"Hmm… We'll leave for now."
Another shadowy figure spoke. His voice was much deeper than the other one. Then, all of them disappeared from the branches. Leaves rustled and some swayed as they fell to the ground.
"W-what was that about?!"
Leonze looked up while still crouched down and with his head covered by his hands.
"I don't know, but someone else is surely here in this island."
Jaegar crushed the arrows in his hand.
"You mean they're not afraid of the monster?"
Brittanya faced toward Jaegar.
"Much like us. We're here right now, after all."
Jaegar smirked while still looking up at the branches.
"Um… You can put me down now, Kryllo."
Syrenne was facing the opposite direction as Kryllo. She had to turn her head to call out Kryllo's attention.
"Ah… Sorry…"
Kryllo slowly put down Syrenne, with her two feet hitting the ground first.
"When are you going to stand up? Are you still scared?"
Brittanya bent her knees and looked down at Leonze.
"I'm not s-scared! A-are you sure they're gone?"
Leonze's trembling voice betrayed his words.
"I was hoping the monster would show up instead of those guys."
Jaegar shook his head as he threw away the broken arrows on the ground. He then started to walk ahead.
---
After walking for about an hour or so, they reached a small clearing beside a running stream. They decided to make camp for the night.
Jaegar started a fire with the driest wood he could find around the area, so that there would be little to no smoke that would be produced.
Syrenne and Brittanya used their cloaks as temporary beds and placed them side by side on the ground. The two of them also used the large pouch Syrenne had as a pillow. Leonze sat in front of a large stone. Meanwhile, Jaegar leaned on a tree. Kryllo was assigned as first watch.
"I was… the one… who wanted… to sleep…"
Kryllo yawned loudly while staring at the campfire.
---
Morning finally arrived. The sunlight passed through the leaves of the trees. Syrenne was already up and about as she prepared something to eat. Everyone else slowly opened their eyes, as they were adjusting to the brightness.
Syrenne had some strips of meat skewered in sticks that were placed near the campfire. She also had some bread on a platter.
"Good morning, everyone. Let's eat first before we head out again."
Syrenne smiled at everybody.
After eating, they put out the fire and scattered the wood to remove traces that they made camp at that location. They were not sure how many people were in the island. They couldn't risk being tracked and getting ambushed.
The party walked for a while until they reached the foot of the mountain. There were almost no trees and grasses in the area. It was just barren soil, which was a far cry from the lush forest surrounding it.
"What is this…?"
Leonze's eyes opened wide at the sight of the dry land.
"There should be a lot of Diamede around here!"
"Maybe we went to the wrong place?"
Brittanya commented as she looked around.
"No… According to the notes written decades ago that I read, everywhere around the foot of the mountain should be teeming with Diamede. And in the last fifty years that the mineral has never been seen, it should still be abundant!"
Leonze grabbed his chin and stared at the ground.
"Maybe the smugglers were able to take the Diamede all the while after all?"
Syrenne offered her opinion as she looked at Leonze.
"By never been seen, I also meant in the black market. If smugglers were able to get a hold of that mineral, then it should have been sold somewhere. But there have never been any rumblings, not even a peep. Something is going on here—"
The ground trembled under their feet. The trees of the forest shook and birds flew away from the branches. The party turned around to look at the source of the tremor.
An enormous figure stepped loudly out of the woods. It was a muscular bipedal monster with a cow's head. Two long horns were protruding on the sides of its head. It had reddish fur around its head, arms, crotch and legs. Its skin was greyish in color. It had three fingers in each hand and had hoofs for feet. It was about three times the height of Jaegar. Its bloodshot eyes were firmly fixed toward everyone.
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Brittanya was the one closest to the creature, while Jaegar and Kryllo was behind her. Syrenne was standing beside Jaegar. Leonze was far behind everyone, as he was closest to the foot of the mountain.
"A… M-minotaur?!"
Leonze stepped back as sweat quickly trickled throughout his face.
"What is that…?"
Syrenne was visibly shaking as she gripped her clothes.
