The growl echoed through the labyrinth like thunder.
The air inside the maze suddenly became heavy. Even the torches on the walls flickered weakly, as if something enormous had entered the labyrinth.
The ground trembled slightly.
A deep breath echoed through the corridors.
One of the chained prisoners began shaking.
"W-what is that sound…?"
Then three massive shadows slowly appeared around the corner.
A three-headed beast slowly moved toward the four people chained at the center. The keys to their chains were kept in a small pot nearby.
Aster stepped forward slowly, acting calm. But his eyes revealed the truth—inside, he wasn't calm at all.
The beast was almost upon them.
The killer suddenly shouted,
"Move away, idiot! That is not an ordinary beast. That thing is from ancient times. It's the god of the wasteland—Cerberus. It hunts everything. Even other beasts fear it. We have no choice. Leave them here and run!"
Aster replied calmly,
"I won't. You can go wherever you want. I'm not here to follow you."
The killer clicked his tongue.
"Man… this kind of thing makes me sick."
He rushed forward and struck Aster in the neck with a single blow, knocking him unconscious.
Then he grabbed two of the chained prisoners—the ordinary man and the child dressed in simple clothes—and threw them toward the beast.
As the creature lunged to devour them, he quickly grabbed the keys from the pot and unlocked the two people wearing royal outfits.
The beast tore into the two ordinary people.
Yet something was strange.
They didn't scream.
They didn't cry.
Even as the beast devoured them, their faces remained empty… like lifeless dolls.
The killer frowned slightly but didn't stop.
While the beast was busy eating, he ran around it and escaped with the royals.
Unfortunately, he ended up taking a wrong path inside the labyrinth.
When he turned back, the beast had already finished its meal.
At that moment, Aster slowly regained consciousness.
He suddenly jumped off the killer's shoulder, landed on the ground, and punched him hard in the face.
"What did you do to them?!" Aster shouted.
"Where are the two ordinary people?"
"I fed them to the beast," the killer replied coldly. "It gave us time to escape. But we ended up here because you were on my shoulder."
Nox wiped the blood from his hand with a bored expression, as if sacrificing two lives meant nothing to him.
Aster's anger exploded.
"Who asked you to help me?! I never asked for your help!"
Meanwhile, the beast—exhausted after chasing nearly five hundred candidates through the labyrinth—slowly collapsed and fell asleep.
The killer immediately realized something.
"Now's our chance," he said. "If you want to live, come with me."
Aster's fury surged.
A faint golden aura began to glow from his body.
Dust slowly rose from the ground.
The chains hanging from the labyrinth walls began to rattle softly.
The killer's eyes narrowed.
In his rage, Aster punched the wall beside him.
Cracks spread across the stone.
The moment his fist struck it, a section of the wall suddenly shifted and opened like a hidden door.
The killer stared at the broken wall in silence.
His eyes slowly moved toward Aster.
That aura… was that?
For a moment, the killer almost smiled.
"Interesting…" Nox muttered quietly, as if he had just discovered something valuable.
For a brief moment, one of Cerberus's three heads slowly opened a glowing eye.
The massive beast stared directly at Aster.
Then the eye slowly closed again.
Aster's rage drained his strength.
He collapsed unconscious once again.
The killer kicked him lightly through the opening and stepped outside as well.
When they emerged from the labyrinth, the remaining candidates stared at them in shock.
Most of them couldn't believe their eyes.
After nearly twenty minutes inside the maze… they had actually come out alive.
A moment later, Louis stepped forward.
"It's over," he said calmly. "The maze trial has ended. Now we move to the final trial."
The remaining candidates listened carefully.
"But the final trial will not take place here," Louis continued. "We will be leaving Solvaris Isle. The next trial will take place on Drakenfall Isle."
The candidates looked at each other in confusion.
"On Drakenfall Isle," Louis continued, "there are ruins of an ancient kingdom located within the Dark Valley. The final trial will be announced when we arrive there."
As he finished speaking, Louis suddenly turned his gaze toward the lavender-haired girl.
He slowly walked toward her.
Most of the candidates watched curiously.
But three people showed no reaction.
Aster.
The killer.
And one silent observer standing far in the distance beneath a hood.
Louis stopped in front of the girl and began to bow.
But the girl's eyes immediately signaled him to stop.
Louis froze mid-motion.
"This is enough," he said quietly.
"You can return now, Majes—"
"Why do you keep annoying me?" the girl suddenly shouted.
The entire area fell silent.
"You are—"
"Shut up!" she interrupted loudly.
"Cut out the 'Majesty' part here!"
Her voice echoed across the entire field.
Immediately whispers spread through the crowd.
"Did you hear that?"
"She said Majesty…"
"Is she royalty?"
"But why would a royal be here?"
"How did she enter the trial?"
The murmuring grew louder.
Louis sighed.
"I cannot allow you to enter the Dark Valley," he said calmly. "That place is filled with ancient beasts."
The candidates froze.
