▪︎Petal of salvation "19th Ventus "2:00pm (The Labyrinth Of Lethe Day 6)
Six days had passed in the blink of an eye since the start of the collective Page, Conquering the Labyrinth of Lethe. During that time, Ryo had formed his own party, and after encountering another group deep within the Labyrinth, they managed to progress to the fifth layer.
"You know, when you guys first said you'd come down here with the goal of conquering the Labyrinth, I didn't believe you. I thought maybe you had some other reason—something you couldn't share with us," Vine stated, making sure everyone could hear him as they pressed onward. It was clear this topic had been on his mind for a while, as he deliberately laid out his thoughts.
He continued, "But after what I've seen, I can't help but realize that something crazy is going on in this labyrinth."
Vine was referring to the fact that, as they had journeyed from the third layer to the fifth, they had encountered more Lilies like themselves, all tackling this daunting challenge alongside the party they had chosen to trust. It made sense, really—approximately 650 people had been sent into this labyrinth, a collective of every newly summoned individual from all ten isles. It wasn't all that surprising to see them scattered throughout the first five layers.
As they descended deeper into the labyrinth, it was logical they would keep running into more Lilies. But that wasn't what had Vine so taken aback. He was unaware of the reasons why their group—and others like Ryo's—seemed to flood the labyrinth. What truly shocked him and his party was the eerie sight of pools of blood or the fleeting glimpse of a person just before they dissipated into thin air.
It was clear that this was no mere field trip; people were actively dying, and those unsettling encounters made that all too apparent. The mood among them visibly darkened.
"As you can see, we are traversing this labyrinth in hopes of conquering it," Tadashi replied calmly.
Vine turned his head back, fixing his gaze on Tadashi, his expression shifting to one of stern seriousness. "I don't know what your situation is, but I still have to ask: What drives you all to such lengths? What exactly do you aim to achieve down here? Or what lies have you been told? Because it's clear to me that many of you lack experience, so I can only wonder—who tricked you into this?" Vine asked, his voice firm and probing.
At those words, Ryo and the others exchanged uncertain glances, unsure how to address the question. Their reasons for being there were complicated and not something they felt they could easily disclose. A silent understanding passed among them as they contemplated the best way to respond.
Mei stepped forward as she answered, her voice steady despite the gravity of the situation.
"We weren't tricked into this apparent suicide mission," she said bluntly. "But we had no choice but to follow the instructions given to us. I cannot elaborate on that part."
Vine, who was at the front of his own party, walked back to face Mei and her group.
"Whoever has done this to you is a cruel, irredeemable bastard," he said. "I advise you to take this opportunity to escape from whoever has you captive. But it seems you've already considered that and probably can't. Even so, if I were in your position, I'd run instead of pushing forward, no matter the consequences."
The rest of Vine's party shared looks that conveyed their agreement with him. As Ryo observed them, he couldn't help but notice their kind-hearted nature. Their expressions reflected visible frustration for what Mei and her group were enduring—a sight Ryo was not accustomed to.
I guess this is where they stop guiding us, then? If that's the case, it'd be best to leave on a good note; they've been helpful so far...
Ryo had been prepared to part ways with them if that was what they wanted. After all, they had been instrumental in getting him and his party this far.
"Don't mistake this for me saying we won't aid you anymore," he said quickly. "It's just something that's been gnawing at me recently. Sorry if it sounded that way."
Just then, Vine countered Ryo's initial thoughts. They weren't parting ways after all, at least not yet—probably not until they reached a point where the labyrinth crawlers would deem their last stop. The thought eased Ryo's mind a bit.
However, Vine's words lingered in the air. This page was expected to be completed in two months, but in just six days, Ryo had already seen a few Lilies looking disheartened, some even having given up, and others who actually died. He wasn't sure what kind of Kardia beasts had killed them, but he was certain they could wipe out at least four parties of six or fewer. Considering the number of groups he had found dead in an area, he had noticed that, most of the time, the bodies were no longer there. Still, the pools and stains of blood were evidence of lives that had been snuffed out.
