Chapter 67 - The Minotaur (3)

<p>[All Stats decreased by 2.]<br/>[Due to Klum's Reincarnation, DEX is reduced to 1.]<br/>[Underdog increase ignores the effects of Intimidating Roar.]<br/>[Warning! Mana Rebound is beginning!]<br/>[* Note: Snap out of it! *]<br/><br/> Klum still couldn't even comprehend the messages, simply swiping them away with an unconscious thought.<br/><br/> He was so consumed, the pain of his own lightning biting into his skin didn't register to him, as he dashes forward again, swinging his blade horizontally in three wide slashes. 'Passing Stormfront.'<br/><br/>[Named Monster Beheem has activated Skill Bound+.]<br/><br/> "Ha!" he exclaims as he leaps over the first two blows. He brings the shortened axe down on the boy's blade. A loud crack fills the area, and a haunting silence follows directly after.<br/><br/> The tip of UnHoly Raze falls off, clattering onto the stone loudly. "You were not so weak! I like you, human. However, it seems our fun has come to an end."<br/><br/> Eniyala staggers to her feet to try to leap in, but the debuff and the pressure from the life or death situation caused her to hesitate. She wasn't used to life-threatening events like this. It had always been controlled, and she had never gone against someone so much stronger.<br/><br/> But for someone like Klum, who had spent half of a month fighting for his life every day, alone, this pressure was the equivalent of a professional swimmer in a kitty pool.<br/><br/> As the minotaur swung the axe to cleave him in half, the boy jumps backwards, arching his back and swinging his feet over his head until he lands clumsily on all fours, the remains of his blade landing in front of him as he had let go in order to use both hands to catch himself.<br/><br/> A stinging sensation slowly spreads on the left side of his torso, and touching the side of his chest he feels something wet. <br/><br/>[User bleeding. Health will drain to: 14/67]<br/><br/> Dark blood sticks to his fingers as he looks at them, but no concern shows itself on his face. Instead, he picks up UnHoly Raze with his left hand, staring at Beheem, who chuckles.<br/><br/> "Not giving up, are you? I like this human, even if it's futile!"<br/><br/> He bounds forward again, and the second his hooves lift off the ground, Klum holds out his right hand. The sigil on his forearm glows brightly, displaying the mark of the Sword Saint.<br/><br/> "Come, Holy Rend."<br/><br/> Immediately, solid rays of white light shoot from his hand, twirling and melding with each other to form into a perfect version of the broken sword in his left hand. Rather than the white arcs of pure energy, the energy is black, a stark contrast to the pure white light the sword is emitting. <br/><br/> On a crumbling rooftop, a formless figure covered in moving shadows gasps as he watches the scene. "He really is… but how? He barely meets the qualifications… Whatever, I have to let 'him' know."<br/><br/> Melting downwards, the figure becomes one with the shadows and disappears.<br/><br/> Down in the wide open area in front of the town hall building, the minotaur snorts at the light show and swings his blade at the dark boy. 'He may have a dark seed within him somehow, just like me, but going against me means he must die.'<br/><br/> The black lightning coats his body again, and he zips forward under the strike, swinging the glowing blade at the minotaur's hip. <br/><br/>[Critical Mark has been hit. Dmg was adjusted to 500%.]<br/><br/> SCHWIP!<br/><br/> "AAARGH!" the monster screams, crashing down as his leg separates from his body, leading from the hip to the bottom of his groin. Blood rains heavily onto the stone, and the minotaur looks at the boy with eyes full of hate. "You cut off my d—"<br/><br/> The castrated Bull is unable to finish his sentence as with another loud slash, his jaw and tongue fall next to his severed leg. Unable to speak, it screams gutturally, a scream filled to the brim with hate and pain. Dark mist begins leaking from the outpour of blood spilling from the holes, as the minotaur's beady eyes lock onto Klum's bloodshot one, with dark blood flowing steadily like tears down his cheek. The bloodlust of both clash against each other, rendering even Gaslion immobile as they glare at one another. A blast of Dark magic bursts from the minotaur's body, threatening to shove the boy back, but he holds his ground.<br/><br/>[The user's Dark Affinity is reacting to Named Monster Beheem's 'Dark Seed.']<br/>[User learned the Skill Detect Dark.]<br/>[Skill Detect Dark is forcibly being activated.]<br/>[Warning! High levels of Dark Magic detected! Distance: 13 inches]<br/><br/> Several messages pop up at once, once again ignored by the consumed boy. He watches, seemingly calm, as the minotaur's body distorts and warps, the only unmoving part the eyes locked onto Klum until it turns into a giant lumpy ball of flesh, and the eyes are covered by meat rolling over it.<br/><br/> "What in the blue fuck?" Eniyala mutters, staring at the abomination towering over Klum. The disciple raises both swords at the ready, preparing for an attack he feels is coming.