Chapter 40 - 38: The Escape
The heavy thud of iron-shod boots echoed down the corridor, multiplying into a chaotic cadence that rattled the dust from the cavern ceiling. Out of the gloom, seven silhouettes materialized, their armor gleaming.
Three of them radiated the dense, oppressive aura of Tier 5 experts, their mana flaring in distinct colors a toxic green, a jagged lightning yellow, and a deep, obsidian black. The other four were formidable Tier 4 veterans, instantly fanning out to block every viable exit.
"Those are the targets," the lead Tier 5 warrior barked, drawing a massive, two-handed broadsword. "Garrick’s orders are absolute. Kill them all, leave no witnesses."
They didn’t waste time with grand speeches. Without a second’s delay, all seven lunged forward, their weapons instantly coated in lethal aura blades.
"Victor!" Lyra hissed, stepping in front of him, her silver rapier humming with ice.
Victor’s Fate-Shattering Perception mapped the entire battlefield in an instant. He saw the intricate web of their assault, the converging angles, and the sheer volume of force they brought. He also felt his own damaged body throbbing with a dull, agonizing ache, reminding him that his mana reserves were still dangerously low after surviving Garrick’s attack.
"We’ve stayed here too long," Victor commanded sharply, his voice dropping into a tone of absolute, unyielding authority. "Prepare yourselves! We cannot afford a prolonged fight here."
"Victor, I can hold them" Lyra started.
"You can’t hold seven fully rested high-tier elites while protecting the wounded," Victor cut her off, dark, corrupted mana wrapping around his palms. "Stay sharp. We fight just enough to break their momentum!"
Before Victor’s warning could even settle, the toxic-green Tier 5 warrior burst forward, his speed blurring as he bypassed Lyra and lunged directly at Kael. The warrior’s spear whistled through the air, aimed directly for Kael’s throat.
Here it comes, Kael thought, his heart hammering against his ribs. Instinctively, he braced himself for the familiar, terrifying sensation the dark, suffocating itch in his core that usually triggered his mindless rage. He expected to lose control, to feel his sanity slip into the red abyss as it always did when faced with a high-tier threat.
Instead, as he activated his newly mastered Berserker Trait, something entirely different happened.
The crimson mana didn’t explode into a chaotic, violent firestorm. It flowed smoothly, wrapping tightly around his forearms and legs like polished blood-red plate armor. His eyes remained entirely clear.
I am the master, Kael reminded himself, holding the mental seal tight. Not the rage.
When the Tier 5 spear thrust reached his throat, Kael didn’t wildly dodge. He stepped smoothly into the strike’s inner radius, bringing his blood-armored left forearm up with absolute precision.
CLANG!
The Tier 5 warrior’s eyes widened in sheer disbelief as his aura-infused spear was deflected harmlessly into the stone floor. Before the warrior could recover his stance, Kael stepped deeper into his guard and delivered a short, brutally compressed straight punch directly into the man’s sternum.
CRACK!
The Tier 5 chest plate shattered like brittle glass. The warrior spat a fountain of blood, his body blasted backward twenty feet until he slammed hard into the cavern wall, completely incapacitated.
"What... what kind of monster...?" one of the Tier 4 soldiers stammered, freezing in his tracks.
Kael stood breathing heavily, looking at his glowing, blood-armored fists. He had defeated a Tier 5 combatant in a single exchange with zero wild fury.
However, as the adrenaline began to cool, a sudden, cold realization washed over him. The single strike had consumed a massive portion of his newly stabilized mana pool. With every drop of mana that drained from his core, the crimson seal over his mind weakened slightly, letting a faint, dangerous whisper of the old madness leak through.
Every time my mana drops... the leash slips, Kael thought, a cold sweat breaking out on his neck. If I run out of mana completely... what happens to me? Do I become the Beast again?
He turned his head to Victor, his voice low and urgent. "Victor... I can’t do long fights. The moment my mana runs dry, I won’t be able to hold it."
"Then we don’t fight long," Victor replied smoothly.
Before the remaining six warriors could re-engage, a sound like tearing parchment echoed through the spatial realm, followed by a violent, earth-shaking tremor.
RUMBLE!
Huge cracks, glowing with unstable spatial energy, spread rapidly across the cavern walls and ceiling. Loose boulders the size of carriages detached from the vaulted roof, smashing into the stone floor and crushing the debris left by Garrick.
