Part 6 of 8
That was definitely a reincarnation, but she believes he had a reason for acting that way.
“Oka,” I repeat coldly as she continues to mumble. “Give up. That thing was no longer human.”
Oka freezes up in shock at that.
I’m sure she knows that herself, deep down. She simply does not wish to admit it.
Watching her dazed expression, I let my mind drift back to what happened before.
We led a unit of elves to the abandoned village at the foot of the Mystic Mountains to lie in wait.
It was originally built to help the empire conquer the Mystic Mountains, but for some reason or other, all the villagers died, or so I am told.
Because of that incident, no one ever comes near the empty village.
However, if Ariel and the others are aiming to cross the Mystic Mountains, they would have no choice but to pass through the village.
It sits directly in front of the entrance to the mountain range, after all.
Even if they tried to avoid it, we would be able to figure that out from the abandoned village.
It was the ideal place for an ambush…until that thing showed up.
“GRAAAAH!”
The ogre howled as it ran straight down the road toward the village.
Were it any ordinary ogre, this would not be a problem.
Because Oka was with us, I brought only ordinary elves without any special weapons.
However, they were still skilled fighters specializing in magic.
After all, they were meant to take on Ariel, even if I did not expect them to win.
They were really present only for my peace of mind. They were moderately useful yet ultimately expendable soldiers.
There was no reason they shouldn’t have been able to handle an ogre.
And yet, Oka and I were the only survivors.
Even I would have fallen if I were not in a body that could use Spatial Magic.
I had heard that it defeated some adventurers, so I knew it was no ordinary ogre, but I never expected it to be that exceptional.
I already had my suspicions that the ogre might be a reincarnation.
There was one reincarnation on Oka’s Student Roster who fit the description.
The information contained on the Student Roster is the reincarnation’s place of birth, current condition, and the time and cause of their death.
This one was born in the Mystic Mountains, its condition had been fluctuating wildly these past few days, and its time and cause of death were constantly being revised.
When a reincarnation’s condition fluctuates, that means they are in the midst of a battle.
And each time the time and cause of death are updated, it means they have avoided the possibility of dying in their current battle.
The death information already tends to be vague, and it often doesn’t end up coming true.
But when it changes that frequently, it means the reincarnation in question is repeatedly coming close to death.
Taking all this information into account, I strongly suspected that the ogre in question was a reincarnation.
After all, it was constantly getting into battles near the Mystic Mountains and using decidedly un-ogre-like strategies to defeat adventurers.
I was all but certain, but I decided to prioritize Ariel and company instead.
For even if the ogre was a reincarnation, there would be little point in bringing it to the elf village.
Reincarnations are difficult to keep as pets unless they are powerless.
If this ogre has already defeated multiple adventurers, it would be far too difficult to control.
This is why I chose not to tell Oka that the imperial army was attempting to subjugate the ogre, and I even thought it might be for the best if they succeeded.
Oka was quite concerned about the creature and had talked me into promising that we would search for it after dealing with Ariel.
Either way, I agreed because I assumed that she would no longer be able to worry about the ogre after encountering Ariel, although it has certainly come back to bite me now.
Especially because I have no doubt that Dustin was involved in the matter.
For the ogre to just happen upon us with such impeccable timing is all but unthinkable. No doubt someone was manipulating the ogre behind the scenes.
My guess is that Dustin’s beloved pet project—those covert operatives of his—was responsible for guiding the ogre straight to our location.
I must admit, though they are my enemy, they are infuriatingly competent.
However, since we were able to confirm that the ogre was a reincarnation in the project, I suppose I shall let it pass.
After all, my goal was only to tease Ariel and her little friends.
It was not a particularly constructive plan, nor was its failure a terribly big loss.
When I Appraised that ogre, it unmistakably had the n% I = w skill held only by reincarnations.
The ogre is without a doubt a reincarnation, then.
And one who we certainly cannot control.
If I brought out the Glorias, which I have kept hidden from Oka, then I would undoubtedly be able to defeat it.
However, I have no interest in keeping a mindless beast as a pet.
That thing was no longer human.
Soon, it will forget that it was ever human to begin with.
There would be no advantage in having a thing like that in our village.
“Still, isn’t there anything we can do?” Oka asks, as if in response to my thoughts.
No doubt it was a coincidence, but the timing is so precise that it startles me slightly.
But that doesn’t change my answer.
“No, I think not. As you saw, that thing was not human, and it didn’t appear to hear when you spoke to it. Judging by that rampage, I doubt it even has intelligible thoughts any longer. I know not whether it is because it was reborn as an ogre or for some other reason, but it has completely transformed into nothing more than a mad beast. There is no saving a creature like that.”
