CHAPTER — WHEN THE LABYRINTH LEARNED TO BREATHE
(Knossos / 18th Floor — Parallel Threads)
Knossos did not feel like a dungeon.
It felt like a scar.
Alise Lovell walked beside Aiz Wallenstein through the narrow corridor, boots striking Daedalus stone that swallowed every echo. The air inside the labyrinth carried a strange weight, like pressure before a storm.
Behind them, Riveria’s staff tapped softly against the ground while Lefiya followed close, clutching her grimoire.
Even the wind seemed hesitant here.
Lefiya finally whispered what everyone was thinking.
“…Something feels wrong.”
Riveria did not slow.
“Knossos is artificial,” the elf replied calmly. “Its mana flow is unstable.”
Alise flicked a small flame between her fingers.
Normally her fire burned bright orange.
Here—
The edges flickered dark.
Almost black.
“…That’s new,” she muttered.
Aiz glanced at the flame.
“The air resists.”
Alise snorted lightly.
“Air doesn’t resist fire.”
Aiz replied simply.
“This one does.”
They stepped into a wider chamber.
Broken pillars rose like ribs from the stone floor. Old magic circles scarred the ground, some still faintly glowing with cursed residue left behind by Evilus rituals.
Riveria stopped immediately.
“Wait.”
Her voice carried quiet authority.
Alise extinguished the flame in her hand.
Lefiya blinked.
“What is it?”
Riveria closed her eyes.
For several seconds she simply listened.
Then she said something strange.
“…Do not cast magic.”
Alise raised an eyebrow.
“That specific?”
“Yes.”
Lefiya opened her mouth to ask why.
But the answer came first.
One of the support mages behind them panicked when a shadow shifted in the darkness.
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Lightning burst from his staff.
The spell shot forward—
And vanished.
Not deflected.
Not absorbed.
Erased.
The corridor went silent.
Then something stepped out of the wall.
It did not break the stone.
It passed through it.
The shape was tall.
Too tall for a human.
Its body looked like stretched white mist hardened into bone. No face. No eyes. Just a pale head tilted slightly toward them.
Lefiya’s voice trembled.
“…W-what is that?”
Riveria answered instantly.
“…Retreat.”
The creature moved.
Not fast.
But the moment it shifted, every instinct in Alise’s body screamed danger.
Aiz’s wind struck first.
A slicing arc of compressed air cut toward the creature.
The attack passed through it.
For a moment Alise thought it worked—
Then the air closed.
The wind vanished.
Aiz frowned slightly.
“That should not happen.”
Riveria lifted her staff.
Ancient elven runes ignited along the crystal.
“Frostveil.”
Ice magic surged forward.
The spell died halfway through the air.
Gone.
Riveria’s expression changed.
“…This is not Dungeon.”
The creature tilted its head.
Then stepped forward again.
Where its foot touched the ground—
The glowing rune circle beneath it went dark.
Deleted.
Lefiya gasped.
“It’s draining mana!”
Riveria corrected quietly.
“No.”
“It is erasing it.”
Alise stepped forward.
“Well,” she said calmly.
“That’s horrifying.”
Her sword ignited with flame.
The fire twisted strangely, bending toward the creature like it was being pulled.
She attacked anyway.
The blade struck the pale form.
For a split second resistance appeared.
Then the flames vanished from her weapon.
Alise jumped back immediately.
“…Right,” she muttered.
“That’s not good.”
Riveria spoke sharply.
“No more magic.”
Lefiya’s voice shook.
“But how do we fight it?!”
Riveria answered without hesitation.
“We do not.”
The Spirit Beast stepped forward again.
Aiz drew her blade.
Wind gathered instinctively around her body, though it felt weaker now, suppressed.
“This thing…” Alise said quietly.
“…is eating spells.”
Riveria nodded grimly.
“Which means if we continue casting, we will make it stronger.”
The creature raised one long arm.
Not attacking.
Testing.
Its limb passed through a broken pillar.
The ancient rune carved into the stone vanished instantly.
Alise crossed her arms.
“…Fantastic.”
Then she sighed.
“So Knossos built itself a nightmare.”
Riveria did not disagree.
“Withdraw.”
They retreated.
Not running wildly.
Controlled.
Disciplined.
But the creature followed.
Silent.
Calm.
Wherever it walked, magic circles flickered and died.
Aiz glanced back once.
“It adapts.”
Riveria nodded.
“Yes.”
They reached a narrow corridor and Alise slammed a lever embedded in the wall.
Massive Daedalus stone gates crashed down behind them.
For a moment—
Silence.
Then the creature stepped through the gate.
Not breaking it.
Passing through.
Lefiya screamed.
“IT WENT THROUGH THE WALL!”
Alise grabbed her arm.
“Move!”
They ran.
Only stopping once they reached a higher junction chamber.
The Spirit Beast did not follow.
Riveria rested both hands on her staff.
“What was that thing?” Lefiya whispered.
Riveria answered honestly.
“I do not know.”
Alise wiped sweat from her brow.
“Great.”
Riveria continued calmly.
“But I know what it does.”
She looked down the corridor they fled from.
“It erases magic.”
Lefiya blinked.
“…Erases?”
“Yes.”
“Not absorbing mana.”
“Not dispelling spells.”
“Deleting them.”
Even Aiz’s expression tightened slightly.
Riveria finished quietly.
“Which means if we fight it with magic, we need make it stronger.”
Alise exhaled slowly.
“…Wonderful.”
Far above them—
The 18th Floor still looked peaceful.
Grass swayed beneath the cavern’s artificial sunlight. Water from the great waterfall thundered steadily into the lake below.
But the calm was a lie.
Blood still stained the grass where Gale Wind had passed.
Bell stood near the edge of the descent tunnel, eyes fixed on the darkness below.
He could still feel it.
The pressure Ryuu had left behind.
Aisha crossed her arms behind him.
“She’s not fighting to win,” she muttered.
Bell didn’t answer.
He already understood.
Ryuu had cut through Jura’s men like a storm—
And then she had run.
Not away.
Down.
Toward something worse.
Bell finally stepped back from the tunnel and pulled out his journal.
The page shimmered faintly in his hands.
He wrote quickly.
He hesitated.
Then added one more line.
—Bell
The page glowed softly.
Deep inside Knossos—
Alise read the message.
A small smile crossed her face despite everything.
Boy im jealous.
Don't worry so much.
—Alise
Bell closed the journal slowly.
He looked back toward the dark passage leading downward.
The wind drifting up from below carried a faint metallic scent.
“…Ryuu,” he whispered.
Somewhere beneath the green fields of the 18th Floor—
Steel hunted flesh.
And deep inside Knossos—
The labyrinth had begun to breathe.
