Chapter 64
Minotaur (3)
Inha gripped the hilt of her sword tightly.
Thousands of strands of metal thread intertwined together, forming a weapon that looked like a spinning reel.
Whish—!
When she swung the sword horizontally, bundles of metallic threads followed her motion, gleaming as they rippled through the air.
As the shimmering waves transmitted down the threads, their elegance turned into ferocity.
Thap—!
Leaping high with her sword, Inha spun around the Minotaur’s massive body. The threads shot out and wrapped around the creature tightly.
Once she pulled the metallic lines taut, the beast was cocooned halfway, unable to move.
‘That should hold it for now.’
Stopping it from moving would be enough for the moment.
She immediately turned and ran toward Sungchul.
“Sungchul oppa, I’m back.”
“What about the boss? Don’t tell me you fought it alone…?”
Inha shook her head.
“Taking it down was impossible, so I just managed to pin it in place. And also…”
She quickly briefed him on the monster’s characteristics she’d noticed during the fight.
Sungchul nodded—then froze when he noticed the weapon in her hand.
“…Did Sehyun give you another one of his weird inventions?”
Where the sharpened blade should have been, countless strands of metal thread fluttered instead.
Only Sehyun could’ve created such a bizarre weapon.
But Inha shook her head again.
“No, this isn’t a different weapon.”
“Huh? What do you mean—”
She held out the hilt toward him. Embedded in it was her younger sister’s soul stone.
Sungchul’s eyes trembled.
It was the same explosive sword Inha had always used.
“Wh-What on earth…”
“…I don’t know either. I just followed my instincts, and it ended up like this.”
Perhaps there had been some hidden function built into the sword.
No matter how they speculated, only Sehyun, the creator, could have explained it.
Regardless, it had saved them from a dire situation.
Even just binding the boss temporarily gave them a much-needed moment to breathe.
“Still, we can’t let our guard down.”
“Right.”
A boss-level creature could break free and rampage at any time.
They needed to retreat as quickly as possible.
“I know we have to hurry, but…”
Sungchul looked ahead.
Before they could even finish handling the second wave, a third had piled on top of it, overwhelming the frontline.
If they pulled back now, they’d be surrounded immediately.
They had to push back the advancing horde at least once before retreating.
“…I’ll handle that.”
“What? Wait—!”
Before he could stop her, Inha dashed toward the front line.
A bald-headed fighter at the vanguard spotted her and gasped for breath.
“Wh-What brings you here! Ah, if you came to help, please take the left—”
“No, just lend me your spear.”
“Huh? Oh, uh, sure?”
The moment she took it, the long spear unraveled like a spool of thread.
“Stand back.”
“Wha—what the hell…?”
Ignoring his confusion, Inha flicked her hand lightly.
Swish—
Silken threads shimmered in the air, scattering like the wind.
They looked as if they were freely dancing—until they swept across the line of incoming spiders.
Moments later—
Sh-sh-sh-shhkk!
The entire swarm was sliced cleanly in half.
But that wasn’t all.
Fwoosh—!
One of the threads brushed past a magma pillar and caught fire from Sungchul’s molten energy.
Blazing wires whirled through the air—an inferno of fiery lines.
In an instant, the spiders were engulfed and the battlefield turned into a sea of flames.
Then, with a motion of her hand, the threads gathered back into a single spear.
“…Huh.”
The bald fighter and his teammates could only stare, speechless.
“Let’s go.”
No one argued.
Even the bald man glanced helplessly at Sungchul, who could only nod and signal the retreat.
The team quickly withdrew.
“Where the hell did that bull monster even come from?”
“Isn’t it obvious? It was the boss.”
“Baldy, I know that! I mean, what happened to the advance team? Was that thing all that’s left?”
The group hurried down the empty gray streets of Yeoksam.
Having barely escaped the monster’s pursuit, they were heading toward their previous safe zone.
Sungchul finally spoke.
“They’re probably all wiped out.”
“…What?”
“Hard to believe, but it’s true.”
A heavy silence fell.
The entire advance unit—gone? Even the veteran Saint Union members?
“So what now…?”
“We retreat. We can’t hold out alone.”
Ordinarily, they’d regroup at the safe zone to locate and rescue any survivors.
But they didn’t have that luxury now—they had to escape and call for reinforcements.
“Hm? That’s strange.”
“What is?”
The priest, who’d been staring at his navigation tablet, frowned.
They’d been following the route for ten minutes, but the safe zone was nowhere in sight.
“Let me check.”
“Y-yes!”
Sungchul examined the map and their surroundings.
The street looked peaceful, but something about it made the hairs on his neck rise.
‘Lost? That doesn’t make sense.’
Under normal circumstances, he’d have blamed the priest’s sense of direction.
But this was different.
‘We were retracing a straight road, yet somehow we ended up in an alley.’
It wasn’t a mistake of memory or confusion by similar scenery.
It was as if their perception had been quietly distorted—realizing far too late that they’d gone astray.
‘Now that I think about it, the priest mentioned something earlier…’
That construction materials hadn’t arrived for the safe zone.
He’d brushed it off then—too busy with the start of the next wave.
