The storm roared for half a minute, a grinding howl of grit and iron splinters swirling through the stairwell. Then, with a slow exhale, Ludger released his hold. The vortex unraveled like smoke, dust settling to the ground in a heavy, muffled rain. Visibility crept back in.

Shapes peeled themselves out of the walls.

Cloaked figures, their garments mottled with iron-gray and earthen brown, slid free from the stone as if they’d been part of it. The fabric of their hoods and sleeves shifted like a chameleon’s skin, the same camouflage the the first elementals had used. They landed lightly on the steps, boots making almost no sound.

One at the front scanned the stairwell, a gloved hand pressed to the wall as if feeling for vibrations. A low, sharp voice cut through the hush: “They’re here somewhere. Spread out. Find the targets.”

Without another word the cloaked shapes blurred forward. Their feet barely touched the stone as they moved, bodies a flicker of muted color and flowing cloth, darting up the stairs toward the exit of the labyrinth like wind through a canyon.

Behind them the last of the dust drifted down, leaving only claw marks, footprints, and the echo of pursuit.

For a long heartbeat after the cloaked figures vanished up the stairs, the stairwell lay still, dust settling into silence. Ludger crouched in the cramped space above the arch, every muscle tight, his breath held. Viola and Luna pressed against the cold stone beside him, their bodies hidden inside the fake wall he’d shaped out of tightly packed sand and hardened dust.

He counted slowly under his breath. One. Two. Three. Only when the last echo of footfalls faded did he release the weave.

The “wall” above the entrance trembled, then began to sag and unravel into loose grains. Sand poured down in a quiet cascade, revealing a narrow cavity. Ludger dropped first, boots striking stone with barely a sound, then reached up as Viola and Luna slid out behind him. They landed as light as cats, the three of them back in the open tunnel.

Ludger straightened, pressing a palm to his temple. The world tilted for a second, a sharp headache stabbing behind his eyes. All those tricks — the storm, the sinkhole, the fake wall — had chewed through his mana faster than he’d thought.

He fumbled for his pouch, uncorked a small vial, and downed a mana potion in two gulps. The cool rush hit his core, easing the dull ache just enough for him to stand straight again.

Viola glanced at him, brow raised. “You okay?”

He exhaled slowly, rolling his shoulders. “Yeah,” he said, voice low. “Just ran the tank dry. I need a refill.”

Luna scanned the stairwell above them once more, her hand still close to her dagger. “Then we move fast,” she murmured. “Before they realize what you did.”

He winced. “Perfect. Ambush artists and we’re running on fumes.” His voice came out a rasp.

Viola whispered, “Do we go back up? Or…” Her grip tightened on the stone hilt; the weight of the sword made her forearm tremble just slightly.

Ludger’s mind ticked. They were between predators and an exit. The first zone’s monsters had been herded away, leaving an empty killing field. Classic funnel tactic. Charging the stairs blind would be suicide.

He tapped two fingers against the ground. Threads of mana spread from his palm, sketching faint marks under the dust like veins of light. Not enough power for another full sandstorm, but maybe enough to cheat the board.

“Neither,” he murmured. “We already made them think we’re already gone.”

They stayed huddled inside the stone-shell alcove, breathing slow to recover some mana remained. Dust drifted in lazy beams of light from the cracked ceiling above; somewhere far off, the labyrinth groaned like a sleeping beast.

Minutes slid by. No footsteps. No whispers. Only the pulse of mana slowly seeping back into their cores.

Viola flexed her sword arm to keep it from cramping, lips pressed tight. Luna knelt cross-legged, eyes shut but ears twitching at every echo. Ludger sat with his back against the wall, forcing himself to count heartbeats instead of replaying worst-case scenarios.

If the cloaked hunters were planning a second strike, they’d have tried by now. Mid-afternoon meant other adventuring parties would be filtering through the first zone and maybe returning; any ambush lasting this long would draw notice. Either the cloaks had withdrawn or they were staking out the stairs instead.

Ludger exhaled through his nose. “They’re not coming back.”

Viola’s eyes flicked to him, questioning.

He pushed himself up, joints stiff from crouching. “We’ve bought enough time. Mana’s back. We move—quiet, slow, blades ready.”

Luna rose in one fluid motion, hand brushing the hilt of her short blade. “Understood.”

Viola rolled her shoulders, settling the stone sword across her back. “Lead the way.”

Ludger brushed grit from his palms, eyes narrowing at the corridor ahead. “Stay sharp. This maze doesn’t forgive second chances.” They slipped from the alcove like shadows, the faint hiss of shifting sand the only trace they’d ever been there.