Not that I was interested in saving it anyway.
“But still! There has to be a way!”
“There is not. Even if there was, I have no intention of capturing that monster. It would be a waste of time and resources.”
Oka’s tear-streaked face turns dumbfounded at my bluntness.
“Besides, would you truly defend it after what you saw it do to our people?”
Personally, the loss of a few expendables matters not to me, but Oka is far more softhearted.
If I point out that she is continuing to be selfish after all those losses, it will no doubt be effective.
Besides, unlike me, Oka sees those expendables as individuals with value.
During the expedition, she spoke with every one of them, even forming a sort of friendship.
It seems that in most of society, it is the norm to mourn the death of someone you knew.
Attempting to capture that ogre would mean incurring just as many losses, perhaps even more.
Since she sees each expendable pawn as a person, that would be a difficult call for Oka to make.
Sure enough, Oka closes her mouth and hangs her head again.
Turning my back to the silent girl, I begin to walk away.
This strategy was a complete failure.
And if Ariel’s group makes it into the Mystic Mountains, they are undoubtedly heading for the demon realm.
I do have some connections there, but it will be much harder to interfere with them than it was before.
So I have no choice but to call off my harassment attempts for now.
In which case, it is best to start taking action on other fronts.
Time is valuable, after all.
I cannot afford to waste a single second.
There is much that needs to be done. Where to begin?
“But I… I’m still his teacher…”
I hear Oka’s soft whisper behind me, but I pay her no mind as I walk away.
THE OGRE WORN DOWN
I consume MP to create a new katana.
I need to replace the one that I instinctively threw when the old mage put a hole in my head.
One of Weapon Creation’s greatest strengths is that even if I lose one of my weapons, I can re-create it as long as I have enough time and MP.
Before long, I’m swinging a brand-new sword.
My other hand releases the Appraisal Stone I used to check out my results.
The stone normally hangs around my neck on a string.
This is the same Appraisal Stone that man used in the past, so working it myself makes me sick to my stomach.
But having an Appraisal Stone is useful to examine the abilities of a weapon I’ve made with Weapon Creation, so I have no choice but to carry it around.
My Appraisal confirms that the newly made katana has the same lightning properties as the old one.
In fact, because I used even more MP, it’s actually better than before.
And while the old katana felt a little small in the hands of an Ogre King, this one is a perfect fit.
It’s not that the sword got bigger. It’s my body that got smaller.
After I turned the tables on the group that tried to ambush me in this village, my level went up and I was able to evolve again.
I’d thought that Ogre King was the end of the evolutionary line, so I was surprised to find there was another option.
This evolution is called an oni.
When I evolved into an oni, my body shrank from the giant size of an Ogre King to the size of a regular human.
Though I’m definitely smaller than I was as an Ogre King, I’m still pretty tall and muscular for a human.
I’m also the right size to wear human clothes, so I borrowed some of the clothes I found in this abandoned village.
I would have preferred not to wear clothes that belonged to these people, but the cold was too harsh on my bare skin.
When I gave in and put on clothes, I found that I looked more or less like an ordinary person.
As I was rummaging through the clothes left here, I realized that the uniform worn by most of the villagers was the same as the clothes worn by the soldiers led by that formidable elderly duo.
It must be the official outfit of whatever nation controls this area.
Not that this information makes much of a difference to me.
Whether the wearers of these uniforms were acting on some official duty or not, it wouldn’t change my actions.
Not in the past and most likely not in the future, either.
Even if I could go back in time, I would probably repeat the same events that happened in this village.
Not that there’s any point in a hypothetical like that.
At any rate, I’m now an oni, not a goblin.
But there was something even more surprising about my transformation than the change in size.
I glance again at my face reflected in the katana I just made.
I can see the same face I had in my old life.
The only major difference being the two horns growing from my forehead.
I don’t know why I have my old face now, when I never did before.
Maybe there’s no particular reason.
But when I saw that face looking back at me, I fell into a daze.
…What have I been doing?
Fighting, killing, then fighting and killing some more…
It’s not as though my actions in my old life were always completely righteous.
I might have thought they were at the time, but in reality, I often solved my problems with violence.
Still, a far cry from my current life of bloodthirsty killing.
Things didn’t always go my way, but I never found myself in a kill-or-be-killed situation.
When I saw my old face reflected back at me, it made me painfully aware of that difference.
“Sasajima!”
Or maybe it was hearing my old name that reminded me.
There was one tiny girl among the group that was lying in wait for me in this village.
And she called out my name.
From my old world.
But I must have just misheard her amid the chaos of the battle.