"Ancient beasts?!"
"That place sounds deadly!"
The lavender-haired girl simply shrugged.
"Nah," she said casually.
"I'll enter. I have no problem with that."
Louis hesitated.
"But—"
Before he could continue, she raised her hand and stopped him.
Moments later, Louis raised his voice.
"Listen, everyone! This is the final trial. I will explain everything when we reach Drakenfall Isle. For now—board the ship!"
Stone steps slowly formed from Solvaris Isle down to the large ship waiting below.
The candidates began boarding.
Aster was still unconscious, so the killer carried him on his shoulder.
Two days later…
Aster opened his eyes.
He was still on the killer's shoulder.
They were walking through a deep, dark cave.
Aster immediately jumped down.
"Where are we? Where are we going? And why do you keep dragging me around?"
The killer sighed.
"We're passing through a cave that leads to the Dark Valley."
Then he glared at him.
"And you're the one dragging me down, idiot."
"I'm not acting," Aster replied. "You're the one who keeps annoying me."
"What are you talking about?" the killer said.
"You've been with me this whole time."
"This whole time?"
"Yeah, idiot. It's been two days."
They continued arguing while walking.
"You're an idiot."
"No, you're the idiot."
"You're acting weird."
"No, you're the weird one."
Eventually they reached the end of the tunnel.
The Dark Valley appeared before them.
It was enormous.
Ruins of an ancient kingdom covered the valley floor.
Broken towers.
Collapsed walls.
Shattered statues stood everywhere, their stone eyes staring silently toward the valley entrance.
Yet despite the destruction, the place looked strangely beautiful.
Thousands of glowing fireflies floated through the air, illuminating the ruins like a silent sea of stars.
One candidate whispered nervously,
"Isn't this the place where the Drakenfall Kingdom disappeared?"
Another replied quietly,
"Yeah… they say the entire kingdom vanished overnight."
"Some people say the beasts in this valley were once the kingdom's guardians."
"Others say the valley itself is cursed."
All the candidates had gathered on one side of the valley.
Louis sat calmly on a large rock.
When he saw Aster and the killer arrive, his gaze briefly lingered on Aster… as if observing something.
Then he looked away.
"We begin tomorrow," he said.
"For now… rest."
Aster frowned.
Why is this bastard suddenly so calm?
He also noticed something strange.
There were no other knights anywhere.
The next morning, the valley looked completely different.
Massive chain gates surrounded the entire area.
At the center stood a giant entrance gate leading deeper into the ruins.
Louis woke the candidates.
"The final trial," he said coldly, "is to find eight runes representing the Eight Royal Isles."
"This trial will be done in teams of three."
"There will be twenty teams."
"The first seven teams to collect the runes will enter the academy."
He paused.
"The losers will remain here… as food for the hungry beasts inside this valley."
Silence filled the air.
Then one candidate spoke.
"But the academy notice said twenty candidates would be selected. If there are teams of three… that means twenty-one candidates."
Louis looked at him silently.
We won't count her among the candidates, he thought.
"No questions," he said aloud.
"If you doubt it, leave now… and become food for the beasts."
The candidate immediately fell silent.
Aster was half awake.
Teams, huh…
Candidates quickly began forming groups.
Aster didn't know anyone.
"Yo!"
He turned around.
It was the killer, smiling like a lunatic.
"Wanna team up, idiot?" he asked.
Aster replied instantly,
"Never—"
Then he stopped.
"…I'll think about it."
He slowly walked toward him.
The killer grinned.
"So… you made up your mind?"
"I'm only joining you because I don't know anyone else."
"By the way… who are you?"
The killer pointed at himself.
"Me?"
He grinned.
"I'm Nox."
"Try not to die too quickly."
At that exact moment—
"Yooo guys!"
Both of them turned.
A girl was waving at them cheerfully.
"Could I join your team, please?"
Nox looked at Aster.
Aster looked at Nox.
Both of them spoke at the same time.
"No."
The girl blinked in surprise.
"Wow… you two already act like a team."
In the distance, the massive gate to the Dark Valley slowly began to creak open.
The sound echoed across the valley like grinding metal.
Heavy chains dragged across the stone ground as the enormous gate slowly separated.
A cold wind flowed out from the darkness beyond it.
The fireflies scattered through the air.
Several candidates instinctively stepped back.
For a brief moment, the entire valley went silent.
Then—
From somewhere deep inside the ruins…
A low, distant roar echoed through the valley.
It wasn't loud.
But it was enough to make the ground tremble slightly.
Some of the candidates froze.
Others looked toward the dark entrance with uneasy expressions.
One of them whispered nervously,
"Did you hear that…?"
Another candidate swallowed.
"Yeah…"
"That came from inside the valley."
Nox slowly cracked his neck and smiled.
"Well," he said quietly.
"Looks like this trial isn't going to be boring after all."
Aster stared toward the darkness beyond the gate.
For some reason…
The moment it opened,
he felt like something inside the valley had started watching them.