Xavier looked up at the sky, watching the sun slowly disappear behind the horizon. The sky was painted in soft shades of orange and red as the ball of fire slowly began its descent. Wiping the sweat off his forehead, he basked in the fading sunlight.
The last few days had been truly chaotic and he hadn’t gotten a chance to think of anything except survival and killing monsters. That was all that would ravage his mind. Xavier was a little surprised at how he had gotten accustomed to this life so easily.
He worried he was losing the trace of humanity within him, the young man who would work in the garden, planting small crops and tackling weeds from afternoon until late evening.
He never thought he would miss playing gardener for his mother’s precious flower beds. A rueful smile appeared on his lips as he stood staring at the sky.
But the arriving night reminded him of the task waiting for him. Xavier shook his head to wake himself up from his daydreaming. The Infected would not stay in the barns for long and he had a Monster Gate to destroy. Luckily, he did not have to look for a solution for long. His ears pricked at the sound of a Goblin’s pitiful cry.
Trying to not make any sound, he went in the direction of the forest, taking cover behind the bushes. Suddenly, he felt the ground beneath him shake. At first, he thought he had imagined it but the tremors returned, stronger this time. Loose pebbles were rattling on the street as his head flicked left and right, trying to understand what calamity had now decided to greet him.
The ground beneath him shook violently, almost tossing him around like one of the loose pebbles but Xavier quickly regained his balance. His danger senses began tingling and he realized something huge was lurking on the outskirts of the forest. His heart began to beat wildly and he slowly made his way through the bushes. His boots pressed against the soft soil, and the leaves crackled under his weight.
His eyes fell upon a huge monster thrashing a Goblin into a pulp. Xavier had expected it to be some giant boar but he was taken aback to see a humongous being bulldozing its way through the forest to kill Goblins. It was a bipedal monster. Another humanoid lifeform. But it was not a Goblin. It was a huge Minotaur, half-bull half-human, charging through the forest.
What the-
Just one glimpse of it in its full glory was enough to tell Xavier that he stood no chance against the monster. It was far more terrifying than the Goblin Warriors, and the Fiery Boar.
The monstrosity had pale gray skin and two red horns were jutting out of its temples. The minotaur’s huge bulky arms smashed down onto one of the Goblins and its hooves stomped upon the forest ground, leaving small craters and cracks in its wake.
He faintly recalled his father telling him a few weeks ago about some cows escaping a farm from the neighboring village. They had been searching for the cows, but nobody found them… that was until now.
But then, how did a bull suddenly turn into a huge and bulky Minotaur? Would it not require an insane amount of leveling up to evolve into this monstrosity? Is it even possible to evolve like this? Well…is anything impossible in this god-forsaken world?!
He thought as a surge of nervousness and excitement shot up his spine. The sound of mighty hooves tearing through the bushes and houses alike kept growing closer to him, the minotaur oblivious to his presence.
You are exactly what I need to trample the Monster Gate!
Wasting no time, Xavier utilized Taunt on the Minotaur as the beast kept smashing its giant war axe around. Xavier had no idea where the Minotaur got hold of the war axe, let alone how it mastered to wield the war axe with such lethal precision, but it somehow got hold of it. And it was somehow able to wield it with great mastery.
The Minotaur shook its giant head the moment Taunt struck it heavily and it raised its head to look in Xavier’s direction.
Xavier swallowed hard and regretted his decision for a quarter of a second.
What the hell am I doing here?!
If the Minotaur’s size and physique had been terrifying, its huge eyes and piercing gaze were bone-chilling. The Minotaur let out an angry huff, its breath forming a small puff of cloud behind which were its large red eyes. No, not red. They were a rich shade of crimson. And they were staring at Xavier murderously.
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Fuck!
Xavier quickly utilized Dash while he began sprinting through the road, wanting to put as much distance between himself and the monstrosity that decided to pursue him. And it was fast, way too fast!
Xavier was as thrilled as he was shocked to see the giant Minotaur chasing him. He was not sure if his plan would work, but it did. He tore through the street while trying to get a good look behind. From amidst the trees and bushes, he saw the Minotaur that was running as if some demon had possessed it, but Xavier’s face brightened when he realized he was one step closer to his goal.
The Minotaur let out a roar and Xavier cursed under his breath before accelerating his pace again.
