, with sweat running down her forehead.
"Damn it... what did you do, Ivan?" She stared at the destroyed tower. And she let out a long, heavy sigh.
She knew where Ivan had gone. She raised her staff and sliced the air. The air began to warp—and it became a portal. She entered the portal and spotted the Dragon Lord lying on his back, clutching the side of his stomach and groaning with pain.
He lay on a carpeted floor, right by a sofa. Though there were no windows, it was a well-lit room, giving it a warm, cozy glow.
"Stay still!" A man, who looked both young and old, was trying to restrain him. But Ivan refused to go down without a fight.
"I told you... I'm fine!"
"No, you're not! I can help you—!"
"It's just a scratch!"
"A scratch shouldn't leave you moaning and groaning in pain!" The man pinned Ivan down and they fell with a thud. The elf let out another sigh.
She might've come at the wrong time.
Ivan's head jerked to where she stood and he stared at her. His face grew dark.
"Well look who we have here. Should you even be allowed to enter this place—protector?" He mocked her, but it was hard to take him seriously when he was being pinned down.
The other man grabbed Ivan's jaw, narrowing his eyes at him. "Ivan, if you don't want my hand to slip, you better shut up."
"Ack—"
The man's hand 'accidentally slipped' and he poked at Ivan's wound. Ivan let out a loud groan as he couldn't handle the pain. The man repeatedly poked his wound, clearly enjoying the sight of seeing Ivan in pain.
The elf had to put a hand on her face. She honestly couldn't take this scene seriously.
"Can you two stop... doing that here?"
The man looked up as he laid his hand on Ivan's wound. He ignored Ivan's curses. "Doing what where?"
Ivan tried to push his hand away but he was overpowered. "Stop... that... you bastard!" He tried to say but he was helpless. The elf watched the two interact with a deadpan expression.
But internally, she was scowling.
"If you want me to stop, you'll have to say please~" The man teasingly said.
Ivan, a proud dragon lord, gasped with horror. "Me? Saying please? I'd rather die—!"
"Guess I can't help you then..." He leaned against Ivan's wound, watching him wince. It was too amusing doing this. "I'll stop if you do it. No, I'll even treat you if you say sorry too."
"Weren't you the one who pushed me down just to help me?"
"Yeah, but you ruined my mood so now I don't feel like helping you..."
Ivan gritted his teeth. This infuriating man...! He said he was unhappy, but the corners of his lips were twitching!
"...ple...ase..." He mumbled.
"Huh? I couldn't hear you?" The man leaned closer, putting a hand to his ear.
"...please..." He mumbled a little louder.
"What? A little louder!"
"I said—PLEASE!" Ivan shouted, shame-faced.
The man burst into laughter, nearly falling off of him.
"I heard you the first time. I just wanted to see how many times you'd repeat yourself!"
"You—!"
The elf cleared her throat.
"Alright, get off of him now, Peristof, you're making him uncomfortable."
Peristof pressing against Ivan, smirked. "Oh, but I'm quite satisfied with this position."
The hand gripping her staff tightened. She gritted her teeth. "Allow me to rephrase that. You're making me uncomfortable."
Peristof looked up at her. And he winked. "There's room for one more—" She raised her staff, and tried to smack him—but he conjured vines that blocked her staff.
Her face was red as she glared at him. "You truly are despicable." Peristof laughed as he poked Ivan's wound one last time. The dragon lord growled at him before he got off of him.
"Alright, alright, I'll stop teasing." He grabbed something on the desk right by them and threw it at Ivan. The dragon caught it with a sneer, his ears turning red as he put ointment on his wound.
"You... bastard. You could've just given me it from the start...!"
"And what would be the fun of that?" Peristof raised an eyebrow.
Ivan contemplated throwing the now empty vial at him—but he didn't. Instead, he crushed it in his hands and sat down on the sofa with a grunt.
The elf sat down on the opposite sofa, glancing at Peristof who leaned against the desk. The man smiled at her.
"How have you been, Seraphina?"
The elf let out another sigh. She hadn't wanted to meet these two so soon—it'd been nearly a decade since last time but now that the trial had opened once more, they were obligated to have a meeting.
