*** Chapter 6: Trapped ***

Eren had expected that the doorway would lead to another test room, as all the ones so far had. Instead, it had been a simple tunnel. It was pitch black inside, but thankfully Lyra could generate light with her lightning powers. All she needed to do was create a small ball of lightning in her hand, its natural glow lighting the way. The light was dim, but it was better than feeling their way through the tunnel.

But after a few minutes, they encountered a fork in the path.

"Any ideas?" Eren asked, looking for any difference between the two tunnels. They were identical.

"The tunnels run east to west. That way is North, so I guess we take this tunnel."

"How do you know which way is North?"

"It's to do with my magic," Lyra explained vaguely. Eren didn't blame her. Knowing how a mage's magic worked was the first step to countering it. Most mages would only discuss their magic with family or their teachers. Eren was working with her, but, for all she knew, the next Trial would pit them against each other. Telling him was just too risky. It was the same reason Eren hadn't shown her his back since they met. A single surprise attack could put him down, hard.

"Lead the way."

***

Kena walked with a natural confidence that made following her feel like the right thing to do. Her hand coated in flames for light, she guided the way. She knew where she was going, so all Jin had to do was follow her, and she would get there.

"I'm lost," Kena said.

"You cannot be serious." But Kena was serious. "For how long?"

"Pretty much since I entered this maze," Kena said, looking around appreciatively. "This place really is a maze."

Jin facepalmed. They'd been walking for over an hour. Jin couldn't blame her for getting lost. The halls all looked identical, making it impossible to tell if they had already been down a particular path before. It seemed a safe bet they had just been walking in circles this whole time. "Okay, well, we need a better plan than just walking around aimlessly. How about we leave a Trial of breadcrumbs?"

"Oh, you have bread. Thank goodness, I'm starving," Kena said, holding out her not burning hand expectantly.

"What? No. It's a saying- it means leave marks behind so you know where you've already been," Jin explained.

"So ... you don't have any food?"

"Well, I do, but that's not the point." Kena kept her hand out, staring at Jin expectantly. Jin sighed, reaching into her pack. She gave Kena a small ration bar. Kena bit into the bar like a woman who hadn't eaten in days. A moment later, predictably, she scrunched up her nose in distaste.

"Yuck! What the hell is this?" Ration bars are small blocks of grey, tasteless material that just about counts as food. Their texture is reminiscent of sand, a real treat for the senses. They were cheap and filling, however; that was their only saving grace.

"It's all I've got," Jin lied, shrugging her shoulders. Kena took another bite, face contorted in misery.

Jin was starting to regret agreeing to their partnership. Kena was powerful. She could sense that much, and she wanted to help Jin pass the exam. But so far, she was nothing but a burden.

"So… how do we do this bread thing?" Kena asked, mouth still half-filled with the 'food'. Jin politely didn't comment.

"It's simple. I can leave behind some small flowers, then if we see them again, we'll know we've gone that way before." Kena nodded, polishing off her ration bar with a large bite.

"Sounds like a plan; you do that."

"Thanks. Glad to have your thoughts on the matter."

***

Eren and Lyra followed the tunnel aiming west. But soon, it split into two more tunnels going south and east. Trying south, they soon hit a dead end, so they went east. Then that tunnel split into two. As did the next one. And the next one.

Eden let his armour drop, not seeing the point in wasting mana maintaining it when nothing was happening. It would only make things worse if Lyra attacked him.

Lyra's light flickered and faded.

"Is your mana running low?" Eren asked, pausing his steps.

"No. I'm still casting; something is blocking the light," Lyra said.

"Must be another trap; guess we'll need to feel our way around." Eren created a pair of long metal poles. "Take this, use it to check the ground. If it moves, avoid it. Sorry, this is the best I can do."

"It's better than nothing," Lyra said. "I'll keep my spell running but reduce the power. That way, we'll know if the effect ends."

The duo proceeded slowly, poking at the ground as they went. Fortunately, the traps were poorly hidden, relying on the darkness to make someone blunder into them. Avoiding them wasn't too hard.

That's not to say they weren't dangerous. Bear traps and sudden pitfalls lined the ground. One wrong step would mean losing a leg, or worse.

