Eda's staff shot through the halls of the Conformatorium at insane speed.
The wind slammed against my face while I held on for dear life to avoid falling.
Honestly…
I finally understood why people screamed on dangerous rides.
"CAN'T WE GO ANY SLOWER?!" I shouted.
"NOPE" Eda answered immediately with a huge grin.
Of course.
Obviously.
Around us, the entire prison was beginning to collapse.
Explosions echoed through several hallways.
Chunks of the ceiling were falling everywhere.
The alarms still screamed nonstop.
"SELF-DESTRUCTION IN 25 SECONDS" the metallic voice announced again.
"Ah fantastic," I muttered. "Because the explosions weren't already stressful enough."
Meanwhile, Luz stared forward with determination.
"We can still make it!"
How was she still this motivated in a situation like this?
Meanwhile I was already thinking about my potential death.
Suddenly, a massive chunk of the ceiling collapsed right in front of us.
BOOOOOM.
Eda violently swerved the staff through the air.
I almost fell instantly.
"AAAAAAAAAH."
King grabbed onto Luz tightly.
"I HATE AIR TRANSPORTATION."
The staff continued its insane flight through the prison.
Then finally—
We reached the prison cell block.
Prisoners were looking around in panic while the building shook dangerously.
"WE'RE HERE!" Luz shouted.
Eda landed the staff hard in the middle of the hallway.
"Alright kids. We do this fast. Very fast."
Without wasting a second, Luz ran toward the cell levers.
I immediately followed after her.
"Which lever opens which cells?!" I asked while staring at the dozens of mechanisms.
"No idea!" Luz answered.
…Excellent.
So we were officially pulling random prison levers inside a self-destructing prison.
Amazing plan.
I activated the first lever.
CLANG.
Several cells immediately opened.
Prisoners rushed out quickly.
"YOU'RE FREE!" Luz shouted with a huge smile.
A long-eared prisoner widened her eyes after recognizing us.
"It's you!"
"Long story!" I answered quickly. "Just run toward the exit!"
More prisoners began running everywhere.
Meanwhile, King had climbed onto a crate with his crown on his head.
"PEOPLE OF THE CONFORMATORIUM. YOUR KING ORDERS YOU TO EVACUATE WITH STYLE."
…Why was he like this?
A massive explosion suddenly shook the building.
The floor trembled violently beneath our feet.
"SELF-DESTRUCTION IN 15 SECONDS."
Ah.
Yeah.
We were definitely going to die.
Most likely.
"EDA!" Luz shouted. "HOW MUCH TIME BEFORE WE CAN GET OUT OF HERE?!"
Eda looked at the ceiling that was literally collapsing now.
"IF EVERYTHING GOES WELL?"
"YES."
"NO IDEA."
…Very reassuring.
At that moment we suddenly saw the guards arriving.
Oh no. Not them. Not now.
But to our surprise, they didn't stop us.
Actually… they started helping the prisoners too.
I approached one of them and asked, "Why are you helping them? I thought you guys were going to run away."
The guard's expression couldn't really be seen under his helmet.
"Don't misunderstand," he answered. "It's not that we especially want to help them. It's just that if this whole place burns down, we lose our jobs too. So we don't really have a choice."
…Okay that made more sense.
I knew these guards couldn't possibly be brave enough to risk their lives inside an exploding prison.
Still…
At least things were moving faster now.
With the guards helping us, we managed to free all the remaining prisoners.
"3 SECONDS LEFT."
"COME ON THE EXIT IS RIGHT THERE!" one of the guards shouted.
Everyone immediately sprinted at full speed.
"2 SECONDS."
We ran as fast as we could.
"1 SECOND."
We were right in front of the giant prison doors.
Everyone crossed through at the last possible second.
Then—
BOOOOOOOOOOM.
A gigantic explosion erupted behind us.
Anyone still near the entrance was violently launched forward by the blast.
Me, Luz, Eda, and King were still on Eda's staff when the explosion hit us.
The shockwave blasted us through the air before we crashed face-first into the ground.
"Oww… that hurts…"
I slowly pushed myself back up with bruises all over my body.
"Ah… at least I'm alive. That's the important part. I just hope everyone else is okay," I muttered while looking at the others sprawled across the ground nearby.
"Yeah… I think so," Luz answered weakly.
I let out a massive sigh of relief.
…We survived.
I still couldn't believe it.
Behind us, the Conformatorium was now completely engulfed in flames and smoke.
Honestly…
Seeing that prison explode was weirdly satisfying.
Though part of me wondered if Fury managed to escape.
Deep down… I honestly hoped he didn't.
