Beyond the Eternity

When the flames and smoke cleared, the entire corrider could only be described as hell.

The paint and school posters on the walls had peeled such that the concrete was visible and even the floor tiles had melted into something glue-like. It was as if the corridor had gone through a series of bombardment with flames lingering here and there.

Needless to say, if we'd been caught in that explosion, we would've been reduced to ashes.

[The constellations are shocked by the absurd scene.]

[The constellations are complaining to the administrators.]

Stupid constellations. If you want to help, start emptying your wallets instead.

"Tck! It's one thing after another. JUST WHAT ON EARTH IS THAT THING?!" Kagura's voice wavered as we sprinted down the corridor.

"Demon? I thought that thing was rather cute." I said, trying to mask my own fear with a bit of sarcasm.

Kagura's face went pale as she shot me a look that could have killed. By some miracle, we had narrowly escaped the flame demon's attack and were now running down the corridor like our lives depended on it. Yes, our lives truly depended on It.

"If I remember correctly, the name of that creature is Ignis which means 'flame' and It belongs to a class of Mystery that can be summoned by magicians. But that thing is not a Mystery that can be summoned in a normal scenario."

This time, It was Lee Dokho spoke without stopping his tremendous sprint. Surprisingly, he looked rather calm despite the situation and continued on with his explanation.

"To summon Spiritual Beings into the world, one would need form a pact with the Spirit first and supply It with energy to maintain their presence. But the amount differs depending on the type of Spirit summoned. In this case, the amount of energy required to summon and maintain that thing is ridiculous. In fact, it's supposed to be impossible, but this case is different I suppose."

"That's not what's important. How do we stop that thing?"

"Stop that? Did what I was saying enter one ear and exit the other?" He looked like an annoyed teacher that was asked a stupid question, "That thing is impossible to summoned in a normal scenario yet it is here. Why do you think that's the case?"

Kagura shot Lee Dokho a sharp glare as we continued sprinting down the corridor. Soon, the reality of the situation slapped her in the face and her eyes widened.

"Wait, you mean to say that 'person' is supplying 'It' with energy."

"Exactly. The World card creates an Artificial World through magical means which means this entire space would be overflowing with magic power and that bastard can use it to supply that creature. Simply put, unless we get rid of the bastard supplying it with energy, Ignis will keep coming after us until we're cooked. It is like trying to hit the reflection of the moon in a lake at night.

No matter how many times you strike the lake, it would have no effect. If you want to strike the moon reflection, you would have to turn your sword at the moon itself."

It was a rather detailed explanation for someone who only read the first volume. But I didn't question it and continued running. I was also thinking of a solution for our current predicament, that's why.

"Tck!" Kagura gritted her canines and snapped back. "So what? What should we do then? Wait for it to cook us alive?"

"Not necessarily," I interjected and explained. "We don't need to fight that thing at all. There's an hidden entrance to another personal space, if we pass through there, that thing won't be able to follow."

"Alright, that's good news at least. Do you know where it is?" Kagura asked.

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"Sadly, that's the another problem altogether. There are multiple doors to the hidden room, but only one main entrance. The back doors keep changing locations, so they're no good to us. Despite wandering around for an hour, I wasn't able to find anything."

"WHAT?! THAT'S NOT GOOD NEWS AT ALL!"

I smiled wryly as she glared at me. "Well, what can I say? We're pretty screwed, so it's useless to rely on me."

"YOU, YOU... HOW COULD YOU SAY THAT?! AND WHY THE HELL ARE BOTH OF YOU SO CALM RIGHT NOW!? ARE YOU GUYS EVEN TAKING THIS SERIOUSLY AT ALL!!"

Kagura's face completely turned red. She really looked like a kettle that was about to explode. Under any other circumstances, I might have laughed. To be honest, I was just as terrified as she was. But what good would panicking do, really?

"Shit! Here it comes!"

With the roar of oxygen being consumed, a human-shaped silhouette manifested at the end of the corridor in a burst of flames.

The oily substance within the giant flame god writhed, changed form, and now seemed to be holding in both arms. A sword?

A flaming sword in the right hand and another in the left hand.

It lifted both hands and swung the two flaming swords horizontally which flew towards us like a giant pair of scissors.

"Damnit! Everyone, this way!"

We quickly rushed into the emergency staircase to the side. When the ground was struck, flames completely swallowed up the corridor. Heading downstairs was meaningless so we headed up the staircase instead.

As we entered the Fourth Floor and ran down the corridor, the giant flame god lunged out of the emergency staircase and chased after us.

"...!"

According to my calculations, since our all stats were around [Lv. 15] thanks to the blessings of the gods, which means we were a little bit stronger than normal humans. Even then, It would be impossible to outpace the flame god in pure speed and the corridor was straight.

"Damnit!"

I cursed as I glanced back and saw the giant flame god summoning the two flaming swords again. We'll definitely be caught if we continued moving in a straight line.

