Chapter 25: Chapter 25 : An Unpleasant Reunion
'Well, this is quite ominous…'
Upon being teleported inside the Labyrinth, Sam observed his surroundings. Just as he had suspected, it wasn't something as simple as an ordinary maze. Instead of a closed corridor of some sort as he had imagined, he instead found himself in what looked like the outskirts of a city from the late-medieval times. The surrounding buildings and structures were reminiscent of Victorian Gothic architecture. He could easily sense the dark and heavy atmosphere all around him and the only source of light he had was the full moon in the sky, which illuminated his surroundings. A thin layer of mist floated close to the ground, reaching only up to his heels.
'Not what I imagined from the word 'labyrinth'... Did they make this from scratch? Or did they only modify what was already there?' He thought to himself as he ran his fingers across a nearby wall. 'Well, not that it matters to me…'
Taking a few leaps, he landed on top of a nearby building in order to get a better vantage point. But what he saw from up there made him let out a whistle - The city was spread out for as long as he could see. But his vision was obscured in the distance by a thick fog. He also saw someone else in the distance - Someone who seemed to be a participant, parkouring across the rooftops. A smart decision, admittedly. But …
'There is no way they would make it that simple, right?'
His question was answered when one roof the person stepped on collapsed without any warning, sending him plummeting downwards with a scream.
'Guessed as much...' He inwardly sighed, jumping down to the ground. With slow but steady steps, he began walking forward while resting his hand on the hilt of his sword, completely oblivious to the fact that a pair of eyes had been observing him from the start.
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"Really? This is it?" Sam asked mockingly, leaping away just in time as a huge fist crashed on his earlier spot. Dusting himself off, he shot an unimpressed glance at his adversity - A ten feet tall robot which he assumed to be one of the golems patrolling the labyrinth. Sparks occasionally flashed from the various cuts visible on its body, indicating the damage it has received. The bodies of three other golems laid on the ground, unmoving. On the other hand, Sam looked as good as new, not even having a single scratch on his body.
It was only half an hour since the test started, when Sam ran into the first two golems. And while the logical part of him wanted to avoid them and move forward, the battle maniac part of him wanted to see how he would fare against them.
And in the end, it was the battle maniac part of him that won. But as it turned out, he overestimated them. And two new golems joining the fight did not change anything.
"I guess I expected too much from a tin can." Sam shook his head, sheathing his katana and preparing to end it with the next strike. But almost immediately, purely by instinct, he tilted his head to the side as what looked like a spear went past him at breakneck speed and pierced the golem. Not wishing to take any chances, Sam quickly dashed away from it - A decision that was proven to be wise as it detonated in an explosion.
"Who's there?" Turning to the direction the projectile came from, Sam got into a fighting stance readying his sword. The sound of light footsteps entered his ears as a woman wearing hooded black robes stepped out of the shadows, revealing herself. A half-mask hid most of her features, except for her purple eyes which were focused entirely on him.
'Hmm… Judging from her choice of clothes and body language… An assassin?' Sam wondered to himself, not taking his eyes off her. He remembered catching a glimpse of her, conversing with Zeiros - The Khun family guy whom Nocturne warned about, signifying she was his teammate.
"Kinda surprised you chose to fight me, rather than trying to finish the test. Reckless, don't you think?" He asked her.
But without giving any reply, she immediately reached inside her cloak before throwing several daggers at him. Sam casually dodged all of them before dashing straight towards her, delivering a diagonal slash. But he was surprised upon seeing his sword pass through her harmlessly, as the figure in front of him faded away into thin air.
'An illusion? Or was it an afterimage?' He carefully observed his surroundings, attempting to locate her. He quickly swung his sword to the right, deflecting another knife that was thrown at him. But that action gave her position away, as he clearly saw her running away through a nearby alley.
