Things fall silent in an instant. All that can be heard is moaning and this horrible dripping.
*Plop*
*Plop*
*Plop*
Then there's another gargantuan footstep and the ground shakes. The moaning stops. Of the dozen men in the group, nine of them went in to help Mr. Sung. Two of them remain, just outside the range of the darkness, frozen in fear. Slightly behind them, I already know what we need to do. Grabbing Yin by the arm, I whirl around.
"Go! GO!" I roar. Penelope stares over my shoulder, not understanding what has happened, but I'm sure if any of them had the sense to check their party system, they'd know their friends are already dead. "If you want to live get the hell out of here!"
"W-What happened? Mr. Sung? Are you in there?" One of the shell-shocked two men still outside the shadows stammers. His words only anger the beast inside. It steps out into the light and draws up to its full height. Looking like the devil himself, the Daemonic Minotaur raises its shiny silver axe to the sky. And cleaves downwards. Credit to the man, he tries to raise his rubber bin lid and shield the blow. But it makes no difference. The lid is crushed within a split second. Along with the man's arm. His whole body is smashed down into the pavement.
*Crack*
"Heh..." The minotaur smiles, as steam appears in its nostrils. Huffing, it stomps on the ground sending a small earthquake through the surrounding area and turns on the other man. This one's smarter. Seeing the fate of his friend, he twists around and runs!
"We have to help him!" Penelope cries. Even Yin is ready to flee, but this dumb woman doesn't understand what we're dealing with here. "Run, Sam! Get out!"
"You want to add to the death count? Once it's done with him, it's coming after us!" I don't have time to argue with this stupid girl. Tugging Yin along, I grab Penelope and drag her away. "Come on!"
"B-But?" She gasps before giving up. Behind us, we can hear the last man, Sam, screaming for help. If he has a brain, he'll duck into a side alley, try to find somewhere the minotaur can't fit.
*Thud Thud Thud*
The heavy footsteps of the beast rumble from behind and I don't turn back to look. Smacking Penelope who's sneaking glances over her shoulder, I shout in her ear!
"Don't look! Just run idiot!"
Then the three of us take off like bloody rabbits running from a fox.
*Thud*
*Thud..*
*Thud...*
The footstep behind us get quieter for a few seconds. I sneak a glance over my shoulder. The Daemonic Minotaur has turned away.
That idiot finally decided to split off? Good, he'll buy us time!
Suddenly, I realize there is someone ahead of us. An icon has been blinking in the corner of my vision. But I haven't had a chance to read it while running.
"Yo!" The middle-aged priest man in white robes holds out his mace. Behind him, the small woman with her club from the entrance stands with a shortsword in hand. She's gotten rid of her club at some point. "It's you guys!"
"Get out of the way! It's going to find us!" Yin hisses, but the man who looks like a priest just chuckles. Behind him, three dozen people appear. I recognize some of the faces from the entrance but many of them are new.
"Wha?" Penelope gasps as she sees so many Hunters come out of nowhere. I stop in front of Yin and the priest while she catches up.
"How about it? I saw you guys were afraid, but don't you want to hunt the Mini Boss together?" The priest says something strange.
Mini Boss?
Suddenly, I realize that something strange is going on here. Quickly, I open up the System Notification that has been pulsing for a while.
System Notification:
Hunters Have Discovered The Eight Servants Of Demon Lord Belziarde.
Sidequest: Blood Of The Weak Fertilizes The Crop Of God-
Destroy The Eight Servants Of Demon Lord Belziarde For System Rewards!
A vein throbs in my forehead as my heart stutters.
System Rewards...right now that would mean either weapons or System Skills!
"You guys see it right? On the map, it says the Eighth Servant is coming this way!" This dude's voice is really starting to piss me off. "I've gathered as many people as I can. Why don't we fight it together? Whoever kills it gets the reward but at least everyone can share the experience!"
"Hei that thing's too strong. Tell him." Yin moves to deny him, but for once, I'm not inclined to flee. The words of the System are still flashing before my eyes.
"It's strong. Very strong. Not a true undead, but some sort of creature created by the System. Its flesh will be very tough. Do not engage it head on." I advise before grabbing Yin and Penelope. "We'll take a rest, first." After I pull them away, Yin turns to me as the three dozen men get in formation. The biggest guys go in front. Some people with axes, swords, and clubs go in back. It seems like they've found some of the most heavily armed people from our entrance. However, the thuds coming from the way we came are proof that it's not going to be easy to kill a servant of Demon Lord Belziarde. Once we pull a little bit away, Yin pounces on me.
"You can't seriously be considering fighting that thing!" She hisses, fire in her eyes. "Or are you planning to us them as distractions! Even you wouldn't sink that low, right? Why aren't we running?"
The business woman beside us, Penelope, watches fearfully as we bicker.
"No...well not exactly. I'm not going to leave them!" I lower my voice, drawing closer so only Yin can hear. "You saw the System Notification. The reward for killing this servant is from the System. Whatever it is, it will be crucial in surviving this dungeon. Without it, we'll fall behind. No matter what, you need to get it!"
"There's three dozen people here! Even if I'm a slightly higher level, I still have no confidence in killing that thing! Hell you were the one telling us to run!" Yin shouts in surprise a little bit too loudly. I quickly pull her closer and hug her.