Xavier had a hard time figuring out where the minotaur had been hiding all this time but he was having an even harder time keeping up with its speed. Soon they left the forest behind and reached the cobbled streets of their small village. Xavier quickly looked around and was relieved to see that none of his team members were around nor were any stragglers left behind.
Feeling a rush of adrenaline course up his veins, he looked down at his shoes as if to check if his shoelaces were tied firmly, and tore through the street. The Minotaur kept smashing its heavy war axe into anything that stood in its way, be it houses or fences, trying to close the gap between it and Xavier. Parts of walls, debris, and even some trees were flung around as the Minotaur kept chasing him, getting angered by the second.
Rage filled its heart to see the little mouse evade it and give such a long chase. The Minotaur had smashed green-skinned goblin hordes into a pulp but just a tiny human was making it huff. Xavier kept throwing a backward glance every now and then while ensuring that the Minotaur was still chasing him.
One time, he looked behind, just to feel the hot breath of the Minotaur upon his neck. Goosebumps sprang up on his skin when he realized just how close the Minotaur had gotten and then he heard the unmistakable sound of something cutting through the air.
He ducked just in time, narrowly missing the sharp edge of the minotaur’s war axe that attempted to slice his neck cleanly. The tip of a few hair strands got nicked but that sensation was enough for Xavier to realize that he could not afford to overexert himself.
His muscles were beginning to cry for relief and his shirt was plastered to his back that was drenched in sweat.
So close. Too fucking close!!
He looked ahead and pushed himself, running through the village’s streets as fast as he could just to get closer to his destination. A slow smile appeared on his face when he saw a horde of Goblins just as he reached the main street. The Minotaur was blinded by rage at this point and was so focused on Xavier that it did not notice the green-skinned monsters a few feet away. Jumping up through a large picket fence, Xavier landed right in front of the horde of Goblins.
They squealed loudly and uttered something incomprehensible at Xavier. They were taken aback by his sudden appearance, but their shock didn’t last longer than a second.
The Minotaur rammed its huge war axe into the picket fence, tearing out a sizable chunk of it alongside two three goblins that somehow got stuck to it. The unfortunate pitiful cries got buried under the melee caused by the huge monster’s arrival.
The Goblins left whatever they were doing and charged at the intruders. Xavier had already put some considerable distance between himself and the Minotaur by the time the Goblins charged at the bulky monster like an angry swarm of bees.
And barely a second later, Taunt’s effect wore off. But by then the Goblins had begun attacking the Minotaur, hacking into its hide and slashing at its skin with their stone weapons.
The inflicted wounds were barely noteworthy as the blades couldn’t leave deep injuries. At best, they felt like a thousand tiny pinpricks to the Minotaur. However, that was just enough to further deepen the Minotaur’s wrath.
The Goblin Archers struck it with a barrage of arrows but they too only added to its irritation. The Minotaur responded radically. It initiated a slaughter-fest, throwing Goblins around and smashing their heads with its war axe.
At some point, Xavier with the Minotaur behind reached the village’s center. The small horde of Goblins had been slaughtered, leaving merely small scratches on the Minotaur’s gray hide. However, the monstrous beast was enraged. Xavier didn’t even have to use Taunt again to pull its attention toward him. It eyed him already with wrath oozing out of its crimson eyes.
The Goblin community had expanded further. Goblins seemed to swarm the village like cockroaches and Xavier felt annoyed to see so many of them. The Minotaur had already decimated a large number of them but the fully functional society of the Goblins looked like it had exploded overnight.
A quick glance around told him that there were around 500 Goblins and a minimum of 30 Goblin Warriors. A huge complex was situated in the center of the community while several other small buildings had sprung up like mushrooms all around their lair. Abandoned and broken cars were put in a circle around their large settlement to act as a protective wall of sorts.
It would have been a hassle for him to eliminate them with his team but his plan had proceeded so far without any hurdles. He hoped it would work out until the end. His eyes flitted to the left and his chest sagged with relief. He had been worrying needlessly it seemed.
From the far end of the roundabout, he saw Leyla and his father slowly moving forward, just like they had planned. And behind them was a large horde of Infected, following them like sheep tailing a shepherd. He looked to the right and saw the Minotaur smashing through the cars and charging at the settlement. Xavier grinned in satisfaction.
Let the mayhem begin!