She gazed at Peristof. She had to admit it, the man was good-looking. He had a sharp jaw, a dazzling smile, and mesmerizing eyes. His appeal was on the level of an incubus—and even then, he'd outperform them with his charm.
He oozed with sex appeal. So much, it nearly freaked Seraphina out. But, after their 13th meeting, she'd gotten used to it. She'd stopped blushing, and in resort, began to hit him when he began flirting with her.
The worst mistake you can do is to involve yourself with him. Though his outer appearance was good, his inner was as ugly as it got. He was a sadistic bastard, with no other goals than to inflict pain just for amusement. That's why Ivan was his favorite to tease. The dragon lord was immune to almost every kind of pain—and trust her memory, he'd tested nearly every method in the book to be sure—but he was easy to anger. So Peristof would rile him up, causing him to snap, and then overpower him with his sheer strength.
Though he looked weak, he was the strongest being on the entire island. After all, he was in charge of protecting the 'ocean' that surrounded the island. And he'd managed to do a perfect job, without letting anyone out of his sights.
Or alive...
When the Mystic Legacy Trial was first created, there used to be six protectors. The Protector of Haven (meaning, the elf), The Great Wyvern on the mountains, the Queen of Spirits on the flat plain, The Great Oor Wolf in the forest, and lastly the Great Vine Tree right by the ocean.
They all volunteered to protect the island and keep it in harm's way. That had been... Seraphina couldn't even remember how long ago. But she narrowed her eyes at Peristof.
The man, crossing his arms as he shamelessly flirted with Ivan, was the Great Vine Tree. And he was also responsible for murdering the three missing protectors. He would've been imprisoned—were it not for how powerful he was. His power was enough for him to protect the entire island all by himself.
Previously, they might have considered it... but then he went too far and caused conflicts among the six protectors.
Three... or was it two millennia ago, there was a conflict in one of the meetings. The Great Wyvern, Iseul, was enraged to have found vines evading his mountains. Peristof explained that it was due to his (Iseul) lack of awareness, so he wanted to help him, but Iseul wasn't having it. He cut the vines off—causing a fight to erupt between him and the Queen of Spirits. Peristof merely watched with an expressionless gaze.
Seraphina had tried to get involved but they were too heated to listen. The meeting ended on a sour note. Strangely, at their next meeting (ten years later), Iseul was nowhere to be found. The Queen of Spirits, Hera, looked to be in a good mood as she cuddled next to Peristof, who wore a satisfied grin.
She didn't need to put two and two together. They must've killed Iseul and gotten rid of his body. There weren't rules forbidding them from killing each other—if it was an accident. Having to put up with each other for thousands of years would eventually wear them out—causing meaningless conflicts.
Only when the conflict grew large enough were they permitted to kill each other. Seraphina suspected that Hera and Peristof had teamed up and murdered him, before throwing his body in the ocean, where he'd never be found again.
She was deeply disturbed, but she got past it after three more decades passed. On one certain meeting, when she entered through the portal, she saw a strange scene. The Great Oor Wolf, a woman who could command any animal with just a flick from her finger, was sprawled on the desk.
Right behind her, Peristof had his grip tightened around her, moving back and forth as he thr—
She screamed at the horrible scene. The Great Oor Wolf, embarrassed to have been caught, quickly hid behind the desk, trying to put on her clothes. Peristof, with no shame, raised his perfect eyebrow.
"You couldn't have waited?"
Seraphina didn't know what bothered her more, his attitude, or the fact that he was still naked. With a wavering gaze—she refused to look down—she reprimanded him for his inappropriate behavior.
The protectors were meant to protect this island—not screw each other senseless during meetings!
Peristof rolled his eyes, brushing his slicked hair back. "Oh calm down. We were just having some casual fun. There's no harm in it."
Seraphina, ready to retort, heard someone sharply inhale from behind her. She looked back and saw Hera, looking wide-eyed at the scene. The Great Oor Wolf—Alderiana—still hadn't put on her shirt, so it was obvious what had occurred.
Hera, unable to accept that her first love—Peristof—would do something like that, ran out. Seraphina wasn't able to find her in time and eventually gave up. In the next meeting, she noticed that Alderiana's seat was empty. Hera was seated on Peristof's lap, trying to snuggle closer to him.
