Shattered Remnants of a Dream

60. Knights X Assassins

Still in the central hub that Eden and Cliff had long since escaped from, Vance kicked his way in front of a man wearing spiked knuckles.

It seemed as if the crowd had grown much larger compared to before. There were now people everywhere, and no matter how much he moved forward, no exit appeared – just more goons.

Vance focused psynergy into his legs and hopped into the air, trying to get a better view over the crowd. Far down at the other end of the room, he saw people rushing into a blood-splattered hallway.

As he landed, Vance had to duck to avoid a swing from a nearby axe. Then he felt a sharp pain and spiraled forward, carried by the force of a psynergized fist. The young Albavitrean went crashing into two other people, but quickly tried to regain his footing by climbing over them.

"Ow!" an older woman growled. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"Getting the hell out of here!" Vance shouted, then quickly hopped away.

Eventually, he made it through and beyond the grisly hallway. As he exited, he spotted Cliff's duster at the edge of a nearby wall. By the time he reached Cliff and Eden, he was completely out of breath.

"Hey," he huffed.

"Vance!" Eden shouted. "There you are! Where did you go?"

"What were you thinking?!" Cliff screamed. "Do you know how lucky you are? The first round's going to end in a few minutes!"

"I know, I know," Vance said. "But I saw Winslow."

"Winslow?!" Cliff shouted. "He's here too?"

"What do you mean?" Vance turned his head sharply. "Did you see another Zodiac?"

"We met Averyl," Eden replied. "He...helped us get ahead."

"What?" Vance raised an eyebrow. "He's actually in the tournament?"

"We're not sure why," Cliff said, "but either way, we owe him one."

Vance groaned, then turned his head to look around. "So, anyway, this the goal, right?"

The circular room looked the same as any other, with metal walls and connections to other passageways. At the other end were two large metal shutters with a neon EXIT sign above them. In some areas of the room, groups of participants had gathered up to try and defend themselves until the time passed. There were many, but Vance could tell that an ever greater number of people had been left behind.

In the center of the dome sat a pile of dead bodies, no doubt the remains of those who had fallen victim to the rage of competitors who'd finished the maze early and were looking for a little more action. It was a sad sight, and Vance couldn't help but turn his eyes away.

"I can't believe this," Vance said as he looked back to his allies. "I'll be honest, I didn't think the tournament was going to be this crazy."

"Something's wrong," Cliff shook his head. "I've never heard of anything this bad."

"There's a hell of a lot more people here than sixteen," Vance said warily. "What are they going to make us do now?"

"I'm not sure I want to know." Eden shuddered.

Frantically, Cliff stood up and waved his hands. "Hey, look! It's the other three vice-captains. They made it! I was getting worried since I hadn't seen them at all after the registration. Hey, Amyr! Caleb! Sabine! Over here!"

Vance and Eden craned their necks and spotted the vice-captains waving back at Cliff.

"Vice-Captain Walden." A tall, broad-chested man with toasted golden skin and white robes moved up and gripped Cliff's hand firmly. "You made it through safely. Congratulations."