"Wooooooooh!"
A tremendous roar accompanies the cry as powerful lightning erupts from the large golden blade, arcing outward in every direction. The lightning mows down trees, blasts away the piles of monster corpses that litter the ground, and scours the surrounding area clean.
Luda had heard during their journey that this was an ability derived from the blade's materials, but its destructive power was nothing short of staggering—on par with a mage's offensive magic. It certainly made the claim that he'd slain a dragon believable.
Yet even witnessing that display, Luda couldn't feel at ease.
Arnold stood at the fore, the golden blade still held high, breathing hard.
Around them, the remains of monsters—overkill, organs and viscera scattered everywhere—created a nauseating stench. These weren't kills from their group; they'd been lying there from the start.
Monsters didn't only prey on humans. Territorial disputes between monsters themselves were common, and when a powerful outsider invaded a forest, the entire ecosystem could shift overnight. Everyone had heard stories like that.
But the excessively mutilated state of those corpses conveyed a deep, deliberate malice.
And they had already made contact with whatever monster had likely caused it.
"Damn it, it got away again! What the hell was that thing?"
Ei kept his eyes open without blinking, his senses straining to catch any sound from the surroundings. But there was nothing—no trace of living creatures, not even the chirp of insects.
The first attack had come as they climbed the corpse-strewn path, just past the mountain summit.
The creature in question had threaded itself between the gaps in the standing trees to launch its assault. Almost simultaneously with a companion's warning shout—one of them had spotted it—a member of the Thunder Dragon of the Mist was sent flying high into the air.
It was an ogre, its entire body a deep green, with abnormally long limbs.
The blow from those slender arms was swift as the wind, and powered by Mana Material, it sent a large Hunter's body—clad in sturdy, heavy armor—flying as if it weighed nothing. The counterattack of sword and magic that reflexively came was easily dodged, and the creature glided behind the trees and vanished in an instant.
Most terrifying of all was that the attack had been carried out almost entirely in silence, and that the creature had disappeared the very instant they'd assumed combat positions. Its fluid, natural movements made it clear this was how ogres hunted.
Fortunately, the member who'd taken the hit was uninjured, but the strike had clearly been aimed at the neck.
If one of their companions hadn't detected the ambush, things could have gone badly.
And yet, that was only the beginning.
Both wagons were already lost. The second attack had targeted the horses.
Truth be told, navigating a narrow mountain path with two wagons had always been a stretch. The Thunder Dragon of the Mist's wagon in particular was so large that it completely blocked the road—once you moved forward, there was no backing up. Protecting the horses from an ogre that picked its targets and struck without warning was impossible, and they couldn't afford to endanger the Party members by pushing it.
Luda, following Ei's example, focused his mind to probe the surroundings.
That ogre's stealth was considerable—difficult to spot with daylight fading. But during the instant of an attack, it wasn't entirely without presence.
A sound like the rustling of wind. That was the telltale sign. It was hard to distinguish from an ordinary gust, but they had many pairs of eyes. If everyone stayed alert, the chance of a sneak attack was low.
"I don't know... I've never seen a monster like that!"
"It's not... just a monster. The tenacity, the intelligence, the power. The sheer cruelty. To target Arnold specifically..."
Ei broke into a grin despite the sweat pouring down his face.
The most exhausted were Gilbert's Party members. Their leader, Carmine, still seemed composed befitting a leader, but compared to the seasoned Thunder Dragon of the Mist and to Luda, who continued exploring Solo, the members of the Blazing Gale were significantly weaker.
Both in ability and experience. The members' faces were drawn with fatigue, and every movement betrayed deep fear.
That cunning ogre was almost certainly targeting exactly that—picking off the weak one by one, carefully, methodically.
The ogre's ability, as Luda had observed, was considerably high. It was likely ranked among the top in the entire Gallarest Mountain Range.
The fact that it hadn't attacked head-on was either due to its wariness or a desire to instill fear in its prey.
It had probably been gauging their abilities through its repeated assaults. The ogre had never targeted Arnold, the strongest among them—it only struck at weak points.
Arnold's Party had its own differences in strength among members. Descending a treacherous mountain path while warding off attacks whose timing was unknown wore heavily on one's nerves, and gradually, the members' movements grew sluggish.
The mountain path, bizarrely heaped with monster remains, seemed like it led straight to hell. That no other monsters appeared was the only stroke of fortune in this wretched situation.
Around the time they'd managed to deflect the tenth attack, Ei leaned close to Arnold and spoke in a low voice.
"Arnold, we need to settle this soon. We can still hold out, but the Blazing Gale is reaching its limit. At this rate, we'll be bled dry."
"............"
