Chương 285: Heavy Metal: Chapter 283 – Burn It All.

The heavy blade of Rusty's halberd carved a brutal arc through the air, shearing through the lead hound's thorny neck before the corrupted beast could even leap. Crimson liquid sprayed across the mossy ground, hissing as it splashed against the metal of his greaves.

"These things are annoying... Gwen, be careful of this red sap. It seems to be acidic!" Rusty called out to his summoner, who was riding atop Aranea's giant spider. It had been a good decision, as the red liquid flying through the air could burn through plant matter and would probably do the same to humanoid flesh. His twilight steel remained undamaged, but even it showed signs of gradual deterioration if he did not wipe the sap away.

Another frustrating thing about these adversaries, and this whole rift, was that they could not exploit the monsters' weakness. Normally, enchanting their weapons with fire would have been the best strategy. Gwen and the others were still mages, and they could cast low-rank spells. The monsters were highly flammable, but using fire would attract the stronger C-rank creatures lurking nearby and leave them in even greater danger.

Using fire inside a maze made entirely of flammable foliage was practically begging for disaster. That left them with only one option: striking the cores hidden within the monsters' tangled plant flesh, which was far easier said than done. His halberd often became lodged in the mass of vines, making it a struggle to pull free. It forced him to rely on shallower thrusts and made him wish he could trade his weapon for a simple spear.

'I should really increase my storage space once I'm out…' The number of summoner coins he would earn after this mission would probably be substantial. He had already spent more than a week in the rift, much of it fighting alongside Gwen and strengthening their bond. If he had earned so much just by smashing an old evil necromancer over the head, how much would he gain through proper teamwork with his summoner?

"T-that's all of them..." Kaelen said as he wiped the sweat from his brow. The young knight cadet had managed to bring down several of the beasts, proving himself a capable warrior in Rusty's eyes. His level was somewhere in the middle of D-rank, impressive considering the other trainees who had joined them.

"The sound of shears is getting closer. Two hundred paces at most, and there are multiple sources." Syber commented as he sprang away from one of the plant beasts, which began dissolving into a puddle of sizzling sludge.

"Multiple sources?" Astrella squeaked, her hands flying to her mouth while her two tiny fairies darted around her head in a panic.

"You mean there's more than one Hedge Trimmer behind us? Weren't they only supposed to attack if you did something to the plants?" She looked toward Kaelen, who seemed to be scanning the path ahead.

"I... I know. It must have happened back then!" The knight trainee seemed to have finally realized something, and he turned toward Syber.

"What did?" Kaelen swallowed hard for a moment before finally answering as everyone looked at him.

"I think someone from here got marked, most likely the one who was attacked by the Hedge Trimmer." For a moment, everyone froze. Then they all turned toward the person Kaelen was looking at, Gwen.

"Me? I don't feel any different or marked..." Gwen was the one the monster had identified as the one burning the plants, even though it had actually been the flaming bird.

"But that monster is already dead. Why would the others go after her?" Astrella voiced the question everyone was thinking. She glared at Kaelen as if demanding a better explanation, her small fairies mirroring her scowl with their tiny crossed arms.

"The maze might look like a collection of separate creatures, but it's actually a single mind." The young man explained while trying to remember what the other knights had taught him. Rusty listened carefully. At first, he had assumed the monster had used some kind of skill he simply had not noticed. But if the monsters in this place shared their thoughts, then they would all see Gwen as the main troublemaker.

"That Captain didn't tell us anything like that! You'd better not be lying!" Astrella pointed an accusing finger at the knight cadet, who immediately began waving his hands in panic.

"I'm not lying, on my honor! It's just something that rarely gets brought up because no one dares attack those monsters. The marking doesn't always happen either. It's a strange mechanism..."

"It's possible the Knight Captain didn't want to scare us." Aranea spoke while looking around. The others frowned as the realization sank in. This place was far more dangerous than they had assumed. It was possible that the other monsters wielding shears reacted to anyone who had been marked. They had also started a fire that attracted more of them, and in that moment, some kind of signal had spread through the maze, telling everything inside it to hunt Gwen.

