Stalactites hung above the floor strewed with scatter of corpses and shatter of skulls. A pool of still-old blood reflected the slight light from the crystals above while filling sniffs and whiffs with its heavy metal.
—Bloodhorn |D-|—
Race: Minotaur
Pathway: Sin
Class: Berserker
Spirit |D-|
Strength |D-|
Stamina |D|
Agility |E+|
Affinity |E|
Active: |Bloodshot |D||
Passive: |Boss |D-|| |Perception |D-||
Monika gazed at the figure who lay reposed in a lotus position. She didn’t dare approach it carelessly since the monster was far stronger than her.
Pointy blood-stained horns curved forward from his skull. His deep brown fur was overlaid with menacing scars and a dark loincloth reinforced with metal plates embellished by a broad belt.
The monster gradually opened his eyes and glanced at Monika in calm. Those eyes of his blazed through the scrawny human’s body with the fury of countless centuries coming forth.
Monika remained expressionlessly unperturbed. The monster couldn’t peek at her Status as Monika did. Still, he knew. He knew those eyes projected his own.
The human wasn’t mere prey.
It was quite the opposite. He could sense it.
So, finally, a worthy rival.
Chk—
He clutched a greatsword as tall as Monika.
Crack…
Bloodhorn drove it into the ground to steady himself.
He locked onto her with a pitilessly pitless gaze. His nostrils flared as his lips pulled back in a snarl.
“GHAAAAARRRR!”
The minotaur wrenched his greatsword by letting out a similarly gut-wrenching roar. The blade sliced through the dark brew.
Bloodhorn marched with his muscles rippling under his heave as his hooves struck the ground with a deafening thud.
Monika adopted a low, body-centered stance, her feet planted, knees bent, hands open and ready, fingers curling. “Come,” she said flatly.
She began with a sidestep to evade the Bloodhorn’s charge at the very last moment.
Her body twisted as she ducked under a follow-up full-circled swing of his weapon.
Monika’s fists moved lightning-fast. An upward palm that struck the minotaur’s ribcage was followed by a spinning back kick squared on his thigh.
Bloodhorn then swung in a wide arc. She dropped into a low crouch to roll forward and come up behind him.
The winsome dancer grounded her movements and sprang up to deliver a bone-shattering elbow to the base of his spine.
Kicking. Punching. Dodging. Each strike of hers exploited the minotaur’s aggression.
He swung his greatsword once more, this time vertically. She dodged a breath away to strike with intention and precision, landing and correcting herself, streamlined and graceful, precise and economical.
Her movements epitomized various disciplines from Earth. They conserved energy while convening uttermost impact by delivering devastating damage to the vital points on the monster’s body.
A well-placed chop to his wrist forced him to loosen his grip on the sword. She swept his leg and sent him staggering backward with a quick pivot.
He roared in exasperation and twirled in frustration. She ducked under the blade to follow him with a flurry of strikes aimed at his lower back.
A feint.
She grabbed his arm in an armbar and twisted with all her might to leverage his massive weight against him. The minotaur’s eyes widened as he struggled to free himself from her iron grip.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Monika transitioned into a rear-naked choke. Her arms wrapped around his thick neck. She used her weight and positioning to apply breakneck pressure despite being smaller. Her legs locked around his torso in a vice-like grip.
The minotaur thrashed. His pained roars reverberated through the cave in an attempt to shake her off.
She twisted her body and wrenched his head to the side for him to stumble as his hooves slid. Monika then pulled hard on his horns.
BTUM—
Slamming him head-first into the ground.
BTP. BTP.
Smashing it repeatedly.
Bloodhorn jolted as he rose. He finally managed to throw her off.
The archdemon landed on her feet, her eyes never leaving his.
She had left him stunned—panting and unsteady.
Though Monika remained unharmed on the surface, her insides were writhing in pain. Each throw she landed on the monster reflected on her more than it did the damage to the creature.
Scrape of his will kill me. Been a few minutes… feels hours. The only chance is to make him use the accursed ability. Come on…
The minotaur didn’t disappoint. Her tough facade paid off.
Then it fell apart instantaneously.
