Three hours after the laboratory incident, the rookies make their way down the hallway, the only light coming from the flickering bulbs every few meters and Denkei's magic stick.
Juyon looks at his broken watch, the hands no longer ticking. "How long has it been since we entered level 3?"
"Three hours ago, although it feels like we've just been walking to nowhere forever," says Denkei.
Jax struggles to catch his breath, his chest heaving and coughing fits rattling his body while resting on the stretcher. Juyon and Miri carefully lower the stretcher, and Miri places her hand on Jax's shoulder, her worry for her brother palpable. "Jax, are you okay?"
Navar shakes Denkei, his eyes blazing with intensity. "Hey, do something, don't just stand there!"
"He has the Great Plague. There's only so much the potion can do. All we can hope is that he-"
"No, don't you say what I think you're gonna say! He's going to make it! If he doesn't, then it's my fault I was the one who dragged him here, and I was the one he saved!" His voice wavers, and tears fall from his eyes as he struggles to speak. "You're not the one who got everyone together! You don't understand h-!"
Miri touches Navar's shoulder and stares into his eyes with a look of assurance. "Navar, calm down. We need to keep a level head right now. Yelling and shouting won't get us anywhere."
"S-sorry, I don't know what came over me," Navar walks over to the walls and hangs his head in despair, a heavy weight of sadness pressing down on him.
"I guess it's a good time to take a bit of a break. We'll get to it after an hour," says Miri.
Denkei moves closer to Jax, shaking with each violent cough, and holds out a potion for him to take. "Drink," Jax guzzles the potion, and he feels a wave of warmth wash over him before he succumbs to unconsciousness. "He's been fighting the Great Plague for over five hours. It's a miracle he's still alive," Denkei thinks to himself.
Juyon makes his way to Denkei, his gaze fixed on Jax. "How's he doing?"
"He's doing ok. The potion and his body are both fighting off the virus well. However, we'll be here much longer, considering we still have Overlord to deal with. I hate to say it, but his survival chances are slim."
"Don't let Navar hear that. He's already in a bad mood from earlier."
"Yeah, he's usually energetic and happy all the time. Seeing him like that makes me feel bad for him."
"I'll do something," Juyon walks up to Navar and taps his shoulder in a gentle gesture to get his attention.
"Oh, hey, Juyon," Navar hangs his head, the guilt still nestled deep in his chest.
"Navar, no one is to blame for where Jax is. If Jax didn't move you out of the way and sacrifice himself, you'd be the one on the stretcher. Rather than blaming yourself for what couldn't have been prevented, you should be thankful your brother loved you enough to sacrifice himself for you. To bear the burden of a wounded ally on yourself is selfish when you have other comrades around you. This happens when you become a warrior. People get hurt, and people die. We all knew full and well what would have happened if we came here. You may have asked us to come, but we chose to. If we didn't want to be here to fight, we wouldn't have come. Don't let this keep you down for too long. We can't have the person we followed give up."
Despite Juyon's encouragements, Navar's posture remained slumped, shoulders drooping. Juyon pats Navar's shoulder with a gentle, reassuring touch, and then he leaves.
After an hour passes, Miri feels her wrist to check the time on her watch. "Alright, guys, break time is over. Let's keep going."
They keep walking through the Goblin base, the dim light from Denkei's mage stick leading them on. Jax groggily opens his eyes and notices Navar's head bowed in sorrow. Jax takes a deep breath and bellows out a word. "Navar."
Navar whips his head around at the sound of Jax's voice. "Jax," Navar strides to Jax's side.
"Why do you look so sad?"
"Because I still feel it's my fault you got hurt."
"Oh, don't be silly. I was the one who did it. If anything, it's my fault."
"B-but why didn't you just let me get bit?"
"What do you think, dumbass? You're my brother and my best friend. I'd die for you. I know you'd do the same. And besides, you don't want the sickness I've got," Jax lets out a raspy laugh, followed by coughing.
"Yeah," Navar and Jax share a raucous laugh, their eyes twinkling joyfully.
Jax's lips curve into a smile as his arm stretches out to offer a handshake. "How about our trademark handshake?"
Navar grins, his teeth gleaming in anticipation. Navar and Jax perform their trademark handshake. "Thanks, Jax. I don't know if I'd be able to keep a level head without you."
Jax gives Navar a thumbs up. "Anytime, man. Anytime."
Miri glances back at Navar and Jax, joy tugging at the corners of her lips as she smiles. "Thank you, Jax," she thinks to herself.
