บท 80: Weakest Point

Phantom sounds of tapping echoed in the hallways of the castle. Most occupants were on the surface floors to celebrate while the group moved stealthily underneath their feet… thirty meters down. Noah could see his hellhounds move around them as if sniffing and inspecting the rooms ahead of them.

Caliga and Caseus were not appearing in front of any of them, and Noah couldn't throw his senses to see what Caliga did. It was very unusual, but Noah chose to ignore these things for now. Like what he had always kept in mind: the hellhounds would not harm him.

Luca, however, was looking around a lot. The whole place had a very different feel than the last castle that they had been to. Seeing fewer dogs seemed to have made him more bothered. He then spoke to Noah softly, "Noah, I can't see Caseus… or Caliga. Aren't they supposed to be checking the place, too?"

"Can't you see it? We're not finding anything in any of the rooms. It's impossible for everyone to be out there with no guards on a look-out." Noah huffed a little. He then glanced at Luca frowning at him. "They're fine…"

'Noah's getting irritated? Did Caliga and Caseus get in trouble? Why wasn't he telling anyone?' Luca only hummed as he looked forward, keeping his words to himself. Even if he wanted to speak with Noah, he didn't want to do it for everyone to hear.

Alessa and the others were aware of their little situation; however, they all had their guards up anyway. Noah hadn't done much to earn their trust, and they were only here because of Luca. If anything, they would all take Luca alone if things took a turn for the worse.

After descending a few floors down, Pane paused in front of them. He had his back against Alessa, his steely fur rising in the middle. The hellhounds then went in front and entered a defensive stance around the group. The White Magi took out their weapons while the rest prepared for battle.

"How interesting… hunters and a witch…"

Luca then twitched as they saw the woman approaching them. She had a very familiar hairstyle and an aged face. He murmured, "Mrs. Connor, aren't you…?"

Noah reached out to stop Luca from talking. From the eyes of the hounds, he could see that the Genevieve in front of them wasn't actually her. Something was inside her, and that demon was the one speaking to them. Moreover, she knew that she couldn't fool them.

Genevieve looked at the hellhounds, especially at Pane who was lending his eyes to Noah. "Ah, it must be you then. Belphegor managed to not only drag Mephistopheles into babysitting you, but he also got the hellhounds to be your little dipsticks."

She then smiled, a kind of glint sparkling in her eyes. "Very well then."

Before she could flick her hand fully, Noah dashed between the gaps and swiped down at Genevieve. The dogs had also dispersed as they switched to an assault formation. The woman jumped back with an angry expression as she evaded the blue flames of Noah's claws.

Alessa was shocked at what he did. Wasn't this woman the person they had to save? Why was he attacking her?

However, from Noah's point of view, he had felt the split-second fear rattled Pane. Whatever that thing was, it was strong enough to scare Pane. Even if it was Genevieve, Noah didn't want to risk the demon inside her hurting one of his dogs. He couldn't protect Pane, but he could distract the demon.

So he did.

"Violence… ah, yes, the language of demons. Belphegor seemed to have taught you so well." Genevieve laughed out as she spread her arms around. From the walls came tons of clay figures that soon turned into lava demons that attacked Carlos in the supermarket.

"Noah!" Luca ran up as well and swung his gun from his back to shoot at the lava demons. The other two White Magi went in as well, keeping the lava demons from puking molten lava at Luca.

"Hahahaha! Feast on them alive!" Genevieve laughed out before running away from the crowd. More and more lava demons came out, the levels varying from level four to six.

Noah frowned as he glared at the vanishing figure of the mother. He then only retreated as the hellhounds kill the level fours and fives while the sixes were slaughtered by Winona and Tabitha, He arrived next to Alessa, his eyes still glaring at the direction Genevieve had taken.

Alessa only huffed as she turned to Gianna. "Any chance of us breaking out of this maze realm?"

Gianna had been sensing the place the entire time the lava demons showed up. She then looked up and sighed. "This can't be the work of some witch. This kind of maze could only be put up by a level nine. I'm sorry, I didn't realize it was a trap the moment we got in here.

"However, Mr. Rocco seemed to have an idea. I've located the weakest point… it was the spot in the sixth level." Gianna eyed Noah as if she was accusing him of setting them up. "Surely, I now see why he chose that place."

