Deus Didymus: Rend

Chapter Forty-One: Death's Grasp

Y/n hugged Hayoung's side, supporting her as she took a step on her injured foot. "What happened while I was out?"

"Your girlfriend tried to get onto our side of the wall." Hayoung replied. Her voice grew soft, a start contrast to her usual powerful tone.

"You talked to Minju ya??" Y/n gasped.

"Yeah. She seems like she sustained only minor injuries. Chaewon ssi also seemed fine for the most part."

Y/n sighed in relief. "What about Minho?"

Hayoung gulped. "I don't know where he is. I couldn't sense him in the wind. For all we know, he could have d-"

"He's alive." Y/n interrupted. "He's the prodigy of our class right next to my own Yujinnie. Out of the four of us that came here, he's the last one that'd die."

Hayoung nodded. "If you say so."

Heavy silence settled between the two and the walls. Only their steps and Hayoung's grunts broke the silence. A sense of suspension surrounded Y/n as every turn they took put them in what felt like the same passageway.

"I'm going to be honest with you, Y/n." Hayoung paused. "There are some strong monsters lurking around these caverns. If we're going to get out of here alive, we're going to need to rely on your strength."

She eyed Y/n's slumped posture. Though she healed him, only his injuries faded. A ring of exhaustion weighed at his eyes and his movements mimicked those of his sluggish attacks at the end of their training.

"Do you remember how I told you, 'You waste a lot of time with your movements?" Hayoung asked.

Y/n hummed, "I haven't been able to get that down."

"Now's the time to."

Staggered rumbles shook the pair's shaken brains, directing their attention ahead.

Minju gasped as she stepped through a large opening. The sound of waterfalls crashing into large bodies of water roared around her. She couldn't see the entirety of it, but she knew she stood in a massive cavern.

At its center, a city-like settlement illuminated the stone structure it sat on.

"Unnie!! Look!" she pointed.

Chaewon eyed the vast cave, sighing before dropping against a wall. "People..."

Minju stepped forward, "We should go ask for their help."

"Wait-" Chaewon grapped Minju's wrist. "What if they're hostile?"

"We don't have much of a choice..." Minju frowned.

The young fox took another step forward prompting Chaewon to follow reluctantly. As they drew closer the sound of discord struck their ears.

"That sounds like-"

"Fighting!" Minju finished. "Let's go!!"

Behind the open gates, the girls eyed a large humanoid bull swinging an axe made of stone. Lines of men significantly shorter than both Minju and Chaewon stood with raised shields.

Flurries of arrows bounced off of the monster's hide leading to a rush from the ground soldiers. Before they could reach the monster it swung its axe, cleaving into multiple men.

"A minotaur?!" Chaewon questioned. "Where are we??"

Minju whisked her kunai through the air, "Who cares? They need help!"

The fox sprinted forward, vanishing into the air. Her light steps zigzagged across the hard stone until she came within striking distance of the minotaur. She swung with all of her might at its heel, but her blade bounced.