author's note: comments and suggestions are always welcome.

chapter 5: Labyrinth ( part 4 )

After going back up to the third level of the dungeon , Aria and Kim decided to take the time and rest while they were waiting for their guests to arrive. Sitting down and preparing to cook a simple meal, while Kim was sharpening her sword, Aria began thinking about past events.

"

One week after coming to the village, Aria had finished selling all the items that she had collected along the way. among these items were mostly, weapons, armors, supplies, and some crystals. The crystals emited a blue light, and felt like a bit of energy was stored inside. Seeing the crystals fetched a higher price., Aria began to investigate its origins, tracing back the way they came, Aria and her group, then discovered the entrance to the Labyrinth. It was a large gate with two stone statues standing on both sides.

Upon entering, they were immediately attacked by a number of monsters, which they were able to defeat without any problems. With each kill their levels slowly rised, giving a chance for Kim to increase her abilities.

The monsters however didn't leave any corpse. Every time a monster died, a crystal would appear after, the crystals were a bit different from the blue one's that she sold. This had a darker color, and the amount of mana it had was also abundant.

When her group finished off the last batch of monsters, something unexplainable happened. The walls in the Labyrinth started glowing red and after a few minutes, monsters were begining to come out.

Suprised but not troubled, they began on killing them before they even finished coming off the wall. The cycle continued until Aria got bored and called it a day. Taking her crystal back to the village, She sold it all for a total 34 gold coins and 15 pieces of silver.

Happy with the results of their hard work, Aria decided to go and register with the guild.

One of the reasons why she wanted to go, was to find a few people that she could bring a long, their journey further down into the lower levels of the labyrinth meant more danger and she needed some fodder's or sacrificial pawns to test the water's surface.

With the gold that she earned, Aria planned on hiring some strong mercenaries, 1 gold advance payment and 1 after the job was done meant that they will only recieve the second compensation if they were able to survive. a basic tactic in getting people who are in need of money.

Aria then came to realize something, why did monsters inside the labyrinth turn into crystals while the ones killed outside remained the same. She wanted to test something out, but she didn't have the right person to handle it. Thats when it happened, a random guy bumping into Kim was like a Godsend.

She lost all interest in bringing other people inside the lower parts of the labyrinth. what she needed though, was willing test subjects.

After making her plans, Aria brought Kim back to the Labyrinth and made her kill everything on sight. Taking advantage of her abilities, Aria used her lightning to severely weaken the enemy monsters and allowed Kim to finish them off. boosting her level in an alarming speed.

When Kim finished off the forth level guardian, they began making their way back. Confident with Kim's level, Aria was now patiently waiting for Gavin and the rest of the collateral damage to arrive.

Confirming that life forms inside the labyrinth turned into crytals after being killed meant only one thing.....

Aria: " ( this will teach you to never take things from me. )

"

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

from the distance, the sound of footsteps can be heard.

noticing the approach of the other group, Aria stood up and spoke.

Aria: Looks like they are here.

Kim: " Oneechan... are you sure that I can do this?

Aria: " dont worry Kim, you'll be fine.

"

walking towards the room at the end of the corridor and pushing the doors open, Gavin was the first to enter followed by Darus and a few more people.

Looking around, Darus then spoke to the group.

Darus: " We've arrived......

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Darus then stopped on his tracks when he saw a figure a few feet away from them.

There was a girl, sitting on a rock. Clad in full black while her white skin reflected the light coming from the crystals on the walls.

Gavin seeing the girl, walked towards her but immediately stoppped after a taking five steps when he saw another figure standing on the other side. as the last man entered the room, the doors closed behind them.

the person who broke the silence was Gavin, looking towards the girl with white hair, he asked...

Gavin: " Fancy meeting you in here.

Darus: " Gavin, do you know these people?

Gavin: " They were the ones I talked about in the tavern, I'm not sure what these two are doing here though.

Darus: " Is that so? If that the cas...... Guah!!!

Even before Darus could finish, the girl clad in black had without warning struck his heart using a long single bladed sword.

Gavin, with a stupified expression watched with disbelief as the body of his friend fell to the ground lifeless.

reflexively jumping away to create some distance, he looked at the killer with his sword pointing towards her and asked.

Gavin: " You two..... whats the meaning of this?!

The girl in black, watched the dead body infront of her and after a while she looked at the white haired girl on the right side of the room and asked.

Kim: " Oneechan..... something seems to be wrong, its not working.

Aria: " Just be patient Kim, its working. We just need to wait a little longer. For now, try killing off the rest.

Kim: " Umm...

The girl then charged at the rest of the group consisting of 36 men. The second victim was unable to react seeing her close the distance of 10 meters in less than a second, her blade cutting off his lower portion and then moving on to the next. The movement was flawless, her speed, the direction of her swing, and the strength she applied.

Kim struck at her foe with deathly precision, slashing downwards, another man fell. running around and bodies falling to the ground like leaves while her black lace panties showed each time she jumped up into the air. Her face that looked like an angel and her gentle smile paired with her beautiful eyes that looked at the men as she took their lives, it was a wonderful sight, and Aria could do nothing but smile as the floor of the labyrinth turned into the color of red.

walking towards Gavin who was sprawled on the ground, both arms and legs missing with tears flowing from his eyes, she looked down at him with eyes of pity.

Aria: " Does it hurt?

Gavin: " Gugh....ugh..... ( crying )

Aria: " Dont worry Gavin.... I'll take care of Lotte once your gone.

wait... what do you have here..... ( taking a pouch from his waist )

guess what? why dont I take this as a form of compensation. ( smiles )

"

Kim: " Oneechan~ I just finished, so what was it that your going to show me?

Aria looks over to Kim then spoke.

Aria: " Look at the first one you killed, watch closely.

Kim: " huh?......... Uwaah!!........

The body started glowing with a blue light, and little by little, parts of it were disappearing.

Aria: " Do you see it? everything that died here will become a part of the dungeon, adding to its strength, the monsters inside are nothing more but products of this process called soul assimilation in an effort to add more lives to the source of its power, and that power is somewhere deep inside this labyrinth. Something that we must obtain. Until then, we will have to train more, but this experiment is a success, in the near future we must find a way to send more people here to die. Its all thanks to him.....

Gavin: " !gugh!!!! your a devil!!! a monster!!!

Aria: " Oh..... ( smiles ) Lets go Kim...... Enjoy the rest of the day Gavin, Its a pleasure bumping into you.

Kim: " ummm....( looks at Gavin )  bye sir..... thank you so much for you help.

* step step * sfx

Gavin: " ugh!!! urghh!!! Arrrhhhh! Shit !!! Shit!!!!!

"

"

" end part 4 - Labyrinth

"