The 7th Main Tower (7)

...The darkness emerging from the full-length mirror engulfed Flame, dragging her in completely.

The event happened so suddenly and swiftly that no one present could react properly.

"Uh, uh..."

Eisel stared blankly at the full-length mirror. Professor Chekiren also seemed too flustered to even think about using magic, and Anella just collapsed to the ground.

"What is this...?"

It was incomprehensible.

Flame had always been confident and assertive, flawlessly overcoming countless incidents and adversities up until now.

This time as well...

I thought she would succeed.

I believed that just like before, no matter how powerful and threatening the black mage appeared, if we stood our ground and fought bravely, we could overcome it.

But to see her getting engulfed so helplessly...

"Ah..."

Thud!

Eisel slumped to the ground, dropping her staff.

She was too young to properly process the experience of losing someone she had fought alongside with all her might.

'What went wrong?'

She tried to recall what might have been the mistake, but she couldn't figure anything out.

And unfortunately,

The girls had done nothing wrong. If they had fought according to plan, they surely would have won.

If there was one issue...

...it was that Flame was a "child of the stars."

"Ha, haha!"

Finally, Chekiren burst into maniacal laughter.

He thought it was a life-or-death crisis when the full-length mirror was attacked, but to think that the master would step in and devour the opponent directly!

"Truly... what a surprise."

Perhaps the name Stella wasn't just for show. Despite being just a first-year student, she had momentarily startled him, a black mage and a professor of magic. She deserved praise.

"But in the end, it turned out this way, didn't it?"

Whoosh!

Dark red flames began to surge. Flowing with Chekiren's anger, the crimson waves started to engulf the entire area threateningly.

"Now that the most annoying one is gone, let's finish this."

The more the opponent resisted, the harder it was to subdue them without killing. But now, with Flame, the major threat, gone, it would be very easy.

Professor Chekiren spread his hands to conjure the most splendid and beautiful flames.

The magic prepared for the final act was none other than the crimson flames of the Adolveit royal family.

"...Huh?"

But something felt off.

Unlike other flames, the Adolebit flames were characterized by their peaceful beauty, not their passionate or threatening nature.

However, the flames Chekiren conjured now were just plain, ordinary red flames.

'Wait, this isn't right...!'

The moment he thought that.

Puk-!!

"Urgh...?!"

A crimson blade flew from behind and pierced his heart.

"Cough...!"

He tried to grab the blade piercing his chest, but it had no physical form.

An incorporeal blade.

It was... a true flame.

Redder than anything, but more passionate and beautiful because of it.

The true flames of Adolebit.

Chekiren slowly turned his head back. There, supporting herself against the wall with one hand, drenched in cold sweat, stood Princess Hong Bi yeon.

'How...?'

He was sure he had completely possessed Hong Biyeon's consciousness. He had perfectly plundered her magic. Her soul was destined to wander and perish within the full-length mirror forever.

The body remaining here should have been nothing more than an empty shell.

But on reconsideration...

He hadn't 'personally' collected her soul. To be more precise, the master within the full-length mirror had absorbed her soul.

'No way'

Yanking out the crimson blade with force, Chekiren looked at the full-length mirror.

"Did being a child of the stars... mean that?"

The master's power within the full-length mirror was still extremely weak. Absorbing even one Adolveit flame was overwhelming.

On top of that, having absorbed Flame, a child of the stars, it was impossible to maintain full power.

"...I don't know what happened, but be prepared from now on."

Hong Biyeon forced herself to speak each word carefully. She wanted to collapse and pass out immediately, but if she lost consciousness now, everything would truly end.

Despite her determination...

"Ha, haha... haha."

Chekiren, as if he had lost all will to fight, slowly backed away, covering his face with both hands, shaking his head.

"Damn it... couldn't even withstand this much? And you dared to lie to me? You deceived me? Damn, damn it!"

"What...?"

Hong Biyeon, who was about to unleash more flames, was instead taken aback. Chekiren was babbling and cursing at the air. His rage seemed to dissipate into the void, but one thing was clear.

Chekiren had completely given up.

It was strange.

A high-ranking black mage wouldn't die just from having their heart pierced. Even if Hong Biyeon had struck a vital spot, killing the students should have been easy.

Yet, he did nothing and just slumped down.

"...Everything has become meaningless."

The higher the ambitions and aspirations, the harder it was to bear when all those dreams shattered like bubbles.

Chekiren clutched his face with both hands, making sobbing noises, then slowly lifted his head to look at the girls.

First, Hong Biyeon and Eisel, whose powers he had absorbed, and lastly, Anella.

"...You too, how unfortunate."

"What, what do you mean unfortunate?"

