《King- A tale of pride》 New world- 1 Deep within the city that never sleeps, through the roads and past all the cars and busses stood a lonesome, grey and tall warehouse. With graffiti covering the vast majority of the bottom area, and the broken windows, the building seemed to be remarkably desolated. But inside the compound, a deal was going down. One with large consequences, regardless of whether or not it goes well, and even worse if it goes south. A deal between the Walhart gang and the Iraqas over the territory they both held claims for. The Walhart gang had been in charge of the area for over twenty years, with an almost iron fist dominance over it, before the Iraqas came along and started to work within their territory, taking away profits like a parasite takes nutrients from a body. While the Walhart gang had a much larger influence and manpower, the Iraqas were great at fighting in small batches for maximum power. They frequently used guerilla tactics to fight off waves of the Walhart gang. Eventually, after many months of fighting, they had decided to finally talk it out. They both had lost too many men, and continuing to fight would be a fruitless endeavor. And so they meet, wanting to put an end to their issues, and attempt to move on. But as humans are just that, they suffer for and from their sins. Inside the building stood a man. He was surrounded by a bunch of crates and piles of trash here and there around the warehouse. He was a tall, beefy, caucasian middle-aged with deep dark black hair and a full beard. His hair was slicked back slightly with a few strands refusing and sticking our. He wore a black tux with a red tie and a large fluffy tan fur coat over it all. This was Mark Walhart, leader of the Walhart gang. His red piercing eyes glared at his watch as he continued to wait. ¡°He¡¯s already late. That damn cunt.¡± he spoke out, listening to the echo of his voice bounce around the warehouse, completely empty of life other than him. A few more minutes passed, and just as he was about to leave, he heard a car pull up. Then another. Then another. He narrowed his eyes, as he swiftly pulled out a Beretta M9 from one of the holsters in his coat. As soon as he did, the large door to the warehouse opened as two men walked in. One was a beast of a man, six foot seven, large, wide shoulders, and with the muscles of a bear rippling underneath his white tank top and being see-through in his blue jeans. He was obviously of middle eastern descent and was wearing a grin along his face as he walked closer. The second was much smaller, standing at about five foot ten, with a lankier build to him. He had a rather handsome face, a strong chin, and dirty blond hair that he wore in a mess. He was wearing a blue suit and tie with a black trench coat surrounding it all. He had a smug look on his face, but his eyes gleamed a cold light that showed his true emotions to those who would notice. ¡°Thought we decided to come alone. What''s with the vans?¡± Mark asked, His eyes squinting at the two of them while his grip on the pistol increased ever so slightly, and his finger slowly moved to the trigger. ¡°Now now, no need to be so feisty. We DID come to this place for a truce no? Put away the gun, and let¡¯s settle this like any other business deal.¡± The smaller of the two, spoke up, seemingly trying to calm him down, but his eyes showed no such ideals of peace. ¡°The idea was to come alone. I don''t believe that you don''t have anyone else with you. Sorry if my lack of faith hurts.¡± Mark coldly replied, still keeping his hand on his gun. ¡°Well, if that''s what you want, so be it.¡± the shorter man sighed while replying and is on command doors opened with men charging in for one second before putting up guns and opening fire. Mark narry had a moment to blink before his body was full of holes, and bullets wriggling inside him. Mark¡¯s eyes just kept open, however, as they witnessed the fall and their own end. Just burning a bright crimson fire, as if to show off their ire. They just kept burning away, eating the light that came into his lifeless eyes, before they disappeared. -------------- Deep within the void lay a small white orb, floating through the endless dark expanses of the universe. It flew by stars, nebulas, and galaxies in its endless pursuit. It flew and flew, till it stopped. In the middle of nowhere. It was above a large green and blue world, with dots of gold and red sparse and few on its endless expanse. The orb started to descend upon it, floating down gently like a feather, but unmoved by the winds rapidly whistling around it like a vortex upon the earth. As it floated ever downward, it seemed to almost speed up, before it was dropping like a ten-ton rock. It SLAMMED down upon the rocky entrance of a small cave left in the wake of a mountain. And there it stayed. As it sat there, unmoving and unchanging, time flew by. Seasons came and went like the seconds in a day, and entire forests grew around the mountainous area, with hill surrounding the trees. The world grew, with flora and fauna popping up everywhere. As time passed, eventually a being came across the cave. A mighty beast of humanoid origin, with two arms, two legs, and a head. But that was where it stopped being human. It had no feet, but rather hooves to walk the earth. It had skin but said skin was covered by a forest of