Chapter Twenty Six:Death Of A Minotaur
Today was a nightmarish day for the strongest monster on the 16th floor, the Minotaur.
As the strongest monster on that floor, the Minotaur had peak Lv2 strength and endurance. Although it lacked agility, its sheer strength and durability were more than enough to pose a lethal threat to adventurers exploring that area. Its terrifying roar alone could cause paralyzing fear in most Level 1 adventurers, rendering them helpless. For these adventurers, the Minotaur was nothing less than a living nightmare.
However today, these Minotaurs faced a high-level adventurer who showed no mercy.
One sword strike was enough to take them down, their magic stones and drop item, Minotaur Horn, were casually tossed into the adventurer's backpack before the next one was slain. The golden figure, like a death reaper, moved through the labyrinth, harvesting the lives of Minotaurs with ease.
The Minotaurs could only curse the humans for playing dirty—facing off against Lv2 adventurers was one thing; they could easily handle that. Whether they tore the adventurer to pieces or were butchered into beef by the adventurer, they accept their fate.
But to be hunted by a high-level adventurer who seemed intent on wiping out their species?
That was too much.
The golden figure moved faster than the wind and reaped their life as if a farmer harvesting wheat.
Shouldn't this adventurer be challenging deeper floors and fighting monsters like Udaeus to make a name for themselves, rather than bullying a bunch of dainty little Minotaurs here?
One of the Minotaurs, smarter than the rest, flee the moment it's saw Ais, abandoning all of its companions.
This smart Minotaur realized that this death reaper was hunting them specifically, it figured its only hope of surviving was to flee to the upper floors, where it could take its revenge on weaker human adventurers.
Then on the 12th floor, Shirou, holding Ais's hand, encountered this Minotaur.
….
"A Minotaur? What's a middle-floor monster doing here?" Shirou immediately projected a long sword, and adopted a defensive stance.
Monsters in the dungeon occasionally broke through floor restrictions and wandered into adjacent levels, but the Minotaur was supposed to be around the 15th floor, and this was the 12th. A Minotaur appearing here was definitely an anomaly.
"Riveria, stay behind me," Shirou said, positioning himself in front of Ais.
The girl had introduced herself as Riveria from the Demeter Familia. The real Riveria, of course, was the renowned and highly respected Level 6 adventurer, a royal elf, and the vice-captain of the Loki Familia, alias [Nine Hell (Princess of Nine Magic)].
However, Shirou, being a relatively new adventurer, was unaware of this.
The only reason Shirou even knew about the Sword Princess was because his goddess had once mentioned her record-breaking speed in leveling up. As for the Demeter Familia, Shirou was familiar with them, as he and Ryuu had once bought food from one of their shops.
In Greek mythology, Demeter is the goddess of agriculture, fertility, and harvest. The Demeter Familia was focused on farming and producing food. While the Ganesha Familia boasted the most adventurers, the Demeter Familia had the most members, though many of them were farmers who might never set foot in the dungeon. The Demeter Familia did have adventurers, but they were generally low-level.
With the Demeter's Familia supplying more than half of Orario's food, they maintained good relationships with nearly every other Familia, making them one of the most important Familia in the city.
Shirou had initially planned to escort "Miss Riveria" back to the surface, but encountering such a dangerous and powerful monster like a Minotaur was unexpected.
When Ais saw the Minotaur, her first instinct was to draw her sword, but Shirou stepped in front of her, causing her to stop.
Meanwhile, the Minotaur in front of them was beyond furious.
Minotaur: "Not again! I even ran all the way to the 12th floor, and you still won't let me go?! Are you committing genocide?!"
Damn it, I'll take you down with me!
The Minotaur let out an earth-shattering roar filled with fury, and with strong resolve, charged forward as if it's heading toward certain death.
Then it was stopped in its tracks by a magic sword attack.
Shirou discarded the Frost Magic Sword he had projected, glancing at the expressionless girl behind him who was clearly anxious. He took a deep breath, and locked eyes with the Minotaur.
[Skill, Oath Under the Snow, activate.]
[When acting to protect others: increased strength, durability, and enhanced magic and skill effects.]
