CHAPTER 215: CHAPTER 215

"Well, your voice is also annoying me in my mind," Edge shot back, a hint of defiance in his tone. He was clearly as lost in the mental chaos as the rest of us.

"Okay, that’s it!" I yelled, lunging at Edge in a burst of anger, aiming to at least smack some sense into him. My hand shot forward, but Ezekiel quickly stepped in, grabbing me mid-thrash, holding me back as I struggled like a wild cat clawing at the air.

"Zeke, let me go!" I barked, desperate to reach Edge, my eyes blazing with frustration and fury.

"Bring it on, then!" Edge said with a smirk, standing confidently as if eager for a confrontation, eyes gleaming with challenge.

"Remillia, calm down. Edge, stop annoying Remillia further," Ezekiel urged, trying to defuse the tension.

But I ignored Ezekiel, my anger burning brighter. "Let me go, Zeke! I should teach that brat a lesson!"

"Brat? You called me a brat?" Edge said, stepping closer, annoyance written on his face.

"Edge, stop right there!" Ezekiel snapped, glaring fiercely at him.

Suddenly, Pierre cut in, voice urgent. "Stop fighting! Didn’t you guys notice?"

"NOTICE WHAT?!" The three of us shouted in unison, frustration and confusion lacing our voices.

Pierre hesitated for a moment before finally speaking. "The voices... they’re gone."

We all froze, our minds suddenly silent—the relentless echo of the internal chaos fading away.

"Hah... will you look at that?" Edge said, a smug grin spreading across his face as he glanced at me.

"You just got lucky," I replied, my anger easing but a lingering suspicion still in my mind. Maybe Edge isn’t entirely useless—

"...Or not," Pierre suddenly cut in, his voice sharp and serious, eyes fixed on the shadows flickering across the crystal walls.

The brief calm I’d felt evaporated instantly, replaced by frustration. I turned my glare onto Edge. "Will you look at that?"

Edge’s smirk faltered, and he looked away, ignoring me. But I kept my eyes locked on him, fire blazing.

Suddenly, the shadows within the crystal walls surged with life, twisting and elongating as they moved. One of the crystal shadows swung a shadowy fist and punched Edge’s shadow, causing him to stumble back, grimacing in pain.

Edge tried to retaliate, throwing a punch, but his fist met only empty air—his shadow attacking into the void. The crystal shadow then drew a dark, shimmering sword from within the shadows and lunged at him.

Reacting swiftly, Edge shifted his body, dodging the attack and using his own shadow to counterattack the crystal shadow.

Pierre and Ezekiel moved to assist him, but I raised my hand to stop them. "Do you have anything to say to us?" I asked as my eyes locked on Edge.

"I have nothing to say!" Edge shouted back, just as five more crystal shadows emerged, their forms twisting menacingly.

"Then have fun fighting those shadows!" I snapped, frustration boiling over.

"Fine!" Edge yelled, his voice cracking. "It’s my fault! Are you happy now?" He parried a shadowy strike, desperation clear in his tone.

"And...?" I prompted, my gaze sharp, waiting for him to say more.

"You witch!" Edge spat, swinging at the shadow crystals with renewed fury. "Please, help me!"

"That’s not so hard now isn’t it?" I said while smirking as I turned to Pierre and Zeke. "Pierre, Zeke, you may help him now," I said calmly, stepping back to give them space, trusting them to handle the shadows.

While I waited for Pierre, Ezekiel, and Edge to finish their fight, I announced, "I’ll go find the exit first!" and moved alone, determined to locate a way out amidst the chaos.

As I made my way through the labyrinthine corridors, the crystal shadows immediately sensed my movement and began to follow closely behind. Instead of fighting them directly, I turned and sprinted away, adrenaline flooding my senses with every step.

For ten long minutes, I dodged and darted through the twisting passages, the shadows always just behind me, relentless in their pursuit. Finally, I saw the exit ahead. I exhaled in relief, eyes fixed on the door as I turned to go back to the boys. But the crystal shadows had already encircled my shadow, trapping it so my physical body couldn’t pass through.

Annoyed, I clenched my teeth as I activated Feral Strike, summoning the condensed essence of white magic into my daggers. With a swift, calculated throw, I pierced the shadows, causing an explosion that shattered the surrounding walls. The blast was powerful, but in the chaos, my own shadow was caught in the crossfire. I felt a searing pain as my physical body took a hit, wounds opening across my right arm.

