Volume 2 Chapter 3 (1/2)
Chapter 3
───At the same time, in the ruins north of the Great Tree
The limbs of the Bull Monster trembled and it had collapsed to the front
The pain was already unbearable even with his body of a Bull Monster, yet it continued to assault hi around in so much pain that it shaved off his heart and soul In the city of the Great Tree, the arrowheads of the Fixed Type Large Ballista poured down on hie Ballista that pierced his body without sparing a single place should have been h to kill the Bull Monster However, despite feeling the pain, the Bull Monster wasn't in a state of dying
He rolled on the ground, was in so ony that foa with his life
On the contrary, he started to become more active
Every ed and co the Bull Monster into a completely different creature He started to fear theto his body
While not understanding as happening, he could only crawl on the ground and raise growls
His roars reverberated throughout the ruins where he crawled into in order to hide himself This land, separated from the city was completely uninhabited There weren't expected to be any human presences
”GuhGi-Gaah!!!”
His shrieks contained slight traces of huive shape to it because of the foaushed out of his mouth, however those shrieks indeed contained hued to live, si anyone
Because he was now the monster of the labyrinth, ”Minotaur” – a Bull Monster described in the Greek Pantheon An aberration that ate boys and girls brought into the exitless labyrinth
In other words, a type of eneric naer other than by eating races of human nature
Within this ”World of Little Garden” where various species like Eudeed to the races which were theSimilar races that attacked to the humans weren't few Eudemons like Perytons that came to these lands from the continent of Atlantis, were deemed as the murderer species───races that actively killed humans by instinct Existences like these who actively assaulted intelligent lifeform, coexistence symbiosis was impossible even in the Little Garden of Gods And also, even there, there were feould consider helping thesethe one that would eat them Anyone who saw that appearance would tremble in fear and run away at full speed
Therefore, there was no one in that place ould help the ”Minotaur”
But contrary to such a situation, the pain that eroded hi the intelligence that was supposed to have faded away, he squeezed out the human words
───Help me!
However, the shriek that he had desperately squeezed out, disappeared into the night sky of the ruins without reaching out to anyone It probably wouldn't have mattered even if that place was a human habitation instead of ruins Most likely, he would have been put to death by hunters by taking advantage of the situation
If there were ones ouldn't run away after seeing amonster………would they be other man eaters?
Or perhaps, experienced adventurers who have travelled on demon nests beyond that of the labyrinth
”Now this is surprising To think that such a truth was hiding behind the legend of the Minotaur”
”!!?”
Footsteps of a person stepping on pebbles were heard And reacting to that, the Bull Monster raised his head
The voice belonged to a boy The boy ore a slightly smaller robe that didn't match with his body───Perhaps, was about fourteen years old He was considerably tall in coe, and only the fact that his features still contained hints of ie
The sudden voice of the youth was fa amount of power
The boy who appeared in the ruins did not show fear before the monster, and instead he fixedly looked down on the Bull Monster as if soht his eye
Theup with the pain, looked up at the youth
The youth stepped towards the ht hand and touched the monster's hair, and called out to the other person───to the young girl ore black spotted clothes and aiting behind him
”Pest Can you temporarily numb his pain?”
”Isn't not that I can't But is it really fine to do so like that, Jin?”
”At this rate, he would grow insane fro Hethe Game with his true form”
The youth called Jin turned his gaze towards Pest - the girl ore spotted clothes
Pest slightly tilted her head silently to ask about his intentions
”It looks quite painful Wouldn't it be better to let him die like this?”
”As I said, that would be troubling This MinotaurNo, it would be proper to call the current hiuess Apparently he see condition of the Ga aware of it I believe he doesn't knohat is happening to hiht now”
Saying so, Jin Russel separated his hand from the Bull Monster───no, from Him
The Bull Monster continued to stare at Jin with dubious eyes without understanding that it meant But suddenly, the name Jin had just uttered came to his mind
”Asterius?”
