Minotaur
Tsukumo takes over and defeats the minotaur
Halo, writer! Maaf kalau mengejutkan dengan mendadak kirim DM seperti ini.
Saya mau tanya, apa kemampuan Health Manipulation punyanya Quin bisa dipakai untuk regrow limbs? Kalau bisa, dan bila berkenan, saya mau mengajak untuk melakukan short plot seputar itu.
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Kirsch let out a big yawn as he continued to venture through Nertoria Forest.
He's feeling very sluggish, because he's nocturnal and still pretty exhausted from the last battle against the squid. The temptation to just hop on a large tree branch and sleep until he's satisfied is so strong, but he's doing his best resisting it. He needs to get to the mountain while the light is still out.
Why, you ask?
Because he's going to fight a Minotaur.
Why would he fight a Minotaur?
Because the royal bi- the royal witch that had just returned to Fermuth several days ago was saying that she needs some minerals and sturdy steels, which supposedly can be extracted from the vertebral column of a Minotaur.
Considering the opponent, a light-fighter like him isn't suitable to deal with this request. But his superior ― his actual superior from the organization, and not the ones of this kingdom ― had ordered him to watch over her movements, and also the military supplies. This request fits the bill, and so he's going for it.
So, back to the Minotaur.
His source said that Minotaur is a beast that is active at night (― "Hey, that's just like me," was his thought when he first read the information, feeling some sort of bond with the monster because of the similarity ―), which is why he thought it will give him some advantage if he fights it while the sky is still bright.
But, turned out that way of thinking is a mistake.
When he arrived at its nest in Nertoria Mountain, he found it to be sleeping.
At first.
The moment he reached a certain range from it though, maybe sensing his presence or smelling unfamiliar creature's scent, it rose from its slumber and Kirsch, surprised by this sudden turn of event, couldn't hide himself in time before the Minotaur noticed this intruder who had entered its home without permission.
It let out a loud, angry roar. The shockwave it creates pushed Kirsch back by a few centimeters.
A deterred smile appeared on his lips for a brief moment then. It's just a sound, but it was powerful enough to give a physical effect. Imagine how powerful his punches and kicks are.
No, no. He shook his head quickly and slapped his own face to refocus.
The source he used as a reference also stated that although Minotaur is very powerful, it's pretty lacking in the intelligence field. He might not be able to overpower it, but he can at least try outwitting it.
First, he need to see whether it has any pattern of moves. Which is why Kirsch then turned on his heels and running away to get out of the beast's range of reach.
It's far more difficult than he thought. The Minotaur is throwing things such as rocks, decaying corpses of its previous victims, and et cetera within its reach as it chased after him. Kirsch might have a lot of combat experiences, but it doesn't mean he's experienced enough to dodge attacks while giving his back to his enemy. Besides, if he keeps running away like this, he knows he will run out of stamina soon.
Thus why he decided to take out several bombs from his item stash. He, however, didn't throw them at the beast. Instead, he throw them at the walls of stone hills hugging the road they're currently passing. The bombs immediately detonated the moment they touched the hard surface, causing the hills to crumble and rocks gliding down their way.
But the Minotaur is the only one who gets hit and buried by the rocks. Kirsch was able to avoid getting caught in the disaster by casting a spell to increase his speed even further.
He waited for the dust smokes that raised to disperse while regulating his breathing. He haven't manage to see any particular attacking pattern from the Minotaur. But, if he had to repeat this process of provoke-and-run too many times, his body won't be able to hold out. So he's kind of hoping that the falling rocks had knocked the monster out cold.
After the dusts had cleared up, he waited a little more, but still there were no sounds nor particular movements coming from the rubble.
Maybe the Minotaur really passed out?
Carefully, Kirsch approached the piles of stones. But just as he was about to climb it and check if there are gaps he can use to peek at the Minotaur's condition, the sound of indignant roar make the wreckage quaking.
Alerted, the assassin quickly jumped away and was about to make another escape when the Minotaur's large hand thrust out from the rubble, sending small rocks and dusts up, which slowed Kirsch down and allowed it to catch hold of his leg.
"Shit-"
The power the beast exerted into that one arm was so strong that he can hear his bone cracking from the grip, making him groan in pain. He can hear the rocks sliding off as the Minotaur slowly rise to its feet again, and at the same time he's made hanging upside down in its grip.
Looking at the now fully standing Minotaur prompted an annoyed tch to slip out from Kirsch's lips. He felt stupid for expecting it to keel over just because some rocks. Its body looks perfectly well, just like what he remembered from when it woke up and started chasing after him. Maybe just a little dusty.
Having been caught like this, Kirsch then quickly think up some plans to break himself free from its grip.
First plan makes him bring out a machete, aiming to cut its leg because that's the easiest part to attack considering his current position. But, god damn, the bull-headed hybrid's skin is thick in the legs too. The blade barely able to give it a scratch.
Second plan makes him pull out a tube-shaped stun gun from his item stash. Its skin might be thick, but electricity should still be able to pass throughout its body.
However, before he could press the tube on the Minotaur's skin, the hand holding it was caught. Thinking that it would crack the bone of his arm again, Kirsch prepared himself to fight off the pain.
But the pain that came rushing through his whole self turned out to be greater than what he expected.
For the Minotaur didn't simply grip at his arm, but he pulled at it until the limb was torn off from his shoulder.
"--...!!!!!!"