—Bloodshot |D|—
|Strength |D-| –> |D+||
|Agility |D-| -> |D||
|Stamina |D| -> |E+||
Inflicted |Bloodloss |E||
His muscles bulged with a pop and pulsing of veins, eyes bloodshot. “GHARH..!” he growled in anguish. Bloodhorn’s body discharged a green substance that brightened the dark.
Monika's eyes widened as she sensed the shift. She braced herself and readied to absorb and redirect the oncoming onslaught.
Defend this!? Are you fucking mad?
No, not mad.
I’m just insane!
The wrathfully powerful and unpredictable minotaur charges at me like crazy. Each strike forces me to give ground. My movements are now solely focused on evasion and defense.
I duck under a horizontal slash and feel the rush of air as the blade passes close to my head while cutting the strands of my glamorous, graceful, gorgeous hair. Son of a bitch!
I pivot on my heel to narrowly avoid a downward chop that shatters the stone floor where I stood a moment before.
Quicker. I need to be quicker, or else he’ll get the rest of my head.
I pour the remaining three SP into Agility.
My mind races analyzing the pattern of his attacks. He gives me no room to breathe. Ruthlessly relentless, each blow of his is more forceful than the last. I weave and dodge. The sheer power of his strikes sends shockwaves that make it difficult to keep myself afloat.
"GHRAAAAAH!" the minotaur roars. Coming up on one knee, he swings his sword in a wide arc which I barely manage to roll under, my breath now ragged.
I counter with quick jabs and kicks in aim for his weak spots, but his berserk state seems to make him numb to pain. He absorbs them without flinching.
Bloodhorn lunges forward to slam his shoulder into me with the force of a battering ram. I am thrown back as my body skids across the rough cave floor. God knows how many more ribs he would have broken if I slacked on my defense.
I lay amongst the other corpses.
Is this the end? I’ve overestimated myself while underestimating this brute. I push myself up. A trickle of blood runs from a cut on my forehead.
The minotaur is already upon me with the sword raised high. Bloodhorn brings his weapon down in a powerful overhead strike.
My eyes narrow.
I shift to the side to grab his wrist and use his own force to pull him off balance. I then twist my body and deliver a sharp elbow to his ribcage to follow up with a knee strike to his abdomen. These do little to deter him.
He roars as he catches me in the side with his free arm to send me crashing. Again.
I grit my teeth and stand up. Again.
“GHAAAAAAAAAARH!” he roars. Crazily.
“YAHAHAHAHA!” Monika laughs. Crazily
I snap. I form a twisted smile. And so I laugh as I dodge.
“YAHAHA!”
I parry the minotaur's strike and roll away to come up in a low crouch. Blood trickles from a gash in my arm. I bring it to my lips, licking.
“Is that all you’ve got?”
The minotaur staggers.
“What? Finally out of fuel, fucker?”
My movements become as erratic and unpredictable as his charges. I dance around his swings euphorically. I smear the blood from my knuckles across my lips in the savor of the disgusting yet deeelllicious taste~
“You’re mad,” I whisper to him reverently. Then I glance at Monika. “But not enough.”
I feint and dodge. My punches pummel through the minotaur’s tough yet blood-battered skin.
His berserker state finally wears off.
He desperately lunges his arm forward, trying to grab. I grab. I bite his arm down hard, drawing blood. I pull back, my mouth stained red, and grin.
So very delicious~
Now unnerved, the minotaur swings his greatsword wantonly.
“Ahhhh~” I now know.
I thrive on his fear and strive forward, cornering him.
“Bloodhorn! You commit a sin!”
Monika’s eyes locked onto her weakened prey. A savage, blood-lathered smirk spread across her blood-smeared face.
“You’re enamored with dread!!!”
She lunged forward in one decisive swift, her fingers curling into talons.
“Look at me,” Monika hissed.
The archdemon jabbed her thumbs into the minotaur’s eye sockets.
Bloodhorn’s struggles grew frantic yet weakened as her fingers dug deeper and tore.
Very soon, he collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
Cleared |Dungeon of Blood |D-||
Calculating rewards…