I’ve been thinking quite a lot recently.
‘Should I stop this series and redo it once again?’
This question kept picking at me so I stopped and gave it a good deep thought. I even started on the rework as well, but so much time had also gone into this series so wouldn’t it be a waste to stop?
I even talked to a friend who said to keep going.
So, to his suggestion, I will.
But… I think after this (in the future), I’ll make this again in the way I envisioned it. Better, smoother…
…
Haha, anyways enjoy the chapter by this hopeless author who contradicts his own name.
Enjoy~
~~~~
The hallway was tight with over seven people inhabiting the space. It wasn’t the type where everyone was squeezing for space, but there was some leeway that allowed everyone to only stand shoulder to shoulder.
In our path stood a man with tattered clothes provoking the Knights in front of me.
“Well?”
His sharp eyes gave a glance at everyone including myself, but passed right on and paid no heed to my unusual appearance that differed from the rest of the Knights.
I had various precautions for the sole reason of protecting my identity. It wasn’t because of fear of my identity, but rather it was the most optimal path to go in my path of my own personal revenge without any distractions in the middle.
“Will it be you, King Arthur? Or perhaps one of your peasant Knights?”
Though if I must say… This Suspect has quite the sharp tongue that can rile people up.
Of course, this petty talk did nothing to the psyche of the Knights, though they frowned at the blatant disrespect. The only outlier was already gone and fighting anyways.
“If I may my King, allow me to fight.”
The Knight bowed towards Arthur asking for his permission.
“...Do as you please.”
Has he gotten colder than before? I couldn’t tell, Arthur had shown some emotion with his cousin before. But maybe it was the impending and looming death that could happen to one of his close subordinates that made him close off in such an abrupt manner.
I pondered as to the sudden mood shift but my thoughts came to an abrupt close as the Knight stood up and faced the multi faced man.
Wrr…
There was a small sound, I looked over at Arthur confirming he too had heard it as well. It was the sound of small or perhaps large gears moving, shifting in place.
We had foreseen this and thus there were no surprised expressions or mourning at the Knight who only faced his enemy.
Kokuinseki wasn’t invincible but it was a metal that could repair itself. That was enough of a hassle that we tried looking into counter solutions but with no metal to test and only speculate, we couldn’t find a counter.
Even I, a person who lived side-by-side with a man made of the material, didn't know what flaws he had.
He was, after all, a cold blooded murderer and a sociopath. He was an artificial killing machine just like I was.
The mirrors and ground shifted, a new path found itself neatly constructed for us to tread upon.
As we traversed through the maze, more and more of the Knights found their opponents. It was unfortunate but this was what Arthur and the rest of the Knights agreed upon.
Now, there were only three of us: Arthur, Oliver, and me.
Our steps created echoes that were previously deafening due to the large amount of people walking. All around me were copies of myself within the mirrors. That was the standpoint that attracted people in the first place.
If there was something to note, it was the lack of people but that could be attributed to the natural disaster warning that the government gave out.
‘We have to turn a corner.’
Although the mirror maze was tricky, it was nothing when perception is no issue. Arthur had inhuman eyesight that easily allowed to transverse through it like it was a walk in the park rather than a confusing maze.
Our last opponent stood still at the end of the hallway.
‘...It’s him…’
It was Suspect that almost killed me. The one with a rabid fighting style and wore a straitjacket. He looked this way and showed no sign that he recognized me.
“I suppose my stop is here, isn’t it?”
Oliver asked, his hidden weapon covered with a glove.
“Yes…”
Arthur’s cold facade finally cracked and showed some sadness.
If this truly was the last time I would see this man I felt the need to apologize directly to him.
“Oliver, I apologize.”
He looked at me with a surprised expression.
“Oh? But for what reason?”
“I was the one who gave Arthur the information where you lost your Knight squad along with your…”
My voice trailed on, not giving away such crucial details in front of the enemy.
“Oh.”
He blinked at my statement.
“It’s fine, everyone dies at some point. Our line of work was bound to have unforeseen and tragic accidents. It’s not your fault.”
After another brief farewell with Arthur, Oliver left and faced his enemy like all the other Knights. The floor shifted once again and showed me and Arthur to our final destination, Jack the Ripper.
*
*
*
In its brief existence, the Daedalus’ Labyrinth had a sole victim.
One that perished due to his suicide mission that would ensure that he would never leave Britain alive.
It was only two days prior to the arrival of the Knights at its doorsteps and people still walked above in the labyrinth with no issues.
Crunch-
The lemon flavored candy inside his mouth let its flavoring on his taste buds, overwhelming them with the artificial citrus flavor.
“Isn’t this too easy? If they wanted to kill me they should have made me go somewhere harder.”
The man was from the West, more specifically the United States of America. His codename within his agency was ‘Jawbreaker’ and it fit quite well due to his weapons being his fists and his new tendency of carrying round, marble-like candy around as a snack.
Jawbreaker inspected the plastic packaging of the candy wrapped around it for a closer look.
‘CaCandy? What a lame name, though the candy they make is good.’
Opening each one of the ‘marbles’ was like a small yet fun way to see what flavoring he would get as each packaging was white leaving mystery in the air.
Unwrapping the candy and placing it in his mouth, he could taste the strawberry.
As he walked around, getting lost at times, Jawbreaker looked for anything that would stand out that would clue him in on the inner workings and conspiracies of the Cult of Whitechapel.
