Gate Guardian - Song of the Frozen Soul

PHASE 25 - I SHOULD HAVE PLAYED TEMPLE RUN

PHASE 25 - I SHOULD HAVE PLAYED TEMPLE RUN

The great black blader arced his swords as he landed. Sharp shockwaves pulsed around the area, and the result is the walls crumbling upon his unforgiving force. And that’s just collateral damage. He eliminated thirteen Gate Guardians in a twin strike.

Atlas Kozukata; the older brother of the head shrine maiden of the Kozukata Shrine. His family is a generation of outstanding protectors from Eidolons. According to my fellow shrine maidens, he’s just one step away from matching the power of those Gate Guardians who have a God Core.

After defeating the last batch of Gate Guardians, Atlas switched gaze to us. His chocolate eyes are giving off an icy-cold glare that’s enough to give chills to our spine.

“Ey, that stare…” Drex commented as his cold sweat ran through his cheek. “...Stop doing that, will ya. It’s scaring the shit outta us…”

“Atlas... “ Kristoff forced a smile. “... You don’t have any grudge on me, right? I didn’t steal your girlfriend… You never had a girlfriend in the first place.”

“Yeah,” Atlas said.

“See? We don’t have any problem here.” Kristoff laughed softly. “Let’s go now, guys. We still have to find Heushac.”

We three turned our backs to the black swordsman. As we are about to make a step away, we heard some echoing footsteps that came from heavy boots closing to our position.

Atlas is wearing some kind of heavy boots.

We don’t need to turn around to realize what’s about to come next!

“Run!” Kristoff ordered.

“Eeeeeeek!!!” Drex and I cried as we rushed away.

<>

Right! Right! Left! Right!

I truly regret not installing Temple Run on my phone. I'm sure that my skills on that game will help me in an actual maze running if I ever played it.

Our shoes drifted every time we change our direction in this labyrinth, hoping that we can lose that swordsman who’s chasing for our heads (I mean Gate Plates, but his aura is telling us that we should take care of our necks too!) But he’s just ten steps away from us!

Drex is the slowest among us three due to his gigantic mace, so he’s the first target of Atlas!

“<Aether Switch>!!!”

The dual-wielding swordsman teleported and switched place with our gangster. Losing the ability to brake, Drex went running straight to his doom! Atlas is now ready to make a thrusting attack!

“Crap!”

“<Saphira Air Palm>!!!” In the nick of time, my hands blasted out a strong gust of wind that blew Atlas away!

As a result, the black swordsman landed on a random part of the labyrinth. I think we lost him a little, but I can still sense his presence. He’s still nearby.

“I owe ye one, Tiara!” Drex gratefully said.

“Y-You’re welcome,” I said. Then I turned to our leader. “Mister Kristoff, I will handle it from here. You two find Heushac and make sure that you guys advance to the next round.”

“...But Tiara.” Kristoff made a worried look. “I’m not doubting on your battle prowess. In fact, I think you can go toe-to-toe with Atlas in terms of close range combat. But you have to remember that you are the most powerful non-God member of the Aether Crusade. If you lose here, there’s a large chance that the tournament is lost.”