"How can I be so childish, so stupid?!!!" Alan muttered aloud.
His words were punctuated by the resounding thud of his fist striking the stone wall nearby, the blow landed with force, leaving a crack on the brick in its wake. The impact reverberated through the corridor, echoing the frustration that gnawed at him from within.
—-bhdaam!!!—-
—-bhdaam!!!—-
As Alan grappled with his own thoughts, the sound of another strike against the wall startled him. It was Armis, his frustration mirroring Alan's own. "Damn it!!!" Armis's voice rang out in the air.
"Like that's gonna help," Lyco's voice cut through the tense air, as he stepped forward, irritation curling on his brows . Alan's attention snapped back to the present, his senses sharpening as Lyco's words pierced through his self-doubt. He knew Lyco was right—it wasn't the time for self-pity.
"How long have we been asleep?!" Alan's voice rang out urgently, addressing Lyco and Aurelia.
Lyco and Aurelia exchanged puzzled glances, frustration evident in their expressions. Lyco stepped forward, his irritation barely concealed as he replied, "How the hell do we know, dude?!! We just woke up moments before you, and there are no windows here, remember?!! We're in Relic Castle."
Lyco's response resonated with the reality of their situation. The labyrinth offered no glimpse of the outside world; devoid of sunlight or the moon's glow, it offered no clues about the time of day they were experiencing. Yet, Alan refused to succumb to despair. He attempted to infuse optimism into the somber atmosphere.
"Anyway, it doesn't matter. They couldn't have gone far. Armis!!!" Alan called out to Armis, who was still grappling with his frustration against the wall, he initiated a conversation to outline their next steps.
"Okay, so you three stay here," he gestured toward Aurelia, Lyco, and Relecta. Despite Relecta's attempt to interject, Alan silenced her with a firm gesture, proceeding with his explanation, "This place seems safe enough, and since we don't know what awaits us further, it's best to proceed cautiously. Armis and I will advance to intercept them before they get too far. Understood?!!"
Alan's authoritative tone resonated through the corridor as he addressed his team. Lyco, acknowledging Alan's logic, nodded in agreement, his voice carrying a tone of fury.
"You're damn right. You and Armis can move faster without us. Just promise me one thing, Alan," Lyco's eyes bore into Alan's with intensity as he spoke, his voice tinged with anger. "When you catch them, beat the shit out of them!!"
Alan acknowledged Lyco's demand with a determined nod. He swiftly seized Armis's arm, pulling him along towards the corridor's exit. With a reassuring shout back to his friends, Alan said, "Don't worry! We'll be back as soon as possible!"
Exiting the corridor, Alan surveyed their surroundings, yet found only the familiar, monotonous walls of the labyrinth. With determination, he peered ahead, straining to discern the silhouette of the gate leading to the next floor, barely visible beyond the threshold. Urgently, he tugged at Armis's arm, but found him dragging his feet, lost in self-recrimination. Alan turned, attempting to ignite a sense of urgency within him.
"Come on, Armis, we don't have time for self-pity! We need to catch them before they—"
"Why?!" Armis's interruption was sharp, yanking away his hand from Alan's; his frustration reverberated in the labyrinth.
Gritting his teeth in frustration, Armis directed his gaze away from Alan, his voice rising in agitation as he poured out his self-doubt.
"Why? Why do you even need me?!"
Confused and concerned, Alan responded, "What are you talking about?"
"Why do you even need me? Huh? I've done nothing but fail you and our team as a leader! I couldn't even provide straight answers to their questions. You've been the one leading us forward, taking charge when I failed as a LEADER!"
Alan, unsure how to console Armis, approached him with comforting words, "No, Armis, it's not—"
"No, it is!" Armis interrupted, his voice trembling with emotion. "When I tried to make a decision, to do something for my team, I trusted strangers like a foolish child, leading us straight into the den of hyenas. I'm not even sure why I agreed to lead the group. I should've known that my incompetence would put us in danger. I'm not a good leader, I AM USELESS ALAN!!!"