<br/><br/> It doesn't take long, as a sharp tendril of black mass flies at him, and he swipes at it with UnHoly Raze. But, his Instinct had failed to factor in the fact the blade had been shortened several inches and wasn't nearly as sturdy, and the tendril only meets slight resistance before it snaps the end of the jagged cracks in the sword, breaking nearly half of it off. It continues flying at Klum, who barely raises up Holy Rend to block the blow as it slams into his left shoulder nearly full force. <br/><br/> A loud crack sounds from the joint as he tumbles on the ground, driving his toes in to stop and steady himself. As he stands, his left arm dangles like a wet noodle, and he stares at it blankly for a moment before shrugging with his good shoulder.<br/><br/> Everyone turns their attention back to the blackened meat ball, which is now forming into a different figure.<br/><br/>[Warning! Several of Named Monster Beheem's Skills are evolving!]<br/>[Warning! Stat Points for Named Monster Beheem are rising!]<br/>[Warning! Named Monster Beheem is evolving!]<br/><br/> Tightly woven, slim legs form first, and the feet are now human-shaped, with bony hoof pieces lining the top of tendons and knuckles. The toenails curve into sharp, black nails that cut cleanly into the stone below. The torso forms next, along with the arms, which are similarly molded like the legs — slender, but jam-packed full of muscle. Instead of large, meaty hands, the palms and fingers are extremely extended, reaching almost to the monster's knees. Like before, the would-be-hooves are now boney bits lining the tendons and each knuckle of both hands, and long claws on the fingertips extend the total reach to almost halfway down its long calves.<br/><br/> Finally, the head forms, a more compressed version of the minotaur's previous head. The snout is much smaller and shorter, and it has no lips to speak of, revealing two rows of razor sharp teeth. The wide and long jaw has bent and contorted to be more of a square human jaw, which moves up and down, and side to side as the beast gets used to it. The beady eyes are reshaped into inverse colored slanted eyes, white irises and pupils dilating and undilating to refocus on the boy. The bull horns have turned upwards, and rightfully represent the look of devil horns, the tips pointing from the sky as they turn sharply once extending out of its forehead.<br/><br/> The scars and coarse fur are gone; smooth, black skin coats the entire body, and long, jet black hair that slowly flows and ripples like water reaches down to the small of the lengthy back of the creature.<br/><br/> "Young human, I thank you," a suave man's voice leaves the being's throat as it parts its teeth. Though the mouth and tongue don't move, the voice comes out clearly and well-pronounced, startling Lynsel, Eniyala, and Gaslion.<br/><br/> "Now, allow me to grant you a quick death. I see you are suffering, and I wish to end that for you as compensation for allowing me to reach my greater form."<br/><br/>[Warning! Skills have finished evolving.]<br/>[Warning! Intimidating Roar has forcibly evolved to Genocider's Aura.]<br/>[Genocider's Aura has activated.]<br/>[All Stats have decreased by 5. (Underdog increase is not affected by decrease.)]<br/><br/><br/> While everyone's Statbooks only showed one message — (All Stats decreased by 5.) — there was one person who was able to read all of Klum's Statscreen messages that he constantly discarded. By opening her Statbook, she quickly swipes to a page that held the open messages held behind Klum's head, as well as one message from Raeki's Statbook. As Klum only swiped the messages behind his vision, as he didn't have enough sense to close them, they stayed, while Raeki was either unconscious or dead, meaning he couldn't clear out his. As she hurriedly reads through Klum's, ignoring Raeki's in fear, she sucks air through her teeth and clicks her tongue heavily. "Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck."<br/><br/> Her father gives her a quizzical look, and she quickly reads out the messages. His eyebrows raise in alarm. "We have to get those two out of here," he mouths to her and gestures to Lynsel and Raeki. Eniyala nods, trying to formulate a plan. Blood still drips from her lip slowly, and deep in thought, she begins gnawing on the open cut again, worsening it.<br/><br/> She's snapped out of it by a hand on her shoulder, and Gaslion gives her a reassuring nod. "You got this," he says quietly.<br/><br/> She stares at him for a second, then nods back. 'Steel your resolve, Eni," she thinks as she extends her fingers. Blue rings of fire slowly form below her knuckles, and sigils form on top of them. Chains slowly snake out, two of them making their way to her father and Raeki.<br/><br/> "Ah, you must be my main target, Miss," the true monster notes, flashing past Klum, who swings Holy Rend at it to no avail. His movements are becoming sluggish; Eniyala can see his own lightning beginning to bite through his skin, and it's a miracle his eye is still open. 'There's two demons in front of me.' The thought enters her mind, and she realizes that it's true, looking up at the monster to see two outstretched wings on its back, resembling the skinny and thin flaps of a bat.<br/><br/> "Ah, well. I'll kill you and get it out of the way, finish off the boy, and then I can do as I please!" the creature says cheerily, conjuring a thinner, more refined black axe over its bony knuckles.</p>