fur. Its body was a burly mess of muscles that are intertwined with each other. Its head was just as muscled and furry as the rest of its body, but it''s bovine head and black longhorns made it stand taller than most other minotaurs. It wore naught more than a simple loincloth for protection, but it was more than most could account for. In its hand was a large heavy sword, with naught but a simple design, though looking to be incredibly heavy. It had a simple pointed blade with a fine tip, and cutting sides, and a simple twohanded grip. The sword was in almost pristine condition if not for the cracks that had come to be from overuse. (think of the dragonslayer sword from Berserk. The one Guts used)This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. It was looking around, both of its eyes focused on its surroundings, and constantly searching. The fearsome eyes of the beast locked in on the orb, however, and refused to budge from it. The beast started to walk over to the orb, with an almost curious glint of emotion throughout its whole being. Its hooves clopped heavily against the natural stone floor, causing echoes faintly to relay the sound deep within the cavern. The monster stiffened, listening intently, before continuing to reach for the orb. As it grabbed hold, it froze. An almost lightning bolt-like experience shot through its arm, leaving it in shock as the orb slowly dissipated and flowed up its arm to its chest. As the moment wore on, the minotaur seemingly unfroze, with a glazed look in its eye as it stood there once more. Slowly, it rose from its internal stupor and shook off the feeling of confusion as it once more resumed looking for food. Upon finding nothing, it let out a small huff and began walking back the direction it came from, unbeknownst to it the small side passenger that had followed along. As the wee hours of the day passed overhead, and the beast had found little to eat, it began to head home, into the hills and trees. It wandered the forested areas that had long since been it''s home, rummaging through the wooded landscape like Theseus with the string in the labyrinth. As he swerved in between the trees that dotted the world around him, he came across the hills that surrounded The Pines. He walked out of the forest and came across one of the larger hills. He looked over his shoulder to make sure no one was watching before he took a knee and pulled away a bit of moss that revealed a small dark metal handle which he immediately pulled on. As he did so, moss broke and the image shattered, revealing a large wooden door that led downwards into a dark corridor. He swiftly entered, before shutting the door behind him with a soft click as the moss outside moved back and the door was locked. He began to descend the corridor, though pitch black, with perfect clarity as if it were just as bright as the outside. He came across a second door, this one metal, and walked up to it before knocking a special signal. 3, 3, 3...4...1. As soon as he finished knocking, a small hatch opened up near the top of the door revealing a pair of green eyes with light behind shining through just barely into the corridor. The hatch soon shut before the door itself was opened up and the minotaur walked through to meet with another of his family. His mate. While he stood tall with plenty of furs, she was far different. Instead of large, wide, and upwards facing horns, hers were much smaller, thinner, and were facing forward. She was a great deal smaller than he, but the size is often proved to be an inaccurate measure of strength. Packed within her small stature was enough strength to stand second only to her Husband in raw power. She had a glint in her eyes, as she looked him up and down before she focused on the blade that he carried with him. "hva skjedde med bladet ditt?" (What happened to your blade?) She asked him in a harsh voice, full of curiosity, yet a concern. Her eyes looked over from the blade as she searched his body for any wounds that he may have sustained. He said nothing while she looked over his entire body, ensuring that the mate she chose hadn¡¯t been mortally wounded in any way. When she finished he simply let out a loud grunt and spoke ¡° Jeg kjempet ikke mot noe. Bladet har v?rt sprukket i flere m?neder.¡± (¡°I didn''t fight anything. The sword has been cracking for months.) She glared at him a little, with a small pout emerging on her bovine, yet cute, face. ¡°Det er bare naturlig ? bekymre seg for kameraten din.¡± ("It''s only natural to worry about your mate.") She said as the worry and hints of anger flushed away from her face, as she stared more intently upon his heavily muscled body. ¡°Spesielt n?r han anstrenger seg slik ... s? ... Vanskelig.