Tamathos's wand was agreed to be given to Evimolaos, who was the eldest and obviously the most capable. After all, they relied on him to lead them safely past the dreadful monsters, the Alnafropes. A short time passed, and indeed Etydameas easily snatched Tamathos's wand, which he had deliberately left exposed at his seat. That same night, Etydameas offered Tamathos's wand to Evimolaos, and all the children allowed him to lead them safely out of the Movinto reformatory.
The eighteen-year-old Evimolaos truly was capable and unlocked all the gates, after first skillfully incapacitating the guards, who knowingly did not put up much resistance. In the end, the children managed to escape successfully from the prison of Movinto with relatively great ease. All the guards, of course, knew that Tamathos's wand had been stolen, but they had orders to allow Etydameas to escape, and thus the sentries were easily overcome by Evimolaos.
At last, the Odyvioi had been waiting for this day, because they were now prepared and hoped finally to witness Etydameas's method of escape, which had disgraced the largest and most secure magical prison in the world.
The entire group of young mages, who easily neutralized the few sentries they encountered along their path, ran full of adrenaline, following Etydameas, who knew the area outside Movinto since he had already escaped before. He led them to the same place where he had hidden the first time, deep inside the forest. And after they reached that point in the forest, Etydameas urged them to test their wands, to check whether they were capable of use.
Everyone faced problems and did not feel their wands to be obedient to the spells they invoked. The nine-year-old mage also tested the oak wands and then realized that they worked in exactly the same way as the regular wand he had used the first time he escaped. Thus, he explained to them the logic with the first five random spells, and they saw that indeed the oak wands allowed them to use their magic only in a random manner.
Etydameas, who had experience, explained to them that they must use their spells wisely and at the appropriate moment, without wasting them recklessly. Thus, they all practiced on tree trunks and among themselves until they became accustomed to them. Only the eighteen-year-old Evimolaos did not seem to have a problem with the normal wand of Tamathos, on whom they all relied the most to lead them safely out of Akbazan.
After they all adapted to the new conditions of the oak wands, they continued along the path led by Etydameas, silently speaking the spell Sontos while using his enchanted pendant. He revealed to them, now that they had moved away from Kezan, that his magical necklace showed the way, though he did not trust them enough to reveal the magical spell that activated it.
The group moved in haste, and within a few hours they reached a remote place where two sentries stood alone in front of a hill. The enchanted dragon necklace pointed exactly toward their position, and thus Etydameas realized that the gate to the shifting labyrinth must be located somewhere nearby. Evimolaos approached them silently in the darkness and turned both of them to stone.
Then Etydameas told Evimolaos to perform the spell Roverio, in order to reveal the gate that leads to the second sector. Evimolaos listened to his young friend and spoke Roverio. A gate appeared in front of the hill, and he touched it with his wand. The gate opened magically, and all the children entered the labyrinthine maze.
Etydameas warned them that in this sector there were many traps, dangers, and dreadful demons. "Be very careful and do not move away from the safety of the group," he told them. "We need to be especially cautious and cooperate, so that we can all manage to emerge alive from this second and dangerous level." In addition, he reminded them of the unpleasant incident with Eumaios, so that they would not become complacent and would remain constantly alert.
The Odyvioi, of course, were aware of the young ones' escape and simply waited for the young mages to enter the labyrinthine maze. The Black-Clad ones were prepared and had placed many mirrors in various points of the second sector. These mirrors were enchanted and constantly displayed whatever occurred inside the labyrinth. Thus, now they would be able to know and see exactly what was happening and discover Etydameas's secret, which had helped him find the exit from the labyrinth so quickly the previous time with Torpineas.
Meanwhile, the group advanced within the chaotic labyrinth. Etydameas looked from time to time at his pendant and indicated the correct direction. A few minutes passed, and suddenly they heard a terrible roar and all turned to see where it came from. The children saw a monster called Elon. This beast was a fire demon and had tough, impenetrable skin.
Elon unleashed an attack of fire from his mouth, but Evimolaos reacted in time and projected an ice defense with the spell Kavos, and thus the beast's attack was neutralized. Two other children struck Elon with the spell Velythro, though without causing him great trouble. Another child countered Elon's attack with Esperiarm, but the flames he hurled from his hand exceeded the power of Esperiarm and nearly burned them all.
