In a dimly lit luxury room, furnished with velvet couches and gilded curtains, a demon sat lounging with a wine glass in hand.
"So boss," the demon drawled, swirling the liquid in his glass. "I've trapped the kid inside my body, just like you wanted."
Jestervyne chuckled as he leaned back. "All we have to do now is wait. Either the first labyrinth gets him, or the next five floors will."
Across the room, a tall man stood before a towering window. His back was turned, but the cold edge in his voice carried authority.
"Don't let your guard down, Jestervyne. This child is not ordinary."
Jestervyne scoffed. "Please. The kid's stuck inside me. Him and his little friends. It's only a matter of time before they break. Either monsters get them, or they turn on each other."
"I've warned you," the man said, calm and ominous.
"Still don't get it though," Jestervyne said, raising a brow. "Why would the right hand of the Demon King go this far just to eliminate one boy?"
He laughed. "You're literally the principal of his school. You could've expelled him, or just crushed him during training."
Caldras, still facing the window, said nothing. The silence spoke more than any retort.
Jestervyne rolled his eyes. "Still not a talker, huh?"
---
Meanwhile, Lumiel moved cautiously through the dim, winding corridors of the second floor. The air was heavy. The entire labyrinth echoed silence. He passed one classroom after another, each door slightly ajar, each room empty.
> "Where could they be..."
He paused as a faint light flickered from a hallway turn. He pressed his back to the wall and slid into a nearby classroom, peeking from the edge of the doorway.
> "What was that? Another person?"
A sharp chime rang in his mind.
[System Notice: Dangerous Anomaly Detected Nearby — Illusion Monster.]
He looked up. Clinging to the ceiling was a creature with a grotesque lure hanging from its head—like that of an anglerfish.
[System Notice: Anomaly Appraised — Name: Anglercrawler. A monster that resembles an anglerfish. Typically resides in dark places. Uses its light to attract prey and attacks with jagged teeth.]
Lumiel held his breath. The creature slithered across the ceiling, then vanished down the hall.
> "Is it gone...?"
Suddenly, a scream echoed.
"Is that someone?!" Lumiel called out.
He sprinted toward the sound and found a student pinned beneath the Anglercrawler. Without hesitation, Lumiel launched forward.
"Heavenly Slash!"
A brilliant arc of light burst from his blade, slicing through the monster. The Anglercrawler dissolved into smoke.
"You're safe now. I'll protect you," Lumiel said, reaching a hand to the trembling student.
A new chime rang.
[System Notice: Dangerous Anomaly Detected Nearby — Quickly step back or eliminate the anomaly.]
Lumiel froze. The student's hair began to writhe—tentacles slithering from her scalp.
[System Notice: Anomaly Appraised — Name: Xelomorph. A monster that mimics humans to lure prey. Attacks with powerful regenerative tentacles.]
"So... you were a monster too."
The creature lunged, launching its tentacles like spears. Lumiel sliced and parried, barely holding his ground.
> "It keeps growing them back..."
Another strike.
"Heavenly Slash!"
The attack carved through the creature's defenses, grazing its side. The wound slowed it down.
> "So it does slow down while healing... just like an octopus."
Tentacles came again, and Lumiel danced between them, waiting.
> "Now."
He launched another Heavenly Slash, severing a limb.
The Xelomorph froze.
"Holy Dawn! Crush thy darkness!"
A divine weight crashed down. The monster shrieked as it turned to ash.
Silence returned.
Lumiel exhaled slowly.
"Everything... and everyone... can be an illusion here. No one can really be fully trusted."
He stared down the shadowy hallway.
"I hope everyone else is holding on."
Then he moved forward, alone in the labyrinth of lies.