This Time, To The Believed Path
Trap

"W-What the fuck is this?!" Said Baron Zinesia with half a shout.

When Scheregraff and one of his members opened the door, the one behind it was a place they had never seen before.

The much darker and gloomy atmosphere and appearance gave them a gripping feel.

The sight seemed to take them to a different dimension.

In addition to the pale face of the Five Pillars army, the four leaders immediately turned their heads towards Eclipse as if expecting an explanation.

"Grand Duke, what's going on?" Margrave frowned.

Eclipse raised both of his hands and kept his distance from them slightly. He also opened his voice

"Before leaving, I get a mysterious tip that says that this labyrinth is different from the others. But there is no evidence to support this tip."

"Even if that's important information! That tip can be a reminder to us in case something happens!" Margrave.

"Then what? Making worries without basis? What's the strangeness we've discovered during this trip?"

"Grand Duke!"

No one can answer. Blaming the Grand Duke will not solve the problem.

"According to the observation from the Black Cloak, every time we climb one floor, the door in the previous level will close by itself. Despite being pushed as hard as possible or attacked in any way, the door could not be opened."

"That means…"

"We can only know the change when we open the last closed door. By the time that happens, it's all too late before we can realize it.”

“You mean we met with a very bad scenario to meet?”

“I myself can not be sure completely as the labyrinth must be completed first.”

Count Vivaldi sighed and looked towards the door. Seeing him not only made his body more tired but the burden on his head also increased.

“This is the same as just entering the labyrinth, yes.” he said with half resignation.

“I also don't know what this labyrinth has so changed. If the possibility of this labyrinth has two systems, it looks like for this time we have to work extra.” said Eclipse.

In their minds, not only were the worries and disappointments, but the tiredness accumulated during the mission was enough to make them slightly slumped.

Even if someone tried to comfort them, no one would truly recover from their sense of despair.

“Then we have no other choice but to work hard.”

Everyone turned their eyes to Forde who suddenly raised a voice. His face darkened slightly due to their current condition.

“If you all want to return safely, you should prepare yourself and never lower your vigilance.”

All of the Five Pillars troops especially the Purple Chain instantly shuddered and gulped their bodies. Looking at the gaze that was almost filled with that flash of anger, they felt that they would not be able to retreat any longer from whatever they would face later.

“Your answers?”

“READY COMMANDER!!” They shouted along with a loud voice.

Compared to entertainment, what the Five Pillars army needed was a greater fear than their current problem.

The other four leaders could only faintly smile at that. Especially Eclipse who can find out the reason behind his partner's frustration.

“Sometimes I like to be amazed by the attitude of Marquis Grandall.” said Baron Zinesia.

“It looks like we owe the Marquis this time.” said Margrave Santica.

Eclipse was only speechless to hear the two of them and came to Forde who seemed to be trying to make a move first.

“If no one wants to take the first step, I will do it.”

“No, Black Cloak will go first to check the situation. And since we don't know which parts are safe and which ones are not, in my opinion it would be better if we made two defenses not only in front but also behind.”

Eclipse turned towards Baron Zinesia and Margrave Santica. When the two wanted to accept the proposal, Forde had already cut it.

“No, just do as usual. The rear defense will be done by the Purple Chain as usual. Our initial formation is enough to fight this maze.”

'Wow... Very high self-confidence...'

Everyone immediately united their hearts.

“Then the Yellow Shield and Red Spear will divide the troops at the front and rear. A portion of the Black Cloak will conduct an investigation in front while the White Wing will be in the middle position.how?” margrave Santica.

“I agree.” replied Baron Zinesia.

Eclipse Nodded and turned his head towards his troops. A small portion of the Black Cloak moved out of the place along with Scheregraff.

"Faster then better. If you're done resting, get ready to leave immediately."

Forde walked back to his troops and gave them orders.

Meanwhile, other leaders paid attention to their colleagues for a moment before finally preparing for their departure.

***

The labyrinth that they had previously passed through had now turned into a real dangerous dungeon.

The door they had previously cracked was now closed again and again kept a secret behind it. Some rooms do not even have doors and do not have anything, as if this labyrinth has been neglected for a long time.

