Chapter 71 (1/2)

Maybe I should’ve known this from the beginning. My location was a mine directly above the Temple of the Wind. I thought I would come here one day but it ended up being now.

“...This is bad.”

[The first apostle, ‘Prometheus,’ is sweating.]

“3-320...?” Mido stuttered with a surprised expression.

-Isn’t 320 the highest level for a boss monster ever identified?

-Right. The other day, the Zeus Guild raided a level 250 basilisk.

-I remember. Every time the basilisk opened its eyes, everything turned to stone. I was really dizzy at that time.

-So how strong is this monster?

Damn, that wasn’t the problem right now.

“I asked who you were. Gruruk.” The burning red eyes were looking down at me. They were eyes that exactly matched the image of a minotaur in my head. There was a momentary numbness but this wasn’t the important thing.

Bull Demon King? In my memories, Minotaur wasn’t the son of a demon king. He was the child of the Taurus, Aldebaran, one of the 12 Zodiacs. Of course, Prometheus didn’t have any memories of after he was sealed so he didn’t know what happened to the traitor constellations.

I decided to talk to him first. “Minotaur, where is Aldebaran?”

“Who are you? How do you know that name?” A huge spurt of hot air came from his nostrils.

I momentarily thought I was in a hot springs. He truly was Aldebaran’s child. In my memories, Aldebaran had the title of ‘Scorching Heat.’ Now it seemed that his son Minotaur had inherited the power. There could be an extreme heat warning. I replied, “Would you believe me if I say I’m a friend?”

“Kuhaha! A friend of a great demon king? You are bluffing too much.”

Great demon king? Was it a real demon king?

“Did Aldebaran go to the Demon World and become a demon?”

No, maybe he wasn’t alone. All seven of the traitor Zodiacs might be in the place called the Demon World. I hadn’t been there yet.

“Why should I answer that? You are a suspicious human. How do you know my father’s true name? Well, it doesn’t matter. You're going to die here. Die!” A massive, high-temperature flame emerged from Minotaur’s mouth. The flames that quickly spread were hot, burning my location.

I managed to push Mido away. “Are you okay?”

“Ah, yes, I’m sorry.”

Mido might’ve been too surprised that she hadn’t come to her senses yet. I rushed toward Minotaur’s legs at my top speed. The difference between us was so obvious that what happened next was no surprise.

[The target’s fire resistance is too high.]

[The fire attribute attacks won’t work.]

“Damn, it truly didn’t work.”

As expected, the attack didn’t work. Aldebaran was the same. Physical attacks against him were almost impossible. Then what about this?

“Ice!” The white ice that appeared in an instant covered Minotaur’s right foot.

Minotaur seemed baffled by the sudden cold. It was phenomenal but there was a problem. “This is just the power of a small constellation. Kneel before Pandora’s power!”

I saw a black energy boiling from Minotaur’s body. Was this a Pandora piece? This was the worst situation.

[The ice can’t last long against unknown forces.]

[The freezing time has changed from 20 seconds to 5 seconds.]

Only five seconds...

Was it because I hadn’t opened up the full power?

“...!”

A huge fire passed by my head at a tremendous speed. The ground rang and the building shook. It was a tremendous force but it was too early to feel relieved. It was because Minotaur alternated punching with both hands.

“Keen Insight!”

[Apostle Skill: Keen Insight has been used.]

[You can preview your opponent’s attack path.]

Flames devoured the scene. Pillars of fire soared wherever Minotaur’s fists passed and lava rose on the spot. It was as if I was being hit by Sun Road. It was a strange feeling. I narrowly managed to escape using Keen Insight and thought of the Fire Dragons who had been killed previously. I felt some type of compassion toward them but there was no regret because they deserved it. However, it felt like I was being caught... damn.

[The first apostle, ‘Prometheus,’ is telling you to be careful!]

Minotaur’s fist struck me from a blind spot. I flew through two walls and hit another.

Mido jumped with shock. “Ahjussi!”

...I wasn’t an ahjussi. I thought I had managed to dodge but my legs were stuck. I coughed up blood and took out the last remaining potion, drinking it. However, my critical state still hadn’t been resolved.

[The first apostle, ‘Prometheus,’ is telling you to run away first.]

This was truly the only way. It wouldn’t matter if I was alone but I had to send Mido away. I took out the return stone and quickly opened the portal to Windia. “Go quickly.”

“Ahjussi?”

“Not ahjussi... in any case, go ahead.”

“I don’t want to. Let’s go together.” Mido wrapped an arm around my shoulders. I saw her supporting me and the tip of my nose was sore. The chat window was going by so quickly that it was hard to read. We managed to reach in front of the portal.

Then I heard a voice behind us. “Gruruk. Where are you running away to?”

Whoops. I was so moved that I forgot he was here. The approaching Minotaur tried to release fire from his mouth again. I squeezed out my remaining strength and pushed Mido into the portal. “No! Ahhh...!”

Mido reached out for me. This was my end. The flames engulfed me.

[You have died.]