“We can help him though,” Mika argued. “We can strike Cataclysm while she’s distracted.”
“We’ll only get in his way,” Sasha argued as she pulled the sorceress back. “You do not want to get close right now, trust me.”
“You’re going to find out who the real monster between them is,” Rulo added, with Mika and the girls all watching the standoff with heightened interest.
“I’m going to tear all of you apart!” Cataclysm laughed with a deranged smile. “You’re all going to be nothing but dust after I’m through with you! That disgusting remnant, that blasphemous minotaur, and all you filthy bugs; I’ll smite every one of you in the name of my master! Cataclysm shall always trample over you insignificant weaklings like the dirt you are, for I am my master’s personal warhorse!”
“How very unfortunate for your master,” Daemon retorted. Streaks of black and dark blue light began spilling off from his hands as a warm glow was now building up in them. The centaur glared at him with a wicked laugh before showing surprise as her energy stream started to be pushed back by something.
“Through your actions he has made enemies with a very dangerous monster,” Daemon continued with narrowing eyes. Behind him black and blue swirls of light began forming, slicing through the ground and expanding into a large spellbase of fiery light. Cataclysm stared at the casting ring with wide eyes as it grew larger still with multiple intertwining rings appearing within it.
“And I fear I won’t be able to hold it back from doing what it does best,” Daemon scorned. With a burst of speed he charged through the burning energy stream of the centaur, ripping apart and dissolving the torrent of light as he then struck his hand onto the woman’s chest. Cataclysm hoarsely gasped as she felt the cambion’s fingers gripping her, her stunned eyes going from his hand to Daemon’s face as she was frozen in shock.
“You made me do this,” he deeply spoke with a scowl on his face, the dark glare he gave sending chills down the centaur’s spine. “And I’m not going to regret what happens this time.”
Without pause the casting ring behind him flared brightly with wildly growing flames, the wall of magic exploding forward and swiftly channeling into and through Daemon towards the centaur along his arm. With a thunderous bang the woman was engulfed with dark and bright blue flames erupting around her from the cambion’s hand. The ground beneath instantly shattered and blew away from the violent gales, the centaur’s scream was quickly consumed by the raging inferno that spread out into the air, and her body was blasted clean off the ground while her clothing was scorched and torn up from the searing heat.
The girls behind him were thrown back from the shockwave, with even Minos being knocked off her feet from the forceful blast. All around the battlefield was illuminated with a bright cerulean glow as Daemon struck the centaur with his mighty magic. Cataclysm was thrown away from the explosion, screaming and tumbling across the barren dirt with smoke trailing behind her. After finally collapsing onto the ground with a painful groan the centaur struggled to get up while her metallic leg twitched beneath her.
“Holy shit!” Tabitha cried out.
“That… that was…” Hollia nervously stuttered, herself and the others slowly getting up and staring in astonishment at Daemon as he stood before a swirling cloud of smoke and flame.
“Remarkable,” Mika breathed out. “Sire… that was incredible.”
Saffron merely held her bangs aside while staring at Daemon with wide eyes, her antennae twitching overhead as she gulped with a blush forming on her cheeks.
“He struck her down,” Forrus marveled. “We couldn’t scratch her, a minotaur couldn’t even stop her, but my lord… he struck her down like a true warrior.”
Daemon slowly eased his stance as he stood before a large smoldering crevice he had torn through the field. His wings stretched out behind him while he turned his cold glare down to a hand that flexed and formed into a fist. He stood there, not making a sound or moving an inch while the girls regained their footing further behind him.
“That’s my master,” Rulo lovingly praised. “I just love the way he scares me when he gets like this. So hot and terrifying.”
“He knocked down that bad centaur,” Scay said with a twitching smile. “Tabitha, look. He did it without his sword, just like they said he could. Isn’t he so- nrrghmmm SEXY? Hee hee! Tabitha? Tabitha, don’t you think so? Tabitha?”
She looked around quickly before spotting the neko racing over to where Cataclysm’s spear was pierced into the ground. The neko ran up to the weapon and grabbed onto it, her eyes twinkling at the sight of the rare treasure while a small amount of drool escaped her wide smile in her excitement.
