I open the doors to the opening ceremony room, where we were instructed to go.
I see Ursula sitting down on stage, waiting for the other students to enter.
Unsurprisingly, Diana is here, probably the first one to enter, maybe even before Ursula!
As she leans against a wall, I walk over to her.
"So, why do you think we were called here?" I ask.
"I'm not sure. Although, I believe it may have something to do with that labyrinth business we dealt with."
"Perhaps." I say, recalling the events of yesterday reminding myself of another affair. "Oh, and next time, don't give Akko such a hard time. I know she isn't the most talented student here, but you shouldn't have to berate her like that." I state.
She sighs.
"Oh please, don't tell me that you buy into that fraud, Chariot."
"I don't even know who she is." I admit.
Another sigh, and she explains.
"She was a stage performer, she used magic only to entertain, not to help, or change anything. A shame too, she had so much power. Well, with this new information, what's your opinion of her, now?"
"Nah, I thought I'd keep it to myself." I tell her. "Keeps the readers guessing."
She gives me a confused look, asking
"What readers?"
The remaining students filter in through the doors.
Once everyone has quieted down, Ursula explains why she brought us here.
"Students, you are probably wondering why I asked you to come here. I can assure you that whatever classes you have now have been canceled, no absent slips shall be given. Follow me, and all will be explained."
Or maybe not.
As we follow her down multiple flights of stairs, many students seem confused as to where we are going, but I recognize the pathway from before.
I guess Diana was right.
We go down the same hallways that Diana and I went down, and we all stop in the same place Diana and I stopped. In front of a huge metal door, with many locks and bolts.
Ursula walks over to a whiteboard already set up by the massive door.
The board seems to be enchanted, as it shows in animation everything she says.
"Today, you will put your skills to the test. This tower is built on top of an ancient labyrinth. Today's assignment will be to go down to the labyrinth, find a hidden treasure, and retrieve it. The rarer the item your team retrieves, the higher score your team gets. Furthermore, there are wild monsters roaming around the labyrinth, so please watch your step."
The witch being eaten at the end didn't exactly give us any confidence.
But Diana and I have braved the labyrinth before, nothing we can't handle.
But this time, I will have to face it alone, as Ursula said "Your team", and I don't have a team.
While most students seem intimidated at this challenge, Akko is burning with anticipation. Ursula continues,
"You have three hours. Use everything you've learned so far, and surprise me with your knowledge and talent. Good luck, begin."
With a flick of her wand, the huge metal doors open, and we all enter.
Everyone splits off from the group into their teams, and funnels down a corridor.
As I walk down one of the many hallways, I consciously split away from any of the groups.
If I tread where no other students are treading, then perhaps I have a greater chance of finding treasures, hopefully a rare item.
However, in my loneliness, I begin to think about the situation at hand.
All alone, in an underground maze, in search of treasure for school credit. Myself keeping in mind that even with that little duel with Diana, and that little incursion we had into the labyrinth already, I still am very green in both my knowledge and experience in magic, let alone combat magic.
And now, I'm on my own, no Diana to save me from any monsters this time.
Not exactly the way I thought I'd be spending my day.
No matter!
I am a person of Roman blood, my ancestors having been masters in magic, being crucial in the ruling of The Roman Republic, no matter how little we're mentioned in the history books.
We have a history dating back to generations, key players in the affairs of ancient Italy.
I'm sure that if I try hard enough, perhaps I can tap into some kind of hidden magic and pull myself ahead of the game.
One of these days, I shall be known as a first class wizard, my power ranging far and wide-
My train of thought is interrupted, by a high pitch scream that echoes throughout the hallway.
On the other side of the wall to my right, I hear Akko yell
"Over there!"
Whatever that was, it can't be good.
I start running forward, hoping that I could make a U turn and meet up.
I run into a huge, dark room with pillars decorating the walls.
Ahead of me is another hallway, leading to the room with Akko and the worrisome witch, Sucy and Lotte probably being nearby.
I begin to sprint through the room only to be stopped by the sight of, what looks like, a rhino.
