Chapter 122 - Here And Now, Win

Pulling his collar over his nose in case it was some sort of poisonous fog, Ren rushed down the corridor to flee the grasps of the malicious clouds. Humming filled his ears, occupying the mist, forcing him to pick up the pace as his instincts screamed at him.

Accompanying the constant humming came a roaring thud reminiscent of a stomp. First, this clomp came from his left, then his right, behind him, and all around him it continued. There was barely a recognizable moment that his feet came into contact with the ground as he ran with the utmost speed he could muster, turning down corridor after corridor without any regard for his direction.

Every hair on his body stood up, everything in his body yelling at him one thing--"Protect your back". Ren quickly turned around just in time to witness one of the walls crumble, or rather blast away as if met with the force of an explosive force.

Before a shape was seen, the bellowing, enraged call of a bull vibrated the ground where Ren stood. The call had shaken him to his core, watching with widened sclera as the taurus of nightmares stepped into the corridor, crushing the debris under its hoof as steam emitted from its scarred nostrils. Whether it was fear or mist obscuring his sight, but the minotaur himself seemed larger than their previous encounter--holding in his hand the towering axe of steel.

His skin was clad in an icy fear that held him in place until Asterius' eyes lowered onto him--signaling his body to begin running once again.

There wasn't any better motivator to run than feeling the thundering stomps of an axe-wielding minotaur behind him, dragging its colossal weapon behind it as it carved through its own abode.

As it attempted to take wild swings at him, it barely missed each time--sending a million volts of fear through Ren's body as he continued aimlessly sprinting through the unknown corridor.

--I don't get it, how am I still running down halls?! Is it this mist?

The constant stomping of the beast's massive hooves came to a sudden halt, causing Ren to briefly look back to check on the status of his pursuer.

--Did it give up?

He watched as Asterius lowered his stance, pointing his naturally-formed drills ivory drills forward as he ground his hoove back against the stone. It was a stance all too familiar to Ren, at least from his knowledge of how normal bulls acted.

"A bull-rush…!"

Starting in a faint whisper, the words ended in a yell as he realized the intent of his pursuer. The foggy hall that he inhabited was far too narrow to dodge in--Asterius' width left only room for his own enormous temple to move forward.

In a contest of speed, he knew from first-hand experience that Asterius' bull-rush would reach him without a second thought.

--There's only one thing I can do. I have to trust my own body and spirit.

Facing the man-beast as it readied itself to charge forward, emitting steam from its nostrils, Ren held both of his hands forward, planting his boots firmly against the vile stone.

It wasn't a choice entirely made of utmost brazen or trust, as he knew death wasn't the end in this temple of torment--but even so, the pain that accompanied death was enough to shake his breath as he filled his lungs with resolve.

"--Don't fail me now."

Ren whispered to himself, bracing himself--nearly jumping from his own skin as Asterius finally rushed forward with such speed and weight behind him that the air itself roared out.

For a moment in time, the bull's hooves didn't even touch the stone as he briefly glided through the air with his horns piercing forward, landing back down as his weight crushed the floor beneath his step.

--It's do or die! Right here, right now!

"Araphel: Tyrant Lance!"

As the words that were meant to invoke magecraft left his lips, the decisive moment carved away at his heart--waiting to see the result of his trust in his own self. Each rapid stomp that the minotaur left quaked the surrounding area with an overwhelming brutality coating its presence.

All at once, a strong surge of magical energy traveled from his core up into his arms, leaving through the palms of his hands as a well of black mana manifested into the air. It quickly shaped itself into a massive drill that began spinning with an intense speed.

"--Times two…!"

Casting away so much mana felt as if a weight had shed from his body, conjuring into existence another massive drill of dark mana, sitting in the airside by side as they collided with Asterius' horns. As soon as the minotaur met with his manifested drills, it felt as if a train had smashed against him, sending his arms back with a massive recoil.

Whether it was by luck or real power, he managed to maintain the form of his drills, holding the massive beast back as they spun with greater intensity.

--I'm pretty sure this bastard just dislocated both of my shoulders with that impact alone! Even so...I've got this!

Overcoming the possibility of death from the initial collision, Ren couldn't help but wear a smile fueled by adrenaline.

