The Swordswoman's Turmoil

We stepped into the chamber and saw a space many times larger than the griffon's room. The orbs from our Illume spells weren't able to reach the far end of the room, so we advanced cautiously, keeping focused on what was in front of us.

Before we reached the center, I moved in front of Maya and held her back.

"RRRRRRRAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"…Hold on… something isn't right here…" I whispered. I was relieved that Maya also sensed the strange disturbance and didn't try to break my restraint on her.

The ground started to shake profoundly, and a silhouette appeared from the shadows. The minotaur stomped its way toward us, but something was definitely wrong…

I didn't notice the issue so much back with the griffon, but now thinking back, that griffon was twice as fast as usual. And with the minotaur towering over us, it looked twice as big and tall.

Sweat started to drip over my forehead. I thought Maya was acting strangely, but the bosses on this dungeon trip were even stranger.

We have to get out of here. It's my duty as the guide to protect the amateur hero, and we can always come back again after more training, once we figure out what is going on here.

"…Maya… when I give you the signal, run back the other way… now g…"

Before I finished the order, Maya charged towards the minotaur, unsheathing her sword in the process. "Hahhhhh!!! You're mine!!!"

"Maya, wait!" I yelled. It was too late to run now, so I quickly scanned the room to find a spot to perch on and ready my bow.

I felt fortunate that the chamber's layout was the same as always, so I found a rock close to the entrance that supported my attack stance. Although the minotaur had grown substantially, I was able to remain calm and nocked the first arrow.

I launched arrow after arrow, confident that at least half would hurt vital spots. But to my amazement, the minotaur was able to dodge at the right moments to evade any critical hits. There also were no notable sword cuts anywhere on the minotaur's flash. What was worse, Maya seemed to have scratches all over her armor.

The situation looked grim, as we weren't able to get in any strong attacks. I had to find some way to coordinate our strategies and fast.

"Maya! Try to get its attention, so I can score a critical hit. Then strike as hard as you can at where my arrow goes in. Got it?!"

"S-sure!" She started to breathe more heavily. "I'll give it a shot!"

Maya led the minotaur towards the rear of the chamber. Once I saw my opportunity, I launched 2 arrows, one right after the other, deep into the back of the beast.

"Yes!" I shouted. The successful hits staggered the minotaur long enough for Maya to dash around to the boss' back and execute 2 rapid stabs at the spots where the arrows were lodged.

Although we finally made some real progress, I felt an even more deep-seated fear swell up inside me. The minotaur turned around, and I saw its fur shoot straight away from its body, and its teeth expand.

"Mayaaaaaa!" I immediately leaped from my rock and barely missed being squashed by the minotaur's pounce. "Keep your distance! I need time to figure this out!"

I didn't know if Maya heard me, as it looked like she was trying her hardest just to even squeak by with her evasive maneuvers.

Fear had set in long ago, but now confusion pervaded heavily on my mind. The minotaur was never this ferocious before, so why now? The beast wasn't supposed to provide such a great challenge, especially with my years of experience in this dungeon. And knowing the potential Maya had, I believed our victory was all but guaranteed. Something's terribly wrong here, but what should I do?

I continued to hit a few critical spots, and Maya stabbed further where the arrows landed. But the minotaur wasn't backing down and kept up its ferocity.

There had to be something I could do, but what? Even I was starting to feel the drain from the fight. Fortunately, I avoided any fatal wounds so far. Still, I also started to endure my share of scrapes and gashes from the minotaur's blows. The more the fight dragged on, the more worried I felt about not withdrawing.

Although Maya's attacks still appeared powerful enough, she was slowing down and breathing more heavily. She looked like she wouldn't be able to last much longer, but I didn't call her back to retreat, even against my growing concerns. That girl was trying so hard out there, so would it have been right for me to take away her chance from such a valiant effort?

After Maya swiped at another arrow spot, I then noticed a glow from the minotaur's head. What would happen if its head was cut off? In all my past trips, I never considered removing the head. Was that our final option to survive this?

"Maya! Try to distract it and keep its neck open! Use your best skill to cut off the head when you get your chance!"

"Huf…huf…huf… OK! I'll try with my best skill!"

Maya leaped back towards the rear of the chamber. The minotaur eventually had its back turned to me, everything above the shoulders wide open. "Multi-Cannon!" I fired off my strongest archer skill and launched 4 arrows right into the minotaur's neck in 2 cross-shaped patterns.

The minotaur dropped its arms for a split second, but that was all the time Maya needed. "Tornado Slash!!!"

The head flew off and landed on the rock next to me. The rest of the minotaur's body then fell onto the ground.

"Phewwww… That was way tougher than I'm used to. I'm glad you were able to work with me, Maya." My body was so exhausted from jumping around that much during the battle, and I felt quite relieved we survived a more grueling challenge than I imagined.

But Maya didn't respond back. I looked up at her, but her head was down, staring at the minotaur. Not only that, but she repeatedly stabbed her sword into the minotaur's chest.

Deeply concerned for Maya, I cried out to her. "Maya!"

As I approached Maya, I heard her mumbling, "still not good enough… I'm still not good enough… I'm still not good enough… I'm still not…"

I wanted to put my hands on her shoulders to calm her down, but I tried shouting her name again, "Maya! Maya! Mayaaaaaaaaaa!!!"