Fortunately, Etydameas and one of his friends reacted in time and resisted the flames. Etydameas activated the spell Chravos, which created a protective stone wall, and his friend, with the spell Nefoulso, sent back part of the flames toward the beast. Meanwhile, Evimolaos found the demon Elon exposed and slowed him with the spell Rostani Etys, so all the children attacked the monster with whatever spells they had available.
Now the group of children gathered enough mana and thus were able to unleash stronger attacks against the monster. Therefore, Evimolaos decided to summon a sea beast, the Asoupi, to block Elon's direct attacks against them. The sea monster resembled a gigantic eel and bought enough time for the young group to regroup.
Elon was ready to destroy Evimolaos's beast, but then Evsepiros offered some mana along with the vital force of the sea demon and then summoned the stronger beast Amagotha. Amagotha was a water beast in the form of a dragon. Evsepiros's monster hurled a wave of water from its mouth, and at the same time Elon attacked with a flamethrower, and the two attacks neutralized each other.
Then the sea dragon lunged at the demon Elon and coiled around him, tightening around his neck. In the end, the spirit Amagotha subdued and drowned the terrible fire demon. The young mages shouted with joy and congratulated Evsepiros.
Thus, they continued their path with confidence, each boasting in discussion about his contribution to the destruction of the dreadful beast. Etydameas, however, remained more restrained and advised his friends not to relax. He reminded them how dangerous the labyrinthine maze was and told them that even if they did not encounter the Minotaur, there were still many traps and terrible beasts.
The group moved through the vast second sector of Akbazan and occasionally encountered devil-traps, yet all of them knew the light spell Rymor, so they dealt with them successfully. The devil-traps were a dreadful plant which, with its vines and branches, attacked unfortunate passersby and strangled them. Nevertheless, the young group had no difficulty destroying it.
Some time passed, and as they were passing a point with a marsh, suddenly a reptilian monster emerged from the water and attacked them. This beast was known by the name Othra and was a water demon. The monster Othra had a poisonous bite and could command the element of water.
Evimolaos, who was at the very front, gave orders to the others to mainly use earth spells in order to cause greater damage to the water beast. Etydameas thought cleverly and first used the spell Chravos to create a large stone wall, and then the air spell Nefoulso. With this ingenious combination, he hurled the massive stone violently toward the water beast.
Some of his young friends, who did not have an earth spell available, attacked with Velythro, which was a water spell, so that at least their spell would not be at a disadvantage against the spirit Othra. Evsepiros, on the other hand, used the powerful spell Othropax, with which he created a sphere of water in which he trapped the demon. Thus, they found the opportunity and unleashed various spells against the reptilian Othra.
Eventually, the demon escaped from the water trap and attempted to charge at the children to bite them, but they reacted in time and stopped it with the spell Kavos. The beast then sent a large wave of water against the entire group. However, Etydameas shouted to Evimolaos to use the spell he had seen his father perform in the past, Girma. Evimolaos had no idea what spell it was, yet he listened to his young friend and performed it successfully. A massive chasm opened before them, and almost all the rushing water from the wave disappeared into the void.
Afterward, the entire group unleashed spells against the monster in combination, and thus the young escapees caused great damage to the dying beast. Finally, Etydameas, with the spell Convigo, finished off the monster Othra, which lay weakened on the ground.
The group of children, after successfully confronting this dreadful beast as well, now began to believe and agree that they would soon manage to exit this level quickly and safely. With the help of Etydameas, who showed them the correct direction through the vast labyrinth, and through their teamwork, they were certain that nothing would stop them.
Meanwhile, the Odyvioi had now seen with their own eyes through the magical mirrors how the young mage was able to find the exits within Akbazan. Nevertheless, most of them agreed not to intervene and to leave the young group as experimental subjects. In this way, they would be able to examine in action the new security measures and the demons they had added to the labyrinth.
Apheni, who participated in the council and was also watching her son's escape attempt, pressured her father to intervene, but the majority of the Black-Clad ones was decisive, and there was no chance that anyone would change their minds. The argument of the Odyvioi who decided to leave the young children at the mercy of fate was that it would be a good opportunity to test the prison's weaknesses, if it had any, and at the same time to serve as a lesson to them for attempting to escape.
