CHAPTER 52: THIRD FLOOR

In an instant of climbing the stairs, I arrived in another hell—a marshland. The air was thick with moisture and the smell of rotting vegetables. I was up to my ankles in mud, with both girls slumped over my shoulders.

Luna was unconscious, but Kiki... I could hear her muttering something. This entire place was a death trap. I could tell that the terrain beneath the mud and water was uneven.

Where I was standing, the mud was up to my ankles, but in other places, entire trees were submerged in the water. One wrong move, and I could be sinking; having these two to support made things even worse.

To make matters even more urgent, I heard what sounded like some kind of explosion followed by the roar of something monstrous.

This kind of terrain wasn’t fit for fighting. Luckily, there were a few trees that were relatively high up. From atop the tree, I could identify where the sound was coming from, but I couldn’t see who was making it.

I stood atop one of the branches where I rested Kiki and Luna.

"She’s dead... she’s really dead... I saw it—"

Kiki was mumbling frantically, her voice cracked somewhere between a whisper and a scream.

I glanced down to see her bleeding from her thighs. I crouched down to take a look at her wound. Her wound wasn’t deep but without proper treatment, it could get infected.

"Liam," she called my name in a soft voice. Her lips were trembling, so I pulled her in close. She seemed to melt into my body, sobbing uncontrollably. I consoled her while running my hand through her hair.

When she finally calmed down a bit, I was able to speak with her normally. She was really shaken up by what had happened. But the real urgent matter was getting out of this place.

The sound I had heard before had completely died down. But whatever had caused it was still out there; I just knew it. We would be sitting ducks if we stayed here for long.

"Kiki, I need you to take care of Luna. I need to have a look around."

"Huh? Y-you can’t leave us on our own! What if more monsters show up?"

"You’ll be fine," I assured her. "I won’t be wandering off too far—just far enough to see the surrounding area."

I took hold of her hand to offer her some comfort. She looked displeased by it, but I knew she understood. Using the other trees as stepping stones, I made my way over to the tallest tree I could find, being careful not to stray too far away. At first, from atop the tall tree, I saw nothing—until I did.

Serpents. That’s what I saw. Not one, but a chorus of them slithering through the wet soil, their blue scales glistening just below the surface’s edge. They lifted their heads every once in a while, tasting the air as if searching for something—or someone.

It was seven heads connected to one body—a hydra. They were hunting a prey. The prey in question wasn’t far off from where they were—it was only a matter of time before they caught up.

Their prey looked to be injured. From where I was, I could see that they were bleeding. If I was going to help them, it would be now or never. I made my move, dashing through the treetops while being careful not to be seen by the hydra.

I swooped down in front of the person in question. They immediately assumed a combat stance and drew a sword from their inventory.

She gasped when she saw who I was.

"Liam?" Her voice was high-pitched and almost out of breath. "Is that really you?"

"Ms. Cole," I said; we didn’t have time to talk. "We have to go; the hydra is nearby."

"You should go," she said, in a tone that sounded more like a command than a suggestion. "I’ll handle the hydra."

She was lying. She was bleeding heavily from a wound in her stomach; she couldn’t fight even if she wanted to.

Still, there wasn’t time to argue. I walked over to her and scooped her up in my arms.

"W-what are you doing?" she shouted, her face looking a little flustered.

"I’m helping you," I responded.

"No! It isn’t appropriate for a student to be carrying a teacher like this."

"Would you rather be left to bleed to death?"

"I... fine! But if it looks like you will be in danger, I want you to leave me behind and make sure you escape."

I was honestly surprised by her words. They didn’t fit the narrative of a careless teacher I had for her.

I used the tree branches as stepping stones as I carried her back to where Kiki and Luna were. But there were still some things on my mind, so I questioned her about it.

"My classmates, do you know what happened to them?" I asked.

A solemn look crossed her face before she answered.

"There were originally five students here when I came. It was a struggle to protect them while I fought the hydra. That’s how I managed to get injured by a B-ranked beast." She sounded almost ashamed. "I told them to run while I held it off; I haven’t seen them since. I hope they are safe. Were you with anyone?" she asked.

I told her everything—how I was traveling with Luna, Kiki, and Natasha when we were attacked by humanoid blood moths. I also told her how Natasha died. When I told her, she covered her face. She didn’t want me to see her cry.

"W-why?" Her voice was trembling. "Why is this happening? It doesn’t make any sense. A mistake like this has never happened before."

Mistake?

This was far from a mistake. We were purposefully lured into a labyrinth we had no business in. Natasha might have just been the first; who knows how many students have already been killed?

And it wasn’t only the ones inside the labyrinth who faced danger. For all we knew, the students we didn’t elect to enter the labyrinth might be in even more danger.

For all we knew, the real enemy might not even be inside this labyrinth.