Chapter 59: Chapter59: Failed hunt
Rael and Iyvre lay hidden within the underbrush, perched silently above the mouth of a dark cave. They had all eventually agreed to hunt and capture the minataur and Xaphxan had led them to the area he had encountered the beast, and from there, Ayobe’s tracking skills had brought them to this very spot.
But they weren’t about to barge blindly into the cave; they did have a battle strategy suggested by Iyvre. The plan was simple she and Rael would bear the full brunt of the Minotaur’s frontal assault, facing it head on.
While Ayobe would stay hidden at the same time circling the perimeter to strike at any openings the beast left exposed, as for Yasmin , she perched high within the branches of a nearby tree and would provide aerial support. Then there was Xaphxan, his role was the most precarious of all he was simply the bait
Everyone knew that even a small flare of aether would be enough to draw the beast from its lair. So Xaphxan stood alone before dark cave.
"Of course it’s me who’s the bait," Xaphxan cursed, regretting the fact that he had suggested using a lure to draw the Minotaur out of its lair.
He gazed toward the top of the cave as Rael signalled for him to alert the beast.
"Shit, here goes nothing," Xaphxan murmured.
He stimulated his aether, causing his outstretched right palm to crackle with tiny, dancing sparks of electricity. He braced himself, flinching in anticipation for a furious roar of rage, but there was only a haunting, heavy silence.
Xaphxan stared into the yawning mouth of the cave in bewilderment. "Is it asleep? Hibernating? Is it even in there?" he wondered. He glanced upward toward the jagged rocks above the cave entrance where Rael and Iyvre were hidden, only to find them both staring not at the cave, but directly behind him.
"Why... no, don’t tell me." He prayed it wasn’t what he suspected, but it seemed he still had an active beef with the heavens.
Huff. Huff. Huff.
Shit," Xaphxan muttered. A familiar, heavy breathing rasped behind him, accompanied by a gust of heat that slammed into his back as an heavy pressure descended upon him
He turned slowly, his eyes widening as he met the glare of the hulking Minotaur.
Xaphxan couldn’t help but curse his fate for he was pinned, his legs refusing to move as the beast’s killing intent locked him in place.
Huff. Huff.
The Minotaur, standing only a few feets away, raised a massive arm to swat him into oblivion. But before the blow could fall, a voice tore through the air.
"Xaphxan, duck!" Rael yelled as he leaped from his hiding spot, twisting his longsword in mid-air. With a violent horizontal snap, he unleashed a crimson arc of light that whistled through the air.
Swoosh!
The red arc blurred over Xaphxan’s head as he forced his trembling knees to hit the dirt. The attack slammed directly towards the Minotaur’s chest.
BOOM!
The beast didn’t even flinch; it simply swatted the energy aside with a muscular forearm. Its predatory gaze shifted instantly, locking onto Rael causing a heavy, bearable yet daunting pressure to descend on his shoulders
Muuu
With astonishing speed, the Minotaur charged despite its massive frame, it moved like a blur.
Rael’s eyes widened in shock as the beast’s bulk didn’t even hinder its speed in the slightest. Just as he raised his sword to meet the collision head-on, a silhouette flashed past him.
Iyvre, wielding the new runic-enhanced blade Rael had given her lashed out as the white-hot edge of her sword hissed through the air, aimed squarely at the beast’s face, only to be intercepted by its obsidian horn.
CLANG!
The rebound force was immense. Sending Iyvre flying backwards and slamming into Rael as he tried to catch her, but the momentum carried them both, smashing them hard against a thick tree trunk.
The Minotaur growled, enraged by the audacity of these weak creatures. It prepared to trample them, but three head-sized fireballs suddenly streaked from the canopy, slamming into its flank in rapid succession.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
Hufffff!
The beast turned its goat-like eyes toward the trees. The flames had done little more than singe its thick fur, but the irritation was visible. Suddenly, it whipped its massive arm around, striking at a shadow that had sprouted out from it’s shadow
BAM!
Ayobe blocked the strike with her twin blades, but the force made her blades creak under the attack sending her skipping across the forest floor, she immediately used the momentum to roll and vanish back into the shadows. But the Minotaur’s gaze remained locked on her position, tracking her even in the shadows.
Swoosh!
Another red arc slammed into the beast’s back, leaving a faint white mark across its hide as Rael and Iyvre charged once more.
From high above, Yasmin squinted her eyes in frustration. It was glaringly obvious that their attacks were barely causing any damage; it would seem the minataur was in upper tiers of the second rank, possibly it’s peak.
She hissed, joining her hands as a piercing gust of wind gathered in her palms, condensing into a shimmering blue sphere of light. Pouring in her aether, she blasted the orb downward just as the beast was about to collide with Rael.
BOOM!
The recoil scattered the very tree Yasmin stood on. The blue sphere slammed into the Minotaur’s side, making it stumble for the first time. Rael immediately seized the opening, slicing his sword across the beast’s torso, but he only managed to leave another shallow white mark. His sword edge simply couldn’t bite deep enough.
Iyvre leaped upward, twisting midair and slashing across the beast’s shoulder. The Minotaur glared at her, throwing a fist with such raw power that even though Iyvre dodged the physical strike, the resulting gust of wind sent her stumbling across the ground.
Plirch!
Seeing a desperate opening, Rael lunged and drove his sword into the Minotaur’s thigh. The blade through pierced the skin but immediately snagged in the dense, iron-like muscle. The Minotaur turned towards him with a grunt; as it drove its elbow downward toward Rael’s head.
"Shit!" Rael groaned, throwing his arm up to guard.
CRACK,BAM
The sound of snapping bone echoed through the clearing as Rael was swatted away like a fly, crashing through two smaller trees before smashing into the trunk of a third. He slumped to the base, gasping for air as he clutched his clearly broken arm.
"Ok... this is going to be hard," he growled through gritted teeth, feeling the jagged edges of the bone beneath his skin.