Another significant factor was that some of the Black-Clad ones were enjoying themselves and participating in secret wagers. In these wagers they could declare by which monster or trap the children would be defeated or how long each one would endure. They also had the ability to select individuals who would die first or even to bet on a victor who would ultimately escape. These wagers, of course, were secret and illegal, yet they had been created and existed ever since the magical mirrors were installed.
Thus, it was explained why lately there had been many cases of missing prisoners who somehow ended up in the labyrinthine maze. In this way, the children with the enchanted pendant were left to their fate, even though there were voices that supported the view that, since they had learned the escape method, there was no reason to allow them to become prey to the demonic beasts.
And while the Odyvioi, who were observing the young mages, were discussing these matters, suddenly a new obstacle appeared in the path of the nine-year-old mage and his companions. The children now found themselves in front of a stone gate that had the carved head of a deer upon it, and in the mouth of the deer there was a golden lock. At that place there was a magical broomstick lying on the ground in front of the gate. At the same time, many enchanted keys with wings were flying in the air. One of them was distinct, as it had golden wings, and thus everyone understood that someone had to catch the magical key with the golden wings using the broomstick. In this way, they would finally be able to open the gate with the carved deer.
The trial was undertaken by Dokis, who was the most skilled among the group in flying magical broomsticks. Dokis, who loved flying with magical broomsticks, had heard of similar trials, and thus immediately understood what he had to do. Dokis took a deep breath and quickly mounted the broomstick. Without delay, he chased after the key with the golden wings, while at the same time the other keys blocked his path and his visibility, preventing him from approaching the correct key.
Evimolaos, seeing Dokis struggling, used the spell Imovoulos and thus immobilized all the keys that were hindering his friend. Dokis now easily pursued the key with the golden wings and caught it. He descended with the key in his hand, and his friends congratulated him. Dokis had scratches on his hands from the keys that had attacked him earlier and prevented him from catching the one with the golden wings.
Dokis told them that there was no reason to worry and handed the key to Evimolaos to place it into the lock with the carved deer. He inserted it into the golden mouth of the deer, turned it, and then the gate opened in an impressive magical manner. The children passed through the open gate and happily continued their journey.
The Odyvioi in the palace of Sazideas, who were watching the young mages, remained unmoved, as they were certain that without the help of an adult mage they had no hope of succeeding in escaping the labyrinth, even if they possessed Etydameas's magical compass. The previous time there had been fewer obstacles, and of course the young Etydameas had the help of the experienced Torpineas along with Eumaios.
Besides, even in the worst-case scenario, in which the young mages miraculously managed to exit the labyrinth, they would still have to face the dreadful Alnafropes of the third level, and thus there they would have no chance whatsoever.
Thus, everyone watched the group of youths with curiosity, to see how far they would ultimately reach. The young friends traveled for several minutes, and then an earth demon, Tafros, attacked them. Tafros was quite terrifying and smelled awful. The children, without second thought, attacked him collectively so as not to give him time to react, yet he managed to summon four wild boars to help him. The boars immediately charged at the children to strike them with their tusks.
The children were startled, as it was the first time they had seen a beast capable of summoning other creatures for assistance. The group split into smaller parts and each took on one of the four boars. Etydameas stayed beside Evimolaos and together they took on Tafros.
Etydameas had sufficient mana and thus had the ability to summon the giant earth monster with the spell Tlor, in order to occupy the demon Tafros. Etydameas's monster attacked Tafros directly with its club, yet Tafros lifted a large rock and hurled it at the beast of the nine-year-old mage. The giant collapsed to the ground and died from the fatal blow to the head.
While the giant occupied Tafros, Evimolaos struck Tafros with two spells, though without causing significant damage. Meanwhile, Etydameas temporarily froze Tafros with the spell Espago. At the same time, the remaining children, through teamwork, managed to deal successfully with all the wild boars.
Evimolaos now also summoned a fire beast, Imari, while Etydameas decided to set a trap in the ground with the spell Batra. The beast Tafros, with a movement of his hand, tore rocks from a slope and threw them at the spirit Imari. However, Evimolaos's beast responded with a powerful fiery attack.