An unfamiliar girl wouldn’t know that name, and even if she did for some reason, she would have no way of recognizing who I was when I was in ogre form.
But even if I did mishear it, the sound of my old name has brought back memories of my old life and sent me spiraling into depression.
At the same time, half of my consciousness is perpetually consumed by a smoldering rage.
Even now, my rational thoughts are tainted by violent impulses.
Now that I’ve wiped out all the enemies who were in front of me, my body is obeying my orders, at least.
I guess it’s calmed down now that there are no immediate enemies.
The black-clad figure who lured me here was probably among the group I defeated.
To be honest, I was only half-aware of myself while I was in battle, so I don’t entirely remember who I killed or how.
That girl who called out my name might have even been a hallucination.
As long as my sense of reason was still at least somewhat functional, I’m sure I would have hesitated to cut down such a small child.
Unfortunately, I lose all sense of reason in battle, so I doubt I was able to hold back.
If the same thing was to happen in my current, calm state, would I be able to respond properly?
…I don’t know.
If a battle broke out, my sense of reason would probably burn away, and even in my right mind, I might still cut that little girl down for all I know.
I should find that frightening, but there’s a part of me that doesn’t care.
I’m not as reluctant to kill people as I used to be.
In fact, part of me even derives a dark pleasure from it.
The swirling rage within me wants me to kill.
Yet, the more I kill, the more the rage deepens and the more violently it burns.
If I keep on fighting, keep on killing, then soon I’ll be fully consumed by rage.
Of that I have no doubt.
Unless I die before then, that is.
There are humans out there who are stronger than me, like that old mage who almost killed me.
I’m sure the time will eventually come that one of them kills me.
Will I lose my mind to madness and rage?
Or will I be killed before that happens?
Neither option is a particularly good way to go.
If I want to avoid being killed, I have to come up with more counterstrategies or simply get stronger.
I list some vocabulary words in my head.
Instantaneous movement. Teleport. Warp. Spatial Magic.
<Number of skill points currently in possession: 28,000. Number of skill points required to acquire skill [Spatial Magic LV 1]: 10,000. Acquire skill?>
There it is!
This must be the teleporting skill that old mage was using.
Absorbing the enemy’s tactics is undoubtedly one of the fastest ways to get stronger.
If I find it difficult to deal with, I’m sure my enemies will find it difficult as well.
I acquire the Spatial Magic skill without hesitation.
It costs more skill points than anything I’ve picked up before, but I think that proves just how valuable this skill must be.
Still, it seems this Spatial Magic skill won’t be very useful until its skill level is higher.
I could put some of my remaining skill points into it to raise the skill level, but it might be better to save those and train it normally.
Raising my skill level a little bit probably won’t be enough to let me use Teleport like that old mage.
Just then, a thought occurs to me.
Do I really need to fight at all?
…No, I don’t.
The person I needed to fight, to kill, is already dead.
The only times I’ve kept fighting were when those adventurers attacked me or when I let my rage take over and went on a rampage.
There’s no reason whatsoever for me to deliberately go looking for a fight.
If I didn’t even realize something so simple, my tunnel vision must have gotten worse than I realized.
Although it’s probably because my rage makes it difficult to make rational decisions.
If I keep fighting like this, I’ll either be killed or lose my mind.
Then why do I need to fight at all?
Fortunately, through all the battles I’ve had so far, I’ve become relatively strong.
I’m sure I could seclude myself in the mountains and live by hunting and eating the monsters there.
That’s how the goblins lived in my hometown, so there’s no reason I can’t do the same.
Oh, I know. That’s it.
I’ll go back to the goblin village.
There’s no one left there anymore, but it’s the only place I can go home to.
I’m sure no humans will bother me there.
Why don’t I just go back to that village and live in peace?
This seems like the most natural course of action. Why did I never realize it before?
No, I’m sure I had already realized it somewhere deep down.
I just wanted to go somewhere I could expend all this rage.
Or maybe I was hoping to avoid my inevitable return to that village as long as I could.
I was so sure that I no longer had the right to call myself a goblin. I even used the Naming skill to change my name.
Although part of the reason was to overwrite the name that horrible man gave me.
Still, I could have changed it back to my old name. The reason I didn’t was that I felt I’d tarnished it, that I could no longer use it.
So I guess deep down I thought I didn’t have the right to go back to that village anymore, either.
To be honest, I still feel that way now.
But another feeling has overtaken that: exhaustion.
I’m absolutely spent. It’s time to stop being stubborn and rest.
The other part of me, the half that’s being controlled by anger, screams that it hasn’t had enough fighting yet.
But that just makes me all the more determined.
I have to go back to my home village.
