บท 6: Conclusion of the Duel
Alastair silently stood on the dirt ground of the ancient arena as a smile slowly formed on her gorgeous face. It had somewhat been a while. The shrouding darkness was calming and peaceful for her. She always ignored the stunning scenery due to her obsession with killing the monster. But now, she had come to peace with a part of herself.
This round was her chance to leave the arena and finally get her second chance. It didn't matter how much pain and suffering she would get for it to work. After all, Alastair simply has to succeed, and she would win. Anything that happens later would be a problem for future her.
"I was too dumb not to notice that bastard's eyes. It took me at least over 30 deaths to perceive it. A realization that took that many deaths were simply an ordinary idea. My mind was too narrow."
Alastair couldn't help but get angry at herself and her foolishness. Because of her narrow mind, she wasted and unnecessarily killed herself. But at least she had learned from it. The minotaur's frequency and battle style had been engraved within her mind.
Mistakes against something she had fought for a dozen times would be foolish.
At that moment, the splattering of metal sounded all over the ancient arena. Alastair turned her gaze towards the iron gate, which was slowly opening. How much had she seen such a scene? A simple image that would always appear within her mind before her inevitable death. She always wondered what was on the other side of the gateway.
Where did the demonic minotaur come from?
As the iron gate concluded its opening, A hoove once again revealed itself from the darkness shrouding the gateway. After the hooves were the emergence of the demonic minotaur. Alastair rarely hated anybody, but this bastard in front of her was a sworn nemesis.
"Hello..."
Alastair uttered with a smile plastered on her face. She lacked any sign of fear within her heart. She didn't fear the monstrous entity in front of her and treated it as a wall she needed to overcome. As the demonic minotaur noticed her, it looked at her and spoke with a beastly tone.
*Puny human girl, how intriguing my snack is.*
Alastair was a bit surprised after hearing the minotaur speak. Of all her time fighting against it, it never uttered a single word other than its dreadful roars. She looked at it cautiously and thought that its intelligence might have increased. Maybe it was really the final round.
"Mister Minotaur, are you ready to die under my hands?"
She questioned as the minotaur chuckled and replied.
*Dying to a twig would be foolish. If I win, I will make every second of eating your corpse satisfying. You don't have to worry about anything.*
As expected, the demonic minotaur was rather arrogant. Alastair didn't blame it as her appearance was that of a young girl. Compared to the minotaur, she really was a twig. But unlike the monster, Alastair was different. After all, she was a thin twig who knew many things.
"You don't have to worry, Mr. Minotaur. This twig will gouge out your life."
Alastair smiled as the demonic minotaur looked at her with bloodlust. It appears that it was easy to instigate like before. Alastair then started stretching her body as she uttered with a calm voice. "Shall we start, Minotaur?"
Upon saying such words, Alastair charged towards it without any single hint of hesitation. She was relatively fast as she sped through the arena. What Alastair had learned during her time against the minotaur was quite simple. Maintaining distance against the demonic minotaur at the first stage would be foolish.
The minotaur could do a lot of things using distance, and the only thing Alastair would be able to do was dodge against it. As she was small and short, it would be better for her to use it during short-distance combat against the monster. And for her to gain victory, she must be cautious of her surroundings.
She continued running towards it and immediately arrived before it. The minotaur found itself surprised as the twig in front of it was somewhat braver than it had expected. It thought that the twig would be a coward and maintain distance. But unfortunately, the thin twig appeared to be fearless.
As Alastair finally arrived before it, the minotaur swung its greatsword towards Alastair vertically. She simply changed her position using simple movements of her feet. The greatsword passed right in front of her and hit the ground hard. *BAAMM!!!* A deafening sound echoed right after as Alastair continued on her way.
Due to the impact of the greatsword, dust enveloped the two. It blocked the perception of the minotaur though Alastair was already used to it and used the shadowy mass figure of the monster to her advantage. Without stopping, Alastair rolled below the demonic minotaur and was finally behind it.
After rolling through the bottom of the minotaur, Alastair quickly stood up and hopped behind the demonic minotaur's back. She averted the tentacles which were waving everywhere. Unfortunately for the monster, due to how the tentacles got formed, it wouldn't be able to hit anything on its back.
Such a strategy was always helpful for Alastair, and she would do it every round. It was practically a combo she had created against this specific minotaur before her.
Alastair climbed through its back as she immediately arrived at where the horns were located. She grabbed the demon-like horns and jumped down from its head. With her momentum, the demonic minotaur got dragged along with her. Its head hit the ground with a loud sound following right after. *Pang!!!*
It was rather loud as Alastair landed on the ground and turned her gaze towards the minotaur. She had slightly smile as the arrogant bastard was on the dirt ground. She quickly backed away and ran towards one of the torches as it was time to start stage two of her plan.
The torches were incredibly helpful for Alastair as they would disrupt the perception of the monster for a short period of time. However, even if it was a short period, it was enough time for Alastair to do the things she needed to do against the minotaur.
