Chapter 727 - 671: The Dark Maze (1) (2/2)
”Yes, Elder.”
***
”Come on! I don't want to go back there! Ughh!”
Edward Ortberg, like a child, was throwing a tantrum. He kept stomping his foot on the boat's deck and pacing around, restless and annoyed.
”Shut your gob! We should be the one complaining!”
Midolf was as frustrated as the serial killer. He spat on the ground and piercingly gazed at Edward.
”Don't be like that! We used to be cellmates! You'll protect me, right? Right?”
Midolf snorted but did not reply, his twin, however, nodded at the mortal and reassured him.
”Master tasked us to take you there and try to uncover the truth. It'll take us a while to arrive so better save your energy and rest.”
”But I hate that desert! Last time I was there, I was almost killed by those giant hands!”
Edward turned to look behind him, his grumbling instantly replaced by a wide smile.
”Miss! I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw that you're also tagging along!”
Sonia appearing from inside, wearing a long azure robe. She was stone-faced, calmly cleaning her glasses and looking at the ever-changing plains. They took Arthur's fastest Spirit Boat and were heading back to the Ramel Kingdom. Sonia, surprisingly, volunteered to go, saying that she's not that busy and since Arthur and Lucy were there, she can be at east.
The mission wasn't that hard, they were to go to the desert and inspect that ungodly pit in which Shen Shen and Zaarae jumped into. It was highly unlikely that the little girl would come back, however, the Parasite Empress is another thing. Arthur could use Zaarae's help in the fight against the angels.
****
”Focus… focus on me!”
Gutcha yelled with a hoarse and deafening voice, making all the participants turn their attention to him.
”As you can see, this is a very simple maze. The goal is simple, find this.”
”This is considered a point. There are twelve of them.”
”That's it?”
Cosima frowned and suspiciously looked at the grinning host.
”More or less. The Sixth Trial is a bonus one, meant to further decrease the number of participants. Good luck!”
He cheerfully waved his hand and vanished right after, leaving the confused youngsters standing there. The maze was made of thick twisting black vines, forming walls that were no less than thirty feet high.
Even without being told, all of them knew that flying is not possible. Still, one of the Imoogi attempted to fly or at least jump above the wall of vines only to immediately plummet from above and viciously crash onto the ground.
There was an eerie silence for a whole minute, in which they warily looked at each other, waiting for someone to take the first step and enter the maze. There were more than ten entrances, but it was hard to see where they led as darkness covered the air and the corners.
A burst of blinding white light rose above the duo from the Holy Church Team. The boy and girl didn't waste any time, dashing inside the maze and disappearing into the looming blackness. Not even a few seconds later, the sound of fighting could be heard from inside of the maze, further alerting those who stood still.