'Is it similar to the dungeon?' Rusty had some experience with dungeon hearts after spending time beneath one. If this thorny maze worked in a similar way, then perhaps it had identified Gwen as the greater threat because she had directly burned its plant body. Now it was sending its minions after her. If every monster was connected, then there was no real place to hide. Everything around them was alive, and it seemed these bloody roses had ears and eyes of their own.

"I won't let anything happen to Gwen, so don't even think about suggesting we abandon her!" For some reason, Astrella shouted the words, but the young knight trainee only shook his hands in protest.

"I... I never said anything like that! I'll protect Lady Gwen too. I'm sure the Knight Captain is already on the way to help us! If we just hold out, help will come!" Rusty watched the exchange and understood what Astrella was getting at. The smartest choice, if survival was all that mattered, would be to abandon the person marked by the maze. To him, however, there were only two options. They either had to find a way to remove the mark or survive long enough for help to arrive.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Is there no way to remove this mark?" Syber stepped forward and asked without hesitation.

"Not that I know of..."

"Then we should keep moving." Without another word, he moved to the front alongside Rusty, keeping a vigilant eye on the shifting foliage ahead.

"Let's go." Rusty nodded and followed.

"Everyone..." Gwen stared at them in shock. No one had even considered the easiest option. Instead of abandoning her, they had all chosen to escape together. The giant spider moved with surprising grace despite her massive size. Peachy kept her body low, her many eyes constantly scanning the tops of the hedges for any sign of movement.

"Thou needest not look so troubled, Gwen." Aranea spoke softly, her fan partially hiding her face, though her purple eyes shone with genuine warmth.

"To desert a companion in the face of adversity is the mark of a true coward. House Venomridge does not align itself with cowards."

"She's right!" Astrella added, wrapping an arm around Gwen's shoulders.

"Besides, Rusty would probably smash anyone who suggested leaving you behind into a thousand pieces!"

"I would!" Rusty simply hefted his halberd up and poked the air. The others smiled, and a few nearly laughed despite the danger. Moments later, they were all running again, trying to put as much distance as possible between themselves and the sounds pursuing them. Their new knight guide also seemed fully committed to staying with them. The others noticed it as well.

Even though he was not part of their group and could have slipped into another corridor to save himself, he remained by their side, leading them onward with an unwavering sense of honor. As they continued through the maze, the roses changed once more. Their petals turned blood red, and thick sap began to seep from their stems. It became increasingly obvious that the phenomenon was tied to Gwen and served as a beacon for the monsters hunting her.

It was also clear that the farther they ran, the more creatures would converge on their position, making it impossible to stop for long.

"More of them ahead! Get ready!" Syber shouted, but before anyone could react, Rusty had an idea.

"Hey, everyone. If they're already chasing us, doesn't that mean we can burn all of it?" Silence followed. It was such a simple idea that everyone had overlooked it. They had been warned never to use fire because it would attract the monsters, but that warning no longer mattered. The maze was already tracking Gwen's every step. There was no reason to hold back anymore. If they burned the hedges, perhaps they could even confuse the shared mind controlling the maze.

"Thou makest a fair point, Sir Rusty." Aranea nodded before closing her fan and pointing it toward the path they had just traveled. Small orbs of flame materialized around her as she chanted softly, leaving the knight cadet thoroughly confused since he had not heard their earlier conversation.

"Wait... w-what are you doing, milady?"

"She's burning it. What else?" Astrella shouted before anyone could explain, leaving the bewildered cadet staring in disbelief.

"Do it, my fairies will blow the flames even further." Astrella shouted as she got ready to use a wind spell.

"With pleasure." Aranea raised her fan, which unfolded to reveal its true purpose as a casting wand. A brilliant torrent of elemental fire burst forth, instantly igniting the hedges they had already passed. The moment the flames touched the dripping sap, the fire exploded outward in a towering wall of flame, engulfing everything around it.

"Woah! So that liquid was highly flammable!" Rusty exclaimed as the path behind them erupted into a towering wall of fire. He had only wanted to make it harder for the monsters to follow, but the flames spread far better than he had expected. If everything burned this easily, the creatures pursuing them would have to push through an inferno, assuming they survived it at all.

