Chapter 5: The Unique Labyrinth. (Part 1)

"I'm Ruby. A Vampire princess from Ingram."

Ingram was the name that referred to the world of Vampires. In that world, Vampires were the dominant race. 

As far as Julius was aware, Vampires of Ingram were immortal and consumed blood to survive. They shared many humanoid features and had allied with humans when the world portals opened.

'That's… a Vampire… and a princess at that?'

In general, it was known that vampires were powerful, but those of noble and royal blood were far more powerful than your average vampire. 

And although vampires and humans shared similar features and were in an alliance, they did not get along. This was because of the Vampire's nature to consume blood. 

In spite of the formation of the alliance, there were still cases of vampires attacking humans. It was a very shaky relationship.

Cold sweat poured down Julius's face as he returned her gaze. 

'She's in my domain… If I use Nightmare before she reacts…'

"Hmm~? Despite my introduction, rather than succumbing to fear, you quickly wondered how you would beat me. Usually people wouldn't even think of fighting me, in this situation." 

She smiled mischievously at his reaction before placing a lush bottle in front of the portal.

"Worry not, I am not your enemy. Take a drop of this for yourself and give it to that girl on your back, it should heal those injuries. I'll be going on ahead."

Having said that, she walked through the portal, disappearing from his sight.

'...Huh?'

His eyes scanned the area looking for any signs of it being a trap to lure him and lower his guard, but nothing struck him as suspicious.

*Shudder!* 

A sudden tremor shook the surroundings. There was something coming... something big. 

Clicking his tongue, he ran toward the portal, grabbing the bottle along the way.

"It could be a trap but I'll worry about it later, for now I need to get out of here-"

Together with Lyra, he leapt into it and disappeared from the scene.

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-

Slowly, Julius's eyes opened and he noticed he was inside a dimly lit passageway. The walls were covered in mossy vines and old bricks, and wooden torches hung from them. 

Behind the circular red portal, he could see a long dimly lit corridor. Similarly, the path ahead was the same.

"Oh~ So this is a labyrinth… How exciting!" 

The only difference being the black-haired vampire, Ruby, who walked ahead. Almost glowing red in the dark, her eyes searched left and right in excitement. 

Julius had many questions for her, but now wasn't the time. He looked down at his left leg and arm which were horribly bent.

He had left the domain, so the shadow-like strings supporting him were no longer active.

'It's taking everything that I have to stand on one foot with Lyra on my back… I'm vulnerable. If she were to attack me now, then...'

Julius slowly set Lyra down and inspected her body.

'I don't have time to worry about that girl… I need to stop Lyra's blood loss before she ends up losing too much…'

Through his inspection he saw that the cuts and injuries that he had patched up had opened up. Fighting the minotaur also seemed to have given her some new ones. 

Her breathing had become extremely weak, and she had a painful expression on her face. 

'Simply stopping the bleeding with bandages won't be enough at this point.. She's lost too much blood… Fuck.'

Julius glanced at the bottle in his hand, wondering whether it was safe. He then glanced at Ruby who seemed to pay no attention to him, as she delved deeper into the Labyrinth.

"There's no other choice…" He muttered as he popped open the lid and let a drop of it's content fall onto his tongue.

Upon swallowing, his eyes widened as it slid down his throat. In a matter of moments, the torn flesh began to heal itself, and the bent bones started cracking as they slowly shifted back into place.

[You have consumed a Highest-Grade Health Elixir.]

[HP: 25 % -> 40% -> 55%]

[Energy: 60% -> 70% -> 80%]

His left arm and leg pain quickly subsided as his health and energy returned. When Julius saw this, he quickly opened Lyra's mouth and let a drop of its contents fall into hers. 

Almost instantly, the same phenomenon occurred when it slid down her tongue. During the healing process, her flesh also knitted itself back together. 

Slowly, the tense pained expression on her face relaxed, and her breathing improved. Observing the bottle, Julius couldn't help but be awestruck.

After a short while, not a single scratch could be seen on Julius nor Lyra's body.

[HP: 100%]

[Energy: 100%]

"Just one drop did this…?" He muttered as he got up while putting Lyra on his back. "What kind of bottle is this?" 

Julius gazed down the dimly lit passageway, Ruby had stopped at the end. 

'..Nothing feels odd… It really just healed us. I thought it was suspicious but...' 

Without saying anything else, he walked up to Ruby who looked puzzled as she looked left and right. There were two separate paths, one on each side.

"Looks like you're all healed up." She said with a smile.

