The Minotaur's giant form landed on the ground. Planting one foot, the ground cracking with his strength, he rushed towards Sami, throwing a right hook.
Sami slid under the attack, summoning a sword in his hand. "Sword fly swift!" He aimed the sword at the left side of the Minotaur's body and let it fly out of his hand.
The Minotaur swiftly dodged the attack; the sword flew off and got stuck in a tree behind him. "What a great bout," he cheered, a smile on his face. Closing the gap, he threw a front kick at Sami's chest.
Sami rolled to the left of the attack, allowing the kick to pass by harmlessly.
Onyx jumped off Sami's shoulder right before he stood, taking this chance to move out of danger.
Coming out of the roll, Sami summoned another sword and swung it in an arc, hitting the back of the Minotaur's ankle. To his surprise, the sword shattered, not doing any harm.
The Minotaur spun around, throwing a punch.
Sami had to jump back; the attack barely missed.
The Minotaur chased him down, throwing a flurry of punches.
Sami activated Phantom Veil and dropped to the ground quickly, coming up behind the Minotaur with a sword in his hand. "Sword Fly Swift!"
The Minotaur quickly leaned to the side, the sword flew by harmlessly, and he retaliated with a back kick to Sami's stomach.
The pain was instant, and Sami's body expelled all breath as he rolled backward across the ground, stopping a few feet away.
[ Condition → Headache, Body Strained, Ribs Broken]
Sami struggled to get to his feet, his hand holding his right side as he struggled to breathe. Blood slowly dripped down his face.
"Give up, boy," the Minotaur's voice boomed, echoing around the clearing. "There is honor in knowing defeat; stand strong and accept your death, boy."
Sami smiled in response and snapped his fingers. A set of circles appeared. Unlike before, these were bigger.
He put as much power as he could muster into these binding effects, doing his best to strengthen the chains to stop them from breaking.
The Minotaur thought the chains were coming from the ground, like before. He jumped forward in his tracks to dodge the chains: suddenly, he halted and tried grabbing his throat.
Purple chains flickered into sight, wrapped around his neck. He tried to step back to get some slack on the chain, but Sami summoned more giant chains to wrap around the Minotaur's body from the front, dragging him forward.
The Minotaur's struggles slowed; his strength was waning. He tried to reach his hand towards Sami, but only caught air.
After a moment, the Minotaur finally stopped struggling.
Sami once again snapped his fingers, releasing the chains wrapped around the Minotaur's throat to disappear, letting him fall to the ground.
[2nd Adventure: Legendary Cave → Completed]
[Reward → Acquired 40 Points, Stat Points, 4 Skill Points Gained, Passive Skill: Pain Tolerance, Title: Horned Will] [Only Two Titles can be equipped]
[Ranked Up]
[Phantom Veil: Level E- → E: Extended duration to five seconds]
[Binding Chains: Level E- → E: Can now drain enemies' strength]
[Aegis: E- → E: Shields can withstand more damage]
The rush of the fight caught up to Sami. He quickly sat on the ground, panting, a smile on his face as he looked at his new rewards. 'I still can't believe my plan worked!'
Thankfully, it did because he could still feel the strain on his body. He felt something clip his legs. Glancing down, he saw Onyx staring at him with tears in her eyes.
Not saying anything, Sami just patted her back as she hugged him.
The world around them began to crack; the slight darkness gave way to a bright day. Finally, the illusion of keeping them trapped broke, revealing the real forest.
Ironically, they ended up in the same clearing Sami said goodbye to earlier in the day. In the center, past the Minotaur, he could see his favorite desk.
Sami just shrugged; truthfully, the best ending to a terrifying adventure one could hope for.
Onyx stopped crying after a few minutes. She formed a fist and punched Sami in the stomach, not caring that he was injured.
Sami let out a loud groan, shocked that her small body had that much strength in her hit.
"You idiot!" Onyx yelled. "Why didn't you just leave me?"
"I wouldn't call myself a hero if I didn't try to save people, you included.
Onyx didn't reply; she crossed her arms and glared at him.
"Oh, come on, Onyx, can you please not be mad? Look, we won, right? That has to amount to something."
