Chapter 12: The Unfurling Wings of Flora

A pained bellow ripped through the air as the Minotaur threw its head back in agony.

Following five searing flashes of fire, both of its horns now bore a fresh chip, and three distinct claw marks were clearly etched across its crown.

“Spear Technique: Blazing Inferno of the Asura!”

Simultaneously, Tiffany arrived, shifting into an aggressive stance.

Her long spear began to spin with incredible speed, an azure dragon momentarily coiling around its shaft as it plunged like a drill towards the Minotaur’s thigh.

“Supreme Spear Art: Dragon’s Edge!”

With a clang of metal against flesh, the Minotaur’s defenses were finally breached.

The spearhead plunged deep into its thigh muscle, almost achieving a full penetration.

However, to Tiffany’s dismay, it seemed to have bypassed both bone and major blood vessels, rendering the actual damage rather limited.

Despite the limited physical harm, the acute pain deeply ignited the Minotaur’s savage instincts.

Its gaze locked onto Tiffany, the closest adversary, and with a wild roar, it swung its massive axe with reckless abandon.

Still committed to her aggressive posture, Tiffany was caught utterly unprepared and had no time to evade.

A sharp cry escaped her lips as she was sent hurtling through the air.

Mercifully, in that crucial instant, she managed to withdraw her weapon, positioning it to block the devastating blow.

The slender spear shaft, however, could not endure the full force of the axe, snapping with a sharp ‘crack’.

Though the fatal strike was averted, she still suffered grievous injuries, plummeting heavily to the ground and succumbing to unconsciousness.

‘What terrifying power!’

‘A single swing of that axe had instantly incapacitated one of our allies, yet the Minotaur itself seemed to have sustained only a few superficial wounds.’

Sally, who had only just begun to recover from the immense shock, saw Tiffany collapse.

She immediately rushed to her side, swiftly chanting a healing spell.

A beam of white light flashed from her palm, then settled upon Tiffany’s injured form.

The healing spell’s effects were immediately apparent; at the very least, the bleeding from Tiffany’s wounds began to gradually subside, eventually ceasing entirely.

“I’ve stabilized her injuries with light-element magic.

However, my water-element recovery magic isn’t high-level, so I can only treat her slowly, unable to restore her quickly.”

Sally’s voice was tinged with a slight choke as I gazed at the slowly mending wound on Tiffany’s chest.

‘I understood her implication: Tiffany would be unable to continue fighting for the foreseeable future.’

Having eliminated one immediate threat, the Minotaur immediately turned its attention to Brook, who had only just landed from his aerial maneuvers.

Even with his earlier preparations, Brook found his speed lacking, and he was repeatedly forced into perilous, life-threatening situations.

Just as the situation teetered on the brink of disaster, an arrow, wreathed in fire and accompanied by a sharp whistling sound, shot forth.

It swiftly embedded itself in the Minotaur’s right eye before detonating.

A guttural roar of agony erupted from the Minotaur.

This single arrow had inflicted the most significant damage since the battle’s commencement; instantly deprived of half its vision, the Minotaur was driven to utter madness by the searing pain.

Amos stood poised atop a distant boulder, bow in hand, his gaze intently fixed on the unfolding chaos.

He had finally arrived, though a lingering sense of tardiness permeated the air.

Clutching its injured eye with one hand, the Minotaur wildly swung its axe at Brook with its free arm.

Fortunately, Brook had already seized the previous moment to revert to his agile state, successfully stabilizing the immediate situation.

Seizing this advantage, Amos immediately pressed his attack.

He drew nine glowing red arrows simultaneously, firing them in rapid succession towards the Minotaur’s remaining eye.

“Nine Sky Volley!”

A deafening volley of nine explosions, like a barrage of firecrackers, erupted.

Arrows imbued with explosive fire magic struck the Minotaur’s head one after another, each impact triggering a violent detonation.