They advanced at a slow pace, their senses keyed to the faintest ripple of mana. Ludger kept his palm near the walls, feeding out small pulses of [Earth Manipulation] like sonar. Only ordinary vibrations answered back—no hidden cores, no shifting walls.

A pair of iron elementals did lurch out of side tunnels, but they were the sluggish, pattern-bound kind. Viola cut through one with a clean “Crimson Horn” thrust that cracked its core like a walnut; Luna dispatched the other with a quick step and an Overdrive-charged slash, leaving it to crumble into dull fragments.

Time dragged until the air began to smell less like old ore and more like sun-warmed dust. The corridor widened, and faint daylight bled down from the exit arch ahead.

Ludger raised a hand, signaling halt. The three of them peered out from the shadow of the stairwell. Beyond lay the first zone’s entry plaza, the usual cracked flagstones and merchant crates. Adventurers milled around in small groups; a pair of guild clerks were arguing over core prices at the weighing station.

No cloaked hunters. No iron elementals acting as puppets. Everything looked irritatingly normal.

Ludger’s jaw tightened. “Either we got lucky…” he muttered, “…or someone’s cleaning up their footprints.”

Viola glanced at him. “What now?”

He forced a faint smile. “Now we play tourists. Keep eyes open, walk like we belong. If they’re still watching, we don’t give them a reason to blink.”

With that, the trio stepped out of the labyrinth’s mouth, the bright mid-afternoon light slapping their eyes after hours underground.

By the time they reached Meira City the sun was sliding behind the jagged hills, bleeding orange light across the rooftops. The labyrinth’s dust still clung to their boots, but the air felt cleaner, full of wood-smoke and the clatter of carts instead of echoing stone.

They threaded through the evening crowd without drawing glances—just three tired kids hauling packs of cores. No cloaked silhouettes on the rooftops, no prickling sense of being hunted. Luna’s shoulders eased a fraction as she scanned the street one last time.

“Nothing,” she murmured. “If anyone was trailing us, they’re gone.”

Ludger nodded but kept his hands in his pockets, fingers brushing the last mana potion. “Good. I was starting to hate looking over my shoulder every two steps.” He tilted his head toward her. “You know anything about that kind of crew? Cloaks, camo tricks, elementals acting like pets?”

Luna shook her head, dark eyes steady. “No. But they looked…trained. Not the type to repeat a pattern. They wouldn’t act the same way every time they moved on a target.”

Viola glanced between them, mouth tight. “So they’ll switch tactics.”

“Exactly.” Ludger’s voice was low, dry. “Which makes them harder to predict and easier to underestimate—if you’re dumb enough.”

A street bell tolled somewhere near the guild hall. They stepped off the main road toward the quieter lanes, the city’s warmth finally pushing some of the labyrinth’s chill from their bones. For the first time since the ambush, the tension in their shoulders eased—just a little.

The guild’s double doors groaned as Ludger pushed them open. In the far corner, Gaius Stonefist sat hunched at a small old table built for four but claimed by one. His massive hand cradled a brown bottle, thumb idly rolling it between sips. The usual gruff scowl had softened into something almost wistful; his eyes were on the bottle more than the room.

Viola slowed, tugging her pack strap higher. “He’s…drinking?” she whispered.

Luna’s gaze flicked toward the corner. “Slowly,” she murmured. “Savoring it, not drowning.”

Ludger smirked faintly. “Big difference.” He adjusted his cloak.

They hovered just inside the doorway, unsure if now was the time to bring up cloaked assassins, rigged elementals, and leaving Meira City behind. Gaius had taught them to shape earth and survive underground, but he’d also made it clear he wasn’t their babysitter.

The old mage tilted his head, eyes narrowing as he spotted them. “What’s with the three of you?” he rumbled, voice gravel dragged across iron. “You look like cats caught in a rain barrel.”

He set the bottle down with a dull thump and leaned back, one brow rising. “Something wrong?”

Ludger slid into the seat across from Gaius, still wearing the tired half-smile he used when he didn’t want to give anything away. Viola perched on the edge of a chair, hands folded on her sword. Luna stayed standing, arms crossed, eyes flicking between them.

“We ran into…something different in the labyrinth today,” Ludger said casually, as if he were reporting a small crack in a tunnel wall. “Elementals behaving strangely. Cloaks using tricks.” He shrugged. “Does that ring any bells?”

Gaius’s brow furrowed. “Coincidence, huh.” He took another slow sip, then set the bottle down with care. “You’re dancing around something, boy.”

Ludger leaned back, voice still dry. “Just saying the place felt… odd. Not the usual random spawn..”

