As the flames died down, the arrow that had been holding Raven finally gave in. Falling onto the charred corpses of the minotaurs still warm from the dead hellflames, he felt not pain but a deep sense of superiority. Crushing their corpses under his feet, he felt overjoyed having finally seen the entire horde dead.
"Burn in hell," kicked the horns off a burnt minotaur skull, he threw away all caution and laughed out loud to his heart's content. Flashing before him were the memories of his own death, but instead of making him angry, he was delighted that it happened or else the revenge wouldn't be as sweet. "An entire horde turned to dust!"
Skipping around with a spring to his steps, he kicked the minotaur heads to get the horns to separate. Much like how slimes had their cores, minotaurs were often hunted for their horns, and despite knowing he couldn't keep any of the rewards, Raven kept kicking them off as if playing kickball.
"WHO ARE YOU?!" The howling scream of a woman from behind froze Raven in place.
For a spell, he remained stagnant with one of his feet about to kick another head. Slipping back into caution, however, he quickly reached into his pocket and downed the last mana potion before turning around to face the woman.
At a glance, the brownish-red-skinned woman adorned in a tunic and shiny breastplate appeared like an adventurer, but as Raven noticed the protruding horns and a cow-like tail flicking side to side, he knew exactly who she was…A demi-human monster.
"I ASKED WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!" Raising a knife with her shaky hands, the minotaur queen tried to intimidate him. However, with her entire body rattling like a snake, her attempt didn't work in the slightest.
It didn't help that having defeated so many minotaurs just moments ago, Raven was on an adrenaline high and his senses were sharp enough to slit her throat before she blinked. Yet as the two stood amidst the pool of charred corpses, silence took over as neither moved an inch.
"Say…" Breaking the silence, Raven looked her up and down. "Are you the one who shat these bastards from between your legs?"
"W-what?!" Caught off guard by the question, the tension in the queen's body loosened up for a second.
"Heightened senses: Agility…" Whispering an incantation, Raven sped his senses even more and curled behind the queen like the wind. Before she even knew what had happened, the knife in her hand was now pressed against her own throat.
As her senses caught on, she grabbed Raven's hands and tried to get them away, but keeping a firm lock on her, the mage didn't let her move an inch.
"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT?!" She screamed, her eyes nervously jittering as she glanced back at Raven from over her own shoulder.
"An answer, did you give birth to those bastards?" He asked, intent on killing anyone and everyone responsible for his death.
Although she had no clue why Raven was doing any of this especially when he wasn't even picking up the horns, the queen blurted an answer truthfully.
"NO! MY MOTHER DID, BUT I KILLED HER! SHE'S DEAD!" To her surprise, the moment those words left her lips, Raven let go of her instantly and even took a few steps back. Falling on her knees, the queen burst into a fit of coughs. Catching her breath, she slowly turned her head to look at him. "Wh-why did you…spare me?"
Still eyeing the demi-human woman in front of him as she clutched her heart in horror, Raven felt no need to kill her especially when she'd killed the previous queen who was responsible for the minotaur infestation. If anything, killing a woman so curvaceous–especially with massive breasts and ass rivaling the witch', felt like an utter waste when she was begging for mercy through her eyes.
"What are you gonna do now?" He asked, curious how to take things forward.
"Me?" Nervously gulping, the queen picked herself back to her sluggish feet. "I…"
Looking around the cave with corpses lying everywhere, she realized that her dreams had been shattered, and there was no way she could be the lord of demons.
"I don't know," she muttered, her eyes glancing through the grizzly sight.
"A bath would be nice, to get the blood off of your body," hearing Raven's suggestion, she was astounded by his mercy. Turning her head to face him again, she noticed him smiling with one of his hands scratching the back of his head. "And then, maybe after you're all cleaned up, I'll let you thank me for not killing you today."
"What do you mean?" Her confusion was obvious, after all, she'd never been flirted with, at least not by someone who wanted to kill her moments ago.
Picking up the queen's skull crown from the floor, Raven blew the dust off of it and offered it back to her.
'What's wrong with this human?' She wondered, feeling something strange fluttering in her stomach. Care–being part of a minotaur horde, she'd never experienced it, so when someone showed care, she was left utterly baffled. Even to her, however, a heartless monster who'd killed her own parent, one thing was clear. 'I don't hate this somehow, why?'
Agreeing to go with him, the queen put her crown on and followed Raven to the exit once he was done collecting all the horns. The sight of him bagging them was obviously ghastly, but having a taste of morbid jewelry the queen couldn't complain.
Leaving the cave, the setting sun urged them to hurry. The forest around the cave was far from safe, and with no mana left to spare even Raven didn't want to take any more risk. Dashing through the trees, the duo made their way towards the city. And although the journey was long to traverse on foot, Raven didn't mind with the queen's breasts bouncing all over as she ran beside him.
'I went in that cave for revenge with the prior knowledge that I won't get anything from defeating those minotaurs, but perhaps my trophy wasn't the horns, but this busty nose ring-wearing demi-girl!' The very thought of pulling her cow tail while banging her ass tested Raven's patience with every step they took.