Chapter 7
Minotauros
O-O-O-O-O
Pandemonium ensued as the large doors to the chamber slammed shut. The monsters within understood that they were sealed in here, and the only way out was victory.
And to achieve victory, they must first slaughter everyone else in the room.
Battle cries roared throughout the chamber, followed by screams of pain and rage as the monsters threw themselves at each other, lashing out with their claws and teeth and weapons.
Asterios swung his Labrys in a wide circle, driving back any monsters that tried to approach him, but it was painfully clear that his experience in combat was minimal compared to most others participating in the bloodbath. As he finished swinging his axes in another wide arc, a Laistrygonian pounced on the opening, bringing down his colossal two-handed sword overhead. Asterios just barely brought up Labrys in time to block, but the immense force of the blow dropped the Minotaur to his knee. Following up his attack, the Laistrygonian warrior planted his foot into the kneeling Asterios' chest and kicked him backward, sending him careening into a wall. Several smaller monsters rushed in for an easy kill, but they were swept aside by the Laistrygonian's blade, hoping to properly claim the kill himself.
Hell. This was certainly hell. Surrounded on all sides by screaming and roaring as monsters ripped each other to pieces with a mad fervor. Madness, blood, pain, so much pain. He had never left, had he? Sealed underground in a realm of darkness and bloodshed. He was always there. Rotting away in that dark pit.
So much darkness…
Yet so much fire…
It burns.
It burns!
It burns it burns it burns it burnsitburnsitburnsitburnsitburnsitburnspainpainpainpainpainpainpainpainpainfirefirefirefirefire
The Minotaur slammed into a rocky outcrop and slumped over. The Hellhound stalked closer, its drooling jaws parting into a snarl. It had not eaten in what had felt like weeks, unable to properly hunt in the abyss of Tartarus. As it reached the Minotaur it opened its maw wide to take the first bite of its prey…
As the creature's jaws opened wide, the Minotaur saw a window of opportunity. If it could take advantage of its opened maw, strike it in its mouth, the beast would lose its primary weapon. He just… needed… to muster… the strength…
But the Minotaur could not gather the strength to retaliate. The Hellhound's jaws closed over his skull, and once more, the Minotaur died, deep in the abyss.
The Laistrygonian raised his sword high over his head like an executioner. Right there, at that moment, Asterios saw a window of opportunity. With his arms raised high to perform his finishing blow, the giant's chest was completely unguarded. If he could just muster the strength for one blow… he just… needed… one… hit!
Bolting up from his slumped position, Asterios moved far faster than the Laistrygonian could react for a single moment and launched a mighty punch. His fist speared cleanly through the giant's chest and for a moment, Asterios' opponent could only look at him in shock, before crumbling to dust.
Picking up Labrys, Asterios leveled his gaze at the carnage in the rest of the room. It was hell. But he, the monster of the Labyrinth, was much acquainted with such a hell. He had lived and died through the same over and over for eons, and this would be no different. No matter what, he would leave this place behind. He would not be sealed away in hell once more. He would be free.
Throwing himself into the frenzy, the other warriors met him with mad ferocity. A Telekhine warrior swung his sword at Asterios, which he parried with great force, sending the sword spinning from the seal-man's hands. Then-
"▂▂▃▃▅▅?!"
The Minotaur cried out in shock before doubling over in pain. The monster he had attacked was small and weak, but in its panic, it drove a sharpened stone beneath his ribcage. Felled by a lesser creature, the Minotaur collapsed upon the jagged terrain of the pit and slowly died once again.
Before the Telekhine could even finish drawing its dagger, Asterios lashed out with a vicious kick, pulverizing the monster's ribcage and launching its limp body across the room. Asterios wheeled around, swinging both of Labrys together and bisecting a triad of Dracena around him. Left and right, he swung his weapons. Armor shattered, limbs went flying, yellow dust kicked into the air as Asterios lashed out in a mad frenzy, decimating any challengers. But suddenly-
The Minotaur collapsed, numerous crudely-fashioned arrows sprouting from his back making him resemble a pincushion. From the outcrops around him, a raggedy pack of dog-headed men emerges, wielding bows fashioned from bone. One of the dog-men drew a rusty sword and approached, intent on finishing him off to secure his pack a meal.
