Back at the edge of the labyrinth, Maria remained locked in a vicious struggle with the beast, desperately trying to find an opening amidst its relentless pursuit. In its fury, it had revealed the true extent of its power; it was as if it was the embodiment of Loran's harsh environment, bending its humid air and ever-present clouds to its whim. Every slash of its claws came with the force of hurricane, every strike to the ground caused the very Earth to tremble. And through it all, Maria's blade left only minor scars, unable to pierce its thick hide.

Yet in spite of this, she fought on. By now, her men should've gotten themselves to safety, but the same could not be said for her. Regardless of if she fled now or not, this monster would run her down and when it did, there would be no hope of survival. But at the very least, she would know that Matthias and the others had made it out. And that even if their heroic deeds went unrecognized, they would live to fight another day.

She wasn't losing anyone else.

As the beast slammed its fists onto the ground in front of it, causing a burst of lightning to erupt, Maria once again moved out of the way, but only barely. Upon clearing some distance, she struggled to stay upright, exhausted from her ordeal. As she attempted to catch her breath, she stared the beast down, who itself was surprisingly refraining from attacking her. Perhaps she had managed to wear it down as well.

Tightly gripping her blades, Maria mustered every last bit of strength she had left and charged forward with a cry, intending to end this battle once and for all. But by the time she noticed the almost sneer-like expression on the beast's face, it was too late.

Thrusting both of its fists forward, the beast created a powerful torrent of wind, which sent Maria flying like a leaf in a storm. Her back violently collided with the wall, causing pain to shoot through her body as she collapsed to the ground, dropping her weapons in the process. She only just managed to stay conscious however, lifting her head up and spotting the beast through her blurred vision. It was approaching her slowly and methodically, almost as if it were savoring every moment.

As it drew near, Maria tried in vain to reach for her weapon, finding it difficult to even crawl. By the time her fingers touched the edge of the handle, the beast was towering over her, drool falling from its mouth as it raised its fist overhead.

"There!"

The beast turned its head just in time to be met with a barrage of gunfire, forcing it back a few steps before it put up its arms to defend itself. Once the bullets stopped coming, it roared in anger at its new foes, who soon met it head on. And even through the pain that racked her body and senses, Maria knew right away who these new challengers were.

"No…"

With Matthias leading the charge, her men forced the beast back, forming a defensive wall in front of her. "You foul creature!", Matthias cried. "We will rid the world of you here and now!"

Maria tried to force herself to stand, but all it did was further exacerbate her pain. "Listen to me! You need to stop! Please!" Yet her cries seemed to fall on deaf ears, for none of her men even turned to look at her. Their eyes were focused squarely on the monster in front of them. The monster that she was meant to have protected them from.

"Charge!" Matthias soon cried, rallying the rest of their company with a collective battle cry, leaving Maria to watch helplessly as they ran to meet the beast head on, who started to raise one of its paws.

"WAIT!" Maria desperately called out…just as the beast slammed its fist into the ground.

In an instant, a powerful whirlwind formed, catching her men just as the got close and sending them flying high up into the air. In time, they each came crashing down onto the ground, ending up disoriented at best and horrifically injured at worst. Harold got the worst of it, hitting the ground neck first and falling almost completely motionless, save for a few helpless whimpers as his limbs continued to twitch…which were soon silenced when the beast stomped on his head, crushing it beneath its foot.

The whirlwind had thrown the knights into disarray, leaving them with no time to regroup before the beast started to pick them off one by one.

Leon had fallen the closest to Harold and had twisted his ankle as a result. Upon witnessing what had happened to his comrade, he tried to crawl towards his weapon, only for the beast to grab him by the leg and drag him towards it. Afterwards, it lifted him screaming into the air before driving its fangs into his neck, silencing him.

Having somewhat recovered, Frederick and Robert rushed in order to help him, attacking the beast from the side and catching it by surprise. Violently throwing Leon's mutilated body to the side, it turned to fend off its two attackers, who continued to desperately fight despite their noticeable fatigue. Seemingly out of frustration, the beast slammed its paws on the ground, unleashing a burst of lightning that travelled across the floor. Both knights ended up being caught in the storm, their bodies violently convulsing as the lightning coursed through their bodies before collapsing to the ground motionless moments later, smoke rising from their charred corpses.

