The Hero’s Party Members Treat Me Well for Some Reason

10 – Minotaur (3)

The heat of battle is felt. The hot wind nearby seemed to be blowing with determination.

The air around me is getting warmer, and even though I’ve only been moving for a mere 5 minutes, my breath is becoming rough.

Even though the body of a warrior shouldn’t easily tire, it’s already like this.

Maybe this is the real pressure of a monster. With every minute and second counting for life, the required stamina is inevitably immense.

But, even so.

‘Manageable.’

I thought so. The battle was smoother than I expected.

As immense as the strength is, it was fortunate that the pattern was monotonous.

Even party members who were worried about potential troubles are performing their roles perfectly at this moment.

Thanks to that, we still had some leeway.

Of course, we didn’t let our guard down just because we had a little leeway.

It’s just that we had a bit of breathing room, and situations can change at any moment.

“Keep the pressure on.”

Thinking like that, Camilla spoke up next to me.

The shield, which had only narrowly avoided the axe a few times, had scratches all over.

I fixed my sword again and said to Lillie behind me.

“Prepare the magic again, please. This time, it’s the right horn.”

“Tsk, you think I don’t know without you saying it?”

She grumbled once, then immediately began preparing the magic.

Slowly, a high-concentration magic power began to swirl around her.

Now, if we endure for another 5 minutes and cut off the creature’s horn, the battle would be almost over.

However, the world is never that easy.

-Guoooooooo!!

Suddenly, the creature let out a fierce roar. It was filled with anger, possibly because its horn had been cut off, emitting a roar full of rage.

And at the same time, it began charging towards this direction.

The Minotaur’s characteristic relentless and powerful charge. Thump, thump, thump! The echoing ground hinted at its danger.

It was the type of attack that couldn’t be blocked.

“Evade!”

Luckily, Camilla and I reacted in time. We moved out of the creature’s path, sharpening our senses as much as possible.

It was to prepare for its actions after the charge.

But the creature’s chosen action was neither biting the direction of the charge nor stopping the charge.

“Huh?”

It started charging towards the mage positioned behind us.

“Lily, evade!”

Thanks to that, we couldn’t help but be startled.

Could it be that it would ignore the two of us provoking it and instead charge directly at the mage?

Maybe the creature realized who posed the greatest threat.

Contrary to our hopes, the monster knew how to think and judge.

It meant that it wasn’t just a fool swinging an axe.

In that way, we all began taking actions to stop the creature.

Camilla and I swiftly swung our swords, aiming for its lower body, while Adel, who was relatively faster, rushed forward to save Lily.

“Argh!”

Fortunately, Adel arrived in time, so Lily’s head was spared from becoming a flying statue tragedy.

Whoosh!

Above the fallen heads of the two women, the giant axe passed by.

The creature, still in its charging state, swung the axe horizontally.

The resulting blast of air indicated its power.

“Lily, are you okay?”

“Ugh, yeah. I’m fine. Thanks for saving me.”

She lightly expressed her gratitude to Adel.

“But… all the mana I had gathered has been lost… I have to start over from the beginning.”

“… I see.”

It seemed that the prepared magic had disappeared as my concentration wavered.

I clicked my tongue inwardly.

“Tsk, just as I thought.”

That Minotaurus guy seemed to have become even stronger than in the game.

His attacks were still monotonous, but his vital energy remained intact even after enduring countless slashes.

Even considering that Camilla was a defense-based character with low attack power, this was a rather unreasonable outcome.

It must be because his durability had increased to that extent.

“Let’s change the plan.”

Because of that, I had no choice but to make some adjustments.

We couldn’t simply defend against his charge with our attack power alone. We would need to borrow strength from outside.

“Saint, could you perhaps enhance our attack power a little more here?”

I looked at Yuris and spoke. Normally, she wouldn’t do it willingly, but given the situation, she would surely comply.

As I said this, a clear perplexity appeared on her face.

“Yes, um? But to do that, I would have to dispel the defense-related blessings I’ve cast now…”

“It’s fine. Just dispel them.”

If it doesn’t work, then so be it. It’s a simple solution.

Fortunately, I knew the Minotaurus’ attack pattern accurately. My body was also that of a warrior, so my reflexes were quite good.

I was confident that I wouldn’t get hit.

However, despite this simple solution, she seemed quite hesitant.

I noticed that her pupils were shaking left and right, as if she had some sort of doubt.

Tsk, could it be that her suspicions are triggered even up to this point.

I furrowed my brows slightly and spoke to her.

“If you’re really worried, just enhance me. There’s no need to dispel Camilla’s defense buff.”

“No, it’s not like that…”

She sighed.

“Fine… I understand. I’ll do it.”

Only then did Yuris seem to understand and slowly began buffing me.

Once again, we clasped our hands together and started reciting prayers.

The sacred flame bestowed by the Sun God Ene. It will soon become a sharp blade that will punish the demons.

[“Iron Wall’s Protection” has been released, and defense power has decreased!]

[“Yuliss” is using a superior blessing. Strength greatly increases!]

[The weapon is blessed. Sharpness increases!]

Eung eung eung.