”That's right That's your true name”
Isn't that right? Jin Russel shot a friendly smile at him
The aze that said he still didn't understand it, but as Jin uttered the name ”Asterius”───The body of the Bull Monster shrank rapidly, and stabilized at the same time
Giant pair of horns disappeared below the white hair, and soft five toes grew in place of both his hoofs It's powerful ared into human arms
Pest looked du in the twinkle of an eye
Jin Russell nodded at him with confidence
After a short while────The Bull Monster, ”Minotaur” turned into the white-haired and dark-skinned boy
”!?”
His age was approxiits that were divided in five, the youth hite hair and dark skin was dyed with surprise Those weren't cloven-hoofs but the very human hands itself
”So that's your real body? You otten sensation, however first of all, congratulations You have coained your body and name”
Jin Russell congratulated him with all his heart, and then took Asterius───the boy formerly known as ”Minotaur” close to the ruin wall It was probably his consideration after judging that he wouldn't be able to move for a while after the sudden transformation Jin took out the Water Tree leaves and put them into a wooden cup
Suddenly, the wooden cup overfloith clear water Asterius as starved and thirsty, he took that cup as if snatching it and drank the water in it in one gulp As he did so, he felt his whole body being filled with power
It was probably a transfor a state of crisis
If it was just a bit late, the Bull Monster ht have been reduced to yet another monster
”Okay First, go ahead and rehydrate yourself to your heart's content You can tell me after thatNow, do you re part in?”
Jin asked with a gentle voice
As Asterius quenched his thirst, he poured the water on his white hair, shook his head and looked at Jin
”Gift Gaames of Gods and demons held within this world of Little Garden, is it Yeah, it's alright While my memory is a bit disordered, I still remember that much”
”Alright then We can leave leave that part out in that case However, you froend should have been ”The Monster of the Labyrinth” And now, you are participating in the Gift Gaht?”
Jin Russell asked in order to make sure Asterius nodded
Receiving Jin's words, The forins
───What gave birth to the Monster of the Labyrinth, was the island of Crete that floats in the Mediterranean Sea of the Republic of Greece The legend of the ”Minotaur” that was the Monster of the Labyrinth, was based on the Prince of that island
According to the legend, the King who ruled over Crete of that period, was given a beautiful bull froan to obsess over the beauty of the bull, he violated the contract he had with the Sea God and refused to return the bull, keeping the beautiful sea bull to hi's action and thus placed a curse on the Queen of Crete, causing her to fall in love with the sea bull
The Queen ordered famous craftsmen of the country to create a puppet that imitated the cow's appearance, put it on and fulfilled her love with the sea bull, giving birth to the half-human, half-bull child
The child Queen gave birth to, was teiven the name of his ancestor ”Asterius”, but was later renamed to ”Minotaur”
Minotaur was later i's coirls that were sacrificed every nine years Minotaur was later killed by the Hero Theseus who had sneaked into the labyrinth, closing the curtains of that legend
It was a pitiful monster that was confined in an isolated labyrinth and had been given a na
That was the Prince of Crete
It was ”Asterius” that e
However, although Asterius recollected his own legend, he could not help putting his head against the unco born inside him
”This legendshould be about me”
”Should be? Why the guessing?”
”NoIt's correct as far as s of it I can't draw out my memories well”
He recognized the fact that he was the ”Prince of Crete”
If he closed his eyes, he could easily recall the blue sky and the sea roars of the Mediterranean Sea The stone palace and the sun that burned with love were engraved down to his very soul
And yet, the most important part, the memories of the days he spent on Crete was nowhere to be found
No matter hoas reborn as a monster, he should have turned into Bull Monster Minotaur from a Prince Since he returned to the hule memory of his days as a human
”I see In other words, you have noa human?”
”I don't know But it doesn't matter if you think as such In the first place, by the time I had fallen into aIf you say it was the adverse effect of that, then that's all there was to it There was just one role in this Gift Gaiven to the me as a Bull monster”
”And that is?”