As Armis vented his frustration, Alan listened, his expression a mix of empathy and concern. But suddenly, Alan stepped forward and delivered a punch to Armis, who fell to the ground in shock. Alan stood over him, his voice stern as he scolded Armis.
"What's gotten into you, Armis? What are you saying? What happened isn't just your fault. We all made a mistake, letting our guard down, trusting those snakes!"
Alan said as he lowered his voice, reaching out his hand to Armis, who met his gaze with a stern expression. After a moment, Armis grabbed Alan's hand, pulling himself back up. Alan continued, his tone firm but compassionate.
"This place is just as new to you as it is to the rest of us. Mistakes happen, Armis. I make them, too. No one here expects you to have all the answers or to be perfect. NO ONE blames you for what happened, except you," Alan emphasized, his voice tinged with frustration. "Hating yourself like a child won't help us get our stuff back from those thieves. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!"
Alan yelled one last time at Armis, looking straight into his eyes, trying to instill that what he was feeling was not right. Everyone starts from somewhere, everyone stumbles and falls, but what makes us better than everyone around us is how we stand back up and push through.
"So are you or are you not gonna help me catch those thieves?!" Alan's voice echoed through the labyrinth.
The intensity in Alan's words ignited a spark in Armis' eyes. With newfound determination, he tightened his grip on Alan's hand. "YES!!! Let's find those bastards and get our stuff back!!!"
Alan nodded in agreement, his gaze now relieved and pumped up. They both turned ahead, glancing at each other, summoning all their strength. With a mighty leap, they propelled themselves forward, their force nearly breaking the floor beneath their feet, running through the labyrinth in blurring speed.
8th Floor
"I don't think they are even here, Alan. Are you sure they didn't go back to Pompeii?" Armis asked as they ventured through the familiar stone and brick labyrinth of the 8th floor in search of Tritrus and Alina.
Alan, scanning around for clues, replied to Armis's question in a hopeful tone, "I doubt that. As far as I can remember, before drugging us, Tritrus made sure I was distracted. They are experts at what they did to us. My theory is that they prey upon new beginning Raiders by using their nice demeanor, then drug them, loot them of their belongings, and leave them to become rat's dinner. Their acting, facade, process—all were rock solid. So, I am sure they do this for a living, and they won't get scared by some rookie raiders. If I am right, they are now headed towards their original base."
Alan shared his deductions, a sign that he had begun regaining his sharp senses and mindset, which astounded Armis. With astonishment in his voice, he said, "Wow, that is some fair deduction. I can't help but feel jealous of you. You are the one more suited to lead this party."
Armis restarted his self-contemplation as Alan turned to him and passed an irritating gaze. He began speaking in a taunting yet teaching tone, "Armis..."
"Yeah, yeah, I know, Alan, but still," Armis replied.
Keeping his irritated gaze on Armis, Alan shifted his expression with a sigh and blinked. He turned back ahead and in an inquiring tone asked, "Hmmm… okay, Armis, tell me this. Do you know what is the most important thing a successful leader should have?"
Following Alan behind, Armis pondered for a moment before replying, "Hmmmm... knowledge?"
"Support! Support from his team," Alan said, his voice echoing in the empty labyrinth as the silhouette of the next gate began appearing in their threshold.
"We all chose you to be our leader, not me. It's true that a leader should possess knowledge, but we don't always look at you for the solution to every problem. We look at you for guidance, for a direction. Whether it's right or wrong, we will follow you anywhere because we support you, and we face everything together."
Armis blushed slightly at Alan's comforting words. He realized that being a knowledgeable leader wasn't what his friends wanted from him; they just wanted his support and guidance because they trusted him. Grateful for Alan's words, Armis asked him in a friendly tone, "Okay, I think I understand now. Thank you, Alan, for showing patience with me. And I wanted to ask, can I rely on your advice when I'm unsure about my guidance?"
Alan walked casually while scanning the surroundings, replying nonchalantly, "Sure, anytime, dude."
As Armis contemplated further, a question sprang up in his mind, something they hadn't thought about since their arrival, something as important as their survival in the Relic Castle. So, Armis raised an inquiring voice and asked Alan, "Alan, have you thought about it?"
