Chapter 145: Minotaur Skull
Fortunately, both Fian and Gara had long-range Talents. They didn’t have to be afraid of immediate attack.
From their last fight, Gara had learned the quickest way to kill the bulls: aim straight for the neck. With the beasts unconscious, it was almost too easy. He cut down four bulls with swift five Water Slashes, while Fian’s Ice Spikes finished off another.
That left only one, the three-horned bull. The strongest. In the games Gara used to play, this would be the boss monster.
"Make a cage around it with your ice spikes," Gara ordered.
Fian obeyed instantly, enclosing the beast so tightly that even Gara struggled to see inside.
Truthfully, Gara trusted his anesthetic. Its whole purpose was to numb bodies for surgery, though this time he wasn’t saving lives, but ending one.
Still, to avoid any mishaps, Gara unleashed ten Water Slashes at the bull’s neck. The blades cut in, but the skin was incredibly thick. No blood yet.
He sent another ten slashes. This time, droplets of blood sprayed from its throat, yet at the same moment, the beast stirred.
Madha immediately stepped in front of Gara, while Fian launched a barrage of ice spikes in tandem with Gara’s final wave of another ten Water Slashes.
Like a burst pipe, blood spurted from the bull’s neck, and the beast collapsed, motionless.
"...Is it over?" Gara asked, still wary.
"Looks like it," Madha replied.
"I’ll go in first with my Water Shield. Don’t follow me! You’ve already seen how strong my water is, so there’s nothing to worry about. If anything happens, I’ll pull back.
Fian can use his Glacial Spikes to hold it off, and Madha can cover me, then we retreat. Until that happens, stay put!" Gara’s voice was sharp with warning.
The two men could only nod.
Encased in a dome-shaped Water Shield that covered every side of his body except the ground beneath his feet, Gara stepped forward into the cavern.
Nothing happened.
He moved carefully, checking each bull one by one. All six were truly dead. Then his eyes shifted toward the minotaur skeleton.
On the clay seat where the skeleton sat were several gemstones, likely remnants from its clothing that had crumbled away long ago.
But what caught Gara’s attention wasn’t the gems, it was the large crystal resting in the skeleton’s lap.
It resembled saltstone, though its color was the same blue as an Enhance Crystal. Unlike the long, shard-like Enhance Crystals, this one was a solid oval.
This must be what Rea saw, which means she’s made it this far. It turns out his squirrel is more capable than he imagined.
With a wave of water, he lifted the crystal from the skeleton’s lap.
Hsshh—
The moment the crystal left its place, the skeleton dissolved into glittering fragments that scattered upward, vanishing into the air. Even though there was no wind in the cavern.
Gara froze, wary. But nothing else stirred. The cave remained silent.
He didn’t know if he had just destroyed the last remains of someone, or freed them from the burden of guarding this crystal.
Either way, it was over.
Out of respect, Gara, Madha, and Fian buried the six slain guardian bulls inside the cavern before leaving.
They returned to the Enhance Crystal mine to bury the other two bulls, only to be met with shock. The mine was gone.
"The bulls’ bodies are still here, so the Enhance Crystals should’ve been too," Gara muttered, bewildered.
"Could it have something to do with that blue crystal in your hand?" Madha asked, nodding toward it.
Realization hit Gara. Perhaps this blue crystal was the core of the entire mine. If so, it was worth far more than any ordinary vein of Enhance Crystals.
His mind spun with possibilities. If saltstone could make salt... then could this crystal be used to produce Enhance Crystals?
They finished burying the last two bulls, then headed back to where Emir was waiting. He was still unconscious.
"Since the mine’s gone, the spring water here should be free of contamination now, right?" Gara mused aloud, carrying Rea toward the spot where the crystal vein had once been.
He set Rea down by the spring. The little squirrel tested the water near the source. It was clear, clean and untainted.
Gara exhaled in relief. "This village will be saved."
Gara returned to Madha and Fian, explaining that they needed to tell Mohan the contamination source was the pile of beast carcasses near the spring.
The wild beasts had died because they’d been trapped inside the cave during a landslide.
The three of them gathered the carcasses by the spring, then disguised the cave entrance to look as if it had collapsed, leaving only a small hole. They also sealed off the deeper passage, making sure no one would discover the bulls’ burial site.
Whether Mohan would buy the story or not, Gara couldn’t be sure. But he had provided evidence, and no matter how much Mohan searched, there would be no other explanation.
Next, Gara roused Emir with a cup of Niskara tea. The vice-captain of the town guard woke groggy and disoriented.
Gara repeated the same explanation—the one he intended to give Mohan—and instructed Emir to pass it along.
Truthfully, Emir noticed the soil piled at the cave’s mouth still looked fresh. But whatever the truth was, he could investigate later if his captain ordered him to. For now, he would follow the godson of his captain.
They retraced their steps to find Mohan’s team, only to realize Mohan’s team is not far from the cave.
"As we followed the stream toward the spring, Kian used his detection Talent. The water above the junction wasn’t contaminated at all. Turns out the contamination really did come from the hollow you explored," Mohan explained.
Gara quietly sighed in relief. If he had moved even a little slower, he wouldn’t have had time to fake the landslide.
Emir relayed the contamination story to Mohan, and because it came from Emir’s mouth, Mohan only gave the cave and its surroundings a brief glance before accepting it as fact.
"It’s finally over," Kian said, visibly relieved. Beneath his calm exterior, it was clear he too had felt the weight of months of pressure in this village.
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