Jin asked while leaning forward
Asterius didn't return an i on the wall Even to him as summoned as one of the Hosts of the Gift Game, the current Gift Game was full of mysteries
While half in doubt, he recited that role which was etched into his mind
””If you want to be saved, ou Homura” It seems that's my part in this Gift Game”
The reason why the Bull Monster and the Heavenly Bull headed towards Homura at pinpoint precision was probably because of the existence of that part As the avatars of the trial, these two had duties to o Homura at any costs
However, trying to speak of it himself, Asteius' face becaain thought that it was quite the mysterious contents
If this was ”If you want to regain your memories” he would still understand it
However, as ”If you want to be saved” supposed to mean?
Precisely because Gift Gaames of Gods and demons, there weren't few occasions where their contents proved to be unreasonable But still, they were created so that they ensure minimum consistency
It appeared that Saigou Hoends of ancient Greece had no relation whatsoever
However it seemed that Jin Russell didn't think so Perhaps there were some points to think about, Jin Russel deeply pondered with ahis hand to his chin, and then asked Asterius
”Saigou HomuraThat's the naht?”
”Yes That's as far as oes”
”Is that soThank you, it proved as a reference So then, ill you do from now on?”
To Jin's question, Asterius answered with a sharp gaze
”I have no choice but to continue the Gaou Homura is, but there's just one player in this Gaht also serve as a clue to my memory”
”If there's nothing?”
”? Then I just kill him?”
Releasing the killing intent enough to freeze the at, Asterius slowly stood up That wasn't a killing intent that a youth in his teens could have released
It was a killing intent filled with so much pressure that the s inside the ruins scattered and fled at high speeds Even though he obtained a hued at all
The Bull Monster ”Minotaur” was still living strong Then, confronting his ene to do
”Are you going to eat hiou Homura”
”Yes And I just happen to be hungryThe last o? That wasn't bad either, but there's nothing better than eating an actual human”
After exploiting the leaves of the water tree to their fullest, he threay the wooden cup
Jin stood up with a bitter smile
”Man eater eating dorasped the point Is that the final keyword?”
”What?”
”Nothing Well, thisto the Ga They are a bit bothersome, but they should prove to be useful to you”
As Jin said so, the hu had increased
No, probably the ones ere concealing their presences until now revealed themselves Asterius instantly noticed that he was surrounded froreat battleaxe
───There werewithin the ruins
Although iend While it's true that he was exhausted, the fact that he couldn't sense a single sign of them until now proved that they were extremely skilled people
”HmphYou are unexpectedly cautious, huh? Did you think I would eat you?”
”Did you not plan to eat me?”
”Of course not No matter how much of a man eater I a if I were to throw my lifesaver into my stomach I planned to show at least that much courtesy Well, whatever Come, ”Proto Keraunos(Pseudo Divinity - Celestial Bull Thunder)”!”
Asterius turned around in disappointment
As he raised his right hand, the great battle axe careat battle axe that was supposed to have been too large for a youth in histo match his hand size
However it's divine power didn't decline Instead, it e it's oho returned to his rightful forained their true names, would display power beyond that of the Bull Monster
While shouldering the battleaxe, ”Asterius” glared towards the giant water tree seen in the distance───at ”Underwood”
It didn’t seem like the current him needed someone's help, however he must fulfill the duty as the Host of the trial His probleressed
After he fulfilled that, he would be someone with neither fate nor duty
So that the youth can regain his er
The moment he was about to step forth towards the waterfall of the Great Tree in order to fulfill those respective wishes────a huge rumble reverberated from its direction
”Kh, an earthquake?”
Asterius who had no resistance towards the calamity that shook the earth, collapsed on the spot and exae for a natural earthquake
There was also a question about the s
Asterius suspected it being the deed of the youth called JinHowever, Jin hi towards ”Underwood” with his mouth half-open
”Eh, no way The plan Porol spoke of, he was serious about it!?”
”Hey, why are you consenting to it alone If you know so then explain!”
Asterius raised an angry voice while on his knees due to the trereat tree without retuning a reply and stayed silent
Just at that moment, from the roots of the Great Tree───was raised a spray of water so gigantic that it could be mistaken for a waterfall Since it could be seen from these ruins that were considerably far, it undoubtedly raised up to quite the altitude
The water spray rose sothe heavens, however the truly fascinating thing did not lie there The giant object that flew out froantic that it filled the great river to the brih estimations
A lureat river