As Asterius attempted to push forward utilizing his massive heaps of physical prowess, Ren could feel his feet begin to slip against the smooth surface he stood.

--...Not happening!

Ren diverted a heavy portion of his reinforcement down to the soles of his feet, keeping him locked down against the stone as he pushed his drills back against the muscle-bound minotaur. Even if there was no clear winner in the contest of strength occurring, Ren couldn't be more glad to finally meet the bull-man on equal footing.

Magical energy continued to pour from his body and into the dual augers, pushing the rotation to a force high enough to create winds that peeled away at the cobble. The constant pressure of Asterius pushing back against his drills was felt throughout his arms, grinding bone against bone as he forcefully used his arms despite the dislocation. Luckily, the adrenaline surging through his veins dulled the pain, but it was still enough to cause tears to break from his eyelids.

It was beginning to feel as if he was just preventing the inevitable, looking past the mass of dark, spiraling energy to see Asterius' unmoving crimson eyes looking straight-forward, not a hint of weakness shown. His own spells were working against him, the force produced by their rotations beginning to slide his feet back once again--using every ounce of strength his damaged arms could squeeze out.

--How damn tough is this thing?! Its horns aren't even cracked from all of this?!

Gritting his teeth to the point that he feared they may shatter, he continued his defense against the immovable guardian of the floor.

He learned that there was a hard limit to the amount of mana that could be poured into the tyrant lances, watching as cracks began to form around their shape. A bellowing roar unleashed from Asterius as he pressed forward with more might than before, digging his horns against the drills before they completely shattered into particles of darkness.

"...No!"

It was unclear why that was the one word that left his lips in this moment of absolute despair, fearing the repercussions of standing up to the bloodlusted bull. "No, I don't want to die", "No, that's impossible!", "No, stay away!".

All of the above reactions coursed through his veins as he watched the bull's beady eyes lock onto him with killing intent.

"Dunkel: Veil!"

As much as he could pour into the basic shield, he did--strengthening it to the utmost before Asterius rammed against it. The impact echoed through his skeleton, lifting his feet from the surface as he was sent up into the air from the otherworldly strength behind Asterius' step.

Veil had shattered like peanut brittle, leaving Ren flying back through the corridor as the air was forced from his lungs. Garnering focus in such a situation was a herculean task, but he managed to reinforce his back before colliding against a wall--then another, another, a few walls caved in behind his airborne self before finally stopping in one of the chambers.

It was safe to say his reinforcement wasn't capable of enduring such strain as his spine felt as if it had been rung out, his back hit by thundering strikes by a hammer. Lifting himself up slowly, he was covered in dust and debris, leaking thick, sticky crimson from his nostrils, mouth, and newly opened holes in his body.

"...All of that from one charge. He wasn't kidding when he said you were just playing around before…"

He didn't mean to speak his thoughts, but it seemed he had hit his head enough times to where that wasn't much of a choice.

Finally standing himself, he realized he had escaped the embrace of the claustrophobic mist. As he attempted to raise his arms a sharp sting made itself known.

"That damn bovine really did dislocate them…"

His arms hung limp at his sides as he left them be, changing his focus to the chamber he now found himself in. Bones littered the domain, piled up against the walls--mostly skulls made up the horrific collection, almost as if they were prizes of a sort.

The room itself stunk of rot and fecal matter, not wanting to confirm or deny the existence of the latter smell as he turned his gaze towards the massive throne that sat in the center of the immense territory of death.

Fitting the theme of the rest of the area, the throne was formed of a variety of bones, with the arms of the deathly chair being formed of monstrously shaped skulls. What had completely stolen his attention now was what sat behind the throne, making up the back wall.

It wasn't a passageway to another corridor, but a massive gate formed of stone inscribed with symbols, etched in black ink.

A few more moments were needed for him to add two and two together, but he had figured it out.

"...This is Asterius' chamber...Then this has to be it--the end of this damn labyrinth."

Any cause for celebration was quickly uprooted as he remembered the one very important objective that must be met to open the gate before him.

"Defeat Asterius."

In the shape he was in, such a feat was simply unreachable, and losing again would mean the maze would be rerouted--this chance would be gone. Knowing this, Ren ceased these thoughts and did his best to resolve himself.