Zeref the Ultimate Guardian [Outdated, being re-written]

The Labyrinth

CW: The school administration being infuriatingly nonchalant about fatally injuring their students. 

Zeref ran through the labyrinth. As he traversed the seemingly infinite amount of twists and turns, jumped over the old school pitfalls, and kept an eye out for any moving walls. He checked his wristwatch and saw that he's only been inside for five minutes.

"It feels like I've been in here for hours," Zeref whispered to himself, "Maybe that's another effect of the maze."

Zeref could feel the heat growing as he ran. He turned around, expecting to see another grey pedestrian corridor, instead, he saw a creature.

It looked about 2 meters tall, with a pointed tail. Its skin was crimson with swirls of black. Zeref quickly hid behind the corner.

"Oh. It's a low-level demon," thought Zeref. "Well, this should be easy enough."

Usually, these imps would be sporting some sort of red armor with the mark of the beast. However, this one was wearing its birthday suit. Zeref estimated that his eyes met at its neck, but he wasn't intimidated. Zeref packed many useful items such as water and other provisions. He figured he had a surplus, so he poured some water into an opening on the suit. Almost immediately, the water was transformed into an ice shield on his arm.

Zeref charged towards the beast, flinging his sword towards its eye. His impeccable aim showed, and the monster howled as the sword pierced it. The demon faced Zeref and spewed fire like a dragon in his direction. However, Zeref blocked it with his shield and smashed the shield into the imp's face.

It quickly disintegrated.

"If those are the other dangers that they were talking about, this should be a piece of cake," Zeref thought.

His confidence wavered as he heard a gruesome roar and a yell from below him in the maze. He decided to continue onward, trying to push away thoughts of what is in this maze that would earn that reaction.

Zeref went on for what felt like another eternity until he reached a flight of stairs. He rushed down them, feeling like he had made some progress. Then he remembered what he had heard before, and decided to be a little more cautious.

In an instant, he was transported to the school. He looked down at himself, he had grown considerably. He seemed to be a higher upperclassman, the last grade of secondary. He was on a stage, the school is stage to be exact. He was the valedictorian, making a speech. He had done it. He was number one. However, something felt off. As he was making a generic speech, everyone seemed to act a little robotic. The audience was clapping every 3 minutes, precisely. Furthermore, his hands seemed to weave in and out of existence. The effect was barely noticeable unless he looked at it closely.

It's an illusion!, Zeref thought.

Zeref was never taught how to use and manipulate mana for obvious reasons. He was taught how to recognize illusions, though. He wasn't harmed, as illusions required a minuscule amount of mana, but an almost unachievable level of preciseness and control. His armor also furthered his protection.

He looked for any unusual beings that did not belong or apparent ripples in space-time that led to the real world. He found one at the corner of his eye and bolted towards it while the audience was still clapping robotically, as these ripples would not last for very long.

He emerged out of the fantasy and into the labyrinth and found a two-foot imp a few feet in front of him. It had a very nervous look on its face. It was dressed, oddly, in a very aristocratic manner.

Zeref sprinted towards it, grabbed it by its necktie, and asked: "Give me one good reason I shouldn't slash your neck right now!"

The imp responded with, "Uh, because, hey look over there!" Zeref didn't fall for the creature's tricks, but it dematerialized anyway. Zeref was left stunned for a few seconds but decided it was wise to keep running.