The world spun violently before settling with a sickening lurch.
Itekan stumbled to his knees, breath heaving as the disorienting rush of teleportation left him light-headed. Around him, the others were equally rattled, some sprawled on the cold stone floor. Kutote collapsed forward, clutching his head, his crimson aura flickering unsteadily — the strain of using a high-level spatial transference for the first time etched into his features.
They were safe.
For now.
But Korimer was gone. He had stayed behind to face Sir Bellingham alone.
The realization hit Itekan like a physical blow. He turned sharply, looking at the group sprawled around him — Avery, Rose, Itoyea, Binturu, and Kutote. Their breaths filled the silence, ragged and heavy.
Itoyea was screaming.
His voice echoed off the chamber walls, raw and unrestrained. He clutched at what remained of his leg, blood pooling beneath him. The once pristine warrior now writhed in a mixture of fury and unimaginable agony.
"Hold him down!" Rose barked, snapping into motion. Her SE burst out instantly releasing her technique, Safe Zone. Rippling outward to stabilize the area.
Avery and Binturu grabbed Itoyea by the shoulders and arms, holding him steady as he thrashed. Even despite the pain Itoyea did not let go of his sword.
"Rose, do something!" Avery shouted, desperation cracking his usually calm tone.
"I'm trying!" Rose's voice trembled, but her hands remained steady. She pressed them over the wound, SE blooming from her palms in radiant waves. Flesh began to knit together beneath her touch, the torn muscle twitching as the regenerative process kicked in.
"What's going on, I thought you already stabilized him!?" Itekan asked running to them.
"It must have been the jump—his body rejected the healing!" Rose informed them. She tried pouring more of her SE into his wounds to override the immunity.
But Itoyea's scream only intensified.
"Make it stop!" he gasped, sweat pouring down his pale face.
Itekan crouched beside them, shadows writhing around his hands. "Here—let me try something, my shadow always heals me instantly, i wonder if it'll work on others..." His voice was low, hopeful.
Rose nodded quickly. "Do it!"
The shadows sank into Itoyea's leg, merging with the golden light. For a moment, his body spasmed — and then some of the raw agony dulled. His screams became guttural groans, his chest heaving.
Rose exhaled shakily. "That did it—the leg will grow back before the end of the day. But—" she met Itoyea's glassy eyes with a grave expression, "—it's going to hurt more than hell itself. You'll feel every tendon and bone regenerate. And there will probably be a scar"
Itoyea gritted his teeth, nodding despite the pain. "I – I can handle it," he rasped.
Binturu stared at the mangled mess of blood and flesh, a flicker of guilt crossing his features. "You did good, Itoyea," he muttered. "Most wouldn't have survived that strike."
Itoyea managed a weak, bitter laugh. "Feels… like dying would've been easier."
Rose's hands glowed brighter, her own sweat dripping onto the stone. "Shut up and focus on breathing."
---
The quiet was broken by Itekan's sharp voice. "We need to go back."
The others froze, turning toward him in disbelief. Even Itoyea stilled, his breathing ragged but attentive.
"Excuse me?" Kutote's tone was dangerously low.
"I said we go back." Itekan's shadow flared outward like a living thing, writhing in agitation. "Korimer is fighting alone. We can't just leave him!"
"That's exactly why we left," Kutote snapped, standing to face him. His usually calm face was tight with anger. "Korimer stayed behind so we could escape. If we return, we spit on that sacrifice—and we'd die, all of us."
"You don't know that!" Itekan shot back, fists clenched. "He's strong, yes, but even Korimer has limits! You saw Bellingham. You felt his power. What if Korimer falls?!"
"He won't," Binturu interjected firmly. "He's Korimer. That guy is a monster. If anyone can hold off that old knight, it's him."
Avery crossed his arms, his voice cold. "I agree with Itekan on this. Even though head trys to remind me just how strong he is, I can't get the what-ifs out of my head."
Rose, still working on Itoyea's leg, didn't look up but added softly, "If we go back, Itoyea's condition might get worse. I can't heal on the move."
Itekan's mouth opened, then closed. His shadows twitched uncertainly around him. "So what? We just… sit here and hope?"
"Yes." Kutote's tone brooked no argument. "We regroup, recover, and trust him to do his part. That's what a team does."
Itekan glared, trembling with frustration. The memory of Crooks Lake— surged up in his mind. His voice cracked. "Y—You don't get it. I can't let this be a repeat of what happened at Crooks—"
"I have told you several times—chck! It wasn't on you. We all decided to fight. If you hadn't done so I would have." Itoyea said his voice solemn.
The chamber fell into heavy silence, the weight of his words pressing down on all of them.
Kutote remembered Itekan was the last one to fall during the Crooks' Lake incident, he realized he had no idea what he must have seen or felt in those last moments. "Itekan—Senior Korimer has just sacrificed himself to let us go on, if you go back, we all fall." Kutote tried once more.
Itekan's head hung low and he was quiet for a few minutes as he absorbed everything, then he let out a scream. Rising, his countenance was completely different. He wore a wide grin and seemed to have let go of a ton of weights.
"Thanks guys. I must have sounded like a whiney brat. Let's finish this!!" Itekan said with a wide grin, Itoyea dispute the pain he felt couldn't help but grin. Avery leaped and punched his shoulders playful while Binturu headlocked him, playfully. Rose smiled gently, her healing ability intensified as felt relieved even in the dark situation. Kutote let out a sigh of relief and shook his head. He couldn't comprehend him sometimes, his change in attitude had directly changed the atmosphere of the team.
