Return of the Woodcutter

Sheyla leaned on a sturdy labyrinth wall to support herself. Weakened by hunger, constant berserker assault, the anxiety of being trapped, and other emotional factors, she could barely stand on her own. Even so, she forced herself to remain on her feet.

"We need to take a break," Ogoro said, grabbing Lucius's shoulder. "We can't go on like this."

Lucius pushed his hand away. "No, we must continue. Our only hope to survive is to find the exit."

As the strongest challenger amongst them, Lucius has been named the de facto leader. They had all seen what he was capable of on the 7th and 8th floor. Without his tactics and powers, it could be said they would have had a harder time clearing the quest.

"Just look at us," Ogoro motioned towards the other challengers. They all looked famished and battered. Their wills, once strong, were now feeble. "We've been walking around for six days. SIX days and we barely took breaks. Our food reserve is empty because most of our supplies were left on the 6th floor. We might be stronger than normal humans, but we still have the same needs. Let's take a break, save our energy and think things through by using the map George drew."

Lucius clicked his tongue, gazed at Sheyla having difficulty moving, then shifted back his attention to Ogoro. "Of course you want us to take a break. Your sister can't take it anymore. If that is so, just carry her on your back."

With the frustration of being trapped in this labyrinth, everyone had tensed nerves. They've been at it for days without finding a clue as to where the exit was.

They still had their magic water bottles that refilled themselves, but without food and berserkers to fight, they were bound to reach their limits at some point.

"What do you even want to use that map for?" Lucius continued, "It's completely inaccurate! The paths continuously shift. There is no point mapping the paths if there is no path!"

Sensing her husband wasn't right in his mind, Elizabeth delicately placed her hand on his shoulder. "Honey, we're all exhausted, even you can't continue for much longer. Let's take a break. You'll feel better afterward."

"Damn woman!" Lucius shoved her hand away. "You're supposed to be my wife! So why are you taking that bastard's side!? If you can't do something as simple as being my ally, then you're useless like the rest of them!"

Lucius's appearance greatly differed from his previous dignified self. His pepper and salt hair were all over the place. His eyes were filled with emptiness, madness.

Elizabeth's face turned grim. Since their revival, she noticed that her husband had changed. She had tried to support him the best she could, believing he would come back to how he once was, but that time never came.

"You two!" He pointed at Sam and Roisin, "You've been following us until now, but all I heard is complaints and bullshit about your despicable little sect! You baldie are the worst. Yapping about your stupid daughter and other nonsense at all times. She is dead! There is no way she's in Iris! Face it!" 

Sam straightened up, gripping his sword, "Insult my sweetheart once more and I'll cut your tongue then shove it down your throat!"

Roisin quickly seized the baldie, who was about to jump at Lucius's throat, preventing him from doing something stupid.

Meanwhile, Lucius continued to sow the seeds of discord.

"Only the truth hurts! You know she is dead. So why bother looking for her? Even if she had been resurrected, do you think your daughter would be able to survive the trials? Seeing as her dad is a useless piece of shit, there is no way the daughter is better!"

"I'll kill you!" Unable to restrain him, Roisin was forced to let go of Sam. The baldie launched himself at Lucius's throat but before he could reach him, a firewall rose between the two. 

"What are you doing!?" Roisin asked, "Do you want to do the berserker's work for them!? You fucking morons. That's why men are no good! Only talking with their muscles and when they say something, only bullshit comes out of their mouths. Albeit the sect master, other men are just idiots."

Sam turned angrily towards his fellow sect member, "Unfold that thing now! Let me kill the bastard!" 

"Shut up baldie. There is no reason to be that mad at him. He did not insult the sect master anyway. So it's fine," Roisin replied. 

"He insulted someone dearer to me than even the sect master. I cannot let this go."

While both sect managers were talking things out, Elizabeth was trying to reason with Lucius, "Honey, please stop. It's unlike you to—"

However, he followed through with his madness. "You three," he pointed at George, Sheyla, and Ogoro, "If there is a reason why we lack the food to survive here, it's your fault! If you hadn't pushed us to wait for that prick, we would have had enough food to survive the labyrinth and reach the 10th floor days ago! But no, you insisted we keep on waiting for someone who's probably died already!"

Sheyla clenched her teeth, "How dare you say such nonsense after my brother saved your pathetic life?"

"Ha, using that excuse again. I would have survived! With or without the help of a battle surgeon! And don't talk to me about that dead bastard and his sacrifice in the coliseum. That was just pointless bravado."

"He is not dead!" Sheyla exclaimed. "You've heard the moderator. He survived, and he is coming!"

"Coming my ass! He certainly died trying to clear the Flood on his own! You cannot deny it. It's been six days. If he were alive, he would have reached us by now. Barf, even if I tell you that, you'll just try to claw the ground again. Pathetic. Hahaha!" Lucius laughed like a madman full of himself.

Elizabeth, who was just next to him, couldn't hold herself anymore. Before Sheyla, George or anyone else pounced on him, she slapped her husband with all her strength.

The noise resounded in the corridor and was progressively replaced by a deathly silence.

"Why are you acting like this?" Elizabeth said, on the verge of tears. "It's not like you. The man I married was kind, affectionate, passionate. The man I married would never push the blame for his own powerlessness onto others."

"That man was powerless!" Lucius retorted.

"No, he was the strongest person I knew." Elizabeth shook her head, "Just look at you now, a man capable of bending lightning and wind to his will. A man capable of wielding a spear like no other challengers. And yet, you are lesser now than you have ever been."

At those words, Lucius looked down. Silence fell on the challengers for a moment until a terrible sound interrupted it.

SLAP!

Furious, Lucius's struck her wife violently, throwing her towards a wall. Marta, the only surviving archer of Lucius's team, caught Elizabeth before she could hurt herself, then eyed her leader with a gaze full of disappointment.

"The man you married died," Lucius retorted, "he was powerless! He was pathetic! He was weak, just like you! You who were too weak to live without him! You who chose suicide over life! If you can't even take my side, then you're of no use to me. Amongst all those trash, you are the most useless!"

While hesitating between giving the man a good beating and giving the man a good beating, Ogoro felt slight tremors. Intrigued, he removed his gauntlet and activated his gift to touch the ground.

Meanwhile, George frowned deeply, staring down at Lucius with obvious disgust. He has been forcing himself to stay calm until now because infighting would do no good to anyone but the monsters roaming the labyrinth.

"I've had enough," he said, gripping his club tight. "I'm gonna kick your ass so hard it'll hammer the notion of respect from your rear to your tiny brain!"

Sparks of electricity appeared on top of Lucius's hands. "Oh, are you that tired of your second life? Then come, let me guide you towards the next!"

"Raaa!"

"Wuaah!"

Before they could fight, Ogoro wrapped George in steel wires and pulled. Weakened and taken by surprise, George could barely resist as he fell to the floor, feeling electricity brush past him.

"Save it for later! Something's coming!" Ogoro said, releasing his wires. "Prepare for battle!"

"Who gave you the right to lead!?" Lucius objected.

At that moment, the air suddenly turned cold as the tremors grew louder with each passing second. The air was suffocating. They could barely breathe. The challengers' bodies felt heavy, pressuring them to their knees.

*****

Lore:

"Some call the 9th Floor the Labyrinth of Madness for if you could not find the exit you would inevitably turn mad. Although, unbeknownst to the challengers, it wasn't entirely their fault. Something gnawed at their sanity little by little, which in the end…"

Extract from, "Yggdrasil Chronicles, The Woodcutter of Iris," by Roan the Merchant.