Despite his heavier wounds, Jules reacted faster than Christopher.

When a wooden Javelin appeared magically in Salvio’s hand, Jules’ sword was already halfway through his wrist. To his despair, however, his sword could not cut all the way through.

Salvio howled with madness and pain, shrugging off Jules's blade and hurling the javelin toward Christopher at unbelievable speed, causing his shoulder to burst with pain.

Tumbling back, Christopher collected himself, biting his tongue to distract himself from the pain in his shoulder.

Salvio was now locked in combat with Jules, warding off the boys' attacks while swinging another javelin wildly.

Jules' technique was better. However, due to his wounds and exhaustion, and under the man’s terrifying blows, he was quickly crumbling.

Christopher focused on him, trying to find an opening to use Triangulation Beam. However, he couldn’t even find a good place to mark.

Fuck, this isn’t gonna work, he thought, realizing he hadn’t been using that skill to the best of his abilities.

Salvio spun in place, dodging Jules's slash and kicking him in the guts at the same time.

The boy fell back, but the movement created an opening in Salvio’s stance. Christopher didn’t hesitate, rushing in and stabbing forward, finding, to his surprise, that his spear appeared unable to pass through the man’s ribs.

Salvio laughed, disregarding his attack, before biting violently on his already decapitated left hand. For a moment, Christopher believed the man to have been consumed by the limb-devouring craze again, but instead, he sucked in his blood before spitting it out, enveloping Jules in a cloud of blood.

Hissing sounds and toxic fumes filled the cave as the blood cloud eroded Jules’ exposed face and neck. The boy writhed on the floor, screaming.

Christopher found himself facing the man’s back.

He threw his spear to the floor and extended his bloodied hand, touching Salvio’s back.

I can’t miss this close, he said, quickly marking two of his fingers. They momentarily shone with blue light before two beams shot out, disappearing inside the man’s body.

Salvio howled in pain as a fist-sized wound appeared on his flesh, gushing with blood.

Jules took advantage of Salvio’s distraction to utter his strange chant again, disappearing once more.

A weak breeze blew past Christopher, leaving two deep gashes on Salvio’s body–one on his leg and another one that bled profusely on his neck. The next moment, Jules appeared again, sprawled on the floor, panting heavily.

Salvio’s legs failed him, and he, too, fell to the ground, still howling in pain.

Christopher didn’t dare to wait any longer. He left his spear behind, grabbed Jules’ arm, and dragged him away from Salvio, who was struggling to stand up despite his leg’s critical condition.

The muscles on his leg contracted for a brief moment, exploding with blood and power, pushing Salvio through the air. He brutally crashed against Christopher, taking him down to the ground and locking his body against the floor.

Salvio laughed once more, his oversized iron grip closing around Christopher’s throat.

Christopher gasped for air as the man threatened to break his neck. He tried using a Triangulation Beam on the man’s eyebrows but could not focus.

By his side, Jules stumbled, barely managing to hold his blade. In despair, Christopher remembered the last of the boy’s lesson.

Hidden by his bright yellow glove, he moved his finger, pulling on the ring. The mechanism activated, releasing the tension on the spring, shooting the small blade hidden under his forearm.

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As his world turned dark, he violently stabbed the man’s torso, over and over, in a last struggle for survival. It didn’t take long for a shower of warm, acidic blood to fall upon him, causing Salvio’s iron grip to finally relax.

Christopher kicked Salvio back with all his strength and coughed blood. With much effort, he stood up, stumbling towards Jules.

“Let’s g–” he tried to speak, but his vocal cords appeared damaged. Fortunately, it was enough for Jules to understand what he needed.

They stumbled half blindly through the corridor as Salvio screamed in rage.

Christopher risked a glance at the man. Salvio's left side was withering at an alarming rate. His already wrinkled skin was sagging, blotched with sickly spots. But on the other side, something even more grotesque was happening.

The right side of Salvio was bulging; his muscles ballooned to horrific proportions, swelling into unrecognizable mounds of flesh.

“You can’t escape,” he snarled, his words barely understandable now that part of his had swelled and taken over two-thirds of his face, pushing his right eye to the side. “I’ll follow you through the Labyrinth. I’ll tell everyone you assassinated Brune, and soon, every single Author on the upper floors will be searching for you.”

Christopher tried to ignore his words and focused on putting one foot in front of the other while palpating the way forward. His vision was spinning. Salvio had almost crushed his throat, making it hard to breathe.

Jules, who walked by his side, wasn’t doing much better. The boy’s face was now wholly disfigured after suffering from the cloud of acidic blood.

It didn’t take them long to hear Salvio tumbling after them, resuming his chase. The man moved slowly, either to his wounds or the state of his body. He wasn’t trying to hide his presence, his maddening cackle echoing throughout the tunnel.

Christopher cursed in his mind. He didn’t know how much time was left, but he almost wished the Prelude would start so they would both be teleported out of this place immediately.

Suddenly, Jules stopped, pulling Christopher back. He followed the boy’s eyes and found a dot of light in a tunnel to the left.

“Exit!” Jules said, advancing towards it.

Christopher hesitated before following him. He feared they would run into a dead end and end up trapped.

“Come,” Jules rushed him. “We have no chance of defeating a Fabled. Our only chance is to run.”

They moved as fast as they managed through the tunnel, rapidly moving towards the light.

Christopher glanced at his clothes, completely covered in blood and gore. He bit his lip and used Crimson Proof on his throat–just enough not to pass out.

“Wait!” He shouted with a rough voice that didn’t sound like him at all, as Jules was about to exit the tunnel.

The boy stopped and looked back with an interrogative expression.

“We might be stopped if we go out like this,” he said, pointing at his bloodied clothes.

“Unless you can summon new clothes out of thin air, we don’t have another choice.”

Christopher nodded in agreement. He closed his eyes and mentally focused on the robes he had only worn once, Lazarus’ Robe.

This time, he didn’t have to answer a prompt. Two seconds later, a thick, heavy robe covered his body, accompanied by a ruffle, hiding the mess of blood beneath it.

“Sorry, I only have this one, he said.”

“It’s ok,” Jules replied. He pulled off his bloodstained shirt, turning it inside out before slipping it back on. It didn’t help much–the dark red stains seeped through the fabric. The boy knew he wasn’t fooling anybody; the state of his face alone would be enough to draw attention.

“Let’s go. And put your hood on; this way, they won’t see your face,” the boy suggested before resuming the march.

In the distance, they could hear Salvio’s enraged screams echoing throughout the tunnel. He was getting closer.

They rushed out of the tunnel as fast as their wounded bodies allowed, the exit leading them into a low cavern covered in fine, reddish sand. Christopher squinted in the dim light. Not far away, two torches marked a path through the desolate space.

It’s not a dead end, Christopher praised with relief.

They moved along the marked path, and it didn’t take long to meet other Authors. They kept their distance, watching them with both apprehension and curiosity. Fortunately, none of them intervened.

Meanwhile, Christopher's mind was a storm of thoughts, racing as he tried to figure out their next move.

If they ran into the Crossroad, the guards would surely stop them even if they allowed them to pass; if Salvio caught up, it would be the end of the line for them.

Well, it might not. But he didn’t know whose words the guards would believe in–the Fabled or the Lazarus and his dweller companion.

On the other hand, if they ran into the Apex, they could quickly run away. The Labyrinth would shuffle them onto the next door, making it almost impossible for Salvio to continue his chase, however…

Lisa had warned them specifically against entering the 4th floor. Whatever loomed there was dangerous enough for her not to believe two drafted could survive.

He wouldn’t have to wait much longer to find out.