Volume 3 Chapter 40 I Can't Say It Took The Longest Time To Think Of A Spell
After Catherine and the others entered the old school building for a while...
"When exactly is midnight?"
"It's midnight at 0 hours. You really didn't know that?"
...they were having a silly conversation in loud voices, and it was Randy and his friends. Their goofy chatter echoed between the school buildings, but it was too far from the old school to be heard.
This time, Annabelle and Cory's parents didn't give permission, so it was just the 4 of them and Ellie exploring. But no one was following the legends of the 'Seven Wonders', and they all looked like they were just dressed normally.
The black robes and the Shadow Moon Mirror were all just rumors, so the 4 of them showing up at the playground at night looked like they were just out for a stroll. They did get permission through Annabelle, but other than that, there was no vibe of challenging the supernatural wonders.
They looked so casual that even the dark side team hiding near the old school was confused. Randy was trying to keep a low profile, but he was still joking around with Luke, completely relaxed.
"Anyway, if midnight is 0 hours, we still have plenty of time, right?"
Randy frowned, and Ellie laughed lightly, saying, "It doesn't matter. Time is nothing."
In fact, Ellie was right; time didn't really matter. On a new moon night, the magic of the moon is weakest at midnight, so it does matter a bit... but that's more of a story for regular people.
Even though they were borrowing the moon's magic, if the magic was weaker than usual and done by a person, it wasn't like they were up against some ancient great magician. Even if Ellie wasn't at her best in this borrowed body.
Liz had been getting stronger from fighting beasts lately, but she still wasn't fully able to replicate Ellie's original power. Still, even with Liz's current body, which hadn't defeated many beasts, she could still use magic that could interfere in a weakened dimension... It's not hard to imagine how powerful Liz and Ellie really are.
Even Randy couldn't help but smile wryly at such a completely overpowered presence as the 4 of them approached the open playground.
As they made their way through the school buildings toward the playground, they finally saw the old school building glowing faintly in the distance. It was a small old school building on the other side of the playground, separated by a fence. Even though they were that far away and all trying to stay hidden...
"What's going on? Is the old school having a festival or something?"
"Are you stupid? There's no way that's true. It's probably just a test of courage or something."
...Luke and Randy sensed the countless presences gathering at the old school. They were still throwing around ridiculous comments like, "For some reason, it feels really tense," and "Someone's about to spill their guts."
"If it's the old school, isn't it Lady Catherine and her friends?"
"I think so too."
At Cecilia and Liz's words, Randy and Luke clapped their hands in realization.
"I see. It's the Crown Prince's guards... Since it's a place where ghosts roam, they must have tight security."
Randy sighed, but that wasn't the case. Right now, the confused assassins were targeting that Crown Prince, but for Randy, who didn't know anything about the situation, it was an unimaginable event. The dark side's presence and the dark guild's presence felt pretty similar.
There were sneaky people hiding their presence everywhere... and with ghosts and wraiths added to the mix, it was like a 'nighttime school festival'. Randy and Luke could only comment, "It's lively, isn't it?"
Seeing the carefree attitude of Randy and Luke, Ellie returned with a big sigh.
"You guys, I don't even know what we're heading into."
At her words, Randy and Luke finally focused their attention on the center of the playground.
"If you act like you're just 'hiking' over there, you'll get a nasty surprise."
Ellie was right; now wasn't the time to worry about others.
"Bring it on. I'm ready for a challenge."
Randy was swinging his arms around, and Ellie nodded, saying, "Alright," as they turned to head to the playground.
"Randy, get ready!"
At Ellie's shout, Randy wrapped magical power around himself, strengthening his body. At the same time, Ellie took a big deep breath, thinking, "It's been a while," and started to chant a spell.
'From the chaos, the mark of disorder rises, power sleeping in the depths of madness.
Embracing a world that keeps breaking and distorting.
The one who controls destruction, bearing false logic.
Overlapping, parallel, repelling, and attracting.
The severed boundary shall now be pierced here, Dimension Pierce!'
With Ellie's powerful magic, countless black spears appeared behind her. The dark spears, even darker in the night, pierced through the empty space.
Normally, this magic could break through dimensional walls, but with Liz's current body, it could only scratch the surface of those walls. Still, if they could make the walls appear, that was enough.
