Shura

When I told my companions that I was going to fight the Ogre King, their reactions varied.

"Huh? Why did it come to that!?"

Carlos had the most normal reaction.

"Ah, well, it's Ria after all."

Lulu had already given up.

"Yeah yeah, template template."

I had no idea what Serge was talking about.

"Still, Nee-chan, you really do love fighting. Weren't you born with a tail or something?"

"I didn't have one when I was born, but one might grow from now on."

Though if one did grow, it would be a lizard's tail rather than a monkey's.

The rules were anything goes. Fainting, surrender, death, or failure to stand up within a ten count meant defeat. It was a dangerous format. Without any witnesses present, it was even worse than a proper duel.

"So I'm on healing duty again…"

"This is different from when I fought Reyas. I might die."

"No no no, you can't go dying on me!"

Carlos tried to stop me in earnest, but if that were enough to stop me, I wouldn't be Ria.

"No no no, this is seriously bad, Nee-chan."

Serge also realized it when we were about to fight in the plaza.

Ogre King-san. I noticed after using Identify on him.

Level 125.

For reference, Carlos was level 35, Lulu was 32, and Serge was 25.

"Level isn't everything."

"No no no, sure, if it were a difference of 5 or 10 you could say that, but his skills are ridiculous too, you know?"

Heavy Weapons Level 9.

"I see. Level 9, huh…"

"On top of Physical Enhancement, Bone Strengthening, Herculean Strength, Intimidation, Roar, Fortitude, and Iron Body, he's got all kinds of resistances and high magic resistance too, plus various combat skills. Honestly, he's got last boss level strength, you know? Like, if all of us attacked together, we might somehow manage, that kind of level?"

"Sounds fun."

Ria smiled. It was a smile from the bottom of her heart.

What was fun about fighting the weak? It was precisely in battles with no chance of winning that one could truly fight with everything they had.

"Are you serious?"

"He knows how to fight, and he's someone I can go all out trying to kill without worry. Sounds incredibly fun, doesn't it?"

She was completely serious.

The crowd buzzed with noise. Ria handed her leather armor and short sword to Lulu, along with her magic bag since it would be troublesome if it tore, then stood at the center of the large plaza.

The Ogre King was already fully prepared, his weapon resting on his shoulder.

The Ogre King drew in a breath.

(Here it comes!)

An explosive sound that shook the air erupted from the Ogre King's mouth.

More than half of the spectators who had come to watch lost their footing, and nearly half of those fainted.

In that instant, Ria had already closed the distance. The Ogre King's face twisted in shock.

He hadn't sensed her approach. No, he had never seen movement like that before.

It was a footwork technique unique to ancient martial arts, one whose initiation couldn't be detected.

And without assuming a stance, a quick draw.

A sharp metallic clang.

Both fighters separated instantly.

The spectators had no idea what had just happened.

A chipped piece of the Ogre King's warhammer fell to the ground.

But Ria's katana had also been damaged.

She had used her best blade, but it still couldn't completely cut through the thick lump of metal.

She might have been able to sever the handle, but the Ogre King didn't allow it. He had defended with the thickest part.

Without a moment's hesitation, Ria swung her katana. The Ogre King intercepted.

A continuous barrage of clashing sounds.

Ria's katana was invisible to the eye. Yet the Ogre King blocked every single slash.

"Hah!"

The warhammer swung.

She dodged. Her clothes tore at the shoulder from the grazing blow.

(If only I had Kotetsu.)

With that Japanese sword, she could have cut through the lump of metal and all. If reinforced with this world's magic, that would have been the end of it.

But there were no Japanese swords in this world. There were similar weapons, but the steel itself was different. That said, a mithril katana lacked the necessary strength.

A battle begins with preparing one's weapons. One must fight with what they have. That was simply the way of things.

She opened the distance. There would be no ending this in a single breath. But in that brief exchange, she had already burned through a significant amount of magic power and stamina.

"You're an interesting human. This is only the second time in my life I've enjoyed myself this much, since that man."

"That man?"

She steadied her breathing, speaking to buy time for recovery.

"He appeared to be a human male. His skill with the sword and magic were both remarkable. I've been defeated twice in my life, but losing to a human was only that once."

It was astonishing to learn that a human existed who could defeat this monster.

"What was his name?"

"He called himself Ars. He should be in Karasli Kingdom, so if you're still alive when this fight is over, you should go meet him."

With that, the Ogre King grinned.

"Have you recovered?"

High speed recovery of magic power and stamina was one of Ria's hidden cards.

"You're certainly relaxed."

"No, I'm simply enjoying myself. You still have a trump card, don't you?"

"Well, that remains to be… seen!"

She sank low as she closed in, slashing upward in a reverse diagonal.

And once again, the exchange resumed.

Ria dodged by the narrowest of margins, while small wounds gradually accumulated on the Ogre King's skin.

From the first attack, the warhammer had been slightly chipped. That subtle imbalance became the difference in their exchange.

Yet even so, it wasn't a decisive blow. Cutting through just the outer layer of skin did nothing to trouble an ogre's vitality.

And each time she deflected the Ogre King's attacks, the durability of Ria's katana diminished further.

"What on earth is happening? Is Ria winning?"

Lulu couldn't follow the exchange between the two. Even Carlos, who had trained in swordsmanship more than most, was in the same boat.

"I think they're even. But at this rate, the katana's going to give out."

