Chương 142: Lost Solider (IV)
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August 1, 2054. Saturday. 5:00pm
The days passed, and Zero and his group were still stuck in the giant Maze. They have fought thousands of Red Minotaurs through the endless Maze. They fought, rested, and pushed forward. Zero wondered when the endless Maze would ever let up; the grueling walk through the Maze was becoming monotonous. He felt like they had been stuck in the Maze for years.
The real problem that constantly cropped up was the shortage of food. Feeding the soldiers to keep their stamina was cutting a large chunk of Kyros' food stash. Unfortunately, he did not have enough to feed everyone, but luckily for him, they stumbled upon a couple of Oasis through the Maze. There were fresh foods like fruits, vegetables, and even fish.
Zero and his small group sat around a small oasis. Small trees gave great shade, a large body of water, and even bountiful wildlife that came and went throughout the day. The smell of grilled fish drifted through the air as loud, boisterous laughs could be heard.
"Gah. Miss, you make the most delicious food ever." Tom replied with a satisfied face. He was chewing on grilled fish.
"She's a genius. I'll tell you. I have never had such a delicacy before coming from a fish." Eron raised the grilled fish towards Agnis in honor of her making such delicious food.
Agnis had cooked food for everybody. That included about 150 soldiers plus Zero's group. What
amazed Zero was her ability to cook for everyone without much help. Her skill with cooking was already on par with a professional.
Zero had to agree that the food that Agnis made was an exquisite delicacy that he rarely ate. It wasn't until he was partying with Agnis that he could eat such delicious food. However, the best part of her cooked food was the added bonus that came with it. The fish he had taken a bite out of gave him twice the normal stamina, while the coconut drink he had next gave him temporary strength points.
He was glad that Agnis was with them, especially at times like these when long adventures had a high chance of food running short. So while Zero searched and identified for food, he gave them to Agnis to cook. She had made some interesting dishes that he had never seen before.
Spicy-tailed lizard, cactus bomb juice, and sweet coconut grilled fish. At first, he was skeptical about trying the tailed lizard, but once he tried it, no words could describe its tangy flavor.
"So delicious," Jack replied. His face was stuffed full of grilled fish and spicy-tailed lizard. Zero wondered how Jack would swallow such a large mouthful in one gulp for a moment.
"Wow. Where did you learn to cook like this?" Alan asked. Zero thought he saw a tear of happiness drop from his eyes for a moment. "You'll make a wonderful wife. Your husband would never starve."
Agnis blushed red, cleaning up her knives, pots, and pans. She then stored it away in her Zenith pouch. "I had some spare time." Her voice was low, almost like a whisper.
"Not bad." Zeraph was eating slowly and in small bites. Even when Zeraph was eating, Kiyro could see that he had kept himself from spilling or making a mess. Now that he had thought about it, he had never seen Zeraph have a single stain on his clothes or face. A complete neat freak to the end. "Do you know how to make spring rolls?"
"Yes. I actually do. Bring me the recipe, and I can make it next time."
"I'll do just that." Zeraph finished his meal. "Zero, how long do you think we are till our destination? This quest is taking a bit too long for comfort."
"Well." Zero thought it over. From the progress they were making, he assumed they were possibly a good three-fourths of the way through, but because the Labyrinth moved, he wasn't even sure. "Honestly, I don't know." He felt lost and defeated. The dreary walls of the Labyrinth started to get to him. These past few days, he was even dreaming about labyrinths.
"How many small Oasis have we come across?"
"Five this past week."
"Did you notice that not each one is similar?"
"I actually did as well."
"Really?" Jack rubbed his dwarven belly. Then, he leaned back and began to pick his teeth with a toothpick. "I thought we were going around in circles throughout this whole time."
"No, the trees' placement and number and the water's shape are vastly different. Even the animals that came to the drinking fountain changed. It's not as apparent if you're not paying close
attention." Zero replied. "The first Oasis we came across was a small watering hole the size of a
football field with twelve palm trees. The animals that came by were dessert rabbits. The second Oasis has double the amount of trees and water. However, the animals were still the same. The third Oasis had twenty palm trees, three times the watering hole, and the animals tended to be fish and gazelles, desert foxes, and even rabbits. The fourth one had the same amount of trees and water, but there were predominantly camels. The final Oasis is this one, though the strange thing about it is that even though there are a lot of trees and even the watering hole is seven times larger, there are alligators but barely any grass-eating mammals. None of the other oases had carnivorous creatures as of yet."