In that moment, as he faced the enraged Minotaur, Shirou's fighting spirit reached its peak, a name crossed his mind—
Theseus, the legendary king of Athens and a hero in Greek mythology. His name was often associated with the philosophical concept of the Ship of Theseus, but what Shirou thought of first was one of 'Theseus' greatest achievement: slaying the Minotaur.
It was this very legend that made Theseus qualified for the Saber class.
Shirou, didn't immediately use the high-level magic sword Tsubaki lend him to instantly kill the Minotaur. Instead, he used the Frost Magic Sword to freeze the monster in place. Then, focusing his mind, he began his incantation:
[Judging the concept of creation.
Hypothesizing the basic structure.
Duplicating the composition material.
Imitating its craftsmanship.
Sympathizing with the experience of its growth.
Reproducing the accumulated years.
Excelling every manufacturing process.
Come forth the sword of fantasy]
"Trace on."
A massive mace-like sword, gleaming with metallic light, appeared in Shirou's hand.
"[Fake—Ariadne Aporito Adis ll(And Thus, The Thread Leads To The Terminus)]."
Theseus, in his Saber class, possessed a Noble Phantasm, but it wasn't a sword. Rather, it was Ariadne's Thread, which allowed Theseus to reach the Minotaur and escape the labyrinth. The thread paved the way to glory and victory, but it was also a cursed item that could lead the user to hellish doom with one misstep.
Shirou didn't need the thread to guide his path, as the Minotaur was right in front of him. What he needed was a sword capable of slaying the beast.
Thus, the sword he projected at this moment wasn't truly a Noble Phantasm, it wasn't even worthy of being called one, even the name it had was borrowed. At best, it was a slightly sharper sword.
The original [Ariadne Aporito Adis ll(And Thus, The Thread Leads To The Terminus)] was a C++rank Anti-Unit Noble Phantasm, but the sword in Shirou's hand was just a massively downgraded D-rank hollow shell, whose True Name can't even be released.
That was the only reason he could project it with his Lv1 magic.
Yet, even as a hollow shell, it was still tied to the legend of Theseus the Minotaur Slayer.
[Skill, [??????](Roadless Valhalla), activate.]
[Temporarily gaining the Development Ability [Hunter].]
[Temporarily gaining the skill [Fake Ox Slayer.]
The Minotaur quickly broke free from the ice that had immobilized it and roared in fury as it charged forward again. However, after taking a single step, it was stopped in its tracks.
It stood only three steps away from the boy. One more step, and the Minotaur would be within striking distance, where just a casual swing of its arm would be enough to smash through the fragile body of a mere Lv1 adventurer.
However, it could no longer move forward. The gap between them felt like an insurmountable abyss. It was as if the Sword of Damocles hung above, ready to pin anyone that dared to step forward into the depths below.
The monsters in the dungeon lacked intelligence. They followed their primal instincts to hunt the humans who entered and fled from those they couldn't defeat.
But at this moment, the Minotaur was feeling something far deeper and more fundamental than instinct-[Fate].
Shirou Emiya stepped forward, raising the sword in his hand high before slowly bringing it down in a simple, ordinary slash.
From Ais's perspective, time seemed to slowed. The movements of both Shirou and the Minotaur became extremely slow. Faced with what seemed like a simple, ordinary slash from the boy, the Minotaur could only clumsily raise its arm in a desperate attempt to block.
Scalding, dark red blood sprayed through the air as the heavy sword cleaved through the Minotaur's forearm. The monster, known for its endurance and toughness, had its arms sliced through like a hot knife through butter.
The Minotaur howled in agony, backing away. However, with every step it took back, Shirou moved one step forward, until the monster's back was pressed against the cold, unyielding walls of the dungeon, leaving it with nowhere else to go.
The red-haired boy's expression was icy as he swung the Sword of Theseus, the Ox Slaying sword, toward the helpless Minotaur, as if what he swung was not a sword, but fate itself.
In Ais's eyes, Shirou's figure, slashing down the monster, was like the blazing sun casting judgment upon the beast lurking in the dark.
———-
Fate Theseus
https://fategrandorder.fandom.com/wiki/Theseus?file=S396+Sprite+Stage3.png