Chapter 42 — Must've Been The Wind

Meanwhile, within the labyrinth.

The creature's hand lifts toward Yasu and the blade still embedded in the wall wrenches free on its own, twisting violently as if summoned by some unseen force.  

For a split second, Yasu just stares, his mind short-circuiting at the sheer impossibility of it all: "What kind of sick joke is this?" he mutters under his breath before taking an involuntary step back…  

But then reality crashes into him like ice water when that damn sword hovers mid-air and slams back into the half-dead thing’s grip instead! The rotten fingers curl around its hilt with terrifying familiarity.

Yasu's fingers tighten around the hilt of his own blade, knuckles going white as he watches the sword float back into that rotting corpse’s grasp.  

"Show off," he mutters, unimpressed before shifting into a battle stance so sharp it could cut glass. His free hand raises slightly in preparation; not for attack yet but for defense, because this thing? It doesn't look like it fights like any human ever has. 

And if there's one rule Yasu follows above all others? Never underestimate something that cheats.

The monstrosity doesn't reply. It just lunges forward like a broken-down puppet, stumbling awkwardly towards Yasu. Its movements are jerky, almost feral, and the stench of rotten meat is so powerful, it makes Yasu’s eyes water in reaction and covers his nose. "God damn you reek!" He shouts mid-movement. 

Yasu parries a wild swing aimed at his side, barely before countering with his own strike. His blade flashes toward the undead's throat in a move that would've beheaded any human… but this thing? It doesn't even blink.

Yasu's blade connects—or it should have.  

The rotten flesh gives way under the steel like wet parchment, but there’s no blood, no choked gasp of pain. Just a sickening crunch as the creature’s head lolls to one side unnaturally—then snaps back into place with a sound like cracking bone.  

Its red eyes flare brighter in its hollow sockets as it raises that cursed sword again… and for once? Yasu feels something dangerously close to doubt.

Yasu immediately jumps back, as if he's lost in thought. This can't be real. This thing shouldn't be alive; it shouldn't be standing and fighting. It’s a walking corpse for god’s sake! 

His eyes narrow, expression tight. "This thing isn't hurt by normal attacks, that much is clear, and the way it moves? It's all wrong; jerky and unstable in a way that shouldn't even be possible for something walking."

He exhales sharply, before continuing. "How are you supposed to fight something that ignores every rule of logic?!" 

Yasu points out, indicating a clear sense of surprise, as if encountering something unexpected, reminiscent of the formidable bosses he encountered in video games during his past life. 

But here it stands, grinning grotesquely, flesh hanging in thin strips from its face like some kind of gruesome mask. Yasu's blade has hardly even scratched it, and he's beginning to realize: that may be a problem.

For the first time since he entered the labyrinth, the thought of running away is maybe starting to sound damn tempting.

"How do you even kill something already dead?"

The creature swings again. Yasu dodges with a grimace before retaliating. His jaw is clenched so tight, the muscles in his face ache—but he forces himself to focus. There has to be some weakness. There has to be some way to put this thing down once and for all!

Yasu leaps back, panting with exertion. He's already been on the defensive, and it shows—though he hides it well beneath a veneer of coolheaded indifference. "I guess I should use one of your tactics, Father. I was planning on saving it for later anyway."

Yasu closed his eyes, "Harmony of the Ascendant," he murmurs, the words falling from his lips almost as a reflex. Dark auroral energy begins to swirl around him, a storm forming in miniature form. "It's been a while since this auroral color changed to dark."

His face contorted into something almost like pain as he touched his chest, feeling the heartbeat. "It felt as if something was eating me inside."

Yasu tenses as the dark energy courses through him—not just power but pain. It feels as if the energy itself is alive, clawing at his skin and soul in turn. But he pushes the feeling aside; he's felt worse before, so much worse.

"Maybe it's time to see how well this works with harmony," he mutters under his breath before raising his sword again. "Here goes nothing."

The energy rushes through him like a storm as he charges forward, his movements sharper than before. His body hums with raw power; he can feel it coursing through his veins, like electricity under his skin.  

"It's working." Yasu murmurs, his eyes narrowing almost as if he's surprised. But just as quickly, his expression twists into something much less confident. There's a strange feeling of disassociation, as if his body isn't entirely his own to control anymore.

While fighting with the creature, Yasu's legs tangle beneath him with a sudden, clumsy stumble. The world tilts violently as he falls, his breath whooshing from his lungs in a sharp gasp. The world spins around him as he sprawls on the ground, breathless and more than a little shocked.  

He groans as he pushes himself up, his hand moving instinctively to check for injuries… but even to his own disbelief, there are none. The fall left no marks on him, no sign that he'd just face-planted in the ground as if he were a drunken fool instead.

