Chapter 58 – Burns
The battle continued;
As Seth and his friends had just revealed themselves, a sinister rumble echoed through the hall. The mechanical dragon's carcass glowed with red cracks, and suddenly, its back opened, releasing flashes of energy in all directions.
In the air above their heads, dozens of alchemical circles appeared, spinning on themselves like celestial gears. Each was engraved with complex symbols, pulsating with an incandescent red light. The six heroes raised their eyes, stunned.
— W-What…?! whispered Seth, his voice trembling.
— A… a… Alchemy?! groaned Alma, horrified. It's a weapon… He's going to launch a rain of magical fusion cannons!
The glyphs lit up all at once, and a swarm of blazing beams rained down on the hall like a meteor shower.
— DODGE! shouted Reinard.
An apocalyptic roar erupted. Explosions of light shattered the floor, sending waves of lava and molten steel flying. Kana, in her fire dragon form, deflected some of the shots with her breath, but her scales were scorched. Reinard created a wall of electricity to divert part of the projectiles, but the circles regenerated instantly, inexhaustible.
Damian rolled everywhere, screaming at the top of his lungs:
— WHAT KIND OF CHEATED BOSS IS THIS?!
The circles had multiplied, covering the entire ceiling like a hellish sky. Every second, dozens of beams struck. The hall vibrated, ready to collapse.
Amid this chaos, Seth charged straight into the deluge.
He dodged each beam by the skin of his teeth, his body slicing through the air in a deadly dance. Explosions grazed his arms, his legs, his skin. Every breath burned his lungs. His eyes reflected the alchemical circles like a starry sky ready to crush him.
— Seth! cried Noël. Come back, you'll die!
But Seth no longer listened. The noise gradually faded in his ears. The beams slowed, his breath became steady. A memory surged.
The mission on Kimena.
His fight with Mani-Wa and the power he had been able to unleash that day.
His eyes ignited.
— Go! Go! I have to win!!!!
A circle of blood-red flames erupted around his fist. The heat was such that even the air crackled. His entire arm became incandescent, as if forged in a living furnace.
In the real world, Vulcan frowned, not understanding what was happening.
— Huh? What magic is this?
Kana, stunned, stopped her fire breath.
— … What… is this thing!
Reinard, eyes wide, shivered despite his draconic form.
— Finish him, Seth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Seth leaped, each step lifting him higher, passing through explosions and alchemical circles. His body became a blazing red streak, defying the deadly rain.
In front of him, the dragon mechanical's red stone glowed, saturated with energy.
— TURN TO DUST! roared Seth.
His incandescent fist struck the stone.
The impact was cataclysmic.
A scarlet flash engulfed the hall, so intense that it erased the glow of the alchemical circles, reducing them to luminous dust. The mechanical dragon trembled, its gears exploding one by one. Its carcass cracked, its wings shattered into pieces, and finally, the red stone imploded, pulverized by the force of the blow. The metallic roar of the monster echoed one last time… before its massive body collapsed in a titanic crash, reducing the floor to a field of debris and solidified lava.
Silence.
Seth, kneeling, fist still smoking, charred. Yet in his eyes burned a new flame.
Noël and Alma approached him, mouths agape.
— Seth… are you okay? exclaimed Alma.
Kana, returning to human form, clenched her fists.
— Hum.
Reinard, the golden dragon, inclined his head.
— You saved us, human… he said with a faint, grateful smile.
And as the dust settled, in the midst of the debris, a golden glow appeared: the crystalline key, floating in the air, freed from the monster's heart.
The floor vibrated beneath their feet. At first slightly, like a shiver. Then it intensified, until it became a cataclysm. The walls of the labyrinth, once massive and immutable, cracked like glass under a hammer.
— … What's happening now?! groaned Damian, gripping a collapsing wall.
The runes engraved in the corridors disappeared one by one, sucked into the void. The stairs twisted as if melting, and above them, the ceiling began to collapse in gigantic blocks. But instead of crushing them, each stone dissolved into luminous dust before hitting the ground.
— The labyrinth… whispered Alma, her throat tight. It's… destroying itself.
Kana roared in annoyance.
— Finally, it's about time!
— Run! shouted Reinard.
But Seth stopped abruptly, observing the chaos around him. He noticed that despite the collapse, none of the explosions, debris, or flames truly reached them. As if an invisible barrier protected them.
He frowned.
— … Hum.
At that moment, the ground tore open beneath their feet, opening a gaping chasm from which a blinding white light surged. They were all engulfed by the torrent of light, without even having time to scream.
When the light dissipated, they collapsed heavily onto cold, familiar tiles. Out of breath, drenched in sweat, covered in dust and blood, the six heroes struggled to regain their senses. They had returned to Vulcan's vast training hall, the grand magic circle still shimmering beneath them.
A few seconds of silence fell. Then…
— MY BABIES!!!
A red tornado rushed at them. Vulcan, in tears and radiant, grabbed them all at once as if he would suffocate them. He covered them with kisses on their cheeks, hair, and forehead, leaving no breathing space.
— AAH! I LOVE YOU! I'M SO PROUD OF YOU! MY LITTLE HEROES!!!
Damian, pinned against her chest, screamed, struggling.
— LET ME GO, YOU CRAZY MAN!!! WE COULD HAVE DIED DOWN THERE!!!
Vulcan hugged him even tighter.