"About what?" Alan replied.
"About how we're going to deal with Augustus?" Armis asked, gazing at Alan expectantly.
Alan kept walking, pausing before answering. In the same calm voice, he replied, "Can't say I have. But we have to think about it once we get through all this."
Armis stayed quiet for a moment, wanting to make sure to himself how Alan would react to his next question. Realizing there was no way to know unless he expressed his concern, he shot the question at Alan, "So... what do you think? Can we beat him?"
Alan replied to Armis's question instantaneously, as though he was expecting it from Armis, surprising even him. With the same consistent calmness, Alan said, "I'm not sure right now. We don't know how strong he has gotten since last time, but we have to try because it's either us killing him or Longiseus killing us."
"Do you think he was serious?" Armis asked after contemplating Alan's reply.
"Who? Longiseus?" Alan asked.
"Yes. Don't you think maybe he was just trying to scare us so we do what he wants?" Armis asked, keeping a tinge of hope in his voice.
"I don't think so. Did you take him for a person who would joke around with death threats when you met him?"
Alan asked, making Armis remember Longiseus' grave demeanor and choice of words whenever he had addressed his demands to them.
"Maybe you're right... then there's Leo. I don't know if he's even alive or not…" Armis mumbled aloud, expressing his concern for his childhood friend as they suddenly stopped in front of the giant gate leading to the next floor.
"C'mon, I'm sure we're gonna find them on the next floor," Alan said with a confident tone, surprising Armis. Moving forward beside Alan, Armis followed his gaze to the bottom of the door.
"See the dust? It's been swept inside and blown away not too long ago. A clear sign that someone opened the gate recently."
Upon Alan's observation, Armis noticed the absence of dust on the floor near the bottom of the gate. With hardly any air circulation in the labyrinth, the only explanation was that the gate had been opened and closed on its own. Armis gazed at the gate and placed his hands on it, saying, "Well then, what are we waiting for?" Alan joined him in his effort to open the gate.
"I kind of feel bad for the little girl," said Alina in a disappointed tone as she walked behind Tritrus, who was counting the last sack of gold coins from Team Goliath's belongings.
"Nah! I think those kids were stupid. I mean, who trusts a complete stranger so easily, eats what they give them, and sleeps so carelessly? And all that in a place like Relic Castle. It was like they were asking to get robbed," Tritus replied to Alina, his tone mocking as he put the coin sack back into Armis' knapsack, smiling at the quantity of their loot.
"Well, to be fair, it was the Drizza herb that made them sleep like that. The others were easy to deceive, but I had to put extra in that kid's soup. He almost caught on to our act," Alina said as she walked ahead, joining Tritrus by his side.
"Yeah, the rest of them were too stupid, but that kid... he had something in his eyes that even made me doubt our plan," Tritus admitted.
Yeah, well, I still wish we could have brought that little girl with us. Oh, she was so cute! I always wanted a daughter like her."
"Don't be stupid, Alina. Do you think if we were to bring her with us and she woke up, she'd start calling you mommy?" Tritrus scolded, to which Alina pouted, displaying her annoyance.
Seeing her reaction, Tritrus quickly turned mischievous. He stopped and pulled Alina into his embrace, as he touched her bosom, groping her suggestively as he whispered in a seductive voice, "Oh, babe, if you want kids, you should have told me. Let's start making them once we get to our base."
Alina chuckled at his teasing as she joined her lips to him, leaning in to his advances, but their moment was abruptly interrupted by a loud thud.
Startled, they quickly separated and assumed defensive stances. Tritrus swiftly unbuttoned the top of his white overall, revealing his mark on his lower neck, from which he summoned his dagger with a green glow.
Alina mirrored his actions, lifting her skirt to reveal her mark on her right thigh and drawing her identical dagger.
They stood poised with their weapons at the ready, but a moment of eerie silence followed the echoing thud of the gate's closure. Tritrus turned to Alina, a puzzled expression on his face.
"What the hell was that?!" he muttered. "Can't be those kids, can it?"
