Chapter 40 The Castle In Ruins

"Hey! Little girl, you alright? I see you can stand... at least."

"Well... I am far from fine, but I can walk, no promises about running tho, haha."

"In that crazy fight we had, my axe fell through the ceiling in this room, maybe you have seen it?"

Suzuka pointed her hand in the direction his axe was and said, "Yeah, I saw your axe. It's there."

He looks across the room and sees his trusty axe, buried in a pile of wood debris. The girl seems to be waiting for him to make a move, so the Minotaur quickly gets to his feet and goes to get his axe. His axe is partially buried in a pile of wood debris. As he walks, he glances around the room as he was walking toward his axe. He checked the goblin's junk they stored in this room, it was a goblin's storage room after all. 

As he nears the pile of wood junk, he notices some other objects mixed in with the debris, and he makes a mental note to check them out once he has his axe in hand. Finally, he reaches his goal and bends down to grasp the handle of his trusty weapon. Bill wraps his fingers around the handle of his axe and gives it a firm tug, pulling it free from the pile of wood debris. He takes a moment to inspect the weapon, making sure it is still in good condition. Satisfied that it is, he turns his attention to the debris itself. With a determined look on his face, he begins to rustle through the pile, searching for anything of value. As he digs, he notices a few objects mixed in with the debris. Among them, he finds a handful of name tags with the name "Martin" written on them. Bill's brow wrinkled, it was Martins's party's name tags. With a resolute look in his eye, Bill straightens up and sets his sights on the nearest exit.

"Girl! If you are fine to walk, we should leave this place."

"Yeah! I can manage, we can go. Just remove the barricade you made at the door, please."

Bill grasped his axe tightly in one hand, the name tags he had found in the other, and made his way toward the door. He could see the debris that had been used to barricade the door and knew that it would take little effort to remove it.

"Here, keep on these name tags. It's Martin's party name tags."

Bill stood there, feeling a sense of both relief and sadness. He then turned to the girl and extended his arm, offering her the name tags he had found. The girl, Suzuka, took the tags with a nod. She carefully put the name tags inside the pocket, along with the young man's tag she had found earlier on his dead body in the prison.   

 B set his jaw and began tugging at the pieces of wood and stone, to get out of this storage room and this crumbling castle. After a few minutes, the barricade give way and the door slowly creaked but didn't open, something was blocking them from the outside. Bill wasn't in the mood to play around.

"After all that! It was blocked from the outside?! The hell with these damn doors!"

 He gripped his trusty battle axe with both of his hands and with a devastating blow destroyed the door. The delivered force was so great that the door exploded and turned into a pile of wood scraps and splinters. 

The doorway led to a long, dark corridor that wound its way through the castle. Bill motioned for the girl to follow him. 

"Let's go, girl. Keep your voice down, there is a chance we can run into some leftover goblins. Follow my lead and stay back, I will take the front."

"Okay, can't promise I will be of help if another behemoth shows up. I think I lost too much blood. I feel weak and lightheaded, but I would be fine against a few goblins."

"Bill is not feeling great either, but... I will be fine, Bill recovered enough to take on a behemoth. Well... two would be a problem though."           

While saying his last words he stepped into the corridor, his axe held at the ready. As they walked, the debris grew thicker on the ground, making their progress slow and difficult. They had to step carefully to avoid tripping on the chunks of stone and wood that littered the floor. The ceilings and walls of the corridor had partially collapsed in several areas, leaving jagged edges of the stone and exposed rigid spikes.

The air was thick with dust, making it difficult to breathe. They walked in silence, the only sound was their footsteps on the debris.

As they progressed further down the corridor, Bill could see weak light filtering through the gaps in the ceiling. They were getting close to the surface, but he knew that the castle was far from stable, and one wrong step could bring the whole thing down on top of them. He motioned to the girl.

"Heh! This castle was in bad shape already. Bringing the roof down, you almost collapsed the whole thing down."

"Hey now! Don't make it sound like it was my fault..."

"Stop! Girl, I am not blaming you, you did right. I blame... only myself. It was an easy victory, but Bill gave in to trickery. Falling for stupid illusion like that. Bill should have known better! It was so obvious, no goblin have that much power. After the first knee-bending blow, I should know it was you."

"Bill... I don't blame you... sure I could... but I don't. Visually it was a very convincing illusion, but I saw right through it."

"What? You did? How? What did he make you see?"

"After the giant fireball vanished and the blinding light disappeared, there was a behemoth standing right next to me where you were supposed to stand. The moment I saw him, I crossed my arms and took a good look at him. He was looking at the throne, then he turned at me. His expression was that of a surprise, so I was waiting to see what will it do."

"Really? A behemoth standing right next to you and you do nothing?"

"Bill, the behemoth was your size and holding your axe... also the smell... and when you walked or run you left your horseshoe prints on the floor. It would be hard to confuse them for behemoth footprints. I knew something was up, that it was a ploy. But after you nearly took my head off with that powerful swing, I knew that you got tricked."

