Darius said, "We can't wait for everybody else to get eliminated so I suggest we take option 2." Ephiria said, "I second that. The longer we stay in here; the more chances of elimination we encounter. So the triple beetle win it is." They looked at me to check if I objected but I nodded. Darius' ears started glowing orange. The warrith's glow of enhancement. He said, "It is this way."
We walked for like an hour through multiple paths following Darius' lead. He suddenly stopped. He said, "It is near. I think it may be in the walls." We searched the walls. All we found was a brick that had a cloud design. It looked like it could be pushed inwards. Ephiria said, "I doubt we should push it in. It may trigger a trap." I said, "But it is the only non-identical thing around." She said, "The guidebook said that each beetle had a trap conjoined with it so brace yourselves. Things are about to get bloody." She pushed in the brick. Gears turned in the walls. We all went on high alert. Sprinkles popped out of the ceiling. They started releasing purple vapor.
Darius commanded, "Close your eyes. Run forward. Cover your mouth and nose with your palm. It is…" Ephiria finished his sentence, "Poisonous gas." We followed the orders. I accidentally stepped on a trigger brick on the floor. More gears turned. Darius said, "Just run faster." I tightened my grip on my nose and mouth. I continued forward. Something shot and scratched my arm. The pain urged me to look for the cause.
Before I could stop myself, my eyes opened to see 5 plant branches had appeared in front of us. They were shooting long narrow thorns at us. Ephiria was glowing with golden light that burnt any thorn that dared to want to injure her skin. Darius was dodging each shot. It was like he had a sixth sense.
I quickly shut my eyes but it was too late. The smoke had started to burn my eyes. It felt like needles were being shoved into them. That wasn't my only problem. I felt thorns penetrate through my skin–leaving pores that my blood ran out through. I pushed forward enduring all the pain I was suffering. My teen instincts told me to retreat but where. I felt pain and anger fill my thoughts. A blast hit the plant leaving nothing but ashes behind.
He praised, "Good job." I saw a brick with a beetle design. I pointed at it and said, "There" Darius went to it and punched it. At this moment I saw that he had wrapped bandages on his fists. The brick crumpled revealing a satchel and a golden beetle. Darius removed them and gave them to me. He said, "Have." I said, "Do you trust me with this?" Ephiria said, "No but it will make the job of protecting you and ourselves much easier without weight on our shoulders. To the next one."
Darius said, "I can already hear it." I asked, "Doesn't this beetle, we have, distract you?" he replied, "No. the beetle stops making the sound when captured." The rest of the way was quiet until we stopped in a room. The room was a crossroads. We searched the room and found 2 unusual grey bricks. One had a lock designed on it while the other had a beetle designed on it. Darius punched the one with a beetle design and gave me the beetle he had got from there. We heard gates opening as if releasing something.
The ground under us trembled. After some minutes, 8 horror shows headed for us. They were coming from each direction. They were lions from the mane going downwards. They had crocodile heads. Ephiria and Darius positioned themselves between 2 passages each. I went to the center of the room. I stood near the lock brick on the floor.
Ephiria activated her cube and was now holding a khopesh. Its blade was made of real gold. At least if she quits monster fighting, she has her source of startup money. Darius summoned a 2-meter metallic spear. The spear's steel blade curved going downwards forming an Aqua man sign. Ephiria's horde came first. She welcomed them with a blast.
She cut the ones that tried to get near her. Darius soon joined in. His glow traveled from his ear to his arms. He held the spear firmly and used it to strike down any that dared to cross him. He positioned himself and threw his spear like a javelin. The spear flew through the air and hit its target. Its hind end glowed and something activated launching the spear like a rocket. It went through its target and did the same to the other 2 creatures that were at that angle until it hit the wall. The last 2 took the opportunity but Darius single-handedly wrestled one. He summoned his spear and finished it.
The other headed for me. Memories of the training ran through my mind. It summoned my axe. I swung at it and ended up injuring its leg. My little victory didn't last long. It jumped on me. It opened its mouth and went for my neck. I used my axe to hold its snaps back. I focused my chaos and pushed into the creature. It petrified to stone. I imagined it turn to dust and the stone obeyed. I stood up to see that the hordes were over.
An uneasiness struck my mind. It told me I was in danger. I felt 4 mega-sized versions of these creatures coming. I said, "More are coming. Not normal ones. Bigger ones." They didn't question my statement. Ephiria asked, "Which path can we use to escape?" I said, "None because they are coming from all of them." Darius and Ephiria looked stunned. The creatures showed up. They were closing in on us. Their mouths were watering as if they were looking at KFC chicken.
Without thinking, I stepped on the lock brick. Gears turned and walls dropped to the ground blocking all paths. The gears continued to turn. The creatures hit the walls trying to get to their prey. Ephiria said, "You hit the lock brick?" I said, "You're welcome." She said, "You have doomed us to death. Minutes from now, the room will be filled with boiling oil." I said, "Would you have preferred being ripped apart." Darius said, "Stop. Your quarreling isn't going to help us. Now, Ephiria please get me some chains." Ephiria melted the chains off the walls. She melted the ends together to form one long one. Darius said, "Now you two tie yourselves around the waist." We flowed his command. He also tied himself with the chain.
He started scanning the floor until he reached a point. His glow spread to his fists. He punched that area of the floor to reveal water. He took a long breath and dived into the water. I also took a breath . The chain pulled Ephiria and I into the water. Darius' glow traveled to the rest of his limbs. He swam downwards. I swam along. The waves were so strong that I could barely orient my body. Luckily Darius was pushing with brute force. This guy had proven that he was strong. We swam till we reached a grey brick wall. Darius punched it down and the water drove the rest of us in.
I took a good gasp for air. The water kept on sipping through the hole. We unbound ourselves from the chains. Ephiria said, "Thank God. We made it." A voice said, "Made it straight into our clutches."