21 – The Cave Keeper

"How dare you do this to me..." The keeper growled, rising to his feet. A giant sword whose size was even taller than him was formed in his hand.

"Sorry." Ritor shrugged. "I hate to think, let alone answer questions."

"You have violated the rules of this cave." The keeper points forward his sword, which is the same color as Ritor's. "Accept the consequences."

Finn was already walking backward, preparing to flee, but Ritor shouted, "Don't you run away, Finn! Or I will chase you to the end!"

Finn shuddered, choosing to stand still in his place instead.

Ritor wasn't sure he could find a way out fast without Finn. So, the minotaur issued that threat, even though he was bluffing.

Both the keeper and Ritor advanced together and clashed their weapons. Both are slightly staggered but can attack again in an instant.

The battle ensued, continued to make the sounds of clashing metal. Finn had a hard time following their agile movements. Ritor's massive body, and the keeper's gigantic sword, didn't hinder them.

Those two kept jumping, slashing, and stabbing.

"Great! You are a worthy opponent for me!" Ritor laughed. "This is so fun!"

The keeper kicked Ritor's knee, forcing the minotaur to his knees. Then, he swung his sword at the horned creature's head.

A deafening clang filled the cave as Ritor blocked the attack with his weapon's hilt. The keeper pressed his greatsword, but Ritor didn't flinch.

"Even your strength is on par with mine," Ritor smirked as he found his hands shaking against the attack. "But, can you fight this?"

With a swift motion, Ritor strangled the keeper's neck, but his other hand still held the axe.

"Oh, sorry." Ritor was still able to hold his opponent's sword. "Actually, my strength is not the same as yours."

The keeper tried to get rid of Ritor's stranglehold, initially using only one hand. However, unable to take it anymore, he let go of his sword.

His two hands struggled hard to free Ritor's hands from his neck but to no avail.

"This is because I haven't fought in hundreds of years." The keeper began to have difficulty breathing. "I can equally fight you if my abilities are still like the past."

"Huh, a pathetic excuse." Ritor laughed again. "Just admit that you are inferior to me…."

Ritor frowned as he felt his opponent begin to release his fingers. Could this figure also lie about his strength?

The minotaur threw his opponent up as hard as possible until it hit the ceiling. Then, he hit the keeper's body as it fell down, like hitting a baseball.

The impact caused by the blow made Finn cringe hard. The keeper's body slammed into the cave wall, causing large cracks and a thunderous thud.

The figure's helmet was also thrown off, sending her long pale-purple hair down. Ritor was about to attack again but gave up. The minotaur was stunned by her pale face, which displayed elegant features.

Ritor didn't expect a beautiful doll-like woman to carry out such a brutal battle earlier.

"Holy shit…." Finn hissed. "The legendary keeper is a woman?"

Ritor was still busy with his thoughts, then remembered the warning from Lord Vorn. He can't hurt, let alone kill humans.

Is this keeper a human? However, she said that she had not fought for hundreds of years. A human cannot live that long.

However, Ritor remembered again that he did not like to think.

The keeper fell from the cave wall. She got up with a trembling body.

"The thing about a keeper of this place…." With just one move, she fixed her broken left arm. Her voice is still deep, but with a slight change, something that makes her sound more feminine. "…they won't be able to die…."

Ritor grabs Finn and takes him away before the keeper can finish.

That woman froze, watching Ritor's back disappear behind the intersection.

"Hey, where are you going!?" She took her sword with fiery rage and started chasing the minotaur. "Don't expect you to get out of this place easily!"

Because the keeper looks like a human, Ritor considers her as one.

"Errrr….. Come to think of it, she might be able to block us by using this cave magic." Finn, who was carried under Ritor's armpit, squeaked. "Earlier, she was able to move us to her place, after all…. Ah, turn right."

Furthermore, Finn continued to point the way to the minotaur while the keeper continued to scream in the distance.

"After this, you have to turn left…." Finn felt that the path they were taking did not show any irregularity, still the same as when he ran away back then. "It seems that since you have brought the Ragmonuk weapon, the magic has no effect on you."

Ritor used his weapon to slash at one of the skeleton soldiers blocking him.

The minotaur continued to run, and the keeper's screams grew fainter. Sometimes, he bumped into several skeletons that blocked his way. They weren't a problem at all for the minotaur, of course.

Finn breathed a sigh of relief. "After the descent in front of us, we will find a way out..."

On the descent he was referring to, the man screamed in horror when he found a large army of skeletons. There were even more of them than when Ritor had arrived in the cave.

But it did not affect Ritor. Instead, he ran faster. Finn hastily covered his head, bracing himself for the impact.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!!!" The man screamed again with all his might.

Ritor rammed the army of skeletons, sending their bones into the air. This time, some of their weapons managed to slash the minotaur's body, but he didn't care.

He kept going, running like a raging bull.

As soon as Ritor was done with the skeleton soldiers, Finn opened his eyes to see what was happening. That man breathed a sigh of relief again when he found the way out was close enough.

"Please, don't bring me to do something like that again." Finn rubbed his bruised right cheek. Maybe he got hit by a skull or a mace from one of those skeleton soldiers.

"I doubt we'll meet again after this." The minotaur jumped from the cave while the screams of the keeper could still be heard, although now it was extremely faint.