Death (2)
I ran. The Minotaur’s beastly roar. The aftermath of the howling was tremendous. It was a sonic wave created purely by physical ability, not infused with mana, dominating the space. In a world where no one could move a single finger, only the beast that created that space moved freely.
The Minotaur let out a sound from its mouth. In a way, it was close to a sneer. It looked like mockery thrown at the prey it was hunting. It targeted the closest human woman and raised the massive double-bladed axe it held.
“Ah…!” The woman marked as prey let out a gasp of horror. Within the absolute domain where even the trembling of her body and breathing were not permitted due to the howling, she couldn’t resist, let alone attempt to flee. She could only stare blankly at the double-bladed axe above her, imagining the moment when that merciless violence would strike her head. Her face turned pale, and she couldn’t offer any resistance.
I clicked my tongue after confirming once again that the soldiers and the women were paralyzed and unable to take any action.
“Tsk…!”
Because I was outside the howling’s domain, only I could move in that situation. Seeing the scene, I forced my creaking body to accelerate. The moment I saw it. The moment I heard it. As soon as I felt the roar and the trembling of the air, I was already throwing my entire body forward, running.
Staring at the bull-headed creature raising its enormous double-bladed axe, matching its massive frame.
“Guh…!”
Even as my joints and muscles screamed in pain tormenting my entire body.
Faster.
I run. Even faster.
Hoping to reach there even a second sooner, I squeezed out every ounce of my strength and threw myself forward. I activated the mana within my body to enhance my physique. I concentrated even more mana into my legs, pushing my muscle strength and elasticity to the extreme. The speed created from that was—
Boom!
I covered about 300 meters in just a few seconds. The moment I arrived between the Minotaur and her, the attack had already begun. The Minotaur’s massive double-bladed axe, swung down to split the prey’s head, filled my vision. The blade of the axe, wielded by the monster’s strength, drew closer and closer.
How…
Thinking was meaningless. There was no way I could block that head-on. The moment it clashed with my sword, it would surely tear apart not only the sword but also my arms, head, and torso. It wasn’t just the difference in apparent physique; it was an instinct etched into my body from countless battles. Blocking was impossible. Evasion was the only way to survive. Even that evasion seemed questionable if I could pull it off properly.
In that fleeting moment less than a second, countless thoughts swirled and raged in my mind. And I gripped my sword tightly and moved as my instincts dictated. If neither blocking nor dodging could guarantee survival, then at least the choice that gave my survival the highest probability.
Let it slide off.
“Jeonghu!?”
A voice calling my name in horror reached my ears. I had no time to pay attention to the voice of the woman who had been right behind me. And an enormous violence, enough to drown out her voice, crashed down in front of me.
Kiiing!
My sword clashed with the Minotaur’s double-bladed axe. As expected, the moment they collided, my sword and body began to be crushed by an absurd force. If I tried to push back with force like that—
It would be suicide.
So I slowly twisted the direction of the blade to prevent that terrifying axe blade from heading toward my head. If it was just a simple downward strike powered by force from above, even just redirecting the force’s direction would mean I wouldn’t suffer a fatal blow. Though the problem would come after.
Do I even have the luxury to think about that?
I was already overwhelmed just dealing with the current attack; there was no time to think about later.
Boom!
The attack glanced off, and the Minotaur’s double-bladed axe struck the ground. The earth shattered, rubble flew upward, and the shockwave scattered in all directions. Naturally, I and the woman closest to it couldn’t avoid being caught in the aftermath.
“Kyaaak!?”
I embraced and protected Lumia, who was screaming amid the shaking ground and the monster’s rampaging chaos.
Ugh?
The Minotaur’s cry was heard. It wasn’t the cry of a hunting predator. If I had to describe it, it was a low growl expressing doubt. Perhaps it hadn’t expected its attack to be deflected in this manner rather than blocked head-on.
Who knows.
Either way, I couldn’t tell. I didn’t have time to think about such things. I discarded the sword I was holding.
…It was only once.
Just from a single clash, the sword had broken. That was the gap between my current self and that monster. I had no time to dwell in lamentation after realizing that difference. I grabbed Lumia with the hand that had discarded the sword and ran.
“Jeonghu, ya…?”
Lumia, who had been in panic, seemed to have come to her senses. She called out to me, sensing something strange. She seemed to feel a subtle discomfort from being carried with only one arm. And that discomfort soon turned to horror as her gaze confirmed that my left arm, which should have been there, was missing.
“You, you…! Your arm!”
“Be quiet.”
