Penalty III

The fire roared to life, erasing every trace of the street beneath it. Flames burst outward, consuming everything in their path before curling inward, congealing around Kai in an instant.

In his final moments, he did try to leap away from the blast as he had done before, but still, he heat swallowed him, burning, melting, and devouring without hesitation.

And then there was a long lasting silence.

The inferno gradually lost its fury, the blaze retreating as though it had never existed. The streets, once lined with stone and dust, were now scorched black, the air thick with smoke and the acrid stench of burnt flesh.

Standing at the center of it all was the Weeping Slayer. Her blade no longer spat flames; the fiery light that had once danced along its edge had dimmed to nothingness. She exhaled softly, lowering her sword.

The task was done. Kai was dead. Or so it seemed.

A slight tingle crawled down the Slayer's spine—a whisper of something beyond her understanding.

Her fingers twitched, her body reacting on instinct before her mind could process it. With practiced precision, she flipped her blade into her palm, gripping it like a spear. Then, without utmost ease, she hurled it into the thick, rising smoke.

Following it was a dull sound. Not the sound of the metal colliding with an object, rather it was the sound of impact.

From the other side of the fading smoke, a figure dashed out, emerging from the dissipating veil of ash and heat.

Kai. He was alive.His body was battered, his skin bearing the angry marks of severe burns. His right hand, a portion of his neck and a few portions of his legs as well—blackened and raw.

His clothes hung in tattered remains, as though he had barely escaped an inferno. And the Slayer's blade had only grazed him, cutting through the fabric of his shoulder, so close that a single misstep could have meant death. But he didn't stop.

He kept running.

Pain was an afterthought.

The Sorcerer's Association loomed ahead, not far now. A single push—a few more steps—and he would make it.

Then, something crashed into his back.

A brutal force sent him flying forward, his body twisting as he hit the ground. He tumbled, rolling several meters before finally managing to stop himself. His breath hitched as he pushed himself up, turning to look—

The Weeping Slayer.

She had stopped him. Again.

Kai clenched his teeth, stealing a glance at his wounds.

'It doesn't seem so deep in. It's probably first-degree burns… They don't seem too deep, but damn, they hurt like hell!.' He flexed his fingers, feeling the sting of his raw flesh.

'I need to get this checked out. But the real issue here is if I can make it out of this alive."

His gaze flickered between the Sorcerer's Association and the weeping Slayer once more.

A choice.

And only one chance to make it.

"Screw it. I've been through far worse than this! I survived an Eternal class raid. I can do this!..That's right, I have to make it count."

Ignoring the searing pain in his limbs, Kai bolted, charging with all his might towards the association.

The Weapon Slayer moved as well, matching his speed in an instant.

The distance between them shrank, her presence growing ever closer, ever more suffocating.

Kai didn't look back. He didn't dare to.

The Sorcerer's Association was within reach—only a few more meters.

And so he continued his pace, but soon he even he could feel her presence gaining on him. So, with his last strength he had in himself, he jumped.

His arms stretched forward, fingers desperate to grasp the sanctuary ahead. The Slayer leaped as well, her blade raised high, prepared to bring it down in a single, decisive strike.

The air itself trembled.Kai felt it.

The sword descending, slicing through space, aiming straight for his neck.

This was it.

This was the telling moment.

His eyes clenched shut and he braced for death.

But—

The strike never came.

A long, breathless pause passed until, slowly, and cautiously, Kai opened his eyes.

The Weapon Slayer stood motionless, her blade hovering just a few inches from his flesh. She had stopped.

For the first time, she did not finish the kill.

'Huh...She didn't strike me down?'

He raised his gaze forward, in search an answer and there he saw- his hand.

His fingers were gripping the cold, safe steps of the Sorcery Association.

He had made it.

Kai gasped, realization slamming into him all at once. His body scrambled forward, dragging itself deeper into the building, away from the Slayer's reach.

He panted, his chest rising and falling in frantic rhythm, his limbs trembling from exhaustion and sheer disbelief.

But there was no time to dwell on it.

He staggered to his feet and pushed forward, running deeper into the Association.

All he had in mind was to get as far away from the weeping slayer as he could.

Not daring to slow his pace, he made it back to his room, shutting the door hard behind him as he took a few steps back.

'She...she actually didn't follow me in?'

Still, there was disbelief laced with mystery. A moment ago, he was sure he was in his original world, but now he was....in the same world?

His footsteps slowed as his mind tried to make sense of it.

'This doesn't make any sense… This is… this is my room...so how the hell is this even possible!'

Everything was exactly as he remembered. The furniture. The layout. The minute details. It was as if he had stepped back into his own world—except it wasn't.

There was noone in the world, except him and the slayer who at this point had become a silent watching adversary.

Soon, as his adrenaline began to fade, the pain from his burns and wounds gradually began to return.

He scoured the building, searching, moving, until finally—

The medical unit.

With whatever supplies he could find, he patched himself up as best as possible. It wasn't perfect, but it was enough. For now.

He had survived.

But this wasn't over.

Not even close. The penalty still loomed over him and he couldn't leave, not until he had completed it.

And now, he was faced with another choice- Live the rest of his days trapped within the Sorcerer's Association… Or land a hit on the Weapon Slayer.

Neither options were promised to be on his side...but still the mystery was only beginning.

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