Chapter 40 Fierce Struggle

“Huff… huff ..” Ana breathed heavily.r

Her eyes were tired, and her whole body shuddered as she struggled to remain standing. Gripping her fists tightly, she resolved to keep fighting, hoping for a miracle to occur.r

Her fierce expression softened as the monster approached her, exerting its dominant aura. The rest of her teammates were on the ground, groaning in pain as they powerlessly bled to death.r

“How did this happen…?!” She gritted her teeth.r

Even though she thought they had a chance against the monster, Ana did not expect the beast to have an overpowering skill that allowed it to endure their combined attacks.r

“Guarrrruuulkkk!” The ogre growled, licking its lips as the smell of Ana’s sweat mixed with her blood pleasured the depraved Demon.r

At this point, she only had enough energy to activate her Gift one final time.r

Whether it would work or not, she had no idea, but she had to try!r

“[Armament]” Ana declared, mustering the last bit of her energy to summon the orange-colored cloak that covered her body.r

Like bandages, her skin entire skin was enveloped in a brimming orange light, with her eyes giving off the same color.r

“Arrrghhh!!!” She let out, taking her stance as she prepared to attack.r

The Demon paused, noticing the power she was amassing as a result of her desperation, and responded in kind.r

“Grrrrrrrruuuukkkk!!!”r

Its body instantly became covered in energy, showing a low green aura.r

“Tch, it’s that skill again… but it’s about time too. The Cooldown is off, I can finally use it again.” Ana mumbled.r

“<Overdrive>”r

Her orange armament instantly turned red, giving off a more powerful force compared to the previous one.r

Due to this, her stats vastly increased, and so did her confidence. No matter how powerful the Demon was, there was no way it could survive her greatest offensive move, especially after taking damage from everyone this far.r

>VWOOOOSH<r

Instantly dashing toward the Ogre, she prepared her fist for impact, gathering most of the energy she had on her feet to boost her speed, and both of her hands.r

In a flash, she appeared behind the Ogre, taking advantage of its blind spot, and launched a volley of punches at it.r

>POW<r

>BAM<r

>KAPOW<r

Her fists flew, making an impact as they crashed into the hard skin of the Ogre.r

“GUWOOOOORHHHH!” The Demon screeched in pain, trying to attack the girl who assaulted it.r

Noticing its movements, Ana launched her feet, pushing herself as she quickly maneuvered and dodged the monster’s attack, appearing in front of it.r

Now at the limit of her power, with a few seconds left before her Skill ended, she clenched her fist. Summoning her full energy, the entire crimson glow which permeated her body focused on her fist as she launched it toward the Demon.r

“Graaaa!!!” She yelled.r

“Grukkkk?!!” The Demon screeched in panic, watching as the fiery fist neared it, having no speed to counterattack.r

>BOOOOOOOMMM<r

A wave of smoke swept up as a result of the impact, and the force exerted was enough to push Ana away from her location.r

Losing her foothold, her body flailed in the air before landing on a hard rock, a short distance from the blast.r

From her position, she could see her comrades on the ground, hearing their groans, she felt guilty for not running away when they could.r

‘We wouldn’t have been able to escape though… that’s just how powerful this Demon is…’ Her thoughts trailed.r

She wasn’t sure whether she had defeated the Hell Ogre finally, but every ounce of her being hoped so.r

If not, everyone’s demise was certain.r

“GURUUUUUUUKKK…” The Ogre’s menacing sound echoed across the smoke, making her eyes widen in shock.r

“RAHHHHHH!!!” It yelled, clearing away the stirred dust in an instant.r

Ana’s eyes bulged, seeing the wounded Ogre before her, looking even more furious than ever.r

“It… It survived… b-but how?!” She exclaimed.r

Suddenly, her eyes caught something that made everything clear to her.r

The wounds on the Ogre slowly started healing, and all the dents she had made on its body as a result of her countless blows, even the hole on its chest caused by her final hit… everything closed up.r

“N-no way… It healed…?!”r

Instantly, red alerts popped into Ana’s head as the Demon signal window appeared before her.r

[System Alert]r

<Danger>r

<Danger>r

<Danger>r

-tName: Hell Ogrer

-tLevel: 39r

-tRace: Demon (Lesser) – Grade: 1r

-tAge: 25 Daysr

[Stats]r

-tHP: 1,900/3,000 (×2)r

-tMP: 123/400 (×2)r

-tStrength: 1,124/2,000 (×2)r

-tAgility: 157/600 (×2)r

-tVitality: 1,780/3,000 (×2)r

-tIntelligence: 3/20 (×2)r

[Status Condition]r

<Rage>r

-tThe Demon ‘Hell Ogre’ possesses high animosity toward those who have harmed it. All current stats are multiplied by two for a limited period of 3 Minutes.r

[Time Left: 2 Minutes 57 Seconds.]r

[End Of Information]r

Seeing this window made Ana’s fighting spirit break down entirely.r

Her body throbbed in pain, and she felt overwhelmed by despair. She had exhausted her two Skills and didn’t have anything in her to activate her Gift.r

As the leader, everyone depended on her, yet she had managed to fail them.r

“Hicc… hicc… I’m sorry everyone… I’m so… sorry…” She sobbed, powerlessly waiting for the Ogre to approach and kill her.r

The monster drew nearer, its shadow covering the light of the sun overhead.r

However…r

“Interesting… so this is an Ogre’s regeneration. It’s quite weak…” A voice suddenly echoed.r

Ana’s eyes widened as she did not recognize the voice.r

No one was supposed to be anywhere near the area, and all her teammates were down. Besides, none of them sounded like what she was hearing.r

“GURRRRUUUUUKKKK!!!” The Ogre growled, looking beyond Ana’s battered body.r

Its eyes were focused on something above her, or rather… someone!r

Ana managed to raise her head, and the sight shocked her to the bone.r

Standing atop the rock her back rested on, was a man. He possessed a mask covering his face, and with the hoodie coat he wore, most of his body was covered. Black gloves, alongside boots of the same color, complimented the rest of his attire.r

‘W-who is that…?!’ Was all her thoughts could produce.r

Ana’s blurry eyes couldn’t make out much of the man’s features, and the fact that he stood above her made his overwhelming presence nearly suffocate her tired body which refused to budge.r

>SWISH<r

The mysterious man brought out a sword that glowed crimson and was covered in a form of aura that made her shudder.r

This was no ordinary blade.r

As she contemplated more of what she was seeing in confusion, the masked man finally spoke up, having a deep voice of dominance in his tone.r

“This shouldn’t take long… let us begin, shall we?”