If I don’t do it now, while I still have my sanity, then I’ll never be able to go back again.
There’s no time like the present, then.
I know being here in this village will be good for nothing but stoking my rage even more.
This village is abandoned now, except for me.
I’m here in this horrible, half-destroyed house.
It’s the exact place I should want to avoid, but perhaps because of all the time I spent here, my feet just naturally guided me right through the door.
I was forced to make magic swords in this house.
Day after day, as my rage and hatred built up inside me.
I don’t have a single good memory of this home or this village.
Just being here dredges up unpleasant memories that eat away at my sanity.
I need to get out of here as soon as possible.
Leaving the house, I find the sky covered in dense clouds, like an omen of doom.
My mood darkens even further, but I still start moving forward.
To the Mystic Mountains. To the goblin village.
Home.
As the air gets colder with every step, I abruptly stop in place.
Huh?
Where was I going, again?
I get the feeling I was heading toward somewhere very important…
But I don’t remember where.
…Oh well. It doesn’t matter.
If I can’t remember, I’m sure it didn’t matter much.
All that matters right now is finding a way to vent the rage overflowing in my heart.
Ah…so much hate.
Hate… Kill… HATE… KILL!
“GRAAAAAH!”
The boiling wrath erupts as a howl.
As the howl ripples across the area like a shock wave, I can sense the living things nearby start to flee.
But I won’t let them get away.
The only way to sate this anger is to kill.
I’ll kill, and kill, and kill.
I’ll kill every last one of them.
I’M MOUNTAIN CLIMBING
After spending the night in the abandoned village, we set out into the Mystic Mountains.
Huh?
Did we see any ghosts?
Of course not, dummy!
No matter how creepy and ill-fated this place might be, there’s no such thing as ghosts in this world, period.
’Cause when you die, you’re forcibly sent home to the goddess.
If you wanted to stick around here as a ghost, you’d have to be able to defy the gods somehow.
In fact, if you were strong enough to do that, I don’t think you’d even be a ghost anymore.
That would be a serious problem.
So yeah, our night went perfectly fine, thank you very much.
The puppet spiders are one thing, but I don’t know whether to be impressed with how fast Vampy passed out or appalled by her lack of girliness.
Wouldn’t that have been the perfect time to go up to Mera, like, I’m too scared to sleep. Can I stay with you?
She’s still just a little kid, so it wouldn’t be that weird to sleep next to her caretaker.
Even without a paranormal encounter, we could at least get some drama going.
Anyway, that’s the kind of stupid thing I’m thinking about as I bounce along in the carriage.
It’s cold out, so I’m all wrapped up in a blanket.
Why don’t I walk, you ask?
Yeah, right. You think I could walk on a mountain path like this?
I guarantee you I’d be down and out in less than an hour!
The Demon Lord knows that, too, which is why I’m on standby in the carriage right from the start.
My role in this mountain expedition is to sit still inside the carriage, just like this.
Yep. I’m basically luggage!
While everyone else laboriously drags themselves up the mountain, I get to ride in luxury all by myself.
Mm, it’s good to be me.
Still, I wouldn’t say the journey is very easy.
For one thing, it’s cold.
Weather in the Mystic Mountains is so intense that the snow never melts here.
We’re still traveling at a relatively low elevation, but it’s already pretty damn cold.
Even wrapped up in this blanket with heat-emanating magic stones, I’m still freezing in here.
Okay, technically, this used to just be an ordinary stone.
But with the help of Magic Conferment, a skill that lets the user fill an object with magic, it’s been imbued with Fire Magic.
The Demon Lord made it, of course.
Since it was just some rock to start with, it came at the low, low price of absolutely free.
Talk about a bargain!
She made a bunch of these magic stones while we were in town, so each of us is carrying a few.
Incidentally, I got the most, since I don’t have stats to protect me from the cold.
I’m still using only one right now, but when it gets colder, I’m planning on using a bunch at once.
To be honest, I’d like to use all of them right this second.
I’m cold!
But if I start complaining when we’ve just gotten started, I feel like I won’t be able to make it through the rest of the trip, so I’m forcing myself to bear with it.
The cold isn’t the only problem, either.
I’m getting carriage-sick.
I mean, this thing really sways.
Back and forth, back and forth.
Can you blame me for feeling gross?
Urp!
Why is it swaying so much? Because this carriage isn’t touching the ground.
For those of you who are thinking What the hell are you talking about? your reaction is justified, but think about it for a second.
How would a carriage be able to traverse an uneven mountain path?
It can’t, that’s how!
So how is this carriage moving, then? Good question.
The answer is: It’s being carried.
By whom? By Ael.
