Chapter 184
Chapter 184
A minotaur.' The minotaur—a rare race with a bull's head on a humanoid body. Not favored much due to their low intelligence and social skills, which were inversely proportional to their immense strength. Ramin vaguely recalled fighting one once, and it hadn't been a pleasant experience. He'd won, but his arm and ribs were broken, leaving him barely able to move. 'Still, I know the basics of how to handle them.' Ahead of the minotaur loomed the wyvern, clutching a soldier who must have been stationed atop the envelope in its talons. 'Will the wyvern interfere? Or flee in fear?' Ramin hoped the minotaur would abandon his mission, mount the wyvern, and fly off. But the minotaur dragon knight acted completely against Ramin's expectations. He was reaching into his bag for dynamite. 'That bastard trusts his wyvern!' The moment Ramin charged forward, the wyvern bared its fangs and blocked his path. Ramin ignored it. He had a gun.
🔫 GUNSHOT 🔫
-Bang! Ramin extended his left hand, aiming at the minotaur. The bullet slipped between the wyvern's neck scales, targeting the minotaur's side. The minotaur's massive bulk was like a giant target. But his armor was thick enough to shrug it off. Moreover, Ramin saw the minotaur twist his body, deflecting the pistol round. 'Not an ordinary one.' Ramin tried to stay calm. The enraged wyvern was lunging at him. But Ramin was already moving to his next action. Leaping atop the flying airship, he bounded across the wyvern's head, neck, and nape, charging straight ahead. The startled wyvern reared up and twisted, but Ramin gripped his longsword and slid down its back. The blade's tip aimed for the minotaur's throat.
"...!"
The minotaur shouldered his backpack again and drew his axe. It would be a two-handed axe for other races, but this minotaur wielded it one-handed with ease. The minotaur dodged Ramin's downward strike and swung the axe horizontally. Ramin landed on the envelope and immediately ducked, rolling forward. They opened some distance. The minotaur spoke.
"Quick on your feet. I am Mahim, hero of the Alliance Kingdom. Who are you?"
Ramin had no idea why he was getting a chance to exchange names now, so he didn't reply. Instead, he pulled his hood tighter and thought. '... A hero? Can I even win?' The word "hero" reminded him of his master, whom he'd never beaten once while learning the sword. During their brief standoff, the wyvern moved first. -Kyaaao! Ramin didn't turn his head toward the wyvern. Even a momentary glance away from Mahim would invite an axe blow. So he flicked his eyes sidelong at the wyvern, extended his left hand to aim at its head, and fired instantly.
🔫 GUNSHOT 🔫
-Bang! That alone sent the charging wyvern tumbling to the deck. Mahim swung his axe down, but Ramin had anticipated it and dodged. Mahim glared at the wyvern, which was writhing in agony, blood streaming from its eyes. 'A precise shot with just a sidelong glance?' It was precision impossible without luck. 'Is this guy favored by a god too? ... But so am I!' Red light flared in Mahim's eyes. Ramin blinked. 'Fast.' He aimed his pistol, but Mahim was even faster than that simple motion. The back of Mahim's hand struck the gun from Ramin's grip. 'Damn.' Then the axe blade rained down on him. Mahim's swings and chops were wide, but so blindingly quick that Ramin couldn't slip inside them. At first, all Ramin could do was barely evade each attack. But after dodging a few, he spotted the pattern. Ramin recalled his master's words. 'People are creatures of habit. Is it because he's a minotaur? Not too complex.' When the axe came down and rose again, the underside was exposed. The distance was far due to his bulk, but Ramin could stab into the armor joints at the groin. 'No, wait...' Ramin, thrusting his sword, hastily pulled it back. A "third arm" hidden under the armor had clenched into a fist, nearly grabbing his own arm. Ramin rolled backward.
"What the... you?"
Mahim said.
"This is the 'gift' bestowed by the Wrathful One."
Another pair of arms emerged below Mahim's original two. Ramin remembered the gifts Alliance Kingdom heroes received from their god. 'Not just a bulky four-armed monster. He's calculating for me to exploit openings.' What the hero Mahim had received from the Wrathful One wasn't just the extra arms. True to a war god, it had also granted him combat techniques. Minotaurs had immense strength, but that alone didn't win fights. 'Even with four arms, if he's unarmed, I could stall...' As Ramin thought that, Mahim reached back. Then he gripped a spear, sword, and mace in each hand. Ramin clicked his tongue.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Krampus watched the screen and said, "Isn't this dangerous right now?"
"A little?"
Seong-un replied. Even just the fight between the vampire Ramin and minotaur Mahim wasn't going well. And amid that, the battle below the airship was intensifying. At first, it looked like a one-sided affair with the dragon knights attacking to claim the airship. But the empire side already had Apostle Mazdari out there. This setup left too much room for the enemy's karma to play out. Thanks to that, something Ramin couldn't see from atop the envelope—a colossal monster the size of the airship itself—was assaulting it. The Wrathful One's strategy wasn't a head-on clash to begin with. The moment Mazdari diverted attention to hero Mahim, even briefly, it struck with its creation to down the Thunderclap. Fortunately, Mazdari had seen through the ploy and tossed Ramin up top to keep her main force intact. But that wasn't enough. The Wrathful One's guardian, resembling a massive flying bearfish, absorbed Mazdari's spells with its overwhelming bulk. All Mazdari could do with magic was keep it from reaching the airship. That didn't stop the dragon knights charging the envelope, so the soldiers and mages atop the ship scurried about, while Mazdari flew circles blocking the giant bearfish. Krampus said, "Shouldn't we do something?"
"It's... good now."
Seong-un tapped the system window.
"Faith resources were tight until just now because of the western front situation."
"What did you do?"
Seong-un pointed at the screen with his palm.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Ramin felt like he'd crossed from a relatively peaceful phase of life into one of raw survival. The four-armed minotaur before him was more than he could handle. His master had taught him many things. Especially survival skills for places cut off from civilization—miscellaneous techniques, among which swordsmanship had kept him alive later on. Ramin had talent in swordsmanship and thought he could hold his own against his master in pure technique, if not full combat. 'Excluding tail use. I don't have one, so it's unfair.' But this enemy was stronger than any he'd faced before. Maybe even stronger than his master. He hadn't taken any fatal wounds yet, but too many minor ones. Fatal for other races, but worse for a vampire like Ramin. Anemia and hunger hit together. And there was another problem. -Frankly, you don't qualify. Something unknown started chattering in his head. 'What?' -I know you've lived a life hard for one soul to endure. Abandoned, clinging to an unwanted existence, taking unnecessary lives because of it. Your being has erased countless possibilities. 'What is this? ... Guilt?' The voice shouted. -No! I'm not part of you! 'Then?' The voice ignored him and muttered. -Yes. But even so, you do qualify. If you overcome this crisis, you might bloom infinite possibilities in the days ahead. 'I don't get it.' -Above all, because He chose you. Ramin asked the voice again. 'Who are you?' -You know me. 'I do?' -Yes. The voice said,