I hauled Alice in my arms for quite some time, she seemed to just be resting.

The gentle warmth of her breath brushed over my arm as I carried her, her eyes hadn’t budged an inch since I got her. I think it was the roar she used on Ilinore that got her this tired. It was built-up fatigue that finally caught up with her.

I felt the effects of it too, using that skill once was enough to bring my whole body into a worn-out state. I was walking with legs of jelly but I couldn't let it hold me back, not with her life in my hands…all too literally.

We approached a bend in the labyrinth, there were so many of those that I had lost count. They all did the same thing, continuing forward with the same scenery. I wasn’t sure if we had been walking in circles or if the entire maze looked the same.

Wall after wall, it all had the same dreary brown texture and soundless hallways. The only light was the strange lines of text that ran across the walls. It was barely enough light to call the place bright but we were able to see what was in front of us.

Veldor led the way while I carried Alice, we didn’t speak much—barely a word—but that was the arrangement we had come to. He stopped suddenly at the bend with his head tilted around the corner.

He held up his arm and bent it at a 90-degree angle with his fist beside his ear. I had no idea what he was doing but it looked like another one of their signals.

“Hey, I don’t know what those weird signals you guys use are—”

“Be quiet!” he snapped.

He was panicked, something around that corner must have caught his eye. Just as I stepped closer to ask him, he stepped back.

“Woah…what’s wrong?”

He readied his shield in one hand and reached for his mace with the other. I didn’t need to wait for his explanation to know what was coming.

We hurried back and rushed into one of the many vacant rooms we had passed on our way there. It was the same size as the room we started in, only that this one had two exits, one ahead and one behind.

Someone was coming for us around that corner and we weren't prepared to fight them. Not only was it just the two of us against whatever awaited but we also had Alice to worry about.

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“Who did you see? Was it Ilinore or that guy in black?” I whispered.

I waited for a response but…I got nothing.

There was a struggle on his face, not that he didn’t want to answer but…maybe he couldn't?

“I…didn’t see.”

He didn’t see who it was but he’s already this panicked, is the situation hitting him harder than I thought? I’ll admit the aura up ahead definitely feels quite strong but it’s about as strong as she was before. If we make a run for it, we might just escape!

If it was Ilinore coming for us then we couldn't fight her, we had to find a way out of there. I leaned closer to Veldor and tried to reason with him.

“Listen Veldor, we can’t stay here so let’s run like hell and—”

Alice’s eyes shot open as far as they could and her pupils shrunk to the size of a spec. It happened so suddenly that I flinched.

As her head rose from my arms her body shivered with a violent motion that tossed and threw her body around in my arms. I lost my hold on her and she fell to the floor.

“Alice! What’s wrong, are you…Alice?”

Alice landed hunched over on the floor, on her hands and knees. She faced towards the exit at the other end of the room.

Her eyes twitched in place as if they were trying to move but were forced into place. Her body followed the same display of fear and wouldn’t stop shaking.

“N-no…please no….he’s a monster…” She cried.

“…he?” I turned to the exit and a single black greave stepped into sight.

That black armour, isn't he the guy who was standing next to Ilinore before? His aura was way stronger before…so why is it so tame now?

As he stepped into sight and his eyes met mine, I understood.

A flood of mana seeped in with his final step as if concealed behind his body before he entered the room.

My expression joined hers in utter terror as the most potent black mana I had ever seen, filled my view.

I was surrounded by a void, Alice and Veldor both disappeared and left me alone within its dark grasp.

“N-no…what is this?” I looked around and saw nothing, no beginning or end in sight.

It looked familiar though, the endless black void that spanned out far beyond anything I could see. As I stared ahead and saw him appear, I realised instantly where I was.

“It’s just like what Akai did…it’s just a trick.” I uttered.

With that realisation, I gripped two solid fists at my sides and focused past him, past his cold dead, black eyes. Inside of his glare was a flicker of black, a flame that resembled mana. It was there, that I gazed into.

“I won’t lose!”

I forced my gaze passed his illusion and the dark void that surrounded me faded away, which left me back in the room I had left moments prior. Alice and Veldor were at my sides, frozen on the spot with their mouths hung open.

They looked petrified, but their eyes were dilated, it was obvious from a glance that they were unconscious.

I grabbed Alice’s shoulder but got no reaction, the same with Veldor when I shook him. It didn’t seem to do anything to them and yet somehow I was free.

{Allies have fallen under the effects of immense Intimidation}

The only reason I could think of for me being awake was that I had already dispelled something similar in the past. I remember getting a similar message when Akai used it on me…except it wasn’t that powerful.

“Thank you Akai…I think you saved me here. But what do I do now that I’m free…?” I mumbled nervously.