Slowly, the raging flames died down.
Then, the sound of electronic interference was heard again.
Tsukuru watched the opposite side of the arena with an intense glare, almost daring it to spawn more Swarmers.
However, when the pixels appeared, it was only a single group of them.
Tsukuru sighed internally.
'Well, that's a start at least.' He thought.
However, he then narrowed his eyes, as he saw more and more pixels appear, making the shape grow bigger and bigger.
The pixels were clustering together into a tall, humanoid shape, denoting it as another Summon, but this one was much larger than the others.
Even his largest Summon, his Elite Pawn-Grade Haunted Knight, was only slightly taller than Erin.
However, this one looked to be taller than even General Duke.
And he was the largest and most imposing person Tsukuru had ever seen.
There was a bright flash of light, and the new figure fully manifested.
Like all of his Summons up to this point, the figure was female.
However she had a highly muscular build, making her look like a female bodybuilder.
She also had dark, tanned skin, and short, brown hair with bangs that stopped at eye-level.
She also bangs on the sides of her face that reached down to her cheeks, fully hiding her ears.
Like Tsukuru's Harpies, she looked almost fully human.
Well, that was if one was to ignore the dark-brown bull horns growing out of her head, the long, and the slender bull tail swishing behind her.
Her upper body was covered by a dark-grey, backless, sleeveless, cropped halter top that was tied to her lower back with strings.
Additionally, she wore a fringe miniskirt that appeared to be made of dark-brown leather.
Looking at the skirt, it reminded Tsukuru of the kind worn by "cowgirls" in old westerns.
Below her skirt, her legs were covered in dark-brown fur, and she had hooves in the place of feet.
It was similar to how Tsukuru's Harpies had bird talons in the place of hands and feet.
Around the figure's neck, she wore a red cape that reached down her back.
Ironically enough, the cape reminded Tsukuru of a "muleta", the pieces of red cloth used by matadors.
In her right hand, she wielded a gigantic battleaxe.
Its handle was almost as long as she was tall, and its metal axehead was bigger than her head.
As Tsukuru stared at the figure, his System's "Scanner" automatically activated.
The circular "vector" appeared over her face.
A line extended to the left, leading to a square.
Beneath, it had information displayed.
[Name: Minotaur
Grade: Elite Pawn*
Pawn Points: 0/15]
Seeing it, Tsukuru's eyes widened, and he felt a cold dread fill him.
'Wait…'Elite Pawn Grade'?' He thought, as he took a step back in fear. 'Does that mean…that the System wants me to fight an Intermediate-Tier Beast?!'
As Tsukuru continued to take steps back, the Minotaur began to approach him.
As she walked, her hooves stomped on the ground.
Her sheer size and muscle-mass gave her an immense weight that made the whole arena shake, causing loud "bangs" to be heard.
As she walked, she dragged her axe along the ground, creating a sound similar to a sharpening stone.
As she dragged the axe, it left a line cut in the concrete, sending concrete dust and debris into the air.
Tsukuru gulped in fear.
Instantly, he held his left arm out at the side.
He activated his Ability.
The sound of electronic interference filled the area, and pixels clustered under his hand.
The pixels clustered together into the shape of the Firebomb Arrow.
There was a bright flash of light, and the arrow fully manifested.
When it did, Tsukuru grabbed it with his Video Stasis Skill.
He swung his arm, sending the arrow flying at the Minotaur.
It hit her dead-on, causing a fiery explosion.
However, a moment later, the Minotaur simply walked through the resulting fireball, seeming completely unbothered.
When she walked out, her face had splotched of soot on her face.
And the most off-putting part was, she didn't even look bothered or annoyed.
If the now maniac look on her face was anything to go by, she looked amused.
Her clothes had various spots where they had been burned, revealing her skin beneath.
However, a moment later, hard-light pixels appeared around the spots.
The clothes were instantly repaired, as if nothing had happened.
Seeing that the arrow had done virtually nothing, Tsukuru switched tactics.
