The way the orc let out his scream scattered a frenzy of emotion befitting a howl of a rabid dog.
Either way, I believed there might have been the slightest chance of victory just lurking around. However…
“……”
The screaming suddenly stopped, then a moment of silence followed suit.
My carelessness and the opportunity to win that I had unintentionally held in my heart immediately turned on me.
A huge rusty sword found itself in front of me.
Time… stopped.
It felt as if I had been stretched many times over, and I fell into a strange sensation, as though I was cut off from the world.
(It’s… fast!)
Without even the time to change my feelings into words, a sharp, deadly blade loomed over me.
There were only so many actions that I could take from here.
The ogre’s approaching greatsword was in a sideways cleaving trajectory, aiming for the neck.
As such, I had to either deflect it away from my body or use the stick in my hand to forcefully change its trajectory.
“Hah… Ahhh—”
As hard as I possibly could, I breathed in and then put all my strength into my body.
There was no time to think.
My only option was to leave everything to my senses.
I forcefully leaned back.
My body moved a couple of seconds faster than my mind could come to a clear, final decision.
And then the time, which had been slowing down, began to move again.
The sound of a fierce wind cutting through the air was like a breeze along with a greatsword passing right over my face.
“You…!!!”
I put my right hand on the ground and twisted my body to avoid the attack.
“This is payback!!!”
A roundhouse kick from below directly aimed at his core.
But…
“Ggaaaah…?”
He turned his head as if to suggest that a mosquito had just stuck on him.
The blow didn’t even give the ogre the slightest itch.
I had immediately judged that a kick would not be decisive enough, so I hurriedly kicked the ground, jumped, and moved away from the ogre.
“…Jeez. If this isn’t tough…”
Suigetsu— A technique delivered directly into his solar plexus, yet he didn’t show any sign of struggling for breath,
The feeling rushing through my feet was a feeling as if I had kicked a large rock.
It dealt no damage.
Fed up with my disappointing results, I breathed in and out roughly, letting out my pent-up breaths.
There was not a single expression nor a shred of the normal composure on my face, except for a forced smile.
“But, oh well.”
I wasn’t sure if it was of joy or pleasure, but the ogre’s mouth twisted into a big, dark smile.
Though, this was a situation in which I had to indulge, all because Sofia was in a good position to make her escape.
It was her presence that made me really concerned about this incident.
Not that I would use her as the reason I let my guard down earlier, but I still didn’t want her to be here with me.
“Sofia.”
My gaze shot through the ogre’s figure as I weaved my words.
“What… is it?”
“There are adventurers with the village chief right now. Could you get those people from the village for me?”
“Eh?”
“I’ll hang on until then, so please do me a favor.”
***
Reaper Scans
***
That was a lie.
My request for her to fetch the adventurers was nothing more than an excuse to try to get her to leave the place.
I could assure her that it would probably be more effective than anything else, that was why I told such a lie with a straight face.
Besides, those adventurers wouldn’t consider making a move… at the very least, not until the morning came.
They won’t budge no matter what persuasion she’d do, and moreover, she’d be under protection there.
With that said, this set the stage.
Me and the ogre… just the two of us.
I stared deep into his eyes without the slightest intention of looking away.
He must have sensed that there was an unwavering determination in them.
“O…kay…”
Perhaps the result of her own self-reproach, she decided to call for the adventurers who might be in the village, rather than just hiding out here helplessly.
With tears streaming down her face, Sofia said just that and ran off in the direction of the village.
“Was that for the best?”
I asked the ogre as I stared into her back as she ran farther and farther away from me.
For some reason, the one who swung his greatsword at me to catch me off guard was now patiently waiting for Sofia to get away.
“…I don’t… mind.”
A heavy, resonant voice from the depths of his gut sounded through.
Although faltering, they were unmistakably… words.
I was astonished by the fact that a monster spoke the human language, but I thought how trifling a matter it was, considering that we were about to have a fight.
“I see.”
His mouth was twisted in amusement.
The ogre in front of me looked like a ferocious, horrifying beast readying to feast on its prey, who was truly looking forward to the fight.
I’d bet he loved to fight.
I dwelled about the reason why he let Sofia go, considering he could fight reasonably well with his sword.
Was it just pride?
I didn’t know the answer to that question, but whether I knew the answer or not wouldn’t make my situation any better.
I decided to put those doubts behind me.
“Since we’re going to do this, I’ll tell you my name. You’re into that kind of thing, right? A knight who came to our village once told me… I think it’s battle etiquette…”
I tried to catch him off guard by saying these things… If only he could comprehend what I just said.
I had no power, and if I didn’t do something like this to get his guard down a little bit, I wouldn’t stand a chance.
I needed just one blow.
And to create enough of an opening to do so.
“I’m Julius, the successor to the ‘Sword Demon’s’ will… and the future ‘Star Slayer.’”
“Nanaji.”
He muddled up part of it, but I was certain he wanted to say that he’s “Nameless.”
(TL/Note: ‘Nanashi’ 名無し in Japanese means ‘nameless’, but since his way of speaking is muddled due to his nature being an ogre, it came out as ‘Nanaji’.)
Judging from that, I put more pressure on my hand.
I wasn’t letting go of my focus on the ogre that was foolishly and honestly listening to my words.
It was his pride that let him do so.
It was the only gap between us two, and despite having a little fun in our little conversation, it’d make no difference to my current situation.
I only had one chance.
Should I miss the opportunity, there’d be no more.
Above all, I could probably only release this once with my own strength.
“I’m going to eat everything you have. Your strength, your pride, everything… I will make it my sustenance!!!”
My body made noise as it creaked.
Trace, follow, imitate.
I saw where I was headed.
My goal was deeply engraved in my head, and the best possible move was always available.
A spiteful and inferior imitation.
But even this inferiority of mine would surely reach the ogre in front of me.
In a moment’s lapse of consciousness, I stepped in.
There would be no next time, no anything.
I was giving this a shot.
I risked everything on this moment of certainty.
I gambled everything on this moment so that I would be able to make the most surefire blow.
“I’ll slash and slay you out.”
I heard the sound of something tearing.
Then a creak…
Followed by a sound of something breaking apart.
But it wouldn’t stop.
The arm that I used to swing, nor the foot that I used to step, ceased to back down, all because…
I knew in advance that I would have to pay a reasonable price to handle this masterful technique.
I knew instinctively that there was no way to win except by using this technique.
“…Oh shooting star—”
One blow would decide it.
Fascinated by such a skill, I unleashed myself.
By imitating the technique of a swordsman who dreamed of becoming a “Star Slayer,” I had finally arrived at the end of my training.
——
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