Freezing the Guard Captain
"Exploration wasn't supposed to be like this... why is it so damn grueling?"
"You're being a bit dramatic, aren't you?"
"Brother Taylor, that's too much. This is only our second real fight, and we're already taking on the captain at layer 20."
"That just means your skills are top-notch, Shiba."
Taylor had been a Depth 4 explorer in his prime. Now, with his aged and ailing body propped up by magitechwear, he'd dropped to Depth 2.5, but the experience from countless runs through the labyrinth hadn't faded.
"According to the old man's calculations, we're good to go. He said it was doable."
The standards for "doable" differed between the surface and the labyrinth. Winning a fight wasn't the end—you needed enough strength left to make it back to the surface.
So "doable" meant there'd be some mana drain, but nothing that risked your life.
Even with Allen's explanation, Shiba kept muttering. Maintaining his barrier, he formally chanted the holy rite.
"Merciful Mother, shield your children with a heart unbowed by fierce storms. I advance remembering your warmth, and neither the north wind's bite nor hellfire's blaze shall break my spirit. I follow you to protect the weak—even if it claims my life, may I safeguard them."
⟨ Holy Barrier ⟩
He spat out the end like rap, and a sturdy new barrier formed on top. Far more transparent and a clear white than the shorthand version.
The water guardians were ready too. Both thrust their heads forward, unleashing intense beams of light.
Ziiing!
The attack was so fierce that the beam melted straight through the wolf's torso where it hit.
"Not hot enough to melt iron... Does the mana have a decomposition property too?"
"Brother Allen, how are you so calm?"
Allen analyzed with the same steady demeanor as before; Shiba sweated bullets holding the barrier. Quite the contrast.
"The pressure should ease up now."
"Huh?"
As Shiba glanced back, one water guardian's back arched sharply. The beam battering the barrier veered up the pillar and slammed into the ceiling.
The cause clung to its back: the leopard. Following orders, it had snuck up and latched on. With such a heavy beast suddenly attached, its spine had no choice but to bend backward.
The leopard leaped off, dodging the hands reaching for it. It skulked low across the floor and raked the hammer handle on the ground.
Its light-infused claws gouged deep scars into the handle. The guardian reached down, but the leopard swatted the hammer away, sending it skidding far off.
Faster than the guardian, the leopard reached it first, jamming claws into the grooves. Once deep enough, it reared up and stomped down with its full weight.
Sparks flew from the hammerhead. The circuits drawing mana from the guardian were wrecked.
Weaponless, the leopard squared off against the guardian face-to-face. Like a leopard versus a gorilla.
The leopard struck first. It rose on hind legs and unleashed a flurry of blows with its freed forepaws—not single hits, but combos.
Kagak!
The outer armor snagged on claws and tore. Friction sparked like fireworks. A real gorilla would've fled or died from those wounds long ago.
Painless as it was, the guardian tried to grab the leopard anyway. But its arms sliced only empty air, crashing into each other.
In that gap, the leopard dropped low and darted sideways. Momentum nearly flung it off, but it dug claws into the floor to control its path.
Pivoting on forepaws, it traced a semicircle. What faced it now was the back of the guardian's leg—a protruding tendon equivalent to an Achilles in humans. Jagged claws shredded it.
The thin armor for mobility proved fatal. Severed synthetic muscles coiled up; cut hydraulic lines dripped oil like blood.
An injured gorilla becomes prey. Same here.
The leopard remounted its back, drill-like fangs piercing the guardian's neck. It thrashed head and body violently.
Kiiing!
The head, twisted to its limit, thudded to the floor. The camera eye captured the leopard charging the other guardian as its final frame.
With the eye beam spent, the guardian entered mana-focusing mode. Its overtaxed mana furnace needed cooldown time, so it crouched defensively.
But Taylor blocked the leopard's path. Sharp eyes scanned him head to toe.
"Fierce little bastard."
Even knowing it was just ally verification, it was chilling. Taylor pointed upward with a finger.
The leopard ignored him as expected—this signal was for Allen.
Sure enough, it looked up. Atop the pillar hung the spider, missing a leg.
Claws protruding from thick forepaws, the leopard scaled the pillar's irregularities in a flash. The spider, condensing mana in its barrel, spotted it and fled to another pillar.
But the leaping leopard snatched it midair. Automaton or not, cat was cat—it balanced in freefall, using the spider as a cushion to land.
Thud!
The squashed spider went flat, naturally.
"Whew."
Taylor whistled and drew his mana sword. Rookies barely clearing layer 10 would struggle against the guardian's defensive stance, but for a seasoned explorer, it was just a punching bag.
The last guardian fell, all automatons destroyed. The guard captain, who'd only watched till then, bowed toward the jade throne and descended the stairs slowly.
Shiba wiped forehead sweat with his beard.