It's largely gray and grayish green, expect for a red patch covering its back.
This rhino also has three horns, one on each cheek, with the third on its nose.
It turns in my direction, and charges.
I spin around and start running back to where I came from.
This thing is too fierce for me to handle! I barely know any magic!
The sounds of its iron hooves clank against the stone ground, growing louder and louder as it nears.
I begin to engage in a sprint for my life, now gasping for air as my energy begins to dwindle.
Eventually, I will get winded, and then what? I'll die tired! Enough is enough!
In desperation, I spin around, hoping to cast a lightning spell straight at it.
During the turning, my wand strikes its right cheek horn.
The spell explodes upon impact, shattering the horn, the sheer force throwing us both back.
While tumbling around, I accidentally let go of my wand, but somehow able to land on my feet.
I twist my head around, spotting my discarded wand on the floor.
Full of fear and adrenaline, I lung at it, landing hard on my stomach, clumsily snatching it from the ground.
I twist my head towards the monster as it lets out a terrifying roar, charging towards me with great force.
I try to get up, the blunt side of its nose horn slamming against my chest.
I let out a cry of pain as it launches me in the air, an aching and throbbing chest carrying with me.
Once I hit the ground, I stagger and scramble to my feet.
I quickly begin to feel over my chest, fear and worry with whatever injuries I have plaguing me.
Thankfully, no major injuries can be found.
Being hit by the blunt side, and not the horrible point, has only left me with a large dark blue and purple bruise on my chest.
I hear an almost scraping noise coming from behind me.
Twisting around, I see the creature scratching its paw against the stone floor, intending for another charge, a small trickle of blood dripping out of its broken horn and splattering on the dark floor.
With one hand rubbing my injured chest, I point my want at the beast, in preparation of what's to come.
The monster lets out another roar and begins to gallop at me once again.
Rather than run, I fire a single bolt of lightning, this time hitting its right eye.
The eyeball ruptures, killing it instantly.
The once dangerous beast topples over, its lifeless body dragging against the floor.
It slides to a stop, a pool of its blood beginning to form from its two wounds.
With the creature done with, a clasp my hands against my knees, catching my breath and allowing the adrenaline to run its course.
As I do this, I analyze the dead monster before me.
I wonder just what kind of power this thing really had.
Is it a top class monster, dangerous to all, or something that could've been killed with little effort.
No doubt Diana could've dispatched the thing with ease, but what about any other student?
I hope that this was a first class creature and that's why I had such a hard time with it.
I notice a slight amount of movement coming from the pool of blood.
Upon closer inspection, I see that the liquid is rippling ever so slightly.
Now hearing heavy footsteps coming from the hallway, I stand straight up with fear, twisting my head towards the sound.
My eyes rapidly scan through the nearby hallway, the noise growing louder, but the room being too dark to make out any form of image.
As whatever's making that noise gets closer, I hear ragged breathing, deep and heavy, just like its footsteps.
The giant entered the hallway, the putrid odor of his body burning my nose. His fat shakes as he took his massive steps towards me.
Its one massive eye, implying Cyclopia, twists disgustingly at me, at the dead creature, then back at me.
"Who are you?!" It demands, its voice bellowing and echoing throughout the labyrinth.
I begin to shiver, the great beast already mutilating my nerves.
This is different then the rhino creature from before, so much different.
It's physical features aside, the fact that it can talk and is fully conscience and cognitive is much worse than anything else.
With an animal, such as the rhino, it cant talk, it can't think. All it can do is act on instinct.
However, the Cyclops can talk, it can think, and it can do much more than act on instinct.
What I want to do is run away, flee from this room, this labyrinth, and leave everything behind.
Sure this is worth grade, but a grade isn't worth risking my life over!
However, I know from folklore that a Cyclops has a short temper. The slightest thing could set them off.
Rather than run and scream, I decide to just be honest with the beast.
Maybe I can appeal to its better nature, if it has any.
"I'm just a student…taking a test-"
"And killing my pet!" It shouts at me, rage filling its voice.
