The Minotaur actually tactically fell back and used a powerful AOE attack, and boy oh boy was it working on us.

Anyway, let's find our Regressor first and… there he is.

He's actually trying to protect the little Shadowlord, which is a good ethical and tactical decision; it would be awkward if we failed to protect the very thing- ahem, the very person we came for.

It sure begs the question though; is that Shadowlord worth potentially getting mauled by a huge man-bull hybrid monster? I'm gonna put a big fat 'maybe' on that one, chief.

Anyway, I set his and Noelle's shields as my targets, and cast a rather simple defence magic spell (my shit body still doesn't have a Magic Calculation Area after all).

"Huh? What…"

"Focus, Ms. Noelle."

Another layer of magic shield was added to their existing shields which bolstered their defences. According to my calculations, it should be enough to barely survive this crisis.

The shockwave tried its best to rend us to minced meat. As if the Minotaur was not satisfied with the lack of results, it did something which increased the strength of the shockwave (I was still hiding behind Noelle like a little bitch so I couldn't see).

"Fuck."

Cracks formed on my shield as well, with bits and pieces being blown away from its edges.

However, that was well within my expectation. In fact, I was counting on the Minotaur to do just that; it wouldn't be fun if it didn't, would it?

And sure enough, I was right.

"…Phew." Noelle sighed in relief as we came out unscathed.

The attack ended, leaving behind it a large crater covered by clouds of dust.

The glamorous throne room was now in shambles. The beautifully engraved pillars and the extravagant chandeliers had been blown away, while all that remained of the altar was the small part protected by Azell's shield.

"D-did you do that?" Noelle looked at me with widened eyes.

"Since I'm a part of this clearly poorly planned expedition, I thought it natural to do my part."

"Thank you. And I was supposed to be the one protecting you…" A derisive smile appeared on her face.

"My magic would have been useless without your shield. So thank you as well."

Surprisingly, this was the truth. Given my absolutely shit body, that was the strongest defence spell I could have conjured in that situation using conventional methods-

Oh?

Someone was 'peeking' at me.

"I see- wha!?" Noelle shrieked as I quickly grabbed her collar and pulled her down.

Her surprise soon turned into horror as she felt a breeze pass above her head.

The breeze parted the cloud of smoke, revealing behind it Mr. Sneaky McSneak Minotaur.

Hot damn, it actually hid its presence and used the dust as a cover to sneak up behind us.

Had I not used my superior observation skills to notice the out of place disturbance in the clouds as well as the two large glowing eyes of the Minotaur peeking at us, Noelle's head would have gone flying off and I would have had to dabble into some Necromancy.

And by glowing, I didn't mean its eyes literally shed out light; it was a metaphor for when I felt it stealing a glance at my 'fate'.

Fate. The range of possibilities that exists for every single being of this Universe, with each possibility having a set probability of coming to pass. One can never defy his fate no matter who he is or how hard he tries.

All those stories about how someone managed to go against his fate and achieve something entirely impossible? No, that 'impossible' was just another possibility in the range called fate; it just had a lower probability.

And this Minotaur used some sort of ability to take a look at 'my' fate.

And as they say, when you look into the abyss, the abyss looks back at you. That would explain why it suddenly left Azell and came straight for me.

Its poor manners aside, the fact that the Minotaur attacked us instead of Azell actually does wonders for my self-esteem. I don't think I could have taken being rejected by a glorified Museum Guard.

However, as far as situations go, this is not ideal.

Anyway, we used that brief moment of gap caused by the Minotaur's large movements and took our distance, but it held its gaze on me.

"Geez, such raw passion. It's making me blush."

"What?"

Jeez, learn to take a joke, Noelle.

Just then, several gusts of wind blew and cleared away the smoke, which pulled the attention of the Minotaur away from me for a brief moment.

Now, it's my turn to be the sneaky step-dad.

I swiftly constructed an ice spear and fired it at the Minotaur. The latter noticed it and took a stance to defend against it.

