Chapter 521 – Stairway To Hell

Before me, the final trial in the obstacle course lay. It was a simple path to the doors ahead—but a narrow one. Beside it, on either side, were lava pools down below. From the lava rose four spinning wooden structures, each holding a spiked metal ball. The structures each spun at different speeds, flailing around the balls wildly, and with zero pattern whatsoever. Sometimes, they even changed direction all of a sudden, and there was no way to tell when they would do so.

It was like the pendulum challenge from before, but the luck factor was amplified thousandfold—and I didn’t like it one bit.

“… This better give me some insanely good rewards,” I muttered, tired of doing this the ‘fair’ way. I could easily blast through this entire place, after all. Even nuking this whole volcano wasn’t outside of my capabilities.

Since the wooden pillars also varied in altitude from time to time, going up wasn’t an option. There was no ‘preparing’ for this. I just had to go straight in, and adapt as the metal balls come flying towards me.

Narrowing my eyes, I went for it.

Sliding underneath the first one, I immediately transitioned and jumped over the second as it came flying towards me. Then, I predicted I had enough time to just run past the third as it was spinning in the same direction I was going, but it suddenly changed. My eyes widened briefly, but luckily, I had enough time to react and evaded with a deft tumble to the left.

The challenge was not yet over; however, as the fourth and final flailing metal ball crashed down directly in front of me, sending debris and dust into my eyes.

“Tch-!” I hurriedly blocked my face with my arms, but the impact sent me flying backwards a short distance—straight towards the other pillars.

Quickly regaining my balance by digging my feet into the ground, I had no choice but to launch myself forward. If I did, I would be ramming face-first into the fourth metal flail, but if I didn’t, I would be turned to minced meat by the other three.

I think I know which option I like better.

Preparing my fist in a last-ditch attempt to secure victory, I gave up on doing this fair and square. I didn’t care anymore—my life was on the line here. Charging my hand up with my own fire that rivaled Ignis’s, as if to spite him, I punched with all my might straight into the flailing spiked metal ball—

“FUCK… YOU…!”

—and shattered it.

Immediately, all the other mechanisms in the corridor of death stopped moving, and everything faded to silence for a brief moment as I panted.

“Hah… hah… hah…”

My Chaosborne flames had devoured the ones on the metal ball, making my own power stronger, and thus able to break the machinery. It would be a lie if I said that didn’t take a lot of adrenaline and stamina, though, and damn did my hand hurt like a bitch right now.

Still, I did not give in. To hell with this place. ‘Fuck you’ seemed suitable for the emotions I felt towards Ignis right now. And if these two doors didn’t open up right this very moment, I was ready to blow it—and the rest of this entire volcano—to smithereens.

But contrary to what I had in mind, the laughter of a cheery old man not unlike Terrarim filled my ears, along with the sound of applause.

“Bravo, bravo! Ha ha ha! It has been a long time since someone has visited me… and the first time someone has ever beaten my challenge! Well done, brave soul, well done.”

“… Ignis?” I raised an eyebrow at how he sounded so happy despite the insults I flung at him just now, and Terrarim sighed.

“This is just how he is. You will get used to it.”

“…” I didn’t respond to that, mainly because my focus was now set on the doors before me—which, by the way, just rolled open.

“Come, young man! I will meet you at the top of the gates of hell! Ha ha ha!”

Ignis’s booming voice echoed throughout the volcano as I blinked at his words, wondering if I heard them correctly.

And then, I peered out the door, and saw my answer.

“… You’ve got to be kidding me.”

*****

Outside the corridor of death, a vast, open cavern awaited. This was the heart of the volcano, the deepest, hottest part. Despite the lack of any fire or heat source close by, the enormous pool of steaming lava dozens of feet below where I was standing right now was enough to make sweat leak through the pores of my body.

Half-broken bridges weaved passages between ledges attached to massive pillars that rose out of the magma, and small floating islands in the air that seemed to be supported by nothing but the sheer steam arising from the lava. One misstep, and I would fall through and die a fiery, burning death, no questions asked.

Like with the other Empyrean’s lairs, Sky Magic—flying, in particular—was disabled here, meaning I couldn’t simply ascend to the top. In fact, any sort of magic was disabled—I couldn’t even build my way to the top either. Ignis wanted me to climb this the legitimate way, but…

… I’d imagine this was a lot easier thousands of years ago when all these bridges weren’t 80% broken.

Still, complaining wasn’t going to get me anywhere. Readying myself for a long ride, I cautiously stepped on the first bridge I was going to be taking. This one would lead me to a pillar rising out of the lava below—or, well, a ledge on the pillar, anyway.

There were just two problems: one, about half of the planks on the bridge were missing, meaning I would have to do jumps to make it across, and two… this bridge did not look safe whatsoever. It was made of… wood? Inside a volcano. Yeah… it doesn’t take a genius to imagine how that would go after thousands of years. The fact that the railings on either side were made of simple and old rope didn’t exactly help either.

Hell, even if I didn’t have to jump, just walking across would still be frightening as heck. Judging simply from the looks, it was a miracle this thing was still in place—although in a battered shape.

I gulped, and cautiously stepped one foot onto the bridge, just to test it out. As expected, it was wobbly—but it held. I grasped the railings on either side with my hands tightly, like they were my life itself (they might as well be). For a second, I hesitated whether or not I wanted to really do this. But upon remembering how happy the girls looked when I told them about the ‘immortality’ we would all benefit from if I inherited the powers of all four Empyreans, I decided to still give it a shot.

I mean, what’s the worst that could happen? I die? Pfft, big deal. I have a second life anyway.

… At least, that’s what I was trying to tell myself to pump my own spirits up.

Taking a deep breath, I gently set my other foot onto the plank as well, ready to backpedal the moment I felt like it was going to give in. Surprisingly, however, it still held. The bridge was shaking slightly, but it somehow held my weight. I wasn’t exactly heavy, but still, this was impressive.

… Almost impressive enough for me to believe in its quality.

Soon came the first true jump I had to make—the rest I could barely reach if I really tried with my legs. But this one was simply not possible.

By now, I was at the middle of the bridge—right where the shaking was most violent. As a result, my body was shaking alongside the bridge itself, and it wasn’t a comfortable feeling. I wanted to simply dangle over using the rope railings, but they were thin and weak enough to simply collapse under the pressure, and I wasn’t about to risk losing my only source of safety on this goddamned bridge.

Taking a deep breath, I crouched down slightly. I didn’t want to make too big of a jump—just slightly into the air, but far. That way, when I landed, the impact on the wooden plank would be minimal.

“Alright… here we go.”

Gripping the railings tightly, I jumped forward, careful not to rely on the rope too much. When I landed, the entire bridge shook violently, and for a second, I thought I was done for—the bridge was going to collapse into the lava. But then… by some miracle, it remained intact. Just barely, but intact.

Letting out a deep sigh of relief, I regained my composure and made my way across the rest of it.. Thankfully, that gap in the middle was the only one big enough to have to jump to make it across, and I made it to the ledge safely.