Chapter 26: If It’s Your Trump Card, Save It for the End

"GUOAAAHH!"

The king, whose vassals had been slaughtered by the intruders, roared in hatred.

“He’s coming, Rizel! Fall back, Karen!”

Karen, who had nearly exhausted all her strength, was hurriedly pushed to the rear. If she were targeted now, it wouldn’t be strange for her to be turned into a lump of flesh in an instant.

Once we confirmed that Karen had moved away from the den and taken cover among the trees, we retreated as well. Looking around, I noticed that not a single ogre remained at the Lord Ogre’s side. We’d likely succeeded in wiping them out.

If that’s the case, there’s no point in fighting in such a cramped field anymore.

Two versus one. The advantage in numbers had finally shifted to our side. Now it was our turn to press that advantage.

I poured magical energy into Galatine once more. Already a blade of extraordinary sharpness, the magic sword was further honed to lethal precision.

Meanwhile, Rizel drew her second short sword and assumed a dual-wielding stance. She had shown me this during our mock battle—apparently, this was her true sword style. Forged through self-training, it combined with her physical prowess to drive enemies back with terrifying speed. I’d experienced it firsthand—even if it was just wooden swords—it felt like a storm of blades.

We left the den and moved to an open clearing with few trees to face our opponent.

If our enemy were normal, we could’ve exploited the long weapon’s drawback of getting caught in trees—but this guy was in a different class.

The Lord Ogre swung his halberd straight at me. Naturally, I dodged. The war axe, now without a target, grazed a moss-covered rock—tearing through it without the slightest resistance.

“What the hell kind of edge is that?!”

I couldn’t help but laugh at the sheer destructive power. That thing might even rival Galatine.

“Master Raiga! That’s likely made of mithril—the same material awarded to the Knight Commander of the Southern Order!”

Karen’s warning came from far behind.

Well, damn. “Might rival” was an understatement. It was the same material. No doubt about it now.

A small mercy: it didn’t seem to have any magical engravings that react to energy. Even if it did, I doubted the ogre had the smarts to use them. Still, any advantage from magic reinforcement was utterly erased by the Lord Ogre’s brute strength. Even with Rizel, we’d be evenly matched at best.

—I could tell just from his presence. This guy was stronger than me.

It’s a pathetic admission, but my instincts already knew. My chest felt crushed, my heart gripped by pressure. I was shrinking back.

But my spirit wouldn’t break.

For the girl who told me to protect her. For the vow I made not to die.

I will make it through this.

“Strike first, win fast!”

Rizel launched the first move, turning into a blur.

She reached top speed in an instant, unleashing a strike. The Lord Ogre couldn’t react to Rizel’s slash. Her blade closed in, aiming straight for his forehead—

CRACK.

The sound of her sword snapping rang out.

I take it back. Maybe we should consider retreating.

With a horde of ogres bearing down, there was no way I was going to run along an exposed highway. I kept sprinting through the forest.

Thankfully, the dense southern woods gave me plenty of places to hide.

Cursing my now-slower legs thanks to being in a female body, I pushed myself forward.

Gasping for air, my oxygen-starved mind triggered another [Search Sonar].

Just as I expected, the ogres were charging straight toward me.

Yes. I had only one strategy.

A decoy tactic.

If the ogres were truly moving to eliminate intruders, there was no way they’d ignore me.

Thanks to [Search Sonar], it was easy to track their movements. In a game of tag with obstructed vision, I figured I could use that and my mobility to gain the upper hand.

All I had to do now was keep buying time—until Raiga came to help. I believed Karen-san would figure it out. Rizel’s nose should come in handy too.

To be honest, this plan relied heavily on others.

“My sword—!”

Rizel’s voice rang out—not entirely devoid of her usual lack of tension, even now.

One of her swords was snapped clean in two, the blade completely gone.

The Lord Ogre didn’t hesitate. He instantly judged Rizel’s attack to be no threat—and ignored her. All his attacks were focused solely on me.

I barely managed to deflect the halberd with Galatine. Without magical reinforcement, the sword probably would’ve broken already.