This time, he created a Frostnet Arrow.
He flung his arm, sending the arrow flying towards the Minotaur's legs.
The arrow pierced her calf.
As it did, thick ice began to spread out, going both downwards and upwards.
When the ice spread downwards, it froze the ground as well.
When the ice eventually stopped, the Minotaur's legs were encased in ice up to her lower thighs, rooting her to the ground.
For a moment, she halted her advance.
However, she then strained, and applied more force to her legs.
Instantly, Tsukuru saw the cracks begin to spread across the ice.
A moment later, she broke through the ice completely, shattering it, and continued her advance.
Tsukuru's eyes widened in shock.
Tsukuru grit his teeth.
He activated his Ability again.
This time, he created three copies of the Intermediate-Tier Knight Sword, catching them as they manifested with his Video Stasis Skill.
He swung his arm, sending the three swords flying at the Minotaur.
The pierced her on her right shoulder, her lower left rib, and her right thigh.
However, they barely made a dent.
Rather than cutting into her, they hardly pierced her even an inch.
As she continued her advance, the Minotaur glanced down at them.
She reached down with her left hand, and flicked each sword with her fingers.
This caused them all to be forcibly ejected from her body, and to go spinning off in random directions.
It was the actions of one picking off annoying burdocks, not someone stabbed with multiple swords.
As the Minotaur reached Tsukuru, he looked up at him, her massive shadow overcasting him on the ground.
A cold sweat ran down his back.
'Is there…Is there any way to even defeat her in the first place?!' Tsukuru thought.
The Minotaur smirked down at him with a predatory grin.
She lifted her right arm high into the air, and brought the blade of her axe screaming down towards Tsukuru.
Seeing the greataxe swinging down towards him like the blade of a guillotine, Tsukuru raised both of his arms above his head.
He crossed them at the forearm, putting the two Intermediate-Tier Knight Gauntlets between his head and the greataxe.
As the blade of the greataxe collided with the crossed gauntlets, a loud "clang" rang out, like clashing metal.
Immediately, Tsukuru felt a great pressure pushing him down.
In his mind, Tsukuru was flashing back to his first fight with Erin on the first day of the combat classes.
It ended exactly like this.
Tsukuru grit his teeth, as he tried to hold his ground, resisting the oppressive force.
Suddenly, a loud, resounding "crack" filled the air.
It was followed by another, and another.
With each sound, Tsukuru felt his strength slipping away from him.
'What…is happening?' Tsukuru thought, as he grit his teeth.
Each time he felt his strength weaken, he had to try even harder to hold the greataxe at bay.
Suddenly, a System message popped up in front of him.
[Durability of the Intermediate-Tier Knight Gauntlets has been compromised. Stat Boost has been decreased. -3 Strength. Strength: 15 ]
Seeing the message, Tsukuru's eyes widened in realization.
Those "cracking" sounds were coming from his gauntlets as they quite literally "cracked under the pressure".
Tsukuru grit his teeth.
'Damn it!' He thought. 'I was banking on the fact that all of the Summons I had been fighting up to this point were Basic-Tier!'
While Tsukuru had been fighting Basic-Tier opponents, his Intermediate-Tier gear had given him an advantage.
The spears and the arrows used by the previous two Summons were only Basic-Tier, so they had been unable to even scratch his Intermediate-Tier gauntlets.
Additionally, his Intermediate-Tier swords had sliced through the Dark Elf's Basic-Tier arrows.
However, since the Minotaur was an Intermediate-Tier Beast herself, the gigantic greataxe she was swinging was most likely an Intermediate-Tier Beast Weapon as well.
A piece of Beast Gear or Beast Armor would always lose out against another piece of a higher Tier,
However, a clash between two pieces of gear of the same Tier greatly depended on the strength of the wielder.
And Tsukuru was nowherenear the level of strength of the hulking Minotaur.
Tsukuru's legs felt like they were jelly, and he felt himself being pushed down further and further.
As he did, he saw the massive blade of the greataxe coming closer and closer to his face.