"Here comes the real deal. Can't wait to purge this purgatory and rest."
"If the powersuit breaks, he'll pop out and fight hand-to-hand. Phase two."
"You know your stuff, Brother Allen."
"First time for me too. Power of prep."
Allen pointed at approaching Taylor.
Info up to the cavern was easy to find on Samraman. More accurate meant pricier, but with Taylor, no need.
Taylor's knowledge extended to the primordial forest. He knew beyond, but a binding gag order meant experiencing it firsthand from there.
As Taylor took point to face the captain, Shiba eyed Allen's oddly relaxed vibe.
"Brother, no magic bullets?"
"I'd prefer snagging the captain's powersuit intact."
"You're really gonna?"
"Yeah."
Allen's resolve held firm against Taylor's question.
"Gotta fight anyway. Success is a bonus; failure means Plan B."
Allen loaded a drum mag into the magic bullet launcher and aimed—not at the captain, but the ceiling. The box did the same, firing upward.
Before baffled Shiba could ask, Allen's intent unfolded. Fat raindrops poured down. A deluge soaked only the captain and surroundings.
"Like magic."
"That's why they're magic bullets. Shells packed with spells."
The runes used: [Condensation], [Inundation], [Rainfall]. Not real rain, but a massive volume nonetheless.
Allen's five shots summoned the water; the sixth flew at the captain.
The captain reacted, swinging its greatsword to cleave it—but
Boom!
The bullet burst midair, spraying white powder. Glinting in the light, it was ice. Hitting the pooled water, it swelled rapidly, engulfing the captain.
Even freezing, the captain thrust a foot forward. The fragile prison shattered outward, but water remained plentiful—Allen and the box kept firing.
Finally, the captain was frozen solid. Like an Ice Age beast trapped in thick ice.
Yet the vizor's glow persisted, tracking Allen like a glare.
Soon, the visor darkened, and the powersuit shifted.
Psssh!
Steam hissed from armor joints despite the ice. Cracks spiderwebbed; the backplate peeled open like a crustacean's molt, ejecting the pilot.
The guard captain was bulkier than other underground dwellers. He drew a sword from inside the suit, blue aura flowing along the blade—not mana sword density and clarity, but aurablade.
"Skipped the pattern, huh? Seen mages do it, but magic bullets are new. Phase two it is..."
"No."
As Allen spoke, a red beam lanced from the water guardian's eye mounted on his staff. The air scorched hot.
Thicker than the leopard's beam, naturally—Allen's direct fire packed more punch.
Steam billowed from the beam's heat. As Allen's left eye pierced the haze, Taylor uttered a spell word.
"Down?"
"Yeah."
A thud echoed from the steam, and the water ran red.
End
The labyrinth was a nexus of inscrutable phenomena, endlessly stoking scholars' curiosity. Modern civilization might have unveiled barely a fingertip's worth.
As if to prove it, Allen's heat ray's steam sucked into somewhere. As if the sealed hall had ventilation.
A gaping hole marred the sprawled captain's back atop the wet floor. Half-cooked flesh oozed blood.
"May she hold him in peace, Mother. Not a pretty sight—let's grab the spoils quick."
Reverence fled Shiba's voice for eager anticipation.
Allen hauled automaton wreckage aside, asking,
"You seem thrilled."
"Fair pay for honest work? Of course. Monastery's communal—no personal stuff there."
"Communal, yet booze flows. Where from?"
Shiba shook his head at Taylor.
"Holy water recipes and routes are secret—even from you, Brother Taylor."
"Bullshit."
"Brother, such language."
"Secret my ass. You hopped the wall, dug a dog hole, or tunneled in like a spy."
At 'tunnel,' Shiba's beard twitched. Maybe from shifting the 'bot he carried, but to Allen's eyes, it looked deliberate.
Moving the last 'bot near the central aisle to the throne left only the captain's powersuit.
Allen's impassive eyes gleamed faintly. Pristine, head bowed slightly—satisfaction welled.
Taylor circled it, whistling.
"Clean as hell. How'd you think of this?"
"From intel: if the suit takes excess damage or binding's too tight, the captain ejects."
"Flashy surprise works, but draw us in next time. We're teammates, right?"
"Yes."
"No malice—just overthought and forgot."
Too many thoughts shoved it aside, as Taylor said. He smirked at Allen.
"Age shows all."
"Some brothers aren't like that, Brother Taylor. Some treat time like a waste dump..."
"Monk words so fancy."
They turned toward the hall door. Allen followed suit; moments later, it cracked open.
An eye peered in, scanning, followed by a short sigh.
"Already got 'em. Fresh too."
"Told you not to wander—hurry up."
"Says the guy who vanished for an hour with constipation..."
Eight explorers. They'd hugged the right wall, keeping the throne in view, moving slow.
"Just passing through—do your thing."
The labyrinth's—