I guess it didn't want to dodge because of some pride issues which, well, isn't the most tactical decision.

It lowered its stance and dug its heels in the ground. The ice spear made its way towards it.

The Minotaur swung its axe. They collided with a boom.

Then, in what is one of the top 100 Bruhh Moments of my entire life, one of the blades of the axe broke.

Following the fundamental laws of this Universe, it flew away from the point of collision and hit the unsuspecting Noelle, burying itself deep into her heart.

"Guh!"

"NOELLE!"

"…"

Bruhh.

******************************************

White. Pure white.

"You must protect her with your life." His master declared as he gently caressed the crystal floating above the altar.

Incapable of speech, Dynogaur simply nodded his head.

He etched it into his heart; turned it into his new purpose, a new reason to live.

After all, this was an order from his master.

"However, one day, a man would come for her. When he arrives, you will be freed of your duty."

Dynogaur tilted his head. How was he supposed to know who that man would be?

"Don't worry." His master chuckled as he turned around. "Your heart will tell you."

That was all he needed to know.

He would dedicate the rest of his life, waiting for the man worthy to wake up the little girl from her slumber.

And despite not having a soul or a heart, he would believe in it to identify the man.

After all, his master had told him so.

"And when the man arrives, which he will, that is when the end will begin." His master smiled.

Taking his orders to heart, Dynogaur protected the Shadowlord with all his might.

For thousands of years, he stayed in the dungeon, alone.

Many a men came for her. Some lusted for her power, some desired to free her.

But nary a man moved the heart of Dynogaur, and so none of them ever made it past him.

Yet he waited for that fateful day.

Today, a group of three entered the throne room. One of them had long hair while one was really short, so they were likely a woman and a child. He honestly couldn't tell them apart.

As he faced them, he wondered, would they be the ones who'd move his heart?

However, the moment one of them showed him the medallion, his axe reacted. His trusted companion with which he had spend thousands of years with was now binding him.

This was the signal that the rightful owner of the Shadowlord had arrived.

But Dynogaur resisted. He resisted with all his might.

He couldn't let them pass. He mustn't let them pass. His heart hadn't been moved yet.

After all, this is what his master asked of him.

The battle began, and his opponent fought spectacularly.

Clashes upon clashes produced a pleasant rhythm of ringing of metal. Sparks flew as they looked into each other's eyes with the sole intention to kill each other. Feints after feints to trick each other, baits after baits to trap each other; they danced a battle dance full of bloodlust.

For the first time in his life, Dynogaur was unsure of the outcome.

And for the first time in his life, Dynogaur was… excited to see the outcome.

He couldn't understand it; thrill was an emotion had never been taught before.

He didn't know whether his heart had been moved yet.

"GRAAAAGHH!"

And so, he roared. He asked his opponent to come kill him, so that he could do the same.

Dynogaur decided to up the game a bit. He used his signature skill 'Wrath of the Titans'.

This would decide the outcome of this battle amd tell him whether he could get what he was promised.

However, someone interfered. It was the child from before.

This was unacceptable. This was unforgivable. He couldn't allow anyone to trample on the sanctity of his sacred ritual.

And so, he moved.

However, for some reason, his 'Eyes of the Fate' activated, and he ended up peeking at the fate of the child.

Darkness. Pure blackness.

A darkness darker than pure black surrounded him.

He knew what it was.

It was the beginning, and it was the end.

Finally, Dynogaur's heart moved, but what he felt was… fear.

As he looked into the abyss, the abyss looked back at him.

The darkness was peering into him. The darkness was questioning him.

Dynogaur understood at that moment.

The 'being' in front of him was a threat which would end him, his master, and everything they had fought for.

And so, in spite of his fears, Dynogaur decided to fight; to fight and end this being once and for all.

That's when Dynogaur learned courage. It was the beginning of a soul and the creation of a heart.

This was not what his master had ordered him to do, but Dynogaur decided to fight nonetheless.

After all, he truly loved his master.