Eventually, there was a light at the end of the tunnel-literally. Picking up speed, they all but sprinted into the light. Only to see the same open field they started in.

"Hello again," Ash said, giving them a friendly wave. Eren was starting to hate seeing the genial mage.

"Did we win?" Lyra asked hopefully. The examiner smiled sadly.

"What do you think?" Eren sighed, looking down the tunnel he had come down. It was pitch black.

"This is tunnel number three; we must've switched paths somehow," Eren noted, looking at the tunnel blandly. Once again, he was back at the start of the exam, looking at the tunnels. It was more than a little demoralising.

"The tunnels must be linked. It's not that surprising; ours were right from the start," Lyra added.

"Wonderful. So it's a maze, with twenty different wrong exits." Sighing deeply, Eren turned to the examiner again. "Can we just go back down this tunnel?"

"No, I'm sorry, but you can only go down your selected tunnel. You can change tunnels if you like?"

"Think we should?" Lyra asked.

"Nah, we should go down the tunnels we did before. That way, we won't lose each other; we can't share a tunnel, after all."

With a nod, the pair approached their respective tunnels. Lyra stopped, holding her arm out in front of Eren. "Wait, I think I hear something."

Eren paused, listening closely. "I don't hear anything. Where's the sound coming from?"

Lyra held a finger up to her lips. "I'm not sure…" Eren waited in silence for a few moments. Looking around he couldn't see anything except Ash waving at him happily.

"Lyra, this is wasting time. We-"

"Hey, I see an exit. You think it's the real deal this time, Cand?" Eren cut himself off, hearing the voice echoing out of the cave.

"At least if it's not, we'll at least identify another incorrect path, Nole. More data for our map."

A pair of mages came out from tunnel number five. The lead mage was Cand, a short man dressed in the style of a classic wizard, except that his robes were bright purple. Everything from his shoes to his large floppy wizard hat was uniformly purple, making him look like a giant grape. A bold fashion choice for sure.

Nole was standing beside him. Much like his companion, Nole only wore clothes of one colour: blue. Unlike his companion, he didn't dress like a wizard, wearing a sleeveless gi instead. His hair was blue as well, solidifying the monochrome look. The only exception to this was the long sword hanging from his back, the shaft angled for a right-handed draw.

But that wasn't the most important thing about him. In his hands was a piece of paper covered in markings that looked an awful lot like a handmade map.

"Lyra, hold on. Let's talk to these guys. I think they have a map," Eren said quietly, careful not to draw their attention.

"Gee, ya think?"

"Think they'll be willing to share?"

"Would you?" Eren shook his head.

"If a fight breaks out, get behind me as quickly as you can."

Lyra agreed, but Eren suspected she had reservations about taking the map by force. She knew they were behind the other teams, however, so they couldn't afford to keep going so slowly. "Let me do the talking. Hey boys, over here!"

Eren just shrugged, uncaring. Negotiation was never his strong point. If Lyra thought she could convince them to part with the map, he might as well let her try.

Turning towards them, Nole quickly hid their map away. He approached them cautiously, Nole Trialing behind. "Hello, is there something I can assist you with?" Despite his friendly tone, the pair were anything but. Both were ready to fight at a moment's notice.

Lyra smiled beckoningly. "I was wondering if you might be up for a little trade?"

"A trade?" Cand repeated dumbly, still not relaxing in the slightest.

"Yeah. We've mapped out some of the tunnels, and by the looks of it, so have you."

"Well, we've found where six different tunnels connect to each other. What have you discovered?" Nole asked challengingly.

"We've done six too," Lyra said. Even though he knew they had done no such thing, Eren briefly believed her. She lied so fluidly, setting up to betray them like it was second nature. He couldn't help but wonder if that was a good thing or not. It was helpful given their current circumstance, but having a skilled liar as a teammate was hardly appealing. Eren made a mental note to watch her closely.

She can't be trusted. But for now, at least, I'm stuck with her.

"Which?" Nole asked, eyes narrowing suspiciously. Lyra smiled good-naturedly.

"Tell you what, you tell us one, then we'll tell you one." Nole and Cand exchanged a look.

"Tunnels one and twenty are linked; there’s an opening challenge and then they join into a single tunnel," Nole said. Eren frowned. Were they lying? Tunnels one and twenty were at opposite ends. How would that even work? But if they were going to lie, why pick something so ridiculous?

