The only good thing about the second section was the fact that there were far fewer Minotaurs as a whole when compared to the first section.

Without wasting much time, Aren sent in his Minotaur Shadows to start the attack. They all rushed forward at their top speed, weapons in hand, and the battle kicked off instantly.

But it took only a few seconds for the gap between these ones and the first section of Minotaurs to show. Not only were their attacks far more powerful, they were also capable of changing their size like the first Minotaur that they had met in the maze, which allowed them to land some significantly stronger hits.

Aren watched the battle unfold, his shadows easily losing, but that didn't bother him.

"Alright, my turn." He muttered and charged. He moved fast like a bullet cutting through the air, his feet barely touching the ground before he was already high in the air.

"Let's see how you handle this," he said before unleashing a massive wave of lava from above, creating a wide area attack.

The Minotaurs immediately moved to dodge and used their weapons to block their vitals, but with the shadows hard against them, it wasn't easy at all. The lava seared their skin badly and the shadows kept attacking.

This was Aren showing why he was SSS ranked and heavily overpowered. When he decided to go all out, it became exceedingly difficult to fight against him.

He landed at the center of the Minotaurs who were still struggling, a smile forming on his face.

"Let's go with this." He muttered before unleashing lightning from both hands in a circle around him, pouring huge amounts of soul energy into it.

Crackle. Boom.

The lightning moved like snakes, slamming into targets all around and electrocuting them.

Roooooaaarrrrr!

One Minotaur had had enough and grew to twice its size, bulldozing its way through all the others and rushing at Aren. It gripped its axe with all its strength, muscles bulging tight, eyes blazing with madness as it swung down.

But Aren wasn't bothered. Using Swift Wind, he dodged the attack cleanly, then proceeded to leap onto the shaft of the axe, running two steps up before leaping into the air.

The Minotaur followed him with its eyes, but that was the only thing it could do.

Aren's Qi rose in that moment as he executed the perfect kick, his foot moving like a whip through the air in a clean arc.

BAM

The kick packed so much power it almost instantly decapitated the Minotaur. Its head twisted past one hundred and eighty degrees, definitely breaking something inside.

Aren then proceeded to grab the horn and, using his forward momentum, pulled down, ripping the horn off and sending the Minotaur slamming into the ground, breaking what was left of the neck and killing it.

As soon as his feet touched the ground again, Aren bolted and attacked the next one. It swung its sword, and he used the horn to block. Sparks flew.

Aren broke free of the collision and then chucked the horn extremely hard. The Minotaur blocked it, but right after came Aren with a clean Superman punch to the face, cracking the skull in one attack.

He landed on the ground again, and before the Minotaur could recover, he leaped up, spun around, and sent a kick right into the head, snapping the neck.

Aren was about to attack the next Minotaur when suddenly the ground rumbled, shaking violently, and what followed was a roar that shook the entire place.

Everyone stopped, including all the Minotaurs. They all cleared a path for Aren instantly, bowing their heads as well.

That was when Aren felt it, a presence, heavy and thick. It pressed against him and tried to pressure him. Something was there, and it was waiting for him, calling out to him.

Gritting his teeth, he walked forward. Every step he took, the pressure grew heavier, pressing against him.

"This pressure, I didn't even feel it when I faced the Hydra. Could this be an evolved monster? And I'm walking to face it alone?" Aren thought.

The thought of it scared him to an extent, but it also made him excited, as it would be the first time that he met an evolved monster.

After walking for a bit, the pressure increased even more and his steps began to drag, but he did his best to ensure that he looked like he was walking normally. He couldn't allow himself to look weak at all.

Finally, a throne came into view, carved from stone with two horns at the end of the backrest, black as night.

Seated on the throne was a Minotaur, decked in full black armor. It was smaller than the others, standing at six feet or so from the looks of it.

One of its horns was cut in half, and the other was fully grown.

Leaning on the side of its throne was a black, one-edged greatsword, covered in runes and engravings, giving off a dark aura.

The Minotaur had its eyes shut, and when it finally opened them, they glowed red. The pressure increased, blasting forward and slamming into Aren like a bus. He took a step back, but he did his best to resist it.

"Insect, your strength has impressed me," the Minotaur suddenly spoke.

"It can speak? What the hell?" Aren thought, looking at the Minotaur in shock.

The Minotaur grabbed its sword.

Clang

It dragged across the ground as it slowly rose to its feet.

"I am the king of the Minotaurs, and my quest is to defeat the strongest beings I find," he stated, lifting his sword, and that motion alone left a deep cut in the ground.

"You are pretty strong. You are my next fight."

"This pressure is even more terrifying now. What a monster. I'm clearly outclassed here," Aren thought, but then a smile formed on his face.

"I want to get through, and it seems that to do that, I'll have to defeat you," Aren said.

"I see. Well, with your strength, you would have been able to pass here. Sadly, I was sent here, and now I believe you are the reason," it stated.

"Sent here? By who?" Aren asked.

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