Onyx turned her back to him, letting out a loud snort.
"Sigh, I guess she just worried about me in her own way, I suppose." Sami, tired of dealing with Onyx, took a look at the Minotaur, wondering what to do with him.
"Stop looking at me and grant me a warrior's death," the Minotaur's deep voice weakly murmured.
Sami jumped, but quickly calmed down. "You ask for death, but don't you realize you're free from whatever runes were trapping both you and Onyx."
The Minotaur struggled to raise his head, attempting to glare at Sami.
"You insult me, boy!" he shouted. His voice was weak. "When Theseus bested me, I only lived because of Onyx. She stole my freedom and left me trapped with only my thoughts. I refuse to allow my honor and pride to be taken from me once again."
"That's because you kept slaughtering armies and not stopping once it was over," Onyx replied, tears forming in her eyes, her voice beginning to waver. "I couldn't just watch you keep going on with a crusade I wanted to stop."
"It was you who taught me that, Mother!" the Minotaur interrupted. "You raised me to be your weapon, and I did everything you asked until you left me. Alone, you hid away from everyone, ashamed at how we won!"
"Son, I'm…," Onyx started.
"Shut it, Mother. I lived for years without your pity. I don't need it now," the Minotaur interrupted once again.
Sami's mind went blank at what he just heard. He wasn't expecting that Onyx was the Minotaur's mother, though it makes sense because she saved his life.
Onyx's ears flopped down as she rubbed her paws together, sadness coming off her in waves as she looked at her son.
The Minotaur weakly lay his back on the ground, his body strained from just the little of yelling he did.
Sami gently grabs Onyx into a hug, doing his best to comfort her. "Please save him, I can't watch him die, She whispered, turning into my chest as she clenched my shirt with all her strength.
Sami rubbed the top of Onyx's head."What do you suggest, Oracle? I'd rather not kill the Minotaur if I don't have to."
[Recommendation → Tame or Execute]
Of course, Oracle would want him to kill something that could be a future threat to the kingdom.
Onyx suddenly stopped clenching Sami's shirt and jumped off his lap, embarrassed by her actions.
Sami leaned back on his hands, wondering what he should do. The best option for everyone is to make the Minotaur one of Sami's familiars.
Sami labored to his feet, clutching his side as he limped toward the Minotaur's massive form. Every step sends sharp pain throughout his body.
He stopped in front of the Minotaur's giant head. Being so close was making him slightly nervous.
"What do you want, boy?" The Minotaur growled out, smoke coming out of his nose."Or are you there to mock me over my defeat?"
Sami waved his hands frantically, trying his best to defuse the situation. "No, no, no, I wouldn't mock you, I swear!'
"Then put me out of my misery; I'm stuck on the ground, wrapped in chains like a mere beast. How humiliating"
Sami cocked his head for a second, debating what to do.
He felt something on his right and saw Onyx standing there, looking at him with her eyes watery.
"I never wanted to treat you as a beast; hell, I never wanted to fight you, He admitted, trying to reassure the Minotaur. "Though fighting you was fun."
Sami snapped his fingers; the chains around the Minotaur disappeared.
The Minotaur slowly pushed itself off the ground, putting itself in a sitting position that towered over Sami.
It was slightly intimidating, but he refused to show fear; at least he tried not to. Sami sadly couldn't stop the shaking.
"Even a small human can understand the glory of fighting, the adrenaline of testing your mantle against an opponent of equal caliber, The Minotaur gushed, a smile forming on his giant face.
Sami nodded slowly, understanding where he was coming from.
"Exactly, it's why I think you should become my familiar, like Onyx. Imagine all the other battles that we can fight together later on,"
"Exactly, you unders-", the Minotaur trailed off.
"Are you being serious?" Onyx asked, jumping around in excitement at hearing my question.
Sami held up his thumb, doing his best to put on a big smile.
"Yes, I'd like you to join me on my adventures as one of my summons," he claimed, his voice a loud echo in the clearing.
The Minotaur's mouth opened in shock, both Onyx and he staring at Sami as if he was joking.