Limbs thick enough to wrap my arm around. Over 2m tall, a massive physique. A single horn growing out of its head.
That ogre is standing there with its arm extended from a full swing.
Yuel was hurled several meters away, and is leaning limp against a tree.
So those wolves hadnt run off because their packmates died, but because they sensed the presence of this guy?
The ogre begins to walk towards the collapsed Yuel.
Oh no. Thats no good.
Its obvious what it plans to do to the weakened Yuel. It intends to finish her off.
Right now Yuel is struggling to stand, but unable to. Because she defended me, she must have taken an incredible amount of damage. Yuel cant avoid the monsters attack in her current state.
Moreover, Yuel no longer has that bracelet. Eating another attack from this guy might really kill her. I cant let that happen. Thats the one thing I cannot allow.
I absolutely cant let it reach her.
I jump to my feet, and grasp my mace tightly.
Haaaaaaaaah!!
I strike the ogre with my mace. It directly impacts the ogres undefended back-
and bounces right off.
It makes a hard sound, as if hitting an iron plate. The recoil is so intense that I almost lose hold of the mace.
The sensation is almost metallic.
Wrenched by the deflected mace, my upper body is thrown backwards. I lose my balance. My foot gets stuck in the mud beneath me and I fall on my rear.
The very next instant.
A sturdy arm sweeps just over my head. It generates a powerful gust of air. My body sways from the wind pressure alone. The puddles of water at my feet ripple.
-I cant win against this.
If I hadnt fallen over, that one blow might have crushed my head. Thats how powerful a single strike was.
Im convinced. Im no match for it.
Besides, that rigid skin. Even though I hit it with a blunt metal weapon, theres no indication that it took any damage. From the looks of it, Im not sure it would even be injured if Yuel slashed it with her knife. Even if Yuel and I attack together, we probably cant defeat it in the first place.
I cant fight this guy. Theres no way I can win.
No, this is no time to be thinking about winning or losing. Yuel is top priority. The first thing I need to do is save the wounded Yuel somehow.
I rise to my feet and run towards Yuel. In an instant, the ogres fist grazes my back.
I feel a heat on my back as if its on fire. I nearly lose my balance, but I recover and run over to Yuel.
I quickly pick her up, and cast healing magic-
then a shadow appears on the ground in front of me. I have a bad feeling about this.
Wrapping my arms around Yuel, I dive to the side.
The sturdy arm smashes into the spot where Yuel and I just were. The ground bursts open. Showered by stone fragments and mud, we roll along the ground.
Dangerous. This is truly dangerous. If I take a direct hit from an attack like that, Ill die. No mistaking it, Ill die.
If its a direct hit to the head, I might very well perish without even having the opportunity to cast healing magic. Even in the best-case scenario, Id surely lose consciousness.
I can only run. Right away, I grab a handful of soil and fling it at the ogres eyes.
EX Heal! Yuel, are you alright!?
Without losing any momentum, I stand and run while holding Yuel. I flee from the ogre without looking back.
The ogres angry bellow resounds from behind me. Apparently the dirt got into its eyes. Thatll earn us a little time. My body is nearly frozen out of fear, but I have to create some distance right now.
Master, Im sorry.
Looking up at me, Yuel apologizes. Is she apologizing over letting that monster get so close without noticing it? Her voice is trembling.
As I thought, that monster may be the something that Yuel was afraid of ever since we left the city.
The circumstances are what they are. I need confirmation from her.
Yuel, is that guy the one who ruined your eyes?
!
Upon my words, Yuels eyes widen in surprise. Dead-on, huh? This guy may very well be the one Yuel was watching out for this entire time.
Master, Im fine, please put me down. I will gain some time, so please escape!
Yuels expression turns serious as she speaks. But thats impossible. That thing is different from the kind of monsters that weve fought in the labyrinth thus far. Yuel could die in a single hit.
If she does die, I cant cure that.
Besides, and I can tell this because Im carrying her; Yuel is trembling right now. To be crippled by it in the past, and then to receive an injury like that again now, theres no way she isnt afraid. Moreover, shes worn out from everything up to this point.
She cant possibly contend with that monster.
What do I do?
Yuels bracelet has broken. Furthermore, shes totally exhausted. Although she may have been preoccupied with the wolf monsters, it wasnt to the degree that that monster could get so close unnoticed. So her mental state is abnormal too.
Shes trying to hide it, but I can tell that shes frightened.