And through it all, Maria could only look in horror. Her mind was screaming at her to rise – to aid her struggling company. But no matter how hard she tried, she was unable to do so, the pain and fatigue she had sustained proving too much even for her. And so, she could only watch as her men were mindlessly slaughtered, all in an effort to protect her.

After seemingly felling the last of the knights, the beast once again turned its attention to her. No longer willing to wait, it charged towards her at full speed, bloodlust dancing in its eyes. Nearby, Matthias began to stir, seemingly having been knocked unconscious for a few moments. And once he saw the beast running towards Maria, he ran to intercept it, not even bothering to retrieve his weapon.

"STAY AWAY FROM HER!" he cried as he ran into its path…just as it swiped at Maria with its claws.

Without so much as a cry, Matthias was sent rolling across the floor, coming to rest just a few feet away from Maria herself. "Matthias!" she finally cried, trying and failing to make her way to him.

By some miracle, he had survived and managed to bring himself up on his elbow, even as blood dripped down onto the floor from the deep gashes the beast had left on his chest. With noticeable difficulty, he managed to lift his head and met her eyes, just before weakly smiling at her.

"Ma…Maria…" he uttered as she looked back at him in shock, the first tears starting to form in her eyes.

Suddenly, the beast seized Matthias by the head and hoisted him up into the air as he struggled to escape its grip. Bringing its back back behind it, the beast thrust its claws straight through his torso and with one more violent pull, ripped him in half at the waist.

Maria found herself paralyzed, staring at Matthias's bifurcated body. As if taking notice of her anguish, the beast lifted his upper half over its head and opened its mouth, eagerly drinking the blood that leaked out of his now motionless corpse. It was almost as if it was…mocking her. Mocking them.

Slowly, her shock and grief turned into a burning fury. "No…" she murmured between forceful breaths. "NO!"

Finally managing to overcome the pain that plagued her body, Maria forced herself to her feet, blindly charging towards the beast with her weapon in hand. In that moment, she didn't care what happened next. All she knew was that she wanted this loathsome creature's head served to her on a platter. With a cry, she raised her sword, preparing to drive it into its heart…

Only for her to be swatted away with a mere swing of its fist.

Once again being sent flying through the air, Maria landed several feet away, disoriented and utterly defeated. Finally letting go of Matthias and letting his body fall limply to the floor, the creature once again bore down on her, preparing to strike her down just as he had her men.

Her men. They were all gone. All because of her. Her weakness.

It was this thought that ran through Maria's mind even as their killer towered over her and even then, she offered no further resistance, closing her eyes as she awaited the inevitable. After all, it served no purpose. She had failed.

SLASH!

An agonizing cry of pain echoed through the room as blood splattered across the floor, prompting Maria to open her eyes. The beast had stumbled back several steps and perhaps more strikingly was now missing the hand that it had been ready to attack her with, something that it was just as shocked by as her. And standing between them was a tall, looming figure, wielding an enormous blade. At first, Maria was convinced that it was Death itself, but very soon, recognition dawned on her, followed closely by shock.

Standing before her was Gehrman, who now took on an entirely different presence from before. The sight of what had once been a strange, somewhat unimposing man now sent a shiver down her spine and even made the seemingly unyielding beast cower.

"Not so amusing now, is it?", Gehrman said to the beast as he started to approach it, not showing an ounce of fear. Then, in the blink of an eye, he attached his blade to a crooked staff on his back, which combined to form an imposing scythe. "Don't worry. It'll all be over soon."

Maria watched in stunned silence as the elder scholar dauntlessly walked towards the wounded creature, his enormous weapon shining amidst the ever-blowing sand. After finally regaining its bearings, the beast roared in defiance and once again went on the attack, charging forward and slashing at Gehrman with its remaining claw. Despite this, he continued his advance, seemingly making no effort to defend himself. That was until the beast finally reached him, only for its claw to suddenly pass through a cloud of smoke that appeared in his place.

As it looked around in confusion, Gehrman's blade dug into its side, which caused it to lash out and attack in his direction, only for him to once again vanish from view. This process continued for some time, with each passing second gradually wearing the beast down as it tried and failed to pin him down.

All the while, Maria found herself dumbfounded by what she was witnessing. His speed, his tenacity, his sheer skill with his unorthodox weapon; it was unlike anything she'd ever seen before. Had he truly been this capable all along?

