After Work, I Brought Home a Devilish Beauty - Chapter 44

The laboratory remained eerily silent.

After a long while, Yuichi frowned.

“…Am I imagining things?”

“Doesn’t it feel like it’s getting hotter in here?”

He wiped the sweat from his forehead.

The temperature was rising fast.

Chiba glanced at him.

It was obvious…

Yuichi still had no idea what was happening.

“…Look above you.”

“Huh?”

Yuichi looked up at the ceiling.

The moment he did—

“…What?!”

A fierce flame burned near one corner of the ceiling.

There was nothing there that should have been able to catch fire.

For a moment, Yuichi thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.

He rubbed them repeatedly before looking again.

The fire was still there.

“…What’s going on?”

“There’s nothing up there!”

“How is it burning?”

Seeing his confusion, Chiba calmly explained,

“…A spell has been activated.”

“It’s igniting the air itself.”

“The flames aren’t burning anything.”

“They’re simply… burning.”

“…What?”

Although Yuichi didn’t fully understand her explanation…

He understood one thing.

This was very, very bad.

“…Can we put it out?”

Chiba slowly shook her head.

“No.”

“Magic-enhanced flames cannot be extinguished by ordinary means.”

“…Then what?”

“When the spell ends…”

“The fire will disappear on its own.”

Yuichi looked hopeful for exactly one second.

“…How long until then?”

“…About thirty minutes.”

“Oh.”

“That’s not too—”

Chiba continued calmly.

“…By then…”

“We’ll already have been burned to ashes.”

Yuichi stared at her.

“…Could you not say something that terrifying so casually?!”

His face was on the verge of tears.

He still hadn’t found a girlfriend.

He hadn’t even begun enjoying life.

Was he really going to die here?

The flames gradually spread across the ceiling.

The room grew hotter with every passing minute.

Yuichi rushed back to the door.

“Hey!”

“Open this door!”

“Damn it!”

“Let us out!”

Despite his frantic shouting…

Only he seemed to be panicking.

Chiba and Lucifer remained surprisingly composed.

After observing the room, Chiba looked toward a small window near the ceiling.

“…Lucifer.”

“Can you jump up there?”

Lucifer measured the distance.

Then he shook his head.

“…Without magic…”

“The jump is too high.”

“I can’t reach it.”

“…I see.”

Chiba quietly fell into thought.

As she searched for another solution…

Her eyes landed on Yuichi.

An idea suddenly came to her.

“…What if we use Yuichi as a stepping stone?”

Yuichi immediately turned around.

“…Excuse me?”

“What kind of joke is that?”

“Even if you stood on me…”

“It wouldn’t work.”

“…It might.”

Lucifer answered before Yuichi had even finished speaking.

“…You’re serious?!”

Yuichi looked completely dumbfounded.

There were countless pieces of heavy laboratory equipment nearby.

Surely they could use one of those instead.

But after looking around…

He realized none of them could be moved.

“…Seriously.”

“I really have no choice with you two.”

With a resigned sigh…

Yuichi walked over to the wall.

“…Fine.”

“I’ll do it.”

He crouched down.

Lucifer took several steps back before sprinting forward.

He planted one foot on Yuichi’s shoulder…

Then launched himself upward.

After several failed attempts…

His fingers finally caught the edge of the window.

“…!”

Lucifer pulled himself up just enough to look outside.

Then…

His expression froze.

A thick layer of steel bars completely sealed the opening.

There was no way through.

He quietly dropped back to the floor.

“…The window is blocked.”

“We can’t escape that way.”

Yuichi’s final hope shattered.

“…No…”

His exhausted body collapsed onto the floor.

He no longer had the strength to care.

Behind him…

Chiba and Lucifer continued trying to force open the sealed door.

But Yuichi simply closed his eyes.

Forget it.

Maybe…

This is where I die.

The fire continued spreading.

Laboratory equipment cracked and burst apart as the unbearable heat intensified.

Time slowly slipped away.

Then…

A loud noise echoed from outside.

Yuichi slowly opened his eyes.

The intense heat had begun clouding his vision.

For a moment…

He wondered if he was hallucinating.

The laboratory door—

The one that had refused to budge no matter what—

Was suddenly split open by a single slash.

Standing in the doorway…

Was the silhouette of a small girl.

Yuichi stared blankly.

“…An angel?”

Or perhaps…

“…A god?”