In a battle-torn hallway, several corpses littered the area. Many without limbs or hair, every one of them charred as black as ash. Flames danced above pools of blood, and the two twins previously running succumbed to a similar fate.
Cough, cough! However, at a particular 'corpse', a melted iron sword lay on it--or more accurately, was 'held' above it. It coughed, and threw the sword to the side.
"Hah, hah, hah-", Esteine's entire lower body had been burned, his face half-charred, and being nearly out of breath. He wheezed desperately, his body losing strength every second.
Esteine moved his head slightly, looking through his blood-dyed vision, Handon's completely charred corpse, Millie and Lilah's half-burned bodies, and the two twins' corpses still being consumed by flames.
He gritted his teeth, and clenched his fist, uncaring of the extreme pain knawing at his consciousness.
Someone must have done this.
He was certain. The timing of the fireball was too convenient. Everyone was grouped up. Someone must have known they would be fighting here. This-
This was orchestrated!
He almost couldn't believe it. Someone orchestrating this fight? How many things would have to be set up before then for such a thing to be guided reliably?
"How..?", his gaze became unfocused, mouth opening and closing absentmindedly.
Even just the thought of the mastermind still being nearby brought him despair. He thought he was strong enough already, but in reality, he was just someone else's pawn. Did Verna know of this? Just who-
Tak...Tak...Tak...
At that moment, the sound of bone hitting the ground was slowly brought to his ears. It approached steadily, almost rhythmically: calmly.
After a few moments, Esteine could see a shadow cast over him, and he gathered the last of his strength to turn his head to see who it was.
The first thing he saw; a smile. It wasn't excessively wide, nor portraying any particular emotion other than politeness.
It was normal. Too normal.
Tears began streaming down his face. He stuttered, as if becoming a broken record.
"A-ah...ahh..."
***
"C-Cael?"
Tak. I looked down over Esteine, planting my bone cane on the ground. I tapped my finger on it, mumbling.
"So I was right to come check on you."
Esteine's voice was shaky, eyes looking as if he'd just had a world-ending epiphany.
This was the final outcome I wanted. What I planned...painstakingly, thinking nonstop, for so many hours.
For me, from the start, simply fulfilling the contract, protecting Lully, and killing Verna, was not satisfactory. Not to mention this entrance exam, I took into account my life in the academy as well.
"If anyone knew me from the entrance exams, I might not be able to control my reputation well...", I said under my breath. Every single witness posed a risk to me that I simply couldn't afford to take. What if one of them realized what I did later on? What if one of them held me in a bad light?
However, despite achieving what I wanted, I didn't feel the joy nor relief I expected to feel. Instead, my gaze was empty.
In contrast to mine, Esteine's gaze was full of emotion.
He looked at my shadowed face, "It- it was you... You were the one who planned all of this..?"
"You...you orchestrated a massacre!"
For a moment, I could feel a flicker of something strange in my heart. But I didn't pay attention to it, and unceremoniously walked to the side of Esteine, and near his head.
Esteine's gaze followed me, his voice devolving to a whistling sob, "H-how many people..? How many people have you killed?"
"D-did we deserve this? What did I do to you..?"
Raising my cane and balancing on one foot, I hovered it over his eye.
After Lully shot the fireball, I planned to come over and finish off whoever was left. Even though it turned out not to be so necessary at this point, it's best to be cautious.
Seeing the end of the cane cover his vision, Esteine's breathing quickened.
"No...no! Wait, wait, stop! I'm going to die anyways. Don't-"
The next moment, a bloodcurdling scream rang out in the hallway. I raised and pushed down my cane repeatedly, again and again, regaining my balance once in a while as Esteine flailed. I did this until my cane hit the floor again.
Tak.
I think I've done this before. I looked down on Esteine's now limp body, unable to find the urge to vomit. I can't seem to remember though.
But I don't think it'll matter. What's most important is that Handon, Verna, and Esteine is dead. I'll be able to prevent a few butterfly effects as well since those three didn't make it through the 3rd section of the exams anyway.
In the hallway, the only things that can be heard now are the still crackling flames and my shallow, slow breaths. Looking at the bodies on the ground for a few more seconds, I turned around and began making my way back to Lully.
"I need to go back now. The maze likely doesn't have much time left."
But still, in the end, I didn't win. I just postponed my death and changed who gets to decide it. And that was, drumroll, Lully. Though, since I saved him and look useful, he'll probably spare me.
...At that moment, I felt a strange disconnection, between myself and everything. Something...felt hollow. But I couldn't tell what. I dismissed it.
Walking for the next few minutes, there were no monsters that blocked my path in between. My eyesight had degraded to the point where I couldn't tell what area was lit up and what was not. Exhaustion had accummulated so far that my walking speed was a third of my normal speed.
Regardless, I continued walking. Eventually, I saw a vague silhouette sitting next to the left wall. I came closer, and called out.
"Lully."
"What?", he replied.
I nodded, and sat down on the right wall across from Lully.
Before I could catch it, a drop of relief spread from my heart. Now, all that was left to do was wait. The maze could end any minute now, having so many events stuffed into 12 hours.
I'm safe.
Sighing, I leaned on the wall, my thinking slowing into a slump, and my head drifting off into sleep.
My vision had now degraded so much that I was effectively blind. My head, neck, and back pulsated with pain. There was barely any energy left that I couldn't even move a finger if I wanted to. I was basically a sitting duck.
I waited patiently for the maze to end. As my eyelids drooped further, I counted the sheep running in my head.
1 second...2 seconds...3...minutes....5 minutes...10.....10.....minu-
"Hurk!"
Suddenly, an invisible force grasped my neck, shoving my nodding head to the wall. Thud!
My eyes flew open and my mental exhaustion momentarily disappeared. Blood dripped from the back of my head. However, I still could not see anything but red. At most, the vague silhouette of Lully was still there, sitting relaxed at the other wall across me.
"L-Lull- Krrk, kuk!", I barely gathered the strength to raise my hand and clawed at whatever was strangling me. But there was nothing. At that moment, I heard a small giggle.
I gasped, desperately stretching my neck for air.
I-I'm dying. I'M DYING! My thoughts shouted at me, screaming for me to do something. BUT I CAN'T DO ANYTHING! S-stand up- I CAN'T BREATHE.
Tears forming at the base of my eyes, and my pupils rolling upward, my body fell to its side. I hit my head on the ground. Staring at Lully through my peripheral view, it was as if time slowed down. The force from being strangled brought intense pain that felt like my neck was going to snap.
I opened my mouth and saliva dripped from it, "Khhh, khahhh-"
Soon, in just a few seconds, I could feel my consciousness fading away. My hand clawing at my neck slowly became limp.
I-I..
I ticked down the clock of death in my head.
Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick... Then, my thoughts ceased entirely.
My eyes rolled to the back of my head, and body relaxed-
I blinked, stupefied.
Chatter, chatter!
My eyes went wide, and I looked around. Demons of various appearances chattered with each other, more appearing each second. Several were despairing, others were joyous. However, I soon realized that...
I'm in the entrance exam stadium?
At the last moment, the maze ended, and I was back in the stadium.
In front, on the elevated platform, the supervisor with the tight black ponytail appeared in the middle. She waved her hand, casting a spell, and her voice resounded throughout the entire stadium.
"The second section of the entrance exam has ended!", she looked at all the demons that had been reduced by more than half.
"Everyone, standing here, has passed!"