Chapter 11: A Brutal Encounter

What a tragic scene this was.

The first thing that met my eyes was a colossal boulder, shattered into several fragments.

My impression of it was incredibly vivid, for I remembered it as the very object that had descended from the heavens, precipitating the sudden shift in the situation, after which everything unfolded with cataclysmic force.

“This looks like ‘Doomsday Descent’?” Sally uttered, naming what appeared to be a magical spell.

The impact of the colossal boulder had gouged several extremely wide fissures into the ground, and the once-glowing golden patterns now lay dull and lifeless, as though their vitality had been drained.

The scene exuded an overwhelming sense of chaos, with debris, shattered garments, and armor strewn everywhere, and grotesque corpses piled high all around, resembling nothing so much as a colossal junkyard.

Though the multicolored blood had long since congealed, countless traces of its flow were still discernible.

“These are all demon beast corpses.”

Brook surveyed his surroundings with a grave expression.

“There are no humans to be seen.”

I felt deeply unsettled; although these demon beasts had long perished, the air still reeked of that repulsive stench, far more potent than the last time I’d encountered it.

Adding to this, a heavy coppery scent of blood mingled with the air, and the gruesome state of the corpses, with their entrails scattered everywhere, made for a truly horrific sight.

As someone born on Earth, this was my first encounter with such a spectacle, and it felt nothing short of a nightmare.

The others fared little better; the two boys and Tiffany merely furrowed their brows, while Sally had already clamped a hand over her mouth, her face contorted with nausea.

As for me, the oppressive atmosphere had long since overwhelmed me, and I found myself dry-heaving onto the ground, yet nothing would come up.

“Perhaps we should all leave this place first,”

Feeling a gentle pat on my back, I looked up to see Tiffany standing behind me, offering her suggestion to Brook.

“It’s alright; I’ll be fine after a moment.” I shook my head, reassuring them, unwilling to impede their mission with my discomfort, especially since I hadn’t actually vomited anything—perhaps I hadn’t had enough water lately, not even a drop of liquid.

In truth, after a few retches, I started to feel much better.

“Didn’t they say it was a battle between angels and demon beasts? Why aren’t there any angel corpses?”

I recalled that the colossal boulder should have crushed quite a few angels when it fell, yet not a single one was visible at the scene.

“Angels are elemental beings,” Sally explained, casting a glance my way, seemingly surprised that I lacked even this most basic knowledge. “Upon death, they transform into light elements, leaving no trace.”

So that was it; understanding dawned on me instantly. No wonder I possessed so many light elements.

Does that mean if I die in the future, I’ll also ‘die without a complete corpse’? What a peculiar sensation.

By this time, the two boys had already ventured from the center towards the outskirts to investigate, and given the vastness of the area, their figures soon vanished from sight.

“Seriously, those two are incredible,” I mused, suddenly filled with immense admiration for Brook and Amos. “To witness a scene like this and remain unfazed—what immense fortitude must they possess?”

“They and I both belong to the Adventurer’s Guild,” Tiffany said with an unconcerned expression. “We often team up for adventures, so we’ve seen scenes like this countless times.”

“As for Amos, he’s frequently hired by the military for campaigns, so this is mere child’s play for him.”

“I was only assigned to this mission,” Sally added, “I rarely left the church before this.”

Sally nodded repeatedly in agreement, appearing deeply moved.

It seemed I was the weakest among them, I thought with a wry smile.

****

Suddenly, a deafening roar erupted from somewhere, and hearing it, my heart constricted with an ominous premonition.

The repulsive stench in the air seemed to intensify severalfold, and I felt utterly enveloped by a pervasive sense of dread.

My entire being was consumed by an oppressive feeling.

Tiffany and Sally, too, changed color at the sound, quickly drawing their weapons and gripping them tightly.

“It’s coming from Brook’s direction!”

Tiffany pinpointed the location and sprinted towards the commotion.

Sally and I hastened to follow behind her.

The monster’s roars grew more frequent.

Scrambling over a towering pile of rubble, we soon caught sight of Brook’s striking red hair and a colossal Minotaur.

“It’s a Minos!”

Tiffany shrieked.

The Minos stood at least three meters tall, making Brook appear utterly tiny before it.

Wielding a massive axe, it looked incredibly ferocious, and was currently swinging it rapidly towards its opponent.

Brook, however, was inherently agile, and though evading proved incredibly strenuous, he managed to avoid each perilous swing.

Occasionally, the great axe struck the ground, causing the very earth to tremble faintly.

“How could such a high-level demon beast be hiding here?” Sally exclaimed incredulously.

“It’s impossible for me not to have sensed it! There was such a potent dark aura.”

Her expression suddenly shifted as something dawned on her.

“It’s because of the battlefield,” she realized. “The stench emanating from all those demon beast corpses on the battlefield masked its presence.”

“Quick, help! Brook can’t hold out much longer!” Tiffany’s shrill cry reached us.