"Funny. So are twelve and thirteen," Lyra commented, deciding to sprinkle some truth in with her lies to help sell them.

"Interesting. If we combine our maps, we could have over half the opening tunnels mapped out," Nole commented, rubbing his chin. "Would you be willing to allow us to examine your map?"

"You first."

"We went first, telling you about the tunnels. It's only fair you go first showing your map," Cand cut in, glaring at Lyra openly.

"Hey now, there's no need-" Eren was cut off by a raised hand from Lyra. His eye twitched slightly at the silent message. Let me talk.

"Fairs fair. It's just in my pack; let me get it real quick," Lyra said, slinking her backpack off her shoulder and rummaging around inside. Eren couldn't help but be baffled. What could she possibly be searching for? They didn't have a map; he was sure of it.

"Here it is!" Lyra pulled out a small booklet, holding it aloft victoriously. Holding it out, Nole grabbed it greedily, fumbling through the pages quickly. Cand also focused all his attention on the booklet, searching for the nonexistent information within.

"Where is it? I don't see anything," Nole groused.

"It's in the middle, over a double page." Eren couldn't believe it. Had Lyra made a map after all? When? Instinctively, he found himself looking at the booklet as well, searching for the promised map.

"Heaven's fury!" Before Eren knew what was going on, a bolt of lightning smashed right into Nole, throwing him from his feet. The notebook caught on fire as he flew back.

"Hey-" before Cand could finish speaking, Lyra sucker-punched him, knocking him onto his flat ass. Recovering from his shock, Eren ripped Cand's backpack off him as he fell.

"Tunnels, now!" Lyra yelled, already halfway to her own. Behind him, Cand and Nole were shakily getting to their feet. Not wishing to take both on at once, Eren followed, aiming for his tunnel.

"Get back here! Or else," Cand threatened. Eren just ignored him. If he could do anything, he would have done it rather than yelling threats like a child. Eren was nearly at his tunnel; once he was inside, they wouldn't be able to follow him.

"Purple lipstick!"

"Purple what?" Eren almost laughed at the strange announcement. But it wasn't so funny when he saw the beam of purple light barrelling towards him. Normally, an attack wouldn't have enough mana for Eren to sense it, but this time, he could. The mana was so dense and violent that even Eren's armour wouldn't be able to stop it.

Eren held up the backpack as a makeshift shield. If Cand wanted to hit him, he would have to destroy the map.

Predictably, Cand changed his beam's path, bending it upwards at the last minute.

Right into the ceiling of Eren's tunnel.

"Well-" Eren didn't have time to say anything else before the tunnel collapsed, burying him alive.

***

Still outside the tunnels, Cand was tending to Nole. He couldn't believe how vicious Lyra had been. Nole was still spasming painfully, control of his body stolen by her sneak attack.

Cand and Nole had been partners for years. Ever since Nole was orphaned.

Nole was born to Lord Everright. He was the head of one of the most prominent families in Sune, a powerful man, both magically and politically. Unfortunately, he was a man with many enemies.

They struck swiftly; and with overwhelming force.

Cand, a housecarl of the duke, had been tasked with keeping Nole safe. The two escaped into the night, watching as their home was razed to the ground.

Left a penniless teenager, Nole had nothing but his family sword and the clothes on his back.

Cand had no obligation to stay with Nole. No one expected him to, that was for sure. He had only been a junior housecarl at that; he didn't owe Nole anything. But Cand stayed; he couldn't bring himself to abandon his lord.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

The two travelled together for years, hoping to find other surviving members of House Everright.

They never found any. Nole was the last member of his clan.

To make ends meet, they worked as mercenaries, using their magic for profit.

They were both strong individually, but more than that, after years of working together, their teamwork was impeccable. Cand's magic was naturally slow, so Nole was the perfect partner. He'd fight up close and personal, sometimes taking multiple opponents at once so they couldn't reach Cand while he prepared his attacks. Then when he was ready, Cand would blow them all away with his Purple Lipstick.