Although it has carvings, but some of the doors there are just ordinary doors without any magic puzzles.

The door would not open even if it had been physically attacked or used magic, just like the information they had obtained.

That's why they just continue down the road until they find a path downstairs.

When they wanted to open the door that would lead them downstairs, they heard the sound of the door coming from a distance behind the darkness.

The Purple Chain that was at the very back immediately prepared themselves.

Several members of the Black Cloak immediately approached the direction of the sound and a pair of light was visible from the darkness.

Then the sound of footsteps approaching them sounded and slowly his figure began to be seen.

"Be prepared! Monster's coming!"

Together with the cry of one from the Black Cloak, the monster immediately shot towards them.

The monster with spider-like legs had a greater number than the one they had encountered before.

"White wings, fire magic!"

The new monster they recorded as Olipre had a weakness against fire. It found them while trying different ways to fight those who had more numbers.

Like spiders, Olipre can also walk on walls and ceilings.

"Flare Robust!"

With the magic cast by Count Vivaldi, Olipre who had already surrounded them immediately retreated and gave them some space.

The White Wings also cast fire magic that only targeted Olipre before them.

"Count Vivaldi, impart fire magic enhancement to the entire Five Pillar weapon!" Exclaimed the Zinesian Baron who continued to resist the monster attacks.

"HAA?! DON'T MAKE A REQUEST YANG–ugh, that's right…"

Count Vivaldi took out a yellow potion and drank it in one gulp. After that, he began to make his eyes.

"Elemental Enhancement! The area!"

Instantly all the weapons that the Five Pillars army had were flaming reddish with its slightly hot aura.

Count Vivaldi who used magic in the big run at once immediately staggered and was immediately captured by the White Wing members.

"Chairman!!"

"Oi'm right there! Give the Mana-enhancing potion to the chief!"

"Aren't we still in stock?!"

"Who's carrying the dimensional pouch containing the potion?! Come here!!"

With their leader collapsing, the White Wings who were previously busy in magic-assistment became even busier in order to awaken the chairman immediately.

As the last defense, the Purple Chain swiftly and deftly guarded the security of the White Wing Pillar. They would not allow monsters to approach him.

Reawakened after drinking the potion and given healing magic, Count Vivaldi again helped the other troops.

The Scheregraff who was in the distance late gave an appeal to the Count.

"Hold, Count! They are still quite a lot!" scheregraff from a distance.

Count Vivaldi, who was in the middle of his rap, replied.

"I know that too!"

Count Vivaldi did not know that some people were holding back his laughter seeing the incident.

***

Two hours passed and they finally defeated Olipre completely. The door to the next floor had opened, yet the Five Pillars chose to rest healing themselves before continuing.

Meanwhile, the Black Cloak that did not get many injuries decided to check the condition of the next floor.

As a supporter, the White Wings worked endlessly alternately healing the Five Pillars army and began to prepare for their needs as well.

Count Vivaldi reopened the records he got in this labyrinth.

Each of the floors had a different monster. Olipre was the last monster they found before entering the system room, meaning that if they followed the order of entry they should be able to know what was coming in front of them.

The floor where Olipre appeared should have quite complicated magic puzzles but the existence of those puzzles could not be found anywhere. There was only a plain door that was tightly locked.

It was as if this labyrinth was only left to prepare an arena for them.

Besides the monsters they encountered also had increased toughness compared to before.

If they did not find a suitable weapon or magic then the monsters would be difficult to fall down. What is increasing is their number.

The pattern of monsters possessed by this labyrinth is twofold, namely toughness and number. If the number is small then the toughness is superior, and if they are many, then that number will be used to defeat the enemy.

“That's what I expected..” said Count Vivaldi, explaining the theory he got against the labyrinth change.

“So yes. Amount and toughness. But at the same time we also know that their strength increases compared to the first time we found it.” said Margrave Santica.

“That means we will fully fight against monsters without stopping to get out.” said Baron Zinesia.

Both of them went back to thinking about solutions.

Not long ago the Black Cloaks that had just returned, came and reported their investment results to Eclipse.

