pages of rebellion

In the open area of Daedalus' labyrinth, a massive, slithering creature moved silently. Over twenty meters long, its dark black skin shimmered faintly with golden streaks that pulsed dimly with each movement. Its narrow, piercing purple eyes gleamed with deception and deadly patience. Its slender body slid between ancient pillars, blending seamlessly into the labyrinth as it observed its prey before striking without mercy.

Jagged, spike-like protrusions lined its back, secreting faint toxins that dissipated into the air, creating a suffocating, heavy atmosphere. Its mouth was filled with long, razor-sharp teeth, capable of tearing through flesh with ease, and its forked tongue flicked out occasionally, tasting the air for the slightest movement.

Noah and Echo stared at the massive serpent in growing terror and anxiety.

"I-Is that... one of the labyrinth's guardians? 'Nagairus'!?" Noah stammered, his tension rising.

Nagairus' eyes locked onto Noah and Echo, but then its gaze shifted toward the students lying on the ground, drenched in a pool of blood. It let out a terrifying hiss, its crimson eyes glowing ominously before lunging toward them.

"Damn it!" Noah cursed as he expanded his domain. Instantly, the students vanished, replaced by a group of "Bloodhorn Minotaurs." The creatures turned toward Nagairus, but the serpent devoured them in an instant. With terrifying speed, it consumed them in mere fractions of a second. Blood dripped from its fangs as the dying minotaurs writhed in agony within its mouth before being swallowed whole. Then, it turned its gaze toward Noah and Echo.

As Nagairus' body exuded a faint purple toxin, the air around them turned a poisonous hue. The serpent slithered forward slowly, its tail flicking from side to side, its tongue sensing the vibrations in the air. Suddenly, it lunged toward them with terrifying speed. Noah and Echo immediately retreated, teleporting away just in time as the snake crashed into the labyrinth walls, shattering them.

Appearing mid-air, Noah and Echo braced themselves before landing safely on the ground.

"This is the worst possible time for something like this to show up!" Noah thought, his anxiety intensifying.

At that moment, Echo attacked Noah. But thanks to his Foresight skill, Noah dodged effortlessly and stepped back.

"You've got to be kidding me right now?!" Noah shouted, glaring at Echo. "This is NOT the time to fight! Do you even understand the situation? If I die, you die too!"

Nagairus turned its attention back to them.

"What kind of situation is this?! It can't possibly get any worse, right?!" Noah thought, but he could feel the tension reaching a breaking point.

Then, the sound of approaching footsteps caught Noah's attention. He turned to see a figure emerging from the labyrinth walls into the open area. The man was drenched in violet blood, evidence of the countless minotaurs he had slain.

It was the assassin who had attacked Noah before.

"T-This has to be some kind of joke, right?!" Noah thought, his dread intensifying.

The assassin stared at Noah, his presence exuding an overwhelming sense of danger.

"Finally... I can't believe it took me this long to find an insect like you..." the assassin muttered, his voice dripping with venom. He staggered slightly, ignoring both Echo and the serpent, before suddenly dashing toward Noah at frightening speed.

But before he could strike, Noah vanished, leaving a rock in his place. He reappeared at a distance, but Echo immediately closed the gap, launching a flurry of punches and kicks. Noah dodged as best as he could, but his body was nearing its limits.

Meanwhile, Nagairus coiled its body and slammed its tail into the ground, creating a powerful tremor. Then, it lunged at Noah.

With no other choice, Noah teleported into the air, landing on the serpent's back and grabbing onto one of its jagged spikes to keep himself from falling. Nagairus crashed into the labyrinth walls, causing another massive impact that sent Noah flying.

In mid-air, the assassin appeared above him, delivering a devastating punch that sent Noah hurtling downward. He crashed violently into the ground, coughing up blood. His legs buckled beneath him, leaving him unable to stand.

The assassin landed in front of Noah, raising his dagger toward his chest.

"I'll make this quick. Stay still," the assassin muttered, his eyes glowing beneath the shadow of his hood.

"Damn it, move! Move! MOVE!" Noah screamed internally, but his broken legs refused to respond.

The assassin dropped to one knee and slowly plunged the dagger into Noah's heart. Blood spurted from Noah's mouth like a fountain, staining the ground beneath him.

Then, Edgar appeared beside the assassin.

"Die!" Edgar growled as he delivered a powerful kick, sending the assassin flying into the labyrinth walls, his body shattering on impact. He slumped to the ground, motionless.

Edgar quickly pulled the dagger from Noah's chest and tossed it aside.

"Damn it, I'm too late!" Edgar cursed, trying to lift Noah off the ground.

A few minutes earlier...

While Noah was fighting Echo, Edgar, Noctis, and Rael stood before a dark screen, monitoring the events inside the labyrinth's open area.

"We've lost a few signals..." Noctis muttered, glancing at Edgar.

"As long as no one's in immediate danger of dying, it should be fine," Edgar replied.

"What about that Echo? We don't know if it's keeping them alive or just playing with them before finishing them off," Rael added.

"It won't. We won't let that happen," Edgar assured him.

Suddenly, the ground trembled violently, and multiple signals vanished one after another—except for the one showing the open area.

"W-What's happening?!" Rael asked, his concern growing.

On the screen, they saw the massive serpent, Nagairus, appear alongside the assassin and Echo, all surrounding Noah. Then, the signal cut out completely.

"Damn it! This is the worst-case scenario! Noctis, open a portal now!" Edgar shouted.

Noctis immediately obeyed, summoning a dark portal.

Back to the present...

"I... survived... I... won't... die..." Noah murmured weakly, but his body collapsed.