“Now this is what I’m talking about,” she moaned in pleasure. “Ohhhhh, you’re going to make me rich. Such craftsmanship, such power, such rarity. Wherever these Ancients come from they sure know how to create impressive treasure. Forget five grand, you’re easily worth at least eight. Hell yes, this is perfect! It’s about time my luck turned around!”
“Tabitha?” Scay wondered tilting her head.
“Is that seriously all she’s concerned about right now?” Hollia scoffed. “My knight just took down that disgraceful centaur in glorious combat while showing us all his true form and might, and she’s still just thinking about how much that stupid spear is worth?”
“I hate her so much,” Forrus muttered shaking her head.
“Let her drool over that thing all she wants,” Rulo snorted waving off the neko. “Let’s just hope it blows her up by accident as she’s doing so.”
Slowly Cataclysm got back onto her feet, holding her broken arm while turning her murderous scowl towards Daemon as he stared her down through the lingering haze. What remained of her clothing dropped off her burned shoulders and backside while her metallic leg remained in perfect condition still.
“This… isn’t happening…” she snarled while trembling in anger. “How can this be? Just when that filthy bovine is within my grasp, an accursed guardian appears to stand between us? I can’t accept this…”
“She’s still alive,” Sasha cautioned as everyone saw the centaur staggering slightly while having smoke drifting off her back.
“She’s not looking too good,” Forrus said shaking her head. “I believe the poor thing is wounded.”
“Indeed,” Hollia bitterly agreed. “Oh how the mighty have fallen. Let’s do the right thing and put her out of her misery, shall we?”
“Oh, I’m going to enjoy this,” Rulo growled as she clutched her hammer.
Cataclysm eyed over Daemon as he watched her with a piercing glare, her reluctance to charge forward again becoming evident as she made not a single step towards the cambion now. Glancing behind him she saw the other girls tensing up as they felt more confident in attacking now while Tabitha was still focusing only on the centaur’s spear that she continued to admire from every angle she could. Holding a hand out towards the weapon Cataclysm began to summon it back to her, with the giant spear rocking in place as the monster focused her magic on it. Without pause Daemon shot towards her again with a powerful eruption of debris blasting up behind him, prompting Cataclysm to jump with frustrated alarm before she quickly channeled her magic with fiery white energy swirling forth around her hand.
“This ends here!” Daemon declared as he closed in on her.
“You wish,” Cataclysm hissed. “I’ll be back for your head, you filthy worm!”
She waved her arm upward then swung it sharply around at her side, erecting a contorted spellbase that bent and curved unnaturally around her. The searing white casting ring bared familiar foreign glyphs from the ancient City of Eden’s cenotaph, the same that floated through the air at odd angles around the centaur as she focused a buildup of power in her hand. Before Daemon could reach her she threw the magical energy down to the ground with a thunderous bang, causing the casting base to spin and flare out with a bright flash. Only swirling dust and empty air greeted Daemon as he passed w
here the centaur once stood, the cambion touching down on the ground again with a low growl as he clenched his fists tightly at his sides.
“Where did she go?” Rulo asked looking around quickly. “Where did that fucking bitch go?”
“She ran away,” Sasha said as the girls slowly lowered their stances. “How very disgraceful. And I always thought centaurs had their pride.”
“There isn’t an ounce of nobility in that centaur, I can assure you of that,” Hollia mentioned as she showed similar discontent for Cataclysm’s escape. “My word, she truly is worthy of the name monster. She deserves a painful exit from this world after what she’s done. Just the thought of her fleeing like a rat and living to see another day as she has, it really pisses me off.”
“Well she didn’t run away unscathed,” Mika pointed out. “She lost what little pride she may have had along with her weapon. It’s by no means a victory for her.”
“It would still make us happier to see her smeared across the ground and have her head mounted on that spear of hers,” Rulo snorted.
Saffron nodded with a squeak as she searched the surrounding area, her antennae twitching now and again while she twirled a bombstick around between her fingers.
