The Labyrinth Forest is a thick forest that lies between Prontera and Al De Baran, located precisely inside the Mt. Mjollnir. It was the only forest in Midgard that was grows inside the mountain. Unknown to many people, beneath this forest, lies the great demon that was wreaking havoc in Midgard many centuries ago, sealed within the forest alongside his army. The forest was completely shrouded in ancient magic, and will confuse the mind of people that was daring enough to entering this forest. Thus, this place became known as the Labyrinth Forest.

And now, four people, three teenagers, two boys and a girl, and a child were standing in front of the entrance of the forest. These peoples are those who were brave enough to enter this forest, though they don't know what would await them inside. The sun has sunk, leaving only a remnants of light in the sky before the star would appears and decorate the sky.

"Well, don't worry. I know the inside of the forest pretty well, so stick with me and you wouldn't get lost." the child said.

"""..."""

The teenagers are standing silently, two of them, the swordsman and the witch, are watching the entrance of the forest tensely, while the other one, the merchant is watching the child quietly. Realizing that she was being watched, she, though expressionless, ask in a polite tone…

"…is there a problem with my face?" the child asks.

"…No, there isn't." Elliot said as he turned his attention to the other direction.

Before, at noon…

The small girl with a purple hair is bowing in front of the group.

"The place is known as the Labyrinth Forest. Someone is intruding without permission in there. So please, help me and my peoples." she said as she bowing, and her hair falls down in front of her, covering her face.

"""…!"""

The three of them are surprised. They never thought that the word of Labyrinth Forest, or in other words, the Hidden Temple, would come out that easily.

"Hey, are peoples really living inside the Labyrinth Forest?" Erkard whispers to Xeyon and Elliot.

"This is the first time I've ever heard of it. The Labyrinth Forest is full of trap, not to mention the monsters that were trapped alongside the Great Demon. It was not a good place to be even ventured without any preparations." Xeyon explained.

"But it is true. My peoples have guarded the temple for many geberations. We know about the Forest like the back of our hand." the girl said.

...

Erkard, Elliot, and Xeyon doesn't know on what to say. It seems that the girl isn't lying, but they can't simply trust her like that. At that time, Erkard suddenly said something...

"In that case, then why don't you take us to where be your peoples located?" he asks.

""…!""

Elliot and Xeyon were surprised by his suggestion. On the other hand, the girl nodded as she answers.

"Certainly. It would be my pleasure to do that." the girl said.

"Good. We'll be counting on you, then." Erkard answers.

Hearing that, Xeyon then moves towards Erkard and...

"Swordsman, what are you thinking?" she asks, whispering at the white haired swordsman.

"What do mean by what am I thinking? And by the way, my name is Erkard." Erkard said.

"We don't even know who is that girl. And her story is too unbelievable. We can't trust her this easily."

"...then what do you suggest we should do? Leaving her behind? Or should we return to the town? And what if she's telling the truth?"

"Well, that's..."

"Impossible, right? Well, the second suggestion perhaps was possible, but I'm afraid I don't want to waste my time to meet with the King. I rather protect the girl along the way." Erkard said.

"My, aren't you arrogant? You think that such a thing was easy to do?" Xeyon said, seemingly slightly ticked off by Erkard's comment.

"I assure you that I don't have any intention to be arrogant. And no, I'm just believing in my own capabilities."

"...I see."

Xeyon, after saying that, she left as she seems satisfied. Suddenly...

"But remember, the child is your responsibility. Should something happened to her, then I shall have you take the punishment for putting a civilian in danger." she said that.

"Understood." Erkard answers.

They seems to have reached an agreement by that. The child, though remains expressionless, her eyes seems glimmers with a satisfaction as she heard that.

"You seems happy." Elliot said suddenly in a low voice at the girl.

"...!"

The girl seems slightly surprised. For the first time when they met, she show her hard-to-cover emotion. But when she realized it, she quickly returned her face to the usual expressionless face.

"...shouldn't I? It was normal to be happy when we get something that we wished for, isn't it?" the girl said as she turned away her face from Elliot.

The girl move away from Elliot, leaving Elliot behind who was still watching her silently from behind. She moves towards Erkard and Xeyon. Realizing her coming, Erkard suddenly asks her...

"Oh yeah, what's your name?" he asks.

"Huh? Name?" the girl asks.

"Yes. We don't know what to call you, after all. It would be easier that way." Erkard explains.

"Oh, you mean what I was called? In that case, my peoples always called me Elskerinne."

"El...ske...rinne? That's sure an unusual name."

"Is that so? But it doesn't matter, right?"

"Well, I guess you have a point. Nice to meet you, Elskerinne." Erkard said as he scratches his head.

He then gave his hand towards Elskerinne, initiating a handshake. But Elskerinne just look silently at that, as she then say...

"What is it?" she asks.

"Huh? It's a handshake." Erkard said.

"Why are you doing that?"

"Huh? Well, we're just introduced ourselves, right? We're usually also doing a handshake as a proof of trust between us."

"Proof...of...trust?"

