"This can't be happening," Professor Fiske muttered, panic evident in his voice as he sprinted toward the library. He arrived at the door and paused, scanning the surroundings for any mana signals to ensure he wasn't being followed. He detected nothing and let out a small sigh of relief.
Pushing open the door with a burst of void magic, he ran inside, slamming the door shut behind him. "How is this happening?" he questioned aloud, his voice echoing off the stone walls. With a flick of his wrist, he opened his subspace and dragged out a corpse. It was the lifeless body of Lukas, whom he had killed the previous night. "Then who was the Lukas in my class today? My mind must be playing tricks on me." He sighed, trying to rationalize the impossible.
PAKK
The sudden sound of a book falling off a shelf startled Professor Fiske. He quickly stored the corpse back in his subspace and turned around, his heart pounding. His eyes widened in shock when he saw Lukas standing there, alive and well.
"Oops, my bad," Lukas said nonchalantly, turning to look at the professor. "Oh... good evening, Professor. I was just on my way out." He started walking toward the door.
"What the hell is happening? He seems to have no memory of what happened," Professor Fiske thought, his mind racing. "Oh..., evening Lukas. You love visiting the library, unlike other students," he said, forcing a smile.
"How can you say that, Professor? This is just my first time here since I arrived at the academy yesterday," Lukas responded.
"Uh? Weren't you here yesterday?" Fiske asked, trying to confirm his suspicions.
"No, I wasn't," Lukas said, continuing to stride toward the door.
"We have something to discuss, Arcadian," Fiske said, appearing in front of Lukas and blocking the exit. He extended his palm and pushed at the air, sending Lukas flying backward into the wall. This time, he used more power than he had the previous day. The sheer impact of Lukas's body slamming against the wall made his body scatter into pieces, with blood splatters everywhere.
"I don't know what kind of trick this is, but I know I just put an end to it," Fiske sighed triumphantly. Suddenly, he found himself in the same spot he was in when he heard the book fall off the shelf. "Uh?... What the hell is this? I was over there just a second ago," he said, pointing to where he once stood.
"Oops, my bad," Lukas's voice echoed again.
Fiske turned towards the sound, only to see Lukas standing alive once more. "Uh... wh.. wh... what the hell is happening?" Fiske stammered, alternating his gaze between Lukas and the spot where his dead body had been, but he couldn't find any trace of it.
"Anything the matter, Professor?" Lukas asked with a worried look on his face.
"Uh...? Oh... It's nothing," Fiske said, sweating profusely.
"Are you sure about that? Because you look like you've just seen a ghost," Lukas asked, still feigning concern.
"I said I'm fine, you idiot!" Fiske yelled, his voice cracking.
"Okay... no hard feelings, Prof. I was on my way out," Lukas said, walking toward the door.
"I have to end this in a very swift way. He won't be able to perform his trick," Fiske thought to himself. Suddenly, a black hole appeared over Lukas's head, sucking him in.
"It's over now. You can never escape this one. It's my ultimate move," Fiske breathed heavily.
Then again...
"I'm on my way out, Professor. Please excuse me," Lukas said, attempting to walk past the professor.
"Raaaargh!" Fiske roared, cutting off Lukas's head with a swift motion.
The whole process of Fiske killing Lukas and the latter coming back to life repeated itself over a hundred times until Fiske collapsed on the floor, exhausted. "What sort of magic is this? Just who are you?" Fiske said, staring at Lukas, who had revived at the exact spot where the book had fallen from the shelf.
"Hmmm, don't you want to kill me anymore?" Lukas asked, smiling mockingly.
"You're a monster," Fiske said, panting heavily.
"Yeah, you're right. I'm a monster, and so are you," Lukas replied. "You were trapped in an endless loop ever since the moment you raised your sword against me yesterday. You'll live in this same scene forever."
"What sort of magic is that? That can only be done by Arch Time Mages. And the last Time Mage died 300 years ago," Fiske screamed. "And besides, you're an Ice Mage."
"Yeah, the last Time Mage, Andre Parker, right? He was such a close friend until he became a slave to the Ice Dragons."
"F... friend?" Fiske stuttered in disbelief.