¡± ("Especially when he works so ... so ... Hard.")She had started to slightly bite at her lip, while her hand roved upon his broad and thick chest leaving small trails in the fur where they were. He said nothing, but as she continued he let out a large grin showing off all of his teeth, from the molars to the sharp wolf-like canines. He quickly grabbed onto her, lifting her up in his arms in a princess style carry, before walking her down the halls to his bedroom. All the while, she could feel a third hand poking her back before she was thrown onto the bed. And there she stayed, as the two began to make love as they were, happy, and free. ----- Within the mountainous ranges of Kala''Dum, there was a small forest which in itself was surrounded by hills, making for a very strange landscape. Inside one of the hills was a long cavern that leads through the dark to a small home. A home of beasts, where they roamed free with their family. Inside this home, lay a very pregnant ¡°Woman¡±. Though any sane man woman or child would immediately call upon a garrison if they were to see it. The monster was a minotaur and one that was soon to be due with a child. Specifically, a son. She was lying upon a large bed made of different materials ranging from hay to simple green leaves to provide comfort. She simply lay there, slowly stroking her own stomach as she imagined what her firstborn child would be like. Her own mother had told her many stories of what she was like when she was born, but she never actually saw any children. So naturally, she was worried about how the birth would go, and how he would turn out. As she continued to slowly think over and imagine, time flowed quickly, and soon enough the sound of knocking came again. As she opened her eyes from her mid daydreams, she stood up from her bed and began to carefully walk herself over to the door, before looking into the peephole. Her eyes widened with shock as the form she knew and loved, was standing in front of the doorway, with one hand on the door and another across his stomach, battered and bruised with blood oozing from the multiple cuts and lacerations across her body. She swung the door open, leaving a loud clang to ring through the air, but she payed it no mind as she swiftly grabbed hold of her mate and began pulling him inside while screaming ¡°HVA SKJEDDE?!" (¡°WHAT HAPPENED?!¡±) Though he didn''t respond as he was focusing all his attention onto just trying to breathe. He said nothing as he stumbled further into the home, barely managing to stay upright without the aide of his wife to keep him standing. He continued to say nothing the whole time, before he fell down upon the bed his wife had been in not a minute before and fading. New world- 2 (Third person POV) Galo: Year 336 of the Sun: Salirian Empire: Mountain Range of Kala¡¯Dum: The Pines: (Two Years Later) Within the pines striking metal hitting bones could be heard, along with the yelp and howls of an injured animal, before a humanoid shout cut out the sound. A man covered in armor and blood was breathing heavily while a woman was nearby casting waves of light that seemed to clean off the blood. The man was clearly a paladin judging by the armor he wore. He was wearing gold and silver plate armor that made him look almost like a living fortress. It had a banner on the chest area with the sigil of a Crow with an eye in its beak. The crow was golden and the background was white. The man was simultaneously wielding a large Warhammer with one flat side and a spiked side, along with a shield that also bore the same sigil as his banner. He had no helmet on as he let his dark brown hair fall down. He had glittering sapphire eyes and had a slightly deranged look in his eye as he watched the body of the giant wolf he had just killed bleed slowly out from the smashed pile of bones and raw muscles that it once called a head. The woman, with bright green eyes and long pink hair that stopped at about her chest, was most likely a priestess as she wore light cloth of white with a golden border that barely covered her body. It covered the vast majority of her chest but left little to the imagination as it was far too tight and the sides of her breasts were left open to be seen. She had no sleeves on her arms, nor her shoulders. She simply had some golden bracelets around her wrists. The cloth flowed down in the front in a single banner that completely revealed her thighs and calves while the banner ended a bit below the knee. The backside, however, was a different story. It was wider but only seemed to cover the crack while leaving the sides out in the open. after it reached the end of the ass it simply disappeared. A quick gust of wind would show a bystander everything she had to offer. In her hands she carried a long white staff with a purple crystal that sat atop it, glowing a faint pink light. She was simply smiling an innocent smile as she watched the battle, and giggled in an unnerving way once the man had finished. ¡°Godfrey, I think we should stop soon, after all, I can''t have you getting Too tired. I still need those muscles of yours for later.¡± The priestess told the paladin, now named Godfrey, in a seductive tone. Her voice was honeyed and sweet, Her dazzling eyes easily showed her inner thoughts as she was clearly wanting a nice place to steal him away to, and simply have some fun with him. Though he didn''t seem to want to, as he simply snorted before saying ¡°Now is not the time, Avia. You can save it till we finish our job.¡± meanwhile, on the other end of the spectrum. Godfrey¡¯s voice was gravelly and gruff with a lower voice. Avia simply pouted to herself, crossing her arms and making an annoyed face to the man. ¡°Fiiiiine. But when we get back, i''m not going to forgive you unless you give me at least an hour of cuddle!