"Swordsman, I believe she's still not old enough to understand what are you doing." Xeyon said as she moves near them.

"I've told you that my name is Erkard. But I guess you're right. Anyway, it's nice to meet you, Elskerinne."

"No, let's continue."

As she said that, she then took Erkard's hand with her right hand and shake it. Her tiny hand looks frail enough that it looks could break at any time if it wasn't handled with care. But when Erkard took her hand, he strangely feels that her hand feels sturdier than a normal child her age. No, it even feels too sturdy for a child like her.

"(What is this feeling? Is she a martial artist or something?)" Erkard thought.

"Then, please help my peoples. They're struggling even as we speak." Elskerinne said.

Erkard then loosen his hand and stop the handshake. He then continues...

"Just how does the invaders looks like?" he asks.

"I can't describe it. But it was strong. You have to see it by yourself." Elskerinne answers.

Elskerinne pointed at a direction where Xeyon's pointed before. She then walks at that direction, as if leading the way.

"Well then, I guess we should get going, then." Erkard said.

"Remember your promise." Xeyon said, reminding him.

"Don't worry."

Erkard and Xeyon moves following Elskerinne from behind. But behind the three of them, Elliot just stand silently, thinking of something.

"...Elskerinne... Where did I've heard that name before?" he murmurs.

He still continues to remembering the meaning of that name as he and his companions leaded by the girl to the entrance of the Labyrinth Forest. The sun has set when they've reached it.

The entrance of the forest was really unusual, though it doesn't look special at all. Normally, people would expect a random path on the ground to enter any normal forest. But the Labyrinth Forest have an entrance of a temple grounds, with the mountain covering its inside.

"It sure doesn't look like a forest. More like an entrance to a temple. Now I know why it was called a temple." Erkard commented.

"Don't let the entrance fools you. The inside is like a sea of trees, and the place looks identical here and there thanks to the magic swirling inside. And the Hidden Temple refers to the small temple inside." Xeyon explains.

"There's another temple inside?"

"Yes, on the center of the Labyrinth Forest, lies the altar of sealing. Sir Grandt told us about the bridge inside the Hidden Temple, right? The bridge is located inside the temple and actually the altar itself."

"What? The bridge is the altar?"

"Yes. The bridge itself was just a cover. It was actually a gate to connect this world to the other world. Though only after a certain ritual that it could work. And so, normally it was only a bridge."

Erkard nods as Xeyon explains. On the other hand, Elskerinne watch them while remain expressionless. But as she watch the swordsman and the witch, she realized that she herself was being watched.

"…is there a problem with my face?" Elskerinne asks as she turned her attention to the merchant, Elliot.

"…No, there isn't." Elliot said as he turned his attention to the other direction.

He tried hard to decipher the mystery behind Elskerinne's secret. So hard that he didn't even realized that his eyes has fixated on the girl.

"Well then, let's go." Elskerinne said as she entered the forest.

The entrance looks dark enough that not long after Elskerinne entered, she was already out of sights of the three.

"We better hurry, or we'll lose her." Erkard said as he entered too.

"...actually, I myself also know the path inside, but oh well, no matter." Xeyon said, and she entered, following the other two as she disappeared.

"..."

Elliot was standing quietly in front of the entrance, watching the other move in front of him. He seems thinking about something.

"… Haah… there's no use thinking about it if I can't found the answer." Elliot murmurs as he follows the other.

The dark path just before doesn't last long. Not long after he walks in the dark, Elliot saw a source of light in front of him. He moves towards it, as the light grows more intense. Finally, he reached out to an open area. It was a wide, and just as Xeyon's said before, the inside is overwhelmed by a sea of trees. Many kind of tree grows in there. It was like a green colored paradise, or hell.

Just like the trees, monsters inhabited this place. Though some of them are harmless, many dangerous monsters making lair in here. It was becoming even clearer when they've reached this place and a pack of red-colored flies appeared in front of them.

"Hunter Fly! Be careful everyone!" Xeyon shouts.

"What the…! ? They're never attacked in a pack before!" Elliot shouts back.

"Think about that later! They're coming! On your guard, everyone!" Erkard shouts too.

But the monster didn't attack at all. They just floating in confusion, and suddenly, they flies away in hurry.

"…? They ran away?" Erkard said in confusion.

"Now that's even stranger than why they're attacking in a group." Elliot said too.

Xeyon moves towards the place the Hunter Flies floating before. She seems thinking about something, but can't find it as she looks disappointed.

"I don't think that the place is the problem. They seems to be afraid of something, but what is that is the thing that I'm trying to found, but can't seems to find it." she said.

"…? Afraid? The Hunter Fly?" Elliot asks.

"That's what it looks like, wasn't it? Those monsters are known as the daredevil, and yet they not only didn't attack us, but flies away quickly as if in fear." Xeyon said.

"...fear..."

Elliot stands silently as he tried to found the answer, but he still can't find the answer. As he tried to do that, he realized that a certain person is not bothered by the recent event.