The Blood Trial’s completion, combined with the catastrophic structural damage Garrick had inflicted earlier, had finally broken the dungeon’s fragile equilibrium. The spatial anchors holding this level together were snapping one by one.
"The structural integrity is failing!" Elena cried out, her focus staff shielding her from falling dust. "The whole level is falling into the void!"
Victor watched a massive crevice open up right beneath the feet of two Tier 4 warriors, swallowing them into the abyss before they could even scream.
"Retreat!" Victor ordered instantly, shutting down his combat mana. "Forget the reinforcements! We’re leaving!"
As the party began to pull back, Victor’s mind raced through the details of the original web novel. In the original storyline, the protagonist Lucas was trapped in a similar collapse on this exact floor. To survive, Lucas had discovered a hidden, ancient bypass that bypassed the upper exit entirely,a passage leading straight down into the long-forgotten Lower Labyrinth.
And in that hidden lower labyrinth sat the two ultimate treasures of the entire ruin: the legendary Dragon Slayer War Axe and the Tears of Ancient Dragons.
Victor turned his pitch-black eyes to the dryad, who stood entirely unbothered amidst the falling rock. "Elaria! Is there a secret passage nearby? A route leading down?"
Elaria looked at Victor. "Yes, there is."
She glided smoothly toward an unassuming, moss-covered stone wall at the side of the cavern, completely ignoring a falling boulder that shattered just inches behind her. "The ancient creators of these stone halls built an emergency bypass to escape the core vault in the event of a catastrophic breach."
Raising her slender hands, her emerald aura flared. Living, thick ivy vines burst from the cracked stone, weaving together and violently tearing open a hidden, arch-shaped doorway hidden beneath the ancient bedrock.
"Step inside," Elaria commanded softly. "Unless you wish to be buried under a million tons of granite."
Lyra eyed the glowing green doorway, then flicked a sharp, cold glance at Elaria.
Can we really trust this dryad? Lyra questioned in her mind, her icy eyes narrowing. And why does she keep looking at Victor with that knowing, gentle expression? Is this bitch trying to seduce him too?
Lyra’s jaw tightened, but she forced the rising jealousy down. No... Staying alive with Victor takes absolute priority right now. I’ll slice her throat later if she steps out of line.
"Inside! Now!" Lyra barked at Kael and Elena, ushering them through the portal first.
The remaining four warriors from Garrick’s vanguard sprinted toward the opening, desperate to escape the collapsing cavern. "Wait! Let us through"
"I don’t think so," Elaria murmured serenely.
The moment Victor and his party crossed the threshold, Elaria swept her arm back. The massive ivy vines surged with dark green mana, not just closing the hidden door, but violently detonating the structural pillars of the entrance.
BOOM!
Thousands of tons of solid granite collapsed instantly onto the corridor behind them, burying Garrick’s reinforcements alive and leaving zero witnesses to their escape.
Inside the quiet, moss-lit tunnel, the deafening noise of the collapse faded into a low, muffled rumble.
"Where does this lead?" Elena asked, catching her breath while checking Kael’s pulse. "Does this take us back up to the surface?"
"No," Elaria answered gently, her voice echoing in the smooth stone tunnel. "It leads deeper. Into the Lower Labyrinth. It passes through a secret chamber designed by my creators, leading to an ancient tunnel that exits on the far side of the mountain range."
Victor walked near the front of the group, his pitch-black eyes fixed on the descending, ancient stone stairs ahead of them.
The Lower Labyrinth... Victor thought, a cold, calculating satisfaction blooming in his chest.
His mind processed the absurd series of events that had brought them to this exact spot. Kael’s sudden, controlled victory over the Tier 5 warrior, Garrick’s destructive rampage tearing open the initial shortcut, the completion of the Blood Trial, and now this perfectly timed collapse driving them straight into the secret bypass.
Everything had fallen into place with unnatural, terrifying perfection.
In the original novel, Lucas had to bleed for weeks, lose allies, and barely crawl his way into this lower chamber, Victor reflected, a dark smirk playing on his lips. Yet here I am. Perhaps... being a villain is what the heavens truly want from me.
After a few minutes of descending through the cool, ancient stone staircase, the cramped tunnel suddenly opened up into a breathtaking, massive subterranean vault.