Arnold gave a single silent nod. Seeing that, Luda quietly felt a wave of relief he kept off his face.
In this situation, the quickest way for Arnold's group to shake the ogre would be to abandon the weak. Especially given the circumstances—for Arnold, the weaker members like Luda, Gilbert, and the Blazing Gale weren't worth the effort of protecting. With just the Thunder Dragon of the Mist, they could speed up their descent considerably.
So Luda had considered, just briefly, the possibility that Arnold might abandon them and flee—but it seemed that wasn't his intention at all.
He felt a small twinge of shame for having worried needlessly.
They looked tough enough to be mistaken for a bandit party, but apparently reaching Level 7 made all the difference.
Ei turned back and spoke to Carmine and the others in a hushed voice.
"...Hey, you lot. We need to take that thing down—because if we don't, we're finished. You understand? That thing has a brain. Each attack is more cunning than the last, and it shows no sign of giving up. If we keep going like this, someone will definitely die. And if someone's going to die, it'll be someone from the Blazing Gale—who's worn down and being targeted."
The members of the Blazing Gale listened to Ei's words with grave expressions.
Fortunately, no one made a scene. They understood the situation.
"For our part, we don't want a traveling companion to die either. So here's the deal—that ogre is tenacious and powerful, but it's not without weakness. Its whole body is covered in scars, and from what I observed—its right leg has a significant wound."
"!?"
Gilbert's eyes went wide at Ei's words. Luda caught his breath.
It was true—the ogre he'd glimpsed for a split second had been covered in countless scars across its entire body, as though it had been swarmed by a horde of monsters.
And yet, its movements had still been swift as the wind. If that was with an injured leg, what was its true speed?
"You saw the burned forest at the upper camp, right? Whoever they fought there was probably the same target we've been chasing. And whoever wounded it—that was them."
"Yeah... I can follow that... Wait, so what are you saying? That *that* monster did that to Thousand Transformations?"
Gilbert shouted loudly. At his words, Ei managed a wry smile.
"No, unfortunately that's almost... impossible. There were no bodies or traces of human blood along the way, and the wounds left on the monsters were far too few. They either skirmished, the ogre fled, or they simply didn't consider it worth pursuing—who knows. But either way, Thousand Transformations failed to take that monster down. And now we're paying the price for that."
"I see... that makes sense!"
"What a pain..."
Gilbert nodded heavily as though things had finally clicked, while Carmine spoke with an air of exhaustion. On this point, at least, Luda sided with Carmine.
If they could have killed it, he wished they'd just killed it outright instead of merely wounding it and moving on.
They kept walking as they talked.
Half a day along the path should bring them off the mountain. Most monsters didn't leave their own territory. That ogre's fighting style was specialized for the obstacle-dense mountain forests. It shouldn't follow them all the way to open ground.
Luda looked back at his companions. He traveled light, as he always did Solo, but the others had been forced to shoulder the large luggage that had been stored in their wagons. It was far too cumbersome for a running escape.
But even if they dropped everything and ran, he doubted they could outrun that ogre. Maybe Luda alone could escape—but that would mean using the slower members, Gilbert and the others, as decoys. That was something he absolutely could not do.
"Anyway, it's wounded. If Arnold fights it head-on, it's no match. The only problem is making sure it stands and fights Arnold. In other words—we need a decoy."
A decoy. At that word, the Blazing Gale's members swallowed hard.
Ei explained in an artificially bright voice. But his expression was deadly serious.
"As long as we know from a few meters away who's going to be attacked—if we plan the route in advance, we can set up an interception. It's a simple hunt, really."
"...A decoy, huh?"
"Yeah, and... the weaker, the better."
Ei continued as Carmine's face hardened.
"Looking at the pattern of attacks so far—you've been the ones getting hit almost every time. The Blazing Gale's members all have promising futures ahead, but right now, you're significantly weaker than us. If the plan fails, that ogre won't fall for the same trick twice. We need to nail it. Got it?"
At his words, the Blazing Gale's members exchanged glances.
Every face was pale. Being a decoy meant they'd have to appear even more defenseless than before. What kind of cruel fate awaited them if the interception failed was obvious just from looking at the monster corpses.
No one spoke. Only time passed. Then Gilbert raised his hand.
"Then I'll be the decoy. I'm sturdy—taking a little damage won't be a problem."
His words made his companions' eyes go wide. Carmine's expression flickered with surprise for just an instant before settling back into a grimace.
From Luda's perspective, that ogre was in an entirely different league. That meant the same was true for Gilbert.
But there was no fear in Gilbert's expression. He must have felt it—yet his hands and feet didn't even tremble.