The battle continued for a while longer, with Gehrman proving far too fast for the beast. This clearly enraged the creature, as instead of trying to tag him, it resorted to violently slamming its fist into the ground, shaking the earth, forming whirlwinds and bringing down strikes of lightning in an attempt to finally be rid of him.

After one such slam, the beast ended up having to support itself on its remaining hand, breathing heavily. Its fur was soaked in blood and its flesh had been rended by Gehrman's weapon, which had managed to do more damage to it than Maria's entire company combined. The exhausted creature then raised its head to look at Gehrman, who was standing a few feet away. But unlike his adversary, he appeared none the worse for wear; in fact, throughout their entire battle, he didn't appear to have exerted himself at all.

Despite its vulnerable state, Gehrman did not move in for the kill. Instead, he simply stood and waited for the beast to make a move. It was then that Maria remembered the ploy that the beast had used against her just minutes ago; feigning weakness in order to catch her off guard. Yet unlike her, Gehrman saw right through it. Almost as if he had dealt with similar tactics before.

Seeing that it wasn't going to fool him, the beast rose back up to its full height and once again raised its paw overhead. Yet almost the moment the beast started the attack, Gehrman suddenly brandished a firearm with his left hand and pointed it directly at the creature's head, firing a scattered shot from its muzzle.

Though the blast did not kill the beast, it did knock it off balance, causing it to clench its head in pain before it fell forward, stopping itself from fully collapsing by supporting itself on its elbow. Seizing the opportunity, Gehrman cleared the distance between them before Maria could even blink and drove his hand into the side of the beast's head before just as quickly ripping it back out.

Blood sprayed through the air as the beast was knocked onto its back, the impact causing the earth to shake. For a few seconds, it tried to get back up, pitifully whimpering in pain as it raised its head to look at Gehrman, revealing the gaping hole he had left. For a few fleeting moments, it helplessly reached out at him and for just an instant, Maria saw something in its quickly fading eyes; fear, perhaps. But before she could be sure, the beast's head fell back and finally, its body went limp.

Silence settled over the chamber as both Gehrman and Maria stared at the seemingly dead beast. After a few moments passed without movement, he swung his detached blade through the air, flicking the blood off it in the process before sheathing it on his side.

Even still, Maria couldn't believe what she was seeing. "Wh-what? H-how did you…?" she uttered in pure bewilderment.

Gehrman then turned towards her, walking over before offering her his hand. "My lady, are you hurt?" he asked her in all to calm a tone.

As sense returned to her, Maria's confusion quickly gave way to anger. "Don't touch me!" she snapped, slapping his hand away in the process. Though clearly taken aback by this, Gehrman nonetheless retracted his hand, not saying another word.

Her gaze then settled past him to where Matthias's body still lay. Once again forcing herself to her feet, Maria limped past Gehrman towards him, holding onto that desperate hope that he was somehow still alive. But even as she dropped to her knees beside him and took him in her arms he didn't so much as stir, his eyes staring blankly at her.

Looking around, Maria was confronted with the sight of the rest of her company, who all lay lifeless around her. Yet even though their killer also lay dead, ensuring that it could never again harm anyone else, it brought her neither peace nor comfort. Instead, it only strengthened her grief and above all, her anger, which only grew stronger when she set her eyes on Gehrman. Her "savior".

He had singlehandedly slain a creature that had wiped out an entire squadron of knights and yet, only she remained alive. He could've stepped in any time he wanted and yet, he chose to remain in the background. If he had, then her men would've still been alive.

But he hadn't. And they were all gone now.

After looking back down at Matthias's lifeless body, Maria hugged him close, cradling him in her arms as the tears began to flow.

….

"It's gone quiet," said Laurence. "Do you think it's dead?"

"Either that or they are." Micolash replied. "Either way, I'm not keen on making sure. We shouldn't even be here."

"Gehrman's still down here. We can't just leave him!" Laurence reminded him.

"And what are we supposed to do?" his colleague asked. "You heard what Gehrman said; we should've just waited for him to come back."

"And if he doesn't come back? What then?"

To this, Micolash had no answer, but despite this, Laurence felt like he knew what it would've been. And it wasn't something that he could agree with. Turning away from Micolash, Laurence started making his way further down the stairwell leading back to the chamber.