With this in mind, Alastair took out three torches from the walls. She turned her gaze towards the minotaur, which was slowly standing up. It looked rather annoyed that a weak-looking human girl like Alastair could do such a thing to it. Upon standing up, the demonic minotaur gazed upon Alastair and shouted.
*Damn you, Human!!!*
It was beyond pissed.
It pointed its horns toward Alastair as it charged at her at its full speed. Alastair, who was near the wall, couldn't help but smile as she threw the torches toward the charging monster. The three torches flew in the air as they hit the face of the minotaur. The bastard got distracted as Alastair dodged, and it continued on, hitting the wall behind her.
With the combination of the wall and the torches, it had probably lost its vision. So Alastair could finally proceed with her plan without that much of a problem. But, of course, the loss of vision was simply a temporary effect, not a permanent one. Alastair then slowly walked forward with cautiousness.
She would have to be careful as the bastard had rather good instincts.
The minotaur slowly stood back up as it felt dizzy after hitting the wall. It couldn't see anything as its face got charred by the torch and along with the impact as well. It felt pain all over its face as it couldn't understand what was happening to its vision. The demonic minotaur then shouted in anger.
*What did you do, Human!?*
Its shout was rather deafening though it wasn't enough to make Alastair answer. The demonic minotaur then checked its face as it dropped its greatsword to the ground. The minotaur was a muscle-brain fellow, but it was still a tough challenge for Alastair.
She died numerous times just to reach this very moment.
The monster stood as it tried to look around the arena. It couldn't see anything no matter what it had done, and it didn't notice Alastair, who stood right beside it. The minotaur wanted to walk, though it fell to the ground with a loud thud. Alastair slowly backed away as her target was right before her.
Alastair and the demonic minotaur were finally right in front of each other. Alastair gazed upon the minotaur with a calm expression plastered on her face. A smile slowly formed on her face as she uttered with a soothing voice. "As I said, goodbye, Mister Minotaur."
After uttering such words, Alastair pierced through the eye of the demonic minotaur without any hesitation. She used her fingers to do the job as she took a big scoop of the brain. Then, as she had found her target, she took it out without delay. Green blood then splattered all over the place as the monster dropped onto the ground.
Alastair gazed upon the brain she got using her fingers.
Her pale fingers were relatively broken as she could see some of her fractured bones piercing through her skin. It was excruciating but not that much of severe pain that it would hinder her. As Alastair had confirmed her victory, she dropped to the ground while having her hand bleeding.
She smiled as she finally avenged herself from that bastard. She could finally rest in peace as she won. She had ultimately murdered that bastard who devoured and killed her over 30 times.
"That took longer than what I expected, but still. I won against a monster without anything other than my body. Of course, I died a lot, but it did make me learn that with enough training. One can make the body a weapon of its own."
Alastair said with her tranquil voice as she had learned a lot during the duels she had done with the minotaur. The military training she had done long ago was tame compared to this. She forgave it for being hard on her, as some things might have happened without it.
She might have died, received a serious injury, or not even reached her current rank as a general. Numerous possibilities could have happened if her military training had been easier than before. She wouldn't want such things to happen, as most of her avoidance of death was built mainly by luck.
"Let's sleep for now. I'm tired."
Alastair closed her eyelids as she slowly lost consciousness with a smile still plastered on her face. What followed after was the same eternal darkness that she had seen before meeting the beings of judgment. She wondered if she was back or if this was simply the result of her slumber.
Though that wonder faded the moment, the distorted and ancient voice echoed.
*Alastair Hecate, you have won the test without giving up. As the champion between the tiring and brutal duel against the demonic minotaur, you have been rewarded a second chance as a Krieger.*
*A Krieger is a being that consumes souls and becomes stronger. But before they could consume a soul, they must be summoned to the materium. So, Alastair Hecate, expect people to summon you as your name would be scattered throughout reality.*
*We have sent a guide for your long journey, and you will not be the last Krieger.*
*Good luck...*
The distorted and ancient voice faded as Alastair felt that she had won a grand prize. The moment she wakes up. She would handle many things related to her new life, and it appears that someone would be waiting for her on the other side.
A guide to her long journey.
'A second chance, huh...'
At that moment, Alastair's consciousness fully closed off.
――――――――――――――――
In a luxurious and familiar room covered with expensive furniture, a gorgeous young girl had a long deep slumber on her comfy and soft bed. She appeared relaxed as if this was the best sleep she had ever done in her entire life, though unfortunately, the alarm clock rang.
The young girl's body started to budge as she squirmed like a worm waking up from its slumber. She slowly opened her eyelids and noticed a bright light piercing through her window. Right beside her was another figure. It was a girl that looked a little bit older than her.
She appeared to be wearing a maid outfit, and her hair was pitch-black.
The girl slightly bowed and spoke with a humble and excellent tone.
"Good morning, young lady."
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