Frostfire Legacy

After clearing the locust swarm blocking their path, Aster, Faeloria, and Vanessa resumed their course, running as fast as they could while matching Aster's speed—the weakest and therefore slowest of the group.

"We're reaching the middle of the island soon! Watch out for traps!" Vanessa exclaimed as she rushed ahead, acting as the vanguard.

Fortunately, their worries were unfounded. There were no traps from the second perimeter to the third. Furthermore, the defenses on the third perimeter were easier to handle compared to the locust swarm. As such, they didn't even spend a minute breaking through and finally reached their destination.

"That's the place..." Aster muttered in a grim tone, surveying the target building.

It looked like a tall, 10-story facility from the outside, battered by the elements and covered in vines and moss, appearing dilapidated and half-destroyed. However, one wouldn't miss the traces of "someone" using the facility recently, confirming Faeloria's tracking was on point.

As they exited the forest and entered the buffer clearing toward the building, the three began to slow to a walking pace.

Faeloria and Vanessa warily surveyed their surroundings, looking for any sign of enemies, but only sensed two presences—one just ahead of them, and another underground.

Without a word, Vanessa took the lead as Faeloria moved in front of Aster, shielding him from potential ambushes or surprise attacks.

Soon enough, they entered the building, stepping over broken glass that cracked under their weight. They didn't need to head too deep before they found someone.

"Lorelai...!" Aster gasped, not expecting to find her first.

Both Vanessa and Faeloria heightened their vigilance, glaring at Lorelai with narrowed eyes. The other party simply gave a thin smile before speaking in a clear, relaxed voice.

"I was expecting you, Aster Mistral." Her lips curled into a crescent, as if she found the situation pleasing. "But I still have use for your little rabbit healer, so this is as far as you can go."

"Nonsense!" Aster growled back, gritting his teeth in frustration and anger. "I know Cassy's hidden a few floors underground! I'll be taking her back, and you can't stop me!"

Lorelai widened her eyes as if surprised, then let out a soft chuckle. "You really think so? Just because you gained a few levels doesn't mean you can turn fate on its head, you know?"

Her gaze, which had shown a hint of warmth and familiarity, now turned cold and ambitious. "My objectives aren't so simple that a little guy like you can stop them. The world shall pay for its sins against our race, and nobody is exempt from it!"

"..."

Aster sensed the seriousness in Lorelai's words. However, for some reason, it sounded as if she was trying to convince herself.

"Alright, little missy, that's enough from you." But before the conversation could continue, Vanessa stepped forward, fearlessly approaching Lorelai. "Objectives? Paying for sins? I don't care about those. All I know is I'm here to beat you up."

Ordinarily, Vanessa's intimidating presence should've been enough to send someone to their knees. However, Lorelai remained composed, her face covered with a thin smile, as if amused.

"Honestly, I didn't expect that sly man to send the Vampire Princess and the World Tree's Guardian together. Normally, this should be enough to thwart our plans, but..."

Lorelai raised her right hand, palm up and outstretched.

"... Too bad for you, we've come prepared." She gently closed her palm, pressing her middle finger and thumb together.

*SNAP!*

The moment she snapped her fingers, a powerful wave of mana washed over the entire area. Aster, through the anti-brainwashing equipment's AR support, saw the waves of mana emanating from Lorelai's body. The display showed that the amount she was releasing was on par with someone over level 1000, making him gasp in shock.

'When did she get so powerful?!'

If he had stuck with his original plan of saving Cassy alone, he would've been defeated in just two moves, given the gap between their strengths. Explore stories on empire

Vanessa quickly retreated, standing beside Faeloria while raising her hands to block the mana's pressure.

"This is...!"

"...!"

Both of them immediately realized what was happening and frowned.

"Aster, stick close to me!" they shouted simultaneously, turning and reaching for Aster. However, neither made it in time.

"Ugh...!"

Their vision started to twist—no, the dimension itself was twisting into a spiral! Aster lost his sense of direction and balance, falling to his knees and shutting his eyes tight. A wave of dizziness hit him, and his ears rang loudly. It was so uncomfortable that he wished he could just pass out and be done with it.

However, the agony lasted a few more long seconds before finally coming to an end.

When Aster managed to open his eyes, the scenery before him had completely changed. He was no longer inside the dilapidated, overgrown facility but in what seemed to be a dim maze.

Walls surrounded him in every direction, reaching up to the ceiling, over 100 meters above. Aster looked around but couldn't find any trace of Vanessa or Faeloria.

'We got separated.' He judged calmly.

Aster assessed his current situation and checked his objectives. "I need to regroup with either of them or find the exit of this maze before we can resume our original mission."

To check, Aster approached the wall to his right. Though it was the color of mud, its texture was as smooth as marble. He knocked on it, but the sound told him the wall was far too solid to be destroyed.

The idea of testing his attacks against it crossed his mind, but quickly decided against it. He wasn't sure how large the maze was yet, or what dangers lay within, so being cautious would be for the best.

"But with walls this tough, I dare say this place isn't a simple maze, but rather, a labyrinth."

With that information, it wasn't hard to figure out why Lorelai pulled this stunt either.

"... They're buying time. Time to finish removing the limiters on the rest of the Aracelli Race members."

Aster took a deep breath, calming his mind. His objective wouldn't change, no matter what Lorelai was planning.

All he needed to do was conquer the labyrinth as fast as he could!