I really want to run now, but I need to maintain face and control my nerves.
Emotions are infectious, if I can remain calm then perhaps the beast will as well.
"Of course...that poor creature." I say, fake mourning filling my voice. "I was sad to put it down. But it was attacking me, that's self defense, a natural right. It's practically law."
The Cyclops huffs and grumbles, sitting down, shaking the ground under its great weight.
"Here, we have no law! Here, we do what we want!"
"So…uh…you live with anyone?" I ask, wondering if there are any other Cyclops's I need to worry about.
"No, my comrades are in The Big Caves."
Wherever that is, I hope it's far away from here.
"And where are your parents?"
"My mother was a Cyclops, and my father is the mighty god, Mendacius."
The who?
"I am the weakest, Polyphemus." He continues.
He eyes the satchel on my hip.
"What did you bring?" He asks.
I get an idea.
If I can do this right, all will be well again, I can collect some item, and get the hell out of here.
"A gift." I say, digging into my satchel.
I pull out the poison I made on the first day of school.
"What is it?" He asks, not knowing what lies within the vial.
"Come closer, you'll see." I say, trying to contain my anxiety.
He leans in, bringing his face close to me, so close I can see his eye in detail.
His breath is foul, but I'm pretty sure they don't make a toothbrush for a Cyclops.
I open the bottle, hoping that Sucy was right about this being a poison.
He leans in even closer, his large eye but a few meters from me.
I suddenly splash the liquid directly into his pupil.
A painful and agonizing hissing sound comes from his eye.
He lets out a horrible shriek of pain, violently throwing himself backwards.
His large body crashes into the wall, the vibration knocking me off my feet.
"Ohhh, my eye!" He screams in pain, his hands tearing at the melting crater in his face. "My eye! What have you done to me?! I cannot see!"
He stumbles back up, and starts darting his head back and forth, blood and pus from his wound splashing out in all directions.
"Where are you?!" He screams, foaming at the mouth in rage. "Where are you?! I'll kill you and eat you piece by piece!"
In anger, he begins to slam his huge fists against the ground, cracking and shaking the stone floor.
One fist comes down and is barely diverted, as I role to the right.
Hearing this movement, the monster slams his fists at me over and over, each time narrowly missing.
I eventually roll my way into a corner, trapping myself.
He grabs me with his large and sweaty fingers.
As they tighten around my torso, I begin to panic, kick, scream, the full works.
My arms pinned by his muscular fingers, he pulls me towards his mouth, his already foul smelling breath hitting me almost to the point of unconsciousness.
He drops me in his mouth, his hot tongue wrapping around my body.
The stench is what I notice first, then the humid air, then the wetness and stickiness of saliva, and finally the blunt teeth biting into me.
Feeling and fearing my death drawing near, I manage to point my wand at the roof of the thing's mouth.
The Cyclops slides its tongue as I fire a bolt of lightning.
My shot misses, slamming against one of its teeth.
It shatters the tooth upon impact, shrapnel from the bone flying around.
The electric current of my spell mixing with the saliva of the creature, filling this fleshy cave with the horrible static.
I reel back and forth, the force and throw of the lightning filling my body with its current.
The very hair on my body begins to burn, my heart and head beating and pounding with a constant wave of pain.
I let out a moan, gasping for air, as the horrible feelings eventually pass, the power of the current diluting with time.
With a grunt, I painfully raise my wand once again at the roof of its mouth, hoping this time it will go differently.
I launch a bolt of lightning, shattering and rupturing the skin.
Flashes of blue and purple light up the things mouth, growing dimmer and dimmer as the spell goes deeper and deeper into the thing's skull.
The Cyclops lets out a pain filled wail, digging his fingers into his mouth, in a vain effort to pull me out.
A loud crack comes from above, my spell finally burrowing into his brain cavity.
His fingers go limp, collapsing onto the floor, half of my body hanging out of its mouth.
I lay still for a bit, allowing myself to recover both physically and mentally from this fight.
I still feel a slight tingle throughout my body, clearly a holdover from my failed first attempt of the lightning spell.
