The Minotaur (2)
Theseus pressed her toes into the ground, bracing herself. "—Hoo." The muscle fibers in her thighs exploded with power. The water-crystal greaves wrapping her legs responded, channeling every ounce of her strength into the earth. It was the training method she had learned from Sisyphus. The sensations of that time flooded back, sending an intense surge of energy along her spine. Her raw strength became the engine for her arms, launching her fist—hard as diamond—like a bolt from a crossbow.
The Minotaur met her with a massive fist of its own. Bulge. Thick, corded arms, capable of crumpling and tearing a human body like paper with a mere graze, stood out with bulging veins.
—Whoosh, CRACK!!
The collision was a match of equals. A massive shockwave erupted, vibrating the very air of the arena. "Ugh!" "What kind of mana impact is this...!?" The party members gasped, their breath stolen away. The atmospheric pressure had shifted, and the mana the two combatants unleashed had crashed down on them all at once. The waves generated by their battle were that immense.
"Asclepius, did you get a reading?" "I did. This is..." The healer checked the mana-measuring crystal orb. It was an artifact that indicated the exact rank by gauging the intensity of the mana a monster emitted. The deeper the orb turned, the more dangerous the monster. Red was the color of power-mana. If the orb filled completely, it was a Disaster-Class threat.
"Demon-Class, Spirit-Class, Legendary-Class...!" The orb, growing deeper in color, suddenly cracked.
"Unmeasurable. It’s beyond Disaster-Class...!" "What...!?" The warrior furrowed his brow. They had experience fighting a Disaster-Class threat. It was when they encountered the Cyclops Captain in Corinth. Of course, that had been a disadvantageous battle against a large group, but it had been a lesson that Disaster-Class was still beyond their capabilities.
"To think it exceeds Disaster-Class." "Theseus, it’s dangerous!" The warrior, who had been about to join her, hesitated and shouted. If it exceeded Disaster-Class, then surely... "Could it be... a Calamity-Class?"
Subduing a Disaster-Class required multiple Alpha-Class heroes, or at least one Sigma-Class hero. Even then, failure was possible. In fact, when a Disaster-Class monster like Medusa, which could summon allies, appeared, the polis could not be saved despite the deployment of multiple Alpha-Class heroes. But a Calamity-Class?
"If that thing gets out of here..." "Not just the city, the entire island of Crete will be wiped off the map." Calamity-Class monsters were rare in history, and there were no records of them. That was because the civilizations that would have recorded them had been completely obliterated. And they were merely Beta-Class heroes. Beta was an honorable title, to be sure—they were the strong ones, the top 10 percent of all heroes. But in front of a Calamity-Class monster? They were nothing more than insects that would perish if they were even grazed.
"Theseus, we must retreat and regroup!" Theseus did not answer the warrior's shout. Her companions caught a glimpse of her expression as she faced the Minotaur. Her eyes were bloodshot, never blinking once as she focused on the enemy. 'Where is there a path to retreat?' Her sharp retort seemed to echo in their ears.
—CRACK!!
The fifth exchange exploded. Theseus’s fist hadn’t yet landed a telling blow on the Minotaur, but she wasn’t being pushed back, either. Seeing this, her companions realized the truth: Theseus had grown significantly since the battle in Corinth. She was holding her own for several exchanges against a monster that surpassed Disaster-Class. She needed them now.
"Kuh...!" The companions steeled their resolve. "Oooooh!" "Eat this!" Magic and divine spells erupted. The heroes poured out their mana without restraint. The warrior also joined the fray, thrusting his sword toward the bull-man’s back. It was a minor attack, but the Minotaur’s movements began to slow, bit by bit. Theseus didn't miss the opening. She dove in with rapid footwork. Crack! Her fist slammed into its side.
—Woooooo!!
The joy of landing a hit was short-lived; the hideous bull’s face lunged forward. 'Ugh.' Sharp horns shot toward her carotid artery. Because it was a humanoid monster, Theseus had been fighting it with the sensation of fighting a human. She had momentarily forgotten the existence of the third weapon. Clang! She twisted the trajectory with a crystallized defensive barrier. But the horn grazed her viciously, and as she widened the distance, blood gushed from her torn collarbone.
"Hold on just a little longer!" The healer immediately cast a healing spell. "You bastard!" The warrior engaged, but the Minotaur dismissed him with a single fist, sending him flying. He slammed into the arena wall, his shield dented. —Moooo!!
"Ha, you don't even give me a moment to breathe," Theseus clicked her tongue. The impact was still too great to counterattack. She barely managed to take a defensive stance. But the action the Minotaur took was somewhat unexpected. The bull-man reached out with both hands to grab her waist. Theseus realized what that stance was. It was the stance of wrestling, one of the two great martial arts of Greece, along with Pankration. "Lynceus, Weight Increase!" "Done!"
Theseus’s body weight increased, and the ground beneath her feet gave way. Thanks to that, she avoided the misfortune of being lifted at once, but she was locked into a test of strength. —Phew, phew, phoooo!! The monster’s breath was hot. Theseus gritted her teeth and held on. But it was only for a moment; she couldn't withstand its grip, and her feet left the ground. Spin— BOOM!!
"Kuh-ack." Theseus, carried in the Minotaur’s arms and spun through the air, was slammed into the ground, coughing up blood from internal hemorrhaging. —Moooo!! The monster let out a roar of victory. Theseus felt dizzy as her brain rattled. 'Was it just bravado?' She couldn't breathe properly, perhaps because her lungs had been pierced by a broken rib. Her mind went blank from the lack of oxygen. If she had judged it coldly, it would have been wiser to find a way to retreat. In a labyrinth this large, there must have been countless hidden passages. There was no doubt a path leading to the 10th floor was somewhere. If she hadn't wasted her mana on techniques to fight an enemy she couldn't beat, and instead looked for a hidden passage, wouldn't her party members have at least survived?