The finely forged holy sword shone brightly and its sharpness was clearly felt, as if it could cut through anything.

-Guooo!

At that moment, the guy charged again.

This time, his target was Lily, our team’s glass cannon.

It was the same pattern as before. Adel rushed in, prepared for any unexpected situation, while the rest of us swung our swords to stop his charge.

The only difference this time would be that I was more irritated.

Serk!

A different, chilling sound of cutting spread throughout.

The buffed blade effortlessly sliced through leather and swiftly cut into his flesh.

Even if it couldn’t cut through the bones, it was an undeniable fact that I had become a more formidable opponent.

-Guoooong!

Finally, the guy started to scream in pain.

Fresh red blood was flowing from the thigh I had cut.

Whether it was due to the surging anger or a change in priority targets, I saw his red eyes turning towards me.

I forced a smile and spoke.

“Now you’re looking this way?”

His crazed and furious eyes were truly enchanting.

My heart almost skipped a beat.

Thanks to that, the complete aggro that was directed at Lily was released.

If there was a problem, it was that the aggro was entirely aimed at me.

Seething with anger, the guy even ignored Camilla slashing beside him and tried to swing his axe at me.

He was always a crazy lunatic.

The axe came down towards my head.

I quickly lifted the holy sword above my head.

Clang!

“Groan…!”

Despite receiving muscle reinforcement twice, the groaning sound came out involuntarily.

Squelch, squelch!

Muscles exerted beyond their limits made an ominous sound.

It was the sound of muscles tearing and bones dislocating, evidence that my body was being brutally destroyed in real-time.

My face involuntarily contorted from the searing pain.

There was no time to struggle with a single pain; my upper body was once again swinging the axe.

Fortunately, this time I could dodge it by moving my body to the side.

Whoooosh!

A strong gust of wind ruffled my hair.

“You! Look this way!”

“He’s not even turning around even after an arrow pierced his body.”

That was a mistake. This guy seems to be boiling with anger.

I could sense his determination to tear me apart by any means.

Every swing of the axe sent a chilling gust that furrowed my brow. Each attack was lethal and relentless.

But despite all this, I could feel a slight relief.

“Thank goodness.”

As much as he was focusing on me, the damage was accumulating for sure.

At this rate, he would be the one getting tired before long, and if I could hold on like this, victory was guaranteed.

In the midst of the urgency, I called the party’s mage.

“Lily! How many minutes are left?”

“…”

“Just hold on for about 3 minutes!”

Strangely, the response came from Yulris’s direction.

It seemed that Lily was too busy concentrating, so she answered on her behalf. I wasn’t sure how she managed the time, but it was probably not a lie.

I pondered her words.

“3 minutes.”

Three minutes.

It was a short time if it was short and a long time if it was long.

And, for someone like me who is being driven into death in real time, it must have felt like a really long time.

From that moment on, the game of chicken between him and me began.

When he swung the axe recklessly, I tried my best to avoid it.

Although it was a fast and powerful attack, the pattern itself was consistent.

An attack that only swung straight without any techniques or variations.

The strike that swung with the sole intention of tearing the opponent apart and killing them is scary but predictable.

At this level, well, just concentrating was enough.

[Obtained skill ‘Battle Concentration Level 1!’]

In addition, with the help of my teammates, he quickly became exhausted.

“Haap!”

Shtunk!

Suddenly, Camilla’s sword cleanly split the kid’s back.

A faint blue light flickered from her sword. Unlike me, a clear and precise Sword Aura.

Although it took some time, she was a definite user of Sword Aura.

-Guooooah!!

Thanks to that, the kid’s movements noticeably slowed down.

The rest was just obvious.

Then, the same magic as before flew towards the kid in mid-air.

Without hesitation, it cut off the kid’s horn.

Shtunk!

The horns beautifully scattered in the air. At the same time, the kid’s knees touched the ground.

Seeing that, I inwardly gave a sigh of relief.

“It’s done!”

Great, now I don’t have to worry about going berserk anymore!

Coincidentally, it seemed like the kid had also exhausted his strength, so if I just cut off his neck───

──

─

.

That’s when it happened.

Thunk!

And someone grabbed the back of my neck.

“?”

For a brief moment of confusion, my neck was immediately pulled back at a fast speed.

It was a moment that was too quick to react to. My body instantly fell backwards.

At the same time.

Whoosh─!!

A gust of wind pressure surged.

Unlike anything I had experienced before, it was literally a wind pressure comparable to a typhoon.

I couldn’t see it, nor could I feel it.

I couldn’t sense it, nor could I expect it.

All I could see was the lingering trace of an axe connected by a line.

[WARNING! WARNING!]

The loud and intense warning message from the system echoed.

A red message quickly appeared before my eyes.

[Fate Compulsion!]

[Unexpected variable in scenario!]

“Are you alright, hero?!”

“Uh, uh?”

I belatedly regained my senses and was able to confirm.

The Minotaur, whom I thought was about to die, was emitting a red glow.

Nearby, a black smoke that I had never seen before was slowly rising.

[Caution! Rampage has been activated!]

That was the rampage I had tried so hard to prevent.

I was dumbfounded.

“What the hell is this?”