The gray hound pounced at their direction, the cadets staggered back as a result of fear, unease and mostly ready for scrapes, but they had nothing to worry then.
Without being told, Milo dashed at it, his right hand stretched out and a blade materialized- a long double-edged sword, it felt like something forged from dark steel, faint lines ran across the metal like frozen runes, all the way to its black leather pommel.
Aura erupted beneath his feet as he shot forward gaining more momentum, his blade hummed. He made a misdirected attack, feinting his sword strike, and smashed asudden summoned rectangular shaped shield into a claw, then he precisely swung his sword in a upward slash, this time towards its head, 'got you flameball!' he grunted, but the hound made itself unpredictable as its other claw met the sword in a blink.
Milo bellowed, the monster's eyes lingered on him, as it growled slyly, but just then a faint glow caught its attention. It became brighter as Milo's blades shredded through the hound's defenses with ease, bypassing its claw all the way to its skull.
Milo held down his cigarette, gulped in air as he touched his knee, the glow in his blade steadily falling like a dead torch, he looked back at Noah with the group, and smile, then was about walking back when the side of his eye picked up something, his shield raised almost instinctively.
A loud bang agitated Noah into a battle ready stance, meanwhile Milo flew back, he grunted, his feetdragging rubbles.
The sight they saw next made the cadets stood on edge as most of them prepared themselves especially the nobles; Darrin was about stepping towards Noah's side; when his hand shot out.
"Stand back! This is not your fight." His voice brimming with hopes and beliefs, Darrin relaxed but Grey knew better, that... That kind of mentality gets you killed. He was not holding anything like a weapon but he was ready.'I'm not going to end up in that kind of mess again' he frowned. Noah looked forward, back at the depths, which he saw numerous pairs of crimson, slowly but surely emerging from its embrace.
He stepped closer to Milo who had already caught his breath and now steed focus as dark blue flame like ray spurned from a finger, he shielded the cigarette. His sword once again ignited with the same dark blue glow, but still reviling its black iron, his shield also emanated the same energy; Noah looked at him with a straight face, "don't go dyeing on me now, buddy!" Milo understood him, "right back at you, Pal." The duo lunged forth into the dark simultaneously. A golden beam struck the ground near Darrin's feat, he stumbled back and sat on his backside dramatically- Gold structured from the beam, enclosing them in a box-like structure. Grey snickered holding his face. But everyone was quiet at his attempt to find humor where none existed. 'Jeez, was I the only one who found that funny?'
"Who are you laughing at, fool?' Darrin flared out, facing Grey's direction. "Sorry? But do you see anyone else flaying around on their ass?" Grey couldn't hold it in any more: he let out a mocking laugh that burst through suppression as hebrushed away strandsof tearsthat formed at the corner of his eyes.
Darrin' fists tightened as he stormed towards him- his two lackeys not far off, like a small gang with purpose, the beast-folk girl stepped in to stop them just in time. Although she was a bit shaken earlier, it was just due to her lack of experience fighting monsters. That didn't mean she couldn't fight people.
Most noble's from early age were already absorbing monster cores through the art of meditation. Even without going into labyrinths they had already accumulated enough strength and combat sense, from their perspective houses and academy to fight even hunters who went to labyrinths on a daily basis.
But all that would crumble if they had to deal with a real monster. The differences, in size, shape, mentality all other horrific features made most of them faltered, and it is rather easier said than actually done. But their grotesque appearance wasn't the real issue; most had the mind for it.The issue was their unpredictability and the absence of knowledge. In simpler terms monsters weren't human. A monster is a monster; there is a reason for that.
Darrin understood all this very well for his age; after seeing Natasha's movements he stopped, placing his palms on the two boys following him- Oliver a boy with round face showing his nobility, looked attractive to say the list, his brown hair bounced as he came to a holt along with, Collins- the blond boy who had a sharp striking demeanor.
They both frowned and restrained themselves.
Darrin was smart, really smart in his own sense. His life's philosophy was- he would rather not get through a big rock to get to a smaller one, he'd rather go through the latter for the former, and Tasha was the first one to notice the beast, not that he wasn't confident in his skills but why would he go through a hard time just to get to an easy target, and to him Grey was a bug he could squash anytime.
Darrin closed his eyes in thoughts then opened them slowly staring right at Grey, with a dubious smileand a raised brow.
"Lucky bastard, aren't we going to the same academy? How long do you think she can protect you?" he turned back and lazily walked to an edge, in their small gold cage... Then turned his back to the gold, trying to peek at what's happening on the outside. Tasha looked at him. 'Do they really think I'm protecting this clown?' Grey faltered at her cold glare, piercing through him. "Ah… haha... Ha." He cleared his throat. "And you. Was it that funny?" Grey smiled showing the answer on his face. "Even so? To laugh in a dire situation like this one?"
She stared more at Grey who ran to his safe haven of pretending ignorance: he acted as though he really did not understand a word she was saying, while rubbing the rare of his head. "Anyways, I didn't act to protect you, I just wanted order, we can't be fighting each other in this situation." As she walked past him, towards the cadets who were trying to pip through the cracks of gold, she whispered "wash out for Darrin, just so you know, you are no match for him."
