Chapter 16: Travel Orientation [2]

In the corner of the mirror room, tens of civilians trembled with fear upon seeing the djinn's yellow eyes. It was common knowledge to any non-awakened that if you saw those yellow eyes, you were to run and place a call to the High Dominion if you wanted to survive.

Adding to the chaos, the alarm triggered by the roof's breaking echoed throughout the room. To make it worse, the security system had assumed a thief was trying to steal the mirrors due to their expensive price tag, so it sealed off all the windows, leaving no room for escape.

The scene inside the mirror room could only be described as comical. Adults aged 20-60 stood shivering and quivering in a corner while two teenagers, only 16, stood confidently in front of the djinn.

Having grown up in the magic tower, Irene was somewhat accustomed to djinn incidents as the tower and her father constantly worked to foil them, so she immediately grasped the situation.

"EVERYONE CALM DOWN! I'm sure the Dominion and school have already sent heroes to assist due to the security alarm. We have no idea if there are more djinns outside, so trying to escape could lead to certain death."

*CLAP*

*CLAP*

A faint clapping sound reverberated through the room, and the unmoving djinn finally made his first move as he slowly walked toward Irene and Liam.

"Looks like you're as powerful and confident as they say, princess. Unfortunately, you had to meet me, but there's still a chance. Make a contract and become one of us!"

"I'd rather die."

"Alright, be my guest."

Unbeknownst to the djinn, there was actually another powerhouse in the mirror room, Liam. Using Irene as a distraction, Liam slowly wrapped around the room during their conversation, and now, he was only a few feet away from the djinn's back.

It almost looked like a comedy act from the sidelines as Liam pulled the classic "he's right behind me, isn't he?" 

Letting out a small sigh of relief, I subtly relaxed. My preparations were not in vain! Just like how the story goes, Liam will easily annihilate him.

Although this incident could easily be written off as only 1 djinn appeared, it was actually quite instrumental in the plot. It showed Irene that Liam wasn't some stupid commoner who ranked higher than her out of luck, and it also allowed for some character development with Liam.

Now only a few steps away from the djinn's back, Liam tightened his grip on the makeshift glass sword and then made a wild dash toward the djinn.

Hearing the impending footsteps, the djinn slowly turned his back, but it was too late. Liam was already upon him, his sword plunging forward right at his neck.

In the next second, Liam's sword pierced right through the djinn's neck, and it was over. Releasing his grip on the sword, Liam slowly relaxed and let his guard down while staring at his glass sword, which fully emerged inside the djin's body.

The red aura surrounding the djinn slowly dissipated, and his eyes lost vitality as the yellow spark diminished, turning pitch black.

Stepping out of the crowd of trembling civilians, I slowly looked around the room, confirming nothing abnormal occurred; however, one thing was bothering me.

Why was the djinn's body not on the floor yet?

Blocking the entrance, the djinn's body was still standing upright; all be it with a glass sword plunged into its neck. A step back from the djinn, Liam was also looking at the suspended body confusedly.

... this is not right. Did I forget something?

From a distance, I analyzed the body and noticed something peculiar. Its eyes still contained a hint of yellow sparkling within.

How is that possible? Is it not dead?

*RUMBLE*

The floor randomly shook, and the djinn's body trembled. This may have gone unnoticed by Liam and Irene, but with my dragon's passive, I had seen the body move.

That meant it wasn't dead!

Surprising Liam, a small tentacle emerged from the djinn's body, and like an arrow, it flew right at Liam. Without any time to dodge, Liam could only watch helplessly as the slimy tentacle approached him alarmingly fast. Without my dragon's eye time-stopping ability, I was also helpless.

It has tentacles...?

The tentacle made contact with Liam, but instead of pushing Liam back with the impact or bouncing off his body, the tentacle pierced his body.

It pierced Liam's heart...

I could only watch in shock and horror as Liam's lifeless body was suspended in the air like a puppet by the tentacle.

The tentacle removed itself from Liam's body, and the tip of it was colored red with Liam's blood.

"That... that was n-not s-supposed t-to happen."

How was I supposed to react? The protagonist, destined to save the entire world from the clutches of the demons, had just died right before me.

Feelings of shock and horror immediately surged into my body. I had just seen someone die right in front of me. Not just someone but the protagonist.

If the main character could die, what did that mean for an extra like me?

No longer held in the air by the tentacle, Liam's body fell onto the ground. His corpse lay on the floor, and where his heart was supposed to be, there was just a hole covered with blood.

His eyes, which were filled with hunger and ambition only a few seconds ago, were now empty and dull. His last and final expression shows his eyebrows raised and mouth open, displaying his fear and shock.

Seeing the dead student's corpse only a few feet away from them, the civilians could only open their mouths in horror and watch powerlessly like spectators.

Irene's confident demeanor crumbled. In the end, important family or not, Irene was a sheltered and spoiled child. This was her first time witnessing a death, murder, and crime.

The djinn's eyes regained their vitality as the tentacle returned to his side.

"Hah, you thought that dumb trick would work? Look at how it turned out for your friend."

Irene's legs started shivering and wobbling as she glanced at Liam's bloody corpse and the djinn's figure. The fire in her hand disappeared, and she almost fell to the ground.