She looks like a little girl, yet she’s carrying this carriage on her back as she walks.
If any outsiders saw this, I’m sure it would look pretty crazy.
But despite her appearance, she’s actually a monster with stats in the quintuple digits.
Lugging a carriage up a mountain is a simple task for her.
Unfortunately, that means that jostling around a bunch is all part of the ride.
Of course being carried on someone’s back means bouncing around a lot.
In fact, she’s actually being pretty careful, or I’d probably be suffering even more.
If it was any of the other puppet spiders, I’m sure they wouldn’t even think to carry it gently.
Yeah. Without going into too much detail, that wouldn’t end well.
Urp!
I have to bear the cold and the swaying somehow.
That might sound like a nice problem to have compared to the others who are walking outside, but I don’t have stats, so gimme a break.
If I could walk on my own two feet, I’d be doing it right now!
Besides, technically they’re not all walking on their own feet, either.
Vampy and Mera are riding on the earth wyrms that were pulling the carriage.
Since Ael’s carrying the carriage now, that frees up the two earth wyrms for riders.
Mera tamed the pair with a skill.
While he was a human, he apparently boasted all kinds of butlering skills, including driving a carriage.
A butler as a coachman? Yeah, I know. Don’t worry about it.
Anyway, that’s why he had the Creature Training skill to start with, but by taming the earth wyrms, he was able to evolve that skill into Summoning.
See, there are two ways to win over a monster.
One is using a skill to force them to obey you.
That means Creature Training or its advanced form, Summoning, to force the monster to do your bidding.
The other option is to get them to acknowledge you and enter into a contract with you.
With the former, you’re basically enslaving the monster by force.
Of course, the tamer has to be stronger than the monster in this case, or the skill will bounce right off.
If you weaken the monster beforehand, though, sometimes it’ll still work.
You don’t need the monster’s consent, so you can just force it to do stuff right away.
But since you’re forcing it, that means you’re suppressing the monster’s free will.
After it’s enslaved, it’s practically a whole different being that happens to have the same specs.
Once you control its free will, the monster is like a machine that only obeys orders.
On the other hand, if you get a monster to recognize you as its master and enter into a contract, then that monster retains its free will.
Of course, that means the monster might rebel against you.
But since you have a real bond linking you together, you gain a far more formidable ally than if you just force it to obey you with a skill.
Ah, the power of friendship!
So Mera is using the latter, a contract with monsters who’ve accepted him as a master.
Earth wyrms as a species tend to be loyal for life to anyone they acknowledge as their master, so it’s much better this way. They’d probably fight to the death for him now.
Although frankly, they’re the next weakest members of this party after me, so they probably won’t get the chance to do that anytime soon.
Their main job is to be beasts of burden.
That being said, if it gets too hard on them, the two riders will probably get down and lead them by the reins.
After all, the riders have higher stats than the wyrms.
Even when the earth wyrms get tired, the bloodsucker duo will probably still be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.
So far, though, the earth wyrms’ steps seem light.
Straining my ears, I can hear the bloodsuckers and the Demon Lord chatting.
“Are there any monsters we should be wary of up here?”
“Hmm? As long as I’m with you, you don’t need to worry about any monsters, but I suppose this is ice dragon territory.”
“Anything else?”
“Well, I suppose there’s always goblins.”
“Huh?”
Huh?
I’m just as confused as Vampy.
Aren’t goblins basically the poster children for super-weak monsters?
“They’ve got just as much warrior spirit as any old dragon. Or should I say determination? They’re weak on their own, all right, but they’re not afraid to stare death in the face. And they always attack in groups, so they’re a pretty serious threat to an ordinary human.”
What kind of a world has goblins like that?!
This world, I guess!
But that doesn’t sound like the goblins we all know and love.
Unreal.
“Oh, and I guess there are the monkeys.”
The Demon Lord and the baby bloodsucker keep chatting as they walk.
Yeah, they’ve got enough energy to spare for chatting as we climb this mountain, if you can believe it.
I guess that’ll probably change when we get higher up, though.
But that’s a long way off, I’m sure.
Oh boy, do I miss the time when I still believed that.
It’s so c-c-c-c-cold!
Not just cold, it’s freezing!
In fact, it’s straight-up painful!
I knew these mountains were gonna be rough, but this is way worse than I thought.
I’m wrapped up in a blanket with all my magic stones, and I’m still freezing my butt off.
Just bouncing around inside the carriage like this seems to be draining my stamina.
This is rough, all right.
It’s been a few days since we started our trip across the Mystic Mountains.
We’re still moving at a steady pace, but the farther we go, the colder and more painful it gets.
