It had been a few minutes since Jay was sucked into the shadow with the corpse of the Minotaur.
Standing where the shadow was last seen, was Martha and the others. They had no idea on what to do next nor what would happen to Jay.
A few members had already searched around for an exit but could not find one. The only way out was possibly the hole above from which they had entered. It would be possible due to some of the member's ability to use air magic but the beast above still awaited and the shadow could attack at any time like before.
Honestly, most members cared not for Jay but were on high alert in case they were to suffer the same fate.
...
"If you're really not an enemy, then maybe we can. Only if you promise to help me leave this place safely." Jade replied upon hearing Jay's request to work together.
Jay quickly agreed before he could feel his body slowly rising through the darkness he was floating within. It seemed like Jade trusted him to keep his words. It was as if the two had known each other for years and had built a trust between them.
"Dispose of those above quickly." Jade added. "It's not that I trust you but rather I believe you."
"I can't defeat them on my own. You were flying through them, why can't you do it yourself?" he asked.
"My ability uses quite a bit of energy to be honest and it will be needed for our escape later." Jade replied.
Although this was indeed the truth, Jade had more than enough energy to deal with a few of the adventurers above. However, she needed to know that Jay could be trusted and the best way was to let him defeat the ones he claimed to not be his friends. The fact that Jay could not defeat all of those above may have also been true.
Jay continued to float upwards back to the surface. He was unsure of what to do. Had he already been betrayed by Jade or was this some kind of a test. No matter what happens, he could not defeat either side and he knew it would be impossible to escape the labyrinth alone.
A bit of light began to shine near his eyes indicating that he was reaching the surface.
Jay was still unsure on what to do or what he could do. His scythe was dropped above surface and he would need to grab it before he could even attack. It wasn't like he would be attacked straight away since they would believe he was still with them anyways. Unless of course they thought he was now an undead puppet too.
"Over there" a female voice yelled from nearby.
The group of adventurers turned to witness the shadow which had attacked them moments before had once again resurfaced. They prepared to fight but was shocked to see what had exited the moving hole of darkness.
It was Jay who quickly looked around for his scythe.
Upon locating his weapon, he quickly sprinted over and picked it up. He was ready to fight and planned to simply claim he was under the enemy's control when he lost. However, after turning to analyze his opponents, Jay noticed something rather strange.
He saw only a few members which included Martha, Lance, and a few others. Kate and the others from his group were not among those standing a distance away. In fact, many of the adventurers were not standing but rather laid on the floor surrounded by puddles of blood.
"Did Jade do this while I was down under?" he thought to himself knowing he had made the right choice choosing Jade's side.
"Are you still alive and yourself?" Lance asked not lowering his weapon even slightly.
"It's me and I'm definitely alive." Jay replied now walking forward slowly, his scythe held in one arm as the other was held down at his side.
"Stop." Martha yelled from her position which was only a feet or two behind Lance. Her dual swords were gripped tightly as her eyes focused only on Jay who had stopped like a soldier receiving command from his commander.
"You are still you but are you working with the enemy?" she asked.
"Of course not." Jay replied after a short hesitation followed by a small chuckle. He was visibly shaking and sweat ran down his face.
"He is lying." Martha yelled as she pointed one of her blades towards him. The others still standing readied their weapons as their focus turned towards Jay who was now an enemy.
Jay did not argue or even try to defend himself. He was aware of some kind of truth detecting ability being used at the guild during his trial and when he first met the group outside of the forest. His plans did not include needing to maintain their trust but simply doing his best to take them out.
"Stay where you are or we will eliminate you." Martha yelled out.
Jay continued to walk forward while continuously thinking about what he would do next. He was outnumbered and without a doubt not powerful enough. He did not need to analyze his opponents as he already knew Martha would be the biggest threat. The only problem was the unknown magic used by the other members.
One man stepped forward without a weapon in hand. He was as tall and as built as Lance, and had long brown hair. The others looked on as he made his way towards Jay.
Rocks from the surrounding area began to shake as they were surrounded by a yellowish aura before flying towards the hands of the adventurer. After a dozen seconds or so, gauntlets made from the rocks were now crafted around the man's fist. This was his weapon, one he could make on the go.
"Most of us never trusted you from the start anyways." the man yelled out before charging forward.
Jay dodged the attack after enabling his enhance senses. He moved swiftly to behind the man.
The man quickly reacted, turning his body with a punch already in motion. Again the attack was dodged by Jay who once again appeared behind the man. With the scythe, he quickly slashed down the man's back.
Blood gushed out but the man remained on his feet.
The man once more swung his body to face Jay while throwing another punch. Jay moved only his head this time, barely dodging the stone gauntlet. Another swing of his scythe resulted in blood gushing from the front of the man's chest and stomach.
The man's body fell over as all signs of life left his eyes.
"It is to late to go back. You are now truly our enemy." Lance whispered as he made his way forward next.
================================================================ Author's note: Planning to make the MC more bad@ss, lessen ability restrictions like how many times he could use it, and so on. More info below.