"Don't speak so loud. Look, if you want to save these people, then the best thing to do would be to kill this thing as fast as possible, right?" My words cause her to calm down a bit. She nods as Penelope leans in trying to hear what we're saying. "Okay, and I'm the only one who knows how to properly utilize whatever the reward will be. S-o-o, you need to be the one to get it."
"Fine. But I'm going to party with them. I won't steal the experience from them." Yin declares fiercely. I nod, patting her on the shoulder.
"Of course, that's fine. Much as I hate it, if that's how you feel it's not necessarily a bad thing. Just remember, this is for the sake of the System Reward! Don't get too attached to them. Also, keep an eye on your surroundings at all times. There are only eight of these Servants and it seems they're visible on the System map once encountered. A LOT of Hunters are going to start coming this way! You must not let anyone else get the killing blow!"
*Thud*
A small earthquake seems to shake the land as the heavy foot of the Daemon Minotaur lands on the adjacent street. It's thick gleaming axe rounds the corner and a hideous roar comes as it spots the arrayed three dozen Hunters in formation. They heft their weapons, the white-robed priest man in front.
"Oi! You, what's your level?" I yell at him as the Daemon Minotaur huffs and paws at the ground with a thick hoof. The priest hefts his mace with a shaky smile.
"Lvl. 7 and a half! Everyone here is Lvl. 5 and has experienced the stat boost! We got this!" His confidence is probably one of the dumbest things I've ever heard. In any other situation I would leave these idiots to die because the odds of them killing this thing seem so slim. But the System Reward is too important for Yin. Chances are there are things in this dungeon which are going to kill us at some point anyway. If we are to prevail, we need to fight here!"
"Let me in the party!" Yin shouts. The priest-like man smiles and Yin nods as she enters the party. Turning to Penelope, the pretty girl addresses the salary woman. "You join too! But stay out of the fight!"
"Got it!" Penelope says. "What about Mr. Hei?"
"I have my own party." I say to head off any more questions. "Okay! Everyone ready! Remember, you cannot block its attacks! You have to dodge! Once it's off balance try to take out its legs first! It's too tall, we'll have to hack it down to our size first!"
"That's not a bad plan! If we survive this, I owe you a drink!" The priest-like man grins and turns back just as the Daemonic Minotaur charges, "You heard the man! Get out of the way!"
*Whump!*
"AHHHHHH!" Someone is too slow. The Eighth Servant of Belziarde stampedes through the midst of the three dozen men and sends one flying. He smashes into a nearby wall, moaning and groaning. "H-Help me...it broke...everything!"
The momentum stalls as these newbies realize what they're dealing with. Yin stares at me asking for permission.
"What are you waiting for! Get it!" I point at the Daemonic Minotaur's back. The girl I'm trying to teach pounds the dirt, her small feet kicking up bits of concrete as she puts the full speed of a Lvl. 10 Hunter to work. Her figures blurs, slim limbs dashing across the street. With a shriek, she explodes off the ground into the air and slams the tip of her sword into the Eighth Servant's back.
*Puchi*
The blade penetrates in, and I'm relieved. For a second, I was worried that the replica sword might not be able to get through this thing's tough muscle. However...
"Get away!" I yell a hasty warning as the blade stops, caught in a rib only halfway into the beast.
"GRAWWWWRRR!" The monstrous minotaur rears back to its full height, and shakes itself off. Yin's sword slips out and she's thrown away into the distance. Fortunately, with her level, she manages to land on her hands and feet. The Eight Servant reaches his hands into his back, trying to feel the wound. Its misshapen fingernails tear at its own skin causing it to howl even louder,
"RAWWWWWWWWWWR!"
"Go for the legs, it's not going to be that easy!" My shot-calling does not go unnoticed. Now that Yin has drawn first-blood, these newbies are finally moving. "Wait for the charge! No wait!"
"I'm going in!" A guy with a nice-looking spear tries to go for the Daemonic Minotaur while it's roaring in pain. However, as he enters its range, the beast's eyes grow crafty. Before he realizes it, the monstrous thing has already picked up its gigantic axe from the ground.
*Shing*
"Hurk!" The man crumples, hewn in two. One half falls and then the other.
*Thud*
*Thump*
"Oh crap!" The priest sees what's happened and all the confidence the men have gained fades away. The small salary woman in a black suit beside him hurriedly grabs his arm. However, the Daemonic Minotaur is already charging!
"GRAWWWRR!"
With a panicked expression the black-suited salary woman pushes the priest aside, throwing herself in the other direction. The Eight Servant thunders in-between them and this time, everyone manages to get out of the way. I see Yin getting up in the distance, readying herself to rejoin the fight. Good, she's okay!
"Go! Attack the legs now!"
The men move in at my behest, hacking and beating at the thing's stocky calves while it straightens from its blind charge.
"Back! Or die!"
They run backwards, moving almost in time with my command. Just in time too-
*Weng*
The Daemonic Minotaur's huge axe whirls around in a crescent. Despite the fact that the axe is almost as big as a man, the monster wields it like a toy. Suddenly, as it overbalances just slightly from the swing, Yin appears like a ghost in its shadow and strikes at the left hoof!
"GRAAAWR?!" The beast shudders as the blade of her katana slashes through the tendon of its ankle. Going down to one leg, Yin looks like she's considering finishing it-
"Not yet! It's not done yet!" I warn and she leaps backwards. The Daemonic Minotaur opens its eyes and stands back up, despite the blood leaking from its left calf. Suddenly, I hear something come from behind me.
*Clack*