The snow whirling around in the air is pretty, sure, but it’s also the worst thing ever.
As the snow falls, it piles up on top of the carriage.
Too much would make the roof collapse, so it has to be periodically removed.
Which Ael accomplishes by shaking the carriage around.
Really, just whipping it back and forth.
It’s like some kind of amusement-park ride, except I’m not sure I’m gonna survive.
I feel like I’m gonna be sick.
So every day I beg the snow: Please just stop falling!
My prayers go unanswered, though…
I’m still getting whipped back and forth!
Ugh, this seriously sucks.
And of course, snow is piling up on the ground, too.
It’s piled so high, it’d practically be up to my ears if I was walking.
And since it’s new snow, it’s super-soft, too.
If you dropped Vampy on top of snow like that, she’d probably be buried on the spot!
So the Demon Lord is leading the way, tunneling through the snow for everyone else.
Damn, she’s more efficient than a snowplow.
Must be nice having stats like that.
“Hrmmm. This is a little bit strange, though. I wonder what’s going on.”
The Demon Lord mutters to herself as she forges a path through the snowdrifts.
I’m guessing she means it’s strange that the snow is falling nonstop like this.
The biggest reason the Mystic Mountains are considered impassable is because of the dragons that make their home there.
A whole family of ice-controlling dragons lives up in these peaks, encamped right smack in the middle between human lands and demon lands.
If the humans or demons want to invade each other, they’d have to cross through ice dragon turf first, making an invasion by way of the Mystic Mountains nearly impossible.
In fact, the ice dragons are the reason it’s so damn cold.
They perpetually generate cold, freezing the land around them.
Of course, the closer you get to the source, the colder it gets.
So going to the heart of the mountains is especially scary.
But that’s exactly where we’re headed—in fact, we’re nearly there—but apparently this situation is unusual.
I guess I can see that.
I’m using all these magic stones that the Demon Lord made, but I’m still shaking like a leaf in here.
The outside of the blanket that I’m wrapped up in with the stones is actually starting to freeze.
So without the magic stones, this blanket would probably be a block of ice, and so would I.
And yet, it’s snowing outside.
At this temperature, it should definitely be hail by now.
Talk about a fantasy world.
That means this snow must be a magical creation, not natural.
So who do you think is making it snow, hmm?
Obviously, that’d be the lords of the mountain, the ice dragons.
“Maybe they’re trying to keep you away, Miss Ariel?”
“Nah. Even the ice dragons must know they can’t beat me. Plus, we have an unspoken agreement that I won’t pick fights with them. They didn’t try to intercept me last time I passed through this way, so I’m guessing we’re not their target.”
Outside the frozen blanket, I can hear Vampy and the Demon Lord talking again.
It’s way too cold for a conversation at this point, but I am interested in what they’re saying.
I open up a tiny gap in the blanket so that I can hear them better.
Immediately, cold air blows in through the hole.
Too cold!
I’m gonna freeze!
“There must be another outsider in the mountains right now besides us. Maybe it’s that ogre?”
Without waiting to hear more, I plug the hole back up.
Whew. I thought I was gonna freeze to death.
That ogre again, though? This guy’s pretty aggressive.
It’s causing problems all over the place.
Must be nice to be so young and carefree.
Although I’m technically a little kid, too, like the baby bloodsucker.
Still, first elves and now dragons? This ogre must be a battle maniac.
Why does it keep challenging one strong opponent after another?
Is it on one of those “gotta find someone stronger than me” types of quests?
If so, I’ve got news for you, pal: The Demon Lord, the strongest person in the world, is right here.
She’ll be so much stronger than you, you’ll be saying lines like, Ngh! I can’t get in a single blow…!
That is if you even have a chance to say anything before she turns you into mincemeat. Either that or smithereens anyway.
If that ogre is the reason for this freakish weather, then frankly, I hope that does happen.
This ogre has been a huge pain in the ass, to be honest.
First we get stuck in that town, then we have to deal with this godawful weather, all thanks to one stupid ogre.
Oh, I guess it did kill those elves for us, so that’s one positive.
Still more negatives overall, though.
Like, can’t it just disappear already?
If this was a hero story, the ogre would probably defeat the ice dragons and stand in our way, and we’d have to drive it away with the power of friendship or whatever.
Although if the imperial army was able to chase it off, then I don’t see it beating a dragon anytime soon.
Dear ice dragons, please just smack that ogre down and put a stop to this snow already.
Otherwise, I’m seriously gonna die out here!
I can hear my teeth chattering.
“Guh?!”
Just then, the Demon Lord makes a most unladylike noise.
I dunno, I don’t think girls are supposed to say “Guh!”