"Like I said, I'm a monster, the greatest of all kinds. My magic isn't magic. They're called skills, meaning I can perform any of those puny tricks you normally do. I'm green, although sometimes, I can alter my body as I will. What am I?" Lukas asked in a mocking tone as his hand suddenly took the form of a sharp sword.
"You're... you're a slime?!!!" Fiske screamed out like a lunatic.
"INCORRECT!!! I'm the Slime Lord, or I was," Lukas said.
"You... you fool... You shouldn't have told me who you are. I'll expose you," Fiske roared in anger.
"Oh... dude... You're in a time loop. You can't contact the outside world." Lukas facepalmed. "I'm in control here. If you want a chance at survival, you need to start telling me all you know. Who is Elena? Why do you want to kill me, and tell me all you know about the Ice Dragons."
"Never! Not even until I die, I'd say nothing," Fiske yelled.
"Of course, I wasn't expecting you to say something. I just wanted to confirm if you knew something, and your answer just confirmed it." Lukas placed his hands on Fiske's head, and suddenly his eyes glowed dark red.
"Arghhhh!" Fiske screamed out in pain.
"Oh... I see, she's your niece, huh?" Lukas smiled in satisfaction. He had gotten all the answers he needed. What he just did was view Fiske's memories. That was just one of the unlimited skills in his arsenal.
Suddenly Lukas's voice turned cold as he spoke. "I'll be needing you for a while, so I'll keep you alive. But don't get your hopes up. Keeping you alive doesn't mean freeing you from the loop." Lukas said as he turned away and then disappeared.
Fiske lay on the ground, gasping for breath, his mind racing. He had never encountered such power, such absolute control over reality. The revelation that Lukas was the Slime Lord, a creature of legend and terror, was almost too much to bear. How had he managed to infiltrate the academy, to hide his true nature for so long?
"Lukas... the Slime Lord... How is this possible?" Fiske muttered, his voice barely a whisper. He tried to gather his thoughts, to come up with a plan, but the exhaustion and the mental strain of the time loop made it difficult to think clearly.
The library, once a place of knowledge and refuge, now felt like a prison. Fiske looked around, his eyes darting from one shadow to another, half-expecting Lukas to reappear at any moment. He knew he couldn't escape the loop on his own. His only hope was to find a way to break Lukas's control, but how?
Fiske's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps. He looked up to see Lukas standing before him once more, his expression unreadable.
"You're still here," Fiske said, his voice trembling.
"I told you, Professor. You're trapped in this loop until I decide otherwise," Lukas replied calmly. "But I have more questions for you."
Fiske's heart sank. He knew that as long as he was trapped in this loop, Lukas would continue to interrogate him, to pry every secret from his mind. He had to find a way to resist, to protect the knowledge he held.
"Why do you care about the Ice Dragons, Lukas?" Fiske asked, trying to buy time.
"I wonder what you'd do if your whole race was slaughtered? Would you care about the killers? What matters right now is that I need information, and you have it," Lukas said, his eyes narrowing. "Now, tell me everything you know."
Fiske gritted his teeth, refusing to speak. He knew that any information he gave Lukas could be used against him, against the academy, against the world. He couldn't let that happen.
"Stubborn until the end, I see," Lukas said with a sigh. "Very well, if you won't talk willingly, I'll just have to extract the information from you."
Lukas placed his hand on Fiske's head once more, his eyes glowing with a sinister light. Fiske screamed as his mind was invaded, his memories laid bare for Lukas to see. The pain was excruciating, but Fiske knew he couldn't give in. He had to protect the secrets he held, no matter the cost.
After what felt like an eternity, Lukas finally released him. Fiske lay on the ground, trembling and gasping for breath.
"Interesting," Lukas said, a smile playing on his lips. "You've been hiding quite a bit, Professor. But now I know everything I need."
Fiske looked up at Lukas, his eyes filled with a mix of fear and defiance. "You'll never win, Lukas. No matter what you do, you'll never defeat us."
"Is that so?" Lukas replied, his tone mocking. "We'll see about that, Professor. We'll see. And besides, this is the new loop, you'll have to go through the process of your memories being viewed forever"
With that, Lukas turned and walked away, leaving Fiske to his thoughts. The professor knew he had to find a way to break the loop and escape Lukas' control. But for now, he could only endure and hope that someone, somewhere, would come to his rescue.