Upon reaching her, he handed her the bottle and nodded.

"..Thanks to you." 

Julius scratched the back of his head.

"I don't know why you helped me… but since you did, I'll give you a piece of advice. This Labyrinth isn't like a regular one.' 

"Ah- Now that you mention it… there aren't any monsters and also-"

*Tremble!*

Suddenly, they felt the entire ground and walls shake. For a few seconds, the entire surrounding trembled violently. 

While gazing down the right corridor, her eyes narrowed as if noticing something. For Julius's eyes, it was too far away and too dark, but she was able to see it clearly.

"Something changed just now…" She muttered.

Her lips then slowly broke out into a smile as she realised something.

"Yeah. That's the secret behind this labyrinth. It shifts..." 

-Memory

"A shifting labyrinth?" Julius asked nervously.

They were on the inside of the car on the way towards the Labyrinth.

"Yeah… we walked for miles. No signs of a boss room, monsters or anything. We thought it was a waste of time and were scared of getting stuck but just as we were about to call it quits, I stepped onto a trap, a hidden plate on the floor." Lyra responded.

She clenched her hand into a fist and lowered her head.

"At that moment the wall beside me suddenly opened up to a room filled with glowing red runes in the shape of a circle. Right as I was about to get swept in, Ava grabbed onto me and took my place causing herself to get swept in in the process."

Her eyes began to tear up.

"Before I could leap back into the room, the runes activated and Ava's figure vanished. I leapt in after that but the runes would no longer activate no matter what I did or how long I waited…"

She looked over at Julius, staring at him with a serious expression.

"Listen, Julius. Once we're inside of the labyrinth, make sure you follow the instructions that I'm about to tell you very closely. You'll have to stick close to me." Said Lyra. "No matter what happens, keep close." 

-Memory End.

After recalling the memory, Julius marched forward down the dimly lit corridor. He had chosen the path on the right.

"So… why are you following me?" Julius questioned. 

"I have a bad sense of direction and you look like you know the path." She responded with a smile. 

He glanced at Ruby, who followed him a few steps away.

"I don't though?" 

At his words, her eyes started to sparkle.

"Oh~! So then we're marching towards the unknown without a plan? How exciting…!" 

'What part of that's exciting?'

"I said, I didn't know the path, I never said that I didn't have a plan." Julius muttered as he continued to advance.

"Eh? You have a plan? And here I thought we were going to get lost..." She let out a disappointed sigh.

'Does she have a screw loose?'

With Lyra perched on his back, Julius continued to wander through the dimly lit corridors of the lifeless Labyrinth. Ruby followed him quietly, enjoying every moment. 

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-

"Not that I mind, but we've been walking for around half an hour now, it's okay to admit that you don't have a plan." She smiled mischievously. 

Julius who had been walking ahead suddenly halted, forcing them to stop. He ignored her and stared silently at the path ahead.

'..Based on what I've experienced. The labyrinth shifts every few minutes, a new path is always opening up. Despite that, Lyra was able to make it back home safely within a few hours.'

Julius began inspecting surroundings in search of something.

'That's strange, isn't it? If this was truly that scary of a maze, would she really be able to have managed to escape so easily?'

Ruby watched, as he crouched down and crawled against the floor.

'My guess is that the labyrinth isn't actually that big, it just gives the impression that it is. No matter what path we take, we'll just be moving around in circles, that's why Lyra couldn't find Ava no matter how much she searched.' 

In an attempt to hear something, Julius placed his ears against the walls and began tapping them.

'Another point to consider is the fact that they didn't encounter any signs of a boss room despite walking for so long… If my theory is correct then the key to finding Ava in this Labyrinth isn't in the passageway itself but rather, the traps.'

While slowly venturing down the passageways, he did this on both sides. Ruby noticed that he was onto something, and so she remained quiet as to not disrupt his concentration.

Julius' eyes widened again as he stopped walking. He tapped on the wall once, and then twice, and then a third time before smiling. 

"Ruby, Vampires are strong right? Can you punch this spot right here with all of your strength?" Julius asked while pointing at a spot on the wall.

When Ruby realised what was going on, she smiled and walked over to his side. "So that's what you were looking for." She responded as she readied her fist.

As she swung her fist, her hand almost blurred before it slammed into the wall where Julius had indicated, crashing through it.

Several bricks were thrown into the air and a hole was made. 

Visible through the hole there was a small room with red glowing runes connected in a circle on the floor. 

Ruby's eyes sparkled as they gazed at the runes.

"Found it." Said Julius with a grin.