Was there really never a chance of them surviving this page in the first place? Ryo couldn't imagine the messengers would send them to their deaths without reason; they had no way of knowing the true motivations behind this particular page.
"Ryo, are we... are we going to be okay?" Emma asked, her voice so soft it could easily be mistaken for a murmur.
Her face was dispirited, a stark contrast to her usually cheerful demeanor. This unsettling change weighed on Ryo, and he knew he had to keep her from becoming more shaken.
"Don't worry, I think we'll be fine. Besides, I've been in similar dangerous situations before," Ryo said, though he didn't quite believe his own words, and neither did she.
"But you can't be 100% certain, can you?" she replied, falling slightly behind Ryo. Ryo sensed that offering her false hope wasn't the right path; instead, he needed to do everything in his power to ensure they didn't end up in a situation where her fears could become a reality.
...
"A rather fine mineral cave seems to be up ahead. Perhaps this should be our last stop. The staircase leading to the Sixth Layer should be on the path to the right," one of the labyrinth crawlers announced.
It looked like this would be the end of their journey with the party known as Overhaul. Ryo and the others had already steeled themselves to carry on from that point.
"You heard that? It looks like this is finally where we part ways," said Vine.
"You kids be good now. Remember our advice about the 6th to 10th layers. We wish we could help you more, but we've only ever made it that far," Laylanna said.
She had seemed to warm up to Ryo's party, even if only slightly. Ryo felt a pang of regret at parting ways so soon.
I never got to pick her brain about elves. Now I'll never know if she's a thousand years old or if she has some spiritual connection to nature. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, gone. Goodbye, hot elf woman. Our time together was short, but it was an experience I won't forget.
Ryo's shoulders sank a bit as regret surged within him. Mei didn't understand his reaction but chose to ignore it, facing the party known as Overhaul.
"No, you've been more than just helpful. You practically held our hands safely through the labyrinth. We couldn't ask for more. We are truly grateful for your help so far," Mei said politely.
"Is that so? Well then, until next time! If you guys survive this labyrinth, we hope you do," Vine replied as he and his party waved goodbye and set off.
"Huh? The labyrinth crawlers already went ahead to the cave! Wait up!" Vine called out, puzzled.
Those guys really loved to rush headfirst into any piece of valuable material they found, oblivious to their surroundings whenever that happened. Vine and his party hurried in their direction while Ryo sighed in exasperation as he and his own party set off.
"You guys gotta be more caref—"
Vine halted mid-sentence, the world around him falling into an eerie silence. The stillness was pierced by the rhythmic thuds of an object rolling toward him, its own weight propelling it forward. Dark red streaks marred the floor as it scraped along, gradually coming to a stop just before brushing against his foot. Time seemed to stretch as it swayed slightly, finally settling. The dull glow of the crystal stones illuminated the familiar face, now frozen in a look of eternal surprise, its lifeless eyes staring vacantly into the distance.
"W-what in the hell..." Vine uttered, jolting backward in panic. A disturbing energy radiated from the cave ahead, prompting him to instinctively grasp two daggers in his hands.
"Herk!" Emma cried out as she stepped away from the group, dropping to her knees. Overwhelmed with disgust, she began to retch violently, the contents of her stomach spilling onto the ground.
"Emma!" Mei rushed to her side, gently rubbing her back to soothe her as she heaved and gasped.
Olivia gripped Logan's hand tightly, terror creeping in as she felt his presence draw her closer. His expression turned serious as he unsheathed his long sword.
Ryo's threat perception kicked in, a bead of sweat trickling down the side of his face. He, too, was on high alert. The entire group had been caught off guard by the sight of the decapitated head of a labyrinth crawler.
Something's coming. Something big.
Rumbling sounds reverberated through the area, tiny pebbles vibrating out of place. Given the level they were on, Ryo had a sinking feeling about what creature might be approaching them this deep into the fifth layer.