¡± She exclaimed back to the man, giving up for the moment but knowing she would get some of him later. The two of them were both adventurers who had been hired by the local town to hunt down some creatures who had been killing off their loggers, lumberjacks, and hunters who came into the forest to either find wood to continue construction or food to feed their town. They had farms, yes, but due to the recent drought, they had been having trouble. So it was only natural that they had hired someone when none of them came back. The two had come into the forest and almost immediately were attacked by beasts of incredible size. Dire Wolves, Ursine Bears, and oh so many swarms of giant insects. Even the rats were bigger than anywhere else, coming up to an average woman''s knee. (think ROUS-es) The trees themselves stood at much greater heights, often standing over a hundred feet tall. Each one seemed to be in direct competition with each other over the light that blessed the world, and because of that, the light that hit the floor was extremely dim and almost diluted from the trees, resulting in a forested walk that was covered in a green mist. They had been doing fine with killing off the monsters that roamed the grounds, but as they ventured deeper they began having a tougher time. More and more appeared, each stronger than the last, and appearing in packs. The wolf pack that had just attacked them nearly had overtaken them were it not for Avia using her spells. Nevertheless, they had a job to complete, and they had to do it. That''s all that mattered, and so they moved onwards. They continued battling for hours, before coming across a large cave in the side of the mountain, a simple spot, but one that could potentially provide refuge should they need to stay within the wooded forest the rest of the night. They ventured into it, simply looking around, before noticing a large incision deep at the bottom of the cave. Naturally, they followed their curiosity and delved within it, knowing that the forest would only get worse as night came. They followed the incision of rock and found a wide path through the rock, but hidden by the darkness. The path itself could easily have the two of them walk side by side and have plenty of space, but it was the darkness that was the issue. Avia, however, spoke a few quick words of power and soon enough a bunch of small balls of pure light exploded out of nowhere, lighting up the entire hall. And so they wandered. And wandered. And wandered. The path seemed to lead on forever, and as the hours wore on so did their patience. They were tired already from the fight but this was just boring. But it seemed their prayers were answered, as they soon came across a metal door just as their patience was about to wear out. ¡°What do you think this is to, Godfrey? Do you think this would lead to a big turn out for us?¡± Avia asked, in a more serious tone, quickly wondering what creature would have an actual metal door to their lair, and even more quickly realizing that most of them were extremely powerful. ¡°I don''t know. I can''t tell what it''s made of.¡± came Godfrey¡¯s quick reply, as he moved closer to the door. The door itself was made of some black metal, and was of grand size, easily ten feet tall if not larger, and even wider than the cavern. It was wide enough for a few carriages to go through, and still have space in between. The gate itself was incredibly intricate in its creation, with silver runes that seemed to tell a story in an ancient tongue. With broad, and very linear carvings, the runes were written across the door¡¯s archway, and different runes covering the doors themselves. Godfrey walked up to the door, a serious look adjourning his face as he slowly moved his hand over the grooves and runes before he began to push forward onto the door. The door didn''t budge, not even an inch. Naturally, Godfrey took this as a chance to once more test his strength. He quickly laid down his hammer and shield, preparing himself for such a strenuous activity. He laid both his hands upon the doors, bending in the knees and hips before he began to push. The ground beneath his feet began to lightly crack, his muscles straining hard against the door, and his veins bursting from his skin and showing on his face, which was crimson due to the massive blood flow. Slowly, the door began to move. Just inches at a time as Godfrey let out a hiss of hot air before the gate had opened enough for them to enter, at which point he stopped pushing and simply stood up as he was before. His face was covered in sweat, but he was smiling like a mad man. He turned back to Avia, who was looking at him with glitter in her eyes as she was slightly shaking with her hands together in front of her chest. Obviously confused by this, he asked, ¡°What in the name of all that is good is wrong with you?¡± to which he got the response of her tackling him with a hug. ¡°OMGOMGOMG! You looked so fucking sexy while you did that! If I could, I would tear off all that armor of yours and straddle your big fa-¡± She barely even got to start her tangent before she had a hand on her mouth, completely silencing her. Her eyes still shone through though, to which Godfrey simply chuckled before giving her a kiss on the forehead. ¡°Yes, yes. In time. But for now, let''s move on. We are almost done. I want to see where this gate leads. The runes on the gate are all in Jotun, and they tell a very interesting tale.