"You actually remember all that." Jack was speechless. "Wow. I thought I had a good memory, but yours outclass mine."
"Well, it's just memorization. Nothing big."
"You're kidding me, right? Do you know how much people want that ability in school? It's like a free pass to not study so hard for a test, and you could even ace everything without trying. The amount of playtime one could have," said Jack enviously. "I would love to have such skills."
"I don't know. There are some downsides to being able to remember things indefinitely."
"Like what."
"You won't be able to ever forget. If you ever stumble on a murder case, the memory would
always be fresh and detailed in one's mind."
Jack went quiet. "I see. That is a problem."
"There are always pros and cons to everything." Zero knew this better than anyone. To gain a gift, one also gains the curse that follows right behind it. He could still remember freshly the day the two college students were murdered. How they looked, what pose they were in, the clothes they wore, and even the minuscule details. It still shivers every time he remembers the man in the mask, Angel.
He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. He did not want to remember such a scene again. The only thing he could do was push back the thoughts deep into his mind. Even though he could not forget, all he could do was ignore it as best as he could.
"So are you saying we are getting close, or are you just throwing out a theory?" said Jack.
"We are getting close. When I was scouting around for a bit, I found some human bones sticking out of the ground near the large boulder over there."
"What?" Jack, who was leaning back comfortably, bolted upright. "Human bones? Here?"
Zero nodded. "There wasn't just one, though."
"You're kidding me."
"That could have been those crocodiles." Alan sipped his drink. "You did say that they are crocodiles in the water."
"Yes, but still. Think about it. The bones should be deep in the waters, not out in the open. These bones were not just one. I think there were more than ten. I also did find something else," Zero rummaged through his Zenith pouch and pulled out an emblem. A small round emblem the size of Zero's fist was shown. On it was the royal design of a lion ingrained in it. He passed it around for everyone to see.
"A coin?" Agnis was the first one to hold it. "It looks like it's made of copper."
Next was Jack. "You said this was from the pile of human bones. Did you find anything else?"
"Yes, but the armor and helmets are completely crushed and broken. There is no use in bringing them with me. It would have been a waste of bag space. I did think that this coin-looking thing might be of some use."
"Hmm…." Alan took the coin from Jack. He took out a round magnifier glass and examined it.
"Does it have any value?"
"No. It's made out of bronze. You won't get anything if you sell this. I suggest you throw it away. It seems that it has odd dents on it. I don't know if the coin was bitten down by a wild animal or something. I swear, though. I think I have seen this coin somewhere before."
Zeraph inputted his opinion. "This is the royal guards' token personally given by the king."
"Royal guards token?" Everyone was surprised by Zeraph's response.
"How do you know this?"
"I have seen some back at the castle. They're like dog tags."
"Zero, did you see anything else that seemed out of place when you checked?" asked Alan.
"Well," Zero thought it over for a moment. "I found it kind of strange that tons of bones were present near the boulder. It was as if it was an old feeding ground. Also, there were some female clothes mixed in with it."
"You don't think it was the Minotaur, do you?" Alan shivered. "Think about it. It could be a man eating a monster."
The soldiers that were listening to Zero's conversation froze stiffly. Fear and worry filled their bodies. A couple of them had begun to whisper about the possibilities of the dead soldiers.
"Actually," Eron cut in on their conversation. "There has been a strange rumor that the Minotaur is a man-eating monster."
Everyone's attention focused on Eron.
"Where did you hear that?"
"It's a well-known legend that has been around for hundreds of years. Supposedly, the story goes that the past king had made a deal with the devil. He would give up his firstborn son's soul for the innumerable wealth and power. The Kingdom of Terra has been going through a money crisis. The war with the Kingdom of Elements lasted for fifty years until the King finally summoned the devil. The moment the King had sealed the deal, the state of war had changed drastically. The King of Terra pushed the King of Element's forces back to their country." Eron breathed in deeply; his demeanor changed into sadness. "The King of Terra had drastically changed since he made the pact with the devil. His crimes were more heinous than any humans. He would indiscriminately kill men, women, and children alike. He took it even further and killed pure mythical creatures for pleasure. His crimes pile so high that the soil of Kingdom of Terra was drenched red with blood."
"It was that bad?" Agnis asked. She was sipping on her drink, immersed in Eron's story.
"Yes. When the devil came to take the firstborn son's soul, the King gave him without remorse. The devil took the child of the firstborn and warped his soul and body into a monster: a minotaur. He became a monster that kills and eats the flesh of man. Ten years later, when the firstborn son was fully grown, he came to terrorize his father's kingdom. His heart was black like a void, his anger so furious that it shook the heavens. Even his hunger was so unquenchable that he slaughtered and consumed thousands of humans for months. The cries of the dead were so fierce and heavy that even the gods intervened."