"How? How is this possible? The floor master in these caves was slain over a century ago!" Vine exclaimed.
Ryo was taken aback by this revelation. He had some knowledge of the floor masters within the labyrinth, at least those confirmed up to the 40th Layer. It suddenly clicked for him. How could they possess this information if the bosses had guarded the chasm after every fifth layer? If this floor master was alive, then that likely meant the others were too. However, if Vine's information was accurate, then it meant that the floor masters had been slain—yet here was one before them.
From the cave where the labyrinth crawlers had previously ventured, a massive crystalline centipede, over 14 meters in length, emerged. Its body was a mesmerizing cluster of hard crystals, and a dark purple icon atop its enormous head signaled that it was a spectre-level threat—a formidable one. Ryo recognized the creature immediately: "Jewel Centipeder."
In its menacing mandibles, it clutched a headless body of a man, while another victim lay lifeless, utterly unresponsive to the crushing grip of the giant monster's jaws.
Emma let out a piercing scream, her voice echoing wildly. It didn't take long for Overhaul to spring into action.
Celdric cast a support spell on his comrades, while Clarice began chanting in Florakian to conjure a fire spell.
"Hey, you kids! Get back! It's dangerous to be this close!" Laylanna yelled.
Upon hearing that, Ryo and the other four swiftly retreated. A part of them felt guilty leaving them to face the creature alone, wondering if they should insist, "No, we'll stay and fight!"
But they knew how naïve that would be; they didn't stand a chance. They gritted their teeth and ran to safety—at a distance just far enough from danger, but close enough to keep an eye on the unfolding battle.
"I'll hold it down! Focus on breaking its hard skin! Body immovable!" Gold charged toward the creature, his footsteps leaving deep craters in the ground. As he grasped the Kardia-beast by its hide, his trait 'body immovable', caused the space around him and anything he touched, including the Kardia-beast, to experience an increase in gravity, causing the beast to stagger and screech.
"Oh grand one, hear my plea!
Flames of eld, arise and swell!
Fiery core, let thy power tell!
Ball of flame, come before me!"
Clarice unleashed a massive fireball toward the centipede. The creature was more vulnerable to fire than to other elements, but even that was insufficient to crack its hardened skin. Not giving it a moment's reprieve, Laylanna nocked an arrow into her beautifully crafted bow and aimed at the centipede.
"Counterarrow!" she shouted, ready to unleash her shot.
The arrow grew in size, mirroring the massive form of the Kardia beast. Yet, even as it expanded, it failed to crack the creature's impenetrable crystal skin. Vine continued to press his attack, throwing small daggers that exploded on impact when they hit their target, but they merely bounced off its surface, failing to stick.
"What is this thing made of, dammit?!" Vine shouted, his frustration mounting as he kept bombarding the Kardia beast with everything he had.
The beast let out a long, anguished squeal before twisting and turning towards the man who was pinning it down. Realizing it was breaking free, Gold tightened his grip, and the pressure around him intensified.
"Yaah!" he cried out, pouring every ounce of his strength into restraining the creature, his face a mask of anguish and stress.
"Oh crap, he's not going to hold on much longer," Vine muttered to himself, then gestured for the others to keep firing.
Celdric did his best to heal Gold and replenish his stamina, but it was futile; the burdens placed on Gold remained unlifted.
With a sudden burst of energy, the monster broke free from Gold's grip. It turned and lunged at him, its mandibles wide open. Gold raised his great sword and shield in defense, but it was a futile attempt. The beast tore through his silver armor, severing his upper half from his lower half with grotesque ease.
"GOLD!" Vine yelled in horror, tears welling in his eyes at the sight of his friend's gruesome fate.
"I'm not letting you live!" he screamed, a fierce rage igniting within him. "Laylanna, cover me!" Charging at the beast, he hurled exploding daggers in rapid succession.
"Raaah!"
