While changing the baby’s diaper and dressing it so the wings don’t get in the way, I notice a birthmark like a red sun near where the wings connect to its body.
I try to remember if the silver-haired guy had it too, but I never saw his back to begin with.
In any case, I’m ready, so I fix it to my stomach and leave.
As I go deeper into the forest, monsters get stronger. Their species change too, but they get bigger, and a lot of the time more than one appears.
A bipedal bull appears. This is what you’d call a minotaur.
It has wings like a dragon on its back, and it’s as big as the trees around it.
When I think of minotaurs, I think of something as tall as a bull that stood up, so this size is unexpected.
But isn’t this really something straight out of legend?
These show up in games and anime all the time.
As a show of respect, I get down from Fuuma to fight.
I leave the baby with Fuuma, who nods and quietly steps away with the baby on its back.
It understands that the minotaur is a pretty strong monster. The pressure exuding from its giant body is no joke, and neither is the magic energy inside it.
And more importantly, the giant axe in its hand is releasing a faint white light, ringing alarms in my head that tell me to be careful.
I hold up the longsword, and slowly close the distance.
It must have noticed me, but shows no sign of attacking. It’s facing me, but not holding up its axe. Is it a non hostile monster?
That question soon gets its answer.
There’s no lead up to it, it just suddenly swings its axe.
I didn’t even see it being raised. It’s beyond fast, it must be using magic or a skill.
I fly to the side to dodge the giant axe, and it destroys the ground with its impact.
My footing crumbles with big vibrations. I can’t stand, but there’s no need to panic.
I use Earth Magic to turn the collapsed ground into spears that are launched all at once.
From the minotaur’s point of view, its vision is filled with spears. With this many, even if I don’t deal damage, I should at least hit it.
Magic flows through the giant axe, and suddenly, all the spears stop.
I don’t get it. There was no lead up to it, the spears just stopped as if the scene shifted.
And the minotaur disappeared.
It’s next to me.
It sweeps the axe to try to cut me in half.
I dodge by flying up, but this would’ve been really dangerous if Spatial Gasp didn’t pick it up.
I feel the movement of magic energy, and use Wind Magic too.
Magic energy gathers in its mouth, and it unleashes a cold breath towards me in the air.
Then I make a dozen thin tornadoes that I send towards it.
They clash against the breath.
The shock it causes freezes this area, but I don’t have the time to care. Also, the minotaur is on the move.
It swings its axe with such deadly force that it makes a guillotine seem cute.
I block with the greatsword, but can’t deflect as it smacks me into the ground.
The impact forces all the air out of my lungs, but that’s it. I controlled the ground below me before the impact to soften it, and that combined with the sturdy longsword means I don’t take damage.
“Limit Break.”
I also use Physical Strengthening to repel the giant axe.
As I get up, I slash at the minotaur. But it’s not there anymore, and it’s ready to swing down again.
I control its magic energy to stop it, and create a gust of wind that changes the trajectory of the axe before taking a lot of distance.
I wish I had time to think, but it won’t allow me that.
Another cold breath approaches.
I didn’t feel the flow of magic energy. Maybe its exceptional control of magic energy prevented me from sensing it, but that’s highly unlikely.
I land and create a rock wall.
Then I infuse the greatsword with magic energy, and when the breath clashes against the wall, I send a projectile slash at the minotaur that’s to my side.
It screams. The projectile slash didn’t bisect it, but it caused a deep wound.
At this point, I understand. It either stops time or has an ability close to it. I can’t explain the way it suddenly appears next to me otherwise.
I’ve seen similar time stop abilities a lot in manga.
It’s clearly a cheat ability, but it’s either not very intelligent or has restrictions, because it’s not using it to its fullest.
There’s a lot of mass behind its attacks, but no technique.
Each attack can carve the ground, and I guess it doesn’t need technique for that, but that changes when an opponent that matches its power appears.
I infuse the longsword with magic energy, use Physical Strengthening to its fullest, take an attack head on, and deflect it.
The ground is destroyed, but I approach the minotaur and swing to cut its leg, but in a second it’s far away.
I unleash a projectile slash and cut a leg at the hip.
It lets out a beastly cry and a cold breath.
I block it with another rock wall, and cut at it again.
From here, it’s settled.
There’s nothing to see, I just need to be careful about its mass, time stop, and the cold breath.
It lets out a cry as it falls.
It was as tough and resilient as it was big, and had regeneration abilities, but it fell to my incredibly sharp longsword.
This longsword that belonged to the silver-haired guy is so great that it’s actually on par with a time stop ability.
If I faced this minotaur with the greatsword of fortitude, it might have taken me longer to beat it. And I wouldn’t have been able to hold back.
It’s thanks to the longsword that it was so easy.
When I faced the gray-haired guy, I felt I only survived because he was playing with me. I lost in technique, power, magic, and the weapon I had. I never had a chance to win.
I still don’t know why he let me go, but I don’t want to face him again. Will he let me go again if I hand the baby back to him? Kind of seriously.
With that hope in mind, said baby starts crying kyururu.
The area around me had its ground carved and its trees are gone, but the baby is fine because Fuuma protected it.
I put the minotaur’s corpse and its giant axe in my Storage space, and take out milk as I walk towards the baby.
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