But now, it seemed significant.
You couldn’t get lost on a straight path—unless something was wrong.
‘So it’s not just the boss that’s abnormal… something’s wrong with the whole place.’
As he pondered, Inha tapped his shoulder.
“You’re thinking the same thing, right?”
“Maybe. You noticed something?”
“Yeah. Doesn’t the boss remind you of a Minotaur?”
“Minotaur…”
Come to think of it, it really did resemble the mythical creature.
“But why?”
“Think about it. Where was the Minotaur trapped in the myth?”
Of course Sungchul knew—the cursed child of Crete’s queen, locked away in a labyrinth.
A half-man, half-bull beast who devoured humans until Theseus slew it with Ariadne’s help.
The very name “Minotaur” evoked a single word: Labyrinth.
“But that’s just mythology.”
Even if the boss looked like one, it didn’t mean the myth was real.
But Inha’s eyes were serious.
“What if it is real? What if this entire city is the labyrinth?”
“…A labyrinth-type rift.”
A chill ran down his spine.
Labyrinth-type rifts were known for their hallucinogenic field—a pervasive energy that dulled logic and warped perception, like walking through a dream.
‘It makes sense…’
He recalled all the strange signs: losing their way on a straight road, the supply team never arriving, and even the Saint Union members relaxing far too easily earlier.
‘If they were under the labyrinth’s influence… it fits.’
The realization made his stomach drop.
“That means… we can’t escape unless we kill the boss.”
“What…?”
“The moment we entered, we were already trapped. No matter where we go, we’ll just circle back endlessly.”
A labyrinth-type rift wasn’t like a maze—it was more like a swamp.
A maze had exits; a swamp only dragged you deeper the more you struggled.
In this kind of trap, every road ultimately led back to the boss.
Their only option was to defeat it.
Just then, Inha’s face went pale.
“Oppa! My sword—!!”
“What—?!”
The threads that had been spread out suddenly rushed back toward her sword.
That meant the Minotaur’s bindings had been broken.
Then—
Rumble…
The ground began to shake violently.
“What’s happening?!”
“Below us—underground!!”
BOOOOM!!
ROOOAAARRR!!
The Minotaur burst through the asphalt, bellowing in rage.
“Scatter! Everyone, move!”
“Yes, sir!!”
The team dispersed in every direction.
Inha grabbed the priest’s hand and bolted.
“W-whoa!!”
Her explosive acceleration sent them hurtling forward, the priest’s face turning pale.
But there was no time to worry about him—the Minotaur’s burning gaze was locked on them alone.
‘Then I’ll take the lead…!’
Bang—!
Inha leapt high, unraveling her sword once again into shining threads.
Swishhh—
Like spider silk, the threads wove between the buildings.
She couldn’t use her explosive boost while the blade was undone, but she sprinted across the air, stepping lightly on the metallic strands.
For the Minotaur, however, those threads became obstacles—each layer that it tore through slowed it down more.
But that wasn’t all.
“This sword was originally an explosive sword!”
Piiiing—
The soul stone embedded in the hilt glowed as it reacted to her stellar energy.
And then—
BOOMMMM!!
The threads wrapped around the Minotaur detonated all at once.
The bull giant was engulfed in black flames.
“It—it worked!”
“No… probably not.”
Having fought it once, she knew—the explosion would barely restrain it.
Sure enough, something shot out from the fire.
Whoosh!
It wasn’t the creature’s body this time—
but its massive double-headed axe, spinning through the air.
“Watch out!!”
The axe barely grazed Inha as a shockwave blasted them backward.
“Kyaaa!”
“Ugh!”
The metallic threads she’d laid out scattered, and both she and the priest plummeted.
The priest quickly extended a hand downward.
“Shield of Sacred Radiance!”
A spherical barrier absorbed the impact, saving them from a fatal fall.
But then—the Minotaur was already upon them, seizing its axe.
Fear clenched the priest’s heart. One person’s barrier wouldn’t last long.
THOOM!
“Damn it!!!”
The axe crashed down against the barrier, sending a shockwave that drained nearly all his energy.
The monster raised its weapon again—no mercy this time.
“Ugh…!”
The priest squeezed his eyes shut—
—and suddenly, the attack stopped.
“Inha…!”
Threads flew in again, wrapping tightly around the Minotaur’s arm.
“Go! Run while you can!”
The threads creaked under strain, moments from snapping.
“…I’m sorry, but I can’t.”
The priest bit his lip, rising to his feet and raising a hand toward the beast.
“Even like this, I’m still a knight!”
Flaaash—!!
A blinding light burst from his barrier once more.
ROOOAAARRR!!
The Minotaur howled, eyes burning red, thrashing violently as it ripped apart the threads and raised its axe high.
Inha knew she couldn’t hold any longer.
She shut her eyes tightly—
Then—
Slice—!
An unexpected sound.
Inha’s eyes fluttered open.
A silhouette stood before her, outlined by the glow of the barrier.
It wasn’t Sungchul.
Nor any of her teammates.
“Sehyun…?”
“Kept you waiting, huh?”
Inha let out a trembling breath of relief.
