The Mage of Primordial Chaos

Chapter 519 – Course Of Fire

As it was dangerous to wait inside the volcano, I instructed the girls to fly outside and wait for me at the peak. They, however, insisted on staying inside, and I was forced to give them the 'stern' look. After that, they left obediently—though hesitantly—as they didn't want to make me repeat myself. When I had that 'stern' look on, nothing they said would change my mind, and I would knock them all out and drag them out if I had to. They knew that, and didn't want to risk it.

In any case, I was now alone in the deepest parts of the volcano, inside a chamber with a literal trial of fire inside. The obstacle course ahead seemed to be approximately 100 meters long, meaning it was pretty short. But… a mere 100 meters was still enough to make anyone sweat (both figuratively and literally—it was burning in here).

Still, it's not like just waiting around was going to do anything. Reading myself, I prepared to make my way across this obstacle course of flames and death. Scorching lava lay below—if I slipped my feet, I was done for. The flailing spiked balls and pendulums burning with fire were nothing to scoff at either—like the other Empyreans had said, this was no normal fire. It was divine fire capable of being on par with my Chaosborne flames in terms of power.

"Alright… here we go."

The first obstacle was easy—just a matter of timing. From the lava pool below, several fireballs shot out of it, pumped into the air by invisible geysers, before falling back down into their home. All I had to do was wait until the fireballs were about to fall back down, and make my jump.

Narrowing my eyes, I awaited the perfect opportunity. I saw the row of fireballs fly into the air, leaving a blazing trail of embers behind them. And as soon as the embers changed direction, signaling the spheres of fire were about to drop back down into the lava pool… I jumped.

Landing on the narrow platform on the other side with a soft thud, I let out a sigh of relief. Even though I had predicted the timing correctly, the sheer heat from the lava below was enough to make it seem like I had failed. The embers left behind by the fireballs singed my skin slightly, and despite not being actually hurt in any way, it stung. A lot.

Still, I had made it past the first obstacle. Just about five more to go—and the problem was, each one seemed progressively harder than the one before. The last one… I didn't even want to think about how I'll be getting through that one.

Oh well… I'll burn that bridge when I get there.

For now, I needed to focus on the obstacle in front of me—three sets of flamethrowers, each with their own on and off patterns. The gap between here and the next platform was also too long to make with one jump, and there didn't seem to be any other footrest-

Oh, wait.

Don't tell me… he wants me to use the flamethrowers themselves as footholds?!

The very idea was crazy. If I mistimed it by one bit, my feet—and the rest of my body soon after—would be melted on the spot. And since these three sets of two flamethrowers each (one on either wall) had purposely different timings between their on and off, I couldn't just use one rhythm universally to time when to jump. I needed to observe the three separate sets very carefully, and memorize each one's pattern.

Of course, that was far easier said than done.

A scientific study once showed it is far more difficult to concentrate in extreme heat. I wasn't an expert, but basically, the theory behind it was that since humans needed more energy to cool down than warm up, within a hot environment, the body uses more glucose on other areas and thus saves less for the brain. That is what makes it harder to concentrate, and boy was I feeling it right now. I couldn't even blink without getting sweat in my eyes, much less concentrate.

I was very, very tempted to cheat, but that would just make doing all this useless. As such, I had to just grit my teeth and bear through it. It certainly wasn't easy, but I had to.

After several long minutes of observation that felt like eons, I believed I was ready to attempt making it across. Even so, I gulped in fear as I stared at the purgatory flamethrowers, and how tiny the footholds were—so tiny, that they were only able to fit one foot.

Naturally, that meant I couldn't balance on them, and had to make it across in one go. However, as stated before, the three sets of flamethrowers had different patterns, so it would be very difficult to find the exact timing. There was only one chance, and if I missed it, I would have to wait another minute or so for the right timings to overlap once more.

That opportunity was coming up—and I wasn't about to miss it.

Keeping my breathing even, I prepared for the moment. I watched as the first set of flamethrowers lit up, soon followed by the third and the second respectively, and I knew it was time.

Right as the first set of flamethrowers turned off, I made my jump, landing my foot on the flamethrower on the right wall. I didn't even have time to feel whether or not it was a firm grip before immediately launching myself towards the next one, diagonally as I couldn't go straight forward with the position I was in.

My left foot hit the left flamethrower in the second pair, right as the first set breathed out fire once more. I knew that I timed it late—I had to make it to the next one as quick as possible!

Right as the second pair of flamethrowers charged up and prepared to spout flames again, I launched myself towards the third and final set. Once again, I crossed diagonally, and I felt my foot touch the right flamethrower's top.

But due to my hastiness…

"Wha—?!"

I felt myself suddenly slip off the heat-resistant metal, and begin falling backwards into the lava below. Hurriedly, I reached for the flamethrower on instinct with my hand, and wrapped my fingertips around its mouth.

Unfortunately, time was not waiting for anyone.

Fire shot out of the flamethrower like a dragon's breath, and I felt the internal workings of my hand being turned to mush.

"AGH—!" I yelled in agony as I still—just barely—held on, but I couldn't last much longer. My vampiric and angelic regeneration abilities did little to counter these divine flames, and if I didn't do something quick, both my hand and my life would be done for.

In a desperate, last-ditch attempt, I cried out in pain and mustered every ounce of strength I had into my melting hand. Then, I swung myself upwards, like a monkey dangling from tree to tree, and swung myself towards the platform inches away.

"Ngh!" I groaned as I landed on it and rolled a few meters before coming to a stop, just barely before falling into the lava on the other side. My hand was still scorching, and I could see that the flesh had pretty much all peeled away, leaving behind a horrendous sight that could be called half-skeleton.

"Hah… hah… hah…" I panted heavily as I grasped my wrist tightly with my unharmed hand, and trembled unwillingly against my own volition. Yes, my angelic and vampiric regeneration abilities would heal this soon in no time, but still, this pain was something I have never felt. Even back when I had no magic and took that Level Two spell in the dark alleyway head-on, the agony was nothing compared to this. Even when nearly my entire back had been shattered, the pain wasn't even close to what I felt now.

Still, I had matured since then. I was able to mostly bear with it. After all, physical pain was nothing compared to emotional scars.

Struggling, I slowly got to my feet, and evened out my breath. Already, I could feel the pain fading away in my hand, and my flesh coming back brand new. Would I still have regenerated if the flames had melted even my bones? Probably, but I didn't even want to imagine how badly that would've felt.

Letting out a deep exhale, I shook the remaining pain away from my hand, and recomposed myself. The challenge was not over yet. I messed up there—I couldn't afford to do it again. Funnily enough, that near-death experience just now filled me with courage, and honestly, I felt like this wasn't even all that bad anymore. My body had adjusted to the heat too, and after feeling something once, the second time won't be as bad. This burn? That would be the same.

Narrowing my eyes, I challenged the Empyrean of Fire to give me his worst.

"… Bring it on, Ignis."