Fleeing is our only option.
Fortunately, perhaps thanks to that ogre monster, no other monsters are appearing. Considering the fact that the wolf monsters ran away, other monsters must be keeping an eye out for that one too.
Master, Please let me down!
Yuel cries out to me desperately. I glance behind us, and the ogre has already drawn near.
It moves faster than I expected. At this rate, well be overtaken.
Its a large monster. Just having its killing intent focused on me makes me want to curl up into a ball.
I cant fight such a monster.
What will happen if I fight it? How did Yuel look at the slave market? Her face was smashed, her ear was ripped off, and she couldnt fight anymore.
Im scared. My head fills with dread.
But that ogre sure is fast. Its steadily closing in on us. With my legs, I dont know if I can escape.
In order to get away, someone would have to stop its movements.
-A single thought comes to mind.
Yuel might hate me for it.
Now that I think about it, this is the first time Im using this on Yuel. There wasnt anything this dangerous up until now. I didnt really think it would be necessary.
But I have to use it.
I softly set Yuel down on the ground. She immediately goes to face the ogre, but I grab her shoulder to stop her.
When Yuel turns around, our eyes meet. Her face makes an anxious expression thats determined but somewhat tense.
Then, as if having realized something, she gasps. Looking at me, she seems to have guessed what Im about to do. But I ignore it and continue.
I infuse mana into my voice. Then I command her.
This is an order. Yuel, run away until you reach the city.
A crimson-red pattern rises to the surface of Yuels shoulder.
Masterrr!?
Yuel screams.
The slave crest. A magic seal that compels absolute obedience to commands.
I wasnt confident in how to use it correctly, but infusing mana into my voice and giving a command seems to be enough. Its good that a chant isnt required. Its working properly.
Theres no way I can allow Yuel to fight a monster like this.
Im this afraid of it so Yuel must be even more frightened.
Ill gain some time, so escape for me!
I have to act cool here. As her master.
Yuel turns in the direction of the city. She looks at the gleaming red slave crest in shock. Then, as the slave crest operates her body, she runs off while repeatedly looking back. If shes by herself, Yuel should be able to make it back to the city.
I set my gaze upon the ogre before me. When I raise my mace, the ogre looks at me with great interest and comes to a halt.
A joint has to be flexible in order to move, so that thick skin should be a little thinner there. Breaking its ankle would be best. Just fracturing it would be fine; just dislocating it would be fine.
Ill rob this guy of a fraction of his ability to move.
I cast healing magic on the arm holding the mace. Theres no special significance to it, but this way even if I break a bone or tear a muscle, I can quickly repair it. Its not like it will increase the force. But I want to put every last bit of power that I can muster into this swing.
To the very end, I wont let the mace leave my hand. Strongly, firmly, I grip the mace.
Putting all of my body into the swing, I strike the Armor Ogres foot with my mace.
Man, it sure is tough. The recoil nearly makes me let go. But my hand remains tightly gripped around the mace. Pain runs through my muscles, and my bones.
I quickly recover from it with healing magic.
-I feel the response from the mace biting into flesh.
Before the Ogre can hit me with a counterattack, I quickly distance myself from it. I move far, far away. Then a little bit further away.
20m away, hiding behind a tree, I observe the condition of the Ogre thats still struggling in the puddle.
How was that?
After several seconds, the Armor Ogre crawls out of the puddle.
The Armor Ogre stands up and
starts dragging its right leg.
All right!
I did it. I finally did it. With this, I just might be able to shake off this guy.
I dealt damage to its right leg. With that huge body alone, the burden on its legs must be quite severe. For a while, itll most likely be difficult for that guy to move.
When I get back to the city later, I can just report this to the knights, and have them search the area. Im sure the knight brigade wont ignore a monster that previously caused damage on the highway. Then I can request the knights to show Yuel its corpse.
That way Yuel will no longer need to be afraid of it.
That monster that injured Yuel will invariably be subjugated. Its just that I wont be the one to do it.
Lets leave the fighting to the professionals, and entrust the monster to the knights. What Im doing now is just limiting its movements somewhat and making it difficult for this guy to leave the area. Making it easier for me to run away is killing two birds with one stone.
In order to defeat this monster, its fine if I use EX Heal in public. Its fine if I get hired by the knight brigade too. The next time we meet, Ill use my bottomless EX Heal freely and fight alongside a brigade of immortal knights.