Grey grinnedsoftly; his eyes lingered on Darrin for a second then back at her as she joined the group, then moved back and rested by himself on another lump of gold.
The blond boy clicked his tongue, "What do you see?"
"It's dark, I can't really see anything and these pile of gold bars aren't making it easy," Darrin complained. Although he said he couldn't see them didn't really mean he doesn't, he had his own way of finding out, the cadets there couldn't see what was happening behind the bars but there were those who could sense it.
Darrin, Grey and Tasha were exceptedfrom their numbers- They didn't fall into the category of total blindness. Grey using his senses knew that Noah and Milo were still facing off against the herd of beast.
They had already dealt with many of the beasts, but more monsters were coming from deep within the labyrinth. Trolls and golem knights. They didn't care for their own lives, swarming forward and trampling each other just to reach Milo and Noah.
Milo unleashed a large sword blast, igniting his longsword with aura and pushing most of them away. A few still lunged towards him, but he ignited the same light in his shield, blocking and burning them aside. Noah jumped upward, and perched on the side of the tunnel-like someone who his feet were glue to a pillar, as he dashed along cutting through multiple monsters, the pillar collapsed, and ended up pulverizing multiple monsters in the process.
He was now using his weapon... The blade he was hiding in his coat all this time, it was of literal gold, crafted using gold as its primal material. Alloyed with titansteel.
Swords as Noah moved back towards Milo's location who is preoccupied with an
Titansteel was a rear kind of alloy extracted from the bones of titanic monsters, not gigantic they were titans; He swung the one edge crescent blade.
Against the armored ones- the golem knights, he slashed; sending aura of gold crashing into vitals spots, then moving his eyes as fast as he moved his hands, he would shatter the golden spots, through his eyes that burst out golden energy. He crushed them with a strange cracking force.
They held them off for a while before finally gaining the upper hand- cutting through their numbers and pushing forward towards the great door. He rotated the katana and crossed it with a golem knight. The knight easily stood eight feet tall. Rugged, and swinging around a long sword. They clashed swords, as Noah moved back towards Milo's location, who was preoccupied with an unnaturally slim featured troll, its frame displayed speed, he rushed Milo smashing his shield with a lug chained in carapace shells sharp and shredded, Noah moved behind the troll, stepping back and forthin an instance.The troll formed around his foot and lunged towards the charging knight in a gust of wind.
"Thanks," Milo turned; the knight split the troll in two from his torsoin a hurry, the troll made a retching sound as it struggled on the gore floor. "Is that the last one?" "Yeah, it's rather stubborn too," Noah prepared an attack. His blade clicked into its sheath, as the knight met with them, Milo activated light on his shield. Time seemed to drag on as golden light escaped from Noah's sheath, the moment he drew the blade, half of the knight's body, mostly the side he held his long sword, solidified into pure gold.
Noah stared at the gold parts- his eyes intensified with a golden glow, and then the gold shattered destroying half of the knight, leaving the half golem slummed on the ground. But not only that a swarm of monsters laid on the ground, showing that they had been busy, it was as though they came in waves, gray hound, golem knights and trolls alike.
They turned around; Milo activated his comm, "hello! We need directions, hello?" "Something's wrong! The location display shifted," a voice echoed in the communicator like something broken. Another voice announced, "Their geometry still shows that they are within the burst realm, but not the designated location!" "Hello if you are getting this, you are in a labyrinth," Milo listened closely to the voice as Noah watched paying equal attention to the interference-ridden communicator.
"Although it's unclassed, it should at least be a D-rank labyrinth, once you take care of this you should arrive somewhere in the burst real..." The transmission cut off suddenly leaving nothing but disturbing static sound, "Haa…" The comm shattered on the ground as Milo frowned, "well at least we know what to do." Noah assured. Milo looked at the gigantic doors they had fought their way towards, now vivid in their sight- it was deep black, like something scorched by fire and smeared with dried blood. Unknown runes inscribed across its massive surface, ash and haze hung around it like uncharted terror.
"So we just have to get through that…?" Noah was about answering when a disturbing sound pricked their ears, they both dashed back towards the golden cage, without saying anything to each other, Noah arrived first, as he got closer he saw what was making the disturbing sound, which was getting louder and louder still.
His blade met its mark, as he divided a larger gray hound- much larger than the first one, it seemed to have escaped their field of view during the battle, and headed straight for the cadets. Its skull split in half from a downward slash.
"Die...! You ugly bastard!" Noah huffed down looking at the dead hound, his eyes quickly rose back up, and stared at the cage.
It shattered, efflorescing as the gold drifted upward, distorting into nothingness. He took a deep breath and looked at the kids; he knew they weren't safe here. "You'll all have to move with us, we'll be raiding the boss room, so stay close." The mention of a boss room made most queasy. Their face paled at the thought.
Milo emerged from the smoke, dragging his sword behind him. The red flare of his cigarette flickered around smokes, revealing his face. "Ok let's go back," Milo voiced. Every one followed behind the two hunters, or rather their saviours, they stayed close but not too close, Grey looked from the back... His gaze lingering on the door. 'This is definitely trouble...' The ominous door reeked of death, it was all too familiar. Noah touched the doors, it glowed crimson, and then snapped open like something urged by hunger, they all tightened as they heard a guttural growl from the dark.