"▂▂▃▃▅▅▅▅!"
Even with arrows sticking out of his body, the Minotaur lashed out in fury, grabbing the dog-man by the throat and crushing him in his grip. With barks of alarm, the other dog-men fired their bows into the Minotaur. They struck him in his arms and his legs. Some were tangled in his mane, while others bounded off his mask. Finally, one struck him in the heart, and the Minotaur succumbed to his wounds at last.
With incredible dexterity, Asterios twisted his body around, striking the arrow out of the air before it could strike him in the back. The Centaur who had attempted to shoot him had already drawn another arrow, but Asterios was already upon him. Trampling several other monsters in his way, the horned beast rushed the foolish Centaur and smashed him to dust with Labrys.
"UUUUURROOOAAAAAAAAGHHH!!!"
Asterios let out a thundering roar, easily drowning out the other screams within the chamber. His own warcry. A challenge to anyone who thought that they could stop him. He could feel a burning sensation bubbling up in his chest and coursing through his body, a mad desire to crush any and all opposition. This was it! This was what those confusing feelings must have been. His unending hunger, the whirling thoughts in his mind, and that indecipherable emotion he felt when he smelled the scent of the sea god.
The emotion, or rather, the desire… to DESTROY absolutely everything! This is what it meant to be a monster! To crush, to kill, to devour everything in the world! If he could sate that desire, he'd gladly accept being a monster!
A Cyclops approached, having been drawn by the Minotaur's warcry. Rather than enter the bull-man's range, the Cyclops scooped up a Dracena, ignoring her cries of shock and anger, and flung her full force at the Minotaur. The Dracena-turned-projectile screamed as she hurtled towards the Cyclops' target, but-
The wounded Harpy snarled as she tackled the Minotaur in a final-gambit attack. Caught off guard by the desperate retaliation the bird-woman launched, the Bull of Minos stumbled backward ever so slightly. Yet that slight step backward made all the difference, as the cliffside crumbled beneath him, sending the Minotaur and the Harpy tumbling into River Phlegethon.
Fire.
Fire!
Firefirefirefirefirefirefirefirefirefirefire-
Before she could make contact, the Minotaur cleaved the Dracena in two with one half of Labrys, flinging the second with the might of an artillery shell at the Cyclops who had thrown her, killing both of them in an instant.
This was not the same Minotaur who had died countless times in the burning pit below the Underworld. Nor was this the child in a monster's body that had been defeated by the Sea God's spawn twice because all he could do was flail his arms like an infant. He certainly wasn't the same Minotaur that had been routed into a corner by the Amazons like a wild animal. And…
"Asterios… my son."
HE.
"Let's go, A*terios!"
WAS NOT.
"Always remember to stay strong, *st*ri*s."
ASTERIOS!
"Show me what you've got, ********!"
"GRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHH!"
The Minotaur sat in the darkness alone.
At first glance, it would have seemed like he was dead, based on how still he was. But a closer look would reveal that he was still breathing softly, half-asleep and half-awake, in some sort of self-induced trance.
Thoughts still ran through his head in this state. He could think much more rationally now, with the raging berserker state he had entered in the great battle having faded. Along with that berserker state was his mad desire for bloodshed. Oh, it was certainly still there, but it was not the same intense madness it was before.
He mused to himself that the initial madness could be compared to a raging wildfire, unstoppable and unquenchable by any means other than time or a lack of fuel. His current state would be more akin to boiling tar. Calm and placid save for a few bubbles, but still burning hot nonetheless, and woe to any who may touch it for it will never let them go.
