*creekk*

The scrape of steel against stone echoed softly as Brandon walked forward, the sword held firmly in his right hand with its tip dragging lightly along the floor with every weary step.

Behind him, dozens of Minotaur corpses littered the corridor as bull-headed bodies sprawled in unnatural angles after the one-sided slaughter.

Some had been cleaved cleanly in half. Others had their heads severed or their chests caved in.

Broken axes and shattered spears lay scattered among the bodies.

"Huff... Huff..."

The stump of his left arm throbbed with a deep, burning ache as blood still seeped slowly from the wound, leaving a faint trail behind him on the floor.

His torso and legs were covered in fresh cuts and bruises from the relentless fighting.

Every muscle screamed for rest, but he refused to stop.

He glanced ahead at the enormous, half-open door in the distance.

’That looks like a boss floor,’ he thought grimly.

He had fought through layer after layer of this damned tower.

He had conserved his ether as much as possible, using it only for brief enhancements to his body when absolutely necessary. But even that careful management was reaching its limit.

His vision swam slightly as another wave of dizziness hit him.

He paused for a moment, leaning against the wall to steady himself ’I wonder... where is Rheanne.’

He pushed off the wall and continued walking and the enormous half-open door grew larger with every stride.

Brandon’s grip on the sword tightened.

Taking a deep breath, he stepped into the room.

But his eyes widened in shock to see Rheanne pinned down on the ground by a massive spear with the minotaur king having its axe just above her head.

Huh?

In the next instant, he dashed forward and slashed at the Minotaur king.

*CLANG*

The king raised its axe at the last moment, parrying the strike with a shower of sparks. The force of the clash sent Brandon staggering back a step, but he held his ground.

Now standing between the Minotaur King and Rheanne, he turned his head slightly, glancing back at her over his shoulder.

"Have you lost some weight?"

Coughing up blood, Rheanne managed a weak, pained grin "...Now is not the time for jokes."

Brandon dashed towards her and raised the sword again, ready to slash at the spear impaling her and free her.

But one of the lesser Minotaurs suddenly lunged forward and punched him with a massive fist.

The blow connected with brutal force.

*THOOM* Brandon was blasted sideways, flying across the chamber and crashing into a stone pillar.

The impact cracked the pillar and sent chunks of stone raining down around him.

He pushed himself out of the rubble as blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

"I will borrow your sword for a moment. Seems like they are not letting me free you." he muttered.

He dashed forward and snatched Rheanne’s earlier discarded silver blade from the floor where it had fallen.

Gripping the sword tightly in his right arm, he jumped toward the Minotaur that had punched him.

The massive bull-headed creature swung its enormous fist again, trying to crush him like an insect.

Brandon kicked off the ground with enhanced strength, planting his boot directly against the incoming fist.

The impact sent a shockwave through his leg, but he used the momentum to flip himself over the Minotaur’s arm, twisting in mid-air.

He brought his sword down, aiming to carve through the creature’s shoulder and neck.

But before the blade could connect, another Minotaur stepped in from the side, swinging its heavy axe in a horizontal arc.

In the last second, Brandon twisted the silver blade in his left hand and parried the attack.

CLANG!

Sparks flew and the impact threw Brandon backward through the air. He crashed hard onto the stone floor, rolling several times before skidding to a stop on his back.

Pain exploded through his body, especially from the stump of his left arm.

Fresh blood seeped from the wound, mixing with the dust and grime on the floor.

He pushed himself up with his right arm, ’There are 14 Minotaurs here... And they even defeated Rheanne, who should be at SS-rank level.’

His gaze flicked to her ’My objective now should be rescuing her... I can’t win this alone with low ether.’

He dashed toward Rheanne again and two Minotaurs immediately stepped forward to block his path, swinging their massive axes.

Brandon threw the borrowed sword with his right hand like a spear, aiming it at the chest of the leftmost Minotaur.

The blade flew and sank deep into the creature’s torso, staggering it.

At the same time, he dodged the second Minotaur’s axe by dropping into a low slide, skidding between its legs.

As he came up on the other side, his gaze narrowed with focus ’Only ether skills are restricted in this domain. But I should be able to use discs since it’s not essentially an ether skill...’

A small ether disc materialized in mid-air in front of him.

He planted his right foot on it and used it as leverage to launch himself upward in a powerful jump.

Mid-air, he clenched his remaining fist and poured ether into his fist for pure physical enhancement.

He punched downward with all his strength.

THOOOOM!

His fist slammed into the shaft of the massive spear impaling Rheanne.

The spear shattered into dozens of jagged pieces as it exploded outward in a spray of dark shards.

The force of the punch also drove the broken pieces deeper into the floor, freeing Rheanne completely.

"Argh..." She gasped sharply as the pressure was suddenly released and blood gushed from the wound in her chest and back.

Brandon landed beside her and his single arm reached down to help her up.

"How are you feeling?"

Rheanne coughed up blood but managed a weak, pained smile "...Better now."

She tried to stand, but her legs gave out. Brandon caught her with his right arm, supporting her weight against his side so she wouldn’t collapse again.

Her body leaned heavily into him, warm blood seeping from her wounds onto his torn clothes.

The Minotaurs roared in anger and charged again.

Rheanne gritted her teeth and forced her ether into the wounds.

Golden light flickered weakly around the holes in her abdomen and back, slowing the bleeding and partially sealing the worst of the damage for the moment.

She reached out with a trembling hand and snatched her silver sword from where it had fallen earlier.

*CLANG*

She barely managed to raise the blade in time to parry a crushing axe strike from the nearest Minotaur.

The impact jarred her entire body, sending fresh pain lancing through the wounds, but she held the block.

Using the moment, Brandon lunged sideways and picked up the old sword.

Raising his sword, he uttered "How long can you hold on?"

Wiping the blood off from her lips, she let out a pained chuckle "With a hole in my stomach, I am not sure."

"I wonder if we are going to die fighting together."

Brandon rushed forward with enchanced speed "I don’t plan on dying yet."

The Minotaurs closed in from all sides.