CHAPTER 60: INTO THE MAZE

***

By the time Xenos reached the maze, the red sky had dimmed into some kind of bruised dusk that didn’t belong to any hour of the day.

Ahead, the ground rose into what looked like a wall of stone veins.

It was the Maze, and outside it were people.

A lot of them.

Groups huddled in clusters, whispering amongst themselves, waiting for their turn to go in.

Xenos blinked, half surprised.

’Oh... it’s surprisingly organized.’

He scanned their faces, searching for anyone interesting, before his brows suddenly lifted.

There they were—Arc, Aspen, Deianira, Gaia, and Ariadne, all alive.

Passing the rest, Xenos casually walked up to them.

"Hey, you guys were waiting for me?"

Arc’s face showed relief, though only for a moment, his typical scowl flashing right after.

"Of course you’d show up late."

"Late?"

Stopping next to them, Xenos pointed at a distance with his thumb.

"I was sightseeing. Blood lakes and screaming monsters are good company."

Aspen gave a low chuckle.

"He’s not wrong, my Lord. There’s plenty of that around."

Arc shot him a glare.

"Don’t take his side."

Mimicking a cough, he looked away.

"...I was just saying."

Deianira popped up next to Xenos, her tail swaying.

"Heeeey~ I knew you’d survive! The guys were worried, but not me!"

"Thanks, Dei..."

Xenos stepped away from her.

"I think."

"It’s...

Gaia, standing behind her, didn’t hide her relief, her eyes darting down when he met them.

"It’s perfect that you’re okay."

He nodded at her, and then came Ariadne.

"We’ve been here for a little over an hour."

She continued after pointing at the others.

"Everyone materialized in different sectors of this dungeon. Some... weren’t as fortunate."

Xenos crossed his arms, glancing at Arc first.

"Where’d you all show up?"

The wolf shrugged.

"An empty crypt; it was dead quiet."

Aspen added after him:

"I was in somewhere similar, thankfully joining him early. We walked through half the area without a single fight; it’s only later that we met those blood blobs, and they were incredibly weak."

Xenos scoffed.

"Bastard’s luckier than me."

Deianira giggled and bumped her shoulder into him.

"I materialized in a destroyed building not far from here, met the ladies there, but what about you? Oh—let me guess, it rained blood, the ground screamed, and a little murder party welcomed you?"

"Close."

Xenos pointed down.

"I had a few snakes try to eat me in a land of tombs. Killed them. Then had a chat with a melted guy who told me to stay quiet in this maze. On the way here, I fought some poor Magma kid and killed another."

Everyone stared at him.

They were stunned, and for good reason.

He did all of that while they just walked around?!

Eventually, Arc was the first to break out of it:

"You what?"

Xenos tilted his head.

"Killed a Disciple?"

Aspen clutched his shoulder.

"No, not that—you talked to someone from here?!"

"Yes."

Xenos turned his head towards the maze.

"That one said, ’It can’t see you either.’ Whatever that means."

"...That’s... comforting."

Gaia muttered under her breath while Deianira snorted.

"Guess we now know the reason for all these screams."

Xenos chuckled.

"Are you sure that’s not because they remembered seeing you in there, Dei?"

Deianira rolled her eyes and tapped him with her tail.

"This is you calling me ugly? You can do better than that! And what’s with the nickname?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Xenos pushed her away.

"Your name is too dumb to repeat; you’re Dei from now on..."

His eyes turned to Ariadne, who had been standing still for a while now.

"And you... You’re Ari, alright?"

Both girls ignored him, though, if judging by their relaxed tails, they had no problem with it, even if the way he said it made it seem less of a request and more like a command.

Gaia, who was looking at that scene with envious eyes, quickly thought of something to say to change the subject, and oh, was it lovely what she landed on:

"M-Me and Arc had them stay here to wait for you."

Arc’s head immediately snapped at Gaia, and Xenos laughed aloud.

"Awwww, thanks for worrying about me, Gaia, and thank YOU too, boss."

He proceeded to pat both their heads, one accepting it with a smile, the other recoiling.

"G-Get off me!"

The tension faded just a little with the banter.

And for a few seconds, it almost felt normal...

As if they were students chatting before an exam.

Except this test involved probable or even certain death.

They’d have stayed out there a bit longer to chat, but—

Thump!

The walls ahead began to move, the entrance of the maze twisting open.

It made a sound that had Aspen’s expression harden.

"That’s our cue."

Xenos gestured for them to follow as he cut through the queue.

Those he passed were about to complain, but immediately shut their mouths when they saw who was behind him.

Alone, he was dangerous, but with those five?

They were smarter than that, preferring not to jump headfirst into death.

Though feeling iffy about it, his now cohort followed him to the entrance.

Once before it, Ariadne adjusted her hold on her whip, her wings still.

"Do we move together?"

"Obviously."

Xenos established his lead.

"Splitting up in a maze like this is a recipe for death. We go as one group, because trust me, if you get lost, you’ll die alone."

Arc clicked his tongue, though only on the fact that Xenos was leading.

He knew that the Calamity-Spawn’s words were right.

"Let’s go."