But without a clan’s backing, they struggled to find work. That's when Nole decided he wanted to take the Trials of the Valkyrie. They needed a guild, and despite everything he had been through, Nole still had his pride. He wouldn't settle for anything less than the best. Once more, he told Cand he didn't have to join him; it was his desire, foolish or otherwise. Cand didn't have to face danger for his sake.

Cand didn't hesitate for a moment; he knew where he belonged.

It didn't take long to find each other after they started. Nole made sure of that. Once they were together, they'd be unbeatable. Working together, they had felled opponents far stronger than Lyra and Eren in the past. This time, they had underestimated the other contestants. Lyra had only needed one hit, and Nole was down and unable to get back up.

"Just lie down, Nole. Take your time; if you try to move too fast, you'll just end up hurting yourself."

"Did-did yo-you get him?" Cand nodded with a proud smile, pointing at the collapsed cave.

"He's buried under that. No way he could survive that." The moment his attack hit, the cave started falling apart; he didn't have any time to dodge or try to protect himself.

"And-and, the girl?" Cand's smile faded. Reluctantly, he shook his head. "I'm-I'm going to get her," Nole growled out, glaring at the tunnel. Cand wasn't surprised; Nole always could hold a grudge. He wouldn’t let this drop until they got revenge.

Unfortunately, they couldn't just follow her into her tunnel, at least, not without breaking the rules of the Trials. Even if they let themselves get disqualified trying to chase them, there was no way the examiner would let them attack them. They had to catch up to them the right way.

"Did you get her scent?" Nole smiled like a hungry tiger, showing off his unnaturally long fangs.

"I'm going to find her." Wrapping an arm around Nole to help him stand, Cand walked him to his tunnel. He wouldn't be able to take him any further, but that was okay. Nole had already beaten the monster left as an opening test-a pack wolf-easily. Cand would just have to get to him quickly, so he could keep him safe before he recovered. He would rather wait longer so Nole could fully recuperate, but the clock was ticking; that wasn't an option. "Are you with me?"

"Always."

***

Lyra heard Eren's tunnel collapsing. Racing around, she found the path he had come down, but when she arrived, there was nothing but a massive pile of rocks.

"Eren!" Not knowing what else to do, Lyra began throwing rocks frantically. She couldn't believe this had happened. Some of Odin's Eye's strongest mages reinforced these tunnels. Supposedly, they were almost impossible to destroy. Yet this had fallen apart like a house of cards.

Could Eren be dead? Her mother had warned her about the Trials. Every year, without fail, people die; it's unavoidable. No. He's not dead. He can't be.

"Eren! Answer me!" Lyra paused for a tense moment, listening out for any kind of response. She just couldn't believe that her hair-brained plan had got Eren killed.

This is my fault. I did this. If I had just listened to my mother, I wouldn't even be here. Why? Why did I have to be so stupid?

"Lyra." A muffled voice called back.

"Eren!" Rushing to the source of his voice, Lyra began throwing rocks away as quickly as possible. It didn't take long to find Eren, trapped flat on his back, under an enormous boulder. "You okay?"

Eren smiled slightly. "Honestly... yeah. I can't move, but it doesn't hurt."

Lyra blinked. "What?"

"I'm made of metal, remember? A few rocks falling on me won't hurt," Eren boasted. Lyra narrowed her eyes dangerously.

"Then why didn't you respond when I called you?"

"I wasn't sure if you wanted me to talk yet." Eren gave her his best shit-eating grin. Lyra punched Eren in the face.

"Ow! Dammit, that hurt," Lyra cried, nursing her sore hand. "Metal freak."

Eren chuckled, completely unfazed. "Serves you right for hitting me when I can't hit back. Now stop messing around and help me move these boulders."

Lyra glared at Eren for a long moment. She was tempted to just leave him. It would serve him right for messing with her.

…

With a heavy sigh, she got to work moving the rocks.

It didn't take long to get Eren free. Once she helped him move aside some of the heavier rocks, he just stood up, shrugging off the smaller ones like they were weightless. To him, they probably were; the muscle-bound freak.

***

Jin's magic was all about control.

Most people thought her tattoos were just for show - that wasn't the case. They were living plants growing under her skin. Jin wasn't a conjurer; unlike one, she didn't create the plants. She was a manipulator; she controlled the plants as they lived, grew and reproduced in her body.

