With the path behind them completely caved in, William and Letisia’s groups had no choice but to continue moving forward and hope for the best as the walls of the labyrinth started to feel oppressive and claustrophobic the deeper they went in.

Soon the group of 8 found themselves inside another barely lit open room similar in size to the previous one, but unlike last time, there was no surprise attack waiting for them the moment they stepped in. Instead all they saw was a lone man waiting for them at the center of the room.

The man sat there quietly, his back resting on his sword that was planted steadily on the floor. He looked like he was taking a nap but immediately opened his eyes when William's group walked closer.

With shining blue eyes, he stared and observed his guests under the dim light seeping through the dim walls.

“Oh good, you guys finally arrived.” The man said while stretching his arms. “Took you quite a while, I think I even fell asleep for a bit.”

He then pulled out his sword from the ground and placed it back on the sheath that hung on his waist as William and the rest kept their eyes glued to him, watching his every move.

“Okay let’s see. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.” He said while pointing his index finger to each one of them.

“Huh, I expected more. Didn’t think Estelle would take out such a big chunk but oh well.” The man continued to talk in a dismissive tone.

This arrogant display did not sit well with the Clarentum Inquisitors. To them this was a direct insult, but instead of mouthing off and giving in to their feelings, they chose to keep calm and assess the situation.

Right now, their only priority was the treasure.

Letisia stepped forward to question the lone knight who stood in their way.

“You there.” She began speaking in a proud tone to put herself on a figurative pedestal. “Where are your allies?” Letisia asked.

“Oh Sylvester and Rossa? They’re waiting for you guys deeper inside, sadly not everyone of you is going to meet them.”

The man spoke as if his words were a matter of fact, something that almost triggered a fit of rage from within Letisia, but fortunately she managed to hold on to reason. This man alone was responsible for eliminating a large number of participants. It would be foolish to try and provoke him without any sort of plan.

Unfortunately, not everyone is on the same page.

“So, you’re going to stop us all here is that it? Or are you going to choose who to let through?” Yosef suddenly spoke in a voice laced with anger.

“Who do you think you are?!” His loud voice echoing throughout the dilapidated walls that confined them.

The man merely scoffed at Josef’s flustered declaration.

“Well yeah, that’s the plan. I let some of you through and some will be left behind to face me. Simple right?” He answered while sounding a little annoyed.

“Oh and by the way, my name is Artian Vendrake.” He then introduced himself while smiling.

“Vendrake?” Josef asked in a perplexed tone.

“That, that’s stupid!” Letisia now re-joined into the conversation.

“Yeah it’s stupid and I completely agree.” Artian blurted out, his opinion was nothing something the rest of them expected.

“But then again, this narrative seemed much more fun than just straight brawling you know what I mean?” He continued while shaking his head.

“But oh well, a bet’s a bet and I already gave him my word so he calls the shots. Stupid fuckin coin.” Artian showed a slight smirk as he recalled their arrangements.

“What makes you think we will comply with your plan?” William now interjected.

“Because you are all after the treasure box.” Aritan smiled. “If you want, I would be more than happy to waste your time, but I think given the current situation, you really don’t have much of a choice now do you?”

“Tick tock, the clock’s running out. Now, who among you wants to stay behind?” He said as he pulled out his sword once again and pointed it towards the group of 8.

“Okay have it your way.” Josef replied almost instantly.

“I will stay behind and fight.” He declared as two other voices also made their decisions clear.

“I too shall stay behind and fight.” Frieda declared.

“You’ve gone too far in your arrogant act. It’s time to make you eat your words.” Ronald said as he stepped forward.

“Now go My Lady. Let us handle this man alone. Save your strength for your own battle, it seems that we need to play their game if we are to stand a chance. Remember what representative Clarence said: The ends justify the means.” Frieda said in a serious tone.

Letisia wanted to object at first, but decided not to, letting out a deep breath before giving out her final commands.

“I see you have all made up your minds. Thank you for putting your trust in me.” She said as she started walking forward.

“I will wait for you on the other side. I only expect victory from you.” Letisia exclaimed in a commanding tone as if trying to raise their spirits.

Artian simply smiled in response and let Letisia and William’s group pass through. Once they were thoroughly out of the picture, Artian faced the remaining three with a wide grin.

“Alright boys and uh, girl. Show me what you got!”

After Artian’s loud declaration, Josef and the others felt a sudden sharp rise in mana in the surroundings causing them to unconsciously take a step back.

Josef then brought out his sword and pointed it at his opponent who did the same. He poised himself, ready to attack as he gave out orders for his team.

“Frieda, Ronald. Back me up, I will face him head on.” He declared as he charged forward, jumping into the air trying to attack Artian with a downward thrust.

Artian easily parried this attack with his own blade, and soon the two were snared into a contest of skill.

However, it didn’t take long for Josef to realize how outmatched he was when it came to skill with the blade. Artian matched and deflected his every strike with minimal effort while each counter attack from him seemed to force him to give an inch.