Anella, already terrified, shouted defensively.

But Eisel, with just that one word, started to accept the increasingly unbelievable reality and slowly uttered each word.

"...What will happen to Flame?"

"Answer us!"

"Why ask when you already know?"

Chekiren gestured towards the full-length mirror with his chin.

"That place is a fragment of a shattered world, completely detached from reality. A normal human soul cannot return once it enters. That's why I absorbed your souls."

The reason the master in the full-length mirror couldn't act alone and needed Chekiren as an intermediary was precisely that.

But if only I had known how weak it was...

If I had known it couldn't even withstand a single Flame and would have to regurgitate all the souls, I wouldn't have started this dangerous endeavor in the first place.

Chekiren closed his eyes.

When Flame and the master in the full-length mirror merged and disappeared, his own soul, bound within, would vanish as well.

"Wait... we can't let that happen!"

Thud!

Hong Biyeon, who had approached Chekiren, bit her pale lips hard and pointed her staff at his neck.

"Tell me."

"Tell me how to bring her back."

"Hah, it's impossible. That world is like a shattered mirror. If you look to the right, you see the left, and if you look to the left, you see behind you. How do you plan to navigate such a mixed-up world? If you insist, go ahead and jump in. If you both die together, it would be quite the spectacle."

Grinding her teeth, Hong Biyeon looked slowly at Eisel and Anella. Then, she asked the most dreadful question she never wanted to ask.

"Did you... come all this way to save me?"

Anella couldn't answer, and Eisel hesitated for a moment but then nodded.

"...Yes. Flame formed this team to save you."

"I see..."

As if she had no more reason to hesitate, Hong Biyeon turned away.

She headed not for the exit, but towards the full-length mirror.

"Wait! Stop!"

Realizing what Hong Biyeon intended to do, Eisel quickly ran and grabbed her arm.

Instantly, Hong Biyeon shook Eisel's arm off violently and glared at her fiercely.

"Don't interfere!"

For a moment, Eisel shrank back as Hong Biyeon's eyes blazed with fire.

Why was she so angry?

Why were her emotions so intense?

Eisel couldn't understand her feelings at all.

"I have to go... I must..."

Hong Biyeon, with eyes glazed over as if lost, headed for the mirror. She looked extremely dangerous. Entering in her current state, depleted of mana and sanity, would surely be a death sentence.

"I can't let you do that."

Eisel tightly held Hong Biyeon's hand from behind.

"Flame sacrificed herself to save you. You can't let that sacrifice be in vain. I won't let you."

"...Let go."

"Fine, if you're going, burn me first. You always say that, don't you?"

But Hong Biyeon just glared at Eisel without any intent to use magic to threaten her.

As expected.

She never forgets a debt of gratitude. No, it went beyond that.

Princess Hong Biyeon became endlessly generous to those who helped her without expecting anything in return.

In her mind, in her heart, in her soul.

It was as if a giant wedge had been driven into her.

So, having been saved by Flame's self-sacrifice, how could Hong Biyeon simply watch her die?

"I must go..."

Eisel's blue eyes widened in surprise.

It was the first time.

The proud Princess Hong Biyeon of Adolebit showed such a vulnerable side.

She looked as if she would burst into tears, gritting her teeth and hanging her head low. The disappointment and anger at her own powerlessness were palpable.

Now, everything seemed hopeless.

As Hong Biyeon finally collapsed, Eisel supported her.

Everything seemed to be over.

Perhaps saving Hong Biyeon was all they could be satisfied with.

...At that moment.

"Ah, damn it. Am I too late?"

A voice came.

The three girls turned their gaze simultaneously.

There stood Baek Yuseol, wiping sweat from his cheek and straightening his tousled hair.

"Ah..."

For a moment, she thought.

The situation was desperate, impossible, an insurmountable wall blocking their way.

But with just one boy's arrival, this seemingly hopeless situation suddenly turned hopeful...

Why?

With an annoyed expression, he glanced around the room and then stared intently at the full-length mirror.

"Sigh. My life is a mess."

Baek Yuseol walked over and patted Eisel and Hong Biyeon's shoulders.

As if comforting them for their hard work and effort.

With just that one gesture... all worries and concerns seemed to wash away, bringing relief.

"I'll be back soon."

His casual, light steps were like taking a dog for a walk on a neighborhood hill, but his back was reliable and reassuring.

Swish! Clink!

He stepped towards the full-length mirror and disappeared completely.

But there was no worry at all.

Instead, there was relief.

"Ah..."

"Oh no! Princess Hong Biyeon, wake up!"

Finally, she let go of all her worries and fell into a deep sleep.

When she wakes up again... everything will be resolved.