Seraphina felt her heart chill. Yet another one was gone... She tried to not think of anything as they discussed the matters of the island. She'd occasionally glance at Hera, sensing Peristof's mood growing worse.
Hera grew to be so possessive that she wouldn't allow Seraphina to even look at him. Seraphina grew so uncomfortable at one point that she thought about skipping the meetings. Peristof, not enjoying being controlled by Hera, retaliated by flirting with Ivan—who'd been minding his own business during all of this.
The Dragon Lord, just as easily flustered as he got angry, gave Peristof all the entertainment he'd been craving. But Hera grew green with envy and tried to push them away from each other.
Finally, Seraphina saw the mask on Peristof's smiling face drop. And his gaze became dark as he gazed at Hera.
Her seat was empty in the next meeting. The spirits had become rowdy with anger at the loss of their Queen, but they were helpless. How were they supposed to attack something like the Great Vine Tree?
They eventually gave up their vengeance, and peace was upon them once more.
"Is this... the last meeting?" Ivan asked as he shifted his leg.
"Yes," Seraphina spoke.
"I see."
Silence filled the room.
Ivan stared at Seraphina.
"I think you owe us an explanation about what happened today?"
The elf sighed. "I was unable to protect the two students who stumbled into the village."
Ivan glared at her. "I thought even with your staff, you'd at least be able to protect something. But not only were you unable to properly protect them, with a low-grade talisman at that but one of them nearly got lost in the Depth! Can you even call yourself a protector?"
Seraphina slowly breathed out. She opened her eyes and stared at Ivan. This infuriating, immature brat who called himself a Dragon Lord. Hadn't it been for his pure lineage—he'd have been at the bottom of the barrel...!
"I tried my best and failed. The student was thankfully rescued, all thanks to the efforts of—"
"That doesn't excuse your actions. It's unbelievable. How could you even allow that halfling to bypass the barrier!?"
"It was already too late when I noticed."
"Still—"
Seraphina, clenching her fist, snapped. "Ivan, as much as I'd love to be berated over something I couldn't control—why don't you explain what happened to that tower you were supposed to protect?"
The dragon lord stiffened. He looked up at her and looked away.
"Wh... what? Nothing."
"Don't you dare lie to me, if you're going to yell at me—I'm allowed to do the same."
He crossed his arms and frowned. "Fine. But this isn't my fault—which is why I didn't want to bring it up."
"Isn't the tower your responsibility? Hence, if anything happened to it, you'll take the blame?"
"I didn't agree to that!"
"Yes, you did!"
He sneered at her. "I'm innocent. I was guarding that Tower like I always do when all of a sudden a girl teleported in front of me."
Persitof snorted. "You're so lonely that you're hallucinating girls?"
Ivan glowered at Peristof, using his foot to try to kick the older man. He failed miserably, getting his foot caught in the vines. Seraphina got involved, nearly smacking Peristof with her staff, but he let go before she could.
"As I was saying, there was a girl. She held something when she appeared in front of me."
"What?"
"A bottle of... dark liquid. I tried to stop her since no one was allowed at the top of the tower, but she managed to bypass me and headed to the tomb. I couldn't catch up in time, and she threw the liquid on the coffin and it caused the coffin to begin shattering. Before I could stop her, she'd reached the coffin and—" He shivered. "I barely escaped with my life. It—it managed to scratch me before I left."
Seraphina started at Ivan. "So in less than five minutes, your tower shattered?" She mockingly smiled. "That's even worse than me!"
Ivan's face flushed. "S-shut up! It wasn't my fault, I tried my—"
Peristof cut him off, his face growing serious. "A girl? Do you remember her appearance?"
"No, she was quite forgettable."
Peristof let out a loud sigh. "I think they are involved with this."
"They?" Ivan repeated.
"Pandemonium," Peristof said while rolling his eyes.
"Already?" Seraphina asked. He nodded.
"They've been in hiding for a while now, but it's only now that they've begun targeting others. We might have to alarm the higher-ups."
"Already done," Seraphina spoke, clenching her staff. Peristof nodded, grateful for her quick response.
She began to look around the room. Her gaze lingered on the three empty chairs and she slowly exhaled.
It seems like this was the end... They had protected this island for thousands of years—even though three of them had died in the process—but it seemed too abrupt to end all of this now.