Using both arms, I pull myself out of its mouth, and stand on my feet.
As if hit with another bolt of lightning, flashes of pain and sting runs through my body, causing me to fall sideways.
I manage to catch myself on the stonewall, letting out a grunt of shock as I do.
Using the wall as support, I begin to limp my way to the other side of the room, to the U turn, to Akko and any others that might be there.
I did hear a scream, and a line from Akko.
She's there, or at least nearby.
Hopefully, she can help. Maybe she has some sort of restoration potion on hand.
Even if I may be limping and in a weakened state, I can't help but muster up a small smile as I hobble through the hall.
Whatever doubts I had in my power in magic and self defense are now completely dead.
I have demonstrated my own might, and now the stain of doubt in my subconscious has been wiped clean, and the power and iron will of my Roman blood has been proven!
As I continue my struggled movement, I can't help but see something.
Next to the exit, I see a pestle sitting on a table. The Pestle of Jennifer the Witch!
I thought the thing was just a myth. Just a fake internet artifact I found, while looking up spells.
As stated from the internet, it can crush the toughest of ingredients, as if it were paste.
This has to be worth some major points.
But, where is the other part, the mortar?
That piece can hold a mixture of any temperature, from the coldest of ice to the hottest of lava.
I grab the pestle and place it in my satchel.
This will be the item I turn into Ursula.
As I make the turn, I call out
"Akko, Lotte, Sucy?"
Instead of seeing them, I see an empty room with a massive hole in the floor.
Upon closer look, the hole is covered by a weird sticky black liquid. Next to it is an empty potion bottle and a discarded satchel. Embroidered on the strap is the name of the owner, Sucy.
She must have a healing potion in here!
I begin to dig into here bag, pulling out all kinds of poisons, but just poisons. Finally, at the bottom of the bag, under a layer of dust, I find it.
I immediately chug it down, her expertise in alchemy soothing my wounds instantly.
I put both of the empty bottles into her bag, and sling it over my shoulder.
I'll give this back to her later.
Now, what happened here, and why is there a huge hole in the floor?!
I hover over the pit, all that can be seen is pitch black darkness.
I call out to them again.
"Akko, Lotte, Sucy?"
I get a response, however this definitely did not come from either of the three, or from any human for that matter.
A loud, menacing, bone shaking roar erupts from the hole, as soon as I call out. Um…ok…time to go!
I fast walk out of the labyrinth, and back to the entrance.
By now, a handful of witches are waiting for the rest to come back, none I recognize.
I assume we're going to show Ursula our treasuries once everyone arrives.
The waiting witches are comparing their finds with each other.
One of them approaches me.
"So, what did you find?" She asks.
"The Pestle of Jennifer the Witch." I respond. "What about you?"
She lifts up her find, a huge silver sword.
"I found a Vorpal Bla-"
She is cut off, as a loud roar erupts from the labyrinth, in the same tone I heard before. Some students begin to cower, while others ask questions to their peers.
"What was that" and "What's happening?" are the most common ones.
Another growl, and suddenly some giant creature slams through the door, its huge body stuck in the doorframe.
"What is that thing?!" Someone cries out.
It's some kind of dragon!
Ursula slams her fist on the button next to the entrance.
Huge metal rods slide horizontally, pinning the dragon in place.
A nearby witch declares,
"Now's our chance! Blast him!"
Every witch, including me, pull out our wands.
We all fire at the same time, our magic swirling together. Ice, fire, lightning, and some that I couldn't recognize, all align into a single flurry.
We got it now! There's no way it can survi-
My thoughts are cut off, as a huge explosion goes off, throwing me to the ground. My vision is obscured by a layer of dust, but my hearing is still fine.
Under the sounds of people screaming and the dragon, I can make out Ursula's voice.
"Emergency! Evacuate! Everyone, get out of the building!"
As the dust settles, I catch a glimpse of the destruction.
The door leading to the labyrinth is completely destroyed, and multiple pillars are toppled over. The dragon is also walking towards me!
