Labyrinth Expedition #16

King Stephen rose from his throne, walking through the throne room and to his quarters, passing more guards than ever before. It had been four months since the Heroes have entered the Great Labyrinth, raising the amount of time the otherworlders have spent in this word to three-fourths of a year; and for those four months, no contact had been established since that incident— instead, monthly reports containing detailed documents of the hero's growth, given through the power of things called return stones.

Kaiser himself would give those reports to trusted delivery men, for the Return Stone only allowed him to leave the tower for a maximum of twenty-four hours– barely enough time for him to scrounge up any needed supplies.

“Another interesting report, filled with information as always.” The queen smiled, reading the large document, “More monsters of incredible strength are being discovered, superior species— I’m thankful none of these abominations roam our lands.”

“Yes, I feel the same way,” Stephen leaned and kissed her cheek, “All good news, I hope? How are they faring?”

“Well, incredibly well– or most of them. Some obviously crave the outside world, but until they defeat the last floor, they are unable to return outside of normal means.” Queen Kaguya shook her head, “On the bright side, there are only personal letters and requests here, and there are no terrible results…unlike the very first report.”

Stephen’s eyes furrowed at the reminder, the headaches of material shortages and refugee camps. Thankfully they have all been sorted, but the fear and paranoia the survivors brought with them caused quite a turbulent panic.

A month into their dive, the exit located on the tenth-floor had been reportedly destroyed by an incredibly powerful monster– leaving only one more charge for the entire population to escape, but not the heroes.

When they tried to escape with the populace, they were barred from exiting the tower through a very powerful source, presumably the last monster hiding in the bowels of that terrifying place. With a weary sigh, Stephen sad down beside his wife, reviewing the documents.

“In our absence, the city was attacked by vicious fiends, monsters had banded together to attack the city– nearly killing all of its defenders. Ayama heroically stood in the forefront while Akiro, who was still injured and recuperating at the time, provided long-distance support from the spire in the city center.”

“We reacted too late, the battlefield and the city was surrounded in an impenetrable barrier, the hell-scape inside easily viewed from the outside. The sky was red like blood, black clouds that looked like smoke flew over the air, and the artificial sun was blotted out by a moon– turning into a blood-red eclipse.”

“We couldn’t do anything but pray, and indeed our prayers were answered. The battle was won, but a heinous beast attacked the city from behind, pulverizing the volunteers that defended it while the soldiers were away. The beast targeted the spire, destroying, but after a grueling fight, Akiro slew the beast, nearly dying in the process.”

“We won the deciding battle, but not without losses. The spire that provided resources no longer functioned, and with heavy hearts, the citizens packed their things and headed for the exit circle in the north.”

“Gravely, I too, write with a heavy heart, for the exit barred our leave. We are trapped here in the tower. I hope this reaches your highness— Signed, Kaiser.”

“P.S: A strange message appeared in the form of a black letter, signed and perfumed in blood. It invited us to the last floor, the fiftieth floor. There, the exit is presumably located. With the letter, we received a [Return Stone].”

It was worrying to say the least, both the monarchies from Earlshide and Scavia have both tried finding a way of escape, but alas, it was fruitless. Their only hope was that the heroes survive until the last floor.

That task proved to be daunting, as the dangers of the floors described in paper were only the surface of it. The environment of the floors varied greatly— hot deserts spanning miles, dense jungles inhabiting poisonous insects, dark winding caves filled with camouflage monsters, floating land with only the abyss underneath, or deep seas that will swallow them whole.

“From the eleventh to fifteenth floors were scorching hot desserts. We are fortunate to have water-mages, or else we would have perished of strokes and heat exhaustion. However our ill-fortune does not stop there, beasts that once roamed these desolate sand plains detest the living and have risen from the dead to haunt us.”

“At the end of our perilous journey through five floors of desserts, we stumbled across shrines, which held a key-hold for the [Return Stone]. Unfortunately only one of us can be transported at a time and only for twenty-four hours.”

“If I may be so bold, may we request everything in this list of supplies? It is attached to the letter— Signed, Olivia.”

“Praise the Gods! We received the provisions you have graciously provided. The children’s spirits have been lifted, especially since we cleared the desert plains. We now find ourselves in the heart of a dense forest, and just from a glance, it is no ordinary forest.”
“Insects, spiders, snakes, goblins all wear colors beyond their natural spectrum, their lethality and poisonous traits even deadlier than normal. I nearly had a heart attack after I witnessed Akiro extract the venom of multiple spider colonies– only to drink it. It was incredibly vivid, but he assured me it was a dream.”

