I stayed frozen for a few seconds.
…Ah.
Yeah.
Obviously we were going to have this conversation eventually.
Luz was staring at me with an almost terrifying intensity.
Her eyes were still shining after everything that had just happened.
Surprise.
Confusion.
And most of all… a mountain of questions.
King was still clutching his crown like his life depended on it.
"Ooooh this is getting interesting" he whispered.
"Not now, King" I immediately muttered.
Meanwhile, Eda was watching the scene with a huge amused grin.
Oh no.
That smile meant she was absolutely going to enjoy mentally torturing me with this situation.
"So…" she said slowly. "The mysterious hooded kid is actually a human capable of using magic."
She crossed her arms.
"You do realize how suspicious that sounds, right?"
"Yes thank you, I'm aware."
Luz took a step toward me.
"Wait wait wait…" she said quickly. "You were human this whole time?"
"Y-yeah. That's correct."
"And you went to my school?"
"Well… I used to."
"And we were in the same class?"
"For a while, yes."
Silence.
Luz narrowed her eyes while staring at me carefully.
Very carefully.
Oh no.
She was trying to remember.
My brain instantly entered full panic mode.
Okay.
No problem.
Everything is fine.
Maybe she won't recognize me.
After all, back at school I was pretty quiet.
Very quiet.
…Okay in reality I was mostly just the weird kid sitting in the back of the class, but details were unimportant.
Then suddenly Luz's eyes widened.
"WAIT A SECOND."
Ah crap.
"You're the boy who kept drawing during class all the time?!"
…Huh?
Out of every possible memory… that was the one she remembered?
"Uh… maybe?" I answered awkwardly.
Luz immediately pointed at my face dramatically.
"I KNEW IT."
King looked back and forth between us with complete confusion.
"You two really attended the same place filled with strange humans?"
"Yes" Luz answered without taking her eyes off me.
Then she stepped even closer.
Way too close.
"So from the very beginning… you knew who I was?" she asked more softly.
…Okay.
No escaping now.
"Yes."
Luz stayed silent for a few seconds.
I honestly started getting nervous.
Very nervous.
Then suddenly—
"THAT MEANS I'M NOT THE ONLY HUMAN HERE!"
She grabbed me by the shoulders with stars in her eyes.
"DO YOU REALIZE HOW AMAZING THIS IS?!"
…Ah.
Yeah.
I forgot that Luz was Luz.
I expected a dramatic scene where she would ask why I never admitted that I knew her, but instead she was just ridiculously happy.
Honestly… that was almost impressive.
"Haha… yeah I guess" I answered nervously.
"No seriously!" she continued excitedly. "Another human living in the Demon Realm. Do you realize how incredible that is?!"
Eda raised an eyebrow.
"Wait a second. You're human too?"
Oops.
Luz instantly realized her mistake.
Too late.
Way too late.
"S-sorry. I didn't mean to tell everyone you were human. I thought if you hid it for this long, then you probably had a good reason."
I stared at Luz with a dumbfounded expression before a small smile slowly appeared on my face.
She really was an angel.
And here I was stressing over all of this.
Now I just felt a little stupid.
Eda was now looking at us with the exact expression of someone who had just smelled a massive secret.
"Ooooh…" she said slowly with a dangerous grin. "You two know things that I don't."
"No." I answered immediately.
"Yes." Luz answered at the exact same time.
We looked at each other.
…Betrayal.
"Thanks, Luz."
"Sorry, I couldn't help it."
Eda burst out laughing.
"I already love this dynamic."
"So you're human too, huh? That's pretty rare around here. Honestly, the last time humans were seen on the Boiling Isles was centuries ago."
She casually pointed at herself.
"Anyway, we haven't properly introduced ourselves yet. I'm Eda the Owl Lady, the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles."
Then she pointed toward King.
"And that little guy over there is King."
"Little guy?! I am the King of Demons. If my enemies from other worlds were here, they would confirm my greatness. AHAHA."
"Yes yes, Your Majesty" Eda answered teasingly.
"Oh and I guess you already know Luz."
Luz smiled brightly.
"Well technically we already knew each other, just… not really. We never actually interacted much at school. But honestly, I'm really happy to finally meet you properly."
She scratched her cheek awkwardly.
"Umm… what was your name again? Sorry, you know my name but I can't remember yours…"
"Oh right, it's—"
Before I could finish my sentence, a strange sound echoed through the room.
BEEP.
…Huh?
We all slowly turned our heads toward Fury.
Still unconscious on the ground.
Well… almost unconscious.
A small red light was blinking on his mechanical arm.
BEEP.
BEEP.
BEEP.
Eda's smile instantly disappeared.
"Oh."
"Oh what?" I asked nervously.
Eda slowly stepped backward.
"I think he just activated the prison's emergency security protocol."
Silence.
Then suddenly the entire prison began shaking violently.
Even louder alarms echoed everywhere.
A metallic voice rang throughout the building.
"CONFORMATORIUM SELF-DESTRUCTION ACTIVATED."
…
…Excuse me?
I stared at Eda.
"WHY DOES A PRISON HAVE A SELF-DESTRUCT MODE?!"
"Honestly, I stopped trying to understand this island years ago" she answered immediately.
King raised his crown dramatically toward the sky.
"MY CROWN AND I REFUSE TO DIE HERE."
"FOR ONCE I AGREE WITH HIM" I shouted.
Luz looked at me with a huge smile despite the chaos around us.
"Well… I guess the conversation will have to wait."
Then she reached her hand toward me excitedly.
"So… now we run?"
…
I looked at her hand.
Then at the explosions already starting in the distance throughout the prison.
Then at her ridiculously excited smile.
And honestly?
Even in the middle of all this chaos…
I couldn't stop myself from smiling too.
"Yeah."
I grabbed her hand.
"Yeah… let's go."
Eda grabbed her staff and climbed onto it.
"Alright kids, it's time to leave."
We climbed onto the staff, but Luz suddenly stopped us.
"Wait!" she said urgently. "The prisoners are still trapped in their cells. We can't leave them behind. We have to free them."
Right at that moment, another announcement echoed throughout the prison.
"SELF-DESTRUCTION IN 30 SECONDS."
"Oh no, we're out of time hehe" Eda laughed nervously. "Everyone get on."
"Who said we're out of time?" Luz declared firmly. "We'll move as fast as the wind."
Hearing Eda's words, Luz seemed to feel a little better and a small smile appeared on her face.
"Okay we seriously don't have much time left" I said nervously.
"Oh yeah."
Luz climbed onto the staff while King jumped onto her shoulder to make room for me.
Then it was my turn.
"Everyone ready?" Eda asked while gripping the staff with both hands.
"Because now…"
A grin appeared on her face.
"We're going as fast as lightning."
Eda's staff shot forward at incredible speed toward the prison cells where the prisoners were still being held.