Chapter 86

This is the perspective of the leader of the Great Sword of the War God.

When I recognized the form of the ogre, a fierce sense of urgency rose in my chest.

Given that even orcs were so strong, there was no way the ogre we were fighting would be of the same level.

At the very least, it would be a threat greater than the lich and the ogre party in the lower levels.

...And in such a situation, the Great Sword of the War God was missing a warrior and a healer.

"If only Narusena were here...!"

I harbored a strong hatred for the blue-haired martial artist who had knocked out the Great Sword of the War God's warrior and healer.

However, such feelings were meaningless at this moment.

What mattered now was finding a way to get through this situation.

The thought of using other adventurers as decoys to escape flashed through my mind.

At that moment, Louise, the leader of the Wind and Fire Spirits, called out.

"Everyone, we'll kill the ogre first! Hold him back!"

Her voice made me realize that Louise, like me, had recognized the ogre as a threat.

Looking in the direction of her voice, I saw Louise casting a spell to ensure the ogre's death and the vanguard charging at the ogre to buy her time.

"The Wind and Fire Spirits...!"

I couldn't help but feel relieved at the sight.

The Wind and Fire Spirits, led by Louise, were a party based on Louise's overwhelming magic.

The party consisted of Louise the mage, three warriors, and a martial artist.

While it might sound like any other party with a strong vanguard, the warriors in Louise's party wore heavy armor solely to buy time.

This time, they didn't have their shields, but they were still clad in sturdy full-body armor.

While the warriors bought time, Louise would unleash her high-damage spells on the monsters. This was the battle strategy I had heard about before.

Given their strategy, the Wind and Fire Spirits were weak against opponents like liches but strong against situations like this, where only an ogre was present.

That's why I had no doubt that the ogre would be easily defeated by Louise and her team.

I was confident that the Wind and Fire Spirits could handle the ogre.

...But reality didn't unfold as I had imagined.

The warriors of the Wind and Fire Spirits charged at the ogre with battle cries.

"Dieee!"

"Oraaaaaa!"

"Oraoraora!"

The warriors struck the ogre with their greatswords to draw its attention away from Louise and the martial artist.

These attacks were not meant to kill the ogre but to distract it.

None of the warriors likely thought they could defeat the ogre with these attacks.

Their stance, protecting Louise as she chanted, was proof of this.

It was then that my experience as a warrior warned me of something wrong.

"...How can it be barely scratched after all this beating?"

Even if the attacks weren't meant to deal damage, the impact of greatswords was considerable.

The warriors' greatswords, enhanced by body reinforcement, were heavy enough to cause significant damage.

Yet, the ogre showed no signs of damage.

Worse, it didn't even try to defend itself, looking at the warriors as if they were a nuisance.

Then, the ogre slowly raised its hand.

"Get out of here!"

At that moment, a bad feeling hit me, and I shouted instinctively.

But my warning was too late.

...The ogre's arm had already swung down on one of the warriors.

"Aaaaaaaah!"

The next moment, the warrior's sturdy armor caved in, and a piercing scream echoed.

The remaining warriors stood in shock, unable to comprehend what had happened.

"H-help! Help me!"

But as they saw their comrade, now a stumbling mess in dented armor, the remaining warriors finally understood.

Their armor was useless against the ogre's attacks.

"No way...!"

"What do we do? What can we do?"

The warriors quickly fell into a panic.

Despite their armor, which allowed them to move to some extent, they stood frozen, unable to run.

This was the result of always feeling protected by their sturdy armor.

When it failed, they felt as if they were standing naked before the monster, paralyzed with fear.

I had seen this scene before.

When we faced a super-difficulty monster.

"Is that ogre's attack on par with a super-difficulty monster...?"

I had once joined a temporary party of top adventurers to hunt a super-difficulty monster.

The warriors of the Wind and Fire Spirits, despite having shields, were in a similar state.

When their armor was crushed by the monster, they panicked just like the adventurers in the past.

...Understanding this, I couldn't hide my shock at the desperate situation.

During the monster hunt, besides the Great Sword of the War God and the Wind and Fire Spirits, two other top parties were present to provide support.

But now, even I, the closest one, couldn't reach the ogre in time, leaving no one to save the warriors of the Wind and Fire Spirits.

"Pathetic."

"Kyaah!"

With a short scream, the warrior with the dented armor was killed by the ogre, and despair spread across the faces of the other warriors.

Despite the chaos, Louise remained calm, trying to snap her comrades back to their senses.

"Don't panic!"

...But her actions only made the situation worse.

"Stay focused! We can still fight! We have to fight!"

"You're the key."

"Die... What?"

The next moment, ignoring the stunned warrior and the paralyzed martial artist, the ogre targeted Louise.

It picked up the warrior it had killed, now a heap of scrap metal, and threw it at Louise with incredible force.

Louise tried to dodge, but as a backliner, she couldn't avoid the fast-moving projectile.

With a dull thud, Louise, now entangled with the warrior, collapsed.

Whether she was dead or not was unclear, but it was obvious she was out of the fight.

It was then that I realized the Wind and Fire Spirits were destroyed.

"What the hell is that thing!?"

With the leader out of the fight, the Wind and Fire Spirits, unable to hide their shock, were being overwhelmed by the ogre.

I let out a trembling voice, unable to comprehend the scene.

At that moment, I remembered the words of Rauzt from the past.

The lich was about to cast a tactical-level spell.

"Damn it!"

I regretted not believing it sooner.

However, I didn't have time to dwell on my shock or regret.

Suddenly, a high-pitched roar, loud enough to rupture eardrums, echoed across the grassland.

"Fii──────i!"

"What!?"

Startled, I turned to the source of the roar and saw a massive white body, comparable to super-difficulty monsters like the hydra, and a horde of monsters following it.

With a face like a fierce wolf, enveloped in purple lightning, I whispered its name in a trembling voice.

"...Fenrir! The super-difficulty monster with lightning speed!?"

It was then that I understood the worst-case scenario: the appearance of a mutated super-difficulty monster.

"This is ridiculous! Why, why...!"

In the face of such a development, a complaint slipped out of my mouth, directed at no one.

Fenrir, one of the fastest super-difficulty monsters, was the worst possible encounter in this situation.

For a moment, I resigned myself to death.

But suppressing that weakness, I glared at the ogre.

"I won't die here!"

I encouraged myself, reminding myself that death wasn't certain yet.

...However, there was only one way to survive this.

Realizing this, I shouted to my companions.

"Run with all your might!"

"Ugh!"

I threw away my greatsword, picked up the still-stunned Alex, and started running towards the neighboring town.

It was no longer a time to worry about guild officials.

Judging that other adventurers would serve as decoys, I ran without looking back.

...What burned in my mind was the regret of underestimating the dungeon's rampage and leaving the dungeon city.

The next part will be from the perspective of a guild official, concluding the Great Sword of the War God leader's perspective.

I know it's long and not very interesting, so I want to wrap it up quickly, but I apologize if it drags on.