For a heartbeat the only sound was the bottle rolling faintly under Gaius’s thumb. Then his eyes sharpened. The lazy haze fell away like dust shaken off stone.

“You’re not talking about stronger monsters,” he rumbled. His aura stirred, a faint tremor running through the floorboards like the first shiver of an earthquake. “You’re talking about someone using the labyrinth like a weapon.”

Viola stiffened, fingers tightening on her sword hilt. Luna’s hand drifted toward her blade on instinct.

Ludger met the older man’s gaze without flinching. “Something like that.”

The bottle sat forgotten now. Gaius’s shoulders squared, the weight of his presence filling the corner booth. “Tell me exactly what you saw.”

Ludger didn’t hedge this time. He laid it all out in a low, even voice—the six iron elementals hiding in the walls, the coordinated ambush, the cloaked figures slipping through stone like ghosts, their leader’s order to “find the targets,” the false wall above the archway. Viola added a terse comment about how the elementals moved like trained beasts; Luna described the cloaks’ timing and formation.

Gaius listened without touching the bottle. The tremor under the table grew heavier with each detail, like a heartbeat in the stone. His aura thickened until the air tasted like iron dust.

Viola shifted uncomfortably. “Uh…sir—”

Then the old geomancer closed his eyes and exhaled, a long, deliberate sigh. The floor steadied, the oppressive weight of earth receding from his shoulders. He rolled the bottle once between his palms, then set it aside.

“Those bastards,” he muttered. “Didn’t think they’d show their faces this close to the surface again.”

Ludger arched an eyebrow. “So you know them.”

“Rare for anyone to see them,” Gaius said, voice lower now but edged with respect. “Most never realize they were even there. You kids not only saw them, you slipped their net. That’s not luck—that’s brains and grit.”

He gave a small, gruff nod. “Congratulations. Outsmarting that lot puts you in rare company.”

Luna blinked. “Who are they?”

Gaius’s eyes flicked toward the door as if expecting someone to walk in. “An underworld guild with too much influence and too many tricks. You don’t want to know more than you already do.”

He leaned back, finally looking at them instead of through them. “But you’re alive. That’s what matters.”

Ludger kept his expression neutral while Gaius talked, but behind the mask his thoughts churned. Underground guilds, black-market contractors, he’d spent a lot of time gathering intel on exactly this sort of thing and still he’d walked straight into their kill box without knowing who they were.

I should have seen the signs earlier, he thought, jaw tightening. Too many coincidences. Too many moving parts.

Viola was staring at Gaius with wide eyes, trying to piece together what little he’d said. She was strong and fast, but she was still eleven, still carrying the heavy sword like it was proof she belonged. Ludger glanced at her and felt the weight of his own silence.

Not now. Dragging her into the shadows of the underworld would just make her a target.

He forced a breath, easing the tension out of his shoulders, and let his mouth curl into a thin, self-deprecating smile. “Guess we got lucky then,” he said lightly. “Good to know we’re in rare company.”

Viola blinked at him, a question in her eyes he didn’t answer. Luna caught the look and tilted her head, but said nothing. Across the table Gaius grunted, taking another measured sip from his bottle. “Luck or skill, you walked out. That’s more than most.”

Ludger nodded, filing the whole mess away in the back of his mind. For now, it would stay there—behind a wall of stone where Viola didn’t have to see it.

Later, once Viola decided to train outside a bit more, Ludger lingered in the guild’s dim hallway. Luna appeared at his side like a shadow peeling off the wall. She didn’t speak at first—just stood there, watching him lean against the banister, eyes half-lidded.

“You’re hiding something,” she said quietly. Not accusation, just fact.

Ludger rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Yeah.”

“What those cloaks are. Why Gaius looked like he wanted to break the floor in half. You know more than you’re saying.”

He stared at the knot in the wooden railing. “I know enough to get myself killed if I push it right now.” Then he looked at her, voice flat but not unkind. “You can worry about this kind of thing once Viola is sitting in her grandfather’s chair. Until then, keep her blade sharp and your head clear.”

Luna’s eyes searched his for a moment, then she gave a small, silent nod. No protest, no sigh—just acceptance. Ludger exhaled, tension easing from his shoulders. “Good. Let’s keep Viola out of this for now. She’s already carrying enough.”

Luna turned toward the stairs. “Understood.” Her footsteps were ghost-light as she disappeared into the upper hall, leaving Ludger alone with the faint hum of the city night outside.

He stayed there a moment longer, staring out the window at the labyrinth’s distant entrance, mind already mapping the next move he wasn’t ready to tell anyone about.

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