"Well then, let's go. The temple ground is this way." Elskerinne said.

She walks ahead of the other as if she was the leader of the group. Her purple hair is swaying as she walks. If only she's not expressionless, then she might looks like a really charming little lady of her age.

"(The source of fear... Could it be...?)" Elliot thought, seemingly realized something.

"Come on. Let's go." Xeyon said to him.

"Huh?"

Hearing that, Elliot saw that Elskerinne has already pretty far in front of him. Erkard started to walks too behind her when Elskerinne started to disappear from their sight.

"Our group might be separated should we dilly-dallying in here. We should get moving." Xeyon said again.

"Oh, you're right." Elliot said as he get moving.

...

Elliot still looks tense as he walks. Realizing that, Xeyon then asks to him...

"Prince, is there something that bothering you?" she said.

"Call me Elliot, already. You're already good enough of not calling me 'Prince' in front of the other. Just call me Elliot." Elliot said.

"...I still can't. That kind of thing is too hard for me."

"I see. Well, I guess the way you are is fine, too."

"So, is there something bothering you?"

Elliot shut his eyes, seemingly thinking about something, and then...

"No, I don't know how to explain it. And besides, it might be just an overly worries of me." he said.

"A worries?" Xeyon asks.

"...enough talk. There's no point of thinking something that wasn't even clear enough in present. I'll explain it when I'm sure of the credibility of my delusion."

Elliot said that as he moves, following on where the girl and the swordsman. Xeyon who was watching his back, followed short-after.

The forest was even more thick than how it looks. There's barely any path inside, but the path branches everywhere. Not only that, the mist is making the path even harder to saw. Truly, this place upholds the name of the Labyrinth Forest.

But fortunately, Elskerinne also upholds her words. Just as she said, she really knows the way inside the forest. And not only that, she even pinpointed any places that might be dangerous for the group. As the way things goes, they've reached the entrance temple in a hour.

"This is it. From here on, we're going to enter the temple." Elskerinne said.

In front of her, the path looks like a dead end. The trees grow thick enough to seal the way forward.

"Umm, I don't see any entrance, though?" Erkard asks dumbfoundedly.

"Watch."

As she said that, Elskerinne move and touches one of the trees in front of her.

GROOO! GROOO! GROOO!

"...! Wow!" Erkard shouts.

The trees in front of him suddenly twisting, opening a path that looks like a tunnel that was wide enough for a tall adult to walk without bowing. At the end of the tunnel, a source of light could be seen.

"The place was covered with magic. Those trees were a barrier that close the entrance, so no monsters could go in and forth." Elskerinne explained.

After she explained that, she then entered the tunnel first, leading the way. Seeing that, Erkard and the rest following behind her.

Tap, tap, tap...

As they stepping, the sound of their shoes touching the ground echoes in the tunnel. Finally, as they walks towards the source of light, it looks like it grows bigger, until a place was appeared inside the light.

"This is it." Elskerinne said as she move out from the tunnel.

Erkard following behind her, and move out from the tunnel, too. When he's getting out from the tunnel, he found a unique scenery that normally couldn't be found inside a sea of trees.

A plains, with a river at the center, and a bridge to connect it. The grass on the plains looks yellow colored, seemingly withering away. The river was sparkling with blue, with a source of light that cannot be seen shining over it. No, perhaps it wasn't a source of light from above. But instead, when Erkard look closely, the grasses were the source of light.

Surrounding the plains, are an endless abyss. Erkard doesn't know what would happen if he move there. Perhaps he would fall down into infinite darkness, or he would walk on an invisible floor, surrounded with no light. It feels like they're in a different dimension. A small-sized, and withering away dimension.

"So this is the Hidden Temple..." Erkard said in amazement.

But the other didn't seem to listen. They was watching at the bridge in their sight. Though the bridge was pretty far from where they are right now, a shadow of a person could be seen from there.

"The altar is in there. And also, the invader." Elskerinne said.

As she said that, she pointed towards the shadow.

The shadow is standing quietly at the bridge. When looked closely, it was appear to be a young man about 25 years old with an appearance of a Professor, but with more grandeur design in his clothes. The cloak behind him looks like a pair of wings that could become alive at any second.

The dark purple hair he has that reached his shoulders looks as if showing his wisdom, accumulated through years of training and study. The staff he hold in his right hand is also a strange looking staff. It looks more like a spear instead of a staff, if not because of the magic decoration all over it.

"So the wheel of destiny has finally started to turn. I wonder where is it going to turn?" the man said as he looks toward another direction.

As he looks, four person are coming towards him. The group consisted of a swordsman, a merchant, a witch, and a child. He smiles as he's preparing to greet them, especially when he saw the girl pointed at him.

Thank you for reading this chapter! As always, your review and PM are appreciated! So write on! Well then, see you in the next chapter!

Hmm...perhaps I should update the progress from my profile? I always check the fanfiction almost everyday, after all.

To Unknown : You're giving me too much credit, but thanks lol. As for sharing, well, why not? I don't see a harm by sharing lol.