Chapter 102: Fell Through Ten Floors At Once

As soon as the eight B-Rank Awakeners entered, one of them remained on the first floor while the other seven ventured deeper into the Labyrinth.

After several minutes of walking, they still hadn’t encountered a single monster.

Though they weren’t shocked.

After all, the Night Empress had entered before them.

"Do you know what the Night Empress looks like?" a young Awakener asked enthusiastically. It was obvious she was a fan of the mysterious Awakened.

"No one knows what she looks like." Another Awakener sighed dreamily. "But I’m certain she’s beautiful, and her skin must be as smooth as porcelain. If she were with me, I wouldn’t let her raid Gates or do any hard work."

A faint blush appeared on her face.

"Me too. The person with her must be so lucky... I’m so jealous."

"Maybe it isn’t her lover..." the young Awakener said again, hope shining brightly in her eyes.

"I hope so too..."

"Alright, let’s focus, please." The squad leader spoke with a blank expression.

"Yes, ma’am."

The group answered in unison.

What they didn’t know was that despite the squad leader’s calm expression she was praying even harder than everyone else.

’I really hope we run into the Night Empress or maybe get a picture with her or her number or maybe a date or a sleepover or maybe...’

The squad leader suddenly covered her burning face.

’Calm down...’

A small smile still escaped her lips.

’I just hope the person she’s came in with isn’t her lover but for her... I’m willing to share.’

The squad leader immediately straightened herself and continued walking forward as though nothing had happened.

Behind her calm expression she quietly prayed they would run into the Night Empress.

She wasn’t the only one.

Every Awakener in the squad was secretly hoping for exactly the same thing.

***

As they continued walking through the Labyrinth, both of them eventually came to a stop.

The path ahead split into two.

One corridor curved toward the left.

The other disappeared into the darkness on the right.

Aoi frowned as she looked back and forth between them.

"...Which way?"

Reiji didn’t answer immediately.

His crimson eyes slowly swept across both passages as Detect Presence silently expanded outward.

Mana flowed through the surrounding corridors like invisible streams.

The Labyrinth stretched far beyond his perception.

Countless life signatures wandered throughout its many floors.

Some weak.

Some surprisingly powerful.

His brows furrowed slightly.

"...Left."

Aoi blinked.

"You already decided?"

"Mhmm."

"Why?"

"The left path has fewer monsters."

Aoi didn’t ask any more quetions again.

He calmly turned and walked toward the left corridor. Aoi stared at his back for a moment before sighing.

’At this point I shouldn’t even be surprised anymore.’

She quickly caught up.

The corridor was noticeably different from the previous floors.

The walls were smoother.

Instead of rough stone, they almost looked carved.

Blue crystals embedded throughout the ceiling emitted a soft glow that illuminated the pathway ahead.

The deeper they walked the quieter everything became.

No monsters. No sounds.

Only the echo of their footsteps.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

"...It’s quiet."

"It is."

"...Too quiet."

"It is."

Aoi glanced sideways.

"You know... conversations usually involve longer answers."

"I answered."

"...Barely."

Reiji gave a sideways glance. "I prefer silence and working alone too but somebody decided otherwise."

Aoi awkwardly rubbed her nose she had nothing to say.

Several minutes passed.

The corridor continued stretching endlessly before them.

Aoi folded her arms. "I still don’t understand how a Labyrinth suddenly appeared inside a C-Rank Gate."

"It shouldn’t."

"So it’s abnormal?"

"Yes."

She let out a small sigh. "...We’re definitely getting into trouble, aren’t we?"

Reiji looked ahead. "We’ve been in trouble ever since we entered."

"...I guess so."

The two continued walking.

Then...

*Crack.*

Reiji’s footsteps suddenly stopped. His eyes narrowed.

"Hey."

"Hm?"

"Don’t move."

"...Why?"

Before he could answer...

CRAAACK!!

The stone floor beneath them exploded apart.

Both of them instantly lost their footing.

"ARRRHHHHH!!"

Aoi screamed as the ground completely gave way beneath them.

Their bodies plunged into complete darkness.

Chunks of stone tumbled down alongside them.

The blue glow from the corridor above rapidly disappeared.

They were falling fast.

The rushing wind roared past their ears. Aoi’s eyes widened in panic.

"We’re falling!"

"I noticed."

"THIS ISN’T THE TIME TO BE CALM!"

She instinctively reached out.

Her fingers grabbed the front of Reiji’s hoodie.

The force nearly pulled both of them apart.

Without hesitation, Reiji wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her tightly against him.

Aoi froze.

Her heartbeat skipped.

For the briefest moment she forgot they were falling.

Her face immediately turned bright red.

"W-What are you..."

Before she could finish her sentence...

[Shadow Step.]

Darkness swallowed them.

The terrifying sensation of freefall abruptly disappeared.

The next instant their feet touched solid ground.

Thud.

The only sound remaining was the distant rumbling of collapsing rocks far above them.

Aoi blinked several times.

"...We’re alive?"

"We are."

She slowly looked around.

A massive underground hall stretched endlessly before them.

The ceiling was so high she couldn’t even see it.

Ancient stone pillars stood in neat rows throughout the chamber.

Blue flames burned inside iron braziers mounted along the walls, casting eerie shadows across the floor.

The atmosphere felt older. Far older than the upper floors.

Reiji remained silent.

Then...

Ding!

A translucent blue screen appeared before his eyes.

[98th Floor]

"..."

His expression finally changed.

"...What?"

Aoi noticed him staring into empty space.

"What is it?"

"...We’re on the ninety-eighth floor."

"...What?!"

She stared at him. "The ninety-eighth floor?"

He slowly nodded.

"That’s impossible."

"It should be."

"We were only on the eighty-eighth floor!"

"I know."

Aoi looked upward. There wasn’t even a hole in the ceiling anymore.

It was as though they had never fallen in the first place.

"...Did we fall through ten floors?"

"I don’t know."

"...Can something like that even happen inside a Labyrinth?"

"I’ve never heard of it."

For the first time since entering the Gate Even Reiji looked genuinely puzzled.

This place continued breaking everything he knew about Gates.

His gaze slowly swept across the enormous chamber.

Detect Presence expanded once again.

Then his eyes narrowed.

"...Something’s coming."

"What?"

A faint dragging sound echoed through the hall.

*Scrrr...!*

*Scrrr...!*

*Scrrr...!*

Aoi instinctively stepped closer to Reiji.

"What is that?"

The sound grew louder.

Closer.

Then a pale figure slowly emerged from behind one of the massive stone pillars.

Its skin was grey.

Its body was thin enough for every bone to protrude beneath the flesh.

Long black claws dragged across the stone floor as it slowly walked toward them.

Its empty eye sockets burned with faint blue flames.

It wasn’t alive. But it wasn’t dead either.

Reiji’s gaze sharpened.

The creature suddenly lunged.

Fast.

Far faster than its appearance suggested.

Without thinking...

[Soul Torture Flame.]

Amber flames erupted from Reiji’s palm.

They instantly engulfed the creature’s entire body.

The flames continued burning.

Yet the creature didn’t scream.

It didn’t stop.

It simply continued charging straight through the fire.

Reiji’s eyes widened slightly.

"...What?"

The creature dispersed the flames with a swipe of its claw.

Aoi’s expression changed.

"It... ignored your magic?!"

Reiji’s mind raced.

Then a memory surfaced.

The Palace of the Dominion King. The undead soldiers too at that time the soul Torture Flame had failed there.

"...It doesn’t have a soul."

The realization struck him instantly.

No soul. Nothing for the flames to burn.

The creature was already upon them. Its claws shot toward Reiji’s throat.