Time: 3:55pm Day: 25th May.
"May I come in Sir ?" asked Gabriel to come inside the room.
"Come in," said a voice from the room.
Gabriel entered the room and shouted " Gabriel reporting to duty Sir!"
"At ease. Seriously am I your friend or not! For the millionth time, stop calling me Sir, we both are 16 right?" said a young man who was wearing a military uniform with 5 stars with his hair being blue which shows that his rank is equal to the ones of royals.
"Sorry Sir, according to page no 2 of book No. 7 he/she must respect their assigned supe---"
"All right! Stop your bull shit" said the young man.
Gabriel held back his laughter as it may cause some serious troubles for him.
"Do you have any news for me, Gabriel?"
"Affirmative," said Gabriel.
"Go ahead"
"15 days ago, the locals of Sertun town have found a dungeon in the field of a farmer named Seth. However, the leader of the Angrith archeologists group asked special permission from the DOD[Dungeon outbreak Department]leader Mr.Barnes to investigate the dungeon as it seemed entirely different from the other dungeons.
"Different from others? Is it higher in terms of level or something else?"
"No sir, It is evaluated only as a C rank dungeon but..."
"Spill the beans, Gabriel," said the 5-star soldier who was called Ryan.
"The dungeon is not placed in a natural environment instead, it's a maze."
"What! No forests, no cave, no Arctic region, and Volcanos?" asked Ryan being curious.
"Yes, sir, It's a maze where only night is available. The observers have stayed near the entrance for 3 days but no sunshine came on the dungeon. Maybe the archeologists thought that this maze might be related to an ancient civilization. Anyways, Mr.Barnes allowed them to go and find evidence on the existence of other civilizations but..."
Gabriel double tapped his watch and a hologram was shown. The hologram showed the leader of the Angrith Archeologists group running frantically with his saliva dripping down from his mouth. Neither Ryan nor Gabriel averted their attention from the hologram and watched it closely.
It looked like he was being chased by something. He was turning at least 20 times right and left. 'Looks like it really is a maze' thought Ryan. After 5 minutes, the leader stopped running and leaned on the great walls of the maze, and started talking.
"This is an emergency. I repeat this is an emergency. We hoped that this was a maze that contained remains of an ancient civilization but we were completely wrong! Please close the dungeon from the outside world. We have spotted a being that transcends our power of humans. This dungeon has the properties of the Veus Valley! I repeat that this dungeon has the properties of the Veus Valley. Do not let the adults inside this dungeon, I repeat do not let the adults into the dunge------ ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"
Ryan and Gilbert watched the leader's head being torn off in a split second. Ryan was surprised but Gabriel wasn't as this was his second time seeing this video.
"KREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!" a loud screech sound came from the hologram before the video ended.
Silence resonated in the room as Ryan broke the silence by " So, why are you showing me this?"
"This video has been seen by 3 people in this world," said Gabriel.
"You, me, and who is the 3rd person?" asked Ryan.
"The 3rd person is Willian Angrith our king. All emergency crystals messages go to him personally. You know that right?"
"Yeah, I know that," said Ryan.
Gilbert tapped his watch again and another video popped up in the form of a hologram. This time, a handsome man with red hair was seen sipping on tea. He suddenly realized that the video has been started.
" AH....Good afternoon Captain Ryan. I am William Angrith, the 45th king of the Angrith kingdom. I hope you have seen what the situation is. At 11.54 am, this video has been sent to me via emergency crystals which are exclusively available only to important leaders of the organizations. However, you might be wondering why am I sending this video to you and sergeant Gilbert. The leader of the Angrith Archeologists group clearly told in the video that the Maze has the exact property that is similar to Veus valley. The whole Imperial palace knows that the 62nd brigade is unbeatable in the Veus valley region and thus came the idea to me. I sending you two guys to scout out what happened inside the dungeon. Of course, if you two reject this I will not take it personally as your two lives matter. However, if you decide to go, please mind the fact that this is entirely confidential and should not be known to anybody, even your close friends, your own brigade members, and your family. This is an unofficial mission I am assigning you guys to. I need extreme caution on this and you can buy the desired tools you need by the name of the Imperial family in the store. I'm giving you guys one day to prepare your needed items. To be frank, this is a suicide mission but I hope you guys succeed and come back alive. And finally, I am suspecting that creature to be a devil so be careful." said William giving a thumbs up.
The video ended and again, silence descended the room, and this time Gilbert broke it.
"So, My dear Captain will we do it or not?" asked Gilbert.
"You already know the answer. It's not like we have a choice, even though he is childish and friendly. If we don't take the mission he will be definitely disappointed in us. We are the only brigade who survived every attack in Veus Valley so it's our job to go investigate what the hell is going on in there. Get ready, we are going on a mission after a long time so don't slip your mouth." ordered Ryan.