¡± He said, turning to look at the gate again with anticipation for what lay beyond it. Avia calmed down quickly as he said that, very intently focusing on his words. ¡°Oh? And what tale would that be?¡± she said, quite intrigued. Godfrey didn''t say anything for a minute, simply looking at the gate and the impenetrable dark that lay in it. ¡°A tale of besmirched pride, and the subsequent rage and anger that followed it.¡± ----------------- In the caves of Kala¡¯Dum, a mountain range stretching across the Red lands lay a home. It was an odd home to be certain, as it twisted and winded itself around and around, in and out of itself. If one failed to remember the pathway, they would be forever lost to the labyrinthian home, not to mention the countless traps that were hidden and primed at all times for any unwelcome and unlucky intruders. The worst, however, had yet to come for the intruders, as the labyrinth¡¯s beast took it''s time to hunt them down. The beast would purposely set off small traps designed to make noise to toy with its food, making their flesh all the tougher to chew through, just the way it liked it. Hidden in between the halls and carefully navigating the maze, lay the beast itself. A minotaur of average proportions, with grey fur and particularly long, gnarly horns that grew straight up from his skull. His glowing yellow eyes burned in the dark, as he wandered endlessly. But it wasn''t his size that made him so different from the rest but rather his mind. He was significantly more intelligent than that of his cousins and family and was far better. He had grown bored with his previous life, however, and had decided to do better. he started by building the labyrinth. He and his family had once only lived in not more than a rotting cave full of bones, but as he grew older and far wiser, he noticed that should anyone decide to come into the forest, they would immediately take notice of them. He wasn''t sure why, but he had become far more anxious and worried about the future, and so he prepared. He built traps within the maze as well, from simple dart traps to pitfalls, to more complex traps that would blow a horn to signify their presence. Of course, this wasn''t always the case. Once upon a time the beast would have simply charged through the halls, crashing and making plenty of noise. Unfortunately, neither time nor fate had been gracious. his once tan fur had now since turned grey with bits of white since his near-death and subsequent recovery. Now he had to rely upon his mind and bits of trickery. The beast grinned as the roaring of a horn was blown into the labyrinth signaled that the gate had been opened. This is going to be fun.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ---------------- After resting for a while, Avia and Godfrey walked through the gate and were quickly greeted with a lit room containing nothing but three staircases that all led to a singular platform, that itself led to another staircase. Avia couldn''t help but feel annoyed as each stair was over three feet tall, clearly built for something much bigger than any human. As well, each of the staircases was showing obvious signs of decay, as cracks and chips in the stone were all over. On the platform was a large circle that had had the sigil of a minotaur head with three pairs of horns. One pointing up, and two pointing downwards. The head itself had a singular diamond-shaped piece of Onyx that lay at the center of its forehead. They followed the stairs, constantly watching the room around them just in case something lay in ambush. Though no such thing came, and they were once again met with another room, though this one was far more populated than the previous one as there were four cylindrical pillars with grooves and runes all over them. The runes themselves weren''t like the ones on the gate, as they weren''t glowing nor were they silver, but were rather simply carved into the stone by an expert hand. In between the four pillars was another sigil, though this was far different from the simple minotaur head previously as it had a full body and rather than being surrounded by a simple circle, it was surrounded by labyrinthian symbols that led to the center in which a full-bodied minotaur was presented in a fetal like position with scars across it''s back. At the end of the room were two torches that lit the way to a circular stairwell, but instead of simply leading to yet another staircase it rather ended with a T figured wall that had two openings. That was where the true labyrinth began. With Godfrey leading in the front they wandered through the halls of stone, with towering walls that forced them to stay within. They had already attempted to climb the walls, but as they did, the walls themselves seemed to grow larger into a never-ending ceiling, so they simply resigned themselves to staying on the floor. They had been exploring for what felt like hours before they found anything. ¡°Godfrey, can we take a break yet? I''m tired of walking.¡± Avia, as usual, was complaining about the grueling walking her lover was putting her through. Though he simply ignored her as he had for the past few hours. ¡°Well if we can''t take a break, can you at least answer me? I don''t wanna just be talking to myself¡± She compromised, trying for anything. Though once more her answer was silence. ¡°GODFREY!¡± She screamed out, only to have Godfrey spin around and shout ¡°WHAT!