Chapter 296 – What the Labyrinth Could Not Foresee
Meanwhile—
The guild headquarters was anything but silent.
Laughter. Glasses clinking. Tactical screens on standby.
The atmosphere was relaxed, almost warm.
Arelis was sprawled on a couch, milkshake in hand, smiling calmly.
Facing him: Valen, Zarion, Liora, and several elite hunters.
An informal meeting… but not insignificant.
— I'm telling you, Arelis said, slurping loudly through his straw,
— a very talented hunter just entered the Labyrinth.
Valen raised an eyebrow. — And?
Liora, arms crossed, tilted her head slightly. — Lysandra warned me. She mentioned a boy… ambitious. — He aims for rank S, solely by going through the Labyrinth.
Zarion smiled faintly. — Classic. Many try. Few survive.
Arelis shook his head gently. — This one isn't "classic."
Valen sighed. — Where's the problem?
— A motivated hunter, even talented, shouldn't be an issue.
Arelis set down his milkshake. — Alone? No problem.
— But he didn't go in alone.
A brief silence settled.
— He went in with Llan.
— Rank D.
A sharp sound.
Valen blinked. — …Excuse me?
— Rank. D, Arelis repeated calmly.
— And the Labyrinth… reacted.
Liora frowned. — It always adapts to the weakest.
— Exactly.
Arelis raised a finger. — Except this time, it didn't just adjust the enemies.
He activated a screen.
— It incarnated them both.
The gazes froze.
— Aeris became Erynn.
— Llan became Kael.
Naël, from the back, muttered: — …That reeks of cosmic nonsense.
Arelis nodded. — The Labyrinth artificially boosted Llan, giving him a more enduring, more stable body.
— And it restricted Aeris, forcing him into a lower‑rank A body, oriented toward support.
Valen clenched his teeth. — So less mana.
— Not combat‑specialized.
— And restrictions on his original abilities.
— Correct, Arelis confirmed.
— On paper, it was perfect.
Liora murmured: — …On paper.
Arelis smiled. — The problem is, Aeris isn't what he used to be.
Zarion lifted his head. — Because of Azevran Tempesthorn.
The name stirred the room.
— The King of the Storm Wardens…
— Superior essence.
— Complete synchronization.
— Yes, Arelis said.
— That evolution made Aeris a superior being.
He crossed his arms. — Result: the Labyrinth can try to channel him…
— but it can no longer fully restrain him.
Liora exhaled slowly. — That's why he "slips" between the rules.
— Exactly.
A wet sound echoed.
Shadow emerged from the floor, arms crossed. — If you want… I can go check this myself.
Several eyes turned toward him.
— See how far he's really able to go.
A silence.
Then—
— Authorization granted, Zarion said calmly.
— But don't overdo it.
Liora added quickly: — He's Lysandra's protégé.
— Go easy.
Shadow shrugged. — Always.
— By the way, Liora continued,
— I found it strange he never officially presented himself to the guild.
Arelis smiled. — That's because he had already found someone to accompany him into the Labyrinth.
He gestured.
The screen projected the scene.
Kael.
The fire.
Erynn.
Zero pressure.
The executor evaporated.
Total silence.
Naël stood abruptly. — OKAY.
— I TAKE BACK WHAT I SAID.
— THIS IS A PROBLEM.
— You can go, Naël, Arelis said without looking up.
— Punk.
— With pleasure!
Shadow sighed. — Seriously… this is your fault, Lya.
A female silhouette appeared behind him. — What are you complaining about?
— I think you look super hot with that style.
Rynn nodded. — True.
— Very stylish.
— Very… dangerous.
Shadow growled. — If you say so…
He turned, sinking back into the floor.
— Fine.
— I'll see what this "kid" is worth.
Arelis picked up his milkshake again. — Have fun.
And in a corner of the room,
an old monitor flickered briefly.
Labyrinth analysis:
Persistent anomaly.
Insufficient authority.
The game had only just begun.
Chapter 297 – Popcorn and Impact Points
Inside the Labyrinth.
Kael was still standing.
That alone was already an achievement.
His body was covered in blood. Not only his own — a hot, sticky, indistinct mix. His breathing was heavy, but his gaze stayed fixed straight ahead.