"Laurence, wait!" Micolash called after him, no doubt in an attempt to stop him, but he nonetheless continued onward.

Upon nearing the gate, Laurence came to a stop and listened closely, trying his best to gauge what was happening inside. Other than the sound of blowing sand, he couldn't hear anything or at least, nothing that indicated that the beast was still inside. Deciding to take a chance, he carefully peered inside, unsure of what to expect. Yet even so, he found himself shocked by what he saw.

The beast was lying on it back, seemingly dead. And a few steps away stood Gehrman, seemingly alone as he stared at something that Laurence could not quite see. Against his better judgement, Laurence made his way back inside the chamber, rushing over to him.

"Gehrman!", he called, prompting him to turn his head to look at him. However, he didn't seem all that surprised by his arrival.

"I told you not to follow me." Gehrman reminded him.

"And let you go down here alone?! I did not think…" Laurence stopped mid-sentence, turning to look at the slain beast. For all his determination, Laurence had his doubts that Gehrman would've been able to overcome such a foe, especially if he was fighting alone. And yet, he had clearly been up to the task, something that should've been clear to him in hindsight. Master Willem wouldn't have sent him with them if he weren't.

But before he could dwell on this for too long, his mind turned to a more pressing concern. "The knights!" he said. "What happened to…"

Suddenly, he noticed something among the sand: a body. Then another, and another. And at the center of it all, he could see Lady Maria, kneeling and holding the bloody upper-half of one of her men, seemingly unaware of what was happening around her.

Seeing where Laurence was looking, Gehrman's eyes likewise settled on the grieving captain. "I was too late." He said, a clear sense of regret in his words.

As he lay witness to the carnage before him, Laurence too was overcome with a sense of regret. He knew all along that what Lady Maria did, she did for the sake of her men – so that they would not meet the very fate that had befallen them. As much as it pained him, he had tried to honor her wish and stop them from returning to aid her, but it was all for naught. Their loyalty had been unshakable.

Walking past Gehrman, Laurence made his way over to Lady Maria. As he got closer, he could see that the one she was cradling was Matthias, who had bravely led the charge to come to her rescue. And looking at his lifeless eyes, he was reminded of the final words the young knight had spoken to him before marching off to his certain doom. "So be it."

Purging the haunting thought from his mind, Laurence turned his attention to the company's sole survivor. "My lady," he softly said, but if she had heard him, she chose to ignore him. Seconds passed with no response, after which Laurence placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. This finally made her look up at him, her cheeks wet with tears.

"My lady, we have to leave. There's nothing more to be done."

Rather surprisingly, she did not draw back from his touch nor did she offer any form of protest. Instead, she simply looked back down at Matthias before gently setting him down on the ground. "I'm sorry…" she whispered as she closed his eyes with her fingers.

She stayed like that for a little while longer before she finally rose to her feet, prompting Laurence to retract his hand. After taking one last look at her deceased company, Lady Maria lowered her head and turned to walk, or rather limp away. Seeing her injury, Laurence attempted to help her, only for her to put up a hand to stop him before he could even take a step forward.

"I don't need your help.", she sharply said, her voice coming close to breaking. Though taken aback, Laurence did not press her and simply let her continue on her way. From there, she did not say a word or stop to acknowledge anyone else, save for casting a glare in Gehrman's direction as she walked past him. Despite this, his own expression did not change and he simply looked on in silence as she walked away.

"I hope you weren't expecting gratitude." Micolash said to Gehrman, having come to stand just beside him.

"Gratitude, no," Gehrman replied. "But we will see what she does with the chance she's been given."

Together, the three of them watched as Lady Maria made her way out of the chamber, reluctantly leaving the bodies of her comrades, as well as the strange blood they had done so much to retrieve behind. However, Laurence soon noticed that the chalice that had held said blood was now nowhere to be seen. He hadn't seen her stop to pick it up nor where there any shards on the floor to indicate it had been shattered, which left only one other explanation; someone had taken it.

Yet despite his suspicions, Laurence remained silent. Instead, his thoughts turned to what Gehrman had said. He had clearly chosen to save her for a reason, but what that reason was eluded him. But regardless of that, Lady Maria now had a choice to make, the results of which none of them could foresee.

Not even her.

...