"Now you want to run away?" Sam gave chase, dashing after her. The woman was a tricky opponent for Sam, as she cut corners quite frequently during the chase, occasionally throwing daggers at him. While Sam was quite confident in outspeeding her in an open area, he had to admit that she was more nimble and agile. The buildings and structures surrounding them gave her the advantage due to this. Everytime Sam got close enough, she would somehow miraculously manage to slip past him. Sometimes she would use the street lamps to outmanoeuvre him, sometimes she would simply vanish into thin air before appearing at a distance away from him.
'Okay. Now, this is getting rather annoying.' Grumbling, Sam dodged the next pair of daggers she threw at him. A fairly decent time has passed, but the chase continued without any change. 'Pretty obvious she's luring me towards some place… But where?'
When Sam turned the next corner, he was surprised to find where he ended up. He found himself staring at the burning remains of a very familiar golem. Looking around, his hunch was proven right when he saw three other golems laying on the ground. WIth a confused expression, he stared at the only other person there beside him - The woman who arguably gave him the worst cat and mouse chase.
"I- I don't even know how I should react to this." Rubbing his temples, he murmured. "What is your goal exactly? Make me run in circles till I die of frustration? I have to admit though, it's working."
The woman only scoffed in reply, before she made her arms inventory visible. Sam looked on as she took out a long silver spear, twirling it a few times before getting into a fighting stance.
"Huh…" Sam blinked before readying himself. "I was honestly expecting you to be a scout with all that running about."
"You assume a lot." With those words, she leapt into the air, bringing down the spear to smash him. Sam held his sword diagonally, blocking the strike. Without giving her a chance, he pushed her away before spinning and kicking her in the gut. She felt the air leave her lungs as she was launched into the distance.
Performing a few flips mid-air, she landed on the ground before rushing at him once more, thrusting her spear at his head. Sam parried her thrust, before slashing at her. The woman however, jumped backwards, leaving her spear behind and throwing another dagger at him.
"Again?" Sam kicked the spear away from her before sidestepping the thrown dagger, as it flew by his side before embedding itself on a wall. "Now that you've lost your main weapon what will you do ne-"
*BOOM*
He was cut off when he heard an explosion from behind him. Turning back, he saw the wall on which the earlier dagger struck, missing a good portion of it. Realisation dawned upon him, as he turned around to look at the woman who was giving him a blank stare.
"What kind of assassin uses explosives?!" He almost shouted at her. 'And what is it with everyone using explosive projectiles nowadays? First it was Nocturne and now it's her?'
"Like I said earlier…" She waved her hand as the spear Sam kicked away floated towards her. "You assume a lot. Oh, and how are you feeling?"
Sam stared at her quizzingly, but only for a moment. Realisation finally struck him, as he realised his eyesight was becoming blurry. He tried to take a step in her direction, only to find himself nearly falling over. Using his sword as a crutch, he barely managed to hold himself straight.
"... When?" He glared at her
"When you were chasing me earlier." She replied in a calm tone, taking out a small pouch from inside her coat. "And while your attention was focused on the daggers I threw at you, you failed to notice the powder I was dispersing in the air. But I can't blame you for it." Opening the pouch, she took a pinch of its content before blowing it away. "It's nearly colourless and odourless after all."
"But don't worry too much. It's an anaesthetic. You'll feel disoriented and sleepy, but that's about it. The poison won't kill you." She remarked, pointing her spear towards him. "But I will."
Once more, she rushed towards him before thrusting her spear at the ground, pole vaulting and delivering a solid kick which Sam somehow managed to block, the impact sending him skidding backwards. Without losing momentum, she landed on the ground and swung her spear in a wide arc.
With tenacity he never showed before, Sam bent his upper body backwards, narrowly avoiding the spear. In the same motion, he backflipped to gain some distance from her before sheathing his sword. He knew he had to end this fight quickly, and that was exactly what he planned to do. Kicking the ground and dashing towards her, he unsheathed his blade, delivering a horizontal slash with everything he got. She jumped back to avoid it, but unfortunately was not fast enough.