— I must… do my best.
His arm ignited.
Not an explosion.
A gradual rise.
Kael activated his body reinforcement.
It wasn't a simple layer of mana around the body.
The mana penetrated inside: muscle fibers, bones, nerves.
Every structure densified, adapting to the strain in real time.
The harsher the impact, the more his body recalibrated to absorb it.
An evolutionary reinforcement.
Brutal. Demanding. Dangerous.
Both his arms burned brighter.
— …Just a little more.
He charged.
His speed jumped sharply.
The sword executor responded instantly.
They both accelerated.
They vanished.
Then reappeared.
Fist against blade.
**BAM.**
A shockwave exploded, pulverizing the ground around them. Nearby façades trembled. The air itself seemed to bend under the impact.
A few meters away—
— Ooooh, Erynn commented, calmly chewing popcorn.
— What a sensational show.
He shivered theatrically.
— I almost have chills.
Then he turned his head.
— Sit down. Seriously.
— You don't want to miss this.
He was speaking to the pistol executor.
The man hesitated. For a long moment.
Then sighed… and sat beside him.
Erynn placed the bucket of popcorn between them.
— Help yourself.
— …Where did this popcorn come from? the executor asked, wary.
Erynn shrugged.
— No idea.
— …
— The Labyrinth, maybe.
A silence.
Then the executor grabbed a handful.
— …Not bad.
They began watching the fight. Seriously.
On the battlefield, Kael pressed on.
Punches at absurd speed.
The executor blocked, deflected, stepped back half a pace with each impact.
Clang.
Bam.
Crack.
The executor diverted Kael's arm, unbalanced him, raised his blade to cut—
Kael expelled flames from his arm.
The propulsion hurled him off‑axis.
He countered immediately with the other fist.
**BOOM.**
The executor retreated, forced a backflip, and landed cleanly.
But—
A fist appeared before his face.
He dodged just in time.
A cut traced across his cheek.
Followed by a light burn.
— Hm, Erynn noted.
— He adapts quickly.
— Too quickly, the pistol executor replied, chewing.
— But he's starting to tire.
On the field, the executor blocked another blow.
Then another.
Then an entire barrage.
Kael refused to relent.
They vanished and reappeared at insane speed.
Bim.
Bim.
**BIM.**
Sparks burst at every contact.
Then—
The executor activated his blade.
A deep hum resonated.
The blade covered itself in shifting luminous lines.
**Vector Resonance Technology:**
The blade analyzed the impacts it received and adjusted its internal vibration to bypass reinforcements, striking not the surface… but the structural weak points.
Kael felt it immediately.
— …Damn.
The pressure shifted.
Heavier. More precise. Crushing.
— Thanks to my reinforcement, he couldn't hurt me until now…
— But now…
He clenched his teeth.
— What are you planning, bastard?
Beside them—
— Oh, he activated a resonance blade, Erynn explained calmly.
— Bad news for tanks.
— And good for the show, added the pistol executor.
— You're taking sides? asked Erynn.
— No.
— But I'm betting on the guy on fire.
— He has that look. The one that refuses to fall.
Erynn smiled.
— Good eye.
On the battlefield, Kael inhaled deeply.
The fire around his arms condensed.
Less flame.
More density.
— Very well…
He advanced again.
Not faster.
Not stronger.
But with a determination that no longer asked permission.
And around them,
the Labyrinth watched.
Still silent.
Still attentive.
Chapter 298 – The Blade That Vibrates, the Fire That Refuses to Die Out
In a corner of the battlefield, far from the explosions and shockwaves,
Erynn and the pistol Executor sat as if at the movies.
Popcorn between them.
Boss fight in front.
The pistol Executor watched his comrade's blade glow with a bluish pattern, traced with vibrating lines.
— "Ah… he activated vector resonance."
Erynn turned his head, intrigued.
— Vector resonance?
— "In short? A completely unfair technology."
He grabbed a handful of popcorn, far too calm.
— "The blade generates vibrations at a precise frequency. Not random vibrations: oriented vibratory vectors."
— …Speak normally.
— "Each oscillation seeks the point where matter resists the least. Armor, flesh, reinforced mana… everything has a natural frequency. The blade locks onto it."
