First Encounter in the Labyrinth

*BANG* 

The canon fires as a signal of the beginning, and we laid our first step inside.

As we stepped into the mist-filled labyrinth, the raucous cheers of the crowd faded behind us, drowned out by the heavy thud of the entrance sealing shut. We were now alone, left to navigate the twisting passages for the next three hours.

"And with that, we are all alone now." I said, looking at the gigiantic door behind us.

"Yeah," replied Marie.

"Here, Marie, you hold it. I'll fight if anything uncertain arises." I said, throwing the prism at her and starting to walk ahead.

*Oopsie*

Marie caught the prism and instantly threw it towards Alex.

"Here, retard, you hold it," said Marie, throwing a prism at Alex.

"Oiii carefully!!" expressed Alex as he stumbled while catching it.

"Drop it, and you are dead," said Marie, walking behind me.

"Sure, I won't. Sigh*" said Alex, joining us.

I looked straight, and it was blurred out by mist, with stone walls and bushes on each side. Good thing that the lane is big enough; at least five people can walk side by side and will still feel the space around them. It would be perfect to have a battle as well, but I cannot increase the radius of my Witchcraft beyond a certain limit here, nor can I use Pulsar in this compacted space.

"Umm...Hmm!!...Hmm??...Ummm..." mumbled Alex, looking around with his finger on his chin.

It feels like he is thinking about something.

"What happened, retard? What are you stressing your brain for?" asked Marie.

"It's different."

"What is?"

"The labyrinth, obviously," replied Alex.

"Ohh..." I expressed.

"Last two times when I participated, it was a different maze."

"I guess they felt like changing it this year." I answered.

"Maybe yeah, but it feels unusual because lanes used to be smaller than this and the mist wasn't so thick either."

"Whatever it is., we'll see it through." I said.

"Exactly," said Marie.

"*Sobs* You girls are so bold and fearless. *Sobs*" Expressed Alex.

We walked further down the mist-filled lane, our steps in sync and cautious, even though we were having a conversation. We found ourselves turning right and left, guided only by my curiosity for those paths. So far, everything around us has remained eerily silent, with no sign of anyone else other than us. If I am correct, there were around 20 teams that participated.

"Just how big is the maze?" says Marie.

"Yeah, I know, right?" I replied.

"We might keep walking, and three hours might end just like that."

"Let's pray that doesn't happen."

*Grrrrrrrrrrr*

Suddenly, a deep, guttural rumble erupted from the earth beneath our feet, shaking the ground with immense force. Instinctively, I reached out for Marie's hand.

"Elea!!"

"Don't worry, I am holding you."

My fingers were intertwined with hers in a desperate bid for reassurance.

"Where's Alex?" I said, looking around.

"Help me!!!! Ahhhh, it's scary!!" Screamed Alex.

And more than that, he had already wrapped himself around Marie's waist.

"Oii, you are holding where?" Flustered Marie.

"Don't leave my side, Marie!!" Cried Alex.

"I won't, but don't hold my waist like that. Hold my hands or legs fucker!" said Marie, kicking him.

"You two stay focused," I said.

Soon, before our wide eyes, the familiar lanes ahead began to warp and distort, their shapes twisting into different forms. The lanes were cut off, retracted again, and finally settled again.

"It stopped?" asked Marie.

"Yeah, it did." 

I let go of Marie's hand, and we stood properly on the ground.

"Ahh!!! I will die," screamed Alex.

He is still holding on to her. I and Marie both looked at each other in complete weirdness.

Thud*

Marie kicked him away and settled her sweater dress properly.

"Let's go," said Marie.

"Yeah."

"I am coming too. Don't leave me alone," said Alex.

We walked a little bit more into this newly formed maze, and things didn't feel like they had changed much, so I wonder what that distortion was for.

"Why did it change all of a sudden?" asked Marie.

"Who knows?" I replied.

"It changes like this around every 30 minutes," said Alex.

"Ohh, is that so?"

"Yes, and every time it happens, the maze closes itself and becomes smaller in size."

"I guess we'll be finally meeting other knigh-"

"AAAAAaaaaaaaaaa!!!!"

Before I could complete my sentence, a loud scream erupted in the space and took us by surprise. We instantly turned back towards the source.

"What was that?" asked Marie.

"It came from not very far away." I replied.

"Let's check it out then."

We leisurely run towards the source of the scream. This is the first time we heard someone apart from us. We are carefully turning after taking a proper peek.

"So? Where is your prism?"

"Tell us, or we'll kill you, Thud*"

As the voices drifted through the lane, I cautiously sat closer, peeking out with only one eye, and there it was. A group of two men and a girl has caught a man who is begging for their mercy. One guy in a white robe has laid his foot on his face and is asking for the glass prism.

"I swear, I don't know. My other teammate has it," said the guy with his hands joined.

"So what shall we do to him?"

"Let's just kill him. I mean, what's the point of keeping him alive? If he gets back to his teammates, he'll fight with us later." said the girl.

"No, please don't. I promise my team won't fight with you."

"Crack! Shut up, will you?" The girl whipped him with the long brown whip, and as soon as it hit him, the clothes tore away and the skin was cut open.

AAAAaaaaaaaa!!!!

"We should save him," I said to Marie.

"Yes. But we need to be careful. She looks scary."

"Do we really have to save him?" said Alex, shaking.

"Yes why?"

"They look scary."

"Such a coward you are. Tch*, then we'll just leave you here," said Marie.

"No, No. I'll come too."

We prepared ourselves to walk to them.

"Just tell us where your teammates are, and we might let you go," asked the guy on the side.

He looks green and kind of reptilian-type. His tongue is quite long, too.

"I seriously don't know. We were already fighting against someone, and then the maze distorted, and I got separated by them."

"Well, then that's too bad for you," said the guy in the white robe who had kept his foot on his face.

With a swift flick of his wrist, he summoned a gleaming sword into his grasp, its blade catching the light as he raised it high, ready to land the final blow on the man standing before him.

"Please no....."

"Killing other knights isn't allowed, if I am correct." I said

"Huhh?"

They all turned their faces as I walked towards them with Marie and Alex by my side.

*Crack* It laid a black mark on the ground as she whipped in front of us, just before our foot.

"That's none of your business," she said.

"Let him go," I said.

"Ohhh, look at that. They are holding their prism," said the creepy reptile guy looking at Alex.

"Uhhuh.."

Alex hid himself behind Marie.

"Let him go away."

"Alright, here I leave him."

The guy lowered his sword and allowed him to run away.

"Is that okay to do?" asked the girl.

"Yes, we have a team with the prism now. There's no need to waste our energy on him," said the guy in the robe.

"I'll take care of them," said the reptile guy.

"Sure, they are all yours, Clark."

As the reptile guy named Clark walked up to us, I turned to Marie, and we nodded in mutual understanding that I'd handle him. I also stepped up to him.

"You seem pretty confident in yourself," I said.

"I can look at you and tell that you are nothing compared to me," he replied.

"I see. Please go easy on me."