บท 18: The Minotaur
A beast territory, just when they were only moments away from the temple.
"Aiden! Wait!!" Cian shouted, but Aiden just continued running.
He wanted to try again before he reasoned maybe that was the best option, to just keep running until they got to the temple. After a while of running in the thick snow, the full image of the grandiose temple stood before Cian.
Now with the full view of the temple before them, it was massive. Every brick stood perfectly in place with minor cracks here and there, like an abandoned Castle.
As he ran past what looked like a broken fence and a giant boulder covered in snow, Cian felt an ominous presence that sent chills down his spine, causing him to slow down, almost coming to a stop.
-huff-
'Did that boulder just make a sound?' Cian wondered as he continued forward with his eyes fixed on the boulder.
The boulder slowly began unfolding like a human that was crouched down. The giant hands that simply rested beneath the snow were pulled out and used as a pillar to raise the rest of the monstrosity.
Slowly, the beast rose from the snow until its true form was revealed. The white thick fur that covered its head was what served as its camouflage in the snow.
It stood on two feet, and had the height of two adult men standing on top of each other. The creature's whitish-grey skin had a thick, solid texture, marred by a few deep scars. A gold bull ring hung from its nose, gleaming faintly, while two large, imposing horns extended from its head.
-HUFF!!!-
The misty air that shot out both of its nostrils was very visible, striking fear into the heart of the two companions, who unconsciously had taken all this time to watch this beast unravel.
---
**Snow Minotaur 'Kerra' **
HP: 17,680/17,681
Beast Grade: A-rank {lvl 141}
---
The fear only doubled as Cian saw the monster's description and level. It was a beast that he couldn't even imagine defeating. He thought back to the time he had defeated the B-rank beast, its health wasn't even in the thousand, but now an A-rank beast's health is this high.
Taking a closer look, he noticed that the A-rank beast had a level attached to the grade, making him wonder if the beast also had skills and other effects like warriors. He figured that was the difference between a named beast and a normal one.
"Cian, come on!!" Aiden called out as he snapped out of his shocked state and began running.
For whatever reason, the beast hadn't noticed them until Aiden's scream shattered the silence. Now, its massive head swivelled slowly, nostrils flaring as it tried to pinpoint the exact direction of the sound, its eyes intensely scanning the snowy landscape.
<Observation skill used>
"Nice timing," Cian smirked as his unbeatable skill activated, but the smirk quickly faded when he realized the beast was partially blind. He couldn't see any critical hit points or attack predictions—the usual markers his skill would highlight. The only visible weakness was the creature's eyes, worst of all it wasn't fully blind as it looked like it had finally noticed them.
Cian immediately turned and began running to the door, even with its poor sight it was still built like a tank, there was no way he could even imagine denting the monster's tough-looking skin.
Aiden's feet skidded on the icy ground, desperately pushing against the solid resistance of the giant door, with Cian joining him a few seconds later.
They both struggled with the door, but it didn't budge. Cian's eyes scanned the surface until he noticed a writing etched into the wood: "The blood of the guardian shall unlock the door."
Behind them, the Minotaur started scattering the snow around, digging frantically as if searching for something beneath the icy surface. Cian couldn't tell if it was preparing to charge, but he knew whatever it was planning couldn't be good.
"Is that the guardian?" Aiden asked, turning to face the beast, his expression grim as the reality of their situation set in.
By now, the Minotaur had found what it was looking for—a massive battleaxe. With a thunderous snort, it began charging toward them, the ground trembling under its weight.
If that Minotaur was the guardian, both Cian and Aiden knew they were as good as dead. But Cian wasn't about to go down without a fight. His heart raced as he prepared to use one last weapon in his arsenal—something he had been saving for moments just like this.
"Blue, can you open the door?" Cian asked desperately.
[All you had to do was ask]
All the inscription on the door began glowing red, then they heard a loud clunk coming from inside, before the door gave way, causing them to swiftly leap through.
The thunderous slam of the colossal door was followed by another loud thud from the Minotaur axe.
They both leaned on the door, struggling to catch their breath with the adrenaline still coursing through their veins from having narrowly escaped certain death.
"Why…didn't…you do…that earlier ?" Cian asked Blue in between his gasps.
[You didn't ask]
"Since when did you wait for my permission to do what you wanted" Cian wondered
"You simply just wanted to play the hero, didn't you?"
[How could you think that of me, I always put your best interest at heart]
That was it, he waited until the last minute so he could save the day "You don't even have a heart, you liar"
Aiden, who had since lost the strength to keep standing was now seated on the dusty black marble floor.
He was happy that he hadn't died, but was more curious as to how Cian was able to open the door without slaying the beast, or why he waited until the last minute to do it.
"Get up, we have to continue, there's no time to waste" Cian reminded him as he began heading inside the temple.
Aiden jumped to his feet and began following Cian
"Warrior Cian, how did you open the door without slaying the beast?" Aiden curiously inquired.
Cian wasted no time in his reply, "A warrior's secret" he didn't plan to reveal the existence of Blue to anyone, no matter who it was.
Aiden obviously knew that what Cian had just done wasn't normal, but how could he expect normal from a man that sometimes talks to himself in low voices? In fact, it was a blessing that he ran into an abnormal warrior like Cian because now he could possibly use him to achieve all his plans.
"Then why didn't you do it sooner?" Aiden asked with a hint of frustration.
Cian gave it a little thought before responding, "Sometimes it's better that way". He grinned at his vague response.
"Is it better that way? When we were just seconds away from getting our head chopped off?" Aiden asked, unable to comprehend the warrior's thought process.
"Does it even matter? I saved your life so instead of complaining you should be thanking me" Cian shot back.
They were walking through a long hallway leading up to another door, the path was dimly lit by widows that allowed only little light through. The thick pillars and walls had a few cracks.
This door was big, but not as large as the one at the entrance. Just as Cian was about to push it, Aiden grabbed his hand.
"What if there is another monster in there?" he asked with a shifty and uneasy expression.
"Wouldn't we still go in?" Cian asked, he understood Aiden's concern, but he also knew it changed nothing. They were still going to go inside, no matter if there was a monster behind that door.
"I would listen to your friend if I were you" a deep sinister manly voice called out from one of the dark spots in the room.
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