Interlude: Deadly Eyes

This wasn't supposed to end up this way! Was the panicked thought of the spellcaster.

They may not have had a lot of information when taking this hunt, but he and his companions had a personal stake to hunt this monster down. It wasn't like it wasn't in some way routine. When a notable monster showed up in the Great Labyrinth, it was always the idea to try and kill it as quickly as possible. And all the information they had on this Shadow of the Labyrinth was that it was likely a Basilisk. A sneaky one with a few tricks up its sleeve, but even for a C Rank monster the fact the things relied on their Demon Eyes made them easy to deal with if a suitably prepared team countered that.

They hadn't expected to need to chase the thing through the caverns, and it was a slippery one. Not to mention a lot stronger than expected with how it used earth magic to try and break away from them. And it was also obviously an evolved breed, meaning the B Rank classification the paper had seemed far more accurate to its power. But it was still a Basilisk at the end of the day, so the flashbang strategy should have managed.

But then it had just lashed out with earth spikes. They hadn't even come out with any sense; it was just a circle of endless spikes meant to hit anything that could possibly be around it. And their swordsman had the sheer misfortune to take one through the chest because he took point.

And that was when it could be said that hell broke loose.

The Basilisk was seemingly nothing short of furious as it laid into them. The spellcaster had never seen a monster act with more efficiency, felling his remaining companions with barely more than one or two attacks each. Just what the hell kind of monster is this?! Even if it was evolved, the abilities it was using were not what they expected to see. Not just Earth Magic of its Demon Eyes, but seemingly able to use Dark Magic and Fire Magic, while that tail was more of a sword than an extra limb.

And now he was the only one left alive, his companions dead and scattered in the cave while he was stuck on the ground with petrified legs. That level of precision with the Demon Eyes was even more concerning as he desperately tried to free himself. The Basilisk approaches, and all the spellcaster could do is stare at the beast with fear in his gaze. As that obsidian blade raised up, the last thing he took note of before it came down was its eyes.

Blue… a bright, unnatural blue… why does it have eyes like that?

Anything else ceased the second the blade pierced through his forehead and into the depths of his brain.

It would take days for the people in Ohts County to finally learn about the deaths of the adventuring party in their hunt for the Shadow. And by the time more parties were sent in to try and locate it again, there wasn't a sign of it left within the Upper Stratum…