The monster Imari charged toward Tafros to burn him with the flames that surrounded it, yet Tafros was quite resilient and resisted. With a stomp of his foot, Tafros opened a fissure in the ground, and the beast Imari fell inside and became trapped. Tafros now found the opportunity and launched a frontal attack against Evimolaos and Etydameas.
Nevertheless, the trap of the young mage proved effective, and Tafros fell into the deep pit that had been created with the spell Batra. Now Tafros was trapped and weakened, and so they all together destroyed him from above with successive spells.
The group of children began to take matters seriously and realized that if beasts continued to appear at the same rate, they might not manage to escape this labyrinth alive. They sat for a while to rest and then asked their nine-year-old friend which direction they should go.
Etydameas consulted his dragon necklace and indicated that they should proceed to the right. The group moved forward for quite some time and then found themselves before a steep cliff that was impossible to cross safely. It was practically impossible to cross the deep chasm, as none of them possessed the power of teleportation or even the rarer ability of levitation.
The young mages stared in disappointment at the steep cliff before them and wondered how they could cross it. Etydameas strained his mind to find a solution, and then, while examining the area around the deep gorge for some time, a crazy idea came to him.
Etydameas remembered that a little earlier they had passed a river, and so he thought that, with the help of his friends, perhaps they could divert the flow of the river.
And so they would redirect it with the spell Girma into a new direction toward the deep cliff and fill it with water. Thus, when the gorge filled with water from the river, they would simply swim across to the other side and everything would be smooth and easy.
Etydameas shared his crazy idea with his friends, who mocked him, but as time passed and they found nothing better, they decided to try it. And so it happened—together they created, with the spell Girma, a channel that would lead the river toward the steep cliff. The river soon filled the gorge, and the group, taking a running start, all dived into the water and swam across successfully.
Evsepiros patted the young Etydameas on the back and congratulated him on his brilliant idea. The Odyvioi, seeing this achievement of the young escapees as well, began to observe them with greater interest, and their curiosity increased further. They wondered whether it was truly possible for these schoolchildren to manage to escape the dangerous labyrinth and accomplish something that even for adult mages would seem like a miracle.
Sazideas himself was also watching the feats of the young mages and was smiling, because he thought that his mischievous little grandson would most likely manage to exit the incredibly labyrinthine and dangerous maze for a second time. He saw how he had devised the trick of diverting the river into the cliff, and now he truly realized how great a talent and intelligence his young grandson possessed. He felt great pride in being his grandfather, and the same was true for Somena and Apheni, who were also astonished by his idea.
However, Apheni and Etydameas's grandmother were worried and tried to persuade the others to intervene and capture them before anything worse happened. Of course, now there was no chance of stopping the young mages from their attempt to exit the second level of Akbazan. They proposed the same arguments as earlier, but in reality the wagers were many and had already ignited fiercely.
Thus, Etydameas's group was left to its fate, without knowing that they were being watched and that some were playing with their lives for entertainment. And so the children continued their journey unaware and full of hope that they would manage to escape from Akbazan.
Not even ten minutes had passed when a swarm of flying monsters attacked them from above. This time it was a flock of Ormiches—horrific flying beasts with hooked beaks, claws, and wings capable of launching their feathers like arrows. The children found themselves in real danger, but some cast the spell Savitha, and thus a protective shield formed above their heads and prevented the sharp feathers of the Ormiches from injuring them.
The children faced a great problem, because the swarm was numerous, and furthermore they could not deal with it easily since it was high in the air. The group continued to defend themselves while at the same time running to save themselves. However, if they wanted to survive, they had to somehow go on the offensive and force the Ormiches to flee.
Thus, they unleashed several spells all together simultaneously against the flying beasts. Evsepiros even summoned an air spirit, Galounda. The beast Galounda was a humanoid demon with wings. In this way, it was able to fly high and occupy the dreadful Ormiches for enough time so that the young mages could escape.
In addition, Etydameas saw that he had at his disposal the spell Telaunor, and thus he struck several of the enemy Ormiches with lightning as they pursued them. The children saw this powerful lightning that Etydameas used and asked him what spell it was. And the young mage answered them that it was an ether spell, which he had found in the library of Movinto while studying an old book of magic.