Alina's body tensed visibly, fear gripping her as she replied, "Maybe... some other raiders?"
Suddenly, a piercing scream shattered the silence, jolting them once more. Tritrus quickly turned his gaze forward, squinting to discern the source of the sound. In the distance, he spotted Alan and Armis charging toward them with lightning speed.
"STOP, YOU THIEVES!!!" Armis's voice boomed through the air once more.
Tritus sprang into action, swiftly turning to Alina and barking, "Alina, go and open the next gate, fast!"
Alina, startled and frantic, asked, "Are you going to fight them alone?!"
"Of course not!" Tritus shouted, his movements quick and purposeful as he retrieved a sack similar to the one he used during their initial encounter with Alan's group. "NOW GO!"
Hearing his command, Alina scrambled to her feet and sprinted at full speed, closing the remaining distance between them and the gate.
With lightning speed, Alan and Armis closed the distance between themselves and Tritrus. Alan's keen eyes immediately caught sight of Tritrus holding the same drenched sack. With a swift spin, Tritrus hurled it into the air, bellowing at the top of his lungs, "Come out, you filthy bastards! Look, I've got your dinner!"
Understanding Tritrus's tactic, Alan signaled to Armis to increase their speed. Tritrus wasted no time, hurling the sack in their direction.
Without hesitation, red glowing eyes emerged from the darkness of the labyrinth, revealed by the flickering light of wall torches. Alan and Armis halted just a short distance from the sack as Tritrus shouted from behind the glowing eyes, "Have fun getting ripped apart by rodents, you fools!" Then, he swiftly retreated in the direction of the gate.
Alan and Armis stood cautiously, their guards raised as they observed the glowing eyes in the darkness. Armis counted them, his voice tinged with hope as he remarked, "Well, good for us. I don't think there are too many rats. We can qu—"
Before he could finish his hopeful assessment, one of the glowing eyes emerged from the darkness, followed by another. To their surprise, the rats were fewer in number but gigantic in size. With a disappointed tone, Alan replied to Armis's unfinished remark, "Right, Armis. They're fewer, but I think you forgot to mention their size."
The rats, far from cute now, bared their vicious fangs as Alan gestured to Armis. Without wasting a moment, they split in different directions. Armis swiftly shed his robe, summoning his obsidian armor with a loud grunt onto his bare chest. Meanwhile, Alan dashed in the opposite direction, snatching up the sack from the floor. With blurring speed, he twirled it in front of the rats, diverting their attention to him.
Attracted by the scent wafting from the bag, the rats lunged at Alan. He sprinted towards the gate, with the rats hot on his heels, their fangs snapping viciously as they attempted to grab him.
After sprinting a distance, Alan pivoted and thrust the sack toward an approaching rat. With a quick command, he shouted, "Now, Armis!"
In a swift motion, Armis leaped onto the rat's head, crushing it beneath his feet as its brains splattered onto the ground. Another rat lunged at Armis, but Alan intercepted it mid-air, spinning and delivering a devastating axe kick to its head. Blood spurted from its eyes as the rat collapsed lifeless to the ground.
Alan and Armis swiftly braced themselves as two more massive rats charged toward them. With a nod from Alan, Armis rooted himself firmly into the ground, creating a makeshift platform with his hands for Alan to leap onto.
Alan vaulted onto Armis's hands, and with a powerful heave, Armis hurled Alan toward the oncoming rat. In mid-air, Alan let out a loud grunt as he reached over his shoulder and drew his chained blades, their edges gleaming with a green glow, as they spun with him rapidly. With precise aim, Alan hurled the blades at the rat's neck, piercing it deeply.
As Alan spun around the rat's large neck, binding it tightly with the chains, Armis leaped towards him, grasping Alan's outstretched hand. Using the momentum from the spin, Alan propelled Armis towards the second rat with tremendous force. Meanwhile, the first rat's neck exploded under the intense pressure from the constant binding, its head soaring into the air.
As Armis soared towards the approaching rat, he rotated his body, slamming the armored back into the rat's face with tremendous force, causing its back of the skull to burst through its skin upon impact.
