The enemy Mage lowered his staff and triggered an [Earthquake].

Large tremors traveled through the ground, changing the landscape. I bounded off the walls and the rising slabs of stone to avoid being thrown off my feet. The maneuver put me amid a duo of Mist Enenra who were yet to dissipate.

The first one tried to cleave my head with an axe but fell short of matching my speed. The second one swung its hammer at my chest.

I misjudged the parry and caught the blow against the flat of my blade. The force of the attack sent me careening into the wall . . . and, goddammit, I understood why the coalition army had lost.

The Mist Enenra weren’t meant to be challenged by normal rankers. Their strength alone proved that they had been created to break anyone who made it this far.

I couldn’t hope to match them, but I didn’t need to because the Beast Riders rode at that moment to my defense. Aman’s arrows fell with devastating force on the Enenra, granting me the reprieve I needed to turn my attention to Red Wyrm.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Nalum and Nicola emerge from the Traveler’s Room wherein they had retreated to avoid the [Earthquake].

The Enenra clashed with the Beast Riders, matching their attacks with intense ferocity. Aman yelped after a nasty hit to the torso. But, his assailant collapsed into mist before it could finish the job. The second Enenra lost mass with each passing second, and . . . goddammit, there were too many things to focus on at once.

A deafening roar filled the corridor, sprouting from Red Wyrm’s direction. It preceded the arrival of a gigantic fireball that surged from beyond the curtain of dust and mist that covered the battlefield. I rolled aside in time to dodge the blast, but the others weren't so lucky.

The Rider of Hope picked up the slack. He stuck his spear into the ground and summoned a great wall of stone. Unwavering earth clashed against ballistic fire, until with an explosion, both dispersed, bathing the region in shrapnel.

A large shield covered my vision. I didn’t even think. I vaulted over the attack and raked my weapon across the back of the aggressor. The Blackreach Dagger bounced off with a clang, rebuffed by heavy armor. And then, Byron turned.

His kick went off like a shotgun in my gut. Blood and spittle flew from my mouth. I fell onto the path of the lone Mist Enenra and rolled to avoid decapitation at the tip of its blade.

Beelith’s massive wolf form thundered down the corridor. Nalum rushed to meet her, but a fist made of stone flew for his head. Nicola conjured a tentacle to intercept the speeding missile . . . And then, I dodged again as the Mist Enenra pressed its advantage.

It raised its sword a third time, poised for a swing. Red eyes glowed with malice within its helmet. I tensed my knees in preparation to dodge. But, the strike never came.

An axe emerged instead from the side of the Mist Enenra and swept through its stomach in brutal disembowelment. Byron stepped through the cascade of mist that followed, as though he hadn't just done the impossible by killing an Enenra in a single strike.

“Elf,” he said in that blasé manner of his, “by what sorcery did you arrive here?”

“By way of the Fuck You Express,” I answered and squared my feet. “That’s how.”

Byron frowned at the Traveler’s Room. Behind him, Wolf-Beelith reached the Rider of Hope and clamped her massive jaws around his leopard’s neck. I could almost hear the crunch of bone from my position ten meters away. What happened to a Beast Rider’s mount if it died in battle? Wait, this wasn’t the time.

Byron approached me at a sedate pace and rested his axe on his shoulder.

“You’ve been hiding secrets of your own, elf,” he said. “I initially assumed you had learned of the final chamber via some kind of divination. But, this . . .” He glanced again at the Traveler’s Room, not quite understanding what he was seeing. “This is beyond expectations.”

“And, what about you?” I asked, even as individual battles raged around us. Another [Fireball] collided with an [Eldritch Beam] somewhere in the distance. “How did you learn of this place if none who enter may escape?”

A giant stone fist threw Aman off his mount. Nalum leaped to his aid and intercepted further attacks.

“Because,” Byron said, “I was part of the coalition that found this corridor three years ago: The only member of it to survive. The barriers reopened once the prerequisites were met.”

“You saw firsthand the madness that stood here and kept that information to yourself?”

“I saw firsthand the cost of victory.” A ranker's corpse obstructed his forward advance, and he crushed the dead man's head without a second thought. “I played the game exactly how the Labyrinth wanted.”

Nalum sprang out of the mist at that moment, broadsword aimed at Byron’s neck. Byron’s heavy shield pulsed once, and the resulting [Shield Bash] blew Nalum clean off the ground.

Nalum, a level 26 Warrior, had ample points thrown into Strength and Endurance. And yet, Byron had swatted him aside like he was naught but a fly.