“MINOS IS TRULY IMPRESSED WITH THE GUARDIAN!” Minos suddenly shouted. “SUCH A STRONG AND BRAVE WARRIOR! MATING WITH HIM WILL BE MY GREATEST HONOR AND JOY!”
She then remained perfectly still with her fist clenched at her side and a wide smile on her face. Mika watched the minotaur who seemed to be once again hesitating with her proclaimed intent before she looked around at the others, all of them merely shrugging at her as Minos again trembled slightly in her reluctance.
“So what are you waiting for then?” Mika asked the minotaur. “Why are you just standing there?”
Minos slowly glanced down to her with a bright blush forming on her face. She held her axe in front of her to hide behind, pausing for a while before slowly moving it aside to reveal a nervous frown on her face. Mika observed as the minotaur remained silent with her tail slowly wagging behind her, the sorceress glancing over to Daemon as he had yet to move or even take notice of the girls behind him, then looked back to the giant minotaur who appeared to be embarrassed about something.
“You’re not scared of him, are you?” Mika realized, with Minos shaking her head to that. After considering what she was about to actually ask Mika then continued.
“Are you… shy?”
Minos moved her eyes around at the other girls then back to Mika while remaining silent.
“You’re shy?” Hollia repeated. “You… you’re not approaching my knight because you’re shy around men?”
“MINOS IS… MINOS IS…” the minotaur shakily bellowed, then slowly nodded in shame. “MAYBE… A LITTLE BIT!”
“You’re shy around men,” Mika repeated, then turned to the other girls in bewilderment. “She’s shy around men. Is that… even possible?”
“Um…” Forrus slowly replied, herself and the others looking to one another in confusion from the very thought. “I mean… I know humpers can get spooked by humans who appear threatening. But I never heard of a monster being too shy to approach a man in the first place.”
Saffron shook her head and squeaked a few times as she eyed over Minos in puzzlement.
“Are you serious?” Rulo scoffed at the minotaur. “All that talk about being a fearless warrior and a powerful minotaur right after you charged in to do battle with that damned centaur, and you’re afraid to even approach a man?”
“MINOS… BASHFUL!” Minos shouted back. “LEAVE MINOS ALONE!”
“I… don’t even know how to respond to this,” Hollia said, staring off into space as she felt at a complete loss for words.
“What kind of lustful monster of Eden are you?” Mika cried out in disbelief. “I thought going after men and taking them by force was what all monsters instinctively knew how to do! How can you be bashful around them?”
“STOP MAKING FUN OF MINOS!” the minotaur yelled, hopping up and down and thrashing her arms at her sides. The girls stumbled about from the rolling tremors while Minos became further flustered about the matter. “MINOS IS A BRAVE WARRIOR! MINOS TRAINED TO FIGHT AND DEFEAT EVERYONE IN GLORIOUS COMBAT! MINOS… NEVER TALKED TO A MAN BEFORE! IT’S NOT MINOS’ FAULT MEN ARE INTIMIDATING!”
“Stop shouting already!” Rulo yelled covering her ears. “Oh my god, are all minotaurs deaf or something? Why does she only know how to scream and not talk like a normal person?”
“She’s so loud!” Scay whined as she did the same. “I can’t even hear the voices in my head over her! Make her stop! Make her stop!”
Sasha rubbed her ear with an irritated growl before she looked over to Daemon with a worried expression.
“You girls deal with her. I’ll check to see if my master is okay,” she ordered walking off. The girls watched her heading towards Daemon with a slowly waving tail before looking back to Minos as the minotaur was hopping about on her hooves with anxious squealing.
“I WANT TO GET CLOSER TO HIM TOO! IT’S NOT FAIR! I WANT TO GO OVER TO HIM! WHY CAN SHE GO NEAR HIM SO EASILY BUT I CAN’T?”
“Because she’s not afraid of men!” Rulo shouted back. “She’s not a goddamned coward!”
“Could you please stop yelling so much?” Hollia cried out. “We can hear you, dear, but if you keep up that racket we won’t be able to hear anything ever again!”
