Reversal

While Minos's change in perspective was invisible, this didn't mean it was worthless, on the contrary, Minos's entire aura seemed to have undergone a subtle change.

Deep within his bones, a sort of confidence was slowly being released, a confidence he always had, but was never quite capable of utilizing.

Just a moment ago, he felt that life and death was up to fate, but now, that wasn't the case anymore.

He would live, he was confident he would live, because he decided that he wasn't going to rely on fortune anymore.

Having been enlightened, the paper-thin wall between Minor and Major Mastery was shattered instantly, a smile appearing on Minos's face.

Even Luka could feel the difference, but since he felt Minos was only a few steps from death, he decided to ignore it.

However, just as he was about to let his heart down, he noticed Minos suddenly ignoring the giants, heading towards him instead.

Seeing his performance, Luka was a little worried, only relieved as he remembered the strength of the glass that protected him.

"Haven't you already realized such action is futile?! Give up!" Luka said uproariously, but Minos's body drew closer nonetheless.

Dodging through the feet of a dozen different giant's, Minos once again jumped up, his body stalling right in front of the glass-vat as he swiveled his sword backward, preparing to strike.

"Foolishness, sheer foolishness! Kill him!" Luka said, his instincts screaming at him that something bad was about to happen.

While his interaction with Minos was short, he already knew he was the type that only did things with purpose, so unless he was confident, he wouldn't waste time striking twice.

"Luka, you're a brilliant man, but unfortunately, this is a world of power." Minos said with a laugh, his sword releasing at full force, a crescent-like airflow striking at the glass-vat.

Such an airflow was enough to split a dozen mortals in half, but against the glass-vat, it was just like a soft gust of wind.

However the real attack was hidden within, the energy of the Forbidden Thought technique transferring through the glass with no problems, immediately traveling into Luka's large brain.

Not pausing at all, Minos struck a dozen more times, his body almost levitating in the air as his rapid strikes kept him afloat.

Had Luka been a cultivator of greater strength than him, even as powerful as the Forbidden Thought technique was, it would likely be ineffective.

But just like always, it seemed strength seemed to be his eternal curse, and his large brain, while incredibly intelligent, was fundamentally no different from a mortals.

Since it was no different from mortals, how could it resist such an overwhelming energy?

With each blow, a thought would be erased from his mind, his eyes blurring for a moment before clearing back up.

But before he could ever recover, another Forbidden Thought struck at him, slicing whatever new thought came to mind.

"St-stop! I will tell you whatever you want, just spare me!" Luka shouted, his voice filled with desperation, having completely lost his prior confidence.

"No need, I already know." Minos smiled, having long since read his mind with his Omniscient Eyes.

Since his brain was ultimately a mortals, Minos could see all his thoughts and memories with ease, nothing being hidden from his eyes.

This naturally included his many years of experience, and all the knowledge he had accumulated throughout his lifetime.

As long as he could get back to safety, he could slowly master this knowledge, reaching the same height as Luka himself.

With nothing left to obtain from the man, he didn't hold his hand back at all, wanting to end this danger right away.

Having reached Major Mastery, the amount of Nux he needed for each strike also dropped exponentially, so despite his reserves being nearly dry, he still struck dozens of times.

Had he reached Perfection, a single slice would have completely wiped Luka's brain, but even without it, a dozen was more than enough to overwhelm him.

The brain was a very fragile organ, so after miraculously surviving 15 strikes, the 16th was the hair that broke the camel's back, Luka's eyes going completely soupy as he was essentially rendered braindead.

Normally, Minos could hold back, only erasing a thought while otherwise leaving the brain unaffected, but he naturally had no thoughts of doing that right now, allowing the energy to turn Luka's brain into mush.

Having dealt with Luka, there were only these giants left to deal with, but by now his Nux reserves we're pretty much empty.

His cultivation had completely regressed back to its initial stage, fortunately his progress wasn't much in the first place, so it wasn't that bad.

But without Nux, he could only rely on pure swordsmanship and strength to deal with what was left of these monsters.

He didn't have that confidence in the past, but that strange man's words had woken him up, besides, it's not like he had any other options.

Landing back on the floor, Minos turned towards the hoard of giants, a smile forming on his face as he pointed his sword outwards, his will to fight having never been so strong before in his life.

…

The next hour was incredibly brutal, the term bloodbath being inadequate to describe the sheer carnage.

The more Minos fought, the more he enjoyed himself, finding a sort of beauty within the brutality.

His body was akin to a dancers, moving rhythmically through the crowd of giants as he used strategic blows to kill each of them as quickly as possible.

As he killed, his technique became more and more pure, the amount of strikes he needed to kill a giant dropping at a fast rate.

Eventually, he became capable of killing a giant with only two strikes, one to bring them down, and another to decapitate them.

While he had done such a thing in the past, now he could do it without fail, even when surrounded by hundreds of them.

He also began learning how to exploit their clumsy natures against each other, oftentimes managing to kill one without even striking.

Meanwhile, his Omniscient Eyes and split souls operated in unison, coming up with new methods while ingraining the ones that worked best into muscle memory.

By the time the second hour passed, there was nothing left but the deep red earth and the thick smell of blood.

Minos laid back on the floor, his entire body soaked red and sword at his side.His hands tucked comfortably behind his head.

Two hours of nonstop fighting had left him completely exhausted, but the amount of experience and fighting wisdom he had earned from this battle made everything worth it.

If he had learnt anything from this experience, it was that he needed to always be confident, especially in the moments when the odds were against him.

He may die in the end, but as long as he died with pride and dignity, having had the courage to fight, then it was a worthwhile life.

What is fate but the compliance of the weak? He wasn't the little boy he used to be, and he wasn't weak, so his fate would only be controlled by his own two hands.

With a light heart and a smile on his face, Minos stood back up, slowly walking to Luka's shriveled corpse, his eyes once being the only thing that had vitality, now being reduced to stillness.

Reaching out with a sigh, Minos used two fingers to slowly shut his eyes, finally letting the once brilliant man rest.

Having read his memories, he naturally knew the life experience Luka had gone through, and in a way, he was quite similar to Minos.

Neither of them had especially good starts, but as their talents were slowly revealed, they finally found their ways through the world.

But different starting points resulted in different ends. Luka was ultimately constrained by the talents of his species, forcing him to give up on cultivation and focus wholeheartedly on his intellectual pursuits.

This was another way the two could relate, Minos also suffering from bad talent that limited him.

He had always been worried about his talent, but through one experience after another, especially now, he finally released this insecurity that he had never seemed quite capable of letting go of.

Regardless of what happened, or where his limits may lie, he would never stop fighting, because that was simply the kind of person he was.

Bowing towards Luka, Minos finally headed back, the gate that sealed him in having opened back up with Luka's death.

While he hadn't gained anything physical this journey, his enlightenment, battle experience, and not to mention the knowledge he got from Luka all made it incredibly worthwhile.

Just as he entered the tunnel once more, the room began quaking, the consequences of his long battle finally setting in.

With a loud bang, the entire roof caved in, the rock and soil acting as Luka's new grave, giving him a place to rest eternally.