Vera had seen peak-grade ogres in battle before this day. Each peak-grade ogre towered over those of lower grades. Their statures extending over 20 feet with ease.
Yet the Blue Ogre in front of him, the strongest demon-beast he'd seen yet, stood at a mere 15 feet. Its physique was lean, lanky even. But the biggest differentiation was its eyes. The Blue Ogre's eyes held a level of clarity that he'd never seen in a demon-beast before.
While Vera wasn't sure about accepting the Ogre's invitation, he needed to make sure his master and Elem were safe. Without much thought, Vera dashed to the battlefield, a plume of snow and shattered earth rose in his advance.
Within a moment or so Vera had reached the centre of the battlefield. He quickly approached his master and checked his vitals. Elem had performed some basic first aid to staunch the bleeding; however, the Ogre's pressure was worsening his injuries. Even that chatty Elem was shivering under its presence.
"Will you let these men retreat?" Vera asked as he looked at Ogre.
"They can leave; I only care about you." The Ogre responded.
Vera almost felt jarred. The Ogre's intelligence was one thing, but to be able to mimic human speech almost perfectly was a whole other matter.
"What will you do if I do not agree to fight?"
"..." The Ogre stood quiet with a pensive look on its face. The members of the sect felt almost dumbfounded by its expression.
"If you don't fight me today... will you ever fight me?" The Ogre spoke as it retrieved its presence.
In truth, Vera was interested in fighting the Ogre, however, with his master in near-critical condition, he was conflicted as to what to do.
Vera glanced at his master before he made his decision. However, before he could speak, his master interrupted him.
"Fight him, Vera... I will be alright, so fight him if you want to." Leng propped himself up with his scabbard, his broken shoulder being held up by a sling.
Vera and Leng exchanged a glance; that alone communicated Vera's answer.
"Let's retreat." Leng ordered his subordinates.
Vera nodded at his peers as they retreated to assure them that he'd be fine.
After a few minutes, most of the demon-beasts and sect members had finished their battle.
The centre of the battlefield only consisted of Vera and the Ogre. The silence itself was loud. The two locked eyes, at that moment the battle had already started.
The Ogre was the first to move. His left arm pierced the ground. Vera rushed towards the Ogre, while picking up a rock from the ground.
The ogre ripped its left arm out of the ground. A mix of snow and earth blocking Vera's view.
Vera dashed through the smokescreen while holding up a guard. Just as he entered the smokescreen, he felt a massive qi being manifested.
In less than a second arcs of qi, imitating lightning blasted through the smoke screen, petrifying the earth as it passed.
Vera lowered his stance and accelerated, successfully avoiding the attack. At the same time, Ogre had closed the distance between them, flinging its right arm at Vera's silhouette. The sheer tensions in its arm dragged its towering physique along.
As the Ogre's arm broke through the screen, Vera could roughly tell where it would land. Vera shifted his dash to narrowly avoid the blow while flinging the rock in his hand towards the ogre's head.
As the Ogre's arm crashed into the earth, Vera dashed to its body, taking advantage of its momentary immobility.
With its free arm, the Ogre had to choose between denying Vera close quarters or blocking the rock hurtling towards it.
The rock was too close to shatter with qi, and Vera was too fast to strike with its technique.
The Ogre made a swing that would deflect the rock and block Vera's advance. However, this was what Vera was waiting for.
The Ogre's arm shattered the rock and crashed into the ground ahead of Vera.
While the Ogre successfully defended against Vera's two-stage attack, it was now immobile at close range.
Vera fortified his legs with qi and climbed onto the Ogre's arm. The Ogre tried to materialise its lightning qi, but it was simply too slow.
Vera reached the Ogre's head with an almost excessive momentum. Vera used the Ogre's shoulder as footing and launched a spin kick.
The blow sent the Ogre's head reeling back, yanking its arms out of the ground.
The force of the kick sent Vera flying back, allowing him time to retreat from the now materialised lightning qi.
Vera dashed backwards with short steps, allowing him the mobility to weave out of arcs that were chasing him.
Arcs of lightning crashed into the snow while narrowly missing Vera; the impact caused the snow to sublimate, leaving small craters in the ground.
The Ogre regained its bearings and backed away. As the Ogre was retreating it realised that base attacks would only draw out its defeat, it decided to manifest a technique of its own creation.
The Ogre spoke in its native language, its low and heavy tone shaking the terrain.
"BOLT".
The Ogre's vast qi manifested again, his palms pressed against each other. A bright light emerged from its palms.
The hairs on Vera's nape stood sharp, he could feel the danger it posed instinctively.
Vera flung his head back immediately, fortifying his defence with qi. His cheek was slightly burnt; as for the boulder behind him, a near-perfect entry and exit. The bolt melted a hole through the rock.
Vera started dashing into the Ogre's range again. Keeping to a mid-range against an attack like that would certainly result in injury.
The Ogre didn't just wait for Vera to approach him either. The Ogre started to shoot out multiple bolts against Vera. As the Ogre shot out bolts the skin of its palms started to melt off.