He made a small cutting gesture in the air.
— "Result: it's not force that cuts… it's desynchronization. Matter disassembles itself."
Erynn blinked.
— So… if he gets hit, even a scratch could be serious?
— "Exactly."
Erynn looked at Kael in the distance, arms ablaze.
— If I can give you some advice…
— Don't. Get. Hit. By. His. Sword.
— "Just saying."
But Kael, of course…
wasn't listening.
Erynn crossed his arms and sulked.
— He ignored me.
— "Maybe he's just too focused."
— Hmph. Still, fighting with flaming arms against a vibrating blade…
— "...isn't a very good idea."
— Thanks, at least someone here has common sense.
On the battlefield, Kael inhaled deeply.
The flames around his arms shrank, becoming more compact, denser.
— "Thermal compression… he's sacrificing reach for power," murmured the pistol Executor.
Kael charged.
Fist against blade.
**CLANG—!**
A shower of sparks exploded at the impact.
Kael pressed on, his blows faster and faster, each loaded with crushing heat.
The sword Executor blocked.
Again.
Again.
Then suddenly—
He shifted stance.
His blade traced a perfect circle, his body spinning, accelerating brutally.
A tornado of blades, fluid, sharp, deadly.
— "Oh, he copied your move."
— HEY! THAT'S MY MOVE!
Kael crossed his arms to absorb it.
Mistake.
He was hurled back, sliding across the ground.
He spat blood.
— How…?
Wait…
It all clicked in his mind.
— "It's not force… nor speed."
— "It's vibration."
— "I can't tank anymore. I can't block."
He rose.
— I have to dodge.
But the Executor was already there.
The blade flashed.
Kael leapt back, the strike grazing him…
A cut opened across his torso.
— I barely avoided it—
The Executor vanished.
Reappeared.
Again.
Each time, Kael dodged by a hair.
— This can't go on…
— Or I'll lose.
Suddenly—
— HAHAHAHA!
A burning roar erupted.
A massive aura of fire burst from Kael's body, violently repelling the Executor.
His hair ignited, floating like living flames.
His body was covered in pure fire, incandescent, almost solar.
The air became unbreathable.
The ground melted beneath his feet.
— I can't afford to be weak!
— So my mother… never has to suffer this again!
His aura grew crushing.
Erynn dropped his popcorn.
— Wow. He's going all out.
— "Did he evolve?"
— No idea… but if I had to guess…
He studied Kael, thoughtful.
— I think he forced an adaptation.
— His reinforcement no longer just protects his body…
— He's imposing his own "frequency" on the world around him.
— A kind of natural counter‑resonance.
— "So… instinct rather than technique?"
— Exactly. Just a theory.
Kael extended his arm.
A colossal jet of fire erupted, so hot the air vaporized in its path.
The Executor slashed.
But not like before.
He vibrated his blade in reverse, generating a counter‑oscillation, splitting the flame into two unstable streams that evaporated.
— "Impressive…" murmured the pistol Executor.
But too late.
Kael was already there.
His fist shot toward the sword Executor's face.
The man dodged just in time.
But the heat—
His technological helmet was scraped, the metal reddened, warped.
The blast of the strike razed everything behind him.
Kael gave him no respite.
Another jet of fire.
An energy shield formed from the Executor's forearm.
It cracked.
Then shattered.
The flames struck full force.
The Executor leapt back, his arm armor completely destroyed, skin blackened.
He panted.
— "…That was hot. Literally."
Erynn smiled.
— See? I told you.
— "…I'm starting to understand why you give advice nobody asks for."
And at the center of the battlefield,
the fire refused to die out. 🔥
Chapter 299 – Fire, Vectors, and Very Bad Decisions
The sword Executor exhaled, one knee nearly on the ground.
— If I hadn't raised that shield in time…
He looked at his still‑smoking arm.
— He wouldn't have just charred my arm.
— He would have reduced me to ashes.
He clenched his teeth.
— I absolutely have to avoid those attacks.
In front of him, Kael extended his hand.
A sphere of fire formed, dense, unstable, pulsing like an incandescent heart.
He hurled it without hesitation.
— SH—
The Executor accelerated brutally.
The fireball struck the ground.
