SHAMAN PROTOCOL
Chapter 109: Marked by the Labyrinth

Chapter 109: Marked by the Labyrinth

[Threat Detected: Effigies of the Labyrinth.]

[Overview:

Cursed Imprints were birthed by the cursed anima core. These effigies do not have a soul but retain the memories and skills of those who had died within the Cursed Labyrinth.

[Threat Level: Mid to High (Variable)]

[Abilities:]

Ruler’s Hex — Enforces the laws of the Labyrinth. Violators are stunned and disoriented.

Labyrinth’s Echo — Triggers a localized shift in space, warping the battlefield, creating false floors, doors, and terrains.

Severance of Bond — Focused on Phantom Users. A temporary skill that severs the connection between a phantom wielder and his phantom.

[System Note: Haleth might not answer as quickly.]

Effigy Merge — Multiple Effigies can fuse into a higher-tier variant.

[System Note: If you’re seeing double, they are real.]

[Master, if they do not stop chanting together, their risk index will double.]

---

"Mikel, stay close."

Mikel heard Mister Nocty’s remark but focused more on Doom’s analysis of the robed figures around them. But even without Doom’s analysis, he could tell by the shift in the air that these doubling figures were dangerous.

"They’re Effigies," Mister Nocty breathed out, studying the robed figures. "They’re not real, Mikel, but they can hurt us."

His face darkened, his mind split between saving the students inside and their current situation. The situation was surely getting out of hand; this was not what he expected when he did today’s activity.

Meanwhile, Mikel’s focus was on something else.

Doom, how do I stop these guys? Anything else that you might add aside from that I have to fight them?

[The Effigies of the Labyrinth were powerful, depending on the skill and memory they had picked up. However, fighting them would only result in exhaustion. To stop them, finding the anima’s core and breaking it is the answer.]

Mikel nodded, only to snap his brows up when Doom’s screen glowed brighter.

[System Notice: A Shard of the Mourning Eye detected in the area.]

Another damn shard?

But then again, that suddenly explained all of this. After all, the Shard of the Mourning Eye, or what Zone Zero called Cursed Fragments, was enough to make a normal ghost into a high-tier entity. What’s more, once placed in an already strong cursed zone?

"Mikel." Again, Mister Nocty breathed out, his expression solemn. He glanced at Mikel and met the latter’s mismatched eyes. "I know you’re a White Stripe student, but we have to face these Effigies and stop their chanting."

His face darkened, and he added, "Don’t worry. I’ll look after you and—"

The rest of Mister Nocty’s words stopped at the sudden crunch that reached their ears. His eyes widened, gazing down. Mikel’s eyes also constricted as his gaze fell, catching the hand that went through Mister Nocty’s chest from behind.

For a moment, the two of them just stared at the hand sticking out of Mister Nocty’s chest, holding a beating heart. Then, followed by the mumbling chants of the person behind Mister Nocty.

"You—" Mikel paused as he gazed back, catching one of the robed men standing behind Mister Nocty.

"MIKEL!"

Suddenly, Mikel heard Mister Nocty’s shouts, and before he could even think, his body moved. He grabbed the hand that went through Mister Nocty’s chest, squeezing the arm and burning it with the beaded bracelets on his wrist.

Just like the spirits he had fought before, the robed figure turned into a dark mist.

Mikel blinked, only to see Mister Nocty looking at him with shock.

"Mikel, are you listening to me!?" Mister Nocty shouted, catching the life in Mikel’s eyes return. To make sure, he grabbed Mikel’s shoulder and shook him a little. "Mikel."

[Master, you’ve been marked by the Labyrinth.]

[System Warning: Not everything you see, hear, and feel is real.]

"I’m alright, Mister Nocty," Mikel cleared his throat, his mind and presence now sharper by the taste of what this cursed zone could do to one. "Mister Nocty, I’ll try to fight these guys off while you try to get in the building."

"No, getting in the building is not possible for me anymore," Mister Nocty faced the Effigies before them, lifting his hand across his body with two of his fingers stretched. "We cannot let these Effigies get in the building now."

He paused as he swallowed, and slowly, a talisman from out of thin air materialized between his fingers. "Because now, outside of this building is much more dangerous."

And I have no idea why these Effigies are here in the first place. The Labyrinth could’ve chosen a place to birth its shadows, following its own rule. Yet, it chose here instead of inside.

Just why?

Was it because the Labyrinth wanted to stop Mister Nocty—the instructor who, among everyone in the area, could save the students?

Or...

