Awakened

Giant Union

Before Apollyon was even able to properly introduce himself to Rhea, the huge minotaur suddenly let out a growl and swung its axe down at Apollyon and Koa. The purple-haired Apollyon's eyes widened as he looked up at the axe, preparing to dodge it or find some way to deflect it... However, as the axe was falling towards the two men, it suddenly stopped in the middle of the air.

Rhea winced, holding onto the blade of the axe. She had caught it before it was able to crash on top of her new comrades. Apollyon grinned, covering his fist in magical energy, "Thanks, Rhea!" Apollyon called up before launching himself at the minotaur, throwing a fist directly into its stomach with enough force to cause it to stumble back, letting out aggravated growls as it did so. "Hey, Koa! I think I'm gonna like you're new friend here." Apollyon smiled, grinning up at Rhea.

The giant girl blushed, looking away in embarrassment. "Don't get her flustered, Apollyon. Let's save the chit-chat until after we've finished this beast." Koa spoke as he looked to Apollyon before placing his hand on the hilt of his blade, gripping it tightly. Only then did he remember- His sword was shattered. There was no way he was going to be able to use any of his techniques without a proper weapon. "This is going to prove difficult."

Without a moment's notice, the minotaur suddenly locked eyes onto Rhea and charged at her at high speeds. Apollyon and Koa only had a second to jump out of the way to avoid getting crushed under the weight of its enormous hooves. The minotaur rushed past the two men and crashed into Rhea, bringing its large axe down onto her, causing her to have to catch it once more. "I-It's too strong!" Rhea winced. The monster was even bigger than she was.

"Get off her!" Apollyon growled, summoning an energy ball in one of his hands which he then threw at the minotaur, hitting it in the back and causing it to let out a growl in anger and pain. The pain seemed to cause the minotaur to lose some of the force it had on its axe, giving Rhea a chance to act. "S-Sorry!" Rhea spoke up to the minotaur before she suddenly brought her knee up and hit it right in the stomach hard, causing the minotaur to stumble before she then threw a fist into its head, pushing it back.

The minotaur stumbling back gave the trio a chance to regroup, Apollyon and Koa looked up at the monster who was already beginning to recover with Rhea right behind them. Koa gripped onto his hilt tightly, "Its hide is too tough, even I wasn't able to cut it when I faced it in the woods." Koa explained, taking his gaze off of the monster. "Either we're going to need to hit it with something huge, or we're going to need to find a weak spot," Koa spoke up, glaring up at the minotaur.

Apollyon gritted his teeth, his body was still sparking with energy but he needed more. This monster was just proof that he wasn't strong enough, he could handle weaker monsters but this minotaur was too much for him... He needed to get stronger, he needed to be stronger. "I might be able to kill it, but I need time." Apollyon snarled, bringing his hands together in front of his chest. "Do you two think you can do that?"

Koa and Rhea glanced at each other before looking back to Apollyon. "We can do that." The two of them said together before they both readied themselves for combat. At this point, the minotaur was steady on its feet again and was ready for a fight.

While the fight was going on, Violet was watching from a safe distance. The other villagers were nearby, but they were too scared to even be sitting and watching the fight. Violet clenched her little fists, her body beginning to shiver a little bit from nervousness. The last thing she wanted was to watch Apollyon and Koa get killed, she was holding out hope that they could win.