"You can see what's happening?"

"I've got acceleration magic on my eyes."

Serge said it proudly, but the situation was grim.

Even though he had focused the acceleration specifically on his nervous system, keeping up with their battle was the best he could manage.

Compared to warhammers that crushed their targets, katanas were fundamentally cutting weapons. Of course, being a metal rod, you could use it to exchange blows, but that would ruin the blade. Serge happened to possess such useless knowledge.

Of course, Ria understood this as well as Serge did.

Even when she couldn't fully evade with footwork and had to deflect, she avoided using the tip and the striking portion where the edge was sharpest as much as possible. But there was no doubt it would break eventually. This katana was probably done for.

She searched for a way to break the stalemate.

Magic? Useless. The level of offensive magic Ria could use wouldn't work on him, and she had already spent too much magic power on body enhancement.

Then, it would have to be that again.

She forced the katana into an unnatural trajectory, driving it into the warhammer's shaft.

With a clear ring, the katana snapped.

She barely dodged the Ogre King's overhead swing. The impact cratered the ground, and the warhammer broke off at the handle.

A katana broken from halfway down. An Ogre King who had lost his weapon.

The Ogre King's right fist came for Ria's face. She swung the broken katana, now lighter, to sever it.

The dulled blade still reached the Ogre King's bone.

But the fist didn't stop. Its trajectory shifted, but it struck Ria's left shoulder dead on.

The joint dislocated, bones shattered.

The impact sent her flying about twenty meters. She had let go of the katana.

Being thrown into the spectators saved her. The ogres' muscles made for a perfect cushion.

"Oww…"

Even with pain tolerance, pain was still pain. Casting her own healing magic, she returned to the plaza.

The Ogre King easily pulled out the katana lodged in his fist, then assumed a guard stance, empty-handed yet vigilant.

With that wound, his right hand's movement should be somewhat restricted.

But Ria's left arm wouldn't move properly either. When bones were crushed to a pulp like that, simple healing wouldn't fix it.

"You've wounded my enhanced body."

"I had magic enhancement on my weapon too."

That same enhancement had let her sever Reyas's arm through his armor, but it hadn't worked on the Ogre King.

"Lulu! My sword!"

A human couldn't hope to match an ogre without a weapon. At Ria's cry, Lulu threw the short sword she had been holding onto.

But the Ogre King wasn't about to let that opening pass.

Ria reached out toward the air. Aiming at her, the Ogre King swung his left fist.

But that was exactly what Ria was counting on.

The Ogre King, having committed to a big swing, was full of openings.

Ignoring the short sword entirely, Ria slipped into his guard in one fluid motion.

(If this doesn't work, I lose!)

She stepped in. The impact cratered the ground.

She thrust out her uninjured right palm, pressing it against the Ogre King's abdomen.

"Haaah!"

She channeled all the force of her step, adding the rotation of her hips, driving it deep past his rock-hard abdominal muscles.

First, several bones in her right leg broke from exceeding their limits.

Her right arm shattered. Muscle fibers tore, capillaries burst, and blood sprayed from her skin.

The Ogre King wasn't moving. Ria couldn't move.

After several seconds, it was the Ogre King who fell backward.

Ria was clearly the one with more severe injuries, yet the girl still stood. Not only that, she moved slowly over and picked up the thrown short sword with her left hand.

But she had no strength left for a finishing blow. She couldn't use either arm properly. Dragging her feet was the best she could manage.

She kept casting healing magic, but it was barely functioning as a blood-staunching measure.

"Ria!"

"Jii-chan!"

Lulu and Gig burst out from the crowd. Carlos and Serge followed.

"Stay back!"

Ria's shout stopped them in their tracks.

"It hasn't been ten seconds yet."

If you couldn't stand up within ten seconds, you lost.

After a full ten count, Ria dropped onto her bottom.

"Lulu, treat him. His internal organs took damage, so leaving it alone would be bad."

"But you're seriously injured too, aren't you?"

"It looks worse than it is. Nothing life-threatening."

At those words, Lulu went to treat the Ogre King.

Serge came over instead.

"Nee-chan, that last move, was that Chinese martial arts?"

"Ancient martial arts. It's also called armor-piercing—a technique for scrambling someone's insides. Well, I couldn't actually use it in my previous life though."

With Serge's healing, her right arm mended. Her own magic power was depleted. She really needed to study how to use magic more efficiently.

"Ria…"

"Oh, Lulu, use restoration magic on my left shoulder. It seems like it might fuse in an odd shape with just healing."

Ria closed her eyes and lay back.

She could feel cells rapidly repairing inside her body. But that further drained her remaining stamina.

She had somehow managed to win. An unprecedented sense of satisfaction welled up within her.

When she noticed a shadow fall across her face, the Ogre King stood there, supported under both arms, looking down at her.

"Well fought, warrior."

The Ogre King's voice, too, carried a deep satisfaction.

To have fought such a battle, and for both of them to still be alive, was a joy.

They could fight again.

"If we fought again, I'd probably lose."

"Most likely. But the one who won today was you."

He straightforwardly acknowledged his defeat. They smiled at each other.

Ria's stomach growled. Her regenerating body demanded sustenance.

Gahaha! The Ogre King laughed aloud.

"Everyone, prepare a feast! To our meeting with a warrior!"

The entire crowd erupted in cheers.

End of Departure Arc