My mind raced with countless solutions until something helpful emerged. I opened my mouth.

"Kagura, attack that thing with one of your skills."

"Eh? Why? Isn't it be meaningless to attack it?"

"I know. Just do it quickly! We'll be caught if we don't do anything. Make sure to aim for the heart."

Kagura hesitated for a brief second before she nodded before she turned around. "Fine! But you better have a plan."

As she held the hilt of the two metres nodachi, the giant flame god rapidly approached with two flaming swords in hand.

Truth to told, normal skills won't work on that thing. But Kagura should know this fact as well so she would be making use of the authority she received from her constellation god.

[The character 'Kagura Kuroi' has unleashed the authority 'Lightning Manipulation']

ZZSSTT!

Everything was over in an instant. The giant flame god, who was about to unleash the flaming swords, was torn in half and Oil-like substance scattered around the area.

The over two-meter-long nodachi was drawn and sheathed in a second.

The moment Kagura unleashed the Quick Draw technique, something flashed and pierced the heart of the flame god. It was as if the giant flame god was a water balloon stabbed with a needle.

Kagura only drew an exhausted breath.

She had unleashed the authority of her support constellation but it seemed to have taken much out of her.

"Hey, let's get moving. That wouldn't keep it down for long."

"Yes... I'm com..ing..."

Her body staggered as she moved this way. She had the Saint attribute but she was this exhausted from that single strike. Just how strong is her divine authority?

By the time we reached the emergency staircase to the top floor, the black spray that was scattered to all directions in the corridor was gathering in midair and forming a human-like shape.

Damnit, I thought it would take longer for it to regenerate. As we climbed the emergency staircase to the top floor, Lee Dokho seemed to have noticed something.

"Wait, why are we climbing to the top floor?"

"Going downstairs would yield no results. Whether we go up or down, it would be the same scenario. But I think I know the location of the main extrance."

"You mean to say that the [Main Door] was placed in one of the rooms here. But wouldn't why would he put It somewhere the players would check first?"

"Haven't you heard of something called Reverse Psychology? He would putting the main entrance in the most obvious place, so that nobody would look there. It's a clever psychological trick that relies on people's natural tendency to overthink and avoid the obvious. In a situation like this, it's a perfect way to mislead us and make the entrance practically invisible."

"If that is the case, doesn't that mean..."

"Yes. It's exactly what you're thinking. The main entrance to the secret room is the Principal's office."

Coincidentally, the enormous doors leading to the principal's office was placed on the highest floor of the Sookmyung Girls' High North Tower which we were currently at.

In no time, we reached the designated location which was the Principal Office and stood before the entrance. However,

"What the hell is this? It's locked!"

My heart sank. Of course, it wouldn't be that easy.

"Dokho, hold Kagura in the meantime."

"You know how to open it?"

"I'll try."

Dokho took Kagura from my hands and supported her while I knelt down to carefully examine the main entrance.

The Principal's Office was designated as the Main Entrance, meaning it wasn't the [front] of the coin, but rather the [back]. Thus, allowing players to access the Secret Room. However, the [World] was clever enough to place 15 Locks on the door—locks that resembled coin slots.

Coins? Hold on...

I pulled out the Sang Pyong Tong Bo coins I collected after I defeated the zombified girls. I thought the coins were just useless items but it seemed the true purpose of the nightmare scenario was to obtain these coins.

"I'm sorry if I'm being a bother but do you mind moving faster?"

"I know. Give me a moment."

I jammed the first coin into one of the 15 slots on the Principal's Office door. The sound of a metallic click echoed through the deserted corridor, and the first lock slid open.

Since there was no time, I started filling the coins slots one by one and there was the metallic click each time I inserted a coin.

"Shit! It's already here!"

Lee Dokho cursed under his breath as the corridor became unnaturally hot. The giant flame god with its regeneration form lunged out from the emergency staircase.

As It spotted us, It roared and rushed this way. The corridor started melting as it moved.

"Tck!"

I clicked my tongue and started moving my hand faster. Why did that bastard had to make 15 coin slots?

My heart pounded in my ears as I forced the final coin into the last slot. There was a deafening click, and the final lock was released. The main door creaked open, just enough for three people to squeeze through.

"...!"

Perhaps It had noticed the situation, the giant flame god roared and raised its right hand as if declaring 'I shall kill you with this hand'.

"Now! Everyone inside right now!"

I shouted and yanked the door wide open.

There was no time to hesitation. Lee Dokho dragged Kagura and scrambled through the narrow opening. I followed right behind and slammed the door shut just as the giant flame god descended on our previous location.

[You have entered the Secret Room]

Bam! Bam! Bam!

There was the sound of the giant flame god hitting the door on the other side. However, there was no signs of the door breaking under the immense pressure.

The giant flame god [Ignis]. A spiritual being that represented absolute destruction. However, said flame god could not break down a single door.

It was almost laughable but that door was the only thing preventing that flame god from entering this space.