Fine golden arcs of electricity flickered in Aeolos' eyes, triggered by his emotional turmoil. But soon, layers of intricate runic formations appeared, suppressing the power of his bloodline that was rising in response to his intense emotions.
Aeolos was now overwhelmed by a sense of helplessness, a faint guilt creeping into his heart. If he hadn't asked this adventurer team to escort him out of the labyrinth, they might not have encountered these vicious monsters.
"I..." Aeolos tightened his grip on the short sword, wanting to do something, anything.
"Run!" The elf girl, who was already on the brink of death, saw the struggle and unwillingness in Aeolos' eyes. Summoning the last of her strength, she shouted a single word.
Hearing the screams and roars around him, Aeolos clenched his sword tighter. He felt no fear, only a deep desire to act. But then, something strange happened to his sword. The previously pure white blade was suddenly enveloped in an inky blackness, which rapidly spread up Aeolos' arm and over his entire body, erasing his presence entirely, as though he had ceased to exist.
"Shadow Realm!" Aeolos quickly realized where he was as the world around him turned into shades of black and gray. A hint of hope appeared on his face, thinking this might be a way to change the grim situation.
However, as soon as he tried to raise his arm, a wave of weakness surged through him. He felt his strength draining rapidly.
"I'm..." Aeolos could barely express his frustration. Though the sword had taken him into the Shadow Realm, he didn't have the power to navigate it properly. "Too weak!"
"If only I had the strength of a gold-tier warrior!" Aeolos thought bitterly. Though the blood splattering around him appeared black in the Shadow Realm, making the scene less horrific, he knew that the adventurer team who had been trying to escort him out of the labyrinth was being slaughtered by the monsters. Their fate was sealed.
Deep down, Aeolos understood it wasn't entirely his fault. These monsters belonged to the labyrinth, and the team would have likely encountered them sooner or later during their exploration, even if he hadn't been there.
Since the discovery of the first labyrinth on the Synapse subcontinent, countless adventurers had entered them, some soaring to new heights after a miraculous encounter, but far more had perished under the claws and fangs of the labyrinth's monsters. The sight of their corpses never deterred those yearning to escape their lowly status, and every adventurer who managed to change their fate only inspired others, fueling countless thrilling stories.
After about fifteen minutes, completely drained of energy, Aeolos was forcibly ejected from the Shadow Realm, reappearing in the same spot where he had disappeared. The monsters had already finished devouring the adventurers and had left, leaving only the bloodstains behind.
The short sword in Aeolos' hand gradually returned from black to white, emitting a soft glow that helped restore his depleted energy.
"What is this thing?" Aeolos wondered as he stood up, some of his strength returning. He gazed at the sword in confusion. Everything that had happened to him tonight had been caused by this weapon.
He couldn't figure out how he had activated the talisman—originally just a simple lighting charm—that had led to such drastic changes. However, he knew one thing: the kind of fateful encounter he had fantasized about as a child had finally happened, though the experience was far from pleasant.
There was no doubt now that this short sword was an extraordinary artifact of a very high level. Its ability to transport him to the Shadow Realm was proof enough. After all, only advanced assassins typically possessed such skills.
…
"If he weren't sealed, I wouldn't mind throwing him into the labyrinth to gain experience, but in his current state, what's the point of giving him a sword with a few transformation abilities?" In a small villa in Saint Flame City, a couple sat on their bed, watching the scenes play out on a crystal screen. The child on the screen was navigating the dark, dangerous labyrinth, fighting to survive.
If a normal person were to witness this scene, they'd be terrified for the child, who was constantly being confronted by terrifying labyrinth monsters.
"This rune sword has seven different abilities. As long as he uses them well, he'll be able to survive in the labyrinth without issue!" Muria sighed, trying to explain to his wife. Parents of the Seraphim race tended to be quite indulgent with their children.
If Mikaela were an ordinary Seraphim, she would likely have started arguing with him by now. No Seraphim parent would tolerate seeing their child being pushed so hard.
"And after surviving with the sword, what will he gain?" Mikaela pressed.
"He will find the gift I've prepared for him, guided by the sword."
"And what's the gift?"
"A crest that contains the battle imprints of 372 powerful swordsmen. I call it the 'Sword Saint Emblem.'"
…
"What is this monster?" Aeolos, gripping his now-green sword, dashed frantically through the ruins of a shattered city, dodging the pursuit of a gold-tier beast. Behind him, debris flew everywhere as the monster effortlessly destroyed everything in its path.
This was a creature with a special hunting ability, and it could also enter the Shadow Realm. It had locked onto Aeolos, seemingly determined to devour the small, tasty-looking prey.
…
"It looks like the young prince has no more means of escape. Where did this monster with so many hunting abilities come from? It can turn invisible, enter the Shadow Realm, dig through the ground, and it's fast. It completely counters the prince's sword!" In a space rift, Miles watched the beast chasing Aeolos with some amusement.
"So, this thing needs to die, right?"
"Yes. But we must intervene discreetly, so the young prince doesn't notice anything strange. You lot draw straws. Whoever draws the short one can transform into a labyrinth monster and take care of it."
…
"What do I do? What do I do?" Aeolos was panicking as he ran from the relentless beast behind him. The sword had helped him enter the Shadow Realm, but the creature followed him there. Then, when the sword shifted to an underground form, the beast burrowed after him, digging even faster than he could escape. Now, the sword had changed again, wrapping him in wind energy as he sped through the ruins.
"I have a divine weapon, but all I'm doing is running for my life—and failing at it!" Aeolos grumbled to himself, surprisingly calm despite his dire situation.
By now, Aeolos had begun to realize something special about himself—he had no concept of fear. Even in this life-threatening scenario, he remained steady and composed, without a trace of panic.
"I'm going to die before I even reach middle school. I'm going to die in this dark place... how unfair!" He felt the stench of the beast's breath drawing closer. Aeolos was despairing, imagining his father not even finding his remains. "The teacher was right—I should never have touched something from the labyrinth."
Just as Aeolos was preparing to leave some sort of final message, the ground in front of him exploded with a roar. From the rubble emerged a giant beast with bony spikes, its glowing yellow eyes fixed on him, though it quickly turned its gaze to the black monster pursuing him.
"Roar!" The giant steel-armored earth dragon let out a deep bellow and, with surprising agility for its massive size, leapt over Aeolos and slammed into the hunter beast.
Aeolos turned to see the beast that had been relentlessly chasing him getting torn apart by the dragon's jaws. Within just a few moves, the hunter's head was ripped off, leaving it lifeless on the ground. The earth dragon, seemingly angered by the intrusion into its territory, then shifted its gaze to Aeolos.
Aeolos froze briefly, but soon, the sword in his hand began glowing with a soft green light. Invisible wind currents swirled around him, lifting him off the ground.
Aeolos knew better than to wait for the dragon to decide whether to eat him. Trusting a carnivorous beast not to devour him was pure folly. Fortunately, after Aeolos flew a safe distance away, he noticed the earth dragon had no intention of pursuing him. It appeared uninterested in such a small, weak creature.
As Aeolos escaped the immediate danger, he let out a sigh of relief. Then, a familiar sound of fighting reached his ears, and his eyes lit up.
Using the rune sword to conceal himself, Aeolos crept quietly toward the source of the battle. In a labyrinth full of threats, it seemed wiser to find a strong adventurer group for protection.
_________________________
[Check out my Patreon for +200 additional chapters in all my fanfics! $5 for all!!]
[w w w . p a t r e o n .com / INNIT]
[+50 PowerStones = +1 Chapter] [+5 Reviews = +1 Chapter]