“I-it was expensive too~! Sorry, Raiga! Stall him! Stall!”

Tears in her eyes, Rizel shouted.

“Easy for you to say—he’s aiming for me!”

The battle axe grazed my face, and a chill ran down my back.

“Master Raiga!”

Karen’s anguished cry echoed, but I didn’t have time to reassure her. I was completely on the defensive.

“I think he’ll come after me next… I didn’t really want to do this, but…”

As she spoke, Rizel closed her eyes and focused.

She seemed to be gathering magical energy.

—Wait, Rizel shouldn’t be able to use magic…

The thought crossed my mind, but I had no time to ask.

I focused solely on evasion.

“Take this!”

With a spirited cry, Rizel launched a small orb of light from her hand.

It was yellow and round—just like a full moon.

—It feels like something I saw in a manga a long time ago.

If I remember right, they artificially created the moon...

“Ahhhhhh—!”

Rizel roared.

The sheer intensity of her shout drew the Lord Ogre’s gaze toward her.

I didn’t miss it.

That attack wasn’t meant to protect Rizel—it was an opening to strike him down in a single blow.

It was a huge vulnerability.

Unfortunately, the halberd blocked it at the last moment.

Still, it bought enough time. The Lord Ogre feared my strike and couldn’t turn toward Rizel. If he focused fully on me, I’d be at a disadvantage.

So as a delay tactic, it was a complete success.

“Aoooh—!”

Turning to the wolf-like howl, I saw Rizel had transformed into a demi-beast.

Her arms were covered in thick fur with claws extending; her shoes split to reveal wolf-like paws.

Her normally short silver hair had lengthened, seemingly covering her entire body.

The only things unchanged were her ears, tail, and the reasoned look in her eyes.

“Rizel-chan’s serious serious demi-beast form—Beast Mode! I hate it ‘cause it ruins all my clothes.”

She said that with a casual tone and dashed off. Still, there was something relaxed about her.

But the power was immense.

In an instant, I lost sight of her—not figuratively, it felt like she’d truly become the wind.

“You’re slow~”

Her drawn-out words contradicted by the speed she took behind the Lord Ogre.

She slashed with her claws, spraying a line of fresh blood.

Of course, it was the Ogre’s blood.

Though the wounds were shallow, she was taunting the Great Ogre Lord himself.

Repeated whirlwinds assaulted the Ogre, leaving cuts all over his body—finding a spot without blood was harder than finding one with it.

But—our firepower wasn’t enough.

The life-filled Lord Ogre wasn’t losing spirit from mere scratches, while Rizel’s breath was starting to falter from the high-speed combat.

She did claim this was her “serious” form—breaking through this was her last hope.

I gripped Galatine tightly, ready to help.

But there was no opening to attack.

I couldn’t keep up with her rapid movements; I risked hindering her instead.

So I put everything on a single strike.

Rizel stopped moving—so did the Ogre for a brief moment.

That was when I’d strike.

If that was the plan, I couldn’t keep going as I was.

Galatine’s tip would surely reach the Ogre, but wouldn’t kill with one blow.

I pictured the strike that would pierce his life.

—Should I pour more magic into it?

No, that’s impossible.

Honestly, after all these battles, I was close to my limit.

The skirmish with the Blood Ogre was weighing heavily on me—too heavy for a mere prelude.

—Then, what if I altered the magic I had already poured in?

It was just a hunch.

My last bit of fire magic—imagining it blazing fiercely inside Galatine.

My heart skipped a beat.

Galatine moved of its own accord, ignoring my will.

To faithfully recreate the single image that flashed through my mind.

The blade blazed bright red as if on fire, the hilt changing as though symbolizing flames.

Then, scorching heat surged upward.

To my surprise, both the Lord Ogre and Rizel looked stunned.

Amidst the fierce battle, something had happened behind them. It was natural they’d be distracted.

I charged in that moment.

The Ogre readied his halberd to block.

But it was useless.

Clashing with the burning Galatine, the halberd melted like wax before the immense heat.

“Uooohhh!”

I shouted and brought my blade down to finish it.