"So, what did they do next?"
"Well, there are a couple of versions. The first was that the god Freya came down to slay the prince. Others stated that he was so powerful that a magical labyrinth was created to contain him in one place indefinitely. There is more evidence of it being the second case than Freya coming down to intervene."
"Is the minotaur that powerful?" Agnis was not liking where the story was going.
"Well, if you go with the second version, then yes."
"This could be a problem," Agnis mumbled under her breath.
"All legends come from some sort of fact." Zero replied. "All we know is that the Minotaur that lives in this Labyrinth is powerful. How powerful we won't know until we face off with him."
"I wish we never have to do that, but alas, we have no choice."
"Wait. I have something I am interested in, though."
"That is?" Eron waited for Zero's question.
"How did the Golden Eye end up with the Minotaur in the first place?"
"Well, there was a rumor that a powerful talisman belonging to the King of Terra is here. The devil had supposedly stolen the powerful talisman from the King and hid it where even the King couldn't reach it. From then on, the King was enraged by the demon's deceptive nature that he promised himself that he would kill the demon one day and take back his royal right."
"I see."
"Well, my belly is finally stuffed. Why don't we go ahead and finish up this quest? I'm getting tired of the long Labyrinth." Jack replied. He got up and picked up his weapon. "The sooner we complete this quest, the sooner we get the rewards."
"True, but isn't it fun to go out adventuring with everyone?" Agnis asked happily. "I want to enjoy every minute of this qu-"
Bong! A loud gong-like sound could be heard off in the distance. Birds that rested flew out in a frenzy. The animals drinking by the water hole bolted away in fright. The metal walls of the Labyrinth had begun to move. The labyrinth contraption could be heard as a metal ground against each other.
Bong! Bong! Bong! The sound was getting louder and louder. Everyone bolted up and quickly packed their belongings. They did not know what this odd gong-like sound was nor what could be coming their way.
"What the hell is that?" Zeraph had his hands on his sword. Eve walked up next to him. She raised her hand to cover from the sunlight and squinted off to see off in the distance.
"I'm not liking this at all."
"Do you think it's the Minotaur?" Alan whispered.
"If it is, this would be a great chance to beat it and for us to get out of this wretched place," Jack replied. He tapped his fingers nervously on his weapon. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm ready for action."
"Are you sure about that?" Zero asked. He could see Jack nervously shaking.
"Yea. What do you think I am, a coward?"
"No."
Bong! The sound got even closer, but nothing came out from the three exits of the Labyrinth maze.
"We should go check it out," said Zero. Even though he did not like to find trouble, this could be the boss monster they were looking for.
"You serious? You want to fight whatever it is in the narrow space of the Labyrinth?" Alan was not too thrilled with Zero's decision. "We'll be picked off easily. We should fight in this open space instead."
"I don't think the Minotaur would gallantly waltz in here."
"How are you so sure? You found the bones."
"They were old. I didn't see any more than that. If the so-called Minotaur was once a man, he would not fight outside where he is easily exposed."
"Then what are you saying we should go do?"
"We go hunting and draw him out."
"Gah. I shouldn't have asked."
"If you remember, the Labyrinth shouldn't even shift till midnight, but don't you hear the gears shifting earlier? So it would make sense if they try to keep the Minotaur inside the Labyrinth by shifting the walls near him more frequently, or he would get out."
"Well, that is a different way to think of it, but it could be bad for us too."
"True, but right now, this is the only clue we got. Let's finish this so we can get out of here."
"You're right. I'm starting to forget why we have come here in the first place. This place makes you feel like we've been living here for years." Alan sighed. He placed his hands on his hips. "So which way should we go?"
"The one towards the North." Zero pointed towards one of the three exits. "The sound seems to be coming from that direction."
"Well, then you heard the man. Let's go!"
Zero's small force moved forward towards their exit. The soldiers mumbled, wondering what could cause such a sound. Finally, they entered through and continued walking towards the
sound.
Bong! Krank! Kash!
The entrance was suddenly closed behind them, and the walls shifted again. Everyone stopped and came together so they would not split apart. The walls moved to the right, opening up a new path.
"I hope you're ready for Zero." Zeraph was next to him. He was on full alert.
"I am." Zero quietly stated. He waited for the walls to completely stop before he walked forward towards their new destination.
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