Despite having already lost one eye, the Minotaur would not repeat the same mistake.

It remained constantly vigilant against any hidden arrows launched from a distance.

These magical arrows, however, were entirely unlike ordinary ones.

Even as the Minotaur ceaselessly twisted its head and body to evade vital points, the force of the explosions still inflicted considerable impact upon its head.

Indeed, the power of each arrow nearly rivaled Brook’s earlier Light Dragon attack.

‘Still, it wasn’t enough.’

‘The Minotaur’s hide was simply too thick; even a torrent of arrows would, at best, only add a few more streaks of blood to its face.’

‘They were utterly incapable of inflicting any effective damage, and the strategy of targeting its eyes now appeared to be a dead end.’

A slight frown creased Amos’s brow as he drew two more arrows, each shimmering with white light.

He simultaneously nocked them onto his bowstring, poised for his next volley.

“Attack its hand!”

I shouted with all my might.

‘As things stood, the most significant threat to us remained that colossal axe; if we could disarm the Minotaur, it would undoubtedly ease the pressure on the battlefield, even if only marginally.’

‘Previously, everyone had focused on targeting its head, but the actual results had been far from ideal.’

‘It was time to try a different strategy.’

Upon hearing my command, Amos immediately adjusted his aim.

Two streaks of pure white light, like bolts of lightning, sprang forth simultaneously.

In the very next instant, the Minotaur’s hand, still clamped over its right eye, was struck by both arrows.

Unlike the explosive magic arrows, these white-light projectiles silently pierced the Minotaur’s hand, akin to needles, without eliciting even the faintest spark.

Yet, the damage they inflicted appeared to be immense.

Whereas previous attacks had merely scratched its outer hide, these arrows had achieved a rare, direct penetration into its very flesh.

‘Ah, but I had actually meant to target the hand currently wielding the great axe.’

‘I had been puzzled as to why Amos hadn’t done so, but a quick glance at the battlefield made me slap my forehead, silently cursing my own foolishness.’

‘The Minotaur was swinging that axe with such ferocity, creating blurs of motion, that targeting its hand would have been an impossible feat.’

‘In such a situation, how could Amos possibly land a hit? The accuracy rate would be far too low.’

‘I had to make its hand cease movement, even if only for a brief moment!’

‘I desperately racked my brain, trying to devise a way to achieve this.’

‘Tiffany was gravely wounded, and Sally, occupied with healing her, was temporarily unavailable.’

‘Brook, serving as the main distraction, couldn’t possibly concern himself with anything else.’

‘A sudden memory of dodging the Minotaur’s axe strike, aimed at Sally earlier, sparked a flash of inspiration within me.’

‘I knew I had to try it.’

“Brook, try your best to make it chop towards the ground!”

I yelled, all the while carefully and stealthily closing in on their position.

The Minotaur’s gaze was entirely fixated on Brook, rendering it completely oblivious to my subtle movements.

Upon hearing my urgent shout, Brook, despite being unaware of my exact intentions, immediately planted his feet.

The instant the Minotaur brought its axe down in a vertical chop, his eyes narrowed slightly, and with a sudden, agile dodge to the side, a ‘clatter’ echoed as the great axe, precisely as planned, buried itself deep within a pile of rubble.

Now was the moment!

I seized the fleeting opportunity, charging towards the Minotaur’s arm as it struggled to extract its weapon…

‘As a transmigrator, and an angel at that, I possessed virtually no skills.’

‘My combat prowess was undoubtedly the lowest among the group.’

‘My only discernible asset, I estimated, was a strength far surpassing anything I’d possessed before.’

‘I had tested it countless times on tree trunks; I was confident that while my strength wouldn’t fell the Minotaur with a single punch, it should, at the very least, inflict considerable pain.’

‘But if anyone questioned why I hadn’t simply charged into the fray, it was because brute strength was all I possessed.’

