Reborn: Age of Heroes

Fourteen - Something Out There

“Steal the shield from the what?” I asked, my eyes widening. From where I was, I could hear the sound of the raging winds outside the tunnel. It was good that I made it into the tunnel before the winds began. I was sure that a Hell storm was a sight I wouldn’t be delighted to see.

“The Minotaur,” Amias said abruptly, as though it explained everything. The light from the bonfire cast a weird glow on his face. He was tapping on his cane as his gaze swept around the three of us.

“Like the half-man half-bull abomination on the island of Crete?” asked Lyana. “I thought it was only a being mentioned in Greek myths, a legend at best.” I was about to ask how Lyana knew of the demon, but I remembered that the huntress was from Greece. I kept my mouth shut and waited for the old man to speak.

“There is some truth in stories,” replied Amias, still tapping away with his walking stick. The sound of its rhythmic beating penetrated my ears. “While the Greek myth about the Minotaur being a half-bull is true, it living in the mortal realm is incorrect. There is only one Minotaur, and it dwells here in the Second Circle of Hell.”

“Oh, there’s only one.” I felt a wave of relief wash over me. “There’s four of us, and we have the Angel’s sword. I reckon that stealing the shield from that bull would be easy.”

“You’d be a fool to underestimate the half-bull beast.” Amias stopped tapping his cane. A deafening silence ensued, pierced here and there by the occasional crackling of flames and the whistling outside winds. After several breaths, the robed man spoke again. “The Minotaur is the personification of wrath and uncontrollable rage. It is insatiable as it is vicious. Though it is not the most cunning of demons, it is one of the most hateful. It would not hesitate to impale you with its horns and eat your heart when you are dead. It also wields a weapon of its own. A mace forged on the fires of the Seventh Hell,” he said.

By the Amias was done speaking, I could feel sweat breaking out of my skin. My mouth was dry, and my heart was beating with the sound of horses' hooves on a stampede. “How are we supposed to defeat something like that?”

“Simple. Drive a blade through its stomach. It is unarmored. The Minotaur’s belly is its only weakness. The other parts of its body are covered in thick hide.”

“You make it sound easy,” I remarked. “How big is this Minotaur demon, anyway?”

Amias thought for a few moments. “About three times the size of a man. It has the head of a bull and the body of a human. Its lower body--”

I raised my hands, stopping the old man’s words. “You do not need to be too descriptive, Amias. I get the idea,” I protested as sinister images formed inside my head.

“What?” blurted Magat, gazing at me. “Are you scared of cattle, boy? It’s not like you’d be joining us in this battle. Feel free to stay here and wallow in your misery. I have the Angel’s sword. I don’t need your help.”

“Well, that’s good!” I exclaimed. “Since you are claiming the sword as yours, why not claim the leadership that you people insist on me.” I shifted my focus to Amias. “I am not running away this time as I have promised you, but that doesn’t mean I accept the responsibility of being your team’s leader. I will join you in your journey to the mountains. But that’s it. I will not be the one to face the Minotaur. There is only one sword which means only one could use it. Let the war chief have his way with the raging beast.”

“Just as I thought,” Magat said as he lay on his back. “Still a coward. I told you, Amias, knocking him out will do him nothing. It was better if I had just killed him.”

Amias exhaled an audible sigh. “Don’t worry, Samuel. I agree that you do not need to take the Minotaur on.”

I did a double-take on Amias. I thought that he would disagree with me and insist that I take on the mantle of leadership; I was surprised that he didn’t. “You do?” I asked, just to make sure.

“Yes,” the old man replied. “Magat will carry the sword and use it to kill the Minotaur. Lyana and I will help him fight.”

“That sounds go--”

Amias held his hand up, cutting my words short. “Let me finish, Samuel,” he said to which I shook my head. I knew that whatever he had in mind would not be good for me. “With the powers of the sword suppressed, there is no certainty that Magat will be able to defeat the Minotaur. So while the beast is distracted fighting, you will sneak behind its back and steal the Angel’s shield.”

And I was proven right. Amias’s idea involved me risking my heart getting impaled by a demonic bull’s horns. The sound of raging winds died, and I thought that the storm of winds outside the tunnel was over. Behind the old man, I could see a glimpse of the front end of the tunnel, where a small amount of light spilled through. I was about to open my mouth to complain when I saw a huge shadow flash at the entrance of our makeshift shelter. Closing my eyes, I shook my head to make sure I wasn’t just seeing things. When I peeled my eyelids back, the shadow was still there. My heart fell to the ground as the dark figure seemed to move toward us. I pointed to the front, my fingers trembling. “There’s something out there,” I whispered just in time to see the shadows move. A scream broke out of my throat as I realized that the dark figure was a slithering demon, and it was making its way toward us at a terrifying speed.