---
Meanwhile...
Korimer stood in the center of a fractured courtyard, his breath steady, his blade gleaming despite the blood running down his side. Across from him, Sir Bellingham adjusted his gauntlet with maddening calm, his white cloak torn but his posture unshaken.
"You fight well," Bellingham said, his voice deep and unnervingly casual, as if this weren't a battle to the death. His piercing eyes glimmered beneath his helm. "But you know this changes nothing."
Korimer spat blood and smirked grimly even as he struggled to stand. "Maybe not. But it buys them time."
Bellingham tilted his head, almost pitying. "Time? You misunderstand, Korimer – Those children were already doomed the moment they entered these ruins."
Korimer's eyes narrowed.
Bellingham gestured lazily to the sprawling ruins around them. "Do you not see it even now? These stones are soaked with ancient runic formations. During my time alive I was known as the world's greatest runes master. The rune formations here are accumulation of my life's work, the deeper they go, the deadlier it becomes." His tone shifted, reverent and cold. "This place was built as a crucible. Even now, explosive runes lie dormant beneath their feet — so many that if they all were to detonate, the entire mountain range would vanish in a single, glorious instant."
Korimer's grip tightened on his blade. "You expect me to believe that?"
"I do not care whether you believe me or not," Bellingham replied with a mirthless smile. "You'll hear it for yourself soon enough. The hum of awakening runes is unmistakable… like a heartbeat before death."
His gaze sharpened, cruel and calculating. "And among those countless traps lies one formation I made myself. It would rank as A-class demonic beast—if we were foolish enough to measure such things by demonic beast standards."
Korimer's breath stilled.
A-class demonic beast meant near-catastrophic power. The kind of threat that even Blue Eyes Form heroes avoided.
"You think those lads can survive that?" Bellingham asked almost mockingly. "Even now, their fate is sealed."
For the briefest moment, doubt flickered across Korimer's mind — before he remembered something else.
"Keke!!" Korimer laughed. His aura flared like a wildfire, shaking the very air. "You must take me for a fool."
Bellingham's chuckled turned dark as he frowned. "Whatever could you possibly mean?"
"I don't know much about your history—but as a knight. You would never desecrate the resting place of your King. Even after death."
Bellingham frowned at that, he was hoping he wouldn't catch the bluff. Not that he didn't have runes capable of sinking the mountains, rather that they were the very last option. Something he had created to ensure the legacy of the king wasn't tainted.
"I don't believe you aren't capable of creating such runes, rather they would be a last resort. Guess what! Better prepare them all because you are never winning!" Korimer commanded as he roared with a furious intensity.
---
"So what do we do now?" Rose asked.
"Let's head further down. Itoyea how are you feeling now?" Itekan asked Itoyea whose leg had mostly grown back by now.
"I can manage." Itoyea said getting up, and making a slow attempt at walking. He stumbled the first time, falling to his knees. The pain rushing through to his brain could kill. But he endured and stood once more.
Itekan nodded and turned to the rest.
"Kutote and Rose, can you both locate where we are? How far away from the King's Chambers are we?" Itekan asked.
"It might take a while since I have no idea how far in we jumped but give me a minute—" Kutote said.
Rose however wasnt so attuned to the task. "I need to keep healing Itoyea. And the safe Zone also needs to be active as we don't know where we are right now"
"Its okay! I don't think there's much more you can do for Itoyea's leg. And I think we might have just help him awaken his own regenerative abilities. Going any further would only suppress them" Kutote reasoned.
"Exactly. Avery and Binturu let's head further into the palace. Were short on time so we need to get to the King's Chambers. That's where the treasure room is—"
"I'll scout ahead first." Avery said and made his way out of the safe zone Rose's technique had created.
As he did a deep, resonant hum filled the air, vibrating in their bones. Strange glowing lines crawled across the floor like veins of molten gold, forming intricate patterns beneath his feet.
Kutote's eyes widened in horror. "No. No, no, no… That's—"
The entire chamber ignited with blinding light as a towering symbol flared to life at its center. The heat was oppressive, suffocating, as if the air itself was being burned away.
"That's a rune," Avery growled, fists raised. "Another trap?"
"Not just any trap," Kutote whispered, his voice almost breaking. "This… this is an Advanced level rune."
The others froze.
Even Rose paused her healing. "What does that mean?"
"Well," Kutote said grimly, "Runes are graded on the same scale as we heroes. Because of this there can be different levels of the same rune. The runes we faced so far have been Intermediate at most."
As if on cue, the glow intensified, and the air thickened and a wave of putrid acidic gas shot off from all directions.
Avery squared his fists. Channeling as much SE into his hand he struck the ground with a force that rose up a great wind. Sprinting onwards, his tracks was covered by the ever growing acid fog.
Itoyea from inside the safe zone unsheathed his blade.
"Way of the Wind: 3rd Form: Wind Gale Style!"Itoyea said and let loose his sword, as it desended a whirlpool of wind was created. Growing larger. With no time it quickly cleared out the acid fog.
"Nice!" Itekan whistled.
"Okay! Let's get going Avery should be back in a few minutes. Rose get ready to deactivate the safe zone on my mark. 3, 2, 1, Deactivate!" Itekan told her.
Cutting her technique shut. The five of them launched into the hall which was already churning and creaking as several advanced runes were activated.
.
.
.
Spiritual Energy (SE)
Spiritual Sea (SS)
Spiritual Signature (SST)