I create a little opening in the blanket to peek outside.
Guh?!
The scene outside is so shocking that I forget about the blast of cold air for a second.
Monkeys.
My worst nightmare.
My deep-seated trauma.
How could I forget? It’s the same monkeys that once surrounded me and nearly killed me in my weaker days in the Great Elroe Labyrinth’s Lower Stratum!
If I remember right, they were called “anogratches” or something.
At some point during our journey, the Demon Lord told me that they’re also known as “revenge monkeys.” If one of their own is killed, they’ll form huge groups to try to get revenge on whoever killed it.
To make matters worse, once they’ve set their sights on revenge, they won’t give up until their target is dead.
If you see one, you should never, ever kill one.
Even if you kill only a single individual, they’ll attack you in swarms.
Right.
I did find it strange at the time that they were so determined to kill a single spider, but I guess that’s just their nature.
Are you kidding me?!
What kind of crappy game sends a bunch of enemies to attack you but you’re not supposed to kill any of them?
How terrible do your survival instincts have to be to keep trying to avenge a single individual until every last one of you is dead?!
And those same monkeys are coming toward us right now.
Not just one or two, either. They’re coming in droves.
Um, what’s up with this tidal wave of monkeys?!
Are you for real?!
Nobody told me these damn monkeys lived in the Mystic Mountains, too!
““““““““““““““““OOK, OOK!””””””””””””””””
Don’t OOK, OOK me, you stupid monkeys!
Seriously, why can’t I wake up from this nightmare?!
Is this because of that stupid ogre, too?!
Did the whole swarm of monkeys run this way to escape from the battle between the ogre and the ice dragons or something?!
This ogre sucks!
“Wha—?! Yeesh!”
Even the Demon Lord is freaking out at the sight!
The baby bloodsucker and Mera are totally freezing up.
Hey, no freezing just ’cause it’s cold out!
Aside from Ael, the puppet spiders are all in battle-ready positions.
At least we can count on them in times like this!
“Oh, this isn’t good. Nope, nope, nope. Here goes nothing!”
As the sea of monkeys closes in, the Demon Lord starts preparing magic.
At least, I assume so. Without my skills, I can’t even see the magic the Demon Lord is constructing.
I can just kinda tell from her pose that that’s what she’s doing, I guess.
Huh?
Wait a sec, though.
Isn’t using magic in this situation, like, a really bad idea?
“Eat this!”
I realize this just as the Demon Lord unleashes her spell.
A torrent of darkness rushes from her hands.
What is this, an evil kmehameha?
With the Demon Lord’s crazy stats, the Black Magic causes a huge explosion, sending the giant horde of monkeys flying every which way.
No matter how strong the monkeys might be, I was able to defeat them one by one even back when I was a total weakling.
The Demon Lord’s magic wipes them all out in one clean sweep.
The problem is what happens after that!
The shock waves from the Demon Lord’s spell spread through the area, causing a certain chain reaction.
A mass just as big as the swarm of monkeys, or maybe even bigger, bears down on us.
A mass of what?
Of snow, duh!
It’s an avalanche!
This is weird magic snow that stays soft and fluffy even in temperatures cold enough to freeze my blanket.
If you cause a big explosion on a mountain covered in that stuff, of course this is gonna happen! Come on!
Sure, an area-of-effect spell was the only way to get rid of all the oncoming monkeys at once, but now it’s caused a disaster even bigger than that.
The Demon Lord’s looking at the snow like, Oops, now I’ve done it!
You sure have, dude. Not that I can blame you for freaking out and reacting poorly with a huge swarm of monkeys coming at us out of nowhere like that!
The snow closes in on us like a tidal wave.
“RUN!”
The Demon Lord’s shout is almost as loud as the deep rumbling of the avalanche.
At her command, everyone jumps into the air!
With their leg strength enhanced by stats, the spider crew moves so fast, it’s like they’re flying.
Then they use Dimensional Maneuvering to keep fleeing through the air.
The bloodsucker duo jumps up, too, avoiding the avalanche by a hairbreadth.
Riel and Fiel carry the earth wyrms to safety.
And I…am falling straight toward the avalanche.
Oh. Wait. What?
I’m sailing through the air.
Ael is a short distance away, holding the carriage.
Hmm?
Hmmmm?!
This is a record-scratch moment if I’ve ever had one.
Okay. When Ael jumped up, the recoil must’ve sent me flying right out of the carriage.
Even Ael wouldn’t have the spare brainpower to worry about me at a time like this.
I get it now. Ha-ha-ha.
Um, this isn’t funny at all?!
Jesus Christ!
Shit, shit, shit!
