My Tribrid System: More than a Monster

Chapter 219

Smash—! Shatter—!

Trish’s club of ice connected, but not with the target she had anticipated.

The element of surprise was abolished instantly as the Minotaur reacted with predatory instinct, lifting its own mace to intercept the blow.

The frozen weapon collided with the dark metal of the beast’s armament and shattered into a thousand useless fragments.

Trish blinked in genuine surprise, her breath hitching.

The sheer speed the beast was displaying was far beyond their collective capabilities, leaving them momentarily lost on how to proceed.

Regardless of the overwhelming odds, they weren’t about to surrender.

A fraction of a second later, Trish was back on the offensive.

She smoothly unsheathed her sword and hauled the blade forward in a lethal arc.

Before the steel could find its mark, the beast vanished again.

This time, it materialized directly behind Trish, ready to personally demolish her.

Its enormous hand was raised, poised to crush the girl’s skull, but before the strike could land, a thick wall of ice rose from the ground between them.

Bang—!

The blow landed with a reverberating ring that echoed through the cavern.

Cracks spider-webbed across the surface of the barrier before it collapsed into heavy blocks of ice.

However, Trish was no longer there.

In her place stood Ray, who hauled his fist forward, bashing it into the beast’s face with every ounce of strength he could muster.

The hit was heavy.

Like being whacked in the face by a massive, thick tree trunk—that was how the impact felt as the beast was sent sliding backward, staggering in visible shock.

Not letting up for even a heartbeat, Caster crossed the distance between them in a split second.

His own speed was somewhat inhuman as he leaped high into the air.

Sharp claws slid from his fingers, and he lashed them forward, smashing the strikes into the beast’s face.

Landing momentarily on the Minotaur’s thick neck, he tried digging his talons into the creature’s eyes.

Unfortunately, the beast’s skin was far too thick to penetrate easily, and its mace was already swinging toward Caster’s exposed back.

Felix darted forward, gritting his teeth through the agony in his throbbing limbs.

His hands thickened and toughened as he bashed them into the side of the mace, pushing the weapon slightly off course.

For that briefest of seconds, the spikes merely grazed his skin, unable to pierce through as effortlessly as they had before.

This intervention gave Caster enough time to kick away, but the Minotaur’s free fist was now racing toward Felix’s back with crushing weight.

Kai was there to intercept.

His MF was really, really low, but he held on desperately as he crossed his hands in front of his face.

Crystals began stacking atop his forearms at an incredible rate until a sturdy, multifaceted shield materialized into view.

Boom!

The punch landed with the weight of a freight train, causing violent vibrations to run through Kai’s bones.

Blood began dribbling down his lips as a deep chasm appeared in the ground beneath his feet.

He was struggling to anchor himself against the punch, pouring every drop of his remaining MF into the shield, regardless of the fact that his reserves were running out... fast.

With Felix blocking the mace and Kai halting the second hand, the Minotaur was left wide open for a few seconds.

The remaining trio was ready to capitalize.

Trish bolted forward, frost already forming around her.

When she was within range, she unleashed a dozen jagged ice shards that sped toward the beast’s torso.

The Minotaur stared at the incoming projectiles with a calm, almost bored look on its face, as if they were mere insects heading its way.

It was about to move, about to counter.

But before it could, Ray immediately slid underneath the flying projectiles and then vaulted upward with explosive power.

With the ice shards whistling past his back, the Tribrid gritted his teeth, his expression one of fierce determination.

Every muscle in his body tensed up, and then—

BAM—!

His fist clobbered into the beast’s face with all the strength he could muster, which managed to send the creature skidding backward.

The impact forced it away from Felix and Kai.

Promptly, Ray ducked down low just in time as the ice shards flew past his head and, in a heartbeat, slammed into the Minotaur’s abdomen.

They pierced a few inches through the thick hide, causing dark blood to dribble down its torso.

Van stared at this scene, his head constantly turning in order to keep up with the blurring movements of the combatants.

He had been unable to join the fray for several moments as he tried to understand the Minotaur’s patterns and calculate their dwindling chances of survival.

They all knew deep down that they weren’t strong enough to defeat the beast.

Yet, they were still trying their hardest to push it back.

But judging by the way the Aspirants were moving—heavy-limbed and gasping—it seemed like there wasn’t much hope left among them.

... Hope.

’Hope,’ Van mused inwardly before lifting his head to look up with a small, triumphant smile on his face.

”Hey guys! I have already modified the scanner! I have found the way out of this damned place. We just have to defeat the beast!” Van bellowed into the cavern, his voice echoing off the crystalline walls.

....

The whole place delved into a sudden, heavy silence as even the Minotaur turned to look at Van for a second.

It was as if the creature actually allowed the humans a moment to process the weight of what they had just heard.

”There’s a way out? Really?!” Chloe shouted in pure disbelief, her eyes widening as she looked in the direction of the boy.

Van nodded vigorously as he lifted his hand, pointing at the bracelet the Corps had given to them.

”It took a lot to tweak it since I was so low on meta-force, but I managed to do it. I used the last of my MF to scan our entire surroundings. Instead of needing to get close to something in order to scan it, I modified the interface to search in a wide radius—and I managed to locate the exit out of this damned place!”

Everybody listened in quietly, including the beast.

Kai, however, couldn’t hold it in any longer.

”Kuk...” He collapsed onto his knees, coughing out a mouthful of blood.

His meta-force was drained totally, leaving him physically incapable of continuing the battle.

The others didn’t pay him much attention for a few moments as they processed Van’s revelation.

As if understanding exactly what was being said, the Minotaur’s gaze rested squarely on the boy who had just spoken.

It flared its nostrils angrily as it lifted its mace and pointed the jagged weapon in the boy’s direction.

Van immediately shuddered at the sight.

Based on the carnage he had been witnessing, if the beast was to make a move toward him, he wouldn’t even be able to draw a single breath before he lost his head.

’Shit!’

Bang!

The Minotaur moved at blistering speed, heading directly toward him.