Walking, walking and more walking.
It had been hours yet no progress was made and all he did was get lost.
“...Haaaa…” Jawbreaker sighed, unable to get frustrated by just walking.
By now he had gone through quite a bit of his candy and started feeling the frustration slowly seeping into his mind.
“Ah well. I guess I can’t stop myself anymore.”
Jawbreaker turned to his side facing one of the mirrors, facing a reflection of himself.
‘Hellooo there handsome.’
Clenching his fist he punched at the mirror attempting to break his way through the maze, not bothered trying any longer.
Right before his knuckles made contact with the glass, a black metal substance stood in his way blocking the mirror.
BOOM!
Smoke and dust filled the air before Jawbreaker swiped it away only to find a perfectly clean mirror, devoid of destruction that he had just tried to cause.
“Hehe…” A low laugh came from his stomach, “This place sure is something.”
If he was to be put in the Spy Association standards he would have been a Silver Rank spy. By no means was he weak, he could topple most corporations alone yet a single mirror blocked his prized fists.
‘I definitely saw something black block my fist…’
Jawbreaker took a moment to think.
The low yellow lights placed at just his feet along with the eerie silence could make someone go mad. There were the occasional sounds of people talking much further on but Jawbreaker made sure he was somewhat isolated before he attempted his ‘break-in’, so no one should have gotten their eardrums ruptured… At least that was what he hoped.
‘How do I get further in…’
There were various videos up on the internet already showing the labyrinth in its entirety along with the exit. Jawbreaker had watched a few in hopes of clues but found only one.
But if there was a peculiar scene within one video, it was one while they made their way through the exit. The exit was underground and led back outside and into the populated city.
If there was any place where their base could have been erected, it would have been in that tunnel somewhere.
Scratching his head, Jawbreaker stretched his arms and cracked his neck before starting to move once more.
As he listlessly walked through the seemingly never ending maze, Jawbreaker found himself reminiscing about the past.
The trials… the happy moments… everything had led to this point.
Yet amidst all those memories filled with varying emotions, some complex, and others filled with utter joy or depressing sadness. Only very few memories stood out and constantly came back to him.
The memories of her.
She was the best Spy throughout the agency, she had six ‘bullets’ signifying her rank permanently within the archives of history. Very few had six bullets and she was among the few, a living legend.
He met her while on a mission, it was a simple one. There had been a mass murderer and all Jawbreaker had to do was either find and suppress the killer, or to send the dead body back to the agency.
She was there, walking past him with the body still alive.
It was love at first sight.
He tried to do everything but nothing ever worked.
“...It’s quite rude to interrupt a man while he’s in his thoughts, don’t you agree?”
Crunch-
Jawbreaker felt mad, extremely so.
“Oh? Is that so, I didn’t know. Huh.”
The man in front of him wore a straitjacket that tied his arms. Jawbreaker commented in his mind how easy this fight would be.
“Anyways~ I was sent to either kill you or take you back to my boss. So if you could…” The closed eyes momentarily opened, revealing a cold gaze, “Could you die for me?”
“Die? How can I die when I haven’t even proposed to the love of my life yet?”
Jawbreaker slammed his fist into his palm.
“Oh wow, you’re a real comedian, is that your side job?”
“Enough jokes, let's fight.”
The fight lasted quite a while, Kosim noted. He had stood on for well passed that he should have been able to, yet he kept going with fists bloodied and face mangled.
Bang!
Jawbreaker swayed and tried to catch his breath.
“Could you stop? This is quite a pathetic spectacle, I don’t even want to fight anymore.” Kosim said, his straitjacket was still on, the white fabric was bloodied from Jawbreaker’s blood.
The only ‘weapon’ he used were his feet.
Kicks after kicks left Jawbreaker in his current state.
Just when Kosim was about to finish the job the intercoms came on.
“I haven’t had a good toy for a while… why don’t you bring that one over while I wait for the Knights?” Jack’s voice came through from the intercoms.
Kosim lowered his foot and finally released his arms from their restraints.
“Alright, sure whatever you say boss~” He replied back with an unenthusiastic tone with a hint of sarcasm.
…
Time passed like a blur for Jawbreaker. After passing out from his one-sided fight, he awoke to a dark room and chains shackling him.
“Oh? Are you awake?”
A young voice came from beside him, Jawbreaker turned his head ever so slightly to see a grotesque face. One that looked and contradicted all sense of beauty. It was a face that looked melted, as if acid or boiling water poured on his face.
“What? You don’t like what you see?”
It ‘smiled’, Jawbreaker shivered just a bit but it was enough for the chains to move to his feelings.
“Haha… cause’ don’t worry… you’ll be seeing this face for quite a long time…”
~~~~
I just saw a YouTube video comparing JJK’s Shibuya Incident with MHA’s War Arc and after watching it, my review of it was very good. But that made me question my own war arc, and it is very shallow. There aren't many tense moments that a ‘war’ should have nor does it seem very war-like because of the constant breaks in between. (Mine is more leaning towards the MHA side with various mistakes)
Hm…
If I ever do rewrite this, I’ll need it to be more tense…
Anyway, just some rambling.
Ah, also, one last thing: My upload schedule should come back to normal, perhaps even better than last time.
Though since I already contradict my name, so I guess it wouldn’t matter would it?
(UNEDITED)