He continued his assault until every last dagger was spent, forcing the beast to stagger back. Laylanna's arrows added to the chaos, while Clarice unleashed fire spells from a safe distance.
"You killed our friend, you bastard! I'll murder you!" Vine cried, his voice raw with fury.
But as he felt his side, he realized there were no more daggers left. Still, he didn't relent. Stones, broken crystals, anything he could find, were hurled at the creature, exploding on impact. But it wouldn't hold for long.
"____HK!"
The monster shot a massive crystal spike at him, designed to skewer its target. It was far too large for the average human, impaling him cleanly and pinning him against the wall, his body torn asunder from torso to legs.
"Hah-huh, Hah-huh…"
Laylanna gasped in panic, pressing her hands to her chest. Was she going to die here? Was this the end of her life as an adventurer? She knew this line of work was dangerous, but everything had happened so fast. Half their party was already dead. Where did they go wrong? In despair, she fell to her knees.
The monster approached her slowly, its previous speed replaced by a deliberate pace, as if it were observing its next victim.
Clarice and Celdric were trembling, utterly overwhelmed by the terrifying situation they found themselves in. Celdric attempted to comfort his sister, but even he couldn't control his wild shaking.
Laylanna found that she couldn't run; her legs had given out beneath her. Instead, she dragged herself along the floor, desperately trying to flee. Her eyes fell on Ryo and the others, who were watching the horror unfold from a distance. A wave of shame washed over her as she caught their gaze. She bit her lip, forcing a smile as she mustered her last words.
"Survive."
They likely couldn't hear her, but that didn't diminish the truth of her wish: she wanted them to make it out alive, somehow.
Then, a sickening crunch filled the air as the monster's mandibles tore into her body, seemingly eating her alive rather than killing her first. The pain was excruciating.
"Ahhhhh!"
Her scream echoed throughout the hall. Ryo felt a shiver run down his spine, as if her voice had vibrated within him. Her cries seemed to last an eternity before they transformed into a high-pitched squeal, eventually fading as her vocal cords failed her.
Without finishing its meal, the monster realized she had succumbed and turned its attention to the twins, who had tried to escape. But they barely made it before the creature beheaded them both, devouring them much faster than it had with Laylanna.
What gives? They're all dead. I'm scared. I don't want to end up like that! They were strong, how could they lose so easily? I don't want to—
Panic rose within Ryo, but he felt a firm hand on his shoulder. It was Tadashi, who recognized Ryo's horror at the gruesome scene. Though he couldn't entirely mask his own fear, he tried to ease Ryo's anxiety, if only a little.
Ryo took a deep breath, though his knees and hands continued to shake violently. Emma looked as though she might burst into tears, but before she could, Mei quickly covered her mouth with her hands. The couple, Olivia and Logan, clutched each other tightly, tears streaming down Olivia's cheeks as she held onto Logan for support.
Among them, Mei stood apart, not looking frightened at all. Instead, her face was filled with an unusual anger, an expression of murderous intent Ryo had never seen before. Yet even she couldn't hide the slight tremor in her hands, a sign that she was a bit scared too.
The monster finished with the twins swiftly and, without pausing to consider its surroundings, charged in their direction, its legs rippling as it darted through the wide space.
Ryo suddenly realized something crucial about the creature: it didn't need to look directly at a person before attacking. He remembered that the Jewel Centipeder's eyes were like a clean crystalline surface. It couldn't see through them, but it could reflect light from the crystals in the caves; as long as there was a crystal near its target, it could determine their position—even if its head was facing away.
That gave Ryo an idea. He began scouting for a spot where they could hide behind a rock or some structure that wouldn't have any crystals nearby, allowing them to slip away from the creature's view.
"That's it! Let's get behind there, fast! We need to move before it realizes we're here!"
He had spotted the perfect hiding place: a large wall with two open entrances, one on each end. No crystals were present behind it, and just beyond was the expansive, dark cave from which they had come. The cave probably contained crystals further in, but it appeared pitch black from where they were. Ryo wasn't sure whether the creature could perceive them even without light, but they had no other choice but to take that chance.