It wasn't a safe magic to learn by any means. The plants inside her were parasites. Plain and simple. Any of them growing inside a human, or any mage who lacked proper control, was a death sentence. They would suck up all their mana to grow unnaturally fast, their roots ripping through their host's body, leading to an agonizing death. Of course, she couldn't concentrate on preventing this all the time. But she could put the plants into stasis, all waiting for her magic to release them so they could continue to grow. That's why they looked like tattoos. Each one contained just enough spores, or plant matter, for her to grow a whole new plant, but not enough to do so without her magical intervention.

She only let them grow in ways that suited her. Only allowed them to reproduce to a point, always ensuring she had enough but never too many. Her body looked normal from the outside, but inside she'd been altered drastically. Pathways were made for the plants to flow through. Her skin was ready to split apart at a moment's notice, to release them, before sticking back together without the slightest suggestion that it had parted.

That's what Jin had just done. Letting her flower reproduce just beneath the skin, then releasing its saplings into the soil. The plant was then free to dig its roots as deep as it could- which, thanks to the low levels of ambient mana, wasn't very far. Jin only needed a small flower, so she didn't make it grow further.

With their breadcrumbs in place, Jin and Kena walked with new confidence. It wasn't long before they first re-encountered Jin's flowers. When they did, they simply chose a different direction.

Unfortunately, since they were fed off her mana but were not made of it, Jin couldn't sense them. So they had no way of knowing when they were approaching her flowers again.

"What's going on?" Kena muttered, looking at the flower-covered path in front of them.

"We're caught in some sort of loop," Jin muttered. "They must have removed some of the pathways, so we end up wandering in circles until we realise what's going on."

"Ah!" Kena slammed her fist into her hand. "So all we need to do is break the walls; I knew it!"

"No!" Jin caught her wrist just before she could set off her explosion. "If you do that, you could bring the roof down on us."

"Beats sitting around doing nothing."

"It really doesn't," Jin stressed, fighting the urge to scream at Kena. "There's a way out of this. We just have to figure out how. It's a test like the others, so we should be able to beat it with our magic."

"My magic is explosions."

"No explosions!" Pinching the bridge of her nose, Jin let out a deep sigh. "Look, your magic must be able to do something else." Kena stared at Jin blankly. "Like, you used your fire to make light. That's not an explosion." Kena continued staring at her, her face a mask of blankness. "You know what? It doesn't matter; I'll figure something out. You just be my living torch."

***

Studying the map in his hands, Eren tried to figure out the best route. Lyra had asked to see the map. He just told her to look over his shoulder. He wasn't about to hand over his only leverage so easily. The map was impressively detailed. It looked like it started as a single sheet, with paths one and twenty drawn, before showing a branching tree of curved paths. Several other sheets of paper had been added to it since, showing how the opening paths linked up to it. The scale was presumably off, but all the same, it covered several tunnels and dead ends.

It also had two types of markings on it, "M" and a "T". Eren guessed "M" meant monster, and "T" probably signalled a test like Eren's duel and the pig-catching test they had done.

It would probably be fairer to mark Kena as a monster than a test.

Most of these markings were at the entrances, with the tunnel's number also being marked. It was a handy tool; they were lucky to get a hold of it. The only problem was figuring out when they were on the right path. Cand and Nole could be waiting to ambush them the moment they tried to switch to one of the marked paths. The one downside was that the three tunnels they knew of weren't shown on the map at all. Although on a positive note, if they figured out how to get onto a path on the map, they'd effectively know ten of the opening paths and how eight of them linked.

"Right, let's go." Eren walked forward into the room they had captured the pig in earlier, but Lyra didn't follow.

"What are you doing?" Turning around, Eren found Lyra hadn't moved in the slightest to follow him. "We need to hurry; let's go."

"Yes. Let's." Eren gestured to the doorway. Lyra just looked at him blankly.

"No. That's the wrong way." Eren frowned. She said it with such conviction, the same way one would say that one plus one is two. So the room had a test, although he wasn't affected. "Get away from the door."

"Lyra, calm down. This is easy. How did you get into this room?" Eren asked, trying to keep his voice as soothing as possible. Seeing Lyra's glare, he moved away from the door, getting her to calm slightly.

"I... came through that door," Lyra got out slowly, seeming to disagree with her own words.

