Just gonna drop this while it's still on my head
———————————————————-
The tip of its thick, curved horn is aimed right at my chest!
"hmph?!"
Even though I knew it was about as useful as tissue paper, I brace my protector in front of the oncoming spearhead. The horn penetrates the protector like a knife through butter.
Thanks to the angle of the attack, I escaped another killing blow. By some miracle, even my arm is in one piece, with just a shallow gash across the front of my left arm.
However…The horn is stuck inside the protector.
The protector is still strapped to my arm. My feet leave the ground as the Minotaur stands up, with me hanging on.
"OOOooWOOOO!!"
It flicks its neck, swinging me around like a rag doll.
It flips the other direction, and my body goes with it.
Every joint pops; I'm in shock. I have no idea where the ground is, all I know is that I'm two meters above it.
I can't see anything! Going too fast! The sudden whips are getting more intense, knocking the wind out of me.
My left shoulder is at its limit, popping and pulling painfully.
Two, three more crazy swings from the beast and the protector breaks, just a second before my shoulder joint would have given out.
The protector was already broken, but now it cracks down the middle from the penetration point. At that exact second, the Minotaur flings its head upward. My arm is free; there's nothing to stop me from flying straight up.
"UUHH—WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!"
I come within touching distance of the ten-meter-high ceiling of the lower-ninth floor before feeling gravity take hold of my body.
"GeHAAHH!"
I land flat on my back. A scream of pain shoots through my spine and out to every nerve in my body. Stars are flashing in my eyes. I can feel my arms and legs convulsing, again and again.
If it weren't for my Defense, I'd already be dead… ?!
"Aa…ah?!" My eyes won't stop blinking.
The wave of pain forces sounds out of my mouth. I scrunch up my forehead and force my eyes closed.
But I can feel the Minotaur, the impact of its footsteps coming through the ground.
This is bad, but there's nothing I can do anymore. I can't move; I can only make the strange sounds coming out of my throat. Not being able to move brings back the terror I'd been holding down by sheer force of will.
The fear is back with a vengeance. Click, click—my teeth start chattering. Tears begin to flow out of my eyes.
Scared…I've never been so scared.
I'm in pain. Everything hurts. I'm overwhelmed. But above all that…
I'm absolutely terrified. Too scared to stand.
"Uuuh…!" The vibrations of the oncoming footsteps make my hair stand on end. It's coming closer, slowly.
I'll be slaughtered. Panic is taking the feeling out of my arms and legs.
The fear is taking me, breaking me. But if I give in, will that make what's about to happen painless? I open my eyes to see the bright lights overhead. Each of their light beams silently reflect off my tears.
—It's over. The terror within me pushes every shred of hope I had left out of my body in one long sigh.
"… ?"
The vibrations stop, the execution grounds that I can't escape from have become eerily quiet.
In the place of the vibrations, a breeze. How strange. What happened? I'm caught between terror and curiosity. What's going on?
My Body still quivering, but I manage to raise my head off the ground.
"That's when…
"—"
…I see her.
"…"
Long, flowing blond hair. Blue armor. Thin, silver saber.
Just like she had a day before, the female knight has her back to me.
Time stands still.
"Uhh…uwooo… ?!" The Minotaur is afraid. Its eyes locked on the silent warrior, it takes several shaky steps backward.
And she's at the center, her presence filling the room and forcing complete stillness. Her aura has taken over.
— Aiz Wallenstein.
"Found her! Hey, Aiz!!"
"Heh, you drag me all the way down here for something this boring? Pathetic!"
More vibrations of footprints through the ground, even new voices in my ears, but I can't take my eyes off her back. Her eye and the tip of her nose.
Aiz is shielding me from the Minotaur, facing it down. My head is all mixed up. What's going on?What's going to happen?
My torso comes off the ground as if pulled up by invisible ropes. I don't even notice, my attention completely on the girl in front of me.
"…Are you okay?"
—Am I okay?
Just like the first time. Her standing in front of me, looking back over her shoulder, her thin face saying those words. Everything in my body shudders as if struck by lightning.
"…You did well."
I did…well? Unlike the last time. Words of sympathy, encouragement.
Ba-bash! My heart thrashes.
"I'll save you now."
Save…me? My heart pounds away in my chest. Everything else in my line of sight suddenly snaps back into color.
Save? Being saved? Again? By her? Just like before?
Is this becoming a pattern? First, Aiz, then sir. Zephyr and now Aiz again?
Who?
—Me.
"… ?!"
A fire lights within me. That spark grows into an inferno that purges all other emotions from my mind.
The fear disappears as the blaze roars through. A new strength, one I've never known, uses the flame to fill my body with power.
Stand.
Stand up!
STAND UP NOW!!
How long are you going to just lay there?! How many times are you just going to let someone save you?!