'...My consciousness is fading.' Why hadn't she run away? Was it because she had lived her life that way until now? If so, she was no different from the bandits on the street. She just hadn't met her grave yet; in the end, she was just a short-lived existence destined to burn out meaninglessly. What value could there be in such a life? 'Pathetic.' Reaching that conclusion, she felt a hollow sense of wanting to mock herself. As her vision blurred, the faces of her companions flashed before her eyes. Each of them had their own circumstances, gathered to resist something created by the Olympian gods. What had she wanted to fight for? They were destined to end here, not even reaching the tips of the gods' toes. The responsibility of the one who had led them was immense. Could she apologize even if she went to the Underworld? Idas, Lynceus, Asclepius. For some reason, lastly... '...Princess Ariadne.' The face of that woman, whom she wasn't even particularly close to, rose vividly in her mind. 'I see. I was envious of you.' It wasn't a hollow emotion like respect. It was like a courtesan seeing a coworker who had snared a rich man, wearing fine silk clothes and showing them off. She had been jealously, dirtily envious. She, who possessed the qualifications of a hero and fulfilled the duties of a princess. She, who was living this very moment, shining most beautifully. Could she confidently say that she had done her best like her? No. She had avoided her duties and ended up crashing her body into a monster that was out of her league, committing suicide. It hadn't been her best. She had just given up.
'Why is there nothing left but regret?' She had certainly been active as a hero. She had grown and achieved feats. In this moment, as her life flashed before her eyes, not a single achievement came to mind. Regret, regret. The emotion filling Theseus’s mind was only regret. 'This kind of ending... I don't want to accept it.' What a pathetic woman. Theseus mocked herself. 'You think too much.' If you think, you regret. I already know the answer. —Just do your lower body, kid. That man’s words. They echoed vividly in her ears. "Move... your body... first."
—Thump!
Theseus’s heart surged violently. She squeezed out the last of her remaining mana to its limit. "Hoo, ooooo." A mysterious phenomenon occurred. The mana generated from her heart immediately liquefied and began to coat her body from the inside out. Veins. Muscles. Every single broken bone. The water-like mana, having finished the coating, finished hardening.
"Where to aim, what to shoot—I don't need to think anymore." Cold breath leaked from Theseus’s lips as she stood up. "Because I am the arrow." She snapped her head up, eyes flashing. Her blue eyes stared at the enemy. The Minotaur, covered in blood-red mana. It instinctively felt the danger and turned its heavy body. —Mooooooo!!
The Minotaur charged to eliminate the danger its instincts warned of. The hero pulled herself back like a bowstring. "Haaaaaa—!!" The blue arrow was shot, becoming an ocean. The direct flash was like a meteor, or a hawk. —CRACK-BOOM!! The roar deafened her ears. But the impact of that strike did not reach the Minotaur’s heart. Because there was already a hollow hole blown through its chest.
"...Ha, ha." —Thud!! It collapsed, as if crossing paths. "Theseus!" Her companions ran to her. The healer supported Theseus and cast a healing spell. "Unbelievable, did you take it down? The Minotaur?" "Theseus, a new realm..." The warrior and the mage were in awe. It was a hellish opponent they thought they could never defeat. They had all been prepared for death. The technique Theseus had just used was enough to be considered having entered the realm of the gods. What kind of change of heart or experience had she gained? Theseus had grown. She had just proven that she had the capability to aim for Sigma, let alone Alpha.
"...What happened?" "We won. You did it, Theseus!" "...Heh, heh." Theseus slowly stood up. Leaning on Idas’s shoulder, she stared blankly at the result of the feat she had created. It was satisfying. And she was certain. "I guess I really did want to become a hero." "What are you saying all of a sudden, Theseus? You were always the one singing about wanting to become a Sigma." The healer scolded her. Had she? If it looked that way to those around her, it must be accurate. Theseus snorted. "Labyrinth raid, ending." "When we get back to Athens, let's spend money and play for a change." "We should call ten Sigma-class courtesans." "Idas, are you going to blow the commission money all at once again?" "Oh my, I’m a bit interested in that too." "Theseus!"
The party began their return in a warm atmosphere. That was when it happened. —Grrrrrrr!! With a bizarre vibration, a massive tremor occurred. "What is that?!" The heroes looked back. Minotaur King. The massive monster that Theseus had clearly defeated was standing up again, blood dripping from it. Its wounds were rotting and melting away. There was no light in its eyes.
"The curse of undeath...!" The healer was terrified. A spell that activated after death had been cast on it. "It resurrected?!" "Impossible. How can we fight that thing again!" It was a vicious spell, like reviving a dead soldier as a skeleton. It was a spell close to black magic. Thump, thump. The massive body approached. Theseus, the only one who could oppose the Minotaur, had suffered a fatal injury. She couldn't fight anymore. They hadn't secured an escape route yet. It was a cowardly trap. All the party members took a combat stance. But this time, they felt there was no hope. To have to meet a cowardly death after an honorable victory. At the moment she shuddered at the absurdity of it all—
—CRASH!!
The arena wall shattered, and bricks flew into the sky. A man flew in, scattering dust. The warrior spotted him and shouted, "Spartan!!" The black-haired Spartan grinned, revealing his teeth as he saw the giant bull-king. "Good muscles."