"Yeah... sorry girl. Bill didn't mean to hurt you."

"Oh! You didn't hurt me... you nearly killed me. I mean, I had you finally restrained and was about to kill that dam goblin with my box power, when you suddenly pulled a secret transformation and hit me like a ton of bricks, launching me across the room."

"That transformation... it is news to Bill too. Newer seen a minotaur manifest such power before. And I have seen many minotaurs... for better or worse. It is just Bill's dumb guess... but Bill thinks it is because your monster blood got mixed with my blood."

"Hey! I am not a monster, don't call my blood monster blood."

"From the outside, you might not look like one. But deep down you are a monster."

"Shut up Bill, I am not a monster."

"Listen, girl, when you use your full power and turn those yellow eyes to red and you look at me, it feels like you're piercing my very soul. And I am a raging monster, but even I fear you sometimes. Now... think... what normal people, town people would think and feel."

"No, no... stop... don't say I am a monster. I am me... just stop talking, Let's just... let's get out of here. Okay?"

"Sure... thing girl."     

Finally, they reached the end of the corridor and stepped out into the foggy light. What they saw outside took their breath away. The castle ruins were massive, with half-collapsed walls and towers that loomed over them. The sky above was covered in dark grey clouds, and a gentle breeze blew through the ruins, stirring up the dust and debris. Bill took a deep breath, finally, fresh air to inhale. They had made it out of under the stronghold alive.

As they stood there, gazing at the ruins of the castle, a gentle rain began to fall. The droplets washed the dirt and blood off their bodies, leaving them feeling refreshed and renewed. The sky above was a dark grey, and lightning danced across the horizon, illuminating the ruins in an eerie, otherworldly light. The sound of thunder rumbled in the distance, adding to the already ominous atmosphere.

The rain was a welcome relief after the heat and dust of the castle, and it seemed to cleanse the ruins of the remnants of the battle that had taken place there. Bill and Suzuka stood there, side by side, taking in the sights and sounds of the storm. The rain falling on them was gentle and refreshing. 

The sky was flashing with lightning, illuminating the ruins in a spectacular display of nature's power. The sound of thunder was deafening, shaking the ground beneath them. Soon the rain was coming down in sheets, drenching them to the bone, but they didn't move an inch, they were mesmerized by the sight before them.

"Hahaha! Girl! How do you feel after your first demolished castle?! Bill is impressed, even if this castle was worn out, you still brought it down. With one attack and barely alive to boot!"

"It's scary actually, this power. If people start abusing it..."

"Girl! Strong will always abuse the weak! Magic box power or not, they always find a way."

"Yeah, your right. I will use my power to hunt monsters, bad monsters. A wanted to be an adventurer, make money, get fame, make connections, and build a new town."   

 "Girl! The only man alive, who called me friend. His name is Wara, we went on quite a few quests. He was an adventurer, a half-human half-dwarf. He had the same dream too. He was from RockMine town, haven't seen him in decades though."

"Was he a good guy?"

"Yeah! When you get back to town, try asking about him. If he's still alive he might help you out. If he is still the same man I knew him as."

"Wara... Wara... I'll remember that name. But, I don't see myself going back to town any time soon."

As they finished talking, the rain continued to fall, washing away the dirt and blood from their bodies. The Minotaur, Bill, was covered in small cuts and bruises from the battle that had taken place in the castle. His rough, fur-covered hide was matted with mud, and his tusks glistened with rainwater. Suzuka was also banged up, her leather armor was in tatters, revealing a number of bruises and scrapes beneath it. The rain had plastered her hair to her face, and she looked exhausted.

After standing for a few moments, looking around the castle ruins, Bill and Suzuka knew that they had to start searching for any surviving goblins that might be buried under the rubble. They separated and began looking in different areas, searching through the debris. As they searched, they could feel the weight of exhaustion pressing down on them, their bodies aching from the battle and their injuries.

Despite their efforts, they found no sign of any living goblins. The castle was silent and still, the only sound that of the rain and the occasional rumble of thunder. They didn't find alive goblins only the bodies. They knew that they were the only ones left alive.

They decided to leave the castle. They knew they couldn't stay there any longer, not with the risk of the night coming and the injuries they had sustained. They gathered what supplies they could find and set off towards the campsite where they had left their bags and supplies.

The journey back was a slow one, their bodies were tired and their spirits were low. The rain had not stopped and the mud made it harder for them to walk. As they walked, they didn't talk much, each lost in their own thoughts. They were focused on getting back to the camp and getting some rest, but the sight of the ruined castle was constantly on their minds, a reminder of what had happened.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, they reached the campsite. They quickly set up a small shelter, trying to stay dry, and warm. As they sat there, exhausted, they knew that they needed to rest, but they also knew that their journey was far from over and that the next day they going back to Bill's cave.