I have no idea if it sees me or not, but if I don't move, I'll be crushed under its great feet.
I begin to back up in a panicked frenzy, still lying on my back.
Each step from the beast cracks the ground and echoes throughout the room.
The dragon closes the gap between us with each step.
I let out a scream, as its foot begins to fall on me.
I close my eyes, hoping and praying for any intervention.
I feel a tug on my hand, and a rush of air.
I open my eyes, only to be met by a blonde haired figure on a broom, her hand holding mine.
"Diana!" I cry out.
"You don't need to thank me. It's simple my duty to evacuate the students safely." She says.
"If there is anything I can do-" I begin.
"If you're really grateful, you could help me evacuate the others."
It's the least I can do.
"O-of course!"
She lands me on the ground, giving me enough time to get off, and then with that she flies away.
Just like that. Out of the tower…through a huge hole left by the dragon, having no concern about her own safety.
Jeez, she really is amazing.
The sound of sobbing echoes from the tower staircase.
I run up the stairs in search of the witch.
I find her halfway up the tower, curled up in the corner.
"Come on, you can't stay there forever." I say, crouched in front of her.
She sniffles a bit, still hesitating, before getting up.
"Great, now let's-"
I'm cut off, as a huge explosion can be heard.
The wall cracks as if something huge had collided with it.
On the other side of the wall, I hear Akko yelling,
"Sucy's poison made him even stronger?!"
We're on the fifteenth floor.
I feel something hard and small hit my head.
Looking up, I see the ceiling has multiple growing cracks, and is occasionally dropping loose pieces of stone.
I turn to the girl.
"Oh, no." I say quietly.
I begin to shove her ahead of me.
We run down the stairs, to the floor below us.
The ceiling above ours crashes down.
Well, at least we're safe.
Maybe I spoke too soon.
The ceiling above us, not being able to support the fallen one, begins to crack. We repeat these steps, running down the stairs just as the ceiling falls.
The next set of ceiling unsurprisingly, cannot hold all the stone above it. It falls before we get a chance to stop.
Now, we are constantly running down each set of stairs, each ceiling falling faster than the last.
"What do we do?!" She cries out.
"Just keep moving!" I answer back.
On one of our flights of stairs, she trips, causing her to fall on me.
As we topple down the stairs, we stop sliding in the worst possible place, the middle of the room.
The ceiling begins its periodic breaking, and drops on us. I can only imagine how much weight it has now. Well, I almost died twice today, might as well almost die a third time.
Suddenly the rocks stop falling, inches away from us.
What could have stopped it?
I note that the floating rocks have a yellow aura around it. As if someone is using magic.
I look to the girl. She's not casting the spell, in fact she is clinging onto me, out of sheer terror.
The rocks are then launched out of a hole in the wall.
What the-
"Diana!" The clingy one calls out.
I turn around, and sure enough, the blonde is standing there, with a broom in one hand and a wand in the other.
The girl continues.
"Diana, what's going on?! Why is there a dragon here?!"
"A dragon must have wandered out of the labyrinth." The blonde declares.
"What are we going to do?! Maybe we could use magic against it!"
Is this girl serious? Didn't she see what happened before?
"No good, that thing feeds on magical energy." Diana says, her voicing rising.
"Then, how are we supposed to kill that thing?!" She screams.
"Wel, how am I supposed to know?!" Diana snaps at her, the stress of keeping every student on campus safe, getting the better of her.
"That's not a bad question, Diana." I remind her.
The blond thinks for a bit, regaining her composure as she does.
"Okay…okay…we could use The Shiny Rod." Diana says.
"Of course, The Shiny Rod!" The young witch beams.
"What's that?" I ask.
"A rod used by Shiny Chariot, sort of like her wand. I last saw it in Akko's possession. If I can turn it into The Shiny Arc, it will be enough to take out the dragon." Diana explains.
"What's The Shiny Arc?" I ask.
The other girl answers.
"Think of a bow on magical steroids."
Well that answers that.
"If there are no more questions, I'm going to enact my plan." Diana says.