At this rate, I’m gonna swan dive right into the snow!
And since I’m wrapped up in this blanket, I won’t be able to do a damn thing about it!
Not that I’d be able to do much of anything even if I wasn’t!
“Sael! Help White, quick!”
The Demon Lord shouts an order at Sael, the only puppet spider with her hands free.
Sael, bless her heart, is always quick to act as long as she’s been given orders.
She reacts immediately, catching me in midair.
But it’s a second too late!
Sael grabs me right before I get swallowed up by the avalanche.
Her hands close around my blanket.
But then the blanket comes right off with an ominous ripping sound.
Frozen or not, a blanket is a blanket. It’s not built to support a person’s weight.
My body falls right into the avalanche, sinking into the snow.
I reach up instinctively, and by some miracle, Sael grabs my hand!
But my body’s already being carried away, and the momentum drags Sael right down with me.
As we’re crushed along in total confusion, Sael manages to drag us back up to where we can see the sky again.
She must have managed to push back to the surface of the snow somehow.
My arm is experiencing some distressing pain as I get dragged along, but that doesn’t matter right now.
“Grab my hand!”
Speeding toward us, Vampy reaches down from the sky.
Still being crushed by the snow, I don’t have the strength to reach up.
Luckily, Sael manages to grab the baby bloodsucker’s hand, and then Mera grabs on as well, trying to pull us up.
But then—something slams into the baby bloodsucker.
“Ah?!”
“Young Miss?!”
It’s a monkey, carried down toward us by the avalanche, and it’s clinging to the baby bloodsucker!
Wait, what the hell?!
Where’d you come from?!
Why is there another monkey here?!
The monkey’s tackle sends Vampy’s small frame flying into the snow.
Taking Sael, Mera, and the stupid monkey right along with her.
Me? Yeah, me too, of course.
Damn you, monkeeeey!
Maybe you were just trying to save yourself from getting swept away, but now we’re all getting swept away, toooo!
Still grasping one another’s hands, all of us get swallowed up by the avalanche.
Isn’t the Demon Lord gonna save us?!
I cast a desperate look up at the sky, and just before the snow covers my vision, I see a vast swarm of monkeys throwing themselves at the Demon Lord.
Seriously?
How are there still that many of them?
And wait, what the hell, monkeys?!
You’re seriously still trying to get revenge even in the middle of an avalanche?!
What the hell’s wrong with you?!
The Demon Lord won’t be able to help us now.
Just as that realization hits me, the snow swallows up my body completely.
And as my vision blackens, my consciousness blinks out as well.
THE OGRE AND THE ICE DRAGON
Flames course out of the katana in my grip.
Hellfire that consumes every living thing.
But right now, it amounts to only a paltry flicker that barely serves to warm my body slightly before fizzling out.
Instead of the usual blazing fire, my katana is currently engulfed in thick ice.
“Nngaaah!”
Nevertheless, I bring the blade down on the giant creature before me.
A clang echoes, and sharp reverberations run through my hand.
The blow broke the ice around my blade, but instead of cutting through the enemy, my attack was repelled by the creature’s powerful scales.
They’re so tough and my movements so dull.
The bitter cold is slowing me down, making it impossible to use my full strength.
“How sad. Truly pitiful.”
The dragon, which hasn’t bothered to dodge my attack, sends a scornful telepathic message.
Ignoring it, I swing the sword in my other hand.
The lightning-wreathed blade strikes the scales, scattering purple sparks.
However, as I feared, it doesn’t leave even a scratch on those diamond-like scales.
“It won’t work, no matter how many times you try. You may possess rare strength, but you cannot hope to defeat me. I possess incredible toughness, though perhaps not as much as my earth brethren.”
The dragon speaks in a slow, old-fashioned manner.
Despite the grand way of speaking, its voice sounds like that of a young woman in my mind.
This dragon is a female, then.
The dragon is beautiful, her body cutting an elegant curve, covered entirely in quartz-like scales.
And she commands ice.
Her mere presence causes the temperature in the immediate area to drop to freezing cold.
I coat my sword in fire yet again.
The flames go out almost immediately, but I have to do this every so often to keep my body from freezing.
What temperature could this wretched cold possibly be?
It must be in the negatives; that much is for sure.
Even Hokkaido in the winter never got cold enough to freeze your body like this.
I’m constantly buffeted by thick bursts of snow.
Clinging to my skin, the snow saps away my strength and body heat.
Since they froze over, wearing clothes actually made the cold worse, so shortly after the battle started, I threw away all but the most crucial coverings.
From a bystander’s perspective, I’m fighting half-naked.
It might sound funny, but I’m fighting for my life.
Part 6 of 8