Chapter 3: By Marrieta’s Will Part 2

Six laughing trunks rapidly closed in. Chris wasn’t sure on how things would go he positioned himself in the middle; that way he could jump both ways if something were to go wrong.

“What do we do, Chris?” asked Raven as he bared his flame claws.

Throughout this exploration, Chris was the one giving out orders. But he was so shaken up by his previous confrontation he forgot to formulate a plan. Adding his three other classmates to the team, there was no strategy. He didn’t even know what skills they hold — a fatal error.

“Damn.” Chris bit his bottom lip. “Raven, lure out as many monsters as you can. Miss Tess, Luana, and Lucretia, we’ll take out the rest. Art, don’t let that mysterious Ent out of your sight.” Chris relayed his orders as he focused on his spell.

“Roger that!” Raven propelled himself to the advancing monsters. Three monsters went after him while the rest went straight to Chris’ direction.

The girls simultaneously picked out a target.

There was no way for Lucretia to inflict damage with that rapier, Chris thought. The same could be said with Luana. What about Tess? Her claymore could do the job, yes, but she was only one, and prolonging this fight would be the worst decision. They had to finish the laughing trunks as quick as possible before the others monsters could overwhelm Raven. Naturally, everyone had to focus on offense, but they couldn't.

“Dancing sword!” screamed Tess. Her claymore radiated a light so bright the monster in front of her momentarily stopped. She started with a thrust that went through the monster’s abdomen. Twisting her sword, she leaped and slashed diagonally then cut the monster once more as she descended, creating that perfect opportunity for Chris to unleash a quick flame spell.

“Make way, Tess!” shouted Chris as he launched his flame spear.

“Aye!” Tess swiftly rolled to the side.

But even though that attack engulfed the monster in flames, it kept moving. It went after Tess who took cover on the ground. Tess managed to stand on her feet, but the monster already stabbed the pointed end of its limbs at her direction. Tess received the blow with her claymore in a desperate dodge. Her body began to tremble; there was no way for her to dodge the next one!

“Shit!” Chris rushed in and pushed Tess aside as he redirected the monster’s attack. The flames got on his sleeves, but he endured it with a grit of his teeth.

As a previous Exquisitor, he commanded Cadets back in Knight’s school. So if someone had to step up and be the leader, it had to be him.

Chris shrieked a battle cry and smashed the monster’s head with his staff. That gave Tess the opportunity to recover, and as soon as she did, slashed the staggering monster in twain.

One down—

The taste of iron suddenly invaded his mouth. What happened? He couldn’t tell. Everything seemed to stop as the world constricted to that tiny focal point on his chest, which was covered in blood.

A blade was sticking out. His first instinct was to heal his wound, but blood spurted out of his mouth as he tried to invoke [Regeneration]. Then the blade was pulled, and the pain intensified. Chris dropped on one knee. He heard a voice, like the cry of desperation heretics often wailed before he passed his so called judgement.

By Marrieta’s will.

“Chris!” A girl called him by his nickname, pulling his consciousness back to reality. Followed by an angry scream, the gentle hand that was placed on his shoulder disappeared.

Chris invoked [Regeneration] right away. The only monster carrying a blade was that mysterious Ent. Then what happened to Arthur?

“Arthur… What happened to Arthur?” No one answered his question.

Someone let out a gasp of shock. Chris traced the source. It came from Lucretia, her eyes dilating to something. Chris then turned his head and looked. He found Arthur motionless on the ground, bathing in a pool of blood. No way!

Lucretia abandoned her post and headed straight to Arthur, leaving Luana with another monster. Fear and confusion was no doubt beginning to take root in his classmates’ hearts.

To suffer a major injury in this crucial time, what kind of weakling had he become?

If he only had his Holy sword…

No. There was no use thinking about something he no longer have. He couldn’t rely in Marrieta’s blessings forever. He had to make changes with his own strength, or they would all die — such is the curse of the labyrinth.

“Someone! Help!” cried Luana. Although she did a wonderful job by herself, it was only a matter of time before she succumbed to the monsters’ barrage.

Chris wiped the blood of his lips as he pushed himself up. He wasn’t thinking of conserving mana now, as they needed a breathing room.

“Raven! Gather them all here!”

Before the black-haired Lynx could even respond, Chris had already chanted his skill: [Invoke Flame]. He started sweating as flames accumulated at the end of his staff. What he was conjuring then was without a doubt the biggest flame spell he had ever imagined.

Raven sprinted to Luana, just enough for the monsters to catch up. Reaching her from the side he grabbed her hand as he rolled and avoided the monsters at the same time. His speed was indeed one of a kind.

Chris released his spell, spraying hell onto that group of laughing trunks. He had to fully burn them down. He couldn’t afford to make that mistake again.

He supported himself with his staff as his knees trembled. His wound hurt more than ever, but it wasn’t over yet. A little bit more. Now was the perfect chance to finish that mysterious Ent.

Scanning the room, he saw Tess locking blades with it. The floating monster pushed Tess and attacked her with a rapid series of slashes. But as it was using a knife, its reach was short. Tess’ claymore glowed as she repelled each and every single attack.

“Do it now, Raven!” ordered Chris with all of his remaining strength.

“On it!” Raven separated himself from Luana and quickly got up.

But the mysterious Ent retreated before the two could perform a pincer attack. Something was off. It didn’t back away. With a visage twisted by madness it flew straight to Chris, raising the knife in its hand. This monster intended to take him to the afterlife!

However he tried he couldn’t move. There was no strength left in his legs.

He couldn’t die. He didn’t want to die. Not there. Not yet.

A swift sound, like an aria answering his prayer, and an arrow successfully lodged itself on the monster’s chest.

“Don’t take me out of the board yet, monster-freak,” said a voice so weak it was almost a whisper.

The mysterious Ent dissipated into nothingness, leaving nothing but its knife: a sign of their first victory.