“Why are you afraid of men anyway?” Scay wondered shaking her head. “They’re so cute and sexy and- nrrghmmm STABBABLE! Hahaha! They’re not scary.”
Minos struck her axe into the ground and promptly hid behind it, with the girls witnessing in confusion the sight of a towering minotaur shaking and hiding her face in her hands while crouched low on her hooves behind the glowing weapon.
“What the hell happened to you?” Rulo groaned in annoyance. “Seriously, did a big bad human scare you when you were a kid?”
“I can’t imagine a young minotaur being any more capable of fearing a human man,” Hollia reasoned shaking her head. “Wouldn’t they be just as big if not bigger than a human even at that age?”
Forrus carefully approached Minos, seeing the giant brute trembling nervously as she peeked at the lycan between her fingers.
“Before you say anything,” Forrus warned. “Please try to use your lowest possible speaking voice with us or else we’re going to shut you up the hard way. Now, why in Eden are you afraid of men? You’re far larger and stronger than they are, what reason could you possibly have to fear them?”
The girls gathered closer while Sasha slowly approached her master from behind, her focus only being on Daemon while the others listened carefully for an explanation to this big mystery. Minos glanced around at them before peeking over the blade of her axe at Daemon and Sasha, her tail slowly wagging as she tried to steady her breathing and force a brave face. She opened her mouth to speak before quickly halting and glancing over to the girls. Seeing Rulo gripping her hammer, Hollia holding her lance out towards her, Forrus baring her teeth, Mika narrowing her eye and having red light building up in her hand, Saffron holding up a bombstick with narrowed eyes, and Scay brandishing her dagger with a deranged grin, Minos took a slow breath before leaning closer to them.
“Men…” she spoke, seeming to be a strained whisper for her while still being at normal speaking level for everyone else. “They can… hurt us.”
“What are you talking about?” Rulo snorted.
“Men can… hurt us,” Minos whispered. “They can cause pain unlike anything else.”
“Are you talking about their warriors?” Hollia questioned.
“No. All men.”
“What do you mean they can hurt you?” Mika asked. “Anything can hurt you, you’re not immortal. I can see Scay’s dagger wounds on your arm. She hurt you, didn’t she?”
“Not like men can,” Minos worried shaking her head. “Snakebite will heal. Body will heal. But… but what men do… does not heal so
easily or at all.”
“What are you afraid of them doing to you?” Forrus asked. “Some sort of magic or weapon they have that your kind are weak against?”
“No. Much worse than sword or spell.”
“Spit it out already,” Rulo ordered. “Just what is it a man could do to a minotaur that she fears so much? What is a man going to do to you that you’re so afraid of?”
“He… he…” Minos shakily whispered, the fear in her eyes causing the others to grow even more curious as to what weakness a human could possibly exploit against such a mighty monster. After taking a few deep breaths the minotaur hid behind her hands again as she forced herself to continue.
“He… could… reject me,” she whined. After a moment she glanced to the girls between her fingers, seeing their bewildered stares as they were completely silent. “Did you hear me? I said they could reject me. A man could reject Minos.”
“…what?” Mika finally asked. “You… you’re scared to death… of a man rejecting you?”
“As in…” Hollia slowly questioned. “Him saying no to being with you?”
“You’re afraid of a man telling you he doesn’t want you?” Forrus clarified.
“And that scares the piss out of you?” Rulo flatly asked.
“Yes,” Minos replied with a nod.
The girls looked to each other for a moment then back to Minos as she resumed peeking over her axe at Daemon like a frightened child.
“I feel as though we’re missing something here,” Mika said, with the girls nodding slowly in agreement.
Approaching her master from behind, Sasha felt her heartbeat quickening as she looked over his monstrous form. His wings that twitched slightly in the air, the sharpened bone protrusions on his arms, his white hair that ruffled in the wind, and the aura he emitted which not only smothered the reptile girl but also brought forth heat from her cheeks and between her legs. Stepping behind him Sasha halted and quietly observed her master with adoring eyes, her presence not going unnoticed as Daemon slowly glanced back to her with his cold gaze.
Chronicles of Eden - Season II - Act I Page 17