About half an hour ago.
*SLASH!*
Aurelia's blade carved a deep gash into the earthen wall, silver energy crackling along the cut like liquid starlight.
But the damn thing barely budged.
"Tch."
She stepped back and examined the barrier with calculating golden eyes.
The wall was at least a meter thick, reinforced with some kind of magical enhancement that made it tougher than reinforced concrete.
Her divine power had only managed to scratch the surface.
*SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!*
She did three more strikes, each one channeling more of her celestial energy.
The cuts deepened, earth chips flying in all directions as her blade bit into the barrier.
But even at full power, she was maybe halfway through.
At this rate, it would take twenty minutes just to break through one wall.
And there were probably dozens of them.
"..."
Aurelia lowered her sword and studied the maze structure.
Fighting her way through would take way too long, and her Lord Nero might be facing serious danger.
What if he encountered multiple A-tier monsters?
What if he fell into a deadly trap or assassination attempt?
Her divine instincts were screaming warnings about separation during what was obviously an ambush.
"..."
Aurelia forced herself to calm down.
Her Lord Nero had grown stronger over the past month.
His combat skills, his reflexes, his tactical thinking had all improved dramatically.
She had to trust in his capabilities and what he has shown so far.
There was no other choice.
*Step... Step... Step...*
Aurelia turned away from the wall and turned to the only pathway.
But as she navigated, she soon encountered a forked path ahead.
Three different corridors stretched out before her, each one looking identical to the others.
*Shimmer...*
Suddenly, divine light began flowing across her body like liquid metal.
Her bluish-silver Valkyrie armor materialized piece by piece, covering her from head to toe in protective plating that gleamed with holy energy.
Maximum defensive stance.
Whatever was waiting for her in this maze, she needed to be ready for it.
"..."
Without any context or clues, Aurelia chose the middle path based on her intuition.
*Step... Step... Step…*
Her boots clicked against stone as she chose the center corridor.
The corridor stretched endlessly, twisting and turning like someone had designed it specifically to disorient people.
Earth walls rose on both sides, smooth and featureless.
No windows, no decorations, no distinguishing marks whatsoever.
Just endless brown stones that seemed to absorb sound and light.
Left turn... straight ahead... right turn...
Every few minutes, she'd reach another fork in the path.
Three choices, sometimes four.
Each one looking exactly the fucking same as the last.
The sameness was maddening for any people who's experiencing it.
It's like walking through a copy-paste nightmare where every corridor has been stamped out by the same boring architect.
Another fork... another choice...
Minutes crawled by as she navigated the maze.
Her armored footsteps echoed in the enclosed space, creating a rhythmic beat that was the only sound in this stone prison.
Left, right, straight, left again.
The paths kept branching and merging in patterns that made no tactical sense.
Whoever built this thing either had no idea what they were doing or was fucking with people on purpose…
Well, given recent events, it was definitely the latter.
But just as Aurelia was about to turn and enter another path…
*CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!*
The sound of metal hitting metal echoed through the maze.
It was the sound of blades clashing.
Judging by the rowdy echoes, it seems to be a desperate fight with the conclusion of the battle nearing.
"Lord Nero…"
Aurelia's pace immediately shifted into a full run.
Her armored boots pounded against stone as she followed the sound through the twisting corridors.
The clashing grew louder with each turn.
And then,
*Crash!*
The corridor opened up into a circular clearing about the size of a basketball court.
Aurelia skidded to a stop, her golden eyes immediately scanning the scene.
And what she saw next made her stun in place.
"..."
Three people were present.
… Well, just two if you wanted to be technical about it.
Laura Frell lay sprawled on the stone floor in a rapidly expanding pool of blood.
Her archer's bow was snapped in half beside her, and there was a gaping hole where her heart used to be.
The wound was clean, precise, and surgical.
Someone had punched straight through her chest cavity with enough force to liquify her internal organs.
No doubt about it, she's dead.
*Wheeze... gasp...*
Meanwhile, Jina Martinez was barely standing, her twin daggers shaking in her grip.
Blood streamed down her face from a head wound, and her left arm hung at an unnatural angle.
Broken ribs, probably.
Internal bleeding, definitely.
She looked like she'd been thrown through a wood chipper.
Standing over them both with a cheerful smile was Rebecca Torres.
The same Rebecca who'd been friendly and helpful during the truck ride.
The same Rebecca who'd created stone barriers to protect them from monster attacks.
… Except now she was covered in blood that wasn't her own, and her eyes held the kind of cold amusement that belonged to serial killers.
"Aw! You arrived to the party too early! I still wasn't done with the gifts, you know?"
Rebecca disappointedly clapped her blood-soaked hands together like the surprise she's about to give was spoiled in advance.
But then, her smile immediately returned as she shrugged,
"Well, no matter, I'm almost done, anyway."
