The Ruesell Family, Part 4

'Mercury!'

'What's the ogre's weakness? Anything is fine. Just give me a way to make an attack work.'

'...Okay. Next time, tell me in advance!'

Since she was always like this, I couldn't even bring myself to resent her anymore. What did I expect? She wasn't the type to step forward and help in the first place.

I blamed my own foolish brain. To think I had tried to solve this on my own when I had the talent of the Hero of Knowledge at my disposal.

"Listen up, everyone! Attack the collarbone area! That's its weakness!"

I shouted loud enough for Oliver to hear from a distance. In the heat of battle, no one questioned how I knew that. Everyone simply followed my instructions in their desperation.

However, the problem was the ogre's size. To reach its collarbone, even a maximum jump would barely graze it.

"Fall back for now! We'll dodge the next attack and then move in!"

"Y-Yes, sir!"

"Follow Young Master Yeong-sik's orders!"

"Retreating temporarily!"

We were dealing with two ogres. At my command, the soldiers widened the distance. Since my predictions had been consistently correct, they obeyed without hesitation.

But the ogres weren't about to stand by and watch. In rapid succession, the attack points were highlighted in red. The beeping warning signals rang out incessantly.

"Over there! Dodge!"

Once again, a club slammed down right where the soldiers had just fled. The circular formation was struggling to hold. More and more soldiers tripped while dodging or fell out of line.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

This couldn't go on. There was absolutely no time to reorganize the ranks. Moreover, I could see the soldiers' reactions to my warnings growing sluggish.

'Damn it, the attack intervals are too short.'

We had to hurry. We needed to dodge faster and attack faster. The current method of me calling out warnings and them dodging had clear limits.

'Is this the only way?'

Time was not on our side. So, there was only one thing I could do right now.

Draw all the aggro to one target.

If I did that, it would create an opening for the others to dodge and counterattack. Having made up my mind, I scooped up a handful of mud from the ground. And then—

Splat!

The mud I threw slapped right onto the back of the ogre's head. It made a much wetter sound than I expected.

Oh, that might actually sting a bit...

The beast let out a low growl and turned around.

"Young Master, what on earth are you...?"

"Master! You trust me, right?"

"...Pardon?"

"Then just run forward for now!"

Isaac looked utterly bewildered, but seeing the gravity in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my eyes, he reluctantly dashed forward. He had already survived once thanks to me. He must have decided to trust me one more time.

I balled up another handful of mud and hurled it at the ogre. A direct hit. The mud splattered wetly right across its jaw.

Grrrrr—

Its glowing red eyes locked onto me. The sight was terrifying enough to make my heart shrivel, but I forced myself to look composed and shouted,

"That's right! I am the Hero of Knowledge!"

Both the ogre and the surrounding soldiers froze for a moment.

A sudden silence descended upon the battlefield.

Ah, was that line a bit too cringe?

Immediately, Mercury's detection signal went off. The target... was my head. A red indicator materialized just above my shoulders. Taking a deep breath, I steeled my resolve.

"Here I come, Master!"

I yelled as I ran toward Isaac, who was ahead of me. Above my head, the ogre roared. Yeah, it was probably pissed off.

Whoosh—

A terrifying gust of wind. A massive club swung from the left, aiming straight for my upper body. If that hit me, I would definitely be having an immediate face-to-face meeting with Mercury in the afterlife.

"Hup!"

Using my momentum, I threw myself onto my back. My body slid across the rain-soaked ground.

It was a hair's breadth.

The club swung right over me. The sheer air pressure made every hair on my body stand on end. A single mistake would have meant instant death.

The club sliced uselessly through the empty air. Unable to withstand the momentum of its own swing, the ogre stumbled slightly. There was no time to hesitate. I quickly scrambled to my feet and ran toward Isaac. For a split second, our eyes met.

"I'm stepping off you!"

No long explanation was needed. Realizing my intention, Isaac bent his knees and offered his back.

My foot planted firmly on Isaac's back. As if we had trained together for years, he timed it perfectly and pushed upward. The momentum transferred to my foot.

'As expected of Master!'

I jumped with all my might. My body soared high into the air.

It felt like I was flying through the sky.

I had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠felt this sensation once before.

When was that again?

Ah, I remember.

It was when I got hit by the Rosemary bitches' car.

'Shit.'

I shook my head to clear the trash memory from my mind.

Perhaps I had jumped too high, because my body was now positioned above the ogre's head. For a brief moment, my eyes locked with its red ones mid-air.

Its face was consumed by madness. It was drooling, looking like it wanted to chew me up and swallow me right then and there. Of course, I had no intention of letting myself be eaten.

At the apex of my jump, where the upward force from Isaac's back balanced with gravity, my body paused in mid-air before beginning to fall. Realizing its mistake, the beast tried to pull its club back, but it was already too late.

"Hyaaaah!"

I gripped my sword vertically. With the weight of my hundred-kilogram body combined with gravity, even an ogre would have realized it was screwed.

My target was the area right above its collarbone. I poured every ounce of my strength into the blade. And then—

Splurt!

A fountain of blood sprayed across my face. I felt the tip of the sword grind through bone and tendon. Piercing through the obstacles without resistance, the blade buried itself deep into the ogre's body, leaving only the hilt exposed.

Graaaagh!

The beast writhed in agony. At this depth, the sword must have reached its heart. No matter how strong a monster was, it was bound to collapse from this.

The roar it unleashed right in front of me felt like it would burst my eardrums. Of all the things in life, I never thought I'd hear an ogre scream like that.

"Phew..."

It had been a tough fight. My first time hunting a monster. It was a creature that even trained soldiers struggled against. And I had defeated it—

Wait, why isn't it falling?