She looked up, wondering what would happen afterward. Would they be disposed of? Or would they stay here, for eternity?
No... if the prophecy still holds... they'd stay here for just four more years—
Before the world they knew was destroyed.
——
Mersana chewed on her lips. She stopped for a brief minute, eyeing a long sword that looked exceptionally good at killing obnoxious girls. She stared at the pit that was blocking her path. It was only a few meters wide, so she could easily jump and grab it.
She hesitated. But should she? Even though the pit looked simple, there had to be an additional trap. Perhaps the sword was sentient and hostile towards humans?
She was wasting too much trying to think about it. If she didn't run now, she might not make it.
She began running, glancing back at the sword with regret. But not everyone had Mersana's wits and restraints.
Countless students stopped, seeing legendary items displayed causally on the ground. Many of them thought they only needed to jump to reach them—
And would plummet to their death in an instant. At the very bottom of the pit, the walls were etched with gravity spells. So while it might look easy to get over it, you'd have to literally defy gravity to do so.
After they reached a third of the way, the environment changed. Several trees filled with juicy, plump fruit swayed in the wind.
Their sweet scent caused a few heads to turn and their mouths to water. What kind of fruit is that? Maybe it might have some kind of benefit to it?
The smart students went for items that they knew they could grab—and then die in various ways. But they might have a chance to bring the items outside of the trial! Imagine the benefits of that!
As they risked their lives, time passed. But strangely, the creatures chasing after them were... slow...
Really slow. I kept glancing back, wondering why I still hadn't seen them. But I didn't think about it too much as I kept running with my three closest friends. Though most of the rewards were tempting—I tried to go for a spell book that looked to be powerful and ancient, but Al stopped me—the majority of the students thought it was more important to finish the race than attempt to get them.
"How much time has passed?" I said, panting as my legs were growing tired. Were it not for [Dvain's Lost Half], a sock that I'd found in the 1st trial, I'd long have passed out from exhaustion.
Claus, pausing to breathe, muttered, "8 hours, I think?"
"No, we're nearly at the 9th hour," Oden spoke, chugging down a stamina potion.
"Woah, isn't this a bit—" Al began.
"—too easy?" I finished.
Though none of us spoke about it, we all seemed to agree. The first three trials had been horrifying, where countless students lost their lives.
But in this one—
I saw a student dive for a bastard sword that lay next to a sunflower. Right as he grabbed the sword—the sunflower opened its mouth and—
I looked away. Though students still lost their lives—they were taking the risk, expecting to be rewarded once they died. Which wasn't entirely untrue.
I continued to run, wondering about the 4th trial. Why was it bothering me so much? Shouldn't I be happy that it's easy? Especially with everything that happened?
But I wasn't. I looked up at the sky for a brief second, before I focused on running again.
——
In a dark space, where there was barely any light, sat eight individuals around a long, molten table. One of the individuals held a strange device which they talked into.
"The last trial will begin shortly. The time limit is 12 hours." They put the device down, briefly closing their eyes.
"Programming...beep...boop..." The girl who had her eyes closed snapped them open and shot the speaker a look. A boy, youthful as can be, grinned.
"So serious all of the time, calm down." He said, resting his arms behind his head. The girl didn't respond, still gazing at him.
She might not show it—but she was annoyed. She normally wouldn't have been—were it not for him having interrupted her announcements and even passed her recording stone around! Even the shyest ones here spoke into the recording stone—all because of him! Though, she would've offered the same solution as him, she hadn't expected him to just take the lead and grab her stone!
"Don't tease her unless you want to suffer the consequences." An old man spoke, resting his body against the chair.
"Oh, I'm not teasing, merely admiring her ability to act so cold all the time." He let out a laugh. He glanced at the person next to him and grinned. "Don't you agree?"
The man didn't respond, his gaze focused on the mirror in his hand. The young boy leaned in to look and he narrowed his eyes.
"Why are you watching them?"
The man finally spoke, "Because we have to decide on what to do with them."
They were talking about the protectors who were oblivious to the fact that they were being watched. Well, two of them were, Peristof could sense something watching him, as he kept glancing to the side once in a while.
One of the girls snorted, crossing her arms. "Just leave them be. There's no point in paying any attention to them."