"!!!"
Meanwhile, Jin's eyes widened with desperate hope when she spotted Aurelia, and the she immediately panicked as she warned,
"Aurelia! Be careful! Rebecca... she's not who we thought she was! She killed Laura and she's been–"
"Now, now, Jin. Don't spoil the surprise."
Rebecca cut off Jin's warning in amusement as her smile stretched wider, showing an entertained expression.
"Let our new guest figure it out for herself."
Meanwhile,
"..."
Aurelia's hand silently moved to her sword hilt with deliberate slowness.
Her tactical analysis kicked into overdrive, processing every detail of the scene.
Laura's wound was inflicted by someone with earth manipulation powers.
Compressed stone, shaped into a spike, driven through her chest from behind.
An assassination technique disguised as friendly fire.
"Rebecca Torres."
Aurelia's voice carried the kind of authority that made mountains bow.
"Explain your actions."
"Aww, so formal!"
Rebecca giggled like a schoolgirl who'd just been asked to the prom.
"I suppose explanations are in order, aren't they?"
She gestured around the clearing with mock disappointment.
"You see, this whole maze situation wasn't supposed to happen like this."
Rebecca shook her head like she was discussing a minor scheduling mishap.
"The plan was so elegant! Lure you and your precious Lord Nero somewhere isolated, spring the trap when you are separated and vulnerable."
*Kick...*
Rebecca's boot connected with Laura's lifeless body, rolling it over with casual disrespect.
"But these two had to go and stumble into my hunting ground at exactly the wrong moment."
She sighed dramatically.
"Sometimes you just have to improvise, you know?"
*Bow...*
Rebecca then performed an exaggerated curtsy, her blood-stained clothes somehow making the gesture more disturbing than elegant.
"Allow me to properly introduce myself, 'future 8th sister.'"
Her voice dropped into a mockingly seductive purr.
"Rebecca Torres, earth manipulation specialist, Level 19 combat mage, and one of the seven brides of Vincent Cross… and the one currently assigned to bring you as the 8th bride of my dear Cross."
The silence that followed was deafening.
Jin's face went white as the implications hit her like a sledgehammer.
"Oh! And before we get started..."
As if remembering something important, Rebecca's smile turned absolutely predatory.
"Marcus should be coming back soon with your master's head."
Her voice dripped with malicious glee.
"That musclehead was so confident, so eager to prove his muscles were stronger, saying he would mop the floor with your Lord's face."
The girl had a mocking amusement as if what she remembered that came from Marcus's mouth was an entertaining declaration of a kid's pride.
But as much of a musclehead Marcus is, Rebecca can vouch for his pure power.
Heck, she even shook her head with an exaggerated pity at the poor fate of that Nero Walker…
"I wonder if your precious Lord screamed when Marcus crushed his skull."
She suddenly wondered out loud, hoping to provoke and finally see the cold face of this supposedly most beautiful woman her dear Cross was talking about, break.
But to her surprise,
"..."
Aurelia remained perfectly still.
Her golden eyes showed no emotion, no reaction to the provocation.
Just that same stoic expression she wore when calculating the most efficient way to end a threat.
"..."
Rebecca's smile faltered slightly at the lack of response.
"... Nothing to say? No desperate denials? No righteous anger?"
Still nothing.
Just those cold, calculating eyes studying Rebecca like she was already dead.
No, actually, there is a response…
*Shing...*
And that is, Aurelia drew her broadsword in silence.
Silver energy flowed along the blade like liquid starlight.
The divine power faintly lingered around her cold blade, making anyone who gaze at it shiver unconsciously.
And then without any words…
*WHOOSH!*
Aurelia moved faster than thought itself.
Her blade carved through the air in a perfect arc aimed directly at Rebecca's throat.
"!!!"
Rebecca was immediately alarmed and threw herself sideways. The sword passed close enough to her neck to part her hair, almost bitching her head off from her body.
She rolled across the stone floor and came up in a defensive crouch, her cheerful expression replaced by genuine cold sweat.
But then she made an amused smirk and laughed,
"Well, that's more like it!"
Rebecca's provocative smile returned as she realized that her opponent is not easy to break this time… it appears she would be enjoying the process much more than the others she fought before.
"For a moment there, I thought you might be a boring one to fight with… it's a good thing I witnessed your power in that truck, right?"
Rebecca giggled as if she just discovered a secret and found a new toy to play with.
"..."
Aurelia pointed her blade directly at Rebecca's heart.
And then for what seems to be an eternity, Aurelia finally gave her calm, steady and absolute certain response,
"If my Lord Nero is only facing Marcus, then I have nothing to fear."
A faint smile crossed Aurelia's lips. It's the first genuine expression she'd shown others besides her Lord Nero.
"My Lord Nero is stronger than others think."
***
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