The Labyrinth's Embrace. (50)

"BASTAAARD." The third man, his right hand replaced by some sort of cannon, growled and frothed at the mouth, aiming his weaponized limb at me.

Something gathered at the tip of the silver muzzle, igniting, poised to fire. But time was not on his side.

Seizing the weapon with my fingers, I crushed the metal, rendering the unknown attack impotent. Woman attempted to seal the passage with her hand, pressing the very stone Mike had chatted with a few minutes ago against the flickering gray rune.

With a resounding noise, the wall began to seal the passage, which beckoned me toward freedom like a radiant moon.

Releasing Sickle-Shaped Tail, I inserted the weapon into the closing passage and swiftly decapitated the man with a single strike, the metal cannon now in my possession.

[Killed 2 enemies out of 267.]

Mike screamed and reached into his pocket, retrieving a bottle. However, before he could open it, I used my tail to pin his lifeless body against the wall, the pointed tip piercing his stomach. He spat out scarlet blood, his futile attempts to open the bottle halted by his imminent demise.

Squeezing his throat, I tore off his skull along with half of his neck. Meanwhile, the surviving Serena struggled to lean his entire body against the weapon, desperately trying to seal the passage.Unfortunately for her, the weapon was sharp, leaving numerous cuts on her pale hands, some of them deep enough to reveal glimpses of her bloodied bones.

[Killed 3 enemies out of 267.]

With a sinister grin, I plucked the bottle from the stiff fingers of the deceased man and advanced down the corridor. Gripping woman by the collar, I hunched beneath the low ceiling and ventured into a more spacious room, safely stowing the weapon in my inventory. The passage closed behind us with a resounding bang.

"You can't, you shouldn't!" the hostage protested, resisting with all her might. Suddenly, I felt a slight prick in my side. A sharp knife, no longer than my own claws, emerged from the trembling woman's bloody fingers.

A semblance of a smile crossed my lips.

Ah. An annoying insect.

Opening my mouth, I posed a question, "Where is the exit?"

But it became apparent that the woman did not understand me. Recoiling in horror, she pressed her back against the cold, gray concrete wall, her fear palpable.

[System, is there any means that can help me communicate with people?]

[The Elixir Of A Thousand Words. It is difficult to obtain it in the Arena, only on the Seventh Layer of System Store. You have accessed the Fourth Layer during a Random mission: Survival Crossroads.]

[Is there no way to acquire it?]

[Not currently possible.]

The woman remained pressed against the wall, staring at me with fear. I removed my gas mask, revealing my face.

"You... Haven't you been disposed of?" Serena shook her head in disbelief. Her wounded arm hung limply from the sleeves of her robe., blood dripping steadily onto the ground. Surveying the room, I realized it appeared to have no obvious entrance or exit, with only glowing runes adorning the walls. Looking upward, I noticed an oval-shaped ceiling with small depressions, but to my surprise, there were no discernible markings there, only holes no larger than children's fingers. Squatting down, I ran my fingers across the floor, feeling the snugly fitted tiles.

Waving sickle-shaped tail, I attempted to breach the wall, but it proved to be constructed from an incredibly durable material, as I couldn't even leave a scratch. With a hiss of frustration, I redirected my attention to the woman. If her bleeding continued unabated, she would surely perish.

Approaching her, I followed her gaze and tore a strip from the edge of her robe. I tied a tight knot around her arm, staunching the blood flow. It turned out that the wound was deeper than initially thought. If left untreated, it would require amputation of her arm. Her wide-eyed gaze fixated on me, her pallid skin glistening with cold sweat in the dim light.

Turning away once more, I approached the nearest wall.

Four corners adorned with an oval ceiling, four intricate patterns intertwined with faintly discernible letters and symbols.

I struck one of the symbols, causing it to emit a muted gray light. It triggered my memory of the stone that Serena had pressed against the rune before entering the passage.

Glancing at the woman, who was now seated against the wall, her breathing heavy, I noticed a triangular stone lying nearby. The stone emanated warm streams of energy and seemed to react to the magic circles.

Using a thread, I acquired the stone and began searching for a pattern emitting a yellow glow. Several such patterns could be found, and one was situated not far from my current position, at chest level. The triangular stone trembled in my hands.

Taking the stone, I pressed it against the wall. A resounding roar followed, and a tunnel with a pitch-black passage opened before us, engulfing us in a calming grayness. Approaching Serena, I grasped her by the collar and headed towards the exit.

She had already succumbed to unconsciousness, muttering unintelligibly. A trail of red blood marked our path, and soon the passage sealed shut, leaving us enveloped in profound silence.