Mister Nocty slid his eyes to the corner until his gaze landed on Mikel’s figure. Until now, Mikel remained calm—at least, calmer than most students in such a situation. There hadn’t been a trace of fear or panic Mikel had shown, but rather, his eyes were sharper, making one wonder what was going on in his mind.

Was it you? Were you the one the Labyrinth wanted to stop?

Mister Nocty wouldn’t get an answer for now because, at that moment, the robed figures had finally stopped chanting. He blinked ahead, his eyes sharp. After a breath, he snapped his fingers that were holding the talismans, making them three in an instant.

And in the next breath, the one in the last row of the robed figures’ formation leaped over, jumping over everyone and descending on where Mikel and Mister Nocty were.

Meanwhile, Mikel and Mister Nocty stood motionless, holding their breaths as the Effigies hovered over them.

Vision.

Mikel’s eyes glinted as his red eyes glowed.

---

Inside the Old Building...

Boogsh!

Ran held a classmate of his in his arms, tackling him. Their bodies crashed across the hallway, knocking Ran’s breath out of his lungs for a moment.

"Ack—" Ran clenched his teeth, looking back at where he had hit himself.

There, the door he was about to crash into was covered by rough concrete. Turning his head, he caught Blitz touching the wall. The usual cheekiness plastered on Blitz’s face was replaced by utter horror.

Just now, Ran almost rolled into a room, and they all understood that by now, entering a room or floor alone might separate them permanently. If not for Blitz, they would have another big problem.

"Thank you, Blitz," Ran grunted, holding his side, trying to get up.

"Big Brother Ran, are you okay?" Boom ran to his side, his face full of worry.

Ran forced a smile and nodded before shifting his gaze to Zira, the one who sent both him and the classmate flying.

"I’m sorry, Big Brother Ran," Zira remarked as she marched to the other student, flinging her thin sword to the student’s throat. Her demeanor was colder and harsher than usual, eyeing the student as if ready to slice his throat.

"I had no choice," she added. "Are you back to your senses now?"

The student, who had fought Zira, looked up at her. The tip of her sword grazed his throat, the life in his eyes returning.

"Huh?" the male student blinked, his eyes shaky as he moved them to the people in the hallway.

There were a total of seven classmates in the hallway. Ran was on the floor with him, Blitz on the side with his trembling hand on the wall, and then Boom right beside Ran. Then, a few more of his classmates were looking at him with wide eyes.

Zira’s gaze, on the other hand, was harsh.

But despite that, the student remembered everything that had happened that led to this. Just now, in his eyes, these classmates of his were the same monsters he had been fighting. Hence, he fought them just as intensely to survive.

So, Zira had to fight him mercilessly. If not for Ran, she would have... killed him.

The student froze and held his breath, his arms propped on the floor, a blade at his throat. After a second, he nodded mildly, just enough not to graze the blade.

"Sorry," was all he could say with the remaining strength he had.

Zira studied him for a moment as if assessing whether he were telling the truth. After a second, she drew her sword back.

The student let out a deep exhale as he touched his neck, sitting up. "I’m sorry. I honestly thought you guys were those... you guys were going to hurt me."

Looking up at Ran, he pressed his mouth into a thin line. He lowered his head out of shame, knowing he was one of the classmates who had criticized Ran for having a Red Stripe. However, the weakest Red Stripe in their class was the one who saved him.

"Thank you," he breathed out.

Ran smiled weakly. "I’m just glad you’re alright."

With that, he pushed himself up and looked at everyone. When his gaze landed on Zira, he pressed his mouth and stopped himself from saying whatever he would say if this were under different circumstances. After all, Zira would’ve killed the student, and Ran didn’t doubt that.

But that wasn’t the most important part right now.

Ran looked at everyone again. "There are already eight of us now, but what we’ve seen tells us one thing."

"We’re not just in danger because of this building," he continued solemnly. "It can also make us fight with each other."

In other words, other students could be fighting each other or had fallen into an illusion. At this point, they were not expecting everyone to come out of this building. But they still had to gather those they could.

"Stick together," Zira remarked coldly, casting the student to the floor. "No one’s getting in any room alone."

As they gathered themselves, Boom moved to Blitz as the latter hadn’t said a word. The latter’s expression was blank, and he hadn’t blinked for an entire minute now.

"Blitz..." Boom murmured, catching Blitz’s palm on the wall, trembling. "Blitz, are you—"

Boom’s breath hitched when Blitz suddenly pulled his little hand from the wall. Strangely enough, he glanced at Boom and didn’t say a word. Instead, Blitz walked away and joined the group.

But as Blitz walked away, Boom caught the brief smirk from the corner of Blitz’s mouth.