CHAPTER 27: CHAPTER 27 : DEON BATTLE

Dear reader, I hope you enjoy the story. Please support me by giving me power stones. Your different opinions or suggestions about the work are welcome. Happy reading.

*****

"I should’ve waited for us to enter together. Being separated inside a portal is never a good sign."

As he walked through the corners and passages of the labyrinth, Déon looked extremely nervous.

He knew it — he knew he was weaker than Théo and Alexia in direct combat.

If he managed to keep up with them during fights, it was only thanks to his heightened senses.

The difference in stats between two ranks was considerable.

He was behind compared to people his age, and he knew it.

This battle had proved it to him.

He still needed to work harder to become stronger if he wanted to achieve his goals.

"I’m still weak... In case of great danger, I need to be prepared.

I must have hidden cards up my sleeve... just in case."

As Déon walked, lost in thought between the labyrinth’s dimly lit walls,

the air started to grow heavier.

Something was wrong.

But what?

He couldn’t tell.

His senses detected nothing abnormal — which only made him more tense.

As he moved forward through the maze’s dark corridors...

Fwish!

A faint sound, almost imperceptible, sliced through the air.

Déon reacted immediately, his instincts taking over.

In one swift motion, he raised his sword, tracing a silver arc through the air.

Cling!

A metallic clash rang out, accompanied by a shower of sparks.

"An arrow?" he thought, eyes fixed on the object that had fallen to the ground.

Indeed, it was an arrow.

And from what he knew, only humans could handle such a weapon.

"Is someone there?!

Can you understand me?!" he shouted.

No response.

His voice echoed into the void, fading into the labyrinth’s distant walls.

"Maybe it’s a monster...

Or an intelligent creature?" he muttered, readying his stance.

His mind raced.

What strategy should he use?

But he didn’t have time to think further.

More arrows whistled through the air.

Déon leaped aside, narrowly dodging them.

Then he rushed straight toward the source of the attacks.

Seconds later, he finally saw them.

A horde of skeletons.

Empty eye sockets glowing with a crimson light.

Their bones creaked with every step.

In their hands — swords, bows, and rusted spears.

"Skeletons...?

What should I do?"

His heartbeat quickened.

Fighting a horde like that inside a Rank D portal?

Too risky for someone like him, a Rank E.

He wanted to retreat,

but he could feel that wasn’t the right choice.

What he needed to do was attack, gather as much information as possible,

and then figure out the safest way to take them down.

"The best defense is offense," he murmured, reassuring himself,

before lunging at the nearest skeleton.

Crack!

Déon’s strike smashed directly into the skeleton’s skull,

sending the creature crashing into the labyrinth wall.

Almost at the same time,

the archers of the horde had already fired a volley of arrows toward him,

while the sword-wielding skeletons rushed in.

Their coordination was perfect.

Too perfect.

Déon was caught off guard.

Slash!

A blade whistled just a few centimeters from his neck.

A thin cut opened on his skin, a drop of blood sliding down.

"Wow... That was close. I almost lost my head," he thought, short of breath.

What he saw next chilled him to the bone.

The skeleton he had just decapitated was still moving.

That had almost cost him his life.

He had thought at first that the skeletons’ weak point was their heads,

but apparently, that wasn’t the case.

Dodging a few more arrows,

Déon regained his stance as the horde charged toward him.

This time, he didn’t rush into close combat.

Instead, he quickly infused his sword with aura.

A moment later, blades of aura burst forth in a cascade,

causing explosions throughout the corridor.

The blasts lit up the labyrinth like fireworks in the night.

The archers were the first to be pulverized,

followed by the swordsmen collapsing into clouds of bone dust.

The results of his attack matched his predictions.

The skeletons, once hit by the aura blades, exploded and vanished in bursts of dust.

"Perfect... It works.

The mana animating them reacts to aura — and explodes."

But even after destroying about thirty of them, the horde didn’t stop advancing.

And he could already feel his aura starting to weaken.

"This is frustrating...

I don’t have any area-of-effect skills.

If only Alexia were here, we could’ve dealt with these things much more easily," he thought.

Alexia’s face flashed briefly in Déon’s mind before he regained focus.

"Damn it, what am I thinking?

I need to try another approach."

Taking a deep breath, he activated his Sixth Sense and charged straight into the fray.

Bones flew in every direction, metal screeched against stone,

and his breathing grew heavier with each swing.

He fought fiercely, his senses on maximum alert,

dodging attacks by inches and striking wherever he could.

"Can I really reach the source on my own...?" he wondered, panting.

As Déon struggled under the skeletons’ relentless assault,

he suddenly heard a crackling sound in the air.

Then, suddenly—

BOOOOOOM!

An explosion thundered in the distance, devastating a large section of the labyrinth.

The blast wave swept over Déon, who raised his arm to shield himself from the blinding light.

When the dust finally settled,

dozens of skeletons lay shattered across the ground.

His heart skipped a beat.

"An explosion?!

Alexia?!" he wondered, turning around,

spotting a female silhouette emerging from the shadows.

He felt that familiar energy.

Powerful. Radiant.

It was Alexia — he was sure of it.

A faint smile crossed his lips.

"So you’re here, Alexia..." he whispered.

The battlefield had changed.