As the vehicle rumbled up to the large, dark, intimidating iron gate, Perseus stepped out and onto the dusty soil below. The sky was darkened with the clouds of a brewing storm, the air cold and damp, however this did not convince the sweat that drenched Perseus' brow from running down his face to cease, nor the insatiable heat he felt in his stomach to be quelled. Quietly, with the aid of his men, the hero made final perparations for his journey into the dark unknown. In grim fashion, his armor was applied. A small black box was produced with haste from the vehicles cargo hold and placed before Perseus. Perseus' aids kneeled before the dark box, entering the king's security codes rapidly. As they finished, the once small box began to morph and transform, becoming a highly advanced, never before seen suit of armor. Not only was the armor surprisingly lean for its advanced qualities and systems, but it bore the regal seal, stating that it was designed specifically for the use and protection of the royal family. The men fastened the still nervous Perseus into the suit, turning on the power as they completed their work. The system greeted the hero with an array of monitors, each respectively displaying his anatomical state, strategical factors of the surrounding area, and his vital signs. Having approved of the state of his armor and its many systems, the men fitted Perseus with his equipment. First was but a simple, sturdy belt designed to comply with the suit, attaching perfectly at the waist. The belt was outfitted with a flashlight, a pistol, a sizable knife, and a spool containing an ample supply of steel wire. Finally came the prince's weapon. A cutting edge assault rifle was laden upon him, designed to discharge 150 rounds per minute at the maximum possible velocity. The men stood before the him bowing as they completed their work. Perseus nodded and thanked the men for their efforts, promptly turning round to enter the labyrinth. As Perseus approached the gate, his march was cut short by a hand being placed upon his shoulder.             "My Lord Perseus," spoke the man, "you needn't do this my Lord. You can turn back now and return home without shame; no man, woman, nor child will think any less of you."            "I know," Perseus replied, "I know that measures such as these are entirely unnecessary, but I put only myself in danger, and frankly I have had quite enough of this monster's terrorization of my people and its appetite for their flesh. I thank you for coming along with me and aiding me in my preparations, and I would not hold it against you if you turned homeward."           The man sighed, "Yes my Lord, I understand, we shall stay here to receive you once you have emerged once again from the pit. However, allow me to leave you with this, the deeper you descend into the maze, the less reception your systems have, so I am afraid that upon reaching the monster's level, you will be on your own."           Perseus thanked the man, swallowed his fear, and entered the heavy gates. The air inside was thick and humid, heavy with the stench of thousands of unknown martyrs. The sights revealed by the beams of light from the suit's helm brought no comfort. Strewn about the entryway floor were spots of mold, pools of foaming saliva, stains of blood, splintered bones, and rotten muscle. As Perseus began to doubt his courage, a voice came into his helmet's headset:            "My Lord? Are you there my prince?"           "Yes my friend, your voice is a soothing sound to be sure."           "What is the state of things down there?"           "This monster seems to have a voracious nature, ravaging its victims beyond belief. I tell you, in all my years of war I have never seen such violence."           "May the gods bless their poor souls."           "Yes, my friend. Is there any assistance that you may offer me from up there?"           "Indeed, my Lord. I have linked your visor with our computer systems, so we will be able to see what you see for the time being, also, I have taken the liberty of studying the schematics of the labyrinth and uploading a map with the quickest possible route to the beast that lurks below to your systems, it should appear any moment now. Also, may I suggest attaching one end of your wire to the gate behind you so as to lead you back to the surface?"           "I see it, thank you my friend. And I shall"             Communications continued as Perseus bravely crept through the ever deepening maze, experiencing the horrors that lay within: rotting corpses, screams frozen on the faces of numerous victims, children empaled with their own tibiae, even esophagi stuffed with their owners' eyes and tongues. As the hero traveled deeper into the dark maze, he gradually lost communications with those still above ground, and with this loss, he gained only an intense feeling of crushing damnation. Finally, the prince reached the lair of the beast. The behemoth, an abomination of half man and half bull, lay sleeping surrounded by mounds of flesh and pools of blood. Carefully, Perseus aimed his rifle at the beasts head, intending to take its life with one swift discharge. However, his nerves soon took control and his shot missed the beasts head, ricocheting around the room with such intense force and great noise that the room was nearly entirely demolished, and as the beast arose, it glared at Perseus with such disdain and rage so as to burn his very soul. The minotaur clutched at a rock that lay near him and threw it at the prince's head with blinding speed. Perseus, barely dodging the beast's projectile, only to have his suit's light source destroyed. Now in complete darkness, his heart was racing and his only hope was to fire his weapon at the advancing monster. As Perseus fired, the room was lit up with flashes of incredible orange light, illuminating the beast's fast approaching, intimidating, nearly undamaged figure. As the hero circled his prey, he soon realized that bullets were nearly ineffective against the hide of the minotaur.  As he made this disheartening and terrifying discovery, he was swept up in the minotaur's giant hand and flung across the room, crashing against one of the great pillars that bore the weight of the level above. Looking up at the pillar, an idea formed within Perseus' mind. It was incredibly risky, but it was his only chance at survival. He began to wind his trailing wire around the pillars, forming a web around the room. This bought him mere seconds as, stumbling furiously, the beast remained but a few feet behind. Now running as fast as he possibly could, Perseus ran back up to the higher levels with the unsuspecting beast in tow. By changing his strategy repeatedly, the beast was constantly caught off guard by the varying patterns of Perseus' webs, finally tripping and falling down flat. Perseus, now granted with one single opportunity for action, began to bind the limbs of the minotaur together with wire, first the great hands of the monstrosity, followed by its strong legs. With the monster now subdued and bleeding from wire slicing into its flesh the prince moved in for the final blow, drawing his knife. As he drew near, however, the beast bucked him across the room, entangling Perseus in his own web and knocking him unconscious. As Perseus came about once more, he noticed that the beast was almost free from the ties that once held him fast. Pouncing upon his prey, Perseus used the strength of the armor to his advantage by smashing the beast's head into the ground and taking his knife in hand once again to finish his work. It took many tries, but soon the flesh gave way to the blade. As the minotaur wailed in agony, Perseus, in a fit of rage and adrenaline, plunged his knife into the beast's skin repeatedly until he looked no different than his innumerable victims. With his work finished, the prince let out a cry of victory which echoed across the walls of the entire labyrinth and even beyond the heavy gates. Finally, after hours of following his trail of wire, he found his way to the surface, welcomed by a heavy torrent of rain and the arms of his fellows that he had left behind. They tended his wounds, both internal and external, loaded both him and the armor onto the vehicle, and began moving homeward to tell the people of the great news: that they were finally free from the minotaur's hunger.