He knew the difference in their abilities, and still he stood up for his companions. That was, without question—courage.
For Luda, who had known Gilbert only a few months ago, the transformation was almost unrecognizable.
But Ei immediately shook his head.
"Can't do it, Gilbert. Anyone with half a brain can see you're a cut above the rest of the Blazing Gale at a glance. That courage of yours is something else, but it'd put the ogre on alert too."
"Th-that's... I'm not that far ahead. Even if I'm the best, it's only by a little. From that ogre's perspective, we'd all look about the same, right!?"
Gilbert looked around at his companions in a panic, but they could only manage wry smiles. No one agreed.
Carmine took a deep breath, looked at his companions, and spoke as though steeling himself.
"...Fine. This is for all of us to make it out alive. Let's steel ourselves. I'm the Party Leader of the Blazing Gale. Who becomes the decoy is—my decision. ...Layla, I'm sorry, but could you do it?"
"..."
The one he was looking at was a small, young female Mage.
About the same age as Gilbert, with features that would ordinarily convey a stubborn, strong-willed personality—but right now, her face was deathly pale.
"Based on the pattern so far, that monster targets women more than men. A Mage who's pre-cast defensive magic on herself will be somewhat safer. And when the time comes, there are more options available. She's the best fit among our members."
"B-but—"
"...I-I understand."
Gilbert started to protest, but Layla cut him off with a trembling voice.
Still pale, she forced a smile and looked at Gilbert.
"I can't let you have all the glory, Gilbert. That wouldn't be fair, now would it?"
"Don't worry. Arnold slew a dragon. There's nothing to worry about—he'll nail it for sure."
Ei's words carried a deep trust in Arnold. The other members of the Thunder Dragon of the Mist nodded emphatically.
This was the moment of truth. As Luda and the others refocused their resolve, Arnold—who had been silent until now—spoke with a scowl.
"This is tiresome. It's just an annoying monster. We'll finish it off quickly and get off this mountain. The next attack—we end it."
The plan was simple. Move Layla, who had been in the middle of the formation, to the very rear—the position most likely to be attacked.
The instant she was struck, the formation would open up simultaneously, and Arnold would close the distance at full speed for the kill.
Layla would cast defensive magic on herself; everyone else would prepare to heal her at a moment's notice.
It was a crude strategy, but it had the highest probability of success among their options.
They adjusted the formation while walking, trying not to make it look unnatural.
Tense, they lured the attack whose timing was unknown. Time crawled by, their nerves fraying with each passing moment. But perhaps it wasn't only them being cautious—there was no sign of a new attack.
Then, the trees broke open and the view to the left expanded dramatically. Luda involuntarily let out a small breath.
Ogres attacked from blind spots. If one side was open, they could narrow the direction of the attack. That was a windfall for their plan.
That was when something strange appeared in Luda's view.
"!? Wh-what is... that...?"
Far below, at the foot of the Gallarest Mountains, near a lake, something was shining. Someone had even been kind enough to clear the nearby trees, making it visible even from the mountaintop.
Gilbert's eyes went wide, and Carmine and the others squinted at a sight they'd rarely, if ever, seen before.
"...Fire? What is it? A symbol?"
"Are there people living here? What is it? Some kind of signal? It looks like... a smiling face—!?"
Carmine fell silent. His gaze had landed on Arnold's face—the Arnold who had maintained his stoic silence no matter how rude Gilbert had been.
His expression was twisted like that of an ogre.
Veins bulged on his forehead as he glared down at the light far below. His well-developed arms trembled. A low growl escaped his thick lips.
"Thousand... Transforma...tions... Everything... went... according to... plan, did it...?"
"Huh...?"
Luda didn't understand what he was saying. His vision was excellent, but from this height, there was no way to make out the details at the base of the mountain.
No—even with Mana Material enhancement, no one could see that far.
Ei was looking down at the sight with a deeply disgusted expression. The other members wore similar faces as they stared at the symbol.
"...Ei. Plan change. Forget the decoy. We're forcing this on them."
"...Understood. Naturally."
A plan change? No decoy? What exactly were they going to do?
The sudden shift from Arnold, a Level 7 Hunter they'd been relying on, left everyone bewildered. And before them, Arnold drew the Mighty Thunder Flash.
The blade gleamed gold as it caught the moonlight. The air warped, and violet lightning crackled along the polished steel.
From somewhere came that telltale sound of rustling wind. But now wasn't the time to worry about that.
Arnold raised his sword overhead and bellowed in a voice like a thunderclap: "I don't intend... to play along with your game...! Clean up your own mess... yourself! Thousand Transformations!"
And then a colossal pillar of light swept past Luda's eyes.