If Byron could manhandle his peers with such disgusting ease, what would he do to me?

Uh oh. It seems you are afraid!

+1 has been added to all stats.

Not the time, man! I didn't need to know I was scared, though the stat boost helped make things easier.

Sadly, Byron stood at a level far above me in both actual skill and mathematical terms. And, if his last showing wasn’t proof enough, the infobox that appeared upon my use of [Identify] confirmed it:

City Adventurer LVL 27.

In contrast, I had only just reached level 23. Two ranks short of Silver. I had also lost a good amount of HP from the two attacks earlier taken.

Byron adopted a faraway look. “The dungeon runs are rigged, elf. Rigged to fail. There’s no success to be had if you don’t play by the rules. I spent a long time thinking about the things I could have done better after the disaster of the last coalition.”

“And, this was your answer?!”

“It was. There is no easy way to get past this challenge. Heralds, if my last companions had known about that room of yours, they could have gotten to safety. Not to mention, the people who died here today did so because you were being a secretive little shit.”

My eyebrows twitched. “Fuck you. You’re not going to pin your crimes on me.”

Stolen novel; please report.

“Yea. You do not need to accept responsibility. However, the fact remains that every single one of them died because you, their savior, weren't willing to commit. You tried to beat my gamble without placing all your cards on the table. That either makes you a fool or someone who wanted this outcome. The choice is yours.”

No . . . I did my best to stop this massacre, even when the very people I wanted to save lined up against me. Byron had no right to name me an accomplice!

So, why did my heart feel heavy? What good came out of protecting my identity if it caused innocents to lose a chance to escape?

Byron must have picked up on my inner turmoil because he smirked and shook his head. “Know this and know peace, elf. The Labyrinth isn’t fair. No part of the entire world is. I watched my colleagues die once, and then I escaped thereafter barely clinging to life.” He raised his shield. “I have returned for a second go. And, this time, I will not flee.”

[Frost Aura] suffused the corridor. The sudden chill sank its withered hands into my bones which were already hindered by my hesitation. I tried to move, but the lethargy that consumed me proved as real as the Apathy from which it was born.

Byron exploded forward with deceptive speed.

. . . And, Nicola flung me aside, via a tentacle coiled around my hip. She followed up with an [Eldritch Beam] as black as ice was cold. The wails of the damned emanated from the blast. Insidious whispers crawled into my head.

The beam of sheer vileness slammed into Byron.

. . . or rather, his [Shield Bash].

Byron shrugged off the residual damage and gestured with his axe. Precipitation formed at the tip of his weapon. A giant ice cone rocketed toward Nicola.

She deflected it with a narrow use of her beam. The blowback hurt her anyway and threw her across the ground—

Get up, Damien!

And then, Byron was there.

“Nicola!” I warned.

A flash of light from a nearby scuffle interrupted my vision.

I regained it in time to see Byron brush Nicola’s staff aside with a swing of his shield. He drove his axe into her chest, going through the last of her HP and straight into meatspace.

Nicola gurgled.

“That’s my wife,” Nalum screamed. He launched himself at Byron and called upon his ability. His sword gleamed with a wicked aura aimed at the object of his Hate.

I ignored their skirmish and slid over to Nicola. She blinked up at me, eyes rolling in her sockets. I forced a health potion down her throat, getting copious amounts over her neck and chest.

A heartbeat passed.

And then, another.

Nicola gasped.

Goddammit. If I’d only been a few seconds late, I would have lost her forever. Tears flowed freely from my eyes as the bleeding stopped and her sternum recovered.

Byron had managed to get into my head, but I’d been the one to let him. No more. Who cares if my actions had condemned these people to death? I reserved the right to prioritize my well-being over that of others!

Nicola’s HP inched upward. But, without her to occupy the casters, the tide of the battle had turned.

Aman took it upon himself to redirect any magic attacks. He achieved this by using an ability in conjunction with his bow. It caused the casters to focus on him in turn, which quickly left him overwhelmed.

Nalum held his own against Byron this time, courtesy of his curses. A particularly vicious clash saw Byron heave blood despite parrying the attack. But, the gap in skill between them prevented Nalum from pressing the advantage.

Beelith dominated the second Beast Rider, who had abandoned his mount to fight her on foot. He possessed some skill with the spear, though nowhere near sufficient. The large wolf tore through his health with ease. Beast Riders weren’t meant to fight without their mounts; a lesson that Beelith inflicted with pulsating joy.

