"What do you want from us, human?" the old minotaur looked at me with visible fury in his eyes. I looked behind him, into the settlement, and found out there were a few non-combat oriented minotaurs peaking at us from afar.
'Perhaps… It is similar to how Elves are. Despite them being monsters, they had evolved enough to be able to become a species with intelligence and self consciousness,' I thought before pondering a little and then speaking,"what was his name?"
My question made everyone look at me with a puzzled expression. Illiara and the sisters were just looking at me without doing anything, while Yetris, Dion and Ariel seems like they were wondering what I was trying to do.
"What?" The old minotaur, confused at my question, looked at me and I cleared his confusion,"he was strong. I enjoyed the fight… at the very least, I wanted to know the name of the one I fought and killed in such a thrilling battle."
My expression was prideful along with a smile on my face matching the words which I said and the old minotaur just kept looking at me for the next few moments before finally speaking.
"Lrrise. That was the name of our chief."
'Chief, huh?' I thought as I kept observing the scene around me.
"Can I ask you something?" I spoke as I turned back to that old minotaur who looked at me with a confused expression again before nodding at me and I questioned just to sate my curiosity, as,
"I heard that monsters work on instincts and are ferocious… but that doesn't seem to be the case here… Can you tell me exactly what is going on here? It kind of interests me… also that… what is that and how it happened too… I want to know it," I spoke as I pointed at Flare without hiding my curiousity.
The old man looked at me with an emotionless gaze before speaking,"what will you do with that knowledge?"
'The fact that he knows he can die at any moment, yet he dares to ask me that question… this must be something really important to them,' I thought before speaking,
"I want to see if I can use that knowledge for my own gain."
At this point, I honestly felt no need to hide my feelings or thoughts here. It is either I get it or I don't get it, either of which is fine I guess because even though I am interested in the research, it isn't really that important.
"And what do you want to gain?" he asked again and I kind of pondered hard at that question… it was a really tough question but after I reached an answer I thought was the most appropriate, I answered,
"To fulfil a promise, to gain power to protect those who need to be protected and to kill those who need to be killed."
At my words, that minotaur narrowed his eyes at me before sighing as he spoke,"So you are a man on a journey, huh? I guess it was our bad fate to cross paths with you… Young Human, can I ask you another question?"
His words turned humble as he no longer glared at me or looked at me with a threatening gaze. Perhaps he understood the situation and now is acting accordingly? Who knows…
"Sure, go ahead," I spoke nodding at him wondering what he wanted to ask about and he simply asked,
"What are your intentions towards this settlement?"
'Hmmm… he did not ask about the whole minotaur community as a whole but only this particular settlement… are they outcast among minotaurs or something?' I thought before pondering a little and answering,
"I want to know the process of how you transition other species into a minotaur and ask you a few questions about minotaurs as a whole. About your settlement, I don't have any particular feelings, I suppose."
While I did kill their chief resulting in removing their main pillar of power, it was still a tough battle where one had to inevitably die. I am never going to take the responsibility for something I am not really responsible about…
'Plus, I don't have time to waste here,' I nodded at myself as I looked at the sighing face of that old minotaur before looking at the ugly faces of the other minotaurs.
'Doesn't look like they are happy with my way of words,' I thought before ignoring them and then speaking to the old minotaur again,
"So, are you going to let us in, or are you not?"
And he only chuckled a little, speaking,"do we have any other option? Well… come in, I suppose. I really wonder what fate has in store for all of us," before moving in as I followed behind him. The others also followed me inside the settlement as they got very close to me within that settlement.
From the inside, I could now clearly see that the minotaur settlement was really… primitive.
They had huts over huts for housing and a few watch towers for scouting purposes. There were also barracks and small factories for welding and stuff, and the more I looked at it, the more questions filled up my mind.
How did they survive with this? What are they trying to do with this… are they really this primitive or is there more to it than it seems? A lot of questions came up, but I pushed them aside for now.
Soon we reach a large hut at the centre of the settlement. The old minotaur entered that hurt and we followed him in under the gazes of everyone present there. Even though they were scared, they still kept looking at us without turning their heads, even for once.
Entering the house, I found it to be empty and wide, with just a couple of bookshelves near the walls. I turned at the old minotaur with a confused look and he just simply smiled before speaking,
"This place is where we convert the other species into our own. If it is not too much, can I ask for your name, young man?"
I looked at him before speaking,"just call me Zero," and he nodded as he continued,"Human Zero, would you like to hear a story?"
I wanted to say that don't call me Human Zero, cause it was a little bit awkward, but then I realised that it is at least better than Human Reaper, so I kept quiet before speaking,"Keep it brief."
The old man smiled again before asking,"Do you know why we exist?"
"The minotaurs?" I asked, a bit confused, but he shook his head before saying,"no… I mean as a living being. Do you know the purpose of the existence of us living, surviving, and dying in this world?"
I looked at him, wondering what he was trying to get at before I spoke,"I know mine and I guess that is enough," and then looked at him, at which he shakes his head once again as he continued,
"I am asking the purpose of living beings as a whole. What do you think about it?"
At these words, I gave it a bit of thought before reaching the conclusion and speaking in a confident manner,"I don't know. Too much of a bother to think about, really."
He kept gazing at me before he began pondering about something and when he was done with that; he looked at me again before speaking,
"There is a rumour among the minotaurs… that there exist beings much much stronger than us outside this world. They are capable of destroying this planet with mere thoughts and we are merely flies in front of them."
'There certainly exist species outside Planet Vermillion but nothing that powerful as the rumours though,' I thought before listening to him as he continued,
"One of those beings came down to us minotaurs… or I should say this forest called HellFire forest. He was the reason that the first fire tree appeared. He was the reason why the HellFire forest exists and also the reason the species with the power to use fire survived this place over the others.
With his presence, the power of fire increased much… much more with time and 5 species got way stronger than they should be, later on ruled the outer HellFire forest while that person ruled the Elder Fire Forest."
"And what does it have to do with the purpose of the living beings?" I ask, a bit confused, and he smiles before speaking,
"One day the King of Minotaurs met that personage to pay our tributes… and despite being strong, that personage didn't show any dignity whatsoever. Instead, he told us about the outer place… he told us how there is a 'survival of the fittest' world outside this place and how everyone is trying to reach the top of the world. The weaker ones strive to get stronger and the stronger ones get even more stronger… that is the way of the world until one reaches the top so high that no one can reach them."
I kept listening to him without speaking anything as he spoke,
"He said that you have to choose whatever way you can to reach the top, without holding back. Whether it is an underhanded method, or something that is against nature itself… as long as you can get to the top, it doesn't matter how you do it."
I just kept looking at him with an expressionless face as he continued,
"That is the true purpose of all living beings. Don't you agree Mr. Zero? As someone who is an anomaly among humans, surely you have done many things that shouldn't be done to get that dark power of yours."
His smile widened, and finally I saw his real face.
'A heretic,' I thought as I looked at him before speaking,
"Can I ask you more about that personage? What is his name and what else do you know about him?"
The old minotaur, a bit confused, looked at me before speaking,"When we asked if he was a God, he just chuckled before saying,'No, I am just a Guardian. Guardian of Fire, Vulcan.' "
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