After discarding his sword sheath, Rozer ran towards the Minotaur at the end of the corridor. His right hand held the sword, the left hand made lightning gestures, channeling the lightning into the sword through his body.
He swung the sword, pulled it to the other side of his body to give more momentum when thrown. Sparks flew as the sword's tip scraped against the wall, creating a loud noise intentionally, hoping to sharpen the blade.
The sword shot forward with electric sparks towards the Minotaur. The creature easily blocked it as expected by Rozer.
But that was Rozer's plan. As the electric sword and the axe clashed, Rozer crossed his hands, making lightning gestures. A larger bolt of lightning surged towards the thrown sword, flowing from Rozer's hand through the Minotaur's entire body, numbing its muscles.
The large axe fell to the floor. The Minotaur knelt with vacant eyes.
Rozer halted, then made hand gesture; fire. Inhaling as much air as possible, he absorbed air and magical energy into his chest, combining it with the fire magic in his throat as he exhaled. The wind created a powerful fire burst, burning everything in its path.
The red light from the fire illuminated the entire labyrinth.
After expelling all the air from his lungs, Rozer choked, feeling the heat and itchiness in his throat. He leaned against the wall, staring at the chaotic scene.
The Minotaur's silhouette, aflame from the burning fur and some residual sparks, stood up again. Fire and lightning alone couldn't destroy the Minotaur with its thick skin. It only caused muscle pain and burn marks all over its body.
With pain coursing through his body, the Minotaur picked up its axe. Snorting, expelling remaining smoke from its nostrils, it walked towards Rozer, panting against the wall.
Rozer stepped back, channeling magic into his right hand to command his sword back.
His left hand wiped his left eye to activate the Zonnen eye and shouted, "Stop! Obey my command! Retreat! Drop your weapon! Halt your steps!"
It seems the newfound power isn't working on the minotaur as expected.
The Minotaur went berserk, charging through the thick mist ahead.
—squelch
Blood sprayed, dripping onto Rozer's face.
Behind him, Brian had thrust his sword into the bull's head right in front of Rozer. Meanwhile, Rozer's sword stabbed the Minotaur's heart from behind the creature's body.
Blood flowed from the Minotaur's mouth. "Nepjirged nennuk tein sno nesnem moraaw," it uttered before collapsing in a pool of blood.
Rozer tried to understand those words, but he couldn't; he had never encountered that language before.
"Are you okay, Rozer?"
"I'm fine, Brian, thanks for your help."
"...nn... No need to thank; this is what the team should do. But your skills are unquestionable; even though I helped, it feels insignificant," Brian said, looking at Rozer's sword embedded behind the Minotaur. "Controlling the sword with magic could penetrate the thick Minotaur's body. It requires advanced mastery," Brian thought.
"Is everything okay over there?"
"Just finished."
Andro and Dirk waved from the pile of goblin corpses, signaling that they were fine despite some cuts and bloodstains.
Rozer pulled out his sword from the Minotaur's body. "This is strange. Why can't I use this eye's power?" he wondered aloud.
"I think—" Brian began.
Behind them, Andro interrupted, "You guys, come here!"
Rozer and Brian followed them towards the rubble, where they found a hole where the goblins had descended.
"We should do something about this hole," Dirk suggested.
"Yeah, but I'm not skilled in magic," commented Andro.
"Who said we don't need a novice wizard?" Dirk teased.
Andro glared at Dirk, unable to comment.
"Enough, didn't we bring the greatest wizard's son?" Brian added.
The three looked at Rozer with wide smiles.
"I know what to do," Rozer said, approaching the stone rubble. With a stone-hand gesture, he raised his hand and said, "Oh, protective stones of this place! Return! Unite! To where you belong!"
The stones clicked, moved, and floated towards the large hole, closing in an orderly fashion before returning to their original positions.
"Truly amazing!"
"As expected!"
After completing the ritual, Andro hugged Rozer's neck and said, "Rozer, teach me! You really make me jealous!" He playfully messed up Rozer's hair.
"Teach you what?"
"You know, how to spew fire... Swuushh... Like a dragon!" Andro imitated Rozer's fire magic before.
Brian separated Andro and Rozer and said, "Enough, you won't be able to do it because you're not skilled in magic."
Dirk added, "Andro has been lousy in magic since the academy; not even good enough to enlist as a kingdom knight. That's why you became an adventurer, right?"
Andro's hand landed on Dirk's head, messing up his hair. "Stop your words; aren't you the same?" he said.
"Stop! I get it, stop!" Dirk exclaimed.
Brian laughed and commented, "You guys, still reminiscing about the past."
"So, are you also academy graduates?" Rozer asked.
"That's right, let's go back."
The four of them headed back towards the entrance.
Midway, they repeated their previous activities in every other corridor. Goblins became scarce, and there were no signs of other creatures. They marveled at the labyrinth's durability despite its age, and Brian, with his knowledge, explained that the first king built this labyrinth with his magic to serve as both a fortress and a city when the demon gates opened wide. This allowed the residents to continue their activities like on the surface, hence the city being named Laatseford, meaning the last fortress. They ended with admiration from their companions for Brian's story.
