Chapter 125: Interlude – Blazing Fire

After that unintentional strip show in the Abyss, I didn’t even get the chance to demand that Professor Baldwin delete the photos. I simply collapsed on the spot. When I opened my eyes again, a full day had already passed. Beside me lay a neatly folded set of new clothes, which Professor Baldwin had bought from Valhalla City during that time.

I hurriedly put them on and asked her to erase the photos, but what I got in return was a flat rejection.

“I refuse.”

She had stroked the Hero Watch, which now contained my pictures, as though it were a precious treasure, grinning to herself.

“I’ll keep these pictures safe for myself.”

I wondered if this was how Jules had felt when I got my hands on his cross-dressing photos, though in his case, it was more like I stole them from his files. All I could do was stare blankly at Professor Baldwin’s retreating back as she hummed a cheerful tune.

Anyway, after parting ways with her, I was finally able to return to my familiar dorm room after three, no, exactly four days.

“

Haa!

”

The dormitory I used was Building C, meant mostly for cadets who attended the academy on government funding. Compared to Building A, where Yuren and Iris lived, this place looked like a shabby slum.

“But being here actually makes me feel at ease.”

After spending months here—or years, if I counted my previous life—lying down on my dorm bed gave me the comfort of home. The brutal battle against Behemoth in the depths of the Abyss yesterday already felt like a dream.

But I shook off the comfort wrapping around me and sat up on the bed.

No. I can’t let myself think of it as a dream.

Slowly, I recalled the fight against Behemoth, more precisely, the fire that had blazed at the very end, flames that looked ready to devour the world itself. My guess was right. The condition for activating the Incarnation state, where the Primordial Flame cloaked my body and generated infinite mana, was that I had to be pushed to the brink.

When my mind was nearly shattered, the flame slumbering within my soul stigmata erupted like oil poured on a bonfire, consuming my body in fire. Just recalling that sensation sent a thrill racing down my spine.

“I’ve felt it before, but this was insane.”

Infinite mana had coursed through me. The sensation that I had felt was like an endless ocean of mana overflowing within my body, letting me spend it without restraint. It was more intoxicating than anything I had ever experienced. At that moment, I had thought I could crush the whole world beneath my feet.

In the end, that really had been how I killed Behemoth. To slay it, I didn’t need refined swordsmanship, elegant hand-to-hand combat, or complex spells. All I did was gather mana into my palm and swat him down like he were a bug crawling on the wall.

The so-called King of Monsters that ruled the Abyss’s third floor was reduced to nothing, pulverized beyond recognition, dying in an instant.

“The problem is... I can’t use that state whenever I want.”

While I had called the battle against Behemoth an extreme situation, that was just a nice way of putting it. The battle had been practically staged in my favor; it had been more of a simulation than a real fight.

After all, if the opponent had even a shred of intelligence, they wouldn’t keep charging recklessly for three straight days against an enemy who couldn’t die. Behemoth had virtually no intellect, and as a demonic monster twisted by the Demon God’s influence, its violence was amplified dozens of times over. That was the only reason it kept fighting.

If it had been a demon instead, things would’ve gone very differently. Unless it were a lunatic like the Archbishop of Madness, no demon in their right mind would keep fighting an immortal opponent for three whole days.

Moreover, even if I had gotten lucky and triggered Incarnation in just a single day instead of three, it was still a problem.

This time, I had entered the monster’s territory alone, expecting to fight by myself. But what if I had been traveling with party members? While I was dying and reviving dozens and hundreds of times, there would be no guarantee that the others would survive. Unlike me, they didn’t have the Blessing of Resurrection. Death for them would be permanent.

I couldn’t afford to gamble on Incarnation activating during a real battle. The risks were simply too high.

“Still...”

I raised a small ember in my palm. I had failed to trigger Incarnation at will, but it wasn’t as though I came away empty-handed.

“Ignite.”

The ember spread, slowly wrapping around my body. Earlier, I had to forcefully rupture my heart and experience death just to ignite the flame. Now, I could move the Primordial Flame with willpower alone.

The duration of Ignition had greatly increased as well. In the past, I could barely keep Ignition active for five minutes. Now, I could sustain it easily for over ten. And the reason was simple. After I entered the Incarnation state, my control over the Primordial Flame had improved. The flame that once refused to budge no matter what now bent to my will.

“At this level, I can push it further.”

Before, the Primordial Flame I could wield was no larger than a campfire. Now, it had grown to the size of a massive bonfire at a festival. Its sheer quantity had multiplied many times over, which naturally meant I could do far more with it.

This time, I wanted to attempt generating mana directly through the Primordial Flame. Of course, I wouldn’t be able to produce infinite mana like I could in Incarnation. But even so, having more mana to use would never be a bad thing. It was especially so now, since most of my skills, like the Ashen Flame, burned through mana at ridiculous rates.

The principle was the same. Long ago, when the Primordial Flame burned the Tree of Creation, it gave birth to mana itself. All I had to do was burn my life force in the same way to produce mana.

“Let’s see. What should I call this technique? Yeah.”

The answer came quickly.

“Blazing Fire fits perfectly.”

