“There you guys are! I was wondering what’s been holding you up.” Joel ran up to us as soon as he spotted us coming out of the black portal. Behind him, I can see the others grouped around Leo, Camila, and Sam.

“It’s nothing you should worry about,” I waved Joel off. “What’s going on over there?”

Sophie and Darion were huddled over Sam who has suffered severe injuries from the looks of it. One of his eyes was badly scarred. He was also missing his right arm too. Luckily he had a makeshift Tourniquet wrapped, though it was probably useless now since Joel already fed him a healing potion. Actually, when we were following the navigation tool, we found Sam slouched against a wall, unconscious. His arm was bleeding profusely as a big puddle formed right under him. His skin was also deathly pale. Sam was one inch away from death. Joel, with a burst of speed that I thought was impossible for him of all people, whipped out the healing potion and force-fed it to Sam just before he could kick the bucket. He then applied the Tourniquet for good measure. I have no idea how he wasn’t eaten by any wandering monsters. I can’t tell if he’s lucky, or unlucky.

“He still hasn’t woken up?” I asked Joel. He shook his head and sighed.

“Sadly. Losing an arm and an eye for Sam should be nothing when you know that guy can receive a ton of physical punishment. Mentally though, I have no idea. He’s probably just drained mentally. The only person who could’ve done this must’ve been those three bastards.”

“Yea… They’re pieces of shit alright,” Isaac whistled. He walked past Joel and joined Darion’s side, conversing with the boy.

“Well, I’ll be… That boy Darion is actually talking with another person without so much as making a face.”

“My brother has a way of… making friends with just about anyone.”

“…I beg your pardon?” Joel cocked his head back and stared at me, lips parted. “Did you just say 'brother'?”

“...Well, yea? I thought that was obvious.”

Joel’s eyes flickered back and forth between me and Isaac. He then went on to mumble to himself. “Now that I think about it… yes… They do look like siblings. How did I miss that…”

While he was off in his own world babbling to himself, I shoved the man from behind so we could rejoin the group. As we got closer, I could hear Sophie bringing Camila up to speed on what happened inside Tartarus.

“…Are you positive that Earth is on the verge of being overrun by monsters?” Camila gasped, wide-eyed. Sophie silently nodded her head and continued.

“…We’re sure of it. Which is why we need to get out of here quickly. We can’t sit here doing nothing…”

“…B-But how will we escape? T-That lady over there killed the Minotaur and no portal opened…” Iris pointed a finger at me. Everyone had their eyes on me, awaiting confirmation, but Joel cut in.

“I had thought that it was strange when no portal opened when Laila killed the Minotaur. I’ve nearly forgotten after all that has happened.”

“Maybe if we head back to where the Minotaur was killed, the portal could already be there, waiting for us. It probably got delayed, or something,” Chen Ling suggested. “I mean, there really aren’t any other entrances or exits whenever we enter Dungeons. The only way out is to complete the objective, and once done, a portal just pops up.”

The others were silent at Chen Ling’s words, thinking about this dire situation, except for two.

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“Actually, there’s still one possible entrance, if it hasn’t been destroyed already, that is,” Isaac said out loud.

“Really? And how do you know that?” Camilla asked the boy.

Isaac frowned at Camila. “Well, beautiful lady, how do you think my sister and I got here in the first place?”

“Oh! You’re right! Why didn’t I think of that!” Joel exclaimed. “If we follow the trail back to where you guys first entered, we’ll probably be able to leave The Labyrinth.”

“Hold on a second,” Darion held up a hand to stop Joel. “Didn’t they say they came here from Athiens? What if we end on that planet instead of Earth?”

“That wouldn’t matter. Earth and Athiens will be combined into one planet anyways. We’ll still be back on ‘Earth’ but it won’t be the ‘Earth’ we know all too well,” I responded. Darion opened his mouth slightly, but no words came out.

“If you don’t have any questions, we should get moving, like pronto. Remember, Earth is being overrun by monsters. We can’t stay here chit-chatting all day,” Joel chimed in. He shuffled over to Sam and picked up the unconscious man in a fireman’s carry. Since Sam is a large man and Joel is considerably smaller than he is, it's like watching a kid picking up their much older sibling.

“Darion, I want you to lift Leo up on your shoulders while I carry Sam. I don’t want to leave Leo here. He deserves a proper burial back home.”

Darion showed no signs of complaining and did what was told. Sam and Leo were now idly limp over these two shoulders.

“Laila, Isaac. Do you know the exact route?”

“Yes. I made sure to create landmarks along the way when we first entered by scribbling arrows with my rapier. Follow me.”

After making sure everyone was ready to move, we all went on our way to leave The Labyrinth, once and for all.

****

It's quiet. Way too quiet, and not in a good way. Excluding the group, there have been no visible signs of life anywhere in The Labyrinth. No growls, shouts, shrieks, footsteps, scrapes, none of the frequent sounds. Not to mention that whenever we would pass by stone doors that would be occupied by prisoners, they would be no one inside. That in turn leads me to believe that the process has already begun. The creatures of The Labyrinth, Tartarus, and Athiens are being transported.

Solgac tilted her head upwards and gave me a concerned look, clearly sensing that I was very much anxious. I scratched her chin and smiled while whispering soothing words to her. Were my feelings that obvious, or is Solgac just that sensitive to emotions? Either way, I should keep that in mind.

“How much… further?” Joel wheezed. I can tell that running with an unconscious man on his shoulders is wearing him out. His face was as red as a tomato. In the corner of my eye, I could see Isaac stifling back laughter.

“Not long, you see the arrow pointing to our left over there? After the next turn, the exit will be just ahead,” I reassured.

“F-Finally…”

On the other end of the corridor was a wall with two paths branching on opposite sides. After arriving at the arrow, we all turned left. Up ahead was the exit, but it was vastly different.

“Hm? That’s weird,” I muttered. The exit should’ve been open and had rays of sunlight shining through. If it wasn’t daytime, then some moonlight or darkness should suffice. Instead, a gray portal was right in front of us.

“U-Um… guys? Doesn’t that portal look awfully familiar?” said Sophie.

“Yea… Is this the same portal as the one behind that giant statue, near the Gulf of Mexico?” Darion inquired.

Gulf of Mexico? Giant statue? What are they talking about?

“It’s definitely the same one unless there are others like it around the world. Even then, does it matter? Our exit is right in front of us.” Joel took a step forward and immersed himself inside the portal.

“H-Hold up! What about the guardian!” Sophie squealed, jumping straight through the portal.

“Don’t leave me alone with her!” Iris followed along, Darion, Camila, and Chen Ling joining in too.

“You know what? I’m intrigued by this giant statue. They called it a guardian or whatever. I wonder how strong it is!” With a fluttering heart, Isaac charged right through the portal.

“…That idiot. Solgac, I pray that my brother doesn’t influence you to the point where you’re just like him. Promise me you won’t be Isaac 2.0.”

Solgac pursed her lips at me and gave me a face that screams- ‘Don’t worry, I know better’. I know I’ve said this before, but this dragon really is intelligent. While it is a baby, it understands my words very clearly. I’m actually curious about how it can understand human speech when it wasn’t taught or trained. Oh well, it's not super urgent so it doesn't bother me all that much.

“Even though we’ve just met, I feel like I’ve known you for a while. I’m glad I met you, Solgac.”

“Kyuu~” Solgac, while beaming with excitement, raised one of her tiny arms toward the portal, as if telling me to hurry the hell up. After a quick pat, I followed along with her wish and entered the portal.