The surroundings darkened even further, shadows thickening and swirling ominously around me. Ignoring the pain screaming through me, I pushed forward, dashing back towards where I’d left Pierre, Ezekiel, and Edge.

When I arrived, the scene was even worse—the shadows had multiplied into hundreds, flooding the space and blocking any escape routes.

"Move back! Get your shadows away as fast as you can!" I commanded urgently. Without hesitation, I threw my dagger into the wall, activating an explosion that sent shockwaves rippling through the labyrinth, aiming to clear a path.

The very crystal labyrinth cried out in pain as the blast echoed through the tunnels. Then the entire labyrinth plunged into darkness—no light could be seen, cloaking everything in pitch black. I was the only one could see clearly as I pulled Pierre, Ezekiel, and Edge to my side.

"Let’s go!" I urged, sensing the approaching tide of crystal shadows closing in.

"We can’t see anything! It’s like we’re blind!" Ezekiel shouted, panic evident in his voice.

"Don’t worry about anything! Just run!" I yelled, throwing a dagger at a nearby group of approaching shadows, its blade piercing through the darkness to buy us a moment. We sprinted forward as I pulled them to the exit.

After three exhausting hours, we finally emerged from the crystal labyrinth, the crystal shadows still scratching an invisible wall that divided the dimensions. We sank to the ground, trying to catch our breath and gather our strength for the next trip.

Pierre, panting heavily, grumbled, "How many more dimensions shall we pass before we reach the top?!" his voice tinged with annoyance.

Ezekiel looked ahead with a hint of hope. "Hopefully, this will be the last one."

While they focused on recovering, I silently accessed the system shop, purchasing recovery vials to help us heal. Carefully, I handed each of them a vial.

Pierre noticed the vials and asked, "Where did you get this?" his eyes narrowing slightly.

I forced a casual smile, lying smoothly, "I bought it with me before this exam started."

Ezekiel accepted his vial gratefully. "Thanks," he said sincerely.

Just as I reached out to hand a vial to Edge, I paused, glaring sharply at him. "Before I give you this, promise me you won’t touch a single thing once we start moving, understand?"

Edge looked annoyed but nodded begrudgingly. "I understand," he muttered.

Satisfied, I finally handed him the vial. His expression softened slightly as he took it.

We took a moment to rest, catching our breath and assessing our surroundings. As I looked around, I noticed the dimension we were in now. Everywhere, objects that should have appeared ordinary were massive and imposing—trees towering like skyscrapers, furniture the size of buildings, and everything seeming surreal and overwhelming.

’It seems like we’re in the "Alicia in Wonderland" dimension,’ I thought, my mind racing. ’Hopefully, we’ll easily find the exit soon.’

True to his word, Edge didn’t touch a thing—literally didn’t touch anything. He kept his hands to himself as we carefully scouted the enormous landscape around us.

After some searching, we spotted the exit—perched atop a massive table that loomed like a mountain. The challenge was how to get up there. We needed to find a way to activate some mechanism or leverage to climb.

We all went to work, finding for any mechanism and I noticed Edge was standing silently, nonchalantly watching us. My gut was telling me that something’s wrong so I came over to check it and it turns out this stupid brat, Edge, found the lever all along, hidden beneath a pile of oversized books but he did not pull it yet.

I clenched my fists slightly, trying to keep my temper in check. "Why didn’t you pull the lever?" I asked, my voice steady but with a hint of frustration.

He looked at me, shrugging as if it was obvious. "You ordered me not to touch anything, right?" he replied simply, his tone almost innocent.

I clenched my fists, my voice rising. "I specifically told you not to TOUCH anything, but I didn’t say you couldn’t SPEAK! Why didn’t you tell us you found it?"

Edge shrugged casually. "Oh, right. I just assumed you’d be annoyed if I spoke, since you’re already annoyed at me for opening my mouth."

My jaw dropped, frustration boiling over. I yanked at my hair in exasperation. "Aaaaahhhhh! You spoiled brat! I should’ve kicked you in the first place! Sassy mouth! Grrr!"

Edge watched me with an amused smirk, clearly entertained by my outburst. His eyes sparkled with mischief, as if he enjoyed pushing my buttons just a little.