I carried Nicola in my arms and put distance between us and the rest of the fight. If things continued as they did, we were going to die. Why did I revert to weakness each time I faced Byron? I should be stronger than this. I should—

The barrier at the end of the corridor shimmered, drawing the attention of everyone in the vicinity. Two burly rankers stepped out of it. Their bloodstained clothes and mangled hair spoke of long hours of exertion, but their eyes gleamed with flames that indicated their resolve.

For a half second, silence reigned over the corridor as the newcomers took in the scene.

The Mage of Hope moved first. Earthen shackles rose from a giant magic sigil and coiled around the pair. The Warlock of Rage unleashed a wall of fire. One of the newcomers managed to free himself and fled back through the barrier. The other screamed as the flames intensified and burned him alive.

Damn.

“Byron,” Beelith yelled in half-bark, half-speech. “We don’t have time for this.”

“I'll finish them off,” Byron said and weaved around Nalum’s assault.

“We’ll finish them off,” Beelith said. “The other coalition has caught up to us. We can’t lose the prize, not after coming this far—” She lunged at the Beast Rider and snapped his spear in half. “Plus, you need to conserve your arsenal for the final boss. Go. We’ll handle things here.”

“Not without you three.”

“The dungeon heart, Byron!”

Byron grimaced. Nalum swung at him again, but he spring-rolled beneath the attack this time and emerged at a dead run for the final chamber.

“Stop him!” I said.

Nalum pursued. Aman fired an arrow.

For all Byron’s might, he couldn’t outrun all of us. And, he knew this too. He dipped his hand into his Inventory and retrieved a bell.

I barely had time to call out a warning before he rang it.

A loud noise ruptured my eardrums.

You have been afflicted by the item: [Banshee’s Shriek].

You have been [Deafened].

Status Duration: One minute.

The onset of deafness acted like a small stun, forcing me to my knees. Nicola groaned and tumbled from my arms.

Byron disappeared through the open chamber in the time it took us to reorient ourselves. His Mage teammate raised his staff and summoned a wall to seal off his passage.

Without words, Aman dismounted from his leopard and sent the beast bounding after Byron. Nalum leaped into the air and landed on the passing feline. The two scaled the earthen wall right before it joined the ceiling. The final chamber now sat barricaded.

“Just us now,” Beelith said, chuckling deep in her throat.

“Just us, witch,” the Rider of Hope hissed. He retreated on foot and discarded his ruined spear alongside two used potion bottles. “You lost the moment you allowed our chieftain to chase after your leader.”

Beelith laughed, an unnerving sound coming from a wolf. “A man who chases death should not be stopped. He should be left to find exactly what he seeks. Byron remains undefeated in battle. And, he won’t lose now at the hands of a barbarian whose biggest accomplishment is ruling a chattel in the middle of nowhere.”

“Damien,” Nicola said, dropping a used mana potion of her own. “Do you think we can take them?”

I looked at the massive wolf Shifter and the two casters behind her. Numerically, we held the advantage with four on three. But, our two Beast Riders had lost their mounts. Red Wyrm also consisted entirely of silver rankers as opposed to our group which languished in Iron.

My fingers trembled at the memory of the [Frost Aura] Byron had unleashed. The jump from Iron to Silver seemed small, but in reality, both ranks were far from peers. Beelith had crushed a supernatural leopard between her jaws, and the Warlock had flash-fried a fellow ranker.

I still had [Sneak Attack] to deal double damage from out of stealth, but that alone wouldn't suffice. If I could just reach the casters who waited at the backline . . .

An entire Cynocephalus—all eight feet of it—sailed past the magic barrier and into the wall of fire.

A tall figure arrived after it, using the dead chimera as a gangway to cross the fiery blockade. Short hair the color of blood sat on a rugged face. The naked torso that followed glistened with sweat. A heavy metal spear hung across his shoulders—

“Paz!” Nicola and I screamed at the same time.

Beelith growled low in her throat.

Paz smacked the butt of his spear against the ground, looking mighty pleased with his entrance. He smoothened his short hair and grinned at Nicola. “Whoa, what the hell? You survived!” His eyes settled on me. “Damien, you bastard son of a sewer-dwelling wasp. A pox on you and all who had a hand in your upbringing! I owe you a punch for that beheading.”

“Not the time, Paz,” I said, unable to suppress a smile.

Paz’s grin stretched even wider. “Not the time, eh? Well, I guess you might be right. Am I correct in assuming that these wankers are responsible for attacking my new subordinates?”

Beelith bristled.

Paz glanced at her, then at the shriveled ranker corpse in the fire. “Never mind. I think I've gotten my answer. Come then, mutt. It's been a while. Let's finish what you started.”