Once it's obvious that there are no more questions, she rides her broom out the hole in the wall.
The remaining witch turns to me.
"What should we do now?" She asks.
"Go and help the others, I'll help Diana."
She nods, and runs downstairs, this time with no falling ceiling.
I follow but instead of going back to the labyrinth entrance like her, I go out of the tower all together.
Now, let's see what's going on…WHAT?!
The dragon is on top of the tower!
If it gets the Sorcerer's Stone, we're all screwed!
I hear an ear splitting scream coming from above. Upon looking up, I see a small blue dot, too far away to show any features, falling.
As it gets closer to the ground, its characteristics come into view. Pointy witch hat, glasses, ponytail…that's Ursula!
I point my wand at her, casting a spell to stop her falling.
As planned, her descent decelerates, falling slower and slower, until she eventually stops mere inches from the ground.
She gets up with wet eyes and says,
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I was trying to get The Shiny Rod from Akko when…"
Her voice trails off, as she catches my off guard look.
"What?" She asks.
It's been a few hours since I last saw her, but I'm pretty sure she looked different.
"I don't remember you having orange hair."
As I said, her normally blue hair is replaced by an orange color.
She grabs a thread of her hair, analyzing it.
Her face then goes red with embarrassment, and she quickly puts her hat back on.
"If I explain, will you promise not to tell anyone?! Especially not Akko or Diana!"
Just what is this girl hiding? By the looks of it, she just dyed her hair, but given her whole secretive nature on it, I doubt it.
I nod my head.
She takes several deep breaths, and after a long pause, she reveals herself.
"I'm Shiny Chariot."
There's that name again.
Even though Diana gave me a brief description her earlier, I still am rather lost on just who she is.
Even still, she seems to provide some sort of friction between Akko and Diana.
I'm starting to get sick and tired of all this drama surrounding her.
"The way you said it, you sound like I should be ashamed. Really, I don't care." I bluntly tell her.
She looks surprised.
"Really?" She asks.
"Really, all I care about is taking out this dragon."
Her face lights up with shock.
"Oh no, I forgot!"
She jumps onto her broom, and quickly says.
"I have to go now, and help Akko. Theodore, you stay here and cover me."
Then she flies away, towards the tower, towards Akko, towards the dragon.
Just how am I supposed to cover her from here?
Part of me thinks she just wanted to ditch me, thinks I can't handle myself.
Or maybe she's just using her teacher instincts. Keep your students out of harm's way, even if it means putting yourself in danger.
I can't help but smile, what a great teacher.
Without warning, I hear a loud disembodied voice.
"Never forget, believing is your magic!"
Then, the dragon suddenly lurches downwards, and a huge cement block falls to the ground, as if struck by it.
I then see a small black dot falling downwards, towards the dragon's mouth!
Is that another person?!
I pull out my wand, ready to do the same thing that I did to Ursula.
The dot suddenly turns into a bright light of green and yellow. What the hell is going on?!
Another disembodied voice can be heard, this time in Akko's tone.
"Macmur! Micmur! Mactoral!"
The light grows even brighter, as the final words are spoken.
"Shiny Arc!"
A massive stream of light flies into the dragon's mouth. The beast expands like a balloon, and bursts into an aura of fireworks, that rain out with brilliance.
I stare at the array, awe struck at all the colors and lights.
The fire show continues, many students that were once hiding, sensing that the danger is over, flying back towards the school.
The disaster has been averted, and hopefully the injuries had been kept to a minimum.
Without a broom on me, I begin to walk back towards the school, my eyes never leaving the firework show.
Author's Note: I noticed while writing this chapter, two people favorited my fan fiction in one day! That's just amazing! Also Trigger announced that they will make Little Witch Academia into a full length anime series! Also a little contest for all my adoring fans: Leave a comment on what you think Theodore Sempronia is like. What he looks like, what is personality is, his interests, and all that other stuff. This will make myself sure that I introduced him with the characteristics that I designed for him. The winner, or winners depending on how many of you get it right, will get a shout out in my next chapter. Good luck!