The Enhanced Minotaur—temporarily dubbed "Blood Claw"—stood its ground.
The monster's amber vertical pupils slowly swept across the group. Deep within those eyes swirled a cold, calculating malice that no ordinary monster should possess. It didn't attack immediately; its thick neck turned slightly until its gaze locked firmly onto Su Lun in the center of the formation.
It didn't choose him because he looked the weakest. It chose him because of the mana fluctuations rippling around him—a "heterogeneity" that was fundamentally different from the native magic system of the Lower World. To a creature representing the concentrated malice of the Dungeon, Su Lun was like a lone flame burning in the dark—blinding and offensive.
An instant later, Blood Claw moved.
There was no roar, no warning. Its massive frame tore through the air, transforming into a red blur that defied its size. Its claws lunged straight for Su Lun's throat! Its objective was clear, treating the other adventurers as mere background noise.
"Defend!"
Ardee's roar and the thunderous boom of her shield parry erupted almost simultaneously.
CLANG—!!!
The hard metal of the shield groaned. Ardee and her shield were blasted backward, her boots plowing two deep furrows into the ground. Three deep gouges were carved into the shield's surface, their edges shimmering with an ominous dark-red glow.
"This strength...!" Ardee's arms went numb, her heart racing in shock.
Blood Claw's first strike was thwarted, but it didn't pause. It swung its claws again, still targeting Su Lun! It completely ignored Alise's flanking strike, using its other forelimb—covered in thick, horn-like growths—to take the flaming blade head-on!
SPARK!
Fire and steel collided. Alise felt a surge of immense force travel up her arm. Blood Claw's momentum faltered only slightly as its lethal claws continued their path toward Su Lun's face.
Too fast! This beast is coming for my life!
Alarm bells rang in Su Lun's head, his mental focus sharpening to a razor's edge. He didn't reach for his high-tier spells. Instead, he brandished his shortsword and chose a cantrip—the one with the lowest cost, the fastest activation, and a psychic edge.
"Mind Sliver!"
A psychic shockwave erupted!
Blood Claw's movements stiffened visibly. Its amber pupils constricted instinctively from the sudden mental trauma, reflecting a human-like agony and irritation. This momentary lag created a precious opening for the others.
Lyu's wooden sword lunged like a striking viper, aiming precisely for the rib joint exposed by the monster's awkward stagger. Kaguya blurred into a streak of steel, her Higanbana whistling through the air as it slashed toward its neck. Lyra's arrows sealed off its path for a side-step retreat.
However, the combat instincts of this Enhanced Species were terrifying.
Even while off-balance, it forcibly twisted its body. Combining the strength of its foreclaws with the kick of its hind legs, it spun like a top. The sweeping claws traced a perfect arc, parrying both Lyu's wooden sword and Kaguya's longblade simultaneously! Sparks rained down as the screech of metal on metal filled the air.
But it missed one thing: the continued threat from Su Lun.
Su Lun hadn't stopped after the cantrip. His shortsword pointed at the monster's head, mana flickering.
"Eldritch Blast!"
Just as Blood Claw swung to parry, it caught a glimpse of an energy beam erupting from its flank. The blast struck the monster's skull directly, snapping its head back and interrupting its rhythm. In the lightning-fast flow of battle, this split-second disruption was lethal. Blood Claw's offensive faltered and veered off-course.
"Now!"
Lyu's Parallel Casting had been active since the start, and it finished exactly at the right moment. The effects of her Siohros Arcere (Fairy Starcant) were unleashed in full, her emerald eyes swirling with starlight.
"—O starlight of the stars, smite the enemy!"
The light spheres descended in a concentrated form. Instead of scattering, they converged into a single pillar of light that hammered down from the cavern ceiling. It struck Blood Claw's head—the one part it had failed to protect in its distraction.
BOOM!!!
An explosion of light and heat surged outward. Blood Claw let out a pained, furious shriek. The fur and horny growths on its face were scorched into blackened ruins; one of its amber eyes was burned blind, its vision severely compromised.
"Kaguya! Ardee!" Alise shouted, regripping her sword as flames wreathed the blade once more.
No words were needed; their tactics formed instantly. Ardee let out a low growl and charged with her shield raised. It wasn't just a defense; she threw her entire weight and momentum into a shield bash, slamming into the staggering, blinded Blood Claw.
SMASH!
Blood Claw reeled from the impact. Simultaneously, Kaguya appeared like a ghost atop a massive stalactite hanging from the ceiling. Her Gokō (Five Lights) strikes weren't aimed at the monster, but at the fragile root where the stalactite met the ceiling!
Five slashes converged on a single point, sending stone chips flying!
Su Lun, fighting off the dizziness from his mental exhaustion, pointed his shortsword at the same spot.
"Mage Hand—Metamagic: Maximize Spell!"
The invisible hand of force worked in tandem with Kaguya's slashes from the inside, squeezing and shattering the remaining rock structure.
CRACK—KABOOM!
The massive stalactite snapped at its base, plummeting toward Blood Claw with terrifying force! Blood Claw sensed the impending doom, a frantic madness erupting in its lone eye. It didn't try to dodge—perhaps knowing its path was sealed. Instead, it poured all its strength into its claws, crossing them upward in a desperate attempt to shatter the falling rock!
"Don't you dare!"
