Esper Harem in the Apocalypse

Chapter 268 Returning to the Labyrinth

”Labyrinth? Why do you want to go there at this time?” Jane asked with a conflicted look on her face.

”Before you jump to a weird conclusion like an insecure girlfriend, we just had sex for hours. Otherwise, I would still prefer to spend the night and have fun,” Rudy asserted in a neutral tone.

”Oh? So you are saying that you are tired of my body now?”

”I did not say that.” Rudy turned to look at Jane, only to find her grinning at him.

Rudy pinched and pulled Janeʼs cheek as she said, ”Stop pretending. I canʼt tell when you are joking and when you are not.”

Rudy climbed the ledge and shot a glance at Jane before jumping down. Jane watched Rudy land with a smile on her face before spreading her wings and flying away.

Rudy jumped again and flew beside Jane while practicing his new flying technique. He was keeping the movements of his hands and legs still to avoid the friction in the air. However, the change in his speed wasnʼt much, so he stopped doing that.

”So? You didnʼt answer my question. Why do you suddenly want to go there?”

”Just curious and bored… I guess?” Rudy shrugged.

ʼAfter my chat with Nyxia, I am more curious about everything. And the only place I can find answers is the labyrinth. Maybe I should have stayed there and seen who it was.

Whoever it was, they surely knew the passage. Even Jane got lost, but I donʼt blame her since she went there after a long time.ʼ

Rudy began guessing the person, but he didnʼt know many vampires to begin with, so the only people he could suspect were Nyxia or Virgil.

Rudy suddenly smelled a sweet fragrance that was being carried by the cold breeze. He instantly recognized the smell and turned to Jane.

”Is that smell from the blood moon fruit?” he asked to confirm.

”Yes,” she nodded in response.

”Can you take me there? I want to see what the tree looks like.”

”Sure. Itʼs not far away, but I canʼt take you close. You will have to see them from afar.”

Rudy followed Jane and stopped when she stopped.

”There it is.”

He followed Janeʼs gaze and saw a garden full of Blood Moon Tree. The fruits were shining red while beating as though they were alive, and they looked even more imposing under the red moon.

”Hmm? There are so many fruits already. Why wasnʼt there any available in the palace? Donʼt the royals get prioritized about all this stuff?” Rudy asked without moving his gaze from the garden.

”You are not wrong about that. But there are many rules to harvesting the fruits from the tree. There is a certain time between the night and the morning that separates the day from night. And only then are they only allowed to harvest the blood moon fruits,” Jane explained calmly.

SIGH!

”I honestly donʼt know what to say about these rules. But they must exist for a reason, so I think I should say something inappropriate.” Rudy hugged Jane from behind and uttered, ”Can we go there?”

Jane leaned back and enjoyed Rudyʼs embrace before asking, ”What do you want to do by going there?”

”I want to burn the trees,” he snickered. ”I am joking. I want to see the trees. Maybe I can grow them?”

”How? Itʼs not an ordinary plant. And earlier, you said you were a botanist- which I assume is something related to the science behind the plants. But donʼt forget this world works on magic, not science. And so does that tree.”

”Thatʼs not what I meant.” Rudy squeezed Janeʼs breasts and said, ”My powers technically allow me to do anything I wish for. Directly or indirectly, my wish gets fulfilled.”

”That sounds like you are blessed.” Jane smiled with a soft chuckle and muttered, ”A love between a cursed and a blessed. Doesnʼt that sound romantic?”

”Hmm. More like poetic, but I donʼt and canʼt argue with that.” Rudy activated his see-through ability and scanned the area around the garden.

”Itʼs full of guards hiding perfectly in their spots. If we approach carelessly, they might get in trouble,” he muttered.

”Shouldnʼt it be ʼweʼ might get in trouble?”

”Of course not. Why should we get in trouble?”

”Anyway, we are getting late. Letʼs go to the academy and return before the morning. There is a function at the royal palace, and I must attend it.”

”How can you tell when itʼs morning and when itʼs night? There is… or are, no suns here. And everything looks the same to me. I havenʼt seen a clock either,” Rudy asked curiously.

”Itʼs the sky. It changes, and an invisible layer is formed between the moons and the sky.” Jane groaned and muttered, ”Itʼs hard to explain. But there is an entire chapter about it in the books if you want to read.”

Rudy hugged Jane tightly and teleported to the labyrinth, or so he wanted to, but they teleported to the statue in the vampire academy.

”Hmm…” Rudy hummed in amusement and uttered, ”Thatʼs strange. This has never happened before. Was that yet another teleport malfunction?”

He wondered.

”What?” Jane asked with a puzzled look on her face. ”Did you not intend to teleport us here?”

”I tried to teleport us to the labyrinth. But…”

”Maybe itʼs because of the phenomena I told you about?”

”Or perhaps that place doesnʼt exist in the current time and has changed into something else.”

”Thatʼs what I said...”

Jane quickly triggered the secret passage and jumped before Rudy.

”Someoneʼs in a hurry.” Rudy jumped right after Jane, and they landed within a minute.

”Are you okay?” they asked each other.

”Is it just me, or did we land a lot sooner this time?” Rudy asked.

”You are not alone.”

They both glanced around and were left astonished after realizing it was an entirely different place. Sure, they had already expected that. But it wasnʼt a labyrinth anymore. Rather, they were in an open desert that had its own moon and stars in the sky.

****

What secrets will they unravel together, or will they just find yet another mystery?

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Thanks, @Knickknack, and @IcewaterKat, for the gift!