“Surprisingly enough, the boy is very knowledgeable about poisons, and he even started to douse his weapons in them, what a fearsome child. With his extensive knowledge, we managed to find sustainable food— from insects and snakes— and none of us are sick yet, at least not from poisonous sources at least.”

“May the Gods protect us, and may they look over your Kingdom. There is a notebook attached with sketches, detailed measurements of the insects. I believe some are actually extinct outside this labyrinth, and it would make me happy if one of my trusted scholars checked in my stead. Thank you for entertaining this old man’s request.– Signed, Sebastian.”

“P.S: The forest lasted throughout the sixteenth floors to the thirtieth.”

“If you are reading this, then it means we have succeeded. I would like to take this opportunity to thank those that have been praying for us back home, after all, it has been a month since we have been caught in the Maze-like Caves of the thirty to thirty-fifth floors.”

“Looming shadows always followed us, noise reverberating, nasty echoes of monsters and skin-crawling sounds. Some of the children have experienced panic attacks, both from the lack of natural sunlight and constant creepy sounds.”

“Like I stated before, we have been lost for about a month in the connected caves. For five floors, the concept of space is twisted. Up and down no longer exist, and it is no longer surprising to find ourselves in the beginning of the maze when we were at the cusp of escape. I myself am losing to my shortening temper. Our current joy and source of comfort is Ayama, who seems to glow in the dark.”

“But we prevailed eventually, finally navigating the Insane Caverns– as Takumi has coined. We also managed to stumble across a large treasure room, all filled with gold, silver, platinum— all precious materials. I believe these resources will help the economic void left behind by the Chimera-Attack. I wish you all the best health– Signed, Kaiser.”

Stephen looked at the stack of documents, no longer reading them for his own comfort. Quickly, he read only the first paragraphs, and then the first words. Soon, instead of groups of five, the floors began to become unique in their monsters and challenges.

“Thirty-sixth to the fortieth floors. We now find ourselves high in the air, with only the abyss below us. This labyrinth would be a great place of study, if it weren’t for the constant flying threats that flock around us—”

“Forty-first floor, A sea spanned for miles–”

“Forty-sixth floor, we find ourselves on dry ground– but the ground hates us, and golems are all around us.”

“Forty-seventh floor, We are running away from a gargantuan one-eyed giant.”

“Forty-eighth floor, a city of the undead— spectators to us.”

They can only hope, because the latest of the reports spoke about the forty-eight floor, an arena where monsters of the previous floors were thrown back at them. These monsters were stronger, and proved much more feral and dangerous than their previous counterparts; because the list of injuries sustained by the party was compiled by Sebastian, and he strongly suggested that the contents suggested not to be read on a full stomach.

“How horrible,” Stephen pinched the bridge of his nose, regretting having read the list. He turned the page, to the forty-ninth report.

“Forty-ninth floor. On a circular platform, the void greeting us below, we gathered in the middle, awaiting our great enemy; and with its deafening roars, and torrent-creating wings– were in terror.”
“A Dragon appeared, but unlike the temple or royal records, it was an amalgamation of four different dragons. It had four heads, each in control of its own element, and just one of them was capable of incredible destruction.”

“The children called it a Hydra, the serpent of many heads, and I believe it is quite fitting—”

“A dragon with four heads,” The queen gulped, “I cannot even fathom.” At her words, Stephen skipped the longest report’s detailed battle explanation, remembering the incredible amount of healing supplies they had requested, for the damage of this creature was that great.

“--After the grave Wyvern was slain, a large door appeared. A tall door that reached the heights of the arena, engraved with skulls and it exuded a demonic-like aura.” Stephen recalled, the description of just the last door itself making his skin crawl. He set down the documents, looking outside of the open window. Both the King and Queen were worried, praying that that was the worst to come.

Oh how wrong were they. The next day came, and a messenger came running, bearing worse news than they even dreamed about. The man kneeled in front of them, trembling from exhaustion. He had refused a rest and demanded that he tell them the news himself, and so before them, the man looked up with a somber expression— the face of a man, who was saved during the Chimera attack, was contorted in sorrow.

“Y-Your Highness, Your grace! O-Out of the twenty seven that entered, the three officials and twenty-four heroes— only twenty-two are now alive.”

da-Dum!

The news shocked the royal court, dead silence echoed soberly inside the room. Stephen jumped from his seat, looking at the man in horror. “T-T-The deceased?” His lips trembled. “What happened there? W-What was on the fiftieth floor? What was it that killed them?”

The messenger gulped, “One official, four heroes.”