"His legs... he can't walk? Are they broken?!" Edgar thought, his worry intensifying.

A black portal opened, and Noctis and Rael stepped through.

"You're late, old man," Rael remarked, glancing at Edgar before noticing Noah's trembling legs.

"He can't walk? We can still transport him to a hospital," Noctis said.

"Yeah, you're right. Just teleport the remaining students. I'll handle the chaos here," Edgar responded, his eyes hidden beneath his hair.

"Alright..." Noctis muttered, glancing at the students lying in a pool of blood. A dark portal opened beneath them, teleporting them away. Edgar, meanwhile, turned toward Echo and the massive serpent, stepping forward.

"So that thing is Noah's Echo. If I kill it while Noah is inside the labyrinth, he'll die as well because of the labyrinth's rules. He'll stay alive while I deal with Nagairus," Edgar thought.

Nagairus lunged at him, fangs bared, ready to devour him whole—but it suddenly slammed into an invisible wall, stopping inches from Edgar.

"You made a mistake appearing like this. You should've waited in your chamber for someone to reach you. Since you broke that rule, I now have the right to kill you!" Edgar declared, placing his hand on the serpent's head.

"Reverse."

A crushing force slammed into Nagairus' body, causing it to compress violently as blood poured from every part of it. The serpent writhed in agony, then retreated, slowly healing itself. It hissed in pain and released a thick purple fog of poison.

"Pointless," Edgar muttered as the fog dissipated. The serpent had vanished, slithering away into the labyrinth walls.

"Is it... running away?" Edgar narrowed his eyes.

Then, Nagairus suddenly reappeared—charging straight for Noah.

"Damn it!!" Edgar shouted as he rushed toward Noah, but he was too late. At that moment, Noah's Echo appeared, grabbed him, and carried him away, leaping back to avoid the serpent. The serpent stopped, reversed its direction, and pursued the Echo and Noah as they delved deeper into the maze, disappearing within its walls.

"Damn it!" Edgar yelled again, jumping high, but by then, the serpent, Noah, and the Echo had vanished from sight. Landing on the ground, he clenched his fists tightly, feeling both anger and worry.

"He was taken by his own Echo… This has never happened before," Rael said.

"Maybe it understood that if he died, it would die too, so it saved him," Noctis suggested.

"Can Echos even think?" Rael asked, confusion filling his eyes.

"It doesn't matter if they can think or not. We have to find him, no matter what!" Edgar declared.

"Well, we don't want to be killed by the 'Flame Emperor' after all," Rael said anxiously.

"At least we can figure out what happened before we arrived from that guy. He's still alive, after all," Noctis said, as everyone turned their attention toward the unconscious assassin slumped against one of the maze walls.

Rael silently thought to himself, "I hope our guests aren't getting bored right now…"

Outside, in the Guest Room

The guests, along with Lucian, were watching a darkened screen that had become distorted due to the signal loss.

"Has the signal not returned yet?" one of the attendees asked. His face was hidden beneath his cloak.

"W-We apologize for this issue, but it seems the headmaster is facing some difficulties," Lucian replied, feeling anxious.

"How boring. In any case, I don't think there's any talent worth paying attention to from what we saw before the signal cut out. Most of the students were defeated by a single Echo," another person said. His voice sounded young, likely in his thirties, and he too was covering his face with a black cloak.

"But didn't that boy manage to hold his ground against an intruder, his Echo, and the maze's guardian, Nagairos, all at once while buying time? I'd say he's exceptional compared to the rest," another cloaked individual commented. Though his face was hidden, his silky white hair flowed out from the back.

"All he did was buy some time. What's so impressive about that?" Garth scoffed, no longer wearing his cloak.

"Your eyesight must be failing you in your old age if you can't notice something like that, old man!" Luo Yan remarked. She, too, had removed her cloak, and her crimson-red eyes had begun to glow.

"What did you say, you brat?! Your arrogance must have skyrocketed just because you're from Nova Academy! Don't overstep your bounds again—stay in your place and be silent!" Garth snapped, his patience wearing thin with Luo Yan's attitude.

"She may be ranked B and backed by Nova Academy, but everyone here is ranked A. They're the directors of the five great academies in the country. They could kill her right now and make up a lie to escape any punishment. Taking a life is nothing to these bastards…" Lucian thought, his anxiety growing along with a faint sense of irritation.

Luo Yan smirked mockingly and said, "It seems you've regained some of your pride, old man, which has made you arrogant. If you want to kill me, go ahead—but our dear director will be quite upset about losing one of his talented academy students. And he'll personally make you pay for it. If you think the law can stop an S-rank hunter, then your brain really must have rotted with age."

The room fell into an uneasy silence as the guests hesitated to speak.

"W-Wait… Is she serious? Would the director of Nova Academy really kill an A-rank hunter and one of the five academy directors if he tried anything? Isn't he afraid of the authorities that might punish him?! What kind of monster is this man?!" Lucian thought, sweat dripping onto the floor.

"In any case, it seems everyone here has the same goal after what happened—to recruit that student and bring him to their academy. Garth tried to act disinterested to discourage the others from pursuing him, increasing his own chances, but that's not going to happen. Everyone here wants that boy badly. But unfortunately for them… I will take him for myself!" Luo Yan thought, her excitement growing.

Somewhere Else

Noah's Echo was still carrying his unconscious body, running away as the massive serpent chased after them, baring its fangs.

Inside Noah's consciousness, he slowly opened his eyes. The sun's rays shone into them, and the sound of ocean waves reached his ears.

He blinked.

He was in a place similar to the "Other realm" he had seen during the special training—but this time, he was at a beach.

"Where… am I?"