"Wait! The flames will draw every creature in the area!" Kaelen panicked, his eyes wide as he raised his arms to shield himself from the intense heat.

"They're already coming for us. At least now they'll have to crawl through the fire." Syber dismissed his fusion with the white tiger before immediately summoning another beast with crimson fur. Moments later, he bonded with it, his appearance taking on a reddish hue. The transformation was far more than cosmetic.

"Bring it on!" He shouted as his clawed hands burst into flames. Then he charged at the monsters approaching from the front. Empowered by fire, his attacks cut through them with ease. The creatures ignited almost instantly as the crimson sap coating their bodies fed the flames, reducing them to cinders.

"Haha, we should've done this from the start. Too bad I brought the wrong elemental weapon." Rusty activated his lightning halberd. Although lightning could scorch his enemies, it lacked the spreading power of fire. To his surprise, flames suddenly burst along the length of the weapon.

"Huh?"

"I've learned a few tricks while you were away, Rusty." Gwen had somehow enchanted his weapon with her own magic. The spell clearly consumed a great deal of mana, but with his halberd bathed in fire, the battle became far easier.

"Great job, Gwen. You're the best!" Gwen blushed at the compliment. A moment later, Rusty charged forward to join Syber in cutting down the monsters.

"I... I don't know anymore!" Kaelen, meanwhile, looked as though he were on the verge of tears. Ever since joining the knights, he had been taught that fire should never be used inside this rift. Now the entire maze was going up in flames. Even so, he did not abandon the group. Gritting his teeth, he pressed onward, driving his longsword into every monster core he could reach. Most of the creatures had already collapsed after being burned, leaving them squirming helplessly on the ground.

The combination of Syber's blazing claws, Rusty's enchanted halberd, and Aranea's wall of fire transformed the narrow corridor into a raging inferno. The corrupted plant beasts, once resilient against physical attacks, shriveled and cracked apart as the flames ignited the volatile crimson sap coating their bodies. The hedges rose like blazing towers, and the constant sound of shears behind them gradually faded. In its place came eerie shrieks and desperate wails from the monsters trapped in the flames.

Even though the creatures were C-rank, they were just as flammable as the plants surrounding them. Like the maze itself, they were helpless against their natural weakness. The group continued forward, setting everything in their path ablaze and leaving behind nothing but smoke and ash. They raced through twisting corridors, taking unpredictable turns and using routes no one would expect. Then they noticed something remarkable. Whenever the hedges burned away, new passages appeared.

The maze itself was retreating from the flames as though it were in terrible pain. The living walls of the maze recoiled from the heat. Thick foliage blackened and curled away like burning paper. Ahead of them, a new area opened up, one unlike anything they had seen before.

"Look... what is this?" Astrella pointed toward the clearing they had just entered. It was a wide, open space that looked nothing like the twisting maze behind them. At its center stood a single apple tree.

"I don't know, but keep your guard up." Rusty spoke as he cautiously stepped forward, scanning the clearing. The others glanced at the knight cadet, but he looked just as confused.

"My apologies, but I've never been this far into the maze, and I don't remember my instructors mentioning anything like this." His gaze settled on the lone tree standing atop a small hill overlooking the clearing.

"Let me go first. Keep an eye on those burning hedges." Rusty slowly approached the tree. His boots barely made a sound against the soft grass and rich soil beneath his feet. Everything here was lush and green, but aside from the apple tree, the clearing was empty.

"Hmm... This tree is strange." The closer he came, the stronger the feeling that something was wrong. It looked perfectly ordinary, yet something about it unsettled him.

"What is it, Rusty?" Gwen asked. She looked exhausted from maintaining the enchantment on his weapon.

"I'm not sure. Give me a moment." He activated his Identification skill, but it revealed nothing unusual. Classification: Apple Tree Type: Plant Description: Just a regular apple tree found in many forests. It yields sweet, edible apples.

"Wait... What is this?" Frowning, he activated his Life Detection skill instead. Unlike Identification, it immediately revealed an overwhelming amount of life force flowing through the tree. No ordinary apple tree could contain that much energy. Without another thought, Rusty lunged forward and drove his halberd, still coated in enchanted flames, straight into the trunk…