They rested their backs against the wall, the monster swiveling its head from one end of the hole to the other. Every time it moved to one side, Ryo and the others quickly crawled to the opposite side, trying to avoid being detected.
"What now, Ryo?" Mei whispered.
She was on the left side while he was on the right. They crouched down, believing they'd be harder to detect that way. Ryo reached into his bag and rummaged around for something important: the mirror.
He positioned it carefully, bending it slightly inward as he aimed to track the creature's movements. This way, they could see the monster clearly. Mei mirrored his actions from her side when she crawled that way.
"What are we doing? Why are we using these? What's the plan?" Mei whispered, her voice laced with confusion as she wondered why they were simply observing the monster.
Ryo faced them, urging everyone to lean in closer.
"The plan is to use this Kardia beast's own ability against it," he replied, his tone firm despite the whispering.
He laid out his strategy, and they listened intently. Ryo wasn't completely sure it would work, but it was worth a shot.
"Emma, what kinds of spells can you use? I'm not really familiar with the mage scenario," Ryo asked.
"I can only use wind spells and a single ice spell. Why?" she responded, curious.
Ryo rested his chin on his hand in contemplation. "What can that freezing spell do exactly?" he asked as the others leaned in, eager to hear Emma's answer.
"It can freeze my target and a bit of the surrounding area, rendering them immobile, but I don't know if it'll work against something as big as that," she said, lowering her gaze as uncertainty clouded her expression.
Ryo formed a fist and struck his other palm, as if struck by a brilliant idea.
"No, no, it's fine. If we're lucky, we might get out of this without needing to fight, which would be ideal."
After speaking, he scanned his surroundings again, this time staring intently, as if hoping for something to happen.
"Hey Emma, you can cast that freezing spell at the monster from here, right?" he asked.
"Sure, as long as I can see it, there shouldn't be a problem," she replied confidently.
"Then look into my mirror, and once the Centipede withdraws, cast it."
Emma leaned in closer to examine the mirror, her scent wafting around him, and he did his best not to react. Together, Emma and Ryo quietly watched the Centipede, while the others prepared to spring into action at a moment's notice.
Come on, give up already. Give up!
Ryo silently begged the monster to abandon its pursuit. Soon enough, the creature turned away, assuming they had fled to safety, and returned to finish off the prey it had already killed.
"Now!" Ryo urged.
"Grand one, summon thy cold mist! Enshroud my foes in an icy grip. Frosty Mist!"
With that, a chilling mist filled the air, freezing the ground beneath the Jewel Centipede. Though it didn't completely freeze it over, it was enough to slow the beast down.
"Run for it!" Ryo shouted.
They all broke into a sprint, heading for the cave that led to the Sixth Layer.
Before entering the cave, Ryo turned to face the creature. He took a deep breath, releasing it aggressively as if psyching himself up.
Even if it takes every last drop of my Kardia-magia, I'll block its perception of us.
With determination etched on his face, Ryo stretched out his hands.
"Dark magic!"
A cloud of dark smoke crept into every corner of the vast space. He felt a warm trickle on his lips as red liquid dripped from his nose, and he quickly wiped it away with his hand.
The creature staggered, disoriented, moving clumsily toward Ryo, shrieking as it stumbled about.
Ryo dashed to join the others. Emma had already readied a spell as planned. As Ryo reached the entrance of the cave, Emma unleashed a blast of wind towards the rocky entrance above.
"Gust From Afar!"
Boulders tumbled down, blocking the cave's entrance. This could pose a problem for anyone attempting to descend from the Fifth Layer, but first, they needed to get past that absolute monster. Even if others faced difficulties because of it, Ryo told himself, he did what he had to do to survive—it would be their problem, not his.
They sprinted down the stairs leading to the Sixth Layer of the labyrinth, narrowly escaping what could have easily spelled the end of their journey.