"Yes, you did. That door leads to the pig room. It's the only way to continue forward."

"That makes sense."

"So let's go through it."

"No. It's too dangerous!" So close. Sighing, Eren tried a different, more direct technique; walking through the door. He really should've just done so straight away. It would be a lot faster, and if Lyra still refused to follow him, maybe that was for the best. She could almost certainly one-shot him and clearly didn't mind screwing over her fellow contestants. Why would Eren be any different?

"Heaven's fury!" Eren was about to touch the door when he heard Lyra yell. Jumping back, he avoided a plethora of lightning bolts by a hair. Fortunately, it seemed she had aimed at the door rather than him, as if not he’d be convulsing on the floor in agony. Perhaps even more bizarrely, when the bolts hit the door, they didn't destroy it as Eren had expected. Instead, they just disappeared uselessly, not even leaving a mark on the wooden door. Turns out it wasn't an ordinary door.

Eren took a deep breath to calm himself. "Why did you do that?" He asked as calmly as possible, but a certain amount of venom still made its way into his words.

"I'm not letting you leave without me! I need to pass this exam!"

"Then come with me."

"No, the door's dangerous!" Eren glared at her balefully; this was incredibly frustrating.

"Okay, I have an idea. I'll go through the door." Lyra bristled at this, but Eren kept speaking, not letting her get a word in edgeways. "If it's dangerous, it'll be the one who’s hurt, not you. If it's not, I'll prove that to you."

Lyra's fearful expression faded for a second, rapidly replaced with anger. "If it's not, you'll just leave me here."

That was the plan.

"No, of course not. You'll follow me." Lyra made a face as if she was eating something rotten.

"I can't. The door's dangerous. But I can't let you abandon me either. The cave-in blocked the only other exit; you're my only chance." That said, Lyra raised a hand, lightning crackling around it. "Figure something out."

***

Kena watched Jin sceptically. Jin's plan made sense on the surface, but Kena still couldn't help but feel it wouldn't work. Slowly the plant mage grew her plants in all the walls. According to Jin, if the wall was conjured-whatever that meant- the plant would absorb its mana, destroying it. Jin explained that was how she had destroyed Eren's cuffs earlier. And if it was made via manipulating mana, it would still have some trace mana in it, which the plant would absorb and grow from. Depending on how much of the wall was magic, it would either be 'dismissed'-whatever that meant-or at it would be weakened. Kena hoped the latter was the case; that way, she could break down the wall the fun way.

Jin was very particular about what Kena could and couldn't blow up. Erring on the side of not blowing stuff up. It was annoying.

Regardless, Kena let Jin work, doing her part as a torch and little else.

"This is actually the second guild I've applied to. I once tried for one called Basilisk Stare," Kena said. She and Jin were walking single file because of the thin hallway, making the conversation a little awkward. But after nearly three hours, she had to talk about something.

"I've never heard of that guild," Jin replied, planting another seed. It didn't grow, so they kept going.

"Yeah, I'm not surprised. It's a local buncha losers; I'm from a small village, so it was the only guild I knew about back then."

"I'm surprised you would fail. You're certainly powerful enough."

Kena clicked her tongue. "I didn't fail on power- I kicked the examiner's ass. But there was a written test," Kena growled at the memory. "I don't care about that bullcrap!"

"Ah, I see. I suppose that's why you chose Odin's Eye. Even if the puzzles are hard, at least you don't need to read or write."

"Well, that's not the only reason," Kena said. "Elestine, he was like… my teacher or something. He used to be a member of this guild."

Jin paused for a moment, processing Kena's words. "So you wish to honour him by joining the same guild he was once a member of. That's sweet."

Kena blushed, scratching her cheek. She was glad Jin couldn't see her expression. "It was his last request. Said I would find out who I really am- whatever the hell that means."

"He sounds like an interesting man."

"Ugh, don't get me started. Bastard never gave me a straight answer about anything," Kena said, a small smile tugging at her lips. "You kind of remind me of him."

Jin chuckled, slightly amused. "I'll give you a straight answer. You just need to ask me a question."

"Oh yeah, then why are you taking the Trials?"

"Money."

"That's it."