*SLASH*
While her instincts helped her from avoiding being split in two, the red katana left a long gash across her stomach. With a hiss of pain, she clutched her wound tightly, falling to one knee. Utilising the opportunity, Sam quickly closed the distance, slashing his sword and aiming to slice off her head as she desperately tried to dodge it. But once again, while managing to stay alive, the attack still left a cut across her face, tearing away a part of her hood and her mask. Screaming loudly in pain, she fell backwards on the ground. Sam found himself losing his balance and tumbled down after that attack, as the poison was visibly starting to affect him more.
'Tch, I was careless.' Purely by willpower, Sam slowly got up to one knee, tightly gripping his sword. 'After I get rid of her, I need to find some way to neutralise the poison. Hopefully, that thing the boss gave me should help somewhat…'
Finally, somehow managing to get up, Sam slowly wobbled towards his assailant, who was still writhing with pain on the ground.
"This is the end." He raised his blade, aiming to pierce her heart. But only then did he notice that her mask was torn off, revealing her face.
*CLANG*
The sword effortlessly fell from his hands and hit the ground. But Sam didn't pay it any mind. His focus was now entirely on the woman who was still glaring at him, visibly filled with hatred. His arms began to tremble, as he still couldn't believe the identity of his assailant.
"... Eleonora?"
*STAB*
With widened eyes, Sam stumbled backwards as he felt something stab him from the front. Looking downwards he could only see the faint outline of a weapon, whose tip was now lodged in his stomach.
"How long has it been Sam? 28 years?" The woman who was revealed to be Eleonora spoke, slowly getting up. She still tightly clutched her stomach, which was still bleeding from the wound earlier inflicted by Sam, drenching her gloves with blood. Her hood had now fallen back, revealing her shoulder-length, wheat blond hair and pointy ears. The light complexion of her skin only added to her beauty, while the cut travelled from her right cheek across her nose, diagonally. "I guess even you have trouble dealing with invisible weapons, hmm?"
"But that made getting them all the while worth it, wouldn't you say?" With a wide smile, she pulled out the weapon, leaving behind a gaping hole in his gut. "So tell me. How do you feel, Sam? Are you angry? Are you angry about how our reunion went?"
"No… not angry." Sam managed to speak out, falling to his knees and spitting out a bit of blood. "I'm only… sad."
"Sad? SAD?!" Her expression immediately changed to one of fury, as she pushed him to the ground before stabbing his right arm. "DON'T YOU DARE SPEAK TO ME ABOUT SADNESS! WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT SADNESS?! IF YOU HAD EVEN HALF THE IDEA OF WHAT THAT WORD MEANS, YOU WOULDN'T HAVE DONE WHAT YOU DID!"
Taking a few deep breaths, she continued in a much lower tone, although the rage behind her voice was still evident. "This… This is revenge, Sam. Revenge for what you did… to him." She raised her spear, aiming to plunge it through his skull. "I hope you find peace in whatever hell you'll end up in."
But she paused her action, when she felt the ground visibly shake. Any question she had in her mind was answered when a golem suddenly burst through a nearby building, rushing in their direction. It was followed by two other golems, coming from two other directions. And unlike the previous ones, these ones were far bigger - More than double their size.
'Tch. The earlier explosion must have attracted their attention.' She mentally cursed, leaping away from Sam. 'Oh well. I doubt he can even move anymore.'
"I guess your fate is to die getting squashed by them, rather than by my spear." She mockingly called out to Sam, who was still on the ground unmoving. "Works for me." And without sparing him a second glance, she darted away from the location, leaving Sam alone with the golems.
'This is not my day…' Sam mentally sighed, as the three golems now focused their attention on him. They slowly made their way towards him, while he didn't even bother trying to get up. The poison had considerably weakened him, and the blood loss from the two stab wounds only made his condition worse.
He had accepted his fate and closed his eyes when he heard some weird noises coming from one of the golems. Confused, he looked at the golem in the centre, which was oddly shaking. After a few seconds, its head blew off into the air, as an all too familiar fox climbed out of it, staring at Sam who was lying on the ground. Sam stared back, wondering to himself whether he was hallucinating or if it was real.
After a few seconds of both of them staring at each other, Len finally broke the silence.
"So, uhh. Need a hand?"
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