Eclipse walked around looking for something in the room and Scheregraff called him because he had found the thing he was looking for.

The two nodded and Eclipse walked over to his co-leader.

“We should get ready to go.” immediately

With those words, everyone moved to prepare themselves to continue on the journey.

“It seems like there is a time clock embedded in every room, as well as in this room. I suspect that the clock will determine the exit of monsters, so we should immediately go to the next floor door before the monsters arrive.” said Eclipse. He looked very serious and was not joking as usual.

Eclipse who saw their tense atmosphere also sighed.

“This is what we used to meet. isn't it? why are you so tense like that?” he tried to melt the atmosphere.

The three leaders snorted at Eclipse's words and returned to their troops to begin the formation.

Forde who was standing not far away from them kept an eye on their exit.

***

Two weeks later, they stepped on the second floor of the labyrinth.

Tiredness can no longer be hidden from their faces. Count Vivaldi who continuously used elemental enhancement and area magic, was currently being herded by his own troops. Despite not fainting, his body was too tired to move on its own.

Due to the lack of safe areas large enough to accommodate them all, some of them had to take turns facing monsters that continued to appear almost nonstop.

They were only given at least a few hours before the appearance of monsters on one floor. After that they could have taken hours or a day in defeating the monster.

The time clock retreated to open the room that would contain the monster was active as soon as the next door opened and they could not control when the door opened.

Therefore, they are all forced to use the ingredient adrenaline to maintain awareness and eliminate fatigue. There were even times when they were forced to go to sleep and wake up using magic.

Unlike the previous labyrinth, the White Wings worked harder than the other Pillars as most monsters they encountered on the way home had a weakness in magic attributes.

The total number of Five Pillars on the mission this time around was at least a hundred people. But even with those numbers, they still found it difficult to defeat the labyrinth monsters.

When the Black Cloaks returned from their check on the next floor, they prepared to resume their journey.

In their order, the Yellow Shield Pillar, Red Spear, White Wing, Black Cloak, and Purple Chain, they walked through the door to the next room.

But when only the Purple Chain was left a few steps behind the other troops in the previous room, a reddish-colored light flashed beneath them along with a huge buzzing sound around them.

Hearing the unrest from the rearguard, the other four Pillars turned towards the Purple Chain troops trapped in the magic circle.

Sensing something, Eclipse immediately exclaimed.

“BLACK ROBES! QUICKLY SAVE THEM!”

The Black Cloak Army immediately shot towards the Purple Chain.

Unfortunately, when they were close, the figure of the Purple Chain instantly disappeared and suddenly the door that bounded between the rooms was tightly closed.

Simultaneously, they heard the sound of another door opening with the sound of a monster.

“Sial!” Eclipse started to remember Leana's words.

He began to think about the possibility that would happen to Forde as well as other Purple Chains. Although he had promised in himself to watch the movements of the Purple Chain, yet he had not expected it to end this way.

“Grand Duke, what's up!?” The Exclaimed Baron of Zinesia, along with Margrave Santica approached him. Count Vivaldi caught up slowly behind the two.

“Marquis Grandall and the Purple Chain Pillar entered in the teleportation circle. Before they could be saved, they seemed to have been sent somewhere!” eclipse said in frustration.

He brushed his hair violently and tried to calm himself down, because right now the problem was not only in the Purple Chain teleporting but also in the monsters that appeared earlier than they expected.

“If this is the case, we must immediately finish this floor and immediately look for them! Right now we can only hope the Purple Chain survives until we can find it.” he said roughly.

“Grand Duke.

“We don't have much time. If we don't immediately search for the Purple Chain, the Marquis will be in danger. We could lose him!” Eclipse.

Seeing the Grand Duke's unusual demeanor made everyone realize that their condition was much worse than imagined.

Margrave Santica clenched his hands tightly and immediately turned back to the Yellow Shield troops.

“What are you waiting for, quickly prepare yourself!” He shouted out loud.

By the time he returned to the front row, the monsters that had been released were already not far from them. With his eyes burning full of murderous and hungry aura, they were ready to attack whatever was in front of him.