"Look out, everyone—"
As soon as Jaegar shouted, the minotaur smashed the ground with its clenched fist. Pieces of the ground flew toward the party. Kryllo stood still but was not hit. Leonze ducked and crouched on the ground. Brittanya and Jaegar jumped up to avoid the hurtling debris.
Unfortunately, Syrenne was not able to react on time and she was hit by a large chunk of earth on her ribs. She flew backwards and fell on the ground.
"Syrenne!"
Brittanya shouted as she landed. She looked at her unconscious companion and then glared at the beast standing imposingly in front of them.
"Kryllo! Get her out of here!"
Jaegar shouted and waved his hand. Kryllo looked at Jaegar and then nodded.
He then quickly rushed to pick up Syrenne and carry her in both her arms. Once he was able to get her off the ground, Kryllo ran toward the woods on the opposite direction of the monster. Leonze saw this and ran after Kryllo as quickly as he could.
But before Kryllo and Leonze could reach the forest, the minotaur dug both its hands on the ground and took out a large piece. He threw the huge piece of earth and it fell in front of Kryllo and Leonze. The two of them stopped in their tracks.
"This thing… He won't let anyone of us get away, huh?"
Jaegar glared at the creature with a smirk on his face.
"You'll pay for what you did to Syrenne!"
Brittanya screamed and then punched the ground and a large fissure appeared and quickly crawled toward the minotaur. The creature then jumped sideways to avoid the approaching crevice.
"Wait, Brittanya! We don't know what else this thing can do! Remember that mushroom?!"
Jaegar shouted toward Brittanya to bring her back to her senses.
"I don't care! I'm taking this thing down!"
Brittanya answered back without looking at Jaegar. She then ran toward the minotaur.
The monster swung down its hand to crush her but she was able to evade it by going through its legs. The large creature then turned its head to look at Brittanya.
By this time, Brittanya had already pulled out an enormous tree from the ground. She jumped up and swung the tree trunk behind her. Simultaneously, Jaegar was already in the air and ready to punch the minotaur in its chest. Brittanya's tree and Jaegar's punch both hit the monster at the same time.
The creature didn't even budge one bit. The tree smashed into smithereens while Jaegar stared at his fist as he landed on the ground.
It was now the minotaur's turn. As Brittanya was landing, the creature twisted its upper body and slapped her away toward the base of the mountain. She got buried deep into the ground. The monster simultaneously kicked Jaegar toward Kryllo and the others, as he was not paying attention to his surroundings. Jaegar smashed into the piece of earth the minotaur threw earlier.
"T-that hurt… you damn monster…"
Jaegar slowly got up as he wiped with his arm the blood coming from his mouth.
The minotaur slowly walked toward Jaegar and the others. Kryllo was still carrying Syrenne's unconscious body in his arms. Leonze fell to his knees as his whole body was quivering as he stared at the encroaching monster.
"What the hell is happening…?"
Leonze's voice was trembling in accordance with his body.
"That was just a lucky shot… It's time for round two."
Jaegar walked gingerly toward the minotaur with a smirk on his face.
"Hey… you're hurt… aren't you…?"
Kryllo watched as Jaegar walked past him.
"Just a scratch… Let's see if he can hit me again."
Jaegar then dashed and disappeared.
Suddenly, he was already in the air face to face with the monster. The creature tried to catch him with both hands, but then he was already above his head. Jaegar kicked the forehead of the monster. But like last time, it was as if the creature didn't feel anything.
The minotaur swung upward in order to slap Jaegar away, but he was no longer there. Jaegar kept on punching and kicking other parts of the monster's body, and it wasn't able to follow Jaegar's movements. Unfortunately, it seemed like the creature didn't feel any of his attacks, as it just stood there unmoved while taking all the punches and kicks.
Finally, the minotaur seemed to have had enough of chasing him around. It stretched out its arms sideways, and then clapped in front of him, creating a shockwave that caught Jaegar and made him crash into the ground.
It seemed that Jaegar lost consciousness. He was lying still with his eyes closed. The minotaur then walked toward Jaegar. It then raised one of its hoofs, readying to crush him under it.
"Jaegar…!"
Kryllo shouted from far away.