Cate could feel that she was being watched, and this immediately helped her understand her current situation. "And I thought he would be easily molded to my desires. I guess he still has a few brain cells functioning just as God intended," she thought as she moved through the labyrinth. She was not worried that this would be the end of her.
Cate had lived for a very long time, and through the many years, she had come to believe that death had abandoned her. Now that she was back among the truly living, she had used the Original Sin spell, and this increased her ability to survive. Cate understood the legend of the Minotaur trapped inside the great labyrinth, but she was not willing to waste her time and energy trying to find the proper exit. That would take too much effort—effort she was not willing to put in. Since this was the case, Cate decided to brute force her way out of this place.
As she thought of a plan, she continued moving through the tiny corridors. "Are you sure that she is a sorcerer?" Astor finally asked after failing to figure out what was going on. Cate was moving at a speed that was dizzying. The magic that showed the participants on the screens could barely track her movements. In the labyrinth, there were many supernaturals, including vampires and other beings able to move at truly terrifying speeds, and yet Cate was now moving faster than all of them. It was as though no obstacle could stop her.
Cate reached an area in the labyrinth where she had to cross a sea of fire; she did not care about the heat and simply walked through the flames without flinching. Fire licked her skin, but she was not burned at all. She did not even sweat. She was the only one to pass this obstacle in such a manner. Some of the other participants cast water-based spells to put out the fire before crossing, and some manipulated their blood to create powerful defensive layers over themselves. Everyone had their unique method to pass the obstacle, but it was only Cate who ignored the danger entirely.
She did the same thing when she reached a part in the labyrinth where even the air was frozen. She just continued through as though it were her own backyard. All eyes were on her at this moment. The bets that were placed on her teacher were over a million Mage coins—a fortune that made even Galeazzo tremble with excitement and fear. Suddenly, Cate stopped moving and just stared at the wall closest to her. "What is she doing?" Galeazzo asked with fury in his eyes. If Cate were to win this competition, he would be the biggest winner this time around. He liked to gamble, but he rarely won, and Cate was now playing with his opportunity to dine with victory.
Cate's eyes glowed with a purple light. Those who saw her eyes at this moment felt as though they had been seen through, with no secret left hidden from her. After using the Original Sin spell, Cate began changing. One of the evolutions that she went through allowed her to gain the ability to see the flow of magic in the world. This ability grew more potent as the transformation continued. Apart from seeing the flow of magic, Cate began seeing through all illusions, and she now had the ability to see weaknesses in all things. In this moment, Cate saw the magic that flowed through the walls of the labyrinth, and she also managed to see more than a few flaws in the stone before her.
These weaknesses were not something that most people would ever see or even try to make use of, but Cate now wanted to do just that. Astor was the Minotaur who owned this labyrinth. He was the original Minotaur who had tormented Athens so long ago. In those times, he was such a threat to the world that he was trapped in the labyrinth. Even that was not enough to hold him, so the king made sacrifices to him every nine years. He enjoyed the supple flesh of young men and women. According to what the world knew, Astor was killed by the young hero Theseus and the king's daughter Ariadne.
The fact that Astor, who was that very Minotaur, now sat in this place like some sort of king showed that there was much the world did not know of his past. He had lived for a very long time, and his labyrinth had never failed. At this moment, he felt that the labyrinth was sure to fail. He jumped to his feet and watched everything with his eyes wide open.
"All existence is ruled by the divine and cursed by the foul ones. The earth is beneath the heavens, and yet the heavens do not exist. All things follow the will of the observer and are determined by the heart. Good and evil are eternal illusions cast in the souls of man. With my blood as sacrifice, I summon the ancient evil, Behemoth. Inhabit my form and rend the earth asunder," Cate chanted.
Very few people understood what she was doing. Many could tell that she was casting a spell, but to recognize the ritual itself was a feat not many could pull off. "She wants to use the second spell of the Seven Demon Spells. She wants to summon the demon Behemoth, the second disaster!" Astor cried out. The hall was suddenly filled with murmurs from all corners. Everyone had at least heard of the Seven Demon Spells and the carnage they were capable of bringing to the mortal world. Very few magicians had the power and talent to use these spells. No one expected that a magician talented enough—and bold enough to use this ominous magic—would be sent into the labyrinth.
Cate felt a strange, evil power sweep over her body. This was the first time she was using these seven demon spells, and she did not know exactly what to expect with each one, but she was glad that she had comprehended them the first chance she got. Boom—a wave of power exploded to fill the labyrinth. Cate was at the center of the explosion. The strange power that came from her filled the surroundings, and soon, everything was engulfed in thick black mist. All who were touched by this mist felt their blood go cold and their souls shiver with the realization that a true predator now existed in this world.