"That's it," Jin confirmed. "It's hard to find work as an independent mage. Odin's Eye has some of the best commission jobs in the country. It won't be long before I'm rich. If I can get in, that is."

"That's a lame reason," Kena murmured; Jin planted another seed. This time when the flower grew, it grew more than the others. But only slightly.

"This it?" Kena said, eyeing the wall- searching for any signs it was fake.

"Looks like." Jin touched her plant. She must've used some sort of magic because it started growing. Fast. Pretty soon, it took up the entire wall, its roots now visible on the surface, forming a perfectly rectangular slab. "Hmm… must've been a manipulator, not a conjurer... Don't blow it up. Just burn it."

Kena nodded, gently igniting the poor plant. It caught easily; the fire spreading through it unopposed. It almost felt like it wanted to burn. Weird.

A second later, the flower fell, leaving behind nothing but burning roots. As they fell apart, so did the wall, revealing a new tunnel.

"Not bad," Kena said, giving credit where it was due. "But I still think my way would've been faster."

Jin disagreed.

***

Eren stared at the lightning-coated hand in shock. So she had figured that much out. It was interesting how she got there, but bad for him. Extremely bad. She looked unsure; she didn't want to do this. But that didn't mean she wouldn't.

There was no way he was leaving without her letting him. He simply wasn't fast enough to dodge an attack from this distance, especially when it was already pointed at him. Dismissing his armour wouldn't help either; he was still full of iron mana. Even if he wasn't, it was still lightning, not something he could reasonably endure. He couldn't knock her out either, tempting as it was to try. There was no way she'd be dumb enough to let him. She would just think he was trying to abandon her.

Which, he probably would; he was not impressed with her effectively taking him prisoner. Similarly, restraining her was a bust. No, he needed to do something other than beat her into submission.

"Can I open the door? If I do so at a distance." Lyra looked unsure but eventually nodded.

"At a distance. I'll be aiming at you the whole time." Nodding in acceptance, Eren got to work. Moving as far from the door as possible as a show of good faith, Eren created a long pole with a hook at the end. Reaching out with it, he turned the door handle, pushing it open. Turning to Lyra, she looked apprehensive but stable.

"Good. See, it's not dangerous." Lyra shook her head.

"The door's dangerous," she repeated, as if it was her mantra. That would've been too easy, but regardless, it was a step forward.

"You don't have to touch the door; just go through the doorway." Again, she shook her head. "Okay, don't worry. This is only the first try. I've still got lots of plans left."

Eren needed to come up with a new plan fast. Lyra did not look happy, and he had nothing. Looking into the room, he saw Clay. Maybe he could do something with that? It could be a useful distraction. It might just give him the moment he needed to escape. Although if it didn't work, he would get zapped. Or maybe she would set the oil alight to burn him and Clay to a crisp. Being covered in iron wouldn't save him from smoke inhalation or heat, as he had learned in his fight with Kena.

Can we still fail that test if Lyra breaks the rules now?

He needed to go through the door. But Lyra wouldn't let him go through the door. It was an impossible situation.

Except he didn't need to go through the door. He needed to go through the doorway. Lyra was afraid of the door and wouldn't let him touch it or go through it. But what if she didn't have to?

Summoning an extra long-handled sledgehammer, Eren began smashing the walls around the door. The stone was remarkably tough, but Eren kept going. Cand broke it, so Eren was confident he could as well.

Soon enough, the door fell forward into the pig room, leaving behind a gaping hole in the wall.

"How's that? Just jump over the door. Don't have to touch it or go through it." Lyra looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding. Stepping forward, she lept past the door, being careful not to get any nearer to it than she had to.

Eren followed, just walking over the troublesome door. It looked like the door to the maze was still open for them. Eren was glad; he didn't feel like catching Clay again. "Ready to go?" Eren was still stuck with Lyra. If he couldn't shake her when she literally couldn't leave the room he was in, then he was never going to.

"Eren."

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

Eren wanted to tell her to get lost. She'd held him prisoner, saying “thank you” didn't make it okay. Instead, he held out a hand to shake; and said, "You're welcome. Partners?"

"Partners," Lyra responded, shaking his hand. Eren smiled softly, knowing he was planning to abandon her at the first viable opportunity. Based on Lyra's conniving smile, he imagined she was thinking the same thing.