His agonized scream spilled out of his lungs together with bloods from the severed arm. But to the Minotaur, the ear-piercing shriek must've sounded like a beautiful melody, because it then bared its teeth smugly.
Breathing heavily, Kirsch can feel his conscious fading due to the excessive amount of blood he lost. At the same time, he can also feel mana surging into him, which makes him realize that the arm the Minotaur ripped is the one equipped with his sealing charm.
Then, as he had expected ― for this had happened so many times, in his dark, suicidal days ― he heard a voice talking to him right inside his head.
- I suppose it's my turn, eh?
"... Wait... no..."
It's strange, but together with the next words coming from the voice, he feels like his head is getting gently patted.
- Stop forcing yourself, boy. Just rest, and leave it to me.
The next second, Kirsch completely lost control of his body as a force burst out from his body.
Their close proximity and the impact caused the Minotaur to spontaneously let go of the leg in its grip. It staggered backwards, seeming bewildered as it watched the human it caught before is suspended mid-air with a katana emerging from his stomach.
Once the sword whole form is completely revealed, Kirsch body stopped floating and he made a smooth landing on the ground. His eyes were closed, but when they fluttered open again, they were not the same hue of violet.
The Minotaur seems to instinctively understands that something is different from the human that he tried to prey on earlier, and it seemed to stagger even further when his gaze fell on its figure.
- Hello, Mr. Mino... Minotani... ah, how did the boy say your name? I can't seem to remember.
Kirsch ― or to be precise, the spirit currently in control of Kirsch's body starts talking, as if trying to engage in a civilized conversation with the beast. Said beast, of course, couldn't understand because of its lack of intelligence and simply stared at the other party, growling.
- ... Well, I suppose it doesn't matter. So, putting the matter of your name aside... It seems you've been taking a good care of a part of this body.
The arm that was ripped off Kirsch's shoulder is still in the Minotaur's hold. Bloods dripping from where it's severed, some falling freely to the ground, and the rest flowing down and dirtying the half-bull's hand. The sealing charm, chains wrapped around the forearm, was fortunately still intact.
- That arm, or rather, the accessory attached to it is important to this boy, so... will you please return it peacefully?
--
A furious roar was the answer that the Minotaur give him. Although rather than saying that it's an answer, it's more appropriate to say that the beast is finally coming over the wariness that came from witnessing strange phenomenons coming from the human.
It once again entered attacking stance. Balling his fist as it ran, it seemed to intend to crush the human with its punch.
Letting out a small sigh, the assassin mumbled, 『'No', is that it? Very well.』
He grabbed the floating katana, and the moment his fingers are wrapped around its handle, thin violet aura covers the blade. He made a high jump right after that, avoiding and letting the Minotaur's powerful punch strikes the ground, making a small crater. The beast followed with more punches, and each time its swinging its arm, it's growing even more irritated because its prey keep jumping away like a grasshopper.
『I can give you a peaceful death if only the boy gets an information on your weakness, but how unfortunate that his investigation is lacking. But, well...』
Another punch is launched, making a huge fist mark on one side of a small rock hill. The assassin, who avoided that, landed on its muscular, stretched out arm and made a swift slashing motion aimed at its eyes, effectively robbing the Minotaur of its sight.
The bull-headed monster let out a pained roar, but it still refused to let go of its grip around Kirsch's torn arm. In fact, the pain and loss caused its anger parameter to burst to the max and it started to go on a rampage. The landscape is destroyed even further with its punches, kicks, and even headbutts.
Meanwhile, the assassin was standing on top of a small hill, a good distance away from the frenzied beast.
『He's in that much pain, but he still refuses to let go of the arm... Very stubborn, I see. I guess there's no choice but to kill it...』
He feels his heart is heavy with thought of what is ahead, but he tried to convince himself that it's a choice that can't be avoided before re-engaging the Minotaur.
--
Once again he entered the Minotaur's range of attack. Carefully, he avoided getting hits by its blind attacks and made his own attacks. Neck, arms, legs, chest... he tried attacking various parts, but he couldn't make a wound deep enough to make it fall.
Until finally, he landed a slashing attack at its stomach. He realized that he finally found its weakness when its movement suddenly stopped altogether and blood gushed out from the open wound, splashing him with stinky, dark red liquids. Not going to miss this opportunity, he run his sword through the stomach, disemboweling it.
The Minotaur finally falls, cut into two pieces.
His shoes are making wet clop clop sound as he walked over the bloodied ground to get to where the arm is. Swinging his sword again, this time he's cutting off the fingers still stubbornly holding onto Kirsch's disfigured arm. A relieved sigh escaped him as he retrieved the sealing chains and put the dismembered limb into a portable preservation storage.
『Now we can head back and get your arm fixed, boy. Good for you, eh?』
"... No."
『Mm?』
"The minerals and steels from its vertebral column."
With a soft 'ah', the assassin, who was about to walk away from the scene, turned to the beast corpse again. Indeed, that was Kirsch's main objective for coming here, so he can't just leave and be away without extracting them.
Like a professional butcher, he sliced the Minotaur's flesh to get to where the minerals are deposited. Once he found them, he put them inside another preservation storage, and finally ready to return to the Northern base. All's well that ends well...
... or not, the assassin thought as he tripped over nothing for the umpteenth time as he went down the mountain.
The loss of balance due to the missing limb is serious.
『We really should fix you quickly before you get more unnecessary contusions, boy!』
"..."
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