Chapter Twenty Two - Part One: Battle at the Forge

Eriene's location was pinging from Kaviah's workshop.

It was about twenty blocks away from the museum, but their enhanced endurance and speed had them dodging pedestrians and jumping car bonnets with ease. What should have taken at the very least twenty minutes was about ten - which Leta used the entire sprint to think to her self 'What the hell am I doing?' on repeat - Simon leading to a graffiti covered street in a rougher part of town.

He through the door open and the sharp tang of metal and soot hit their noses, a sweat forming as they pushed into a building that was sweltering with the heat of multiple furnaces.

The sound of metal striking concrete and flesh mixed with barks and growls that Leta recognized easily as Loupgaru. The electricity was out for most of the building, the pair guided by Leta's night vision and what little light managed to pepper through windows.

As they followed the sound of a fight, the temperature continued to rise until it almost felt like they were standing next to an active volcano, the walls reflecting an ominous orange light.

Simon rounded the corner to the main forge first, pulling from hidden pockets in his jacket a set of daggers with studded knuckle guards that she recognized as World War II trench knives.

The room was large, the size of a small warehouse, with four separate forages that wavered like a mirage with their heat.

On the far wall was Kaviah, face hard as she brandished two teghas that glowed orange as if they had just been pulled from the fire. Barehanded, she twirled the super heated metal as she squared off against four snarling Loupgaru. At her feet were the bodies of three other beasts that had failed to bring her down, leaving the floor slippery with their blood.

Crouched against the wall behind her was Eriene, the old woman sweat soaked and clutching her left shoulder, but otherwise alive much to their relief.

At the Loupgaru's backs were two monsters Leta had yet to go up against, but she easily recognized from ancient stories.

The pair were tall and were as heavily muscled as professional body builders, but covered in coarse hair that got progressively thicker as it neared their head, where two thick horns protruded from their temples. Ripped pants and basketball shorts were the only clothing they war, exposing a wide chest heavy with muscle and feet that ended wide bovine hooves.

Black irises so large that you could barely see the white of their eyeballs turned to the new comers, and thick lips pulled back to bellow a challenge past flat teeth as they brandished crude clubs.

"Minotaur…" Leta breathed in shock before stealing herself for the coming attack.

The Minotaur with the basketball shorts charged, tongue lolling out of it's mouth as tore up the warehouse floor in her direction.

"Holy f***k!" She screamed, diving to the side as the behemoth came charging past, her skin stinging with bits of concrete that kicked up in it's wake.

Although it was at the very least 300 kilograms of pure rage, the Minotaur was as nimble as a cat, which Leta found out when the beast stopped on a dime, turned to her, and in a blink dove at her horns first.

"Sh**!"

She rolled to the side, a terrified scream leaving her when she saw that the move had left her directly in the path of the the monster's club as it came sailing at her face.

Her arms went up reflexively and took the brunt of the attack to her forearms, a single heart beat all the time that she had to register white-blue sparks over her forearms before the blow threw her back against the side wall.

She screamed as her still healing rib broke again on impact, the wind getting knocked out of her as the pain of a rib stabbing into her lungs heated her chest.

[HOST HAS RECEIVED BLUDGEONING DAMAGE FROM MINOTAUR.]

[DAMAGED TO RIB HAS BEEN UPGRADED FROM CRACKED TO BROKEN.]

[REROUTING NANITES FOR EMERGENCY REPAIR.]

The burning of her rib digging into her lung immediately disappeared, but the relief was short lived as Leta looked up to see the Minotaur holding one meaty paw to it's snout, shaking it's head back and forth as if it had been stung by a bee.

It turned furious black gaze back at her and bellowed before charging again with unadulterated murder in it's eyes.

~MASTER!~

"Oh, f***!" Leta shouted as she brought her hands up as the beast rocketed towards her. The pauldrons flowed down her arms, gathering in her palms before jutting forward.

Like the thorn of god, Inimus stabbed into the beast, it's blade splitting into three parts to become a corseque and digging deep into the beast's thick hide just to the right of it's heart.

The Minotaur screamed in pain, it's momentum carrying it forward until the pommel of the spear caught the wall and it could go no further.

With her own fear and anger burning in her throat, Leta focused her Electric Misconduct skill, praying not to have a repeat of yesterday's Loupgaru attack.

The stylized circuit leaves on the shaft glowed white blue before a blast of super heated electricity shot through the Minotaur. The beast's back arched, eyes bulging as thousands of volts of electricity tore it apart from the inside out. The smell of burning hair and meet assaulted her nose as the down on it's chest caught fire.

After an anguished scream, the Minotaur listed to the side as it's heart burst from within it's chest.

[MINOTAUR HAS BEEN DEFEATED.]

Leta exhaled in relief before a cry of pain caught her attention. While she had been dealing with the Minotaur, one of the Loupgaru had managed to get through Kaviah's guard and landed a swipe of it's claws on her forearm, causing her to drop one of her weapons.

Simon was still engaged against his Minotaur but it was a stalemate, as Simon moved too quick for the beast to land a deadly blow and the Judge's daggers to small to do serious damage.

Making a decision, Leta pulled her weapon from enemy with a grunted "F***, you're heavy." and headed for the Loupgaru pack.

One of the beasts snapped around at her approached and howled, teeth bared and claws extended.

"Challenge accepted, mother f*****!" She growled back, clenching her teeth in adrenaline-buoyed rage as she charged into another fight.