Bang! Pierce!
The black-horned minotaur slammed into the green-horned one, impaling itself on its ally's horns.
The sound-wave shield dissolved into faint ripples, vanishing into the air. Dust and stone fragments rained from the cracked ceiling.
"Thought it would be more difficult," she said, clicking her teeth, her voice sharp in the echoing tunnel.
Her words lasted less than a heartbeat.
The green-horned minotaur roared, the sound thick with pain and fury. Its muscles bulged grotesquely as it forced itself forward, dragging the skewered black-horned minotaur along. Stone cracked beneath its hooves as it tore the corpse free, flesh tearing with a sickening, wet sound.
The corpse collapsed at its feet—or so Rui Yan thought.
Growl!
The black-horned minotaur growled and stood up. Flesh around the wound stitched itself together with alarming speed, the raw edges of muscle knitting back into a terrifying semblance of normality.
Roarrr!
Rui Yan's expression hardened.
"Still alive, huh?"
She shifted her stance. The flute dissolved, disappearing in a swirl of glowing dust, and the familiar black notebook materialized in her hands.
"No helping it," she murmured. "Guess I'll have to play a little louder."
The notebook snapped open. Strings of glowing notes tore free, swirling around her arm as the pages flipped on their own. They shimmered with a pale light, casting jagged shadows on the tunnel walls.
In a burst of white brilliance, the notebook reshaped itself—this time into a massive trumpet, its body carved from white draconic scales that shimmered like ice.
The green-horned minotaur stomped, preparing to charge. Dust billowed beneath its hooves. But before it could move, the trumpet in Rui Yan's hands finished transforming.
She raised it, gripping the handle with both hands, and inhaled deeply.
[Sound Mania II Activated]
A piercing, trumpeting blast exploded from her lips. A visible sound wave surged forward in a sharp cone, slamming into the green-horned minotaur and continuing toward the black-horned one.
The minotaurs clutched their heads, mooing in agony as they tried to resist. Their legs trembled violently; small stones skittered across the floor as they struggled to maintain balance.
Step! Step!
They forced themselves upright, inching forward, driven by stubborn rage.
Roarrr!
The black-horned minotaur dashed forward.
"Not happening. You're staying right there," Rui Yan said, increasing the tempo. The trumpeting swelled, notes spiraling into a whirlwind of sound.
The minotaurs collapsed to their knees, clutching their ears.
"Moooww!"
Blood trickled from their eyes and ears as the assault continued, echoing off the walls like rolling thunder.
Step!
The black-horned minotaur rose again, eyes turning a feral blood-red. It raised its hands and clapped. The sound wave rebounded.
It slammed back toward Rui Yan, knocking the trumpet from her grasp.
But the weapon never fell. Midair, it dissolved and reformed into a massive drum shaped like a shield. Rui Yan spun and slammed it onto the ground, bracing for the impact of the approaching beast.
[Sound Mania I Activated]
[Sound Mania II Activated]
I'm betting half my energy on this… so it better count.
The black-horned minotaur's fists balled into iron-like spheres as it hurled a punch.
Bang!
The drum absorbed the blow. A deafening boom reverberated down the tunnel.
A massive sound wave erupted, flinging the minotaur past its ally and into the wall. Blood spattered across jagged stones.
The green-horned minotaur, unable to withstand the barrage, collapsed, blood streaming from every orifice.
Both beasts lay dead—one plastered against the wall, the other sprawled across the floor. Dust, blood, and the tang of metal hung in the air.
At the same instant, Rui Yan was thrown backward. She twisted midair, pulling the drum onto her back, and slammed into the tunnel wall, rattling the glowing ores embedded in the stone. Blood ran from the corner of her mouth as she struggled upright.
With a dinging sound a notification screen appeared on the corner of her view.
[Absolute Creature Rage Bull Slain]…
[Absolute Creature Rage Bull Slain]…
Eyes burning, Rui Yan muttered, "Finally dead, huh? Two more to go…"
Thurd! Thurd!
"Huh?"
She twisted her neck—and froze.
Two black-horned giant minotaurs were fast approaching.
"What…?"
Then more emerged. One by one, from every tunnel. Absolute Beasts, every last one of them.
How…?
More giant minotaurs? And all Absolute Beasts? How…?
Unless—
No. We have to leave. Now.
The drum dissolved back into the notebook. Rui Yan sprinted toward Dillard, shouting before he could do something reckless.
"Save your strength!"
"We need to leave—now!"
The notebook flipped and transformed into a flute in her hands.
"Okay, miss," Dillard said.
Ding!
---
[Absolute; Draconic Ground Strider Armour Activated]
Details: Takes ten stat points from all other stats and invests them into speed.
Active Skills:
• Strider's Cognition — Heightens senses and thought-processing speed
• Burst — Transfers half of all stat points into speed for 10 seconds
Note: Once Burst it cannot be used again unless the armour is resummoned, after the last usage the armour will be destroyed
Armor Usage: 2/4
---
Dillard summoned a beast memory. His armor vanished, replaced by the Draconic Ground Strider Armor—a full-body suit of overlapping blue scales.
He activated Wyvern Speed and Strength.
Scooping Rui Yan onto his shoulder, he bent his knees and triggered Strider's Cognition and Burst.
A tail burst from his lower back, slamming into the ground and coiling like a spring. Muscles flexed in perfect synchronization.
Rui Yan blew into the flute. A human-sized sound barrier formed a meter ahead, shimmering like liquid light.
Choosing a tunnel less crowded with minotaurs—
Boom!
Dillard launched forward. Dust, rock, and echoes thundered behind him.
Passing a minotaur, his claws flashed. One strike—clean through the neck. Another. Another. Every swing precise, ruthless.
Minutes later, near an intersection, he heard something.
Huh? A battle?
He pivoted, following the sound. Ahead stood a human, alert, surrounded by the carcasses of bees.
Dillard grabbed the man, bent his knees, and leapt—bursting through the narrow tunnel exit.
Fresh air.
He sprinted forward, setting the man down, lowering Rui Yan, then collapsed with a grin.
His armor vanished. His body shrank back to human size. Beneath it, a clean tracksuit gleamed in the sunlight.
"Finally," he breathed.
"The fresh air of the pathway."