Ignition lit the spark, and Blazing Fire fueled it into an inferno. It was simple and easy to visualize.

I took a slow breath. “

Phewww!

”

When I summoned the flame, the small, shimmering fire around me thickened and deepened, turning gray. I pictured fire wrapping around logs, flaring brighter as it devoured them, burning my blood, my flesh, and my very bones.

“Burn!”

Ash-gray flames roared around me. Along with the searing pain of my body being consumed, I felt mana being created.

It had worked! Clenching my fist, I ignored the agony of burning alive. This wasn’t just replenishing mana like Ignition. This was feeding logs to the flame to make it blaze larger, burning life itself to forge mana anew.

This could double, no, maybe triple my usual mana reserves. Of course, the power amplified through Ignition didn’t entirely become my own mana. Just as a fire died down once the last of the wood was burned away, when Ignition ended, the explosive surge in mana would scatter and vanish without a trace.

Still, this was incredible. At least temporarily, I could boost my mana threefold. A threefold increase was insane. It wasn’t as though I still had a small reserve of mana like before. Sure, I couldn’t compare to someone naturally gifted like Yurina, but I had enough that I wouldn’t lose face anywhere. And now, that amount could be tripled?

I couldn’t stop the grin tugging at my lips. “

Heh! Heh!

”

At this rate, maybe, just maybe, I could go head-to-head with the Archbishop of Madness. Though it was hard to say. There was no guarantee the Archbishop had revealed the full extent of his powers back then.

Regardless

,

this expedition into the Abyss had been more than worthwhile. I had gained knowledge about the Incarnation state, strengthened my command over the Primordial Flame, and even acquired Blazing Fire, a new technique beyond Ignition.

If I said it was a death worth dying for, would Iris scold me?

I thought, chuckling to myself.

As I prepared to release Blazing Fire, something happened.

“

Huh

?”

The flames wrapped around my body flared violently, roaring as if they were enraged. Ash-colored smoke began filling the room.

Wait a second. Why isn’t it stopping?

I thought.

“

Ughhh

!”

The Primordial Flame broke free of my control, rampaging like a starved beast. Still coiled around my body, it spread outward, setting its sights on the surroundings.

“Damn it!”

Four times, five, six, sevenfold—mana surged uncontrollably, filling the room like a storm. The old dormitory trembled as though an earthquake had struck.

Panicked shouts of other cadets came from outside my door.

“W-what was that?”

“Is that... an earthquake?”

“Everyone, evacuate!”

I cursed, “Shit!”

I tried desperately to rein in the berserk Primordial Flame, but it refused to be extinguished. The blaze roared, devouring the furniture inside my room. This time, the fire didn’t burn my body, but the old wooden desks and beds, filling the air with choking, acrid smoke.

No! I need to stop this!

I hurried to smother the flames, but the decrepit wooden dorm soaked up fire like a sponge absorbs water. Then the fire leaped to the next room. Fortunately, it seemed the cadets had all escaped, but there was no stopping the raging inferno from swallowing the building whole.

I bit my lip hard. “

Kughhh

!”

I gave a mental command:

Get back in here, you bastard.

The Primordial Flame roared violently. Of course, it ignored me, resisting my order as if in defiance.

“This fucking ...”

What would it take to regain control of this thing? That was when I remembered Professor Baldwin’s words about the other power said to dwell within me. Back then, the Primordial Flame seemed afraid of it.

Recalling that memory, I thrust my hand toward the blaze.

“If you don’t return...” My face twisted with fury as I finished the threat. “I’ll extinguish you.”

The flames flinched. For an instant, it wavered. Had the threat worked? Like a runaway horse suddenly reining in, the fire abandoned the surroundings and was forcefully drawn back into my body.

I gasped for air, scanning the destruction. “

Haa!

Haa!

”

I had succeeded in reclaiming the Primordial Flame, but the ordinary fire it had left behind continued to spread unchecked.

“Damn it!” I cursed and ran outside.

Outside, cadets gathered, staring in horror at the blazing dormitory.

“H-how could this happen?”

“M-my room! My roooom!”

“Somebody call a professor!”

I had to douse the fire with water magic. However, I had never actually used that attribute before. The formula didn’t come naturally to me. Desperately, I tried to recall the theories Senior Sophia had once taught me, forcing the spell into shape.

“Water Shower!” I said.

Droplets of water formed midair and sprayed down toward the dorm engulfed in flames. But since I hadn’t properly constructed the spell, it was far too weak to put out a blaze of this scale.

I bit down hard, watching helplessly as the fire devoured everything. “

Ugh!

”

Then, a clear, commanding voice rang out. “O’ rain that pours from the heavens, become a tidal wave to engulf the world.”

𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

A small, red-haired woman leveled a staff taller than herself at the inferno. “Heavy Rain.”

A torrential downpour crashed down, instantly smothering the flames.

“

Tch!

” The red-haired woman who had just saved the building with a single spell turned to look at me. “This fire, it started in your room, didn’t it?”

I shut my eyes tightly under her piercing gaze and remained silent. It was Senior Sophia.

I’m fucked

.

How the hell am I supposed to explain this now?