In the Lion’s Mouth

They walked through those dark tunnels. Gerald led the way, his flintlock cannon primed and ready. The sparks and the lightning of his Electrica Magica could barely light the way.

“It’s so dark in here,” Gerald complained. “How did you do it last time?”

“Miss Suri helped us with butterflies.”

Gerald stopped and turned around with an eyebrow raised.

“We don’t understand either.” Charlotte simply answered.

They were moving almost blindly. Gerald marked the earthy walls to remember the path.

They walked and walked.

Gradually, Gerald quickened his pace, and his angry growls echoed more and more in those underground alleys.

“Maybe we should go back. We have no clue where we're going,” Zoe suggested.

“We can’t! We have to find the prince!”

“I know, but we can’t be sure where they are.”

Gerald ignored her and continued walking. Again, Gerald picked up the pace. He no longer paid attention to the possible routes. He simply chose a random path every time an intersection appeared.

Again and again.

After what seemed like an eternity, Gerald ran without looking around. He roamed through the labyrinthine dungeon underground.

Everything around him was completely dark.

The roads led nowhere.
The floor was dirt. The walls were dirt.

He ran and ran.

The more he walked, the more the walls seemed to crush him.

Gerald’s breathing was heavy, but he didn’t stop.

He stumbled a couple of times until someone stopped him from behind.

It was Charlotte.

He turned around, with tears in his eyes.

“That’s enough, Mister Gerald.”

“I-I c-can’t.”

“Let’s take a deep breath.”

“There’s no air in here!”

He was gasping for air.

Gerald fell to his knees. He gripped the clothes tightly around his chest, almost tearing them.

“I’m u-useless…”

“Please try to calm down.”

Charlotte walked over to him, but he seemed to ignore her. She tried again, shaking him by the shoulders. At some point, she was screaming his name.

Not knowing what to do, Charlotte slapped him.

“C-Charlotte!?” Zoe exclaimed, surprised.

“I’m sorry, but we don’t have time.”

Gerald snapped out of it.

“Mister Gerald, we need to find them or at least get out of here.”

“You’re right.”

Slowly, he stood up. He still had a distant look in his eyes, but at least his breathing was back to normal.

Charlotte wanted to help him, but she knew that staying there was too risky. She just helped him to his feet and led the way.

She pulled out the square metal object, whose name she now knew. “A lighter.” She activated it, and the little flame appeared.

“What is that, Charlotte?” Zoe looked intrigued.

“Something that may help us.”

They kept walking until they reached a crossroad. Left or right. Charlotte used the lighter and scanned both paths. It was useless. Both looked the same: rocks, dirt, and a few buried roots.

Just as she was about to decide, a gentle hand stopped her.

It was Sybil.

She grabbed her by the hem of her clothes.

“What is it?”

With a trembling hand, Sybil pointed to the opposite path.

“That’s the right path?”

She just nodded.

“Are you sure?”

“Y-yes…I-I r-remember this place.”
Charlotte looked around, confused. She didn't want to insist anymore, so she trusted her.

She lit their way as Sybil guided them. Sometimes, she pointed to the path immediately. Other times, she took time to think. She only had to stop a couple of times to check her surroundings.

“You’re doing really great!”

“T-thank y-you.”

Nobody said a word for a while. Not even Sybil, who preferred to point out the correct path with her finger.

They kept walking for several minutes until Zoe finally broke the silence.

“This place is enormous. It definitely covers the whole town.”

“Yes, and that’s really worrying.”

“You really think he’s capable, Charlotte?”

“We still don’t know what he’s up to…” She paused. “But he practically has the whole town under this place.”

“I guess you’re—”

Thud, Thud, Thud.

Everyone froze in fear.

Sybil hid behind Charlotte.

Thud, Thud, Thud.

Huge footsteps echoed from everywhere.

Charlotte turned around.

“Let’s return from—”
Thud, Thud, Thud.