‘Beyond that, I knew not a single technique, nor did I possess any skills for evasion or defense.’

‘Should an axe come my way, with my notoriously sluggish reaction time, I would undoubtedly be cleaved in two.’

‘My plan, therefore, was remarkably simple: exploit the Minotaur’s momentary pause as it struggled to free its weapon, then use sheer brute force to pin down its arm, immobilizing it, if only for a few precious seconds.’

“Amos, attack its hand, now!” I cried, launching myself towards the Minotaur’s wrist and pressing down with all my might.

Amos, from his distant vantage point, also recognized the fleeting nature of this chance, having already nocked two white-glowing arrows and aimed them precisely at our location.

‘Huh?’

The moment I pressed down, a jolt of alarm shot through me.

‘It was as if my strength had no effect whatsoever; a tremendous, unyielding force instantly met my hands.’

‘Without even the slightest sign of resistance, the Minotaur’s hand, still clutching the axe, abruptly yanked upwards.’

‘Unable to maintain my grip, I was sent hurtling into the sky.’

“Flora!”

Everyone stared, dumbfounded.

They had initially believed I possessed some hidden ability to turn the tide of battle, but instead, I had charged in like an ordinary person rushing to their demise, spiraling directly into the heavens.

‘What on earth was happening?’

‘The instant I was flung skyward, I was still grappling with the ‘why,’ but the subsequent high-speed tumbling quickly left me dizzy and disoriented.’

‘After reaching the apex of my ascent, I began to plummet downwards again, the rapidly intensifying sensation of weightlessness heralding an undeniable crisis; I would surely be splattered into a bloody pulp.’

With a sharp ‘rip—!’ my clothes tore open at the back.

A pair of pristine, immaculate wings suddenly unfurled in mid-air.

‘In that instant, air resistance surged, and my descent slowed, yet I, who couldn’t fly, found myself utterly unable to stabilize my form, even with every ounce of my strength.’

‘As the relentless spinning and acceleration intensified, my consciousness began to rapidly wane.’

In that critical, life-or-death moment, my body’s instincts finally seized control.

Each muscle within my wings, no longer requiring conscious manipulation, began to coordinate and exert force with innate precision.

A mere second before I would have crashed violently to the ground, I finally ceased my descent.

I hovered steadily and gracefully in mid-air, just a short distance above the earth.

‘So that’s how it is…’

Once I fully regained my bearings, I profoundly understood the sensations emanating from my wings as they operated purely on instinct.

It was an entirely different experience from the stiff, deliberate flapping I had previously attempted.

“You truly are an angel!”

Sally let out a gasp of astonishment, even forgetting her usual respectful address.

Brook and Amos, meanwhile, were utterly dumbfounded.

They had initially assumed my fall from the sky meant certain death, only for the outcome to defy all their expectations.

“Roar—!”

Upon seeing an angel suddenly descend, the Minotaur’s attention was completely drawn to me.

It even disregarded Brook, who stood stunned before it, and hefted its axe, charging to strike me down.

I evaded with a swift movement in mid-air, my wings naturally altering their motion to carry me away from my original position, requiring no conscious thought to control.

‘Indeed, only instinct is needed!’

Having learned to fly, I excitedly flashed to the Minotaur’s side, delivering a powerful kick to its swinging arm.

A pained shriek tore from the Minotaur as its grip faltered, and the great axe was sent flying from its hand by my kick.

My strike had been effective; the Minotaur was disarmed!

I had achieved a goal that had previously eluded all our efforts with such ease that I couldn’t help but question reality itself.

The recoil sent a faint ache through my foot, but I had no mind for such minor details.

I stared at my hands in bewilderment, momentarily unable to comprehend why my strength had suddenly returned.

‘Could it be because of my wings?’

I suddenly recalled that every time I had tested my strength before, my wings had been visible, and I hadn’t tried again after they had been hidden.

‘This must mean the source of my strength lies within the wings on my back!’