"Contrary to popular belief, I don't want to get stuck with you either, and yet here we are." Noah snapped at the woman without even bothering to give her more than a glance. So that was why Caliga and Caseus were not around, they were scouting outside the maze.

Noah even took a look at Pane whose ears just folded in apology. He walked up to Pane and then squatted to get even with the dog's eye level. "Whose plan is this?"

Pane only cowered before lowering his head, fearful eyes still on Noah. Soon, a rather shaky voice of an energetic young man echoed in his head. "Big Brother, don't be so mad. Don't worry, we're not trying to fool you. I swear, Caliga only said it'd be better if you don't know…"

The master reached out and petted the dog. "Fine, fine. So this realm… is it breakable?"

"Big Brother…" A female voice echoed, and a rather dainty-looking hellhound came close. Her eyes were purplish rather than blue so it's easy to spot her in their group. "Big Brother, it's breakable, but the target is inside the maze so it's not efficient. Besides, breaking it will collapse the realm.

"We will only be burying ourselves if we do it.

"Also, this realm is very tight. No one comes in and out so we're safe from the other level eights in the coven. The master of the realm should be the only level eight with us." She then flicked her eyes at the White Magi. "They should be enough."

She ran to Luca after and stood in front of him. "Brother, I'm called Gala. Caseus said the women listen to you so let me tell you the situation. We're currently inside a very unstable maze realm, but this place doesn't crumble and shift after a few hours. When we go deeper, we should be very cautious.

"That woman that maps the castle… she knew the way so you should probably stick with her. The other spots she saw were holes we bored through the realm. However, bodiless creatures like us are the only ones who could get through those, but the one in the sixth level should be good enough for humans.

"Moreover, the target shouldn't be able to leave. Let's hurry down. We'll be digging through the floors…" She paused as she blinked as if unsure how to say the matter. "As for… as for ending up in the same place as us when you get down there—"

Crackle! The whole floor shook, and the hellhounds collectively split up to surround Noah and Luca. The marble underneath their feet broke apart, and Luca tried to run towards Noah. Gala then caught up with him and grabbed onto him. Luca would complain, but the ground underneath them broke…

Creating a gap that separated Noah from them.

Noah only nodded at Luca. "Just follow everyone's direction. We'll meet at the exit in a few minutes!"

The ground continued to break apart. Even Isla lost balance and was grabbed by Gianna before she fell down the gaping maw between them and the White Magi. She then yelled, "It's not just him! We're all going to be separated! Don't engage any demon beyond your capabilities!"

"Luca!" Alessa dashed to get to Luca, but the walls shrunk, bursting at the pressure. Alessa was thrown away as much as everyone else was.

The walls around Noah's ground didn't burst, but the floor continued to run out. He only steeled in his heart and hopped down the gaping maw along with his hellhounds.

The smoke ate up the entire floor, and the view seemed to wobble like a trembling water balloon. Soon, the image changed, and the floor and walls were back to normal. It's like nothing happened at all. Then, a young boy in a black ensemble walked along the marble, his footsteps echoing.

"A maze that shrinks. These glutton demons begin to learn tricks now. Hmph, that sounds so wrong. This must be the work of the wrath demons." He then continued walking along the floor.

…

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Noah stirred in his nap and found himself immersed in darkness. Since he could see through the darkness, he was so sure that nothing else was indeed around him. He got up from the floor and looked around in case there were hidden paths or enemies around him.

"Is this supposed to be the fourth level? Why do I feel like I'm in water?" The witch then walked in a random direction and found a glint of light at the end. He frowned and prepared to fight…

However, he couldn't summon his blue flames.

Noah then looked down at his left arm and tried once more. When he flicked his eyes at the light, it had gone closer, and he could hear something breaking through the stagnant wind. A bullet rushed towards him, and he tried to evade it. However, it then turned into a net that spread and caught him.

"Oh, this is going to be very easy." A familiar voice ticked Noah's ears, and his eyes flared in rage as he recognized the incoming duo. A woman in white totality was holding onto a white grenade launcher while a man was gearing his right hand for a blast. "I'm here to repay the debt."

"…Bomberman."