CHAPTER 31: STABBING THE EYES

The Minotaur rushed at Silva, each step shaking the ground. It was fast; Silva couldn’t outrun it. It got within range and swung its axe at full force. Silva dodged again by just an inch. Then he launched, using the small opening that was created. He went for the abdomen, thinking he could land the hit and take down the Minotaur.

But to his surprise, the Minotaur pulled back its arm at a speed Silva had never seen before. Panic set on his face as he saw the Minotaur attacking, and he knew he wouldn’t be able to dodge it.

He gritted his teeth and braced his body, crossing both hands in front of him. The blade of the axe hit the gauntlets, and immediately the pain that shot through his body was beyond words.

He felt the bones in his arms crack, and his mind went blank for a moment. His body shot through the air and slammed into the wall so hard he coughed blood. Collapsing to the ground, he tried to get up, but the whole world seemed hazy and blurry. He couldn’t hear anything; even his senses were jumbled.

It was now that he understood he was in trouble. The Minotaur walked toward him, grabbed him by the head, and lifted him off the ground. His daze slowly started clearing up, and he looked into the blood-red eyes of the Minotaur.

It let out a roar right in his face, saliva pouring all over Silva. The Minotaur threw him to the ground and then raised the axe to finish him off.

’I have to move, but my body hurts. It hurts so bad. Tch, if I don’t, I’ll die. I have to.’ Silva convinced himself. As the axe came down, he rolled, and it hit the ground right beside him, leaving a deep cut and several cracks.

He pushed himself up before the Minotaur could react. Now would have been the best time to attack, but his body was still hurting. He couldn’t land a good strike even if he tried.

So he retreated a few meters and watched the Minotaur. It pulled out the axe and locked its gaze on Silva again. It let out a steamy breath and ran its hooves over the ground.

Silva watched it and then let out a small shaky smile. ’I guess my normal strength does very little to you. I thought I had grown, but I was asking too much.’ Silva thought, and with that thought, he activated Minotaur’s Rage.

He took a deep sharp breath and slashed with both hands, releasing two powerful claw strikes, then ran behind them. The Minotaur slashed to cut down the claw strikes. It managed to stop them but was knocked back.

Silva leaped into the air, flipped, and sent an overhead hammer kick. The back of his heels slammed into the top of its head. BOOM!

The head of the Minotaur went down like a rocket. BAM! It slammed into the ground hard, shattering the floor, blood splattering to the sides. Silva leaped off and put some distance between them, waiting for the Minotaur to get back up.

After a few seconds, it did, lifting its head slowly. There was blood all over its face, and its nose was broken.

The moment Silva saw its head rise, he lunged forward, spun, and sent a kick with the back of his heels to the side of the Minotaur’s face. It slammed into the wall, and Silva followed up with two claw strikes.

They slammed into the Minotaur and cut deep into its skin and flesh. It let out a deep growl of pain. Silva stood there, ready to finish what he had started, but suddenly a red aura exploded from the body of the Minotaur. It was so strong it forced Silva to take a few steps back.

"What—what’s happening?" Silva asked, terrified. The Minotaur rose to its feet, eyes burning red, pulsing red veins spreading all over its body. It seemed to grow in size and muscle right before him.

"Oh shit," Silva cursed. The Minotaur grabbed its axe and slashed. A powerful red arc shot out. Silva leaped out of the way as it cut into the wall, leaving a deep gash.

’That cut was so fine it didn’t cause any cracks or debris. If that had hit me, I would have been sliced clean in half.’

Silva immediately put some distance between them. Whatever state this Minotaur was in now, it wasn’t something he could match head-on.

But he needed to win this fight before the minute passed, because if he didn’t, he would be nothing but a sitting duck waiting for his own death.

He took a deep breath, looked at the Minotaur, and set his target. The Minotaur had a broken nose now, and that meant it couldn’t smell. So, to finalize it, Silva was going for the next obvious part.

He dashed forward. The Minotaur lifted its axe into the air and brought it down with a terrifying slash, and another red arc tore through the air. Silva sidestepped, barely dodging it, then launched off the wall, using it as a platform to get into the air.

He locked in on his target, and with both hands, he drove his claws into the eyes of the Minotaur.

"Roaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!"

The walls shook from the deafening roar. It let go of its axe, grabbed Silva, and threw him off with all the strength it had. Silva spun and landed on his feet. He looked up with a smirk as the Minotaur collapsed to the ground, covering its eyes in pain.

He walked forward in slow, steady steps. He saw the axe on the ground and grabbed it. He lifted it up, looked at the Minotaur. With its eyes gone, it was helpless. The immense pain didn’t help either, its fight was over.

Silva swung down with all his strength, and the blade of the axe went right through its neck, killing the Minotaur. Its head hit the ground with a thud and rolled away.