As they keep walking around the Molorx Base for a couple more hours, Denkei becomes confused by the unchanging scenery. "This is odd. We've been wandering these halls for hours and made no progress," Thought Denkei. "I got an idea," Denkei places a rock on the ground. "This will tell us if we've been walking in circles."
Navar's gaze lingers on Pikati for a moment. "Do you see any enemies up ahead?"
Pikati uses his Farsight to look ahead. "No, I don't see any enemies."
As the rookies continue, Denkei makes a pile of rocks, and after 50 minutes, the sound of his stride fades as he halts his steps. Rojo scratches his head, confused about why Denkei stopped walking. "What's going on, Denkei? Why are you stopping?"
"We've been walking in circles for the past couple of hours," Denkei gestures to his stack of rocks.
"What do you mean?"
"I placed a pile of rocks down because I started getting suspicious of where we were going. Sure enough, my suspicions were true."
"So, what do you think we should do?"
Denkei plants his Mage Stick on the ground. "Magic Spell Sorcery: Illusion Displacement!" Denkei's spell does nothing, and the scenery remains the same. "Dammit, nothing happened."
"What about walking to the side? I think that should work," Astran walks to the side of the wall and bumps her head against it. Seiju throws his head back and roars with laughter at Astran. "Shut up, Seiju!"
"Whoops. My bad, sweetness."
"Nozomi, can't telepathy users subvert illusions, too?" asks Denkei.
"Y-yes, let me see what I can do," Nozomi closes her eyes, and her breathing slows as she enters a deep state of focus. She opens her eyes and realizes she can't subvert the illusion. "Nope, this illusion isn't generated by a telepathy user."
"Dammit!" Astran's fist collides with the hard ground in an outburst of frustration.
"Astran, calm down. That won't solve anything," says Juyon.
Astran's rage intensifies, her fingers trembling as they hold each other. "I know that! But what other options do we have?!" Astran refuses to stop, continuing to punch the ground despite Juyon's suggestion.
Astran's attack creates a shower of debris, spraying the area with dust and bits of rock. Rojo leans away from the rock, feeling the whoosh of air as it passes by his face. "Hey, be careful. Not everyone among you is a Supernatural."
She continues her attack on the ground, a wave of energy radiating from her as JōKai Amplification activates subconsciously. The force behind Astran's punches are so strong that the mirage wavers and dissipates.
"Woah! Guys, do what Astran's doing!" says Denkei
"What do you mean?" asks Navar.
"It appears we've been walking around a mirage this whole time. If we create a strong enough force, we can cause it to vanish," says Denkei.
"Then let's do it! Everyone who can form JōKai Amplification around yourselves, do it!" The Supernaturals in the group use JōKai Amplification, and the Mirage vanishes. "Yes, we did it!"
"That anger of hers can come in handy," says Seiju.
Pikati looks ahead, and a doorway looms in the darkness, framed by a faint light. "Look! There's a doorway up ahead!" As they run toward the door, a booming sound reverberates from behind them.
"What the hell is that?" asks Seiju.
They all spin around to find an immense, jagged wall of spikes speeding toward them. "Oh shit! Everyone run!" says Rojo.
The rookies run, the sound of their labored breathing filling the hallway until they reach the doorway. "Magic Spell Alchemy: Barrier Wall!" Denkei's wall holds off the spikes as they enter the door.
Rojo's breath comes out in a loud, relieved sigh, satisfied they made it through the event. "Whew, that's a relief. I'm glad we didn't get killed there."
As they stop to catch their breath after the long run, they hear the floor rumbling beneath them. Seiju's face contorts in frustration as he flails his arms around. "Oh, you've gotta be kidding me! Another trap!"
Rojo distributes a blue bag containing a parachute for everyone. "Hey everyone, take these parachutes!"
Juyon places a parachute on Jax's stretcher. "Hold on, Jax. Things are going to get rocky," The floor beneath them caves in, and they descend until they reach a rigid, circular-shaped cobblestone floor.
Juyon surveys the area and notices the bleachers, giving it a stadium-like feel. "It appears we're in an arena."
"So, you've made it past my fortress to see me here, haven't you?" asks a cold deep, menacing voice.
"Who said that? Where are you?!" asks Navar.
"You might know me as…" The voice of the person steps out from the shadows. He's a Goblin that stands a colossal 210 Centimeters Tall, adorned in metallic neon green sleeveless armor and pants, with a clicking sound as he moves. His feet are unprotected and narrow, with long, jagged toenails protruding. His large, green hands, which dwarf a human head in comparison, are shielded by black metallic gloves, and deep, empty black eyes accompany his gaze. "Overlord," says Overlord.