"What about this Zonnen eye?" Rozer asked.
"Ah, yeah, I brought you here to teach you the power of Zonnen. I apologize if we were surrounded by goblins and a Minotaur. Otherwise, I could have taught you while performing," Brian said.
"I tried using Zonnen earlier, but I couldn't. Why is that?"
"So, Rozer, to use this eye, you must command in a language understandable to the creature you want to control. If you encounter demonic beings like earlier, you must command in the demon language like I did because they communicate with each other in demonic language."
"So that's it. That's why I couldn't hypnotize the Minotaur earlier."
"That's correct. You must learn the demonic language first. Also, I don't recommend using this power on humans. If the soldiers find out, you'll be imprisoned for breaking the rules."
"As long as the soldiers don't know?"
"Yes, it's up to you how to use it, but I've warned you. You must be a mature man who understands the consequences of your actions. Choose wisely."
Andro interrupted their conversation, "Even though you can't control Zonnen, you're quite wise, Brian."
"Can't control?" Rozer asked.
"Well, yes, I can't control my left eye." Brian opened his eye cover. "Look at my left eye. I got it during the war between the Bajalekat kingdom and the Suwania kingdom. Zonnen activates when using magic with strong, tumultuous emotions. I can't turn this eye back to normal. That's why I cover it so my friends or family won't be hypnotized when I talk. Using it, I expend too much magical energy. That's why there must be a companion to help me use this Zonnen eye, like earlier. That's the short story of my eye," he added, covering his eye again.
"A war?"
"You're still kids; no need to know about war. Let the adults handle it."
"Between humans? Not with demons?"
"That's right, Rozer. We fight not only demons but also humans," Andro replied.
Dirk added, "This world is ironic. On one side, like your father fighting demons coming from behind the gates; on the other side, humans fight each other. There's no peace anywhere."
Rozer absorbed their words raw, all he knew was that humans were fighting against demons. Only those thoughts occupied his mind; right now, he could go insane.
Many questions flooded his mind, recalling the scene when the pile of corpses was in front of the demon gate. It might happen elsewhere, not just in front of the demon gate; by changing, the corpses might transform into humans without Minotaurs or other demonic creatures.
Unconsciously, tears flowed down Rozer's cheeks. "Why?" he wondered.
Brian gently stroked Rozer's head to comfort him. "You guys! Don't talk recklessly! Look at the consequences of your words! I tried not to dwell further on it," Brian shouted.
Andro and Dirk apologized and focused ahead, leaving Brian to try to calm Rozer.
"Most importantly, now you have to study harder at the academy. Don't think about anything else; someday, you'll understand how this world works."
Rozer nodded, affirming Brian's words. Currently, he had to learn more before thinking about things he didn't understand.
The dark sky, adorned with stars, became their first sight as they exited the labyrinth's entrance and stopped under a lamppost in front of the narrow alley where they first met. Brian said, "Thank you for your help, Rozer."
Although they hadn't received payment for this mission yet, Andro reached into his pocket to encourage Rozer, "Take it, your payment for today."
Rozer shook his head, "No need, I don't need it," he said.
"Just take it," Dirk insisted.
"I don't want it."
"Then what do you want, Rozer? I feel bad after inviting you without giving any reward," Brian asked.
"What I want? Well, what I want is to join you on the next expedition."
The three were surprised by Rozer's enthusiasm. They didn't expect a young boy to be eager to venture back into a dangerous place.
"Boss, what do we do about this?" Andro asked.
After Brian took a long breath and cooled his head, if he refused, Rozer would still recklessly enter the labyrinth without his knowledge. "Fine, if that's what you want, but you still have to attend the academy in the morning until it finishes, understand?" he said.
"I understand!" Rozer replied.
"Then in the morning, who do we go with, boss?" Dirk asked.
Andro hit Dirk's head for not understanding the current situation. "We'll think about that later, stupid. Don't confuse Rozer with his duties as a student!" he whispered to Dirk.
"We'll return to the adventurers' guild to report this expedition. What about you?" Brian asked.
"I'll go home; my mother might be looking for me."
"Good boy. So, until tomorrow, we'll wait for you here after school," Brian said.
Before the three of them left, they waved to Rozer.
Rozer headed in the opposite direction towards his home, but his eyes were on the narrow alley where the labyrinth entrance was. In front of the alley, a large black creature with glowing red eyes peeked from behind a building.
Rozer kept walking, observing from a distance.
"It's probably just the spirit of the Minotaur that died earlier," he thought.
###
In the middle of the city, Tania, Sirvin, and Lakei encountered Rozer. With intense emotions, Tania came over and pinched Rozer's ear to make him open his ears wide.
"Naughty son, if you want to go out to play, at least come home first and change your clothes, understand?"
"Yes, Mom."
"Now, let's go home."
Rozer's ear was pulled until they reached home.