**BOOOOOOM.**
A massive explosion ravaged the area, molten debris flying in every direction.
— …Okay.
— Plan A: don't be where it explodes.
He dashed in zigzags, sword in hand, while Kael kept firing.
Fireball.
Another.
Then two more.
— He's spamming, the pistol Executor commented, crunching popcorn.
— It's not spam, Erynn replied calmly.
— It's controlled thermal saturation.
— …So spam.
— Intelligent spam.
The sword Executor kept closing in regardless.
— If I get hit, I die.
— So… reverse logic.
He gripped his weapon.
— I'll finish him in one strike.
He leapt.
But—
— Tchhh.
Kael drew his sword.
It ignited instantly, flames coiling around the blade as if fire had recognized its master.
**CLANG—!!**
The shock was monstrous.
A wave of fire exploded at the impact.
The Executor was hurled back, sliding several meters.
— …He had a sword?! the pistol Executor shouted.
— He always had a sword, Erynn answered.
— He just didn't see the point before.
The Executor planted his blade into the ground to brake.
Then—
The air turned scorching.
A colossal fire dragon erupted, roaring, formed entirely of condensed flames, its wings tearing the atmosphere.
— …Oh no.
— He's shaping them now.
In a desperate reflex, technological wings burst from the back of his armor, thrusters igniting under his feet.
He tore himself from the ground at full speed.
But—
The dragon pursued.
— He didn't launch it… the pistol Executor observed.
— He programmed it.
— Exactly, Erynn confirmed.
— Autonomous spell with thermal pursuit.
— As long as a heat signature exists… it follows.
The Executor slipped between two rocks.
They melted instantly.
— RIGHT.
— Plan B: panic intelligently.
Kael kept firing supporting fireballs.
— He has to dodge the dragon…
— dodge the projectiles…
— and my arm is already obsolete.
He activated a new technology.
**Phase Vector Overload.**
His blade vibrated violently, surrounded by an unstable bluish field.
The frequency shifted constantly, impossible to analyze in real time.
— Ooh, the pistol Executor commented.
— Cheat mode activated.
— It's not cheating, Erynn replied.
— He's forcing the blade to exist in multiple vibratory phases at once.
— …So complicated cheating.
The Executor charged.
A single flash.
He slashed the fire dragon into hundreds of fragments, dispersing the energy before it could recombine.
He landed.
The wings retracted.
— …That would've been really annoying if it had bitten me.
— Important to note, Erynn murmured,
— it wasn't a real dragon.
— THANK YOU, the pistol Executor replied.
— I was this close to believing it.
The sword Executor lunged again.
Whirling slash.
Kael answered with a wall of flames.
The blade struck.
The fire burned.
The Executor staggered back, his technological armor glowing red, cracking.
Plates fell away.
A red eye gleamed.
White hair.
But the armor wasn't completely destroyed.
— Is he underneath? asked the pistol Executor.
— No, Erynn replied.
— The armor is linked to his mana.
Under the extreme heat, the last plates gave way.
The Executor closed his eyes.
He focused his mana.
Luminous lines appeared on his skin, materializing into solidified mana nanostructures, recreating the armor piece by piece.
— Reactive techno‑mana armor, the pistol Executor explained.
— It rebuilds as long as he's conscious.
— So… knock him out.
— Or burn him very hard.
— Kael's already on it.
Kael rose into the air.
A gigantic sphere of fire formed.
— I'll reduce you to ashes!
— Bad idea, Erynn said.
— Too slow. Too obvious. He'll dodge.
Kael stopped.
He looked at Erynn.
— …You're right.
He dropped abruptly.
Then raised his hand.
And slammed it down.
**Rain of Fire.**
Dozens of fireballs fell from the sky.
The Executor activated an energy shield on his forearm, absorbing the impacts.
Explosion.
Explosion.
Explosion.
— It's raining, the pistol Executor commented.
— Fire, Erynn specified.
— Worst weather.
Then—
Kael appeared before him.
— Too late.
**IGNITION EXPLOSION.**
The blast hurled the sword Executor far away, his body vanishing in a cloud of fire and debris.
Silence.
Then—
— …Wow, the pistol Executor breathed.
— I'm starting to regret not betting.
Erynn smiled.
— Welcome to the show.