The Veus Valley has a special property that makes it different from the entire region in the world. When the adults enter this region, their strength will be depleted by at least 90% according to researchers. But when the youngsters who are below 19 enter, their strength is increased at least 200% or maybe above. That's why brigades were made of youngsters who were 10 years old were sent to Veus Valley with specialized instructors and were trained. Of course, nobody expected that the last 62nd brigade who entered to be the last surviving ones of the Norgan kingdom's sudden attack on the camp. Every single adult died and only 6 students survived.
Surprisingly all the 6 students were from the 62nd brigade. They were trained for 3 years before they attacked the Norgan Kingdom's forces who were stationed on the Westside. Since then, their legacy spread throughout the kingdom and even terrified the Norgan kingdom's King.
"Well, where are Kayden and Amelia?" asked Ryan.
"They are still spending their honeymoon at the islands," said Gilbert.
"Kayden must be happy as his leg got healed right?" asked Ryan with a smile on his face.
" Yeah, he must be happy. Honestly, I never expected them to get married as I thought they would break up after Kayden's injury but Amelia decided to show that she will never leave him by marrying him."
"He is one hell of a lucky bastard," said Gilbert.
"Yeah. Enough with the chit-chat, get ready to go to the airport. We need to go to the capital to catch a train to Sertun." Remember, don't tell Kayden and Amelia, let them enjoy their time a little bit." said Ryan while putting on his trench coat.
"Meet me at my house after 40 min and pack only essential things for survival and don't forget the dimensional storage." reminded Gilbert to Ryan.
"Yeah Mom, meet you in 40 minutes," said Ryan jokingly.
----------------
Time:3:36 Date: 25th May
Matthew was terrified when he read the messages. He placed the smartphone on his in his back pocket, strapped his shotgun on his back, and started to run towards the path where he originally came from.
"Screechh!"
A terrifying howling sound entered Matthew's ears as the source came from the direction where Matthew was running. He turned in the opposite direction running with all his might.
Matthew felt its presence. It was terrifying to the point where Matthew started trembling. Whatever it is, it would definitely devour him if he was caught by that being.
Matthew paid serious attention to the landmarks as he will definitely get lost in this maze if he averted his attention to useless things.
He heard a rumbling sound behind him and the sounds of skulls breaking. Matthew started to right turns and left turns to confuse the monster which gained additional seconds for him to shake off the monster.
'My body feels lighter, it even feels like I'm back in the Veus valley. What the hell is happening to me?' thought Matthew as he felt like he was in his prime.
The monster screamed again but when Matthew turned around, he didn't see anything. Just literal darkness. This scared him even more as he didn't know which monster he was running from.
'All this life-death situation just because of a fucking extra salary! You got real greedy back there Matthew. I promised my sister that I will definitely buy her dinner but it seems that guy back there is hell-bent on catching me!'
Matthew increased his speed more but he heard rumbling sounds getting louder and felt the ground shaking which made him lose his balance slightly.
"Fuck fuck fuck, God please just allow me to make that right turn on the path!' thought Matthew as he was nearing the end of the path which extended for 700 meters.
Matthew positioned himself to skid and make the right turn but due to the ground shaking again due to those monstrous footsteps or whatever is chasing Matthew, he accidentally skidded left and fell down.
Matthew got up quickly, picked up his phone which fell down, and started running again by taking almost infinite left and right turns which god knows when will end.
'Fuck this maze, it has so many turns. I should think of an alternative plan to hide or distract it to catch up on my breath.'
'Come on Matthew, think you, idiot! You served fucking 4 years on the Veus valley which is considered the terrifying place where Dangerous monsters reside. On top of that, You are the fucking ex-captain of the most feared brigade in the continent. Think!'
Matthew observed the maze walls and found that vines were growing from the unreachable top of the wall and extended to the bottom of the ground and extended a few meters in the pathway.
He took 2 rights and 5 lefts to find a path that at least extends 300 meters to hide. He started running so close to the walls to grab on a vine.
Matthew separated the vines and hid behind the vines by crouching down. He turned the phone light off and kept his hand on his mouth. He started hearing rumbling noises coming closer. The sounds came closer and closer until they stopped. Matthew heard heavy breathing noises from the outside which made him tremble.
' Has it found me? I even hid my aura and stabilized my breathing for god's sake!'
After what felt like an eternity, Matthew took a peek outside and saw nothing. He turned on the light again and saw nothing, the pathway was clear as day.
" Yes, I fucking escaped! Let's goo!!" whisper screamed Matthew."
Suddenly the ground trembled and Matthew's imagination thought of the worst.
' Fuck it's coming back?'
Suddenly the ground Matthew was standing on has raised up to the sky. Matthew grabbed the vines tightly that he wouldn't fall. Matthew saw the whole outline of the maze while being airborne while some of the grounds has also been lifted up in the sky.
He spotted the dungeon entrance which was glowing 2 miles from where Matthew was airborne. He was happy because he can cover the distance of 2 kilometers in a few hours if no disturbances happen.
But all hopes were shattered when the ground was being carried away from the dungeon. Matthew almost lost the grip of the vines due to the disappointment and watched himself losing sight of the dungeon.
