What… just happened?
The ice spear should have pierced its core directly—but the Silver Ogre had caught it in its hand and shattered it.
「No way… I blinded it and stopped its movements…」
(The incantation was perfect. I poured nearly all of my magic into it… What went wrong!?)
The Silver Ogre rose to its feet with ease, fixing its gaze on me as it let out a twisted 「Gaahahaha」 laugh.
A third eye had appeared on its forehead.
That eye…! There was nothing like that on Silver Ogres in this world!!
「Yuuki-san!!」
At Haruka’s shout, I looked up to see the High Ogre wearing that same twisted smile as it lunged toward me.
「Damn it!」
We clashed once, twice—my hand was already played. I had used up almost all my magic. From here on, I’d just be worn down bit by bit…
(There’s got to be something! There has to be a way out of this…)
「Guhihihihi!!」
「Ugh!? Gah…!」
My shield was finally blown away, and my arm—
It was bent completely the wrong way.
(Damn it… not like this…)
I fell back, forcing my arm back into place with healing magic.
The Silver Ogre laughed triumphantly, as if it had gained some kind of omnipotent power.
(It’s stronger and faster than before… If this thing gets out into the world, there’s no doubt it’ll be a massacre…)
Haruka and Fuyuka were behind me. So were Tsumugi-san, Dad, Mom… and Hikari, who was on a flight home right now.
(Am I supposed to just sit back and let them all be slaughtered!?)
My only option was a suicidal strike—going for mutual destruction and dealing a fatal wound in the process.
(At my current strength, I can close the distance… but the only attack that might cut it down would be a full-body thrust with everything I’ve got… Should I risk it…?)
「Haruka, when I give the signal, throw your shield at it with all your strength. Fuyuka, aim for its eye and hit it with your strongest shot. I’ll leave the timing to you.」
「Understood!」
「Got it!!」
「I’m going to land one more… full-powered strike!」
I steeled myself and stepped forward, removing my pouch and scabbard to lighten my body.
The High Ogre stared at me with a mocking grin, as if to say, 『Is your pathetic little strategy meeting finally over?』
「That face… pisses me off. 『O fire, shroud my sword with your power and become the flames that burn my enemies to ash――Flame Enchant!』… Gaaahhh!!」
Flames wrapped around my weapon, radiating intense heat.
The more magic I poured into this technique, the stronger the flames burned—but at the cost of burning the caster as well.
Right now, I was using that very drawback to my advantage, letting the searing heat fuse my red-hot sword to my palm.
「Here I go!!」
I let my magic course through my entire body and shot forward like an arrow. The Silver Ogre raised its massive sword to strike me down.
「Haruka! Now!」
「Understood, Yuuki-san!」
Haruka hurled her great shield. Reinforced with her magic, the shield collided with the Silver Ogre’s sword in a deafening clash of metal.
The impact was powerful enough to halt the Ogre’s strike, sending sparks flying as the sound of metal fracturing echoed through the air.
「This… is the end!」
「Gugya!? Gyaaaaaaaahhh!?」
I drove my flame-clad sword into the High Ogre’s solar plexus with all my weight behind it.
I felt the flesh tear apart beneath my hands and smelled the stench of burning entrails.
But even as it was fatally wounded, the Silver Ogre raised its fist with the last of its strength, aiming to crush me in one final blow.
「Fuyuka!!」
「I won’t let you!!」
Fuyuka’s arrow, charged with pure magic, ripped through the air faster than sound and pierced the Silver Ogre’s third eye.
A spray of blood erupted from the wound, but even as its body staggered, the High Ogre’s fist kept coming.
「Yuuki-san!!」
「Onii-chan!!」
「――――――Hah!!」
Their voices reached me at the same moment the impact struck my abdomen.
Bones shattered beneath the force of the blow. My lungs collapsed, and the air was forced from my body, leaving me unable to breathe.
For an instant, my consciousness blacked out—
Then, the sensation of being slammed into the ground brought me back to reality.
「Ghaa… cough… gah… haah… haah… serves you… right…」
A red mixture of blood and bile spilled from my mouth as I gasped for air.
Through my blurry, shaking vision, I saw the Silver Ogre’s lifeless body. Its torso had been torn open from where my sword had struck.
(Wounded body, with the last of my remaining magic, let this power flow through you and heal your wounds… Extra Heal…)
Since I can’t speak, I focused on chanting the spell in my mind, healing only my internal organs. But with my magic depleted, I couldn’t mend my broken bones.
My left shoulder joint, right leg, and several ribs were probably shattered…
The sword, fused to my hand from the heat, was now cracked and broken. It was beyond repair.
(Damn… Aerith gave me that sword…)
My white silver companion, which had been with me through countless battles in this world, lay dull and lifeless, as if it had fulfilled its duty.
(I’m sorry… and thank you…)
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
「Yuuki-san!!」
「Onii-san!!」
I must have worried the twins since I couldn’t move from the pain coursing through my entire body. They rushed toward me.
「Haruka, Fuyuka, did you recover the Silver Ogre’s parts?」
「Yes, Haruka took care of it.」
Fuyuka held up the necklace that the High Ogre had been wearing.
「I see. That’s good. Now leave me here and get out of here quickly, before more monsters show up.」
「No way! We can’t leave you behind, Yuuki-san!」
「That’s right! If you’re staying, we’re staying too!」
「Don’t be stupid… I can’t move anymore. You can’t carry me, and if you stay, you’ll just be putting yourselves in danger.」
Even in other worlds, if someone was too injured to walk back from a dungeon, they had to be left behind. That’s why every party always had a healer to gauge the party’s condition and adjust their exploration accordingly.
「In that case…」
「It’s okay! I have a great idea!」
「Huh?」
With a bright smile, Haruka pulled a rope from her bag.
And so, I ended up being tied to Haruka’s back. On top of that, they even strapped my shattered shield—which had been blown away by the High Ogre’s attack—over me like armor.
「「All set!」」
「Haruka… you’re stronger than you look…」
「Yup!」
We headed toward the first floor. The dungeon was eerily quiet.
We retraced our steps through the corridors—well, I was strapped to Haruka’s back—encountering goblins twice along the way.
Haruka handled them with swift, precise strikes, while Fuyuka’s arrows hit their marks with deadly accuracy.
About thirty minutes later, we finally emerged from the dungeon. Night had already fallen.
「Yuuki-kun!!」
「Haruka-chan, Fuyuka-chan!!」
Tsuzuri-san and Tomoe-chan, who had been working with the Self-Defense Force outside the dungeon, ran toward us.
After Haruka set me down, the twins collapsed into Tomoe-chan’s arms, sobbing.
As I watched them, I felt myself being loaded onto a stretcher and carried toward a helicopter. That was the last thing I remembered before I blacked out.
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