As they landed back on the ground, the last rat closed in on them, Alan and Armis exchanged a knowing smile before swiftly darting towards the gate, the rat hot on their heels.
With Tritrus and Alina on the other side, frantically trying to shut the gate, Alan and Armis ran with all their might, leading the rat straight towards it. At the last moment, just as the gate was about to close, Alan and Armis leaped into the air, narrowly avoiding being crushed, while the rat crashed headfirst into the gate. The impact sent Tritrus and Alina flying backward, causing the gate to swing wide open once again.
As Tritrus and Alina bashed their heads on the fifth step of the stairs, the unconscious rat stirred into action, lunging towards them. Tritrus, blood streaming from his eyes, turned back in terror, his screams muffled by his chipped teeth. In a blur of motion, Alan and Armis descended upon the rat's head, their collective stomp crushing it to the floor with a sickening thud, blood splattering as its skull shattered from the force of their impact.
With sinister smiles, Alan and Armis advanced toward the staggering Tritrus and Alina, their faces bloodied, noses broken, and teeth chipped. The pair backed away in fear as Tritrus and Alina began to plead, Tritrus jumping to Alan's feet and Alina clinging to Armis's legs. Armis attempted to step back, but Alina's grip tightened, joining Tritrus in his desperate pleas. "Please! Have mercy! We're sorry for what we did!" they begged, their voices trembling with fear.
Alan and Armis exchanged knowing glances, recognizing the insincerity in Tritrus and Alina's begging. Seizing the opportunity in her ignorance, Alina suddenly lunged at Armis with her dagger, aiming to stab him. Armis, caught off guard, braced himself, but just as Alina's dagger was about to strike, a whip came flying from behind Armis, slicing off Alina's finger in a split second.
Alina recoiled in agony, her hand gushing blood as her finger flew away and her dagger vanished into thin air. Enraged by the injury to Alina, Tritrus attempted to lunge at Alan in a fit of screaming anger. However, before he could even rise, a block of stone shot up with incredible speed, crushing his chin and sending him hurtling backwards, unconscious and bleeding profusely from his mouth.
Alan and Armis turned to see Aurelia rushing towards them, followed closely by Relecta and Lyco. Behind them, Felix and Cesar stood with weapons drawn.
Aurelia approached the writhing Alina, who was rolling on the floor in agony, and unleashed a stream of insults at her. "That's what you get for messing with us, you bitch!"
Armis, concerned by Aurelia's rage, attempted to intervene. "I don't think that was necessary, Aurelia. The dagger wasn't going to harm me, I—" he began, but Aurelia interrupted him with a hushing gesture. "Shhh...shhh...I needed that," she replied firmly, without turning to face him. After taking a deep breath, Aurelia regained her composure.
Felix stepped forward with Cesar, observing the scene with a mix of disbelief and disdain. As Alina lay in pain and Tritus remained unconscious with a broken jaw and bloodied mouth, Felix remarked, "I can't believe you guys got duped by a pair of weak oldies."
Armis, taking on the role of a leader, attempted to retort at Felix with a mocking tone, "Well, at least we didn't choose the wrong passage and wasted two hours."
However, his attempt backfired as Felix remained unfazed, even appearing confused by Armis's peculiar reasoning. Seeing Felix's expression, Armis inwardly cringed at the folly of his words, but he tried his best not to let the embarrassment show on his face, maintaining a facade of fake pride. Lyco approached from behind, patting Armis on the back in a gesture of comfort and teasing saying, "There, there, you tried."
Felix ignored Armis with a roll of his eyes and redirected his attention to Alan, who was being embraced by a concerned Relecta. With an inquiring tone, Felix asked, "So, what are we gonna do with them?"