The ground suddenly dropped and slowly placed itself in another pathway that had no ground and instead, a huge hole which God knows what's in there.
When the piece of ground landed safely, Matthew started moving again cautiously to figure out where he was.
'I'm thankful that at least my shotgun is strapped tightly in my back. I gotta survive no matter what! I hope Grace will call William to inform him about the situation I'm in.'
-----------{William POV}
Time: :9:00am Day: 26th May
'I wonder what Matthew is doing now' thought William as he was doing some paperwork about the Flicker's who was selected yesterday night.
He was issuing an order to the Inglid family to aid the Kindley family in the search for the Flickers in 3 days due time.
Suddenly a call came to William's phone from an unknown number. William found it odd as other than close friends and family, he didn't give anyone his number.
He eventually picked it up and said " Hello?"
The voice on the other end said " Hello. Good morning. I was told to call this number when my brother comes late."
William found it odd as to how his number is similar to a lost children's number line as the voice was very young.
"May I know your name?" asked William gently.
"My name is Grace," said the other caller.
William was surprised but decided to confirm it before speaking useless things.
"What's your brother's name?"
"It's Matthew, Matthew Layman, and mine's Grace Layman," said Grace to William.
"How do you know my number Grace?" asked William while getting off his chair and putting on his coat.
"My brother messaged me yesterday at 3.00 pm that if he didn't come home tonight, he told me to call the number which is written on his notebook," said Grace.
William started walking out of his room and started speed walking in the hallway.
"I went to the Milton pizzas yesterday night but all they told me was he went to deliver pizzas to a dungeon but he never back?" said Grace crying.
"Ok, Grace please calm down. My name is William. You can call me Uncle William, all right?"
"Mm," said Grace while controlling her urge to cry.
"Did they tell you which dungeon he went?" asked William while remaining calm
"They told me something about Sertun or some city which is quite far from here," said Grace while sniffling.
'Oh, Fuck! out of all the places, you went there Matthew?' thought William
"Uncle William, he told me to call you if a bird appears in front of me," told Grace.
"Yeah, I know about that," said William as he was the one who suggested Matthew give Grace his contact information if she was selected as a Flicker in case Matthew wasn't around.
"Well, don't worry that you didn't get selected Grace," said William.
"No Uncle William, a bird appeared in front of me at 11.30 pm when I was waiting at the hall for Brother," said Grace.
"I passed out and woke up now only. My body also feels different from my usual physique uncle William. What should I do?"
William nearly spat out blood but decided to stay calm and said "Grace, mind if I put you on hold?"
"No, Uncle William. Go ahead"
William put the call on hold and called his wife immediately. She picked up the call in a few seconds and asked " Honey, what's up? It's rare for you to call in this number".
"Sophia, honey please tell the Kindley family not to touch the flicker in the outskirts of the Forbes," said William with a stern voice.
"Yes, honey, I will tell them," said Sophia and started to speak about whether he is properly eating his food or not.
"It's an Order! If they touch the girl, I will make sure the Kindley family will not see the daylight tomorrow!" shouted William.
"Now go and tell them, Sophia," said William regaining his composure.
"Yes, Honey," said Sophia as she heard him get angry after so many years.
Sophia called the Kindley family's head and he picked up.
"Greeting to the Queen of the Kingdom," said Norman Kindley.
"Greetings Norman, has the search started yet?" asked Sophia.
"Yes man, my personally picked boys are ready to go," said Norman.
"Well, tell them not to go to the Flicker who is residing in the outskirts of Forbes city," said Sophia calmly.
"Why my respected Queen? The aura from the Forbes city outskirts is one of the first awakened one's which we detected last night"
"It is the order from the king itself. Please follow accordingly" said Sophia.
" Yes mam," said Norman.
Sophia ended her call and made her way to the Imperial palace where William was staying because she came out to buy some gifts for her daughter but it seems like it would have to wait.
Norman called his secretary and he arrived within 30 seconds.
"Did you call for me, My lord?" asked the secretary.
"Stilton, tell one of our family elders to go investigate the flicker who is residing in the outskirts of Forbes. Remember I want this to be discreet, tell the elder to see who is the flicker and her identity. Nothing else, and tell our boys not to go there as the Elder is pretty powerful himself to protect himself."
"Yes sir," said the Secretary and left the room.
"I wonder who that bastard William is protecting?" muttered Norman.
William made his way of the castle and told his escort guards not to follow him. William started flying towards the direction where Forbes city is. His majestic black wings spread like a bird that was ready to race. If someone would look at William, he would definitely like a handsome devil.
He unholded his call and started speaking to Grace.
"Grace? Are you there?" asked William.
"Yes, Uncle William. I'm still here. Sorry, did I disturb you at a busy time?"
"No dear, you did not. You are my first priority, you understand?. Now Uncle will be there in 30 minutes so don't leave your house all right?"
"Yes Uncle I will stay inside the house until you come to our house," said Grace.
William hung up the call and started to fly with all his power using his ability to boost up his adrenaline.
' Hang in there Matthew!'