That last call snapped Maya out of her trance, and she finally looked up at me. But then, she released her sword and covered her face. "…What am I doing?! I'll never be strong enough!"

"W-w-wait a minute, Maya! What are you talking about?!"

"I need to be strong enough… to fulfill my mission! I need to rid this world of that nightmare, or else the guilt I've felt for so long will never go away!"

"What do you mean, 'that nightmare'? And what is this guilt you've been holding onto?"

Maya didn't answer back immediately but started to tremble. I waited for her, but after a minute, I directed Maya to sit down on a nearby rock.

I sat at the rock next to hers and turned my gaze back to the chamber's entrance, looking away from Maya. Suddenly, I felt an arm on my upper back and a large bundle of hair on my neck and shoulders.

Even though a bit of confusion about Maya's sudden outburst set in, I sensed something else coming from her. Amidst the strife she was dealing with from this dungeon, she exuded such warmth, and it was a touch I hadn't experienced before. Akane had embraced me countless times in the past. Still, Maya's presence behind me felt so surreal beyond my wildest imagination.

I began to turn my head, but Maya said, "…Please don't look at me right now… Please, I beg you…"

I complied with her plea and continued to stare in the opposite direction. I heard sniffling and her attempts to hold back her tears. She seemed so ominous earlier in the dungeon, but now she was starting to fall apart. I wanted to turn around and console her so much, but I thought it wiser to stay where I was and let her be.

After a couple minutes, Maya said, "…I was supposed to be a hero… that is true, but… I was meant to be a mage… My mom and dad were mages, powerful mages… When I turned 7, they taught me the 3 Basic Magic spells… it felt so natural for me to learn them… it only took me 10 days… and my mom and dad were so happy for me…

"A few days after that… my mom, dad, and I went to the mage school and enrolled me in the beginners' class… They saw the natural talent I had for magic… and thought it was best for me to study more…

"Everyone at the school was so excited to have such a prodigy… and my mom and dad were the happiest of all… I couldn't help smiling so much… I was going to make my mom and dad so happy and follow in their footsteps…"

Maya paused for a minute, trying to regain a little bit of composure. But I could tell she was still trying to fight back the tears.

"But on the way home… that's when it happened… when my nightmare began…

"We were in the carriage… talking about what to look forward to on the first day of school… Then the carriage was hit by a tremendous blast… rattling us inside and then launching us into the air… It landed on its side… All of us were pretty shaken… I could barely keep my eyes open…

"My dad managed to cast a spell and break a hole in the back of the carriage… and he and my mom were able to crawl out… They were about to get me out too, but… but… but…"

Maya paused again, now trembling harder than before. I tried to calm her down and said, "Maya, it's alright. Really, I'm here for you, and I'll hear all you have to say. So please, go on."

Maya took a deep breath and continued, "…That's when he showed up… the one who murdered my mom and dad, Rellik… I was trying to tell them to watch out… but I was barely awake and couldn't even move… My mom and dad had their backs turned to Rellik… He grabbed their necks and lifted them off the ground… And I watched him… squeeze the life out of them… their eyes filled with so much fear… right in front of me…"

I was unable to hold my gasp of horror. It started to make sense about Maya's response to my own father's death, "How fortunate for you…" As much as I could sympathize with Maya's plight, there was no way I could truly understand the depths of the despair she felt, seeing her parents killed the way they did right in front of her eyes.

I was about to reply back to her, but she continued again. "…Rellik then threw my mom and dad to the ground… He laughed as if in ecstasy… and then said, 'The strongest mages ever are out of the way, so no one can stop me. Mwahahahaha!'… He then looked at me and said, 'I don't need to kill you. You'll never be stronger than those two, so live your minuscule life until the day you're killed, too.'… And then he fled off, and I lost consciousness…

"I woke up three days later on a hospital bed… The doctor confirmed that my mom and dad were dead… Fortunately, my uncle visited me while I was still asleep… I knew that he was a proficient swordsman… so I begged him to train me as a swordswoman…

"To this day, I can't forgive myself for being so weak… and not being able to do anything that day… and knowing I would still be weak if I followed in my mom's and dad's footsteps… I'm so grateful to my uncle that he agreed to take me under his wing… From that point on, I learned the ways of the sword and never again stepped foot into the mage school…"

My mind felt like a whirlwind at that moment. I could tell Maya loved her parents so much, and to have lost them in that way. It was just too tragic. I didn't know what exactly to say, so all I could reply with was "I wish there was something I could do… I'm so sorry…"

Maya sniffled again and shook her head, her hair ruffling over me. No more words came from her, and I decided to stay still and quiet for her. It was the only thing I could possibly do for her at that moment, to continue offering this tortured soul a shoulder to lean on.

After a few minutes, Maya stood and went to retrieve her sword. Although the battle against the minotaur drained both of us, neither Maya nor I had any severe injuries, so I considered us fortunate.

I gathered up all the remaining arrows into my quiver and was about to walk out of the chamber, when Maya said, "H-H-Haru, please wait… Do you want to know why the minotaur was more powerful than you're used to?"