¡± he had obviously been frustrated, just as much as her, but his silence had managed to keep it from her. As she stared in shock at him shouting at her, she started to get tiny tears in her eyes, before she just started to cry. Immediately Godfrey tried to stop it, as he tried his best to never shout at her, he didn''t want her crying. ¡°Oh honey, oh i''m sorry. Baby, i''m sorry. I didn''t mean to shout.¡± He quickly swept her into a kneeling hug while he whispered apologies into her ear. After a few minutes, she managed to calm down enough for her and Godfrey to go on through the maze. Though they soon stopped, as they came across their first room. It was hexagonal in nature, bearing six sides with each side having an entrance, and their sides once more being blocked off. But it was what was inside the room itself that they noticed first. Piles. Piles and piles of dead bodies. Some extremely old warriors whose flesh was ripped from their bones many years ago, and only their bones, armor, and weapons are all that remain to tell of them, while some bodies were much fresher, only decaying somewhat, as the sickly sweet smell of rotting meat filled the air. Avia was clearly unprepared for the sight, as she quickly turned a sickly pale from the sight. She normally can''t stand blood and gore, but the state of the beings was beyond tortured. The most recent bodies had rips, cuts, and scars all around their bodies, showing off what looked like years of torture they had to endure. Noticing that she looked like she was going to throw up, Godfrey quickly placed his hand over her eyes to block out the sight she was witnessing, before he gently picked her up and carried her while walking and whispering about how she was going to be fine. And though he knew he could only help her by going back, he also knew that he was stuck, as the path back was lost. They had left a spool of string along the way, as they knew that they would need it, but when they tried going back, the spool didn''t help them. It just ended in one of the many hallways with a frayed cut to it. Something had cut it. Something had trapped them in. Godfrey was worried, as now they were stuck inside, they didn''t know the way out, and something else was there with them. Normally, he wouldn''t have been too bothered by this, as he had been in these situations many times in the past. But this time, he knew what was in there with him. The signs had all pointed to it, but he had foolishly believed that the string would be able to bring him back. He felt anxious. He hadn¡¯t prepared for the monster they were about to deal with. If he was to fight one, even with Avia by his side, he would need much better armor and a better shield. And that was if he had to face 1. But judging by the size of the labyrinth there was definitely more than one of them. There was possibly even a clan here. As he continued his forced exploration, he came across multiple rooms similar to the first, but there were quite a few that had a very different theme. Some were square in nature and held shelves that in turn held countless scrolls, parchments, maps, and books. They were all translated into the same language that had been written on the gate and on the pillars. Avia had already taken a look for herself, but she didn''t know how to speak it. She knew what it was, but not how to speak it. She had told him that it was Jotan, the language of giants, and one of the oldest, yet most powerful, languages that was still known. Just that fact alone had solidified what was already known, and fear began to set in. Naturally, they began to move faster through the labyrinth to try to find an exit faster, paying less attention to the rooms that they ran through, as they just contained the same things as before. Though this was a mistake. As they ran past one particular pile, Godfrey happened to kick one of the bodies that lay on the ground, which immediately set off a chain reaction. His foot went through its chest, crushing it for the most part, but also bringing it with him for a few moments. And those few moments were all it needed for the trap to be triggered. Quick as they were, they couldn''t move out of the way for the metal net to be dropped from above. It quickly wrapped around Godfrey, and Avia who happened to be riding on top of him, and the weights kept him for a moment while a horn was blown out into the rest of the labyrinth. Fortunately, Godfrey quickly got the weighted net off of them and began running once more, though more carefully this time. But it proved to be no use, as not ten minutes later they began to hear rumbling. Godfrey blanched, before bolting down the halls with Avia barely holding on to him. He briefly looked over his shoulder, only to see it. Maybe seven feet tall, quite average for a minotaur, burly, with black fur and two long gnarled horns on top. Its red eyes glowed quite nicely in the dim lighting of the labyrinth. In its hands was a long sword made of black steel, with no guard on it. But the most frightening part about it was the smile it wore while it picked up the pace. Godfrey was running as quickly as he could, while Avia let out a shriek when she saw it as well. They both were unprepared for such a thing to come crashing towards them. They continued running as quickly as they could for a few minutes, but it was obvious that the monster was gaining on them. And so with not much else