"Only a fool would stay here," one of the guests said as she hurriedly left the hall. She was not the only one to make this decision. More than half of the people who had come to enjoy this game left immediately. The ones who stayed to watch the conclusion of this madness were those too crazy to take a warning. The black mist was suddenly blown away by a wave of power. Cate was finally revealed.
It was no longer her beautiful self. She had been taken over by Behemoth, the second disaster of this world. Cate had grown to twenty feet tall. She had long, curved horns on her head. Her skin was covered with thick scales that created a powerful-looking armor on her body from head to toe. She looked impenetrable. Her legs were as sturdy as cedar trunks, and the long black tail she now possessed moved around with such power that it created gale winds. Beneath the scaly armor, she was covered in muscles that rippled with a sense of unstoppable earthen power. She was truly the manifestation of the wrath of mother earth. Even in this beast-like form, Cate still managed to retain her feminine grace, even though no one cared about that right now.
"She is truly mad," the twins said at the same time. Galeazzo looked at her through the screen as though he were seeing her for the first time. "Is this the madness that has moved through the Danescu clan for ages?" Astor asked with wonder in his voice. Cate raised her left leg and stomped the ground. Boooooom—the earth shook as Cate became the epicenter of an earthquake. The labyrinth was built to contain all power, and yet this force managed to reach the hall where Astor and his guests were seated.
Cate was pleased by this power. The Second Demon Spell was said to summon Behemoth into the body of the magician, granting them immense physical strength. This was exactly the kind of power Cate believed that she needed to break through the labyrinth as fast as possible. This power was all muscle and not magic, meaning that she could simply bulldoze her way out of this place that was designed to feed on the magic of its captives. Cate formed a fist with her right hand. This simple movement seemed to condense the air and make the space around her tremble as though it were under strain beyond what it could handle. "Holy shit," Astor cried out. He was one with the labyrinth, and in this moment, he felt death calling out his name.
Bang! Cate punched at the point where all the weaknesses in the wall met. For a second, nothing happened. Boooooom—the wall was blown into a million pieces as the entire labyrinth began to collapse. Astor collapsed, and Galeazzo lost his cool. Even the twins, who seemed to never take anything seriously, stood up at this moment and looked at Galeazzo as though telling him that it was time to leave this place. Galeazzo did not get time to think about the matter in greater detail before the twins disappeared right before his eyes. He understood that things were truly dire if the twins were fleeing without giving him face.
Astor gathered his power as his body morphed to appear more like that of a bull. The man had a large well of magic, and he now drew on all of it in order to save the labyrinth. This place had been with him for thousands of years. Galeazzo and everyone else with even a simple understanding of magic could see that the man was losing this battle. There was no way for him to stop the destruction being brought into the world by Cate, who was channeling the power of Behemoth. The walls that had collapsed began mending themselves, and this was when Cate knew that Astor was making his move.
"Hmmmph," she snorted with displeasure. The sound alone had so much power that a gust of wind swept through the labyrinth. "You should have known better than to think that your little labyrinth was powerful enough to hold all supernaturals. It is too late for you to remember the meaning of regret." Cate stomped the ground and shot through the labyrinth. She was akin to an unstoppable rocket. She passed through walls and other living beings, decimating everything in her path. She simply used brute force, and nothing could stop her. No matter what Astor tried, his labyrinth continued to collapse all around him.
The magic that held the labyrinth together, making it the inescapable maze that it was, began coming undone. Cate seemed to be ramping randomly with no plan in mind, but this was not the case. Each step she took was aimed at a flaw in the structure. She disrupted the flow of magic and usurped control of more than a few parts of this structure. She subsequently used her control to do even more damage. Astor finally recognized that there was no hope for his labyrinth and made to escape. Even though he loved his home, he loved his life more. Just from looking at how Cate moved and how she did not care for the lives of the other supernaturals who were forced into the labyrinth, it was clear that she was a ruthless killer who was sure to maim and kill all those involved in trying to turn her into entertainment.
Bang! Astor did not get to finish his line of thought when he saw a slender yet demonic hand coming out of his chest. The hand was covered in blood and smelled like death and destruction. Astor slowly turned his head and finally saw the person responsible for the hole in his chest. "Catherine Danescu! Who are you?" he managed to push these words out of his mouth.
Cate saw the many wealthy people fleeing like rats from a sinking ship, but she did not panic to go after them. In her mind, they were already dead. These people tried to use her for entertainment. Cate had been used for thousands of years, her head treated as nothing more than a magical weapon to be wielded by so-called heroes. Cate leaned closer and whispered something into Astor's ear. The Minotaur shivered, and not from the fact that he had a hole in his chest.