— No! I would never have let that happen!
He finally released them, placing her hands on his hips with a radiant smile.
— If any of you had been about to suffer a truly mortal attack, whether to the heart, brain, vital organs, or such, the labyrinth would have immediately teleported you here. You were never in absolute mortal danger.
Damian stood agape, trembling with anger.
— … Seriously?! Then why did we get slaughtered for hours like dogs?!
Alma, exhausted, rolled her eyes.
— … I understand now why Noël always flees your training sessions.
Noël turned his head, blushing, fidgeting with his fingers.
— … At least there are two of us now.
Kana laughed, despite her bruises and scratches.
— Hahaha! You got the shakes, huh Damian? You're such a weakling…
Vulcan clapped his hands to refocus everyone.
— Enough whining. You stink, you're drenched in sweat, your clothes are completely torn, there's even someone in underwear… Go shower, immediately. After that, dining hall. You've spent seven entire hours in that labyrinth!
— … Seven hours? repeated Seth, stunned.
Reinard grimaced.
— I would have sworn barely two hours had passed…
Kana sighed, shaking her bloodied, wet hair.
— No wonder we're exhausted.
Vulcan gave them a mysterious smile, pointing at Seth, Damian, and Alma.
— And you three… don't linger. Someone's waiting for you.
His tone became more serious, making the three concerned shiver.
In the bathroom:
Scalding water poured over his skin, washing away dried blood, dust, and sweat. Seth leaned both hands against the tiled wall, letting his head fall under the jet. Each drop seemed to draw away a bit of the fatigue accumulated during those seven infernal hours.
His fingers trembled. He inhaled deeply, raised his right arm… and paled.
The skin of his hand and forearm was streaked with black burns, some blisters still glowing red. It looked as if the flames had literally charred him.
He stood frozen, breathless.
— … Everything hurts… And how did I burn myself this badly?
The images returned to him in a flash: that incandescent fist, that unbearable pain, the energy tearing his flesh like red-hot iron. Yet, at the time, he felt nothing but rage and the will to protect his friends.
He clenched his jaw.
— How did I manage to trigger that…? And above all… can I do it again? This is the second time it's happened to me.
His eyes fixed on his injured hand. A cold fear ran through him: there's too much I don't know about myself…
After long minutes, he turned off the water, grabbed a roll of bandages left on a shelf, and slowly wrapped his hand and forearm, carefully covering the burns with the cloth.
He had no intention of showing it to the others. Not yet.
In another bathroom, the scene was much less dramatic… but far more embarrassing.
Noël, cheeks burning like embers, found himself trapped in the same shower as Alma and Kana. He desperately tried to avert his gaze, frozen like a statue.
— H-Hey! he protested, his voice quivering. I don't have to be here! This isn't… isn't right!
Kana, already in the large basin, raised an eyebrow and gave him a deadly look.
— Exactly. Get out, brat.
But Alma, sitting on a small stool, grabbed Noël by the shoulders and forced him to sit in front of her.
— Enough. Stop being shy. And he's a child, Kana.
Kana growled, annoyed, crossing her arms.
— A child with wandering eyes. I know that little pervert.
Noël turned crimson, shaking his head like crazy.
— I-I'm not looking! My eyes are closed!
— Shut up, sighed Alma.
With a tender but authoritative gesture, she grabbed a basin, filled it with hot water, and poured it over Noël's head, making him jump and groan. Then she gently soaped his hair.
— Stay still. You're covered in dust and sweat. If we leave you like that, you'll get sick.
Kana observed silently, a mocking smirk on her lips.
— Hahaha… look at him, a dragon. Can't even stand straight in front of a girl. Pathetic.
Noël curled up, ears red.
— I-It's not my fault…
Alma, unflinching, rinsed his hair as if washing a little brother, then continued rubbing his back, feet, and even chest.
— Stand up straight. Close your eyes. And stop trembling, you're giving me a headache.
Noël obeyed, bright red, too ashamed to respond.
In the same bathroom as Seth:
Damian was in another row of showers. He finally enjoyed a moment of respite. He lifted his face under the jet, savoring the hot water erasing the remaining burns and scratches.
— Aaaah… damn… that feels good.
The door creaked. Reinard entered.
Their eyes met immediately. Tension filled the air.
— … Shut up, you bastard, said Damian.
— You first, asshole, replied Reinard instantly.
They both turned their heads simultaneously, but Damian noticed something. His eyes slowly descended, then froze.
Silence.
— … Wait… damn… he… he… is surpassing me?! cried Damian, horrified.
Reinard puffed out his chest, looking superior.
— It's not just my magic that's above yours.
Damian turned crimson.
— Bastard! It's rigged, I swear!
But before he could add anything, Seth nonchalantly walked down the corridor, a towel around his neck. Both instinctively turned their heads to him… then lowered their eyes.
And there… silence.
An angel passed.
Reinard was speechless. Damian blinked several times, incredulous. Then the two burst out:
— … Damn, this is NOT HUMAN!
Damian raised his arms to the sky.
— Damn! Why am I always the loser in this team?!
Reinard looked away, vexed.
— Tch… it doesn't count. It's just useless mass… useless, yeah.
But his gaze betrayed his despair.
Seth, not understanding the scene, continued calmly on his way.
— … You two are really weird. You'd make a nice couple.
To be continued…