Things were spiraling out of control.

Levi had thought he could easily deceive the tall boy, but he had underestimated his opponent's intelligence, which had led to the dire situation he now faced.

"Don't hate me too much; I'll make it quick," the tall boy said, gripping his spear tightly as he stared down at Levi, who could barely stand but still had a confident expression on his face.

"You seem confident about killing me. Be careful—that might come back to bite you," Levi replied trying to appear as confident as possible.

It was a bluff.

In reality, Levi was barely holding himself upright. His wounds were severe, and blood loss had left him weak. His right leg, paralyzed, rendered him nearly helpless. Yet, he bluffed without hesitation.

The tall boy hesitated, considering whether Levi was hiding something. But after looking at Levi's condition, he dismissed the thought.

"Let's see if you're telling the truth," the tall boy said, advancing with a menacing look.

Levi's heart raced - once again, his attempt to deceive the tall boy had failed!

He was in no state to fight—his body and mind were on the brink of collapse. As he frantically searched for a way out, an idea struck him.

Desperately, Levi did something that made the tall boy halt in his tracks.

"Don't you dare take another step," Levi commanded, his heart pounding, though his face remained expressionless as he held the bell firmly in his hand.

The tall boy froze, taken aback.

"You said you didn't have it," he hissed, tightening his grip on his axe.

"I never said I'd tell the truth," Levi replied, his voice cold and steady.

The tall boy's gaze shifted from the bell to Levi's face. "Are you really going to ring it? You know what that will do. You'll bring every monster in this maze straight to us - You will certainly die!"

Levi however didn't falter, instead, he smiled at the tall boy. "I'm well aware. But if I go down, you're coming with me."

For the first time, Levi saw a flicker of doubt in the tall boy's eyes. It was brief, but it was enough to expose a crack in his confidence.

But that disappeared as soon as it had appeared. The tall boy was not a fool, he was sure that Levi wouldn't take the risk of ringing the bell, so he took a step forward, his voice low and threatening. "You may be thinking of escaping after ringing the bell but you won't survive this. Even if I can't, the monsters will tear you apart."

"Maybe," Levi nodded slowly not denying his claim, "but I'm not the only one here, am I?"

Levi could see the tall boy calculating the risks. The situation had shifted—Levi was no longer just a weak opponent, he was a threat capable of dragging them both into oblivion. The tall boy hesitated a fraction of a second too long.

Levi was not fine either - his hand trembled slightly as he gripped the bell, knowing that ringing it could spell his doom—and the tall boy's.

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"You're bluffing," the tall boy finally said.

"I've got nothing left to lose," Levi said, his voice steady despite the turmoil within. "You can take your chances and try to kill me before I ring this, or you can walk away now."

The tall boy still hesitated, his eyes darting between Levi's face and the bell in his hand. That brief hesitation was all Levi needed. Knowing that the tall boy would not back down - he did the unthinkable!

With a swift motion, he jerked his arm upward and rang the bell.

The sound was deafening, reverberating through the maze-like thunder, it was a wonder how the small ring could produce such a deafening sound!

In that split second, as the bell's chime resonated, something clicked in Levi's mind—a vision, or perhaps a memory, of the maze with a glowing line tracing a path through it. It was the exit. The bell had shown him the way out.

And almost immediately, the ground began to tremble, and a low, guttural growl echoed from the depths of the labyrinth. The tall boy's eyes widened in shock, his face contorting with fury.

"You bastard!" he roared, charging at Levi with murderous intent.

But Levi was prepared. His instincts kicked in. Summoning every last ounce of strength, he hurled the bell over the tall boy's head, sending it clattering against the stone wall behind him. The tall boy, momentarily distracted, glanced back at the bell—exactly as Levi had hoped.

Levi gritted his teeth and lunged forward, spear in hand. The tall boy turned back just in time to see Levi's spear coming at him.

He barely managed to deflect the blow with his axe, but the impact knocked him off balance.

"You damn fucker!" the tall boy snarled, recovering quickly and swinging his axe in a wide arc.

Levi ducked under the swing, knowing time was running out. The growls were getting louder, and closer, and he could feel the vibrations of approaching monsters beneath his feet. His only chance was to take the tall boy down quickly and run for the exit.

He pressed the attack, feinting left and stabbing right, but the tall boy was skilled, blocking every move. The pain in Levi's leg flared with each step, and his vision started to blur. He was running on pure adrenaline now.

The tall boy smirked, sensing Levi's weakening state. "You're slowing down. Face it—you're not getting out of here alive."

Levi didn't respond. Instead, he shifted his grip on the spear, preparing for one final, desperate move. As the tall boy raised his axe for a killing blow, Levi suddenly dropped to one knee, pivoting on his good leg, and thrust his spear upward with all his remaining strength.

The tall boy's eyes widened in shock as the spearhead plunged into his side. He staggered back, blood spurting from the wound, his face contorted with pain and rage.

Levi didn't wait to see if the blow was fatal. He had only seconds before the monsters arrived. He stumbled to his feet, using the walls for support, and leaped toward where the bell had fallen.

That's right! From the start, Levi had no intention of letting go of the bell.

'I will make a contract!'

That was the only thought running through his mind as he ignored his paralyzed leg and limped toward the path the bell had shown him.

Behind him, the tall boy cursed loudly, struggling to pull the spear from his side. But the growls grew louder, and soon, Levi heard the scuffling of claws on stone as the monsters closed in.

Levi pushed forward without looking back, fighting against his failing body. He dragged his feet forward—everything he had dreamed of was now within reach.

He could hear the tall boy's screams as the monsters reached him, but Levi didn't turn around. All that mattered was reaching the exit, surviving this nightmare, and making the contract with the god.

***

Fifteen minutes passed.

Levi was still moving toward his destination. Perhaps due to the magical properties of the bell, he knew exactly where to turn, and which direction to move.

The strange power of the bell was telling him—close….

He was so close to his goal! The exit was within reach; he could almost see the light at the end of the tunnel.

With one final burst of energy, Levi threw himself forward, collapsing into the narrow corridor that led to the exit. The light—he was finally going to embrace the divine light!

But then, everything went silent and dark.

'Huh?'

When Levi opened his eyes, he saw an axe lodged at the back of his left leg - digging almost half the way in and he was slowly collapsing.

'No...'

Levi didn't feel the pain yet, but his mind was screaming at him.

'No, no, no…I'm…so...close.'

At that moment, the tall boy emerged from the darkness behind him—his body soaked in blood, marked with monster claws, blood dripping from every wound.

---***---