Reverse Villainess

Don't Move.

Ruby successfully solved the puzzle.

"That's a lot simpler than I thought," Ruby said. "I feel stupid that I needed so much time to find out."

Aurora smiled. "That's just how puzzles are."

"Nah, you're good," Lumi said. "I don't think I could have solved it no matter how much time I spent on it."

"Congratulations," the dwarf guard said. "You can enter now."

The dwarves guards opened the door.

"But just a warning," one of them said. "Unlike the labyrinth between layer one and two, starting from here, you might encounter monsters inside. That means you might get hurt or even die."

"What?" Lumi said, worried. "Isn't that bad?"

"Don't worry," Aurora said. "We can handle it."

"But..." Lumi still looked worried.

"Come on, it's just a monster," Ruby said. "Not a big deal."

"But it's called a monster for a reason, right?" Lumi said with concern.

Rita stepped forward and patted Lumi's shoulder. "Relax, I will protect you," she promised.

"Um, thank you, but..." Lumi hesitated.

"That's right," Ruby said, with a playful smile. "We have our own monster, so everything's fine."

Rita let out a sigh. "Miss, please don't call me that."

Ruby chuckled. "Okay, okay," she said, as they passed through the door.

After passing through the giant door, the group entered a new layer of the labyrinth. The walls were made of stone, and the air was thick with the smell of damp earth. The path ahead was dimly lit, and they could hear the sound of something moving in the distance.

"That's... Not a monster, right?" Lumi said, scared.

"Do you want to check it out?" Ruby said playfully. "It seems like the path ahead is split in two--"

"Please don't joke around," Lumi interrupted. "I don't know how strong you are, but I think taking things lightly is a bad idea!"

Aurora poked Ruby. "She's right. Don't bully her too much."

"Okay, okay, sorry," Ruby said, pouting. "But it's fine, right? We could go down the path with that sound."

"No, let's take the other one," Rita said.