"That would be deadly," Silver muttered, eyes narrowing.
I took a deep breath, removing my suit coat and tossing it aside. The blood-stained fabric hit the ground with a soft thud.
"Yeah... but if we don't end this now, things will get much worse for us."
I repositioned myself, moving away from Emma, Lily, and Silver while they were still healing. If I was going to pull this off, I couldn't afford to let them get caught in the crossfire.
Then, taking a deep breath, I screamed at the top of my lungs—
"OVER HERE, YOU BIG, DUMB OX!"
The Minotaur's head snapped in my direction, its red eyes gleaming with fury. With a guttural roar, it charged at me, each step shaking the ground beneath my feet.
"Alve, what the hell are you doing?! Are you trying to die?!" Ramon shouted, his voice edged with panic.
"Good question! I'll let you know when I figure it out myself!" I called back, dodging to the side as the Minotaur's massive fist slammed into the ground where I had just been standing.
Silver didn't hesitate. "Ramon, aim for its legs with everything you've got!"
Ramon nodded, gripping his holy sword tightly. Channeling all his remaining mana, the blade flared with a brilliant golden light.
With a burst of speed, he dashed forward—
And with one powerful swing, he slashed deep into the Minotaur's leg.
The beast bellowed in agony, thrashing wildly, its massive hands swinging through the air in blind fury.
Emma, barely conscious, forced her trembling hands together and chanted a spell. A shimmering mass of water formed above the Minotaur's head, encasing it in a suffocating bubble.
Seeing her push through her exhaustion, Silver followed suit, drawing an arrow and aiming for the creature's knees.
"Ramon, go for the knees now!" he commanded.
Ramon, breathing heavily, summoned every last ounce of strength he had left. He lunged forward and drove his glowing sword into the wound he had already inflicted.
The Minotaur staggered. Its massive form wobbled—
But it still wasn't dead.
I took a shaky breath, steadying myself. "Emma, drop the spell in five seconds. Ramon, get ready to strike its eye."
Emma didn't even hesitate this time.
As the suffocating water spell dissipated, the Minotaur let out a ragged gasp—its first breath in nearly a minute.
But before it could fully recover—
Ramon leaped onto its back, gripping his sword tightly.
With a swift and brutal thrust, he plunged the holy blade into the Minotaur's left eye.
The beast howled in agony.
And before it could even react, Ramon ripped the blade out—
And drove it straight into the other eye.
The Minotaur let out a final, guttural cry—
Then collapsed.
For a long moment, no one moved.
Then, Ramon turned to me, breathing heavily.
"It's over."
My legs gave out, and I sank to the ground, exhaustion crashing over me like a tidal wave.
"I'm... completely spent..." I muttered.
Ramon yanked his sword free from the Minotaur's corpse, then slumped against its lifeless body with a weary sigh.
"Let's rest before we move on," he said.
And for once, no one argued.