บท 144: The Sphinx (II)
"Wow." Agnis was speechless at Zero's quick answers. "I thought we would have fought them all head-on."
"Kind of strange the Sphinx knew what you were. It was as if they expected you somehow," said Alan. "I expect there is more to this than meets the eye."
"I wouldn't be so surprised if there were some strange things that pop up anytime soon. Just being around Zero is interesting enough." Zeraph smirked. "It's a normal thing now."
"You're enjoying this way too much."
Zeraph shrugged it off and went ahead. Zero and the rest followed after him. They walked towards the giant building and passed the thick columns perfectly spread out with unique patterns engraved into the stone. Finally, they entered one large, almost empty room.
Zero glanced around and looked up. Even the ceiling had some ancient paintings that he'd never seen before. The painting reminded him of the famous Michelangelo ceiling mural, the Sistine Chapel Ceiling. Drawn on the walls was the bright blue sky with different colored dragons flying overhead.
"Oh wow. Look." Agnis whispered as she held in her gasp. "I wonder who painted those."
Their colors were many, from red, black, gold, green, blue, white, silver, and bronze. Each with a different glamor to them. To Zero, for a moment, he thought a couple of them would come to life and breathe fire. Every single one of them had beautiful wings that he envied. To fly freely in the sky with no limit.
Out of all the dragons, there was one large white dragon with golden markings that radiated with light. A halo formed around this specific dragon that had six large white wings. Zero thought that this special dragon was the creator of all the dragons. In the middle of its chest, a large circular opening was present. Bright golden light filtered through the top, cascading down to the floor. Zero followed the stream of light, and he saw a White Minotaur hunched over in a ball sleeping peacefully.
"Is that what I think it is?" Jack whispered. He took out his weapon, ready to go into battle.
"It's so pretty. I have never seen a white-colored Minotaur before," said Agnis. She curiously peered towards the White Minotaur like a visitor going through a zoo.
"Careful." Zeraph held his hands back so Agnis would not carelessly move forward and start something unexpected.
"Do we go ahead and kill it or what?" Alan was stumped. He did not know what exactly to do. The Minotaur did not attack but was sleeping peacefully.
"Spread out and look for the Golden Eye. If we could find what we need without fighting, that would be great," said Zero. He was already slinking around the outskirts towards the wall, looking for clues to the Golden eye.
Everyone split into small groups and began searching for the Golden Eye. Zero walked with Agnis. He would go by himself, but she tagged along with him.
"You know many things happened in the short time we've known each other." Agnis started the conversation.
"Yea. It has been about two months."
"Do you remember the first time we met?"
"How could I ever forget."
"I'm sorry I was rude. I thought you were like all the other arrogant pricks that fly around me like an annoying gnat."
"It was quite an unforgettable memory."
"Things happened."
"Then we met again where we bumped into each other when you broke my phone."
"Wait, you still believe that I broke it? You weren't paying attention when you were walking."
Agnis scowled but let out a sigh. "Fine. I was wrong. Happy?"
Zero couldn't help but chuckle. She was so cute at times. She rarely gave off such rare emotions. There were always two types of faces that she would give: angry and fake smiles. What she was hiding in her heart, he did not know, nor did he try to pry for any answer.
"Yes. Yes. Princess. This servant has been blessed with your forgiveness."
"Pft." Agnis laughed. "You sound so weird."
"So, am I free of my debt?"
"What are you talking about, free? I don't know such words." Agnis haughtily replied. Zero's face fell in disappointment, and he saw Agnis smirk. Then, she burst out laughing at Zero. "That face. My side hurts. I never knew dragons could make such faces. I need to capture this moment perfectly in my head forever."
"Wha-?"
"Hahahahahaha!"
"Hey. Quit laughing. You're going to wake up that White Minotaur." Zero hissed, but he couldn't help grinning. He noticed that whenever Agnis laughed, her eyes smiled at her.
"I'm sorry. It's just. Pft."
"Okay. Okay. You got your fill. Let's focus on what we need to find."
Agnis wiped her tears. They continued walking near the walls, feeling for anything suspicious. "Nothing. I don't think there is anything to find except to beat the White Minotaur sleeping in the middle of the room."
Zero sighed. He, too, expected that this would not be as easy as he thought. Sneaking around like a thief was not helping them in their case.
"Look. There is a grandfather clock over there." Agnis pointed. At the opposite end of the Minotaur against the wall was a giant grandfather clock embedded in the walls.
"4:59 pm? Is that going by real-time or game time?"
"It's game time."
"What's a grandfather clock doing here of all places? It's so out of place."
"I don't know, but it could be a clue for something."
Zero walked towards it and stretched as far as his body could to look for clues. "I can't reach any further."
"How about reaching for the knob and opening it?" Agnis tried her best not to shout but was loud enough for Zero to hear.
"Trying." Zero reached the point he was on his toes, till finally, he could pull open the glass door.
"Ding! Dang! Dong! Dang! Ding!" The grandfather rang its usual hourly song striking its hourly time.
"Gah!" Zero fell backward; his ears were ringing from the loud noise.
"Damn it!" Agnis cursed. Her ears rang loudly, and her hands were against her ears, trying to cover the loud sound. She turned to look over her shoulder and noticed the Minotaur stirring awake. "Zero. The Minotaur is awake!"
The Minotaur pushed himself up onto his knees and roared. Smoke escaped his nose as he snarled in anger. With a continuous click of its hoof, the Minotaur's horns lowered to the ground; it shook its head wildly like a horse. A loud crackle of stone could be heard as the Minotaur pounded heavily into the ground.
"The target is angry!" Jack replied. He was the first to rush in with his battle hammer and the first to land a hit. At that moment, Jack's hammer and the Minotaur's horn made contact. Jack was halted from advancing forward. "He's too strong!" The White Minotaur's body mass tripled in size.
Zeraph and Agnis both pulled out their bows and knocked an arrow. Each firing has different elemental energy. Agnis doused her arrow with fire while Zeraph with ice. Zeraph's arrow struck first, and the ice around the arrow expanded, covering a large chunk of the Minotaur's shoulder. While Agnis' arrow embedded itself onto the Minotaur's rear. A burst of flames erupted for a split moment covering half of the Minotaur in flames.
Once again, the Minotaur roared himself hoarse and instead reached over to the arrows. He forcibly yanked it out without much difficulty. Each time he roared, a Red Minotaur appeared from the thick black clouds. Each one ran towards the people that attacked the Boss.
"Tom. Eron. Evan! Split up into three teams and take care of the Red Minotaurs!" Zero roared. He rushed forward to make contact with the Minotaur before Jack would be thrown back. "Everyone attack!"
Jack grunted as he was slowly pushed back with every step. The blood eyes stared at Jack with anger. "Damn cow."
With a fury of anger, the Minotaur gave a sudden burst of energy. Jack flew backward and slammed into the wall.
"Jack!" Agnis called out. She continued to fire her arrows. Most of them flew past the Minotaur, missing its mark, while a small portion made an impact. The speed of the Minotaur increased by threefolds. Agnes' and Zeraph's arrows were piercing the Minotaur's skin less and less. Zero missed his chance to slam into the Minotaur; instead, his clairvoyant skill activated.
Minotaur
Level 203
The boss monster of the Labyrinth. Legends state that the White Minotaur had never been defeated in history. Its speed and strength are considered inhuman. The story goes that the Minotaur had once been human, but because he had angered a god, he was changed into his hideous form.
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