UNIFIED W

Chapter 29: The Maze Of Truth, part 8

"........"

'Void must be informed that Kai is alive, and he just entered the maze with us.'

Hawk and Taro run alongside each other without saying anything.

Taro noticed that as Hawk runs faster and faster, it gets more difficult for him to keep up.

Do you know where you're going, young prince?

"......."

Hawk didn't answer right away. Instead, there was a long, awkward pause before Hawk spoke.

"Are you questioning my decision? For that, I could have your head."

"I would never do it, my young prince. I will obey any order you give me, no matter what."

"Good. Remember your place the next time you open your mouth, or it will be your last."

"Yes, sir."

'You spoiled brat. I can hardly wait to get my hands on you.'

The maze kept rotating as they went from room to room, but eventually it led Hawk and Taro to a room where one of the lighting clan teams was taking a break.

Hawk and Taro walked into the room and then saw Jason, Bjorn, and Colt lying on the floor next to them.

Hawk approached them as soon as he noticed them, grabbed Bjorn by his jacket, and lifted him off the ground.

"Did you see a man enter the maze?"

"No, sir. We are equally confused as you are."

Hawks grinned ominously as his eyes grew wider.

'You idiot, you had to say that in front of him.'

Hawk tightened his grip before slamming him to the ground. He then took out his weapon, placed his foot on Bjorn's head, and severed his tongue from his mouth.

"AAARGH.......AAARGH.........AAARGH."

Bjorn screamed in agony, and his voice echoed throughout the room.

Hawk noticed Colt was unconscious and a few steps away from them as Bjorn was bleeding out, and at that moment, Hawk started laughing.

"It's not surprising that you don't recognize danger when you see it if you are friends with that moron over there."

Taro intervened when Hawk grabbed Jason and was about to slash him as well.

"Sir, you have bigger problems to deal with than wasting your valuable time on these morons."

Hawk tossed Jason aside and moved on.

"You are lucky that......"

"BOOOOOM."

Once more there was an explosion, and this time Taro and Hawk were split apart as the room they were in collapsed.

Once the dust had settled, Taro got to his feet and moved over to the boulders next to him, where he began to call out for Hawk.

"Young prince...... young prince..... are you ok?"

Taro didn't get any response.

"If you can hear me, young prince, let's meet at the top of the maze, and I wish you all the best."

'Agh.... Who am I kidding? I don't care what happens to that brat. He can die now for all it's worth.'

Taro left the room he was in and walked into an enormous open hall with high ceilings.

Taro took a small ear device from his pocket and placed it in his ear.

"Hello..... It's Taro, come in."

"Hello, can anyone hear me?"

'This is bad timing to have a.....'

"Hello, Taro, come in."

"Archer... I'm thrilled to hear your voice, my friend."

"HELLO, can we just skip the joyful reunion and get to the point? Our work is not done."

"Draven, loud as always, I see."

"Status report, Taro."

"I apologize for the delay in contacting you. That annoying prince was breathing down my neck the entire time and didn't have time to contact you guys."

"I'm running towards the boss right now because Kai entered the maze a while ago."

"What? Are you certain that you are not imagining things?"

"I saw it with my own eyes when he walked in."

"What are we going to do now?"

"It appears that the boss is unable to hear us right now, so I must inform him of the situation myself."

"Archer and Draven, keep anyone attempting to enter the maze occupied for as long as possible. We don't want any more problems inside the maze."

"Agent 5, you are my eyes and ears. I need an update on the whereabouts of the boss, Kai, and Prince Hawk."

"Everyone has their orders, so good luck."

***

"Slow down, Vin. I won't be able to keep up with you at full speed."

"You've got to keep up with me, Kai. We are in a very dangerous situation and must act fast."

"Turn right."

Kai and Vin were running at full speed, a few floors beneath the tower where the Ancestors' rage awaited its new champion.

"How do you know your way around such a large place?"

"Turn left."

"I'll tell you later, but for now, let's focus. We're almost at the top of the maze."

Vin thought quietly to himself as they approached their destination, then looked at Kai, who was running alongside him.

'I hope I am right about you, Kai. Otherwise, I might leave you here and you will probably die.'

"Turn right."

***

Zeru was lying on the ground, breathing heavily, and everything was becoming blurry and dark.

"Zeru.......Zeru."

"Who is there?"

"It's me, May."

"How did you find me?"

"It doesn't matter right now. We need to find you a doctor."

"Don't worry. It's not that bad. All I need is some rest and food, and I'll be fine."

"I don't think sleep will help you in your current state, Zeru."

"What do you mean?"

"You were poisoned, you idiot, and your entire body is now purple. And if you don't see a doctor, you're going to die soon."

"May, could you locate my weapon? Bring it to me."

May stood up, looked around, and saw Zeru's weapon lying on top of a boulder a few steps away, so she went to get it for him.

The maze rotated once more as she was grabbing the weapon, and May, along with Zeru's weapon, fell down to a different room, as did Zeru himself.

Zeru landed in another room, and when he looked up, a man in a short cape, full body armor, and a mask stood next to him lifeless like a statue, staring at him.

Zeru was confused because he hadn't seen this man in any of the previous rounds or when the test began.

"Who are you?"