Minotaur Ally and Hidden Stage Boss

Hansen and I escaped the underground prison and walked side by side down the dark corridor.

"What an intriguing orb," Hansen marveled, eyeing my heartstone. Man, it felt so awkward having this massive brute speak so formally to me.

"Speak casually."

"Is that alright?"

Having a formal, businesslike chat with what looked like livestock felt downright bizarre as a modern guy, but this wasn't the modern world anyway.

"What's your name?"

"I'm Kang Deok-su. You?"

"Kang Deok-su? That's an unusual name. I'm Hansen."

'A minotaur named Hansen? That's way weirder.'

"Your name sounds almost human. I don't know much about this world, so is that normal?"

I couldn't hold back my curiosity and just asked outright.

"Do I not look human to you?"

"Well..." No.

"You kinda do, but with the bull head, it's ambiguous."

How the hell does that even happen? If mom was human, dad was a bull...? Wait, this was veering into weird genre territory all of a sudden.

"Hngh..."

I stifled a laugh. Hansen's expression turned a bit gloomy.

"I was human once. But as a child on an expedition to Nokton, I got hit with black magic and ended up like this."

So that's the backstory... Good thing it turned out to be human drama instead of adult stuff.

"So you can never turn back?"

"I can. These transformation spells usually only trigger under specific conditions, so escaping the spatial or temporal constraints undoes them."

"But it's been over ten years like this, so it was probably cast with spatial limits as the price."

"Ah... So how far is the spatial range?"

"Depends on the mage's power. But that sorcerer was Nokton's elite, so it's no small area."

"Ah..."

What the hell was all this? Anyway, just get far enough away, right?

A faint streak of light appeared at the end of the long underground passage.

"Almost there. You know the way?"

"If it's like before."

But was exiting the right move? What if it reset again?

The moment I stepped onto solid ground after climbing the stairs, the alert rang in my head.

'Shit?'

"Phew~"

As soon as the notification popped up, my body started fading.

"Deok-su? Deok-su!"

Hansen desperately called for me, but where I'd stood was already just swirling dust.

The alarm blared in my head again. That floating sensation lasted only a moment before Hansen reappeared in my vision.

"Who are you!"

"An intruder!"

The problem? Hansen was bound in ropes.

"Raaah!"

Splat! Slash!

I reflexively cleaved through the four or five grunts charging at me.

"Tch..."

First kill, but ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the situation left no room for hesitation.

"Hansen!"

"Deok-su?"

"Why are you tied up?"

Hansen's limbs were tightly bound.

"Well... I got caught by the Nokton troops trying to escape alone."

I sliced the ropes binding him with my New Year's Sword and continued.

"How much time passed since we escaped together?"

"About a month... What happened? Why'd you vanish?"

'A month? The scale's insane. How do I explain my disappearance?'

I paused mid-cut and looked at Hansen. Eye contact with a bull head felt weird, but I forced the mood.

"Ahem."

'Will this work?'

"Truth is, I'm a guardian angel wandering ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the nine heavens. I came here briefly to aid those with unjust fates. I'm not meant to stay, so my body fades after a while."

I pieced together a plausible story from random words in my head. Whether he'd buy it was another matter.

"Y-You're...!"

Hansen's already bulging eyes widened further.

'He buys it.'

Surprisingly, he accepted it without a shred of doubt.

'Yeah, even I'd believe it.'

Sudden savior appearance, sudden vanish—fits the bill.

"Halt!"

Just as tears welled in Hansen's eyes and the vibe got weird, a voice shouted from behind.

Hundreds of knights in iron armor swarmed us.

"Aiding the monster? You're a spy from Heritus."

The frontmost one, probably the knight captain, addressed me.

"Hansen."

I ignored him and looked at Hansen.

"Those guys are the enemy, right?"

"Yes... Vicious Nokton bastards. They bound me and treated me like livestock."

'Not livestock? Whatever—time to kill 'em all.'

Without hesitation, I stabbed my New Year's Sword into my gut.

"Guhk."

Second time, so it was... bearable? Bullshit, it hurt like hell.

"Deok-su!"

"Huff... huff."

"Wait, I've got a plan."

Hansen eyed me like 'Guardian angel, really?' but I ignored it. The rush surged through me.

"The spy's committing suicide! Capture him alive!"

The captain misunderstood, but I didn't care.

Slash! Slash!

I swiftly beheaded two approaching knights and bolted sideways.

"Pursue!"

Operation sheep-herding. Like a border collie possessed, I dashed around, corralling the enemies into one spot. Speed controlled, of course.

"Guhk... Fuck, too painful to keep going!"

I yelled awkwardly once far enough. Truth was, Blood God Transformation's pain hit pre-activation; after, it was manageable.

"Capture him!"

As knights closed in, I leaped high, landing center.

Then—BOOM!!

I scorched the area with Abyss of Hell.

Rumble rumble.

Ah, using it outside really makes the ground shake. The hundreds of knights vaporized with the crater—no bodies left.

What? Alerts fired off in my head. Weird phrasing mixed in.

'Difficulty adjustment? What kinda nonsense is this?'

Should've paced slower. Sigh... Yeah, it felt a bit easy. At least my body didn't vanish this time.

"Graaah!"

Thud!

A few knights went for Hansen but crumpled under his body slams.

"Deok-su! The rest..."

"I handled 'em."

Around me, the ground was layered craters like a nuke hit.

"How in the..."

Hansen stared with awe or fear—I couldn't tell.

"Let's get outta here."

'Explanations later—hidden stage first.'

I followed Hansen across the fields, putting max ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠distance from the kingdom. But soon, we spotted an old man in the field.

"Hansen, guy ahead."

"Hm?"

The old man wore a hood, clashing with the open plain.

"That's the boss for sure."

"Boss?"

An old dude striding toward us in barren fields? No polite Korean-style bow-and-pass here.

"Hold up."

I stopped at decent range—and sure enough, he reached toward us.

"Dodge!"

BOOM!

Some firework-like blast engulfed us. We barely evaded.

"Oh ho! My little toy for passing time still lives."

Cliché line from grandpa.

"Y-You bastard!"

Predictably, Hansen reacted furiously. Turns out, this old man was the black mage who'd cursed him into a minotaur.

Hidden stage boss attacks without warning, huh? Minotaur waited for me, but human knows preemptive strike.

My turn then—but Hansen nearby meant no Abyss of Hell.

"Grandpa."

"Hm? Who're you?"

"Can't you just let us go? No reason to fight, right?"

I tried, half-hoping.

"Kuhaha! Funny talk. Think I'd forgive those who woke me?"

'Nope.'

"I'd resolved to study advanced black magic granting will to shadows today. Body turned transparent, warped here."

Sudden TMI dump.

"Checked why—my toy stirred chaos, heavens angered. Must appease with your puny flesh."

Palm extended again.

"Won't be lonely—prepped underworld companions. Kuhuhu."

Black flames poured from the overtalker black mage's hand.

BOOM!!

The black haze was un-dodgeable. I fired Abyss of Hell.

BOOM!!

I'd pondered directional control before but never bothered—power was overkill. Testing for Hansen's sake, flames shot precisely from both arms.

"Ngh..."

Forcing them one way felt like arms ripping off.

Rumble!

BOOM!

Black flame clashed with Abyss of Hell like heaven-splitting thunder.

Black ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠flame resisted briefly but got devoured; mage engulfed.

"Gaaargh!"

He screeched weirdly. Sizzle... Smoke rose from his head.

"What... are you...?"

First time. Someone survived Abyss of Hell.

"That's my line..."

Come to think, no dying sounds from other lifeforms.