In fact, just as the spears seemed to hit something and scatter, a huge tower appeared right in front of the 4 of them.
It looked just like the day they saw it before, but up close, it was even more impressive. It was so big that it overlapped with part of the school building, but since it was hidden in another dimension, it seemed fine to exist like that.
As Cecilia and Luke stared up at the tower in shock,
"Randy!"
"..."
"What are you doing? Hurry up and break it!"
"...Damn it! I should have thought of a name for the technique!"
Randy, who hadn't thought of a name, shouted in frustration and slammed his right fist down with all his strength.
*Boom!*
The space shook, and shockwaves spread around them... a big hole appeared right in front of the 4. Beyond the cracked void, they saw a reddish sky and a wasteland, with the giant tower standing tall.
Ellie looked at it and thought, "What a ridiculous guy," with a wry smile, just like before.
"I can't believe he really broke it in one hit..."
With a wry smile, Ellie glanced at Randy, but he was staring at his fist with a strange expression, completely different from his earlier bravado.
"What are you doing?"
"Well, it's just that the feeling is──."
The moment Randy said that, waves of energy spread from the big hole in the dimension... and everything around them froze.
The dust kicked up by the shock.
The flowing clouds.
The branches and leaves swaying in the wind.
In this frozen world, Luke and Cecilia were also stuck with surprised looks on their faces.
"What's going on?"
As Randy poked Luke, Ellie snorted and said, "It's probably a defense mechanism," glaring at the tower. Beyond the dimensional wall, there was nothing but a reddish wasteland stretching endlessly.
With a strange atmosphere that felt like a dead world, Randy sighed, "This place is gloomy."
"For now, I'll carry the two of them inside."
As Ellie said this and walked ahead, Randy lifted both Luke and Cecilia onto his shoulders. He honestly thought it was a bit much to carry Cecilia, but if he tried to princess-carry her, he knew Luke would have something to say about it.
Carrying Luke and Cecilia, Randy walked beside Ellie, who suddenly spoke up.
"By the way, why didn't you hit it right away?"
"I couldn't help it. You suddenly started chanting spells... You should have told me that beforehand."
Pouting, Randy continued, "I should have thought of a cool technique name too," and Ellie couldn't stop sighing. She thought he was foolish, and it was clear he was really a big fool. But that fool was probably standing on the edge of something extraordinary now. Just like the dragons and the heroes who defeated them, he was about to step outside of reason.
As Randy, who seemed like he was about to become something beyond reason, faced the giant door in front of them, he turned to Ellie.
"How do we open this?"
"Of course, it's simple."
As Ellie placed her hand on the door, the ground rose up, and a giant rock spear pierced through the door.
"We're going to break through!"
"I see."
Randy, with a wry smile, heard nothing. It felt like the world beyond the door was completely dead, with no signs of life.
Still, knowing what he was getting into, Randy adjusted his grip on Cecilia and Luke and took a step forward.
Inside the tower, the two were welcomed by a quiet entrance hall. The inside was dark, just like the black tower, but there were pink tubes sticking out here and there, looking like blood vessels.
"It's like we're inside something's stomach."
Randy frowned, and Ellie sighed in response, "That's not totally wrong."
"The Tower of Time is a kind of living thing created by advanced arcana (magic engineering)."
Hearing Ellie, Randy frowned even more and kicked the wall. But nothing happened, so he couldn't tell if it was really a living thing.
"Right now, this thing has stopped time."
Randy nodded, understanding, "Got it."
"But seriously, time is stopped here..."
"Wait. It's going to move soon──."
As if Ellie's words were a signal, the door they had just broken through started to reverse like a video being played backward, completely sealing off the inside of the tower from the outside. At that moment, the whole tower throbbed with a loud "thump," and the tube-like structures began to pulse.
At the same time, Cecilia and Luke, who Randy was carrying, started to wake up.
"W-what's going on?"
"What's happening?"
They both moved as if they had just woken up.
"Oh, you're awake?"
Randy set them down, but in his ears, he heard a creepy sound that was like a mix of their confusion and a rumbling noise.
"Looks like something we didn't want to wake up has."
Randy and Luke glared at the upper floor, which was open and filled with countless moving presences. But then Randy turned back to the door they had come through, feeling curious.
He couldn't see anything beyond the black door. But for some reason, it felt like time had stopped everywhere else except here.
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