The screaming beast suddenly froze in place. Just as I was wondering if it had died standing up, it abruptly threw its jaws wide open. Its sharp, jagged teeth were fully exposed. If I got caught in there, my bones would be crushed to dust.

I wished it had just died.

Instead, the ogre thrust its open maw right at me.

"Oh, shit..."

There was no room to escape.

A dark shadow engulfed my body.

'Am I going to die like this?'

I hadn't even made it to the Imperial Academy yet, nor had I gotten my revenge on the Rosemary bitches. I had too many regrets to die peacefully.

It all happened in the blink of an eye. The sword wouldn't budge, and realizing I was already too late to run, I squeezed my eyes shut.

It was just like that time. When I was attacked by the masked men in the imperial palace. Back then, I had closed my eyes, thinking I was dead. And then Grace had appeared and saved me.

But this time was different. Grace was nowhere to be seen.

'Of course.'

Liam was right. I shouldn't have trusted the Imperial Knights. To disappear at a crucial moment like this. For all I knew, she might even be the mastermind behind this incident.

And here I was, actually starting to trust Grace a little.

This is why you should never trust people easily.

I had already learned that lesson the hard way from Rosemary.

'Damn it, that drunk lady.'

Just as I resigned myself to my fate—

Skreeeech!

An ear-piercing shriek rang out. It was a sound I had never heard before. Along with it, the dark shadow looming over me vanished. It definitely wasn't the scream of an ogre.

"W-What is that?"

I looked up and gasped in shock. The ogre's head, bent backward, had the upper half completely blown away. Only its hideously gaping lower jaw remained resting on its neck.

"Lord Yeong-sik, are you alright?"

It was a familiar voice coming from mid-air. Grace was calling out to me while hovering in the sky. To be precise, she was riding atop a massive eagle-like creature.

"Lady Grace...?"

A fierce wind whipped across my face. It was the draft generated by the flapping wings of a gryphon. But to me, it felt different. It felt like a gentle breeze accompanying the descent of a goddess.

A sudden thought crossed my mind.

Maybe this woman, not Mercury, was the real goddess.

I had fully expected to be torn to shreds by the ogre's teeth. The relief of survival, combined with the sight of Grace appearing before me, caused all my tension to melt away instantly.

"Uaaah, Lady Grace! I'm sorry for cursing you!"

"P-Pardon? Cursing me? What do you mean?"

"I'll never doubt you again, *hic*...!"

Having just escaped death, my old way of speaking slipped out naturally. But who cared? She was someone who had saved my life twice now. From this moment on, I swore to become her ultimate fanboy.

"...I do not quite understand what you are saying, but please pull yourself together. There are still monsters left."

R-Right.

At Grace's words, I looked back at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the battlefield I had momentarily forgotten.

Fortunately, the situation was turning in our favor. Our side and Oliver's side had each taken down one ogre. That meant only two were left.

"Please stay back, Lord Yeong-sik. I will handle the rest."

"...Is she actually a goddess?"

Grace gave me a puzzled look at my mutterings. Then, she pulled the reins of her gryphon.

"Here I go!"

Once again, a powerful wind whipped up with a mighty flap of wings. The gryphon soared high into the sky with Grace on its back.

"Ohhh!"

"That armor... it's the Imperial Knights!"

"A-A gryphon! The gryphon is on our side!"

Cheers erupted from the soldiers behind me. With so few enemies left, everyone must have realized the end was near.

"Coordinate your attacks! Bind the ogre's feet!"

"Uwoooo!"

Without needing to be told, the soldiers rushed toward the remaining ogres. They all knew their attacks wouldn't do much damage. Even so, they did it to keep the ogres from focusing on the gryphon.

Hope was in sight. I could feel the soldiers' soaring morale from here.

Skreeeech!

The gryphon folded its wings and began its descent. It moved like an arrow. Despite its massive size, it was hard to track with the naked eye.

I caught the afterimage of a flash of light. A giant eagle and the female knight riding atop it. The sheer majesty of the sight was like a scene straight out of mythology. I could only watch with my mouth agape.

Squish.

The gryphon's talons dug deep into the ogre's eyeball. Kept busy by the soldiers, the ogre couldn't offer any resistance.

A single strike.

With its left eye pierced, the ogre screamed and collapsed backward.

"Whoa..."

An exclamation of awe escaped my lips. Seizing the opportunity, the soldiers mercilessly drove their swords into the nape of the ogre's neck.

It happened in an instant. Thanks to the arrival of Grace and her gryphon, the tide of battle had completely turned in our favor.

'Alright, just one left!'

I clenched my fists.

The end was in sight. I could dodge the ogre's club using my predictions, and Grace could deliver the decisive blows. At this rate, we might finish this without any more casualties.

A strange thrill tingled at my fingertips.

I began to think that maybe hope was on our side after all.

But the joy did not last long.

Thwack!

A dull impact echoed from the sky.

An ominous foreboding washed over me.

Startled, I looked up, only to see the gryphon plummeting after being struck by an ogre's club.

"What...?"

The ogres we were fighting had all been defeated, and the only remaining one was engaged with Oliver's group over there. So where did that come from?

"Ah."

The last remaining ogre over by Oliver's side no longer had a club in its hand. Its arm was stretched out long toward us. The beast, which looked like the leader, had thrown its club at the gryphon.

"Lady Grace!"

Grace, who had been riding the gryphon, fell helplessly through the air. It was a considerable height. No matter how strong she was, it seemed impossible to escape serious injury.

In an instant, the soldiers' cheers died down. My mind went completely blank as well.

Was Lady Grace alright?

Could we defeat that monster without the gryphon?

But I was forced to snap out of it immediately.

Thud! Thud!

The ground shook with heavy impacts. The source of the vibration was obvious. Sending the blocking soldiers flying with its fists, the leader of the ogres was charging straight toward us.