Chunks of the building were still collapsing in the distance with deafening crashes.
King slowly lifted his head from the ground.
His crown was still perfectly resting on top of his head.
…How?
"AHAHA!" he immediately shouted. "Even explosions recognize the greatness of their king."
"Your neck should've been broken," I muttered while still laying on the ground.
Luz burst out laughing despite still breathing heavily.
Then she dropped onto the grass and stared up at the sky.
"Wow…" she whispered. "That was amazing."
I slowly turned toward her with a blank expression.
"Luz… we almost died at least fifteen times today."
"Yeah but it was still amazing."
…Impossible to argue with that logic.
Eda casually walked toward us while spinning her staff between her fingers.
Even after all this, she still looked way too relaxed.
"Well," she said with a satisfied smile. "I have to admit, that was a pretty successful prison escape."
"An entire prison exploded," I immediately replied.
"Exactly. Total success."
I stared at her for a few seconds.
Then I sighed.
…Okay honestly at this point I didn't even have the energy to argue anymore.
Around us, the former prisoners were slowly recovering too.
Some were laughing.
Others stared at the destroyed prison with relief.
The long-eared girl slowly approached us.
"Thank you…" she said softly. "Without you, we probably would've all died in there."
"Ah it's you," I answered. "I thought you already left. Glad to see you're okay."
"This is all thanks to you," she replied gratefully.
Luz immediately stood up with a huge smile.
"We just helped each other."
The prisoner then looked at Eda.
Then at me.
Then at Luz.
"You three are really strange."
Silence.
Then Luz smiled even wider.
"Thanks!" she answered proudly.
…Yeah.
She definitely took that as a compliment.
The prisoner looked confused for a few seconds before finally laughing softly.
Then she left to rejoin the others.
The wind blew gently now that everything was finally over.
Well… hopefully.
I looked one last time at the ruins of the Conformatorium before heavily sitting down in the grass.
My arms hurt.
My legs too.
Honestly my entire body was suffering right now.
"I'm exhausted…" I muttered.
"Same," Luz said while sitting right next to me.
For a few seconds, neither of us spoke.
It was strangely peaceful after all that chaos.
Then Luz slowly turned toward me.
"So…" she said softly. "You can really use magic."
Ah.
Yeah.
That conversation again.
I awkwardly scratched my cheek.
"Well… more or less."
"More or less?"
"Glyphs have certain limits."
Luz was now staring at me with stars in her eyes.
"Glyphs? Is that some kind of magic?"
"It's really incredible…" she whispered. "A human capable of using magic in the Demon Realm…"
Then suddenly she moved way too close to me again.
"YOU HAVE TO TEACH ME."
…Excuse me?
"Huh?"
"The glyphs!" she immediately answered. "You have to show me how they work!"
Oh.
Oh no.
My brain instantly started panicking.
Because there was one huge problem.
A very huge problem.
I didn't even fully understand how I discovered them myself.
Well technically I did… but explaining that I learned about glyphs from watching a show in my old world would probably be complicated.
Very complicated.
Ah great. I was going to have to invent a believable explanation now.
Eda, who had secretly been listening this entire time, suddenly smiled.
Oh no.
That smile again.
"Hmmm… interesting," she said while observing us. "Two humans capable of using a type of magic even I've never seen before…"
She suddenly wrapped an arm around my shoulders.
"Kid."
I looked at her nervously.
"Yes?"
Her grin widened even more.
"You're coming to live with me."
…
…Huh?
Luz's eyes immediately widened.
"REALLY?!"
"Of course," Eda answered casually. "You two are way too interesting for me to let you leave now."
"Wait a second," I immediately said. "You're literally inviting a stranger you've known for a few hours to live in your house?"
Eda simply shrugged.
"I've seen worse."
Then she pointed toward Luz.
"After all, there's already her."
King proudly raised his crown.
"And as the King of Demons, I also accept your presence in our kingdom."
"Thanks… I think?"
Luz was now looking at me with a huge sincere smile.
"To be honest," she said, "I originally came here just to get my book back. Eda said she'd return it if I helped her recover King's crown… then I was planning to go back home. But now…"
Her eyes sparkled with excitement.
"I want to learn magic too. Just like you."
"So?" she asked excitedly. "Are you coming?"
I stayed silent for a few seconds.
The wind gently blew around us.
For the first time since arriving here…
I didn't feel alone anymore.
…And honestly?
That feeling was strange.
But not unpleasant.
I finally smiled slightly.
"…Yeah."
Luz immediately threw her arms into the air excitedly.
"YES."
And somewhere deep down…
I had the feeling that my real story on the Boiling Isles was only just beginning.