A MIX OF TWO WORLDS

Tanaka had spoken to the other leaders, telling them of the plan. At first there were refusals, scoffs even but in the end everyone agreed.

They had no other choice, if they wanted to survive this cursed labyrinth, they would have to bring the Minotaur down together.

The duties were set, the wolves and cats would use their speed and strength to chain the beast, dragging it where it needed to be.

Vampires would strike from the flanks while the witches prepared the binding spell. Everyone had a role and everyone had to play it perfectly.

Alex's stomach churned. He amd the other wolves had encountered it already as opposed to the others who had only glimpsed statues and murals.

They had no idea of what was to come.

In the distance, the scouting team waited in the dark of a narrow passage, pressed against the damp stone walls.

"I hope this works," One of the wolves said quietly.

"It has to," another answered, though they didn't sound convinced.

Then a third voice cut in, sharper: "Wait, do you guys smell that?"

A pause, and then someone sniffed the air then gagged.

The stench rolled over them thick as smoke. Rotting flesh, sour and wet, crawling into their lungs and turning their stomachs inside out.

"Oh gods…" one whispered, hand clamped over their mouth.

Then they heard it.

The heavy breathing, the stomping of hooves on concrete floor.

The floor trembled with its steps, each one sounded heavier asit got closer, asif it wanted them to hear it approach. Metal scraped against stone, the sound of a heavy weapon being dragged.

"How… how did it get so close without us noticing?" One of them whispered as they were frozen in place.

"If not for the smell, we wouldn't have noticed it approach until it was too late"

The cloven steps grew even louder as it approached the stench even worse now making their eyes tear, then it stopped.

"It stopped" One of them said "But I don't see it" they said as they peered into the dark corridor.

But then suddenly it appeared.

The Minotaur.

It was now standing infront of them like a behemoth.

It filled the corridor with its bulk, horns nearly scraping the stone ceiling. Its eyes burned red with malice, its frame corded with muscle.

The axe in its hand looked forged from nightmare.

"Move!" the scout leader snapped.

They bolted, boots hammering against the stone as the behemoth charged after them. The scrape of metal turned into a thunderclap as its axe tore gouges into the wall.

The chamber loomed ahead of them where their allies lay in wait. The wolves crouched low, chains in hand as the cats stalked the edges, ready to spring. The vampires too stood poised, eyes gleaming red in the dark.

At the center, the witches had already begun their circle, where they would hopefully bind the Minotaur in place.

The scouts burst into the chamber, fear plastered on their faces. "It's coming!"

The Minotaur appeared in the chamber right behind them not a moment later.

The room shook when it stepped inside.

"Now!" Tanaka barked.

Chaos erupted.

Chains whipped forward, wolves and cats darting in to hook them around the beast's limbs. The Minotaur bellowed, a sound that made bones ache, and swung its axe. Stone shattered where it landed, sending shards across the chamber.

"Hold it! Rina, left flank!"

"Nyssa, drive the cats in tighter!"

"Viera, cut it off from the wall!"

Orders cracked through the storm correcting and readjusting strategy as they adapted to the beast.

The minotaur roared again, jerking free of two chains and dragging three wolves across the floor like rag dolls. Vampires dashed in, lightning-fast, anchoring the chains again. Claws dug into flesh, teeth tore at the thick hide but it wasn't enough.

Selene's voice rose. "Orin lead the spell"

Orin's voice wavered, but he obeyed, chanting as the runes in the circle began to glow.

The Minotaur thrashed. A wolf was slammed into the ground. A vampire thrown across the chamber. Cats darted under its legs, trying to tangle the chains tighter, but every move was a gamble against death.

Then Damien made his choice.

"Get down!" he shouted.

He leapt forward, claws flashing, and slashed at the back of the beast's legs. Flesh tore and blood spurted hot across the floor.

The Minotaur staggered then crashed to its knees, howling in fury. Damien had cut it's Achilles tendons.

"Now! Pin it!" Tanaka roared.

Chains wrapped tighter. Wolves pulled until their muscles screamed. Cats lunged onto its back, sinking claws deep. Vampires dragged the chains across its arms, anchoring them to stone pillars.

Selene's circle blazed with light. The chanting reached a fever pitch.

The beast writhed, tearing chunks of stone free, shaking the room with its rage. For a heartbeat it looked like it might rip them all apart but then the spell snapped into place.

Light seared across its body, pinning it to the ground, roaring like thunder.

The Minotaur howled, shaking the chamber.

Everyone froze, breathless, waiting to see if it would hold.

The light flared brighter, burning runes into the floor around the Minotaur as the spell tightened. For a moment, Alex thought they had done it, that the beast was bound.

Then the Minotaur roared again, louder than before. The sound rattled the walls and sent cracks spiderwebbing up the pillars anchoring the chains. Its muscles bulged, and one of the iron links snapped like twine, whipping across the chamber and striking a vampire so hard it shattered his ribs.

"Secure the chains!" Tanaka barked, but even his voice carried strain.

The witches shouted louder, Selene's voice raw from the effort. Orin's nose bled as he forced the words out, their bodies shaking from the energy it demanded.

Alex's heart hammered. He could feel it, the spell wasn't enough.

The Minotaur dragged itself up an inch, smoke rising from its hide as the magic seared it. Its eyes locked on Alex, burning with hatred. The weight of its gaze rooted him in place, terror freezing him in place once again.

The spell flickered.

"No, don't let it break free!" Rina screamed, as she held onto one of the chains with all her strength.

Nyssa snarled, leaping onto its arm, her cats following. Viera barked for the vampires to reinforce the pillars, their speed a blur as they tried to anchor the beast again.

But still, the Minotaur surged, rising against their combined weight, against the spell itself.

And then, as if mocking them, it laughed. A guttural, broken sound that curdled the blood of everyone in the chamber.

Selene's voice cracked, the circle of light faltering. "It's resisting the binding but how?"

Alex clenched his fists, chest heaving. "Then what do we do?!"

The Minotaur tore another chain free, the chamber thundering with the sound.

The spell shattered like glass and the beast began to rise.