As the door closed, Adam and Lanira approached the group of injured children. They took them to another carriage, perfectly sealed, with runes and inscriptions on its exterior. Upon opening the door, they threw them inside, leaving the green mist with them, and then shut it. As they did, the runes on the surface of the carriage turned a shade of yellow mixed with purple.
"Good, it's done. We'll see how they fare. I don't know if they're lucky or unlucky to have a metamorphosis chamber here," said Adam, with continuous clicks.
"Maybe. Now only their willpower will decide if they survive. The results of that experiment are highly unpredictable. Only madmen or people on the brink of death would attempt it. Although, with the tower's modifications, even if they turn into monsters, it won't matter because of the contract," Lanira commented with a tone of disgust as she looked at the carriage doors.
"Yes, but it's still better than death. Maybe they'll have a better future," replied Adam, his voice crackling. "Well, let's not waste time. Let's do what Lord Aldric said."
Adam urged Lanira to move away from the carriage and head toward the labyrinth.
"I hate doing this. Why don't we just leave them in the cave and let it reorganize them on its own? Why do we have to do it ourselves?" complained Lanira with an annoyed expression.
"Because they could get trapped in the walls of the labyrinth or break apart. Besides, the tower has to find a way to make us useful; they don't want their assets sitting idle. I don't think they have time to waste on something that already works well. For just a few simple bottles, there are more important experiments. And it's not like you're placing them yourself; you're just commanding the black knights," replied Adam, his voice clicking.
"Yeah, but it's boring. And we already lost our share of the rewards. There's no point in making this effort for free," Lanira said with a pitiful expression.
"That was your fault," Adam growled, angry. "When did it occur to you to invite Lord Aldric to that bet? If you hadn't done that, none of this would've happened. At least we would've had a tie, since our remaining competitors died on that bridge," Adam said with a sharp click, clearly upset about the loss, while several parts beneath his robe moved frantically.
"Don't remind me," Lanira replied, frustrated. "Who would've thought Lord Aldric had such a strange spell that let him know who won?" she said, angry that all her plans had failed, despite using a spell that was supposed to help her.
"Don't think you're free of blame. Do you think I didn't notice that you conveniently chose five children who somehow made it pretty far? Three of them even reached the bridge," said Adam, his voice rumbling.
"I would never do something like that. You can only blame your awful luck and poor judgment when choosing," Lanira replied coldly.
"Sure, you'd never cheat and you always have luck," Adam scoffed with a crackling tone. "In that case, I'll fill the outer zone of the dungeon. You take care of the interior. You'll probably get lucky and finish quickly," he said mockingly before vanishing in a flash.
"Bastard, how dare you?" said Lanira, furious, though no one was there to hear her. Then she turned, her shoulders trembling, and entered the labyrinth.
In that cavern, Eric, who had been unconscious, began to slowly open his eyes. A deep fatigue and intense headache tormented him.
"Damn, that almost killed me. My whole body hurts like hell," thought Eric, feeling as if he had been beaten over and over.
He tried to lift himself, but failed miserably, unable to move even a little.
"Well, at least that vial worked. If not, all this would've been for nothing," Eric murmured with difficulty. His face was pale, and a layer of sweat covered his skin from the experience.
Though he didn't know how or why, when he focused his gaze on a point in the air, he could glimpse something like particles—very faint and almost invisible—if he concentrated enough.
"Well, I just have to rest until my body can move. I hope it's quick, because I feel like I'm starving," said Eric, closing his eyes to rest and let his body recover. He also hoped the headache would fade soon; fortunately, since waking up, it had been slowly decreasing.
As if his prayers had been heard, he heard the sound of something hitting the grass nearby. Alarmed, he saw a black knight beside him. The knight had thrown a large chunk of meat near him, then turned and returned to where the other black knights were gathered.
"Well, at least I got the food I needed. Now the problem is I can't move. Ah, in the end, I just have to wait until the pain is bearable enough to move and eat," Eric murmured, exhausted.
At that moment, all he could do was focus on resting, observing, and trying to understand what those particles in his vision were.
After a few minutes, he gathered enough strength to move. Crawling, he reached the chunk of meat and, with the little energy he had left, began devouring it. For Eric, in his condition, it was the most delicious meal he had ever tasted.
"It's true, when you're hungry, even rocks taste good," Eric said with a playful tone.
Feeling satisfied after eating, he focused on resting until he had enough energy to stand normally.
"Well, at least that vial didn't kill me. Tsk, I almost felt like it was draining my life," Eric murmured, trying to comfort himself.
"Now I have to keep trying to sense mana, despite that setback. Those vials surely improved my mental power and let me see those strange things," said Eric, excited that everything he'd gone through had been worth it.
Before he could focus on the stone, a strong tremor shook the entire cave. Alarmed, Eric turned his head in all directions, trying to identify where the tremor was coming from, while watching the ceiling to avoid being crushed by falling rocks. Fortunately, nothing happened; despite the movement, no rocks fell from the cavern ceiling.
However, the particles in the air began to gather in the massive corridor. In Eric's view, it was as if a large number of lights were forming from various points near that passage, flowing and concentrating in a fixed spot until they took on a green color.
When all those streams of light merged, a vortex formed in the corridor. Then, a giant green whirlwind appeared, spinning continuously in that place.
Eric, along with the other children, stared at that point, expectant of what would emerge from it.
The first thing they saw were strange creatures with black skin, measuring about three to four meters tall. They were quadrupeds, with large muscles shifting under their dark skin as they walked with heavy steps over the rock.
They had horns on their heads, curved backward and to the sides, and sharp teeth in their wide mouths. Eric could've sworn they were wingless bats, except for the horns, but incredibly large and threatening, as if someone had taken the creature and stretched it until it became gigantic.
These beings wore chains around the upper part of their bodies, taut as they dragged carriages with large bars behind them.
"So they've arrived," Eric murmured.