Even the adult mages in the palace of Sazideas, when they saw Etydameas using this extremely powerful spell of ancient magic, were astonished. They could not understand how such a small child, and moreover using an oak wand and bearing a restrictive mark on his shoulder, was capable of performing advanced magic that was impossible even for many adult mages.
As time passed, the Black-Clad ones began to realize that they had underestimated far more than they had imagined the abilities of the nine-year-old mage. They also understood that they had made a great mistake by providing books with such knowledge in the library of the Movinto reformatory. Tempers flared, and they began arguing and demanding responsibility and explanations, yet the majority of the Odyvioi council insisted on allowing the children to continue their attempt and not to intervene.
Most of the Odyvioi were determined to allow the young group to continue and reveal what else they had hidden up their sleeves. Thus, the children managed to escape and continued their path under the guidance of the enchanted pendant held by Etydameas.
They had not managed to travel many meters when they saw from afar a titan running toward them with great strides. The titan was an enormous beast with special magical powers. After he approached them closely enough, he began hurling various curses at them with his magical rod.
The children cooperated perfectly and covered one another successfully, repelling the titan's spells. Then the young mages counterattacked and struck the titan, hammering him with many powerful spells. The group of young escapees had by now become accustomed to their oak wands and had learned to cooperate perfectly. Thus, at times some created protective spells while others attacked alternately, making use of whatever spells they had at the appropriate moment.
The young mages had cornered the titan and inflicted a serious blow upon him, but suddenly he summoned a massive fire demon in the form of a serpent, named Egni. The fiery beast struck the children with blazing attacks, and they struggled to withstand it, raising water defenses that barely reduced the heat of its attacks.
The children began to panic and realized that if something was not done soon, they would be in mortal danger. And then Etydameas instinctively felt ready to use the special magic he possessed—the very magic that had been the original cause of his suffering. That is, he felt capable of performing the forbidden curse of influence.
Most likely, because of the wand, his powers were being strengthened, and at least temporarily he could perform it. Thus, Etydameas, without hesitation, took control of the demon Egni and turned it against its master, the titan. Suddenly, the titan found himself confronted by his own beast while at the same time fighting the combined attack of the young escapees.
The titan fell to the ground helpless, and while the spirit Egni prepared to burn him, the titan begged the children for mercy. Etydameas, seeing the titan desperately pleading for mercy, canceled the summoning of the demon Egni and made it disappear. The group looked at the exhausted titan, felt pity for him, and withdrew, leaving him behind.
Suddenly, the titan lifted a massive rock and hurled it at the children who had humiliated him, but fortunately they were already far enough away, and it did not hit them. The young escapees fled and stopped after some time, feeling lucky to have escaped the treacherous titan. They had pitied him and spared his life, and yet the scoundrel had attempted to attack them from behind. The young mages realized that they must never become complacent, and thus they learned yet another valuable life lesson.
Lord Sazideas, having seen the abilities of the young mages, who had successfully confronted even the powerful titan, proposed placing a magical insect on the third level. This magical flying insect was quite small and had the ability to secretly project image and sound from the place where it was located.
They now understood that it was quite possible that the young escapees would eventually succeed and reach the third sector, and therefore this was necessary. Thus, they all agreed with the powerful Sazideas and notified special agents called Chrysouchi to place magical insects in the third sector of the Alnafropes, so that they could monitor the children in case they reached that point. In this way, they would have the ability to see them and also to reach them in time and intervene to save them from the dreadful monsters, the Alnafropes, if necessary.
Meanwhile, the group of young mages continued deeper into the chaotic labyrinth with its many dangers. With the help of the magical dragon necklace, they reached a valley, and there they saw from afar some horses standing in a meadow. Enchanted by the landscape, they paused for a moment and admired the wild horses from a distance.
The children wondered what purpose there could be in placing these innocent animals inside such a dreadful sector, and shortly afterward they received their answer. The wild horses, upon sensing the presence of the children, suddenly began galloping wildly toward them.
The children were startled, as they had not expected the swift attack of the horses, but Xykramis calmly slowed the horses with the spell Rostani Etys. Thus, the children managed to recover and prepared to eliminate the wild horses.