Alan gently nudged Relecta away and approached Felix, his expression humble as he replied, "Before we decide that, I'm curious, what did you find when you took the other passage?" Felix rolled his eyes again, moved ahead, and seated himself on a step, adopting a carefree tone as he recounted their journey thus far. "Well, after crossing the passageway, we found ourselves amidst the same stone and rock labyrinth, and then a door leading to the next floor. We ascended to the fourth floor and while scanning it, we discovered a shortcut that led directly to the gate of the fifth floor. Upon reaching there, we also encountered," Felix gestured at Aurelia, "as your friends mentioned, the Vitio Rats. We dispatched each of them, but it turns out they don't emit any aura, as stated in the manual. They're null creatures, devoid of any positive souls. We then proceeded to the next floor where we stumbled upon your group and heard about your scamming encounter."
Finishing their account, Felix stood up and approached the unconscious Tritus, while Aurelia stepped forward to continue where Felix left off. "We were worried when you and Armis didn't return for so long," she explained, "so I asked them to help us find you two."
Alan, taking in the whole story, sighed as he moved closer to Tritus and observed his mangled jaw. Turning to Felix, he remarked, "That means he was right about the shortcuts here in Relic Tower." Felix, hearing Alan's remark, looked at him and suggested, "So, do you think we can get some more information out of them?"
Suddenly, Armis stepped forward and interjected before Alan could reply. "No! After all we've seen from them, believe me, you wouldn't want to believe a word they say," he asserted. Felix rolled his eyes back to Tritus, disappointment evident in his gaze, as he poised his next question. "So, what are you going to do with them?" The entire group turned their gazes to Armis, expecting him to make the decision. Anxiety began to rise within Armis under the pressure, but before it could escalate, Alan called out to him, giving him courage with his words. "So, leader, it's your call!"
Armis glanced at Alan in gratitude as he pondered and stated his first command. "Let's see... for starters... Lyco!! Collect our belongings and tie them up." Not even taking a full minute, Lyco and Relecta moved swiftly. After gathering their belongings and tying up Alina and Tritus, they declared with a playful tone, "Done, Leader!!"
Armis, as surprised as the others, smiled at their enthusiasm and continued with his second command in pride and joy. "Next, let's all camp and eat first!!" Everyone in Group Goliath jumped in agreement as Alan grabbed Tritus's leg and Aurelia grabbed Alina's leg, dragging them upstairs along with the others.
After sufficient rest and filling their stomachs with their own food, Alan and everyone else gathered their belongings and shouldered them, standing a distance from the gate leading to the 10th floor. Before proceeding, there was one last matter to attend to.
"So, do you understand what you're going to do?" Armis asked in a loud and authoritative voice.
"Yes, sir... Yes, thank you for your mercy, thank you so much—" Alina began, but Armis cut her off.
"Yeah, yeah, now get going," he said to Alina and Tritus, who stood with tied hands, battered and bruised, stripped of their clothes and belongings, wearing only their loincloths. Unembarrassed by their state, they were only grateful for Armis's mercy. He had taken their armor and belongings and instructed them to leave Relic Castle as soon as possible, their hands tied as punishment for their actions against him and his party.
They left, heads down, walking briskly to distance themselves from the group as quickly as possible. As they began to fade into the distance, Felix stepped forward, eyeing them, and remarked to Armis, "Well... I still think we could have tortured some valuable information out of them."
"Nah... I think this is enough to teach them not to mess with someone's innocence ever again," Armis responded, his voice carrying a hint of humility.
Lyco approached from behind, commending Armis for the punishment he had decided for the two, teasingly adding, "Yes... childish and humiliating at the same time."
"Do you think they'll do what you told them? What if they get free and start deceiving unsuspecting raiders again?" Aurelia asked, her concern evident in her eyes as she looked at Armis.
"Well, whatever they do, it's not our problem now. Let's get going," Alan said, walking ahead towards the gate before Armis could address Aurelia's concern.
"Yeah, Alan's right. Let's get going," Armis agreed, turning to lead the way, with the rest of the group following closely behind. As they approached the towering gate marking the entrance to the next level of Relic Castle, Felix remarked, "Well, across this gate is the Monster Lord of the 10th floor, according to the manual."
Hearing his shared knowledge, everyone gazed at the gate in anticipation of the dreading challenge awaiting them beyond the towering slabs of stone. With resolve, they prepared themselves for their first encounter with a Monster Lord.