Looking at Irene's pathetic figure, the djinn slowly walked towards her and said.

"Well, I've wasted enough time."

Snapping out of shock, I scrambled to open my backpack and retrieve anything to help me save her. But it was too late. There was no time...

I tried to activate Dragon's Eye to slow down time, but it didn't work. 

Why wasn't it working? Earlier, all it required was for me to think of activating it, but now it was unresponsive.

Putting my finger to my right eye, I tried to forcefully activate it by tapping my eye over and over again, but it was to no avail.

What am I thinking? Even if it activates, what am I going to do? I have some terrible daggers, no plan, and my stats are abysmal compared to the djinn. Liam had stats way higher than mine, and he died within a second. He had won in the book because he had one-shotted it with the sneak attack.

As the djinn approached Irene's trembling body, she almost broke into tears while trying to get fire to form in her hands. However, nothing happened; no matter how hard she tried, it was hopeless.

Staring at her hands anxiously, tears flooded down Irene's face.

Irene and I were unable to fight. The spectators could not fight, and the reinforcements would need at least 5 more minutes to arrive.

Do I run away? I know the outside is safe, and the djinn only needs Irene, so I should be alright.

These aren't even real people. This world is just a book. All these people are just some characters made up by a random author. They don't have souls or anything; they're just the creations of some bored human being like me.

Why do I care whether they survive or not? Sure, Liam and Irene dying is bad and a big obstacle to the development of the world, but it's nothing I can't overcome. Why would I risk my life to help Irene? I mean, even if I did, it's not like anything would change. 

The djinn would just kill me and then Irene. Sure, there was a possibility of me stalling long enough for the reinforcements and saving Irene, but then my death would be all but guaranteed.

What do I care about the state of this world? After ensuring my survival by completing the main plot, all that's left is to return. I've been here for almost a month, and my sole goal is still to return back to Earth, where my family is waiting. 

There's no attachment to this make-believe world.

All I have to do is steal all the items, loot, and protagonist role. Sure, gathering up the items and constantly foiling the demons' plans would be a lot of work, but it's my punishment. 

I'm not naive; I know these two "deaths" were all my fault. The only difference between the book and this reality is my appearance, so the only possibility leads to me.

I was stupid to think that the plot could remain the same with my appearance, and this entire scene was the evidence. 

The evidence of my first failure. 

Irene fell onto her knees and stared helplessly at the djinn's approaching figure. Stopping only a few feet in front of Irene, the djinn cockily remarked.

"You know, I gave you a chance."

A familiar tentacle reemerged from the djinn's body and soared right at Irene's body with the speed of an arrow. Displaying its impeccable aim, the tentacle rose in the air a few inches, perfectly aligning itself with the location of Irene's heart.

In a split second, the tentacle pierced right through Irene's kneeling figure, and her corpse collapsed onto the ground. Another person destined to save the world had just died because of my careless and naive actions.

Self-deprecation and anxiety weren't going to help me now. Calming myself, I retrieved the daggers I had brought with me. Even if the djinn's target was eliminated, knowing their bloodthirsty and cruel nature, it was possible that the djinn could start randomly killing off civilians, including me.

 Glancing at the two lifeless bodies on the floor one last time, I made a break for the exit. The djinn seemed to be occupied, and he was kneeling down and checking Irene's body for some items, so now was my perfect chance. 

The rumbling caused by the djinn's recovery from Liam's attack had moved around the rubble, so there was a small hole.

 The light from the sun surged in from that hole, illuminating Liam's lifeless body, which was only a few feet away from the exit.

The civilians seemed to have grasped my plan and quickly followed me towards the exit. Of course, this was all part of my plan. They rushed in behind me and essentially created a body shield for me.

They were just some fodder that could be used to ensure my survival.

Kneeling down in front of the hole, I crawled through the hole, and within a second, I saw freedom.

The sun, oh, how I missed it.

In the distance, I could see countless heroes with uniforms rushing toward the building with panicked expressions. 

As always, the police or whatever government organization is too late to prevent anything from happening. I wonder how they would react upon hearing of the death of two students. Obviously, Liam's death wouldn't really change anything, but Irene's death could probably cause the closing of the academy.

Standing up and leaving the tunnel, I stared up at the sky, enjoying the peace and serenity it brought to my chaotic mind.

Then it all went dark.

The sun was gone.

The sky was pitch black, with no traces of its former blue color.

Everything was black. It was a void.

The space around me distorted, and a sense of dizziness overwhelmed me, forcing me to close my eyes.

"Ah, is this my punishment? I knew causing such a scene where two main characters die would lead to some backlash. After all, it is all my fault."

Opening my arms, I welcomed whatever painful punishment that was awaiting me. However, nothing came.

After a few seconds, I carefully reopened my eyes.

I was back in the mirror room. Nothing was destroyed. The djinn hadn't arrived yet. Glancing around, I confirmed that Liam and Irene were still alive.

Was it all a dream?

No, a dream can't be that realistic; I saw the dead bodies in front of me...

[A/N: Thoughts on this chapter? Book went from 0 to 100 real quick.]