“Come on? Is that it? Didn’t your lady tell you to go and win? Try harder!” Artian said as he kicked Josef in the stomach, knocking him away.

“Damn you.” Josef said in a pained voice.

Ronald and Frieda of course did not sit idly and watch on the sidelines. Once Josef began his attack they immediately prepared to cast spells that would assist Josef in his battle.

Ronald used binding spells that took the form of several ropes and chains, hoping to catch Artian only for his target to cut through all of them with ease while still overwhelming Josef in their duel.

Frieda then used a large cascading ice spell that shot out ever growing formations of ice that homed in on Artian’s position.

In response Artian jumped to avoid the first strike, and then placed his sword in between his feet and the ice.

“Whoohoo! Now we’re talking!” Artian yelled as he used his sword like a skateboard, sliding on the ice while doing flips and tricks.

As more ice started to close in on him he finally jumped off into the air and slashed all of them simultaneously, the shattered ice shards falling with him acting as confetti.

Without missing a beat, Artian made a finger gun gesture and pointed it where Ronald and Frieda stood. He smiled as he prepared to cast a retaliatory spell of his own.

“Burst finger!” Artian yelled as he fired off two blasts of energy that acted like bullets towards his foes that were sadly, easily avoided. Even so, the fact that he was able to counter and go on the offensive despite his compromising position is enough to shake up Frieda’s assessment.

“This man. How is he this strong? Who is he?” Frieda screamed inside her panic stricken mind.

The duel between Josef and Artian continued as Josef charged forward opening with a downward vertical slash. However his move was easily parried by Artian, leaving him open for a strike.

Artian then reversed his own blade and struck Josef’s abdomen with his sword’s handle. This blow was enough to send him flying back a few meters away.

“Josef!” Frieda screamed as she and Ronald rushed to defend their ally as they stood in front of Josef who was trying to get back onto his feet.

Once Josef recovered, he was thankful that the attack wasn’t enough to break the traitor barrier. He then stared at Artian with knowing eyes, as if their battle cleared up a question in his head.

“Vendrake. I see now.” Josef declared as he took time to catch his breath. “One of the three families descended directly from the great king himself. The legendary King, Arthur Pendragon!”

This revelation then stunned his two teammates as Artian himself stood by with a blank expression.

“King Arthur?” Frieda and Ronald quietly asked inside their heads as this piece of information seemed far fetched even to them.

“And from what I know, it seems that the Vendrake house is going through some tough times.” Josef then suddenly added, his words laced with venom.

Immediately Artian’s blank face turned into a cold stare, with fury hidden deep behind his blue eyes.

“You just had to go there didn’t you? And here I was being a nice guy, thinking of letting you out of here with your pride intact.” As he said those words, Artian then placed his sword in front of his face.

“My soul is my armor.”

“My spirit is my blade!”

As soon as he said those words, spectral armor then formed on his chest, as well as gloves and boots. A singular pauldron manifested on his left shoulder as the rest of once translucent armor pieces lost their ethereal glow and fully solidified.

A bright yellow aura then surrounded his sword as a mechanism placed on the hilt opened up and released energy.

Josef simply wanted to try and get under his opponent’s skin, hoping to exploit any sort of lapse in concentration and judgement. But alas, his gambit backfired.

Once Artian’s transformation was finished he then held his sword with his left hand and placed his right behind his back while flashing a wide and mocking grin towards his opponents.

“Come!” Artian declared. “I shall crush all of you with one hand behind my back!”

At this point Josef and rest’s fight or flight instinct triggered and all of them unanimously chose to stand their ground.

Ronald and Frieda attacked him with two elemental spells powerful enough to cause a large explosion once they connected. But their opponent walked away from it unfazed and sliced through the smoke revealing his undamaged figure.

Seeing as everything seemed hopeless, Josef let out a loud battle cry before charging head first into Artian.

His opponent then threw his sword high up into the air as he avoided Josef’s strike, forming a fist with his now free hand.

“Mana fortification times 10.” Artian said under his breath.

Josef then tried to block Artian’s punch with his sword but to his horror his opponent’s fist shattered his blade and went through his guard, striking his stomach.

Josef’s vision slowly turned dark as he felt the traitor barrier’s chains slowly entangling around his body.

Artian then caught his blade that he threw into the air a few seconds earlier and immediately continued with his attack.

“Blessing of water!” Artian shouted as the color of his blade turned from yellow to blue, stabbing the ground with his sword causing a large amount of water to suddenly come gushing out.

Without giving his enemies a chance to breathe he then dealt the final blow.

“Blessing of lightning!” Artian declared as the bluish electric light crawled out from his blade. Once the bright spark subsided all that was left was the unconscious bodies of Josef and his group tied up in ethereal chains as he stood alone victorious.

“Great King Arthur? Don’t make me laugh.” Artian said with his voice laced with anger. “I’ll show you all! I will surpass his legend and make you all of you choke on your words!”