I scolded Lumia, who was panicking in my arms. Just like when I had intervened between her and the Minotaur, I enhanced my body, focusing on my legs, and leaped greatly. I fled with all my might to escape from that monster somehow.
Uoooo!
“This…!”
The Minotaur, which had belatedly leaped after seeing me, chased after me. The fact that it caught up to me in mid-air despite jumping later meant that the Minotaur’s physical abilities were far superior. It was only natural. I immediately spoke to Lumia, whom I was embracing with one arm.
“Land on your own!”
“Wait…!”
Lumia tried to say something, but I had no time to listen. The monster’s gaze, filled with ominous killing intent, was already piercing the back of my head. I threw Lumia in the safest direction possible. Immediately, I turned my body and met the gaze of the beast that had been radiating murderous intent to tear me apart.
“Guh…”
That beast, with the face of a bull, was smiling. Its expression as an absolute powerhouse facing the weak was filled with absolute confidence. As if to prove it, the Minotaur swung its axe. The attack tracing an arc through the air was the same as the first. Just a simple downward strike powered by force. But precisely because of that, it was overwhelming violence that required nothing else. It was exactly the same. The Minotaur seemed to be saying with its eyes.
Are you going to dodge this one with that trick again?
Its attitude and attack completely disregarded me, yet strangely, I didn’t feel angry. I too naturally accepted the power gap between that monster and myself. But separate from that, I positioned myself even in mid-air. As if time had stopped, slowly, to resist that merciless violence approaching to cut me down. Even though I no longer had a weapon to counter that attack, I resisted.
Whoosh.
A fleeting moment. I heard a delighted laugh. It was expecting it. My resistance, which was no different from a small fry it could trample to death whenever it wanted. It expected me to confront it with the same skill and technique as before.
How absurd.
A predator that merely hunted and took its prey was expecting desperate resistance from its prey. This was no longer hunting. It was nothing but one-sided violation. I threw a punch. A simple bare fist without a weapon clashed with the Minotaur’s double-bladed axe.
Crunch!
My fist was crushed. Skin tore. Bones shattered. Blood sprayed in the air. Even so, the double-bladed axe, which hadn’t lost any power, continued to strike down. Not only my fist and arm, but following that, my shoulder and torso.
“Gah… huk!”
The violence that struck down diagonally tore my upper body apart. My body, vomiting blood, no longer obeyed my control. No. The sensation itself was gradually disappearing. A hollow sensation like my lost left arm. My fist and arm were torn apart along with the bones, leaving no shape, scattered in all directions. Moreover, I could no longer feel pain. My senses, my consciousness, my body. They were gradually meeting death.
“Damn…! K, hup! You bull bastard…!”
Even as my consciousness grew faint, I spat curses while glaring at the beast that had killed me with overwhelming difference. As if in response, the Minotaur’s face stared at me. Uo. It laughed once more. It was like the victor’s delighted smile, mocking and ridiculing the loser while savoring its victory. It felt incredibly filthy. My resistance met such a futile and miserable defeat. As I fell downward, I unconsciously stared in one direction. It was the direction where Lumia was, whom I had thrown saying to land on her own.
“…Stop! Don’t…! …ya!”
From afar, Lumia was shouting something while watching me fall.
“……”
I couldn’t hear what she was saying. I couldn’t even produce a voice. My vocal cords were probably destroyed too.
There’s no way I’m fine…
My lower body was completely gone, and even the remaining part of my upper body was no different from a rag.
“…ya! Don’t…!”
As I fell and my altitude lowered, Lumia’s face drew closer. I still couldn’t tell what she was saying, but—
Don’t cry.
She was crying. I needed to tell her. That it was okay. To run away quickly. But neither voicing it nor moving was under my control.
Ah. I…
I realized belatedly. The gradually disappearing sensations and consciousness, the vision blurring as if sleep was overtaking me. I was dying. The other soldiers were desperately holding back Lumia, who was trying to run toward me. It was a ridiculous sight. I had thrown her telling her to run away quickly, yet she was trying to come back to me. As expected, she was too far removed from this side, from war.
“…Huh?”
Lumia, who had been trying to shake off the restraining soldiers and come toward me, suddenly stopped. She seemed to have realized that I was trying to convey something by moving my mouth. Even though no voice came out, I moved my lips hoping that my words, my last words, would reach her even through lip-reading.
“Ah…”
Lumia seemed to understand the meaning of my words by watching my mouth and stopped trying to come toward me. And at the same time, a massive shadow darkened my blurry vision.
Crunch!