Noticing the incoming barrage, Vera decided to circle around to the Ogre instead of dashing straight ahead.
Elem stared at the Ogre's attacks in disbelief.
"If one of us took that attack, we'd die instantly..."
Vera' circle approach allowed him to narrowly evade all the bolts. Finally reaching close quarters, the Ogre seemed to have tired itself out from using bolts.
Vera jumped off the ground. The ogre swung his left hand towards Vera's head.
Vera raised his arms at an angle. As the blow approached, Vera noticed that the skin on the Ogre's palm had almost completely melted off.
While it felt off, Vera didn't have time to waste on it. He used his arms as a springboard to reposition himself mid-air.
The momentum he gained from deflecting the Ogre's blow allowed him to gain speed in his attack.
However, just as the Ogre's attack that blocked his view moved, Vera saw the Ogre's face.
The Ogre was exhilarated.
The pieces came together immediately. From the singed palms to the wasteful barrage.
The Ogre never needed to place its palms together to release a BOLT.
Vera raised his arms into a cross guard, fortifying it with a dense layer of qi.
An orb of lightning revealed itself where the Ogre's arm was before its attack.
"BOLT".
A bright light enveloped their surroundings. The bolt made perfect contact.
"VERAAA!!" Elem screamed from the far end of the forest.
Leng on the other hand seemed unbothered.
As the blinding light faded, the scene left Elem dumbfounded.
Vera was the one standing; the Ogre on the other hand, seemed to have been knocked down again.
Vera's arms seemed to have been singed at best. However, he was visibly impressed with the Ogre's tactics.
At this point Vera would have gone to deliver the finishing blow, but he felt like the Ogre still had something left to show him.
The Ogre's intent conveyed something to Vera.
To the Ogre it was never about winning. The Ogre longed for something; the rest seemed vague. But Vera could tell.
He believes that a fight against me could bring him closer to what he longs for.
A low hum escaped Vera... He understood what he was doing wasn't logical, but... it felt right.
"You haven't shown me what you wanted to yet, have you?"
The Ogre stumbled for a moment but was able to stand back. Its visage resembled Danho during their battle. A body supported by sheer willpower.
The Ogre looked at Vera with a conflicted expression. Its battle should, rightfully, have ended after he was knocked down. However, as he looked into Vera's eyes, he understood what Vera wanted.
The Ogre pressed his palms together. This time it mimicked the shape of a horn with his fingers.
The Ogre's qi manifested again. However, this time what struck Vera wasn't its vast capacity. Rather, it was the intent behind it.
Up till now intent felt like abstract thoughts that were refined. Yet the Ogre's intent felt as though Vera looked through its lineage.
Through the Ogre's intent Vera could make out a vague silhouette. As for what it was, he was unsure.
The Ogre's qi took the shape of a horn. The manifestation was visibly unstable; it was easy to tell that the technique was still incomplete. However, the power Vera could feel of it was no joke.
The very air around the horn seemed to be igniting. The snow around the Ogre started to sublimate, causing a plume of vapour to surround him.
Vera could tell this wasn't an attack he could escape from. At the same time, it was visible that the Ogre was at the end of its rope. At this point Vera figured out that there was only one optimal decision to make.
Amidst the low-hum of the ogre's qi manifestation, steps could be heard. Vera was approaching the Ogre. A deep well of qi fortifying the defences throughout his body.
The once clear moon was now being covered by thunderclouds. The clouds gathered above Vera and the Ogre; arcs of thunder errupting through them.
Vera understood that the attack would only appear where he was. He figured the best option was to approach the Ogre, who was clearly immobile from the strain of manifesting an attack of such scale.
the Ogre's exhilaration only grew further.
Leng expression changed as he watched Oger's manifestation. He could also see the vague figure that Vera saw.
"A Kijin?"
The thunder rumbled in the sky, releasing a low hum that permeated throughout the forest.
As the thunder reached a critical concentration, it crashed towards the Forlorn Forest.
A loud crash erupted; any animals that didn't die fled the forest immediately.
Even from the far end, Leng and the sect members could feel a warm gust of wind brush past them.
As the plume of dust caused by the thunder crashing dispersed, the outcome was revealed.
Even Leng, who knew Vera for the longest, was surprised by the outcome.
Blood seeped through Vera's mouth. The pressure from taking an attack of such magnitudes directly, made Vera cough up blood.
However, the Blue Ogre who also took the blow directly, didn't get off so easily.
The Ogre's body was burnt beyond recognition while still being frozen in place.
The Ogre's consciousness had faded away; however, it was still alive. Vera didn't say anything, after glancing at the Ogre's unconscious body, he turned away and left.
"Evolution huh..."
After Danho, that one's potential is probably the strongest in the five planes.
The Blue Ogre stood frozen in place, snowflakes melted as they landed on his burnt skin. The smoke rising of his body signalling the refinement of impurities. In his defeat he had reached the threshold of his longing.