"Even though they've been helping for so long?"
"So? They volunteered for it."
The man lowered the window and glowered at her. "Did you forget why they volunteered?"
The girl stared at him, her eyebrows furrowed. "Does the reason matter?"
"It does."
"Either way—they failed, didn't they? A mortal got hurt and now we had to scrap the 4th trial and give them... this..." her nose wrinkled in disgust.
"This wouldn't have happened if you'd watched who entered the trial! There's not one, two—but eight from Pandemonium who infiltrated!"
"It's not my fault! They must've found a way to bypass my gate!"
"Does that matter? Now, we're practically begging the enemy to kill us while we sit here, lazing around all day! And in that same breath, you tell us to get rid of the three protectors who've done a hell of a better job than you ever could?!" The man's deep voice raised as he slammed a hand down. The table shook from the pressure.
The girl stood up from her chair, her eyes lighting up as she growled. "If there's anyone who's been lazing around, it's you! If you want to argue—!" Her eyes lit up red, but a hand interjected them.
"Stop being so hot-tempered, Eld. You've made a mistake and have to take responsibility for it."
Eld glared at the woman. "And who are you to decide that?"
The woman's azure eyes curved. "Your senior. And unlike you, I'm fully prepared to accept any punishment I'd be given for failing my only task."
Eld gritted her teeth. It was obvious the woman was trying to rile her up. But she calmed herself. "Then what's my punishment?"
The woman smiled. "You'll be staying here."
Eld paused. And then she blinked. "Huh?"
The woman, her luscious blue locks brushing against her dress, raised a hand. "I, representative of Water, hereby sentence Eld to stay here for at least another millennia. Because of her careless mistake, eight members of the pandemonium entered the trial. She's undeserving of an apprentice to continue her legacy. As long as the rest agree, we can punish her rightfully."
Eld, the representative of Fire, stared at her with horror. And that horror quickly became unbridled fury as dark red flames erupted from her body. "You... how dare—"
The man who'd previously been arguing with Eld hurriedly raised a hand. "I, the representative of Earth, agree." Eld shot him a dark look, which he returned.
The youthful boy stared at Eld and he let out a laugh. "She's annoying at times, so I'm all for it!"
Eld's face turned red as she stared at him. "Keep speaking Vin and I'll set you ablaze with a fire so hot that not even your wind will be able to extinguish it."
"Ooo, I'm so scared!" He jumped back in his chair in an exaggerated manner before raising his hand. "Too bad you won't be able to get me while you're stuck here." He stuck his tongue out in a playful manner.
A man slowly raised his hand. When Eld laid her murderous gaze on him, he trembled with fear.
"I-I'm sorry b-but I think it's best i-if one of us stay." He stuttered as he looked everywhere but at Eld. "I, t-the representative of Light, am in favor of this."
"You—!"
The woman, who'd been napping in her seat, yawned. "What are we doing now again? Voting?" Her baggy eyes looked around the room. She had no idea what was happening as she'd been sleeping for the past few days. How she ended up here... she wasn't sure. But she saw Eld's enraged state and raised her hand. That girl was so loud at times that she woke her up.
And that's an unforgivable crime.
Eld looked at them. And then she turned to look at the girl who was holding a stone in her hand. She was the one who kept everyone in their place. As long as she could convince her, then she'd be let off the hook!
Eld gave her a pitiful gaze. "Ka—"
"I, the representative of the Gods, will allow it." The girl curtly spoke, not even glancing at Eld. The girl who'd planned on convincing her, visibly deflated. She raised her head, her eyes brimming with tears.
"You... but I just wanted to..." she burst into tears. And she banged her fist on the table as she loudly wailed over how unfair this was! This wasn't her fault! Why should she get punished? This was so unfair!
Unfair! Unfair! Unfair!
She cried like a child, throwing a tantrum as the others watched. Finally, the girl who'd spoken last raised her hand.
"This matter is done. Now leave." And Eld vanished from her seat. The seat erupted in flames just a moment later.
She closed her eyes before lowering her hand. "Now let's get to the point. Today, unlike the previous times, you'll have to pick a mortal and train them for what's to come. But, I won't allow contact with anyone outside of your apprenticeship."
The youthful boy blinked. "How am I supposed to help my apprentice?"