The half-dead laughs in a guttural, unnatural sound that echoes through the twisting corridors with an almost obscene glee. Yasu's face floods with blood in response to the sound; humiliation and anger warring for a moment as he glares up at the thing taunting him.

How dare it mock him like that? Does it really think he's some kind of joke?

Yasu's lip curls, his fingers flexing as the dark aura around him flickers like a dying flame. "Real funny," he mutters—dripping with mocking disbelief.  

The half-dead cackles again, its sword dragging against the ground in a slow scrape that makes Yasu's teeth clench tighter than before... but then? He exhales sharply through gritted teeth and shuts off the aurora entirely—letting it fade into nothingness instead now too.  

"Guess I won't be using techniques and use what I've been training these 3 years." He thought to himself confidently while rolling out his shoulders next. As if bracing for something.

Yasu throws himself forward in a mad rush, his blade slashing forward with a clang of steel on steel. The half-dead skeleton blocks his attack with inhuman strength, their blades clashing with a force that resonates down to Yasu's palms.  

"Damn it," he hisses, their swords locked together. He can feel the strength in the thing's grip—unnatural strength, like it doesn't even need muscles to overpower him instead. "How the hell am I supposed to beat something that doesn't follow the rules?!"

Yasu fights back fiercely, his blade moving like a blur of steel as he clashes with the skeleton again and again. As the fight progresses, he begins to track the monster's movements more carefully, looking for any signs of predictability or weakness amongst the jerky, inconsistent moves it makes.  

Finally, when the half-dead raises its sword to attack him again, Yasu kicks its leg—hard. The blow lands with a sickening crunch, but the thing doesn't even seem to flinch.

"Damn it," Yasu mutters again, backing up a step as the skeleton sways for a moment. He doesn't even know if pain can affect this monster anymore. The blow looked like it should have shattered bone—but the thing only seems dazed instead.  

"It's like fighting something already dead", he thinks with a grimace. No matter what he tries, he can't seem to knock it down. It just keeps getting back up and coming back for more.

"Unless..." He says in thought, eyes widen as if he had an idea. 

Yasu's blade clangs against the half-dead's sword one final time—then instead of pulling away, he releases his grip entirely, feigning retreat.  

The monster pauses, confused by the sudden lack of resistance... and that split second is all Yasu needs.  

He launches himself forward like a wild beast, tackling the skeleton to the ground with enough force to crack stone beneath them both. Before it can recover? He wrenches his fallen sword from dirt again—driving downward in a frenzied assault: stabbing through ribs exposed too easily under rotting flesh; slicing across tendons barely holding limbs together anymore either, until finally? THUNK. 

"Bingo."

The blade finds purchase deep within its chest cavity instead where something dark pulses faintly inside like a poisoned heart beating weakly still left behind there.

The skeleton groans, its body shuddering beneath him as that final strike hits home. It's a strange, broken sound that echoes through the silent labyrinth like nothing Yasu's ever heard before.

For the first time since this fight began, the monster goes still. No jerky, undead movements as it lies lifeless, just a broken pile of shattered bones and rotting flesh on the ground. The red glow behind its eye sockets flickers out entirely as if someone had blown on a candle flame.

Yasu lets out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding too. Finally, it's over.

"Leave this place."

Yasu's heart jumps in his chest as the faint voice drifts eerily through the labyrinth's twisting corridors. He stands fast, his blade raised instinctively as his eyes dart around in search of its source.  

"Who's there?!" He demands, his voice sharp with tension. He's expecting a new threat to step out from those shadows —though why it's telling him to leave is what catches him off guard.

Yasu stands in tense silence for a long moment, his eyes scanning the glow of candlelight passageways all around him for any sign of danger. Upon finding, no answer then slowly, carefully...

He lifts his sword—pushing the point against the skeleton's motionless corpse and nudging it once, twice with the tip.

"Hey... was it you?" He says sharply, his voice cutting through the quiet. "Are you... alive? Cause I hope not."

No response comes, of course. The thing looks as broken and lifeless as ever—not even a twitch from those hollow eyes as Yasu prods its still body.

Yasu sheaths his sword with a sigh, scratching his head. "Must've been the wind..." he mutters darkly, his eyes still scanning for any signs of movement.

His heart is pounding in his chest still; adrenaline from the fight has left him shaken.

Yasu took a moment to gather himself before continuing deeper into the labyrinth's twisting corridors, his footsteps echoing louder than normal in the silence around him.

He pushes on, his jaw tight and expression grim. Whatever lurks in these corridors, he's faced worse.