She froze when she heard footsteps behind them.

“N-no… w-we should…”

Charlotte turned around again.

Thud, Thud, Thud.

Now, the footsteps echoed from the front.

“I…I…”

Sybil, who was still hiding behind her back, tugged at her clothes just enough to get her attention.

“What is it?” Charlotte asked.

She pointed forward.

“Are you sure?”

She nodded firmly.

Hesitantly, but with no other choice, Charlotte agreed.

“Let’s keep moving.”

Everyone ran. Alysia drew Bastion. Gerald held one of his flintlock cannons. Zoe activated her pocket watch, its hands moving counterclockwise.

Charlotte tried to look back, but all she saw was an abysmal darkness. The movement extinguished the lighter's flame, leaving them in the dark again.

Thud, Thud, Thud.

Echoed from both sides.

“Wait, Charlotte, you're going in the wrong direction!” Bastion screamed.

She didn’t listen.

“Charlotte, that thing is in front of you!”

This time, she could barely hear him.

“What?”

They ran without stopping.

“It's in front!"

“What?”

Thud, Thud, Thud.

They didn't stop.

“Charlotte!”

Thud, Thud, Thud.

“Stop, Charlotte, now!”

Sybil was the one who suddenly stopped. She managed to grab Charlotte by her clothes. The others stopped too, barely keeping their balance.

“Sybil? What happened?”

Thud, Thud.

Sybil looked back. She glanced at everyone.

Thud.

The footsteps grew fainter and fainter.

“I… I t-think we lost it…”
Charlotte was trying to catch her breath. Calmer, she activated the lighter once again. Then the long path finally ended. A circular area stretched out, right in front of them.

Suddenly, six torches of green Magica Fire lit the whole place. The place had several paths, and they all converged there.

“We didn’t expect you so soon.” A distorted voice echoed from every path. “It hasn’t even been 24 hours.”

“Where are our friends?” Charlotte shouted in several directions.

“They're already dead.”

Without a second thought, Gerald shot many cannons filled with Electrica Magica. A trail of blue lightning crossed many of those unknown paths.

“Electrica Magica. Thunders.”

Gerald shot and shot until he finally ran out of Magica.

The voice laughed. “Wow, really cool.”

“Shut up!”

“Hey, relax, we were joking. Everyone is fine. Actually, they just left through another area.”

“Show yourself, coward!” Alysia also started yelling. “I’ll kill you here!”

“Your friends exhaust us.”

Roots burst from the ground. Gerald and Alysia were tangled from top to bottom. They were restrained, even from the mouth.

“Leave them alone!”

“Wait!” The distorted voice said. “Don’t move or they’ll die.”

Charlotte came to a full stop.
Zoe also stopped still, speechless, and hid Sybil behind her.

“What do you want?”

“Nothing. The question is, what do you want?”

Charlotte didn’t answer. She had to look at several paths because the voice still echoed everywhere.

“Did the cat get your tongue?”

“N-no!”

“Clearly you didn’t expect it to make it this far.” The voice laughed again. “You are not a threat to us, but you’re really annoying.”

Thud.

The ground began to rumble.

“Let’s see, you saved the orphans… You stole our patient from us! Right, Sybil?” Sybil began to tremble and cling even tighter to Zoe. “Oh, such a heroine, Charlotte Armelier.”

Thud, Thud.

“What do you want?”

“Nothing, but I believe you deserved a reward.”

Thud, Thud, Thud.

“W-what? Stop right now.”

The roots that surrounded Alysia and Gerald tightened even more.

“Stop it! What are you doing?”

“Don’t you want to see what I’m planning?”

“W-what?”

“I’ll give you a little hint… But you have to choose.” The hero’s voice was completely distorted and crackled. “Shall we show you with Miss Alysia or Mister Gerald?”

“P-please… stop.”

The walls around Charlotte began to spin, and all the oxygen vanished. Her fist clenched. She tried to speak, but not a word came out.