By now, Brook was being forced backward by the Minos, nearing the point where he would be unable to dodge the great axe’s attacks.

“Don’t get hit! You can’t take a direct blow!” she called out to Brook.

In a moment of desperation, Tiffany thrust her spear horizontally across her chest, then formed a specific hand gesture.

“Spearmanship: Swift as Wind, Born of Azure Wings!” Suddenly, a pair of ethereal wings seemed to shimmer into existence on Tiffany’s back.

“Shattered Impact!”

Her entire being seemed to accelerate dramatically.

She surged towards the Minos with the speed of a shooting star.

“Extreme Skill: Whirlwind!” Brook simultaneously cried out, leaping and bounding while strangely twisting his body in mid-air.

Suddenly, I noticed his entire demeanor shifting; if previously he had exuded an aggressive, offensive aura, now, through these contortions, he was gradually adopting an ethereal, graceful posture.

Not only had his reaction speed dramatically improved, but his overall pace had also quickened—or, more accurately, he had become utterly untraceable.

Once he reached a certain speed, the area around the Minos was filled with nothing but Brook’s afterimages.

For a time, the Minotaur was utterly helpless against him, unable to land a single blow no matter how furiously it swung its axe.

Meanwhile, Tiffany had already charged to its side, assailing its limbs fiercely with her spearmanship.

Her apparent intention was to alleviate the pressure on Brook.

“This won’t last much longer!” Tiffany’s expression remained grave.

Her attacks, like Brook’s, were almost entirely ineffective; the Minos’s defenses were astonishingly high, showing virtually no signs of injury, and even a single strike from its axe would be more than they could bear.

Seeing this, Sally, unwilling to be outdone, snatched up her staff and charged forward, unleashing an orb-like magic projectile at the Minos’s head.

However, its power was likely too weak, as it struck the monster’s head without the slightest effect.

It was even less effective than Tiffany’s spear, which, though incapable of inflicting significant damage, at least served to harass the creature.

“This…” Sally seemed to grow anxious, muttering a spell under her breath.

A luminous orb of light gradually coalesced at the tip of her staff, which she then swung forcefully towards the Minos.

“Light Bomb!”

“No!”

Brook, who had been playing a dangerous game of tag with the Minotaur, tried to shout a warning upon seeing this.

But it was too late.

The orb of light struck the Minos’s face with apparent efficacy, causing its entire massive body to tilt precariously, on the verge of losing balance and toppling over.

Yet, the creature quickly regained its footing, letting out a furious roar.

Its blood-red eyes fixed menacingly on Sally, and it charged swiftly towards her.

“Damn it!” Brook cursed, giving chase to the Minos.

The previous Light Bomb had indeed inflicted considerable superficial damage on the Minotaur; its head was now bleeding profusely over a large area, a truly gruesome sight.

However, this did little to diminish its actual combat prowess; instead, it merely enraged the creature further, its hatred now fully focused on Sally.

Although Brook was swift, the towering Minos, with its massive strides, ran even faster.

Sally, meanwhile, stood frozen in place, seemingly scared out of her wits.

“Run!” I cried out urgently, rushing forward to grab her clothing and pull her to the side.

With a resounding “Clang!”, the spot where she had just stood was now occupied by a colossal axe, its blade deeply embedded in the ground, accompanied by a powerful tremor.

Never had I witnessed such a scene, and I couldn’t help but shriek, my legs turning to jelly.

The axe head was barely ten to twenty centimeters from my toes.

Sally was in little better shape; half-lying on the ground, her hand, still clutching her staff, trembled incessantly.

She stammered out, “D-don’t… don’t come closer,” seemingly unable to form coherent words.

“Demon Taming Art: Light Dragon!”

A blinding beam of light, appearing later, struck the Minos’s head with astonishing speed.

Unlike the Light Bomb, which seemed to cause corrosion rather than explosion upon impact, this beam unleashed a violent blast, instantly engulfing the Minotaur’s head in a burst of flames and thick black smoke.

This appeared to be another one of Brook’s techniques.

He stood on the ground not far away, his right palm extended straight towards the Minos’s head, his left hand resting on his right forearm—a pose that gave me a strong sense of déjà vu.

Following the “smoke without injury” principle, while the Minos hadn’t sustained significant damage, its attention had successfully been diverted once more.

It wrenched its axe from the ground and launched a series of three swift strikes towards Brook’s position.

Just as it did, Brook, who had closed the distance, executed a rapid succession of leaps, using the flat of the swinging axe as a springboard to clear the Minos’s head.

“Extreme Skill: Crimson Lotus!”

In mid-air, Brook once again twisted his body in a bizarre manner, his posture shifting to one of intense aggression.

In a series of rolls, he inverted himself, then, executing an overhead kick, extended one leg directly towards the Minotaur’s head.

Simultaneously, five crimson claw marks suddenly erupted from his toes.

“Demon Taming Art: Fire Claws!”