Chapter 49
"Perfect. Go right, I go left. When I say now, I want to see your shield in the air headed for . Let’s go!" Jace shouted as he dashed to the beast’s left side while Kael dashed to the right.
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With that single command, the duo launched into motion, their battered bodies still answering the call of battle. The ogre’s grin remained plastered across its monstrous face as it casually hefted its massive hamr and sent it crashing through the air toward Kael.
"Tch!" Kael scoffed, a bead of sweat sliding down his face as he twisted his body, pivoting sharply to the side. The hamr swept past him with terrifying force, the air pressure alone enough to sting his skin. anwhile, Jace closed the distance, his blonde hair flying wildly as he leapt into the air, sword raised.
No water swirled around the blade this ti. It was nothing but pure steel and raw determination. The beast leaned back with surprising speed, narrowly avoiding the strike before countering. Its palm lit up in fiery energy as a small fireball crackled to life and sped toward Jace’s head.
Without hesitation, Jace ducked low, the fireball scorching the air above him before smashing into the ground. The stone floor hissed, blackened and cracked, smoke curling upward from the molten mark.
In a single fluid motion, Jace twisted his wrist and brought his sword up in a rising arc, aiming for the beast’s torso. But the ogre was faster than expected, dragging its hamr back from Kael’s side to intercept.
CLANG!
CREAK!
Steel t steel as Jace’s blade struck against the weapon, sparks bursting at the impact. His chipped sword groaned under the pressure, a hairline crack stretching across it. The ogre’s grin widened further, and a sinister glow began radiating from its hamr at point-blank range.
BOOM!
A thunderous explosion ripped outward as the ogre unleashed a fireball directly into Jace’s face. But instead of panic, Jace smirked. He stabbed his sword into the ground, using the hilt as a springboard. With a burst of agility, he vaulted upward, the flas roaring past beneath him.
"Water Veil!" he roared, essence surging. Water erupted around his feet in a spiraling torrent. With the montum of his spin, he twisted midair and slamd a brutal roundhouse kick into the ogre’s neck.
The impact sent the massive creature skidding back a fraction of an inch. It was subtle, almost insignificant, but it was the first ti during the fight that the beast had been forced to move from its throne-like stance.
The first strike it suffered was from Jace. And now, the first forced retreat? Also Jace.
"Oh, I’ve got a lot more pain to give you," he smirked, blood dripping from his lips. He yanked his sword free from the ground and charged again, swinging it down vertically toward the beast’s shoulder with reckless determination.
The ogre’s smirk faltered slightly. Recognizing that the human before it was no ordinary pest, it slamd its hamr into the ground with earth-shattering force.
BOOM!
Dust and debris exploded outward, the floor cracking as the whole chamber shook violently. The dense cloud enveloped Jace, blotting out his vision entirely.
"Shit," he muttered under his breath. His instincts scread.
SWOOSH!
The unmistakable sound of the hamr slicing through the air toward his skull made his eyes widen. Yet instead of fear, a grin spread across his face.
"Now! With all your damn energy and essence!" Jace roared, his voice echoing through the dust.
"I don’t know what you’re planning," Kael muttered, his grip tightening on his shield, "but I sure as hell hope it works."
He inhaled sharply, grounded his stance, and shifted his shoulder back before aiming the shield forward.
"Earth Veil," he whispered, essence crackling around him as rocks and hardened earth coated the shield.
"Slice and Dice!" Kael bellowed, veins bulging as he hurled the shield with every ounce of his strength.
BANG!
The shield blasted forward like a cannonball, spinning violently through the dust cloud like a deadly frisbee.
It struck true.
The reinforced shield smashed into the ogre’s hand, the very one clutching the hamr. Blood burst outward as the monster bellowed in surprise, its grip faltering. The force of the throw scattered the dust just in ti for Jace to glimpse the opening.
He didn’t hesitate. Leaping high, blood dripping down his chin, he focused every shred of energy into his next strike.
"Water Veil: Wheel of Death," Jace murmured through gritted teeth.
He flipped in the air, water swirling wildly around his form. With perfect precision, his feet connected with the shield still lodged into the ogre’s hand. The impact detonated like thunder.
TWCHEE!
SPLASH!
THUD!
The shield tore through flesh and bone, slicing the beast’s arm clean off at the elbow. The massive hamr tumbled with it, crashing into the floor as dark blood spurted violently from the ogre’s stump.
The room froze.
Everyone’s eyes widened, ti itself seeming to halt as the impossible sank in.
Even the ogre stood in stunned silence, its gaze locked on its missing arm as though it couldn’t believe what had just happened.
Jace dropped to one knee, chest heaving, sweat dripping from his temples as exhaustion weighed down on him. The shattered remains of Kael’s shield crumbled into rubble, its strength spent in one final, glorious act.