"By assisting them during times in need—and if need be, saving them from potential harm. You're not training regular humans—but the last hope for us. Even if you have to break a few rules, do it. I trust you not to be foolish enough to try anything stupid."
"Like what?" He asked, staring at her with a grin.
"Like trying to take control of their body or causing them harm. There's more but you're already aware of it, so stop asking pointless questions." The boy stopped, knowing he was beginning to anger her.
He didn't want to end up like Eld, stuck in this hellhole for another millennium.
"What do you plan to do with the protectors?" The representative of Water asked, leaning against the table. The man who was still fondly gazing at the protectors perked up.
"Right? Are we just going to leave them here? Why don't we—"
"No. I have plans for them." The girl spoke. "Since Eld has proven to be troublesome and untrustworthy, the protectors will have to take her place."
"So one of the students will have to host the three apprentices? Isn't that... a bit much?" The man asked, concerned.
The human body could only handle so much.
"No, the three protectors will individually choose their apprentice. Everyone except for Peristof." Her voice wavered when she spoke of his name. The representative for Earth tensed. Everyone here knew how much she hated him. They wouldn't be surprised if she decided to force him to stay here, protecting 'what remains of The Mystic Legacy Trial'.
But she merely sighed. "That bast—protector won't be choosing an apprentice as I've already decided on one for him."
The others looked at her curiously. Who could it be?
But the girl refused to disclose the information and they gave up. She picked up her stone and stared at it.
"It's time. Are you ready?"
All of the representatives, who were all representatives of the six elements, nodded.
The girl's eyes softened as she clasped her hands together. They had gone through hard times and struggled to communicate or listen, but now that it was all over, it felt a bit... bitter-sweet.
She wouldn't tell them that though. After all, to them, she was a stoic person who'd never learned to smile. She held her emotions to herself as she wished them all the best.
"Good luck."
And they vanished from the table.
She was the only one left. She stood up and began to walk away. She still had a job to do. But perhaps... she might be able to join them soon.
The corner of her lips curved up as she left the palace. The countless years of preparing for the future were now upon them. But she had confidence in their success.
After all, she'd taught them all there is. She paused, looking back at the palace.
The Angel, Kagheria, turned her heel and left, never to return.
——
I saw a large door ahead of us. I stared at it in awe. The remaining students had already gathered. We stared at the door, knowing this was the end. I felt a hand.
"Will... will I win? What if something happens?" Al asked. He couldn't believe that the 4th trial had been this easy. I smiled at him.
"You won't any mistakes. You'll win. Don't worry about it."
He stared at me, before nodding his head.
"Yeah."
And we turned to face the door.
"I think 12 hours have already passed," Claus said. Oden frowned.
"Then why hasn't the door opene—"
Right as he spoke, the large door began to shake, before bright light seeped out of it. And inside of it was—nothing. Just a bright light.
I smiled. "I guess this is it."
"Yeah," Al said.
"That was... really traumatizing," Oden confessed. Claus nodded.
"I'll probably have nightmares forever... Even if what we saw wasn't real..." he said, shivering.
We let out laughs, knowing we'd have them too. But even with the trauma—and my god, there was a lot of it—we could feel the change in ourselves. We'd become stronger. Gained experience.
I clenched a fist. After this trial... I was going to meet Ru Hasselt and have a duel with him. And after the duel—anything was possible.
Because this wasn't the DKQ game I'd known and loved. But its own world. There were no rules to follow, or any save buttons. Only one chance to win the game and return home.
That's why... I had to fight Ru Hasselt! So that I can help him and then have him fall for Ophelia! They already had a spark going, I just needed to be the one putting the logs inside—get burned by one of the sparks—but successfully fuel their love.
We watched the students enter the door one by one. I saw Oden walk ahead of us and enter the doorstep, disappearing behind the light. Claus left as well, motioning for me and Al to hurry.
We looked at each other. And smiled. And then we entered the gate that signaled the end of the Mystic Legacy Trial.
——
A/N: Funny how I don't have anything to announce... hm. I guess you guys are lucky today.
Oh and did you like that miiidly spicy scene I wrote? Yes? No? YOU WON'T BE GETTING ANOTHER. Okay I'm in a hurry so I need to go, BYE!
Thanks for reading!