Chương 34: Rinds, Runes, and Ruin

The cave had a wet smell to it. A damp heat. Along the walls, there appeared to be etchings in a language I didn't understand. The marks had been carved deep into the stone, their edges worn smooth by age and moisture. Water dripped somewhere farther in, slow and steady, echoing down the mineshaft. Vaelith smiled, going to one such line and running a hand across it.

"I recognize this. Dwarvish runes. They are used as protection spells or, likely in this case, light. They are activated by a passcode or a saying.""'Say friend and enter'," I quoted. The runes flashed, and in sequence, lit up, going all the way down the mineshaft. Pale light spilled over the damp stone, revealing old timber supports and broken railings of rusted metal.

"You've got to be shitting me," I said in disbelief." Ha!" Vaelith laughed.

"How'd you know the code was 'friend'?" I narrowed my eyes.

"Lucky guess."

"You's a devil's own luck, you have." Another roar shook the stone as dust fell on our heads. Darwin shook himself, letting off a small cloud of dust.

"Big noise, scary, scary."

"A minotaur is scary indeed," Marnie agreed.

"Then why did you agree to kill one?" I asked.

"I never said I'd kill one… just that I'd bring back its head. Listen, I was drunk, okay?" Vaelith laughed.

"Haven't we all done something we regretted while under the alluring intoxication of a stiff beverage?"

"You are entirely too calm for this."

"It's because demons reincarnate," Marnie explained.

"Little devils." Vaelith smirked.

"Wait, really?" I asked.

"Reincarnate. That's incredible." The irony was not lost on me that I too had reincarnated… just in the wrong world.

"Are we going to blab on about demons, or are we going to kill a minotaur?" Vaelith asked.

"You mean save Sable… right?" Vaelith blew a raspberry.

"Sure… that too." Marnie slapped herself on the forehead, stepping forward. As she did, there was another roar. Far closer this time, but muffled.

"Looks like we don't have much time—" The solid wall next to Marnie exploded as the minotaur, head down, horns forward, ran straight into her. It impaled her and then slammed her against the opposing wall. The entire wall collapsed, dust temporarily blinding me." Marnie!" I yelled, yet I heard no reply. I looked into the hole and saw that it led to a massive open area below. Dust had yet to settle, so I couldn't see anything beneath it, but I thought I saw figures moving through the haze.

"Jump down," Vaelith said.

"I can't!" I replied.

"I'll break both my legs. Come on, there's gotta be something we can do. We can get some rope—" Vaelith swallowed one of the Scarab Lord carapace rinds and jumped down. She disappeared beneath the dust.

"Fuck," I said, taking out one of the rinds.

"This is gonna hurt. Darwin… hold on." I ate the rind and jumped before my nerves stopped me. I felt as if I fell for an eternity, and when I landed, I felt the bone in my ankle shatter. My leg as well. I slammed hard against the stone and screamed. Vaelith grabbed me and pulled me close, putting a hand against my mouth." Sovereign: Burden!" she whispered. My pain vanished, but my leg was still twisted awkwardly. Vaelith grunted.

"What did you do?"

"I cast a spell and took your pain. Now shh… wait until we heal. I don't want the minotaur to attack us before we are ready." Within a few moments, my leg healed. Those Scarab Lord rinds worked wonders.

"Listen," Vaelith said.

"I'm going to do something… and you aren't going to like it. If I am to fight the minotaur, then I'm going to need to take your strength. Specifically, I'm going to need to borrow your stats."

"Borrow my stats?" I asked.

"How?" She smiled." Sovereign: Tribute!" I felt myself weaken. No, not just weaken. Completely drain. Every breath was heavier than the last, and I wanted nothing more than to sleep. Instinctively, I pushed against it. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"Stop!" Vaelith said.

"You must be willing, or it'll fade and I'll die. And then you will die. Now whatever you do, do not intervene." I felt ill. I wanted to vomit.

"No worries there," I said.

"You fight… I'll find Marnie and Sable." Vaelith nodded. The dust began to clear, and I saw the silhouette of the minotaur. It held Marnie in one giant hand. It brought her close and sniffed at her and then grimaced. Its eyes glowed deep red. Something was dripping from Marnie… blood. Lots of it. The dust cleared a bit more, and the minotaur seemed to smirk as it threw Marnie to the side. Her body hit the hard ground, tumbling until it slammed into the side of a wall. She didn't move.

"Fuck!" I yelled as I started to run toward her. I stared at the minotaur, and it locked eyes with me. It held a large two-handed battle axe with one hand as if it weighed nothing at all. It snorted as it knelt down to charge me. In a flash, the minotaur launched forward. I felt… so weak. I had no chance of dodging it. I waited for the inevitable. Clash! The slamming of metal. Sparks flew. Vaelith stood before me, her pathetic-looking farmer's axe holding back the minotaur.