’The hell?! How was a C-rank shield able to do that? Well... I guess the combination of Jace’s kick and Kael’s throw made it possible. Still, that beast is actually in shock,’ Zen thought, a strained chuckle leaving his lips.
His Inspect skill flickered to life without him realizing, his tired eyes locked on the trembling monster before them.
{Na: The Ogre King.}
{Rank: B}
{Essence: Fla}
{Health: Injured and Bleeding}
{Beast Status: Hostile, Enraged and ready to obliterate}
’Huh? Enraged? What do...’
{It ans the beast is angry and about to go berserk.}
’Berserk?’ Zen thought in confusion. Then his mind raced back to countless novels he had once heard or read.
In every single one, a beast that went berserk lost itself completely, turning into a mindless killing machine. They would fight without restraint, tearing apart everything in their path—even if it killed them in the process.
’It also used to corrupt their core... crap! If this beast goes berserk, we’ll be facing sothing equal to a low-grade A-rank. We are completely screwed!’ Zen’s eyes widened in horror, his heartbeat hamring in his chest as he frantically scanned the battlefield.
The ogre was still stunned, its monstrous eyes staring in disbelief at its bleeding stump. But Zen knew the window was small—Jace was spent, Kael nearly broken, and the others too weak to even stand.
’I need to help... I... I need to help. But how?’ His thoughts spiraled as his gaze swept over the ruined chamber. His breathing quickened, each inhale ragged. Then, like a blessing, his eyes caught a glint of sothing shiny half-buried in debris.
"What’s that?" he whispered, forcing his battered body to stagger upright. Pain shot through his legs as he limped toward the glimr.
"Huh?" He crouched, blinking through sweat and dust at a gaping hole. "Wait... wasn’t that where the glass case stood earlier?"
His pulse quickened. The shattered display was gone, and in its place, the gleaming object waited. Behind him, the beast shifted, still dazed by shock and blood loss. Zen wasted no ti—he reached down and yanked the object free.
It was cold to the touch. Heavy. Ancient.
The instant he gripped it, a chilling, guttural growl ripped through the chamber, so loud it rattled the very walls. Zen’s eyes snapped up.
The Ogre King was coming to.
Its pupils shrank into pitch-black voids. Its teeth ground against each other with a sickening scrape. Around its body, shimring motes of light began to appear—dozens of floating orbs.
Fireballs.
Dozens of them.
"Crap! That one attack could wipe us all out." Zen’s throat bobbed as he gulped hard, then looked down at the object in his hand. It was an ancient lantern, old and cracked, with shadows swirling restlessly inside its glass.
"I don’t know what you are," he muttered, clutching it tighter, "but you better be sothing damn good."
He picked himself up, ignoring the searing pain in his ribs, and sprinted toward the ogre with the lantern raised.
The beast didn’t even notice him. Its hateful, pitch-black eyes locked solely on Jace, who still knelt on one knee, barely conscious.
In unison, all the fireballs converged on him.
"NOOO! JACE! MOVE!" Kael’s scream broke the silence, but his hands trembled helplessly. He was too weak to rise, too broken to intervene.
Jace raised his head, his face wet with tears. "I... I’m sorry, guys. I brought this upon us. Please fo... forgive ." His voice cracked, a sob lost beneath the roar of rushing flas.
Then...
"No! It’s not your ti to die yet. We stick together. We conquer this ga together."
The voice rang in his ears a heartbeat before sothing slamd into him, knocking him violently aside. His body skidded across the ground, rolling several ters away from the incoming barrage. He winced, glancing up through the haze.
"Z... Zen?"
Zen stood there, lantern raised, directly in the fireballs’ path.
The flas bore down on him, a storm of fiery death closing in.
He didn’t think. Didn’t breathe. Panic took hold, and in desperation, he shoved the lantern forward in front of his face.
BOOM!
The fireballs collided with deafening force. The lantern cracked, then shattered in an eruption of shrapnel and shadow. Zen scread as his body was engulfed, charred and broken, before he was flung like a ragdoll.
He crashed into the wall with such force that stone crumbled. The structure gave way, rubble collapsing and burying him beneath a mountain of debris.
"NOOO! ZEN!!!" voices cried out in unison, echoing through the chamber.
Tring.
{Host has done the impossible.}
{Sothing unnatural has occurred.}
SWOOSH!
From the shattered remains of the lantern, shadows surged free, writhing like smoke before streaking silently toward the ruins. They slipped into Zen’s body, seeping through his eyes, nose, mouth—through every pore available before vanishing deep within.
{Host has awakened his V....}
The words blurred.
Zen’s consciousness flickered, the world growing dark. He felt only the taste of iron in his mouth and the endless flow of blood down his broken body... then nothing.
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