Alise and Lyu's attacks followed like shadows, their blades and wooden sword pinning the monster's forelimbs to interfere with its power.
The giant stone fell!
Blood Claw's claws managed to shatter the tip of the stalactite, but how could it fully deflect dozens of tons of falling rock? The back half of the stone slammed into its shoulders, back, and head!
CRASH—!!!
The earth shook, and a cloud of dust billowed into the air. Blood Claw let out a muffled wail as it was buried under the rubble. Only its head and one foreclaw remained visible, struggling to shift the crushing weight, but the layered stone was far too heavy.
"It's over..." Lyra exhaled, her bow lowering slightly.
But Su Lun's heart suddenly tightened. He stared at the amber pupil still visible beneath the rubble—there was no despair, only a purer, more frenzied killing intent!
Blood Claw's remaining claw didn't try to push the stone away. Instead, it plunged deep into the ground. Its muscles bulged; it was preparing some kind of specialized assault.
No! It can still move! Its target is still me!
"Watch out!"
Su Lun only had time to shout a warning. Blood Claw's buried claw yanked backward violently! It wasn't an attack—it was like pulling an invisible lever. Beneath them, the ground erupted. Several sharp, dark-red earthen spikes shot upward without warning! The area covered both Su Lun and the nearby Lyra!
[Earthen Spikes]!
The monster had been hiding this ability all along.
"Lyra!"
Su Lun shoved the Pallum girl aside with all his strength. But between his mental exhaustion and the recoil of pushing his companion, his own movements were a half-beat too slow. An earthen spike nearly skewered his leg; his armor tore, and blood instantly soaked his trousers.
He groaned through the searing pain.
"Su Lun!" Alise and Lyu cried out.
Using the chaos of its final strike, Blood Claw's lone eye flared with a murderous gleam. Its buried body exploded with one last, frantic surge of strength. It forcibly tore half its torso out of the rubble, its one intact claw lunging across several meters in a suicidal strike aimed directly at the staggered Su Lun's heart!
It was too fast. The angle was too sharp. There was no room to dodge. Everyone else was too far to help.
Am I going to die?
No...
The pain and the sense of impending death acted like ice water poured over him, clearing Su Lun's fogged brain instantly. The world seemed to slow down. He could see Alise's face twisted in horror, Lyu's wooden sword thrown in a desperate attempt to help, Kaguya's blurred afterimage as she dashed toward him, and Blood Claw's blood-stained claw getting closer and closer.
And behind that claw, he saw the monster's twisted, exposed head, bared in a mask of madness.
His mana was less than half. But... he still had this.
Images of Astraea holding his hand to adjust his sword stance flashed by. Lyu's stern corrections on how to fuse mana with his blade surfaced in his mind. The sensation of channeling a Divine Smite through his weapon from countless training sessions... it was now part of his soul.
The Stream-vein shortsword at his waist seemed to sense its master's resolve, emitting a faint hum.
Su Lun didn't retreat!
Under the disbelieving eyes of his companions, he faced the claw that could shatter iron. Dragging his mangled leg, he put every ounce of strength into a single step forward!
He drew the Stream-vein shortsword with his left hand!
He didn't block. He poured his remaining mana, his remaining focus, every bit of warmth and bond he had felt in this world over the past three months, and his absolute refusal to fall here into the blade!
The sword erupted in a golden radiance more brilliant than ever before, as if he were holding condensed sunlight rather than metal.
Time seemed to freeze.
Su Lun and Blood Claw crossed paths.
The monster's claw grazed his ribs, tearing through his armor and leaving a trail of blood. But Su Lun's golden blade traced a perfect, resolute arc. It cut upward through Blood Claw's exposed jaw, pierced its palate, split its skull, and erupted through the top of its head!
SQUELCH—!!!
Holy energy clashed violently with the dense malice inside the monster's skull, annihilating it in an explosion of light! Blood Claw's massive, charging frame froze instantly. The amber pupil lost all light. A golden rift of light spread from its head down its entire body, emitting a blinding white glow.
A second later—
BOOM!!!
Blood Claw exploded from the inside out, like an overinflated balloon! Dark red blood, bone fragments, and charred matter rained down in every direction.
A deathly silence followed.
Only golden motes of light drifted down, accompanied by Su Lun's heavy, wheezing breaths. The Stream-vein shortsword, nearly shattered from the force of the strike, slipped from his fingers and clattered to the ground.
Blood gushed from the deep wound on his leg. Pain throbbed from his ribs. The hollow agony of total mental exhaustion threatened to swallow him whole. His vision began to blur and darken.
"Su Lun—!!!"
Alise's cry, thick with tears, sounded like it was coming from a great distance. He felt several pairs of hands catch him. Someone poured a bitter potion down his throat; someone pressed hands glowing with healing magic against his wounds.
In the final moment before his consciousness slipped into darkness, the last thing he saw was Lyu's usually calm emerald eyes—brimming with tears and sheer terror—and Kaguya's trembling lips.
It looks like... I made them worry again...
That was Su Lun's last fleeting thought before he passed out.
In the cavern, only the smell of blood, dust, and a massive, violently pulsing magic stone remained, a silent testament to the brief, brutal struggle that had just ended.
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Danmachi: My Magic Style is Different from Yours (43 Chapters – Ongoing)
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