Chapter 147: Frenzy Totem
The door to the central chamber was massive.
Twelve feet tall and made of black stone veined with red light, it was covered in carvings of twisted beasts and screaming faces.
It pushed open at Emric’s touch, grinding against ancient hinges that hadn’t moved in centuries.
The chamber beyond was circular with a high domed ceiling that disappeared into shadow. The walls were lined with the same red-veined black stone, pulsing with the rhythmic, unnatural pulse Maeve had detected.
And in the exact center of the room, sitting on a raised stone pedestal, was the totem.
It stood about three feet tall, made of polished black metal and covered in Royal enchantment sigils. Red light poured from it in steady waves, filling the chamber with frenzy-magic.
Guarding the totem was the Minotaur.
It was enormous.
Nine feet tall at the shoulder, with a body made of compacted muscle wrapped in thick, leathery hide. Its head resembled a massive bull skull with curved horns stretching four feet from tip to tip. Its eyes burned a violent, unnatural red, brighter than those of any ordinary Abyssal beast.
Red veins ran across its body like glowing scars, pulsing in sync with the totem.
In its right hand, it held an axe.
The weapon was bigger than Emric’s shield, a chunk of black iron attached to a bone handle. Its edge glowed faintly with the same red light as the totem.
"Rank 3," Lyra breathed. "At least 3-Star. Possibly higher."
"The frenzy-magic is amplifying its speed and aggression by a significant margin," Emric said, his voice tight but controlled. "Its combat power is sitting at nearly a hundred and forty percent above normal for this kind of beast. That completely outclasses anything our group can handle..."
SNORT.
The Minotaur exhaled through its nostrils.
A cloud of hot, red-tinted steam billowed from its nose as its burning eyes locked onto Team Soup.
It had noticed them.
"Form up!" Emric shouted, snapping his shield into position. "Lyra, prepare a freezing barrier on my mark! Renna, aim for the joints! Holden, fall back and..."
The Minotaur charged.
It moved like a freight train.
Nine feet of enraged muscle crossed the chamber in the blink of an eye, its hooves cracking the floor with every step as the massive axe rose overhead.
Emric planted his feet.
He knew he couldn’t stop a Rank 3 charge. The numbers said he would be flattened. But he raised his shield anyway.
He stood between his team and the monster, ready to hold the line for as long as he could.
Holden stepped in front of him.
"Move," Holden said.
"But..."
"I said move."
Emric hesitated for only a moment before stepping aside.
Holden summoned the Solar-Forged sword. The blade appeared in his hand already blazing.
The Minotaur’s axe came down.
Holden raised his sword and activated Hellfire Cleave.
Every bit of his 8-Star power flowed into the blade, condensing into a razor-thin line of extreme heat along its edge.
The axe met the sword.
BOOM!
The impact shook the entire Spire.
Stone dust rained from the ceiling as cracks spread across the floor beneath Holden’s boots. The shockwave blew Lyra’s hair back and forced Renna to stumble.
Holden’s boots dug into the ground.
His Iron-Body screamed under the force of the Rank 3 attack. His muscles locked and his bones strained under the pressure. The axe was massive, driven by frenzied Rank 3 strength, and it pushed him back inch by inch.
He pushed back.
His 8-Star strength met the Minotaur’s enraged power and held.
The axe trembled against his blade, neither weapon giving ground. White fire and red light spat and crackled at the point of contact.
The Minotaur snorted in confusion.
It had never encountered anything that could stop its axe.
Holden found his opening.
He twisted his wrist and swung.
The blade moved so fast that it left an afterimage. A blinding arc of pure fire erupted from the edge, forming a perfect semicircle that crossed the space between Holden and the Minotaur in a second.
The axe split first.
The black iron head separated from the bone handle so cleanly.
The fire kept going.
It passed through the Minotaur’s torso as if the beast wasn’t there.
The cut was so clean and so hot that the Minotaur didn’t even seem to realize it had been hit.
For one second, it remained standing.
Its eyes still burned.
Its fingers still gripped the broken axe handle.
Then its body slid apart.
The two halves toppled in opposite directions with a wet, heavy sound.
But Holden’s swing didn’t stop there.
The white-hot arc continued past the falling Minotaur and struck the totem dead center.
CRACK!
The Royal-crafted enchantment sigils flared white.
For a moment, the totem resisted.
Then the impossible heat overwhelmed the enchantments.
The entire totem exploded.
Black metal fragments sprayed in every direction, pinging against the walls like shrapnel. The red pulsing light vanished instantly.
Silence filled the chamber.
The frenzy-magic broke.
The red veins running across the Minotaur’s corpse faded to dull gray.
[Ding!]
[Abyssal Minotaur (Rank 3, 3-Star - Frenzied) Defeated!]
[+8,000 KP]
[2x KP Booster Applied!]
[+16,000 KP!]
[Bonus: Royal Frenzy Totem Destroyed!]
[Additional KP: +2,000!]
[Balance: 227,890 KP]
Holden lowered his sword.
The white glow faded to soft crimson before dimming almost completely. He flicked the blade once, sending a thin line of cooled monster blood onto the floor, then dismissed it back into his System Inventory.
Emric was still standing with his shield raised, mouth slightly open and glasses askew. His eyes remained fixed on the two halves of the Rank 3 Minotaur.
It had just been cut down in a single swing by someone he had believed was only Rank 2.
"That..." Emric said slowly. "That heat output is logically impossible. A Rank 2 cultivator shouldn’t be able to generate enough energy to flash-cauterize a Rank 3 beast in a single stroke. The thermal dynamics alone would require..."
"Emric," Lyra said quietly.
"Yes?"
"Stop talking."
Emric closed his mouth.
Renna had her bow half-drawn, her eyes wide as she stared at the carnage.
"Holden."
He looked at her.
"That was a Rank 3. A whole Rank 3 monster, and you just cut it in half like it was made of butter."
She lowered her bow slightly.
"When did you get that strong? How are you that strong? You’re Rank 2, right?"
Holden turned to face them.
His expression remained calm.
"Yes."
"That’s it?" Renna stared at him. "You’re just going to say yes?"
"What else do you want me to say?"
"I don’t know! Maybe explain how a Rank 2 just destroyed a Rank 3 in one hit?"
Holden shrugged.
"I got stronger."
Renna stared at him.
"That’s your explanation?"
"It’s the truth."
Emric adjusted his crooked glasses.
"Holden, what Star level are you?"
Holden paused.
For a brief moment, his eyes flicked toward the shattered totem.
He wasn’t about to tell them.
The less they knew about his actual strength, the better.
"Rank 2," he repeated.
Emric frowned.
"That wasn’t what I asked."
"It’s what I’m telling you."
Lyra studied him for a moment but didn’t press further.
She knew Holden well enough to recognize when he had decided a subject was off-limits.
Renna, however, wasn’t nearly as willing to let it go.
"You’re being suspicious."
"Probably."
"That’s not a denial."
"I didn’t say it was."
Renna narrowed her eyes.
Holden simply turned away.
He looked at the remains of the totem, then toward the staircase that had appeared in the far wall.
The door was now glowing with a steady green light, signaling that the floor had been cleared.
"Five more floors to climb," he said. "Let’s move."
Renna stared at his back.
"I still think you’re hiding something."
Holden kept walking.
"You think too much."
"That’s Emric’s job."
"I heard that," Emric muttered.
Renna grinned.
"Good."
Holden shook his head as he walked toward the staircase.
Behind him, Emric and Lyra exchanged a brief glance before following.
Whatever Holden was hiding, they would find out eventually.
At least, Renna was determined to.
For now, though, the Spire waited.