Perfect. Well, subjugating it like this by myself would be best, but if it turned the tables on me, that would just traumatize Yuel.
I should quit while Im ahead. I mustnt overestimate my ability.
Its not like I looked at those claws and got scared of being hit by them or anything. I just considered the risk and chose the best available move.
If I were to drive my mace into that Ogres head, I dont think it would be fatal. In order to deal a significant amount of damage, I would have to strain myself to my full power like I did earlier. Although I damaged its foot, the Ogre is still healthy.
Its balance is bad, but its still standing on two feet. I can only envision myself being killed by its counterattack.
Getting a good hit in satisfied my personal grudge somewhat. And I demonstrated my coolness in front of Yuel as her master. By dealing damage to its foot, I also laid the groundwork for the next step.
A temporary retreat is a strategic victory.
Turning my back on the Armor Ogre, I run.
Im worried about other monsters, but I shouldnt be far from the highway anymore. I can more or less shrug off any damage and run through without stopping.
Right, maybe I can meet up with Yuel? Nah, thats impossible huh. If the slave crest is functioning normally, she should be considerably ahead of me. The slave merchant didnt do a great job of explaining it to me, and to be honest I have no idea how to cancel it either.
I figure itll probably fade once the order is carried out, though.
While I think about that, I run in earnest.
-At that instant, something impacts my back.
It knocks the breath out of me. Even though I shouldve been running, my feet dont reach the ground. My body is floating in the air. And starting to keel over.
Suddenly, something glittery enters my field of view. Its a spectacle Ive seen very recently. A bracelet. A bracelet, shattering.
My momentum doesnt stop. I crash into the ground head-first and tumble along it.
It hurts. I cant feel anything below my back. I cant put any energy into my body. I cant breathe.
What happened?
Did the Armor Ogre catch up with me? No, I shouldve had a good 20m head start on it. It shouldnt have been able to catch up to me this instantly.
Then was there another monster hiding somewhere? I glance around, only moving my eyes.
-Thats not it.
A rock. A bloodstained rock is rolling on the ground.
From right behind me, a rock came flying.
Who did it?
When I look behind me, I see the figure of the Armor Ogre shaking its arm as it watches me.
I cant tell what expression its making, but I can pretty much figure it out. Thats rage.
By damaging it half-assedly, I might have made that guy get serious. I screwed up.
My body is bleeding. My vision is growing dim. I can barely move.
Oh yeah, healing. I need to heal myself.
EX Heal!
Along with warmth, strength rapidly returns to my body.
Im okay, Im okay. I can heal. If I stay behind trees, I should be able to get away somehow. In any case, lets run.
As I go to stand up, a stone smashes into the tree in front of me.
Splinters of wood hit my body, and I lose my balance. I fall on my ass into a mud puddle.
The mud feels gross. Also my leg might be sprained.
But I dont have time to worry about that.
EX Heal!
I gotta run. I raise my head and use the tree beside me as support to stand up.
By the time I stand up, the Armor Ogre has already drawn near. Its large claws are extended above its head.
Its movements are faster than I expected.
What the hell, it can move just fine, cant it? My attack caused it some pain, but apparently not enough damage to limit its movements. Maybe it didnt reach the bone.
A claw strike is coming.
Theres a tree at my back, so behind is no good. And I dont have time to evade to the side.
Its unavoidable. I dont have a bracelet anymore either.
-If I get hit directly, Im dead.
Then, at the moment it swings down its arm, the Ogres arm stops.
The Ogres raised arm stops beside its head.
And then, the sound of metal. A light clinking sound rings out.
Hitting the Ogres arm and falling to the ground, a single thin piece of metal.
Its something I recognize; a knife.
The Ogre glances to the side. In its line of sight is a silver-haired young girl.
How? Why did she come back? The slave crest should have made her run away. As long as the slave crest is there, the slave cant disobey an order.
Thats how its supposed to work. I have so many questions.
Yuel is pressing on her shoulder, gasping for breath as she watches the Ogre. And on her shoulder are countless stab wounds. Its as if the area where the slave crest appeared was gouged out.
Yeah, all the skin where the slave crest used to be is gone.
So there was a loophole like that?
Perhaps its a thing where slaves are ordered not to injure themselves, and then further orders are laid down on top of that?
Im sorry for disobeying your order.
Yuel mutters while looking at me.
But I have no intention of running away by myself! I came this far with Master in order to protect you!
Yuel exclaims. Then, she raises her knife.