I've seen this once before! I can't stand being saved by her yet again! I won't allow it!!
"?!"
Body, move forward! If you've got enough time to be afraid, make up your mind!
She's your idol! Do you want her to see you like this again?
She's the one you want to impress—don't show her anything more embarrassing than you already have. What good will that do?
I can't stand it, I won't stand it, I refuse to put up with it!
If I can't impress her now, when can I?! If now isn't a good time to look her in the eyes, when is a good time?!
If I can't stand up on my feet now, when will I? If I can't reach a new height now, when the hell will I?!
I'm up and moving again.
I grab hold of her hand.
"I can't be saved by Aiz Wallenstein yet again!" I yell from the pit of my gut as I grab my knife.
It's time for an adventure. For the part of me that has to know. Today, for the first time, I found out what's on the other side of the wall.
~~~~~~zephyr POV
Damn… the kid's impressive.
Stunned by the turn of events, I watched the kid rush headlong towards the monster.
I was here throughout the whole thrashing. I knew the guy liked that blonde haired girl from the few episodes I watched but never knew that seeing said girl would rejuvenate him.
"Hahaha!" It's hilarious, really. I guess what my friends said about protagonists stands true. They're weird.
"!?"
Hearing my laughter that came out of seemingly nowhere, the three adventurers drew their swords and readied themselves to put me down.
"Who are you!?" The shortstack dark skinned girl was about to attack. But I hurriedly surrendered.
"Woah! Woah! Woah! Easy there!" Her sword, which was a large double blade sword, was only a few inches away from my throat.
"I'm not an enemy!" I hurried. She's fast, even with a sword as large as her she still moves fast.
Thanks to my enhanced sense and spatial awareness, I was able to sense her movements but my body could barely keep up.
Seeing that I made no effort to counter attack, she drops her sword but not her guard. That's when Aiz and a Bete came up behind her.
"Oh, hey blonde! Long time no see!"
"…I've been great." She stated blandly
"You know this weakling, Aiz?" Bete asked arrogantly. I only glanced at him for a moment before answering him in her stead.
"Ah… we met a few days ago." To which she confirms with a "hm."
He gave me a glance before snorting and glancing at the direction of the fight. "Well, it's against the rules to steal someone else's kill. Looks like you got rejected, Aiz."
He continued by saying that the kid was in the right, being an adventurer. After a few seconds, we heard a few more adventures coming.
They all arrived just in time to see Bell engage the Minotaur in combat.
"Bete's eyes followed the boy's movements as Bell cleanly dodged the monster's first strike. "Ohh!" he said in surprise, his mouth an open circle. "Ahh?" He noticed something peculiar.
"White head there…isn't that tomato boy? Keh! Hahahaha! Poor kid! Looks like Minotaurs have a thing for him!"
"You mean the kid Aiz saved the last time?"
"Are you sure about this? He's Level One, right? The Minotaur will gut him for sure!"
Before they could make further decisions, I spoke up, "Nah, leave this to the kid." That was enough to turn a few heads in my direction.
"And who are you?" The green haired elf, Riveria questioned.
"Hi there. Nice to meet you, I'm Zephyr, Zephyr Kane. And you are?"
"I'm Riveria. Of the Loki familia." She announced, sounding proud. "which familia are you from?"
"None."
"!?" That caught the rest of the adventurers attention.
"What do you mean no familia? I suggest you answer her question honestly." Bete bared his teeth at me, as well as the rest of them.
"I suggest you answer her question honestly, boy. Lying might have consequences." A man who I assume to be a dwarf advises.
"I told you already… I don't belong to a familia and never will. If you don't believe it, then that's a 'you' Problem." I shrugged. I gained some scowls in the process and a few wary gazes.
Seeing that I was not gonna add anything else, Riveria questions my previous statement. "Why should we leave this fight to the kid, we should investigate why a Minotaur is on floor 9 and why it has a sword."
"Because I think the kid can win. As for the monsters having a sword here on this floor, it beats me." She frowned.
I saw a tick of annoyance on a blonde midget's face, but he couldn't care less. So we turned our focus back to the battle, a smile on my face.
"Either way, we can't just ignore that monster! We clean it up before or after the boy dies, that's it! I, for one, am going to help!" She short Amazonian with short hair spoke up
"Leave him. The kid's a man. Any idea how painful it'd be to be saved again now after being' humiliated before? If it were me, death would be better than goin' through that again."
"I don't care about your aesthetics, Bete!"
The three of them forgot where they were for a moment, laughing at themselves.
But under their chuckles, there was a voice that struggled to be heard. A small shadow at their side, barely able to stand.
"…Please, honorable adventurers. Mr. Bell…please save Mr. Bell…"
——- chapter 12 ends