----

"Where... am I?" The woman's voice quivered as she regained consciousness. Carefully, I lowered Serena to the ground and surveyed our surroundings. It appeared that I had willingly entered a corridor filled with traps. Surely, they had anticipated a similar scenario and safeguarded the area with various decoy exits.

A commotion echoed ahead, prompting me to conjure a flame in my hand and strike the enemy with its fiery force. A massive body tumbled to the ground, its limbs splayed out.

Ripping off a piece of flesh, I ignited my index finger with a soothing blue flame, casting light upon the woman's face. I extended the roasted meat towards her, but she turned away and retched against the wall.

Well, it appeared that survival in the extreme environment was not the human race's forte. I took a bite of the meat and chewed, scanning the reddening dots up ahead.

There was an entire horde.

Dark threads obstructed their path, granting me a momentary respite.

Serena silently leaned against the wall, her breathing gradually slowing. She likely believed I would abandon her, considering her dead.

But I needed her alive.

----

Exhaling deeply, I rose to my feet. We had been trapped in this place for over two days with no means of escape. Having replenished my Stamina to a satisfactory level, I was prepared to continue our journey.

As I traversed the corridor for several more hours, a blue flame hovering above to light the way, I began to notice drastic changes in the environment. This time, I encountered three diverging paths. Serena no longer hesitated to consume the slain creatures I had cooked. However, her hand had become infected with gangrene, emitting an unpleasant odor. Without proper care, I had no choice but to amputate more than ten centimeters of flesh, cauterizing the wound with a fiery blade and attaching a makeshift stump. Serena shrieked in fury, kicking the ground with her feet, yet she endured the excruciating pain.

The Recovery Elixir proved to be ineffective for the human body, failing to provide the necessary healing. Faced with this setback, I resorted to using alcohol and bandages to tend to Serena's wound, striving to apply the makeshift bandage as best as I could.

Now, I came to a sudden halt, staring at the identical passages before us. Uncertainty overwhelmed me, and I succumbed to a state of despondency.

Serena extended her hand and asked, "Do you have a stone?"

I nodded and handed her the object.

She pressed it against the wall, and the first passage illuminated, its moldy edges accentuating the red glow of the ancient runes.

Serena shook her head. "It's... not... the One. We need yellow."

Nodding weakly, she slumped to the ground after handing me back the stone.

I wrapped Threads around the stone and illuminated the other passages, but each one blazed with red light.

"Ha," a lifeless chuckle escaped from Serena's pale lips. Her eyes brimmed with hopelessness and despair.

It's too early for us to die.

I swathed her in a bearskin, securing it with Threads, and lifted her off the ground. Closing my eyes, I concentrated on feeling the three passages for the nearest hundred meters using the Threads.

Two led to a precipitous cliff, while the third terminated in a dead end.

If only there was a way to communicate with another person.

Resolute, I trudged toward the first passage, where the cliff loomed close. I needed to ascertain what lay beyond its edge.

Serena had drifted off to sleep, her peaceful breaths indicating her temporary respite. I remained vigilant, keeping watch over our surroundings. Before long, pale spiders, each the size of a meter, began emerging from the shadows.

The entire pathway ahead became enveloped in cobwebs as they moved their legs, gradually constricting the corridor into an invisible cocoon, with us trapped at its center.

Reacting swiftly, I extended my hand and summoned the power of Ignition. With a burst of flames, I managed to clear only a quarter of the space, as the burning webs emitted an eerie blue glow. Yet, more spiders continued to emerge from the unseen cracks, their presence closing in on us from all directions.

With each step, the crunching of exoskeletons beneath my feet echoed, their bodies frying to a crisp. In sync with the rhythm of my own heart, I tirelessly dispatched the arachnids, but weariness eventually overcame me. Surrounding both sides of the passage with my Dark Threads, I settled down to catch my breath.

Serena emerged from the bearskin, and I carefully lowered the burden, still shrouded in threads, to the ground.

[You're not planning to kill her?]

[She is still needed.]

Gazing up at the monotonous black ceiling, I illuminated our surroundings with flickering blue flames. Serena shed the weight of the woolen garment, looking disheveled, and stood on her own feet, making her way towards the intricate patterns on the walls.

---

The author has something important to share:

In the near future, several side stories featuring minor characters will be unveiled exclusively on my Patreon channel. These stories will shed light on the untold events taking place beyond the knowledge of the antagonist.

To dispel any misconceptions regarding Participant 137's affinity for female characters, I would like to clarify that Serena, deep within his subconscious, serves as a haunting reminder of his terrified sister whom he witnessed in a nightmarish, pain-ridden episode.

The protagonist's relationship with the outside world and his subsequent reactions are deeply intertwined with his past life experiences, posing a significant challenge for the 605 system.