She had used the flat part to block one of the horns, and she had somehow stopped the charge. Still, she struggled and was breathing heavily.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Help her!" I nodded and ran forward. Behind me, I heard the clashing of metal continue, and when I glanced back, I only saw the blurred silhouettes of Vaelith fighting with the minotaur. She was light as a feather, jumping through the air, kicking off the minotaur's body, slicing at any openings and blocking any strikes that came her way. Demon princess she may be, but Vaelith could fight with the best of them. Marnie's body was battered when I found her. Hole in the stomach, covered in blood, arm broken…

a leg too. I wasted no time. Carefully, I picked her head up so as not to further injure her in case her neck was broken. I placed a Scarab Lord rind into her mouth and worked her jaw until I saw her swallow. Good… that was the only indication she was alive. Vaelith and the minotaur's battle continued, and the force of their blows was making little tornadoes in the dust. Marnie's eyes exploded open, and she sucked in air. She coughed, and it was a mixture of spit and blood. She grabbed me.

"I was… I was…"

"Yeah," I said.

"You were nearly gone. To be honest, I thought you were at first."

"And your recipe… it saved me?" I nodded.

"By the gods," she said.

"Only my strongest potions could have brought someone back from that far."

"We aren't out of danger yet," I reminded her.

"And we still need to find Sable—" As I said it, Marnie pointed across the way to the right. There, kneeling, both hands tied behind her back, was Sable. She was awake, and she stared forward, all color drained from her face. She looked like a ghost. No—she looked as if she had seen the face of the devil himself.

"I'm gonna go for her," I said.

"You should lie low. Let Vaelith do what she does." Marnie nodded.

"Darwin," I said.

"Stay with Marnie in case she needs you to distract the monster." Darwin hesitated, but eventually did what I asked, hopping into Marnie's lap.

"Master… stay safe."

"I will," I lied. I saw my opening. I rushed out into the fray of the raging battle. I ducked just as the minotaur's blade sliced overhead. My knees scraped against stone as I fell, picked myself back up, and then fell again. A hoof caught me, and I felt my leg snap. It was as if I were made of glass. I fell again and then rolled out of the way. Vaelith saw my struggle and took an attack aimed at me that she could have otherwise avoided. She fell back, and the minotaur chased her, leaving me alone.

My leg healed enough so that I could limp. I found Sable. She seemed to be muttering incoherently.

"I've got you," I said, cutting her bindings. Her arms fell uselessly to her sides.

"We need to go. Marnie is just over there. If we can—""Ysra… Ysra…"

"Ysra?" I repeated.

"Who the hell is that—" I heard a scream, and my body reacted on its own. System Mana: 15/20 I put my arm up to block my face, and it was now completely covered in a deep-brown carapace. I heard the sound of rushing wind and then pain as the minotaur's axe hit the shell. It exploded, and my arm broke as the force threw me back. From out of my coat, Sable's lyre fell, bouncing until it lay near her. The minotaur blocked her body as it bore down on me. Each step matched my beating heart.

Step—Beat Step—Beat Step—Beat There had to be a limit to what the Scarab Lord Rinds could heal. Surely if this monster cut me in half, there would be no recovery from that. But what could I do? I craned my neck and saw Vaelith laid out in a heap. I felt my strength slowly returning, but what good would that do? Even healthy, I had no chance. The minotaur, its glowing red eyes glaring at me, stood menacing overhead. With two hands, it raised its axe. I closed my eyes.

Maybe I'd be reborn into a more peaceful world next time— The scream of an axe head as it cut through the air. Slam! Next to me, the ground shattered, and a large cut straight into solid rock was mere inches from my body. I dared to look forward. The minotaur struggled, bound by something invisible. A terrible racket sounded out, echoing and bouncing around the mineshaft. The minotaur screamed as its invisible chains yanked and twisted, its joints popping as both arms were dislocated.

It was dragged to its knees, and there, appearing from my left, was Sable. She held the lyre, and in her eyes I saw… Fury!

"Where is she?" Sable asked, low and dangerous. The minotaur said nothing.

"Where!" she screamed, running her hand across the lyre and sending out a shrilling wave. I held my hands to my ears, my arms just healed enough to do so. Blood burst from the minotaur's ears and eyes. It trailed down its face as if it cried blood. There was panic in those red eyes until, suddenly, they went purple. The minotaur's head snapped forward, and no longer did it wear the uncaring, unrelenting face of a wild monster. Now there was intelligence and patience behind those features.

"Ysra," Sable said as if the word were a curse or an insult.

"My dear Sable," the minotaur said in a woman's voice, soft and caring, like a gentle breeze. Even hearing it for just a moment sent a chilling calm through me. The minotaur reached out, despite the invisible bindings, and gently ran a huge finger through Sable's hair. It put its hand on her back softly and drew her close… like a person embracing their beloved. Lower, they said, "Give up this pointless quest. You will never find me… unless I want you to. Do you want to resume our previous arrangement?"

Sable resisted being pulled in, but the minotaur embraced her in a gentle hug. So low I almost couldn't hear, Sable whispered, "Never, bitch." And with one final strum, the minotaur's chest exploded, a hole where its heart had been. It covered us both in blood and gore… but I was too relieved it was over to care. Sable was all fury and pain… and then a mask of civility and calm washed over her as she reached out a hand to me. She smiled, completely covered in blood, and said, "Thanks for saving me."