he could do, Godfrey quickly informed his partner of his plans before he turned around, his shield raised and his hammer poised to strike down with desperation, but he had mistaken how fast the beast was going, as it immediately slammed into his shield, puncturing it with its horns. Godfrey was shoved far back and almost into one of the walls but he managed to stop himself while Avia quickly jumped off his shoulders and moved a bit further away from the fight so she could support him from a distance. Godfrey looked at his shield, noticing the holes, before charging forth at the minotaur. The monster itself was standing upright, almost waiting for Godfrey to him, with a smile. As soon he was within close distance, the minotaur stepped to the side while bringing his sword in a side swing. Though Godfrey noticed as soon as it began moving, he couldn''t stop his charge. He did, however, manage to raise his shield in time to block the sword. Once the strike connected, Avia quickly let loose the bolts of light that she had been gathering together, hitting the beast and burning the spots that hit, causing it to let out a small grunt of pain. While simultaneously buffing Godfrey¡¯s armor and shield. At once, his armor shone brightly almost as if Kavalar himself had blessed the armor. It shone in a new light, as if freshly polished by a master smith. The effects that it held were as evident as the light, as Godfrey was pushed back, just nowhere near as far as last time. Godfrey let out a small grunt as the playing field was leveled, and smiled. Though it quickly diminished as the minotaur threw a curveball at him, taking a hand and throwing a punch at his head and forcing him to block before stabbing forward with his sword. As they came forth, Godfrey made the obvious choice of blocking the sword, yet was forced to take the punch to the head. The hit itself wasn''t incredibly powerful, as it was meant to be a fake-out, but the fact that it hit his jaw threw him for a bit of a loop. And it was this loop that the minotaur took advantage of. As his body turned with his head, the monster quickly pulled his sword up before swinging it back down, only to hit a small blockade of white light in the shape of a shield. It''s eye quickly lay on the childish figure of the priestess who had called forth the shield in the last moment, protecting him. She was obviously having trouble putting up with the quick-paced battle, as she was breathing heavily. (Magic protection is pretty easy to understand. As some only cost a certain amount and protect the person a certain amount, but others rely on how hard the attacking force is. EX: if she had used the former, then it would be like this, I give X mana, u get protected from X damage. As she used the latter, her mana usage was like this: depending on X damage, i give up X mana to keep the person protected.) her face red and sweating from the usage of magic. As his eye landed on her, she could feel the killing intent he had been projecting onto Godfrey the whole fight. She could feel nothing but raw anger and malevolent joy, coming from the thought of their deaths, and their screams of pain as their lives left them. She felt her knees go weak, her heart pumping, and her mind shaking. Though it''s attention was turned back to Godfrey as he attempted to shield bash the monster with little success as it just pushed back with an equal force, and began its flurry of blows. It began walloping on him with absolute hatred in its fists and wrath in its intent of murdering both of them. One after another, the blows wailed down on Godfrey, each striking a different point in his stature and each hit stronger than the last. Godfrey, even with the magics helping, could barely take on the onslaught of each hit. His armor began to bend, his body began to wilt, and his will began to break under its attacks. Soon enough, luck came upon the monster as Godfrey¡¯s shield lowered just enough for it to take advantage. It quickly stabbed forth, and its blade hit true. With no shield to protect him this time, the sword quickly rent his armor and penetrated deep into his gut while he stood shell shocked and unbelieving of what had just happened. As the two of them were frozen in place together, it just smiled and slowly began to push the sword further through Godfrey, each inch producing another level of pain and another liter of blood to pool around at his feet. Just as it was about through him, the beast quickly tore the sword out of his stomach, his guts hanging inside his suit of armor, but liters of blood shot out like water through a burst dam. All the while, Avia was on her knees as she watched the man she had spent years with, living with him, and watching him grow to be her protector and her shield fall before her like a limp reed after a hurricane. His body fell over backwards, letting out a clang as the metal hit stone and silence permeated the air aside from a few clicks of hooves touching stone. The monster who had murdered her love was just to her side, looking down on her as hot tears streamed down her face, and as her heart kept breaking. Hmph. The beast lifted it''s sword, before bringing it down on the waiting girl who wished for death, and splattered blood across the floor that quickly mixed together with the blood of her lover and as her head rolled for a moment, anguish still showing.