Speaking of fire, the torches that had once lit the chamber had burned out quite a while ago, plunging the room into total darkness. How long were those torches meant to last? How long had he been here? A while after he had killed the last monster standing, he had calmed down and allowed himself to slip into this lucid sleeping state. The torches had gone out sometime after that, but he couldn't pinpoint when. How long has it been since they were locked in this chamber, forced to slaughter each other? Days? Weeks? Or perhaps only a few hours?
The Minotaur was roused from his contemplations by the sound of the large doors at the other end of the chamber groaning as they began to open. Chasing the last vestiges of slumber from his mind, he scooped up Labrys from his sides and reared up to his full height, advancing menacingly towards the group that stood in the now opened doorway.
"...and the final survivor will bear the venom from all the others it had devoured." Dr. Thorn mused. "Congratulations, Minotaur. You've passed the test. It's my expectation that you'll be a valuable asset to Kronos in the war to come. I trust you're on board?"
A low growl built up in the Minotaur's throat, but to anyone else, it would have sounded like a motorbike revving up. The entourage of armored monsters around Thorn bristled nervously, readying themselves for possible combat.
"What… do?" The Minotaur rumbled.
"Well," Dr. Thorn smirked. "I can tell you're not one for working with large groups, so we'll most likely be assigning you to missions such as bodyguard detail, reconnaissance, and of course, hunting down problematic individuals."
"Half… breed… sea… god?"
"Ah yes, Perseus Jackson. I'm sure you've got quite the score to settle with that one. Rest assured, we have a great many plans in store regarding the child of Poseidon. Though admittedly, they have been somewhat altered due to the other child of the 'Big Three' resurfacing. I'm sure we can make great use of your talents regarding those two. But keep in mind, until stated otherwise, we need them alive."
The Minotaur huffed, a burst of hot air escaping his nostrils. "Fine." he rumbled. "Will… hunt... half… bloods… for… Titan."
"Well then," Thorn concluded with a wicked grin. "This'll be the beginning of a wonderful alliance, my friend."
Within that chamber, a true monster had been born. A creature with the body of a man, and the horns of a great bull. All the pain from Tartarus, the hatred within the other monsters as he devoured them, and the conflicting emotions of a scared, lost child had culminated to create an abomination. The horrific embodiment of everything mankind believed about the Beast of the Labyrinth. A man-eating monster. A savage, heartless beast of malevolence, born of humanity's arrogance and the gods' fury. The result of pushing countless of those horrific tales and curses unto a young child had produced such a creature, one that now desired the slaughter of others above all else. And now, that creature was released unto the world, a mad attack dog of the Titan King. In life, he had never had the chance to commit the atrocities humanity had said he had. He did not have the chance to be the monster they said he was. But now… it was time to start the carnage in earnest.
And yet…
As Thorn and his entourage led the Minotaur out of the Labyrinth, the large chamber doors slammed shut behind them, plunging the empty room into darkness. The doors displaced the air slightly as they shut, stirring the heaps upon heaps of dust left behind by the slaughtered monsters that had once occupied this chamber. As a small pile of dust was blown to the side, a small circlet of feathers was uncovered. The plumage of the feathers was torn and crushed, but the circlet itself remained intact, underneath the remnants of dead monsters. The circlet must have fallen off of the Minotaur's horn in the frenzy of combat, unnoticed in his madness, and lost under the dust.
It was the circlet that a boy named Asterios had made for him.
Cing Krimson's Qringe Korner:
Me: "Man, I can't find any motivation to continue this story. I can't even find the motivation to write my original story either. Guess I might as well put them to the side for now and find something else to do-"
Matt the guest reviewer: "Please update."
Me: "Holy fucking shit. I need to write this next chapter. The fate of the world rests on it. This is the most important thing I've ever done."
Special thanks to Matt the guest reviewer for giving me that final push I needed to get me off my ass and actually commit myself to my work. Thanks Matt.
Watch this, I'm probably going to procrastinate on the next chapter too lol. I'm really, really sorry.
In other news, the Titan's Curse approaches as Asterios decides he wants to be violent and evil. King.