Xaphxan awoke with a start, having dreamt of that god-damned succubus who had lured him into that accursed cult.
Rubbing the remnants of sleep from his eyes, he glanced around at the fog-filled forest below.
'Dawn already.'
Though no rays of sunlight pierced the dense tree canopies, he slowly climbed down from the tall tree as quietly as he could. When he finally landed, he stretched his stiff back. Clearly, sleeping on a branch barely a quarter of his size wasn't exactly comfortable.
He looked to his side, trying to pinpoint the direction he had come from, but the fog was thick enough that he couldn't see more than a few meters ahead.
Turning to his left, he headed in the direction he was certain was north. As he walked carefully through the fog-shrouded tree line, he couldn't help but daydream about how he would be treated as a noble in any territory beyond the Borderlands at least, that was what he'd heard. He didn't necessarily believe it, but surely life would be better. Far better than the way low-rank human aether users were treated beyond human domains.
Just look at himself, for example. He'd been...
Xaphxan paused.
In an instant, he quickly slipped beneath a dense bush entwined around the massive root of a tree that jutted from the ground. Hidden beneath it, he calmed his breathing and focused on his ears.
Thud… thud…
The sound was slow and heavy, growing louder as though something large was making its way toward him.
Xaphxan held his breath as an odd growl reached his ears. He could only hope the scent-hiding powder was still masking him.
'What could it be…?'
The thuds grew louder, unmistakably close now.
Huff.
Heavy breaths sounded just a few feet from where he hid. Xaphxan couldn't resist peeking out.
His blood ran cold.
A towering figure of at least twelve feet tall stood on two massive, muscular hooved legs. Its bulky body was covered in coarse black hair that ran along its spine and up to its head like a mane. Atop its skull sat two large, curved horns.
'A minotaur…'
Xaphxan trembled not merely at the beast itself, but at the terrifying feral aura rolling off it. The pressure alone told him it was far beyond his rank, sending a chill through him greater than even what Lord Drogon could have achieved, despite the distance.
Xaphxan grimaced and slowly slumped to the ground in acceptance as the minotaur breathed heavily and began moving toward his hiding place.
There was no way he would survive.
'Why give me hope, then?,he had just escaped, passing through different Aether beast territories without being caught'
He looked up through the gaps in the leaves toward the sky, as though accusing it itself.
'Why give me hope only to send me into the jaws of a crazed bull?'
ROAR!
BOOM!
His grim thoughts were cut short as he snapped his eyes open just in time to see the minotaur smash into a thin oak tree a few feets away, shattering it into splinters.
A black shadow leapt away, coalescing mid-air into a lion-like aether beast twice the size of a normal lion and completely coated in pitch-black fur.
It landed, four glowing yellow eyes locking onto the minotaur as it stalked its prey.
The beast roared in fury, releasing its savage aura.
The minotaur stepped forward and roared back, a wave of pure feral wind bursting from its massive frame.
The lion aether beast paused, quickly realizing what it faced.
Then it turned and fled.
Its body collapsed into a shadowy streak that merged with the forest's darkness as it darted through the trees.
But the minotaur had no intention of letting its prey escape.
It grabbed a nearby tree, massive hands clamping around the trunk, and ripped it from the ground. With a powerful swing, it hurled the tree into the air, sending out a small shockwave as it flew toward the fleeing shadow at astonishing speed.
BAM!
The tree slammed into the shadow. The lion aether beast roared in pain as it was driven into another tree, smashing straight through it.
The lion aether beast shakily pushed itself up and roared in defiance at the minotaur. Yet even then, its mind was still set on escaping. Its body shimmered with a shadowy light, attempting to transform but it failed, the minotaur's earlier attack having left it disoriented.
The minotaur did not give it time to recover.
With its massive head lowered, it charged, clearly intent on ramming the lion head-on.
One of the black lion's eyes caught the oncoming beast. It bent its hind legs, muscles coiling as it prepared to leap into the air and dodge the attack.
But something unexpected happened.
As if sensing the black lion's intent, the minotaur suddenly accelerated, its charge turning into a violent swoosh of motion. With astonishing speed, it rammed into the lion mid-jump.
BAM!
Its horned head slammed into the lion's waist, snapping several ribs instantly. The sheer force ruptured its internal organs, sending the beast smashing through several trees before it finally came to a stop.
Blood poured from its three orifices.
Its body lay still ,it was clearly dead.
Xaphxan gulped from where he had witnessed it all.
He didn't know whether he should be more terrified by the fact that a demonlion had been stalking him this whole time and how close it had been or by the overwhelming strength of the minotaur itself.
He watched as the minotaur placed a hooved leg atop the dead demonlion and roared, as if announcing its victory. Then it grabbed the demonlion by the tail and began dragging it behind, slowly disappearing into the woods.
Xaphxan remained slumped where he was, listening as the heavy thuds faded into the distance.
Even then, he didn't move, partially frozen in shock. It wasn't until the two suns rose and glared down from above that Xaphxan finally stirred. Slowly, he got up and emerged from his hiding spot, carefully observing his surroundings before releasing a long breath of relief.
'How far is the human territories for heaven's sake? I don't think I'll survive another night here at all.'
He tried not to dwell on what would have happened if the minotaur had actually found him. Instead, he focused on one thing reaching a human territory as quickly as possible, somewhere he could be safe behind high walls.
He ignored the rumbling of his empty belly and began moving forward.