The Young Wolf placed a water‑elemental trap at the cave's entrance, then slipped inside silently to lure the Ogre out. Ironclaw waited at the mouth, muscles taut, claws ready.
Within, the beast was gnawing contentedly on the hand of a fallen Silver Knight. Andras crept to its back, conjured a water projectile, and fired it straight at the Ogre's neck.
The monster leapt up with a roar. This was no mosquito bite: a water bolt the size of a nail spike had struck its neck from the side. Though the wound was shallow, pain seared through it, and its muscles convulsed. Foaming with rage, the Ogre scanned the cavern.
"May the flesh of men choke your throat, you ugly brute!" Andras shouted, his voice echoing against the cave walls.
"Human! I will kill you!" the Ogre bellowed, lightning flashing in its eyes.
"Catch me if you can, blue face!" Andras retorted, retreating swiftly to draw the monster out of its lair.
The Young Wolf dashed out of the cave. He invoked Water Leap, his own developed magical technique, which allowed him to run three times faster than a well‑trained human. By channeling the water element into his legs, his speed multiplied. The technique also worked with lightning, which he named Lightning Step. He had already taught Water Leap to Noelle, for he had designed it specifically as a means of escape from powerful monsters, Demon Generals, or even Dragons.
The Ogre was slow by nature, yet it pursued him with relentless determination. Andras vaulted over the trap he had set at the cave's entrance, while the Blue Ogre charged straight into it. Its left foot sank into the sticky water slime, which instantly locked around it. Momentum carried the beast forward, and with a thunderous crash it slammed face‑first into the ground.
Ironclaw had been waiting for this moment. As the monster's face struck the earth, the beast‑girl lunged with full strength, her stone‑sharp claws as large as a griffin's talons, slashing at the Ogre's head from the side. The blow was so fierce that its left ear split in two, its thick blue hide tore open, and blood gushed forth.
A common Green or Brown Ogre grows no taller than three meters. Magical Ogres—Red or Blue—can reach four and a half meters, rivaling the size of a Battle Troll or a Cyclops. Red Ogres wield fire; Blue Ogres wield lightning. Their current target was one such Blue Ogre.
Through his magical sight, Andras assessed the creature's data: nameless, listed simply as Blue Ogre. One hundred and thirty years old, male, classed as Lightning Ogre. Its element was lightning, its size between four and five meters. A fearsome brute, its roar resounded as though ten wolves and an elephant bellowed together at full throat. It was commendable that eight Silver Knights had once stood against it—their courage rewarded with their lives. But such is the way of true knights: they do not fear monsters.
In its left hand the Ogre wielded a massive mace, fashioned from a thick branch of Silver Oak. It had decorated the weapon itself with the swords of fallen Silver Knights, jutting out like the quills of a hedgehog. Though Ogres are fools—even more witless than goblins—their battle instinct is terrifying. Not even a dwarven smith could have assembled such a weapon more brutally.
After Ironclaw's strike, the Ogre roared again. In all its long life, never before had humans inflicted two such painful wounds upon it. Frothing with rage, it tried to attack, but Andras and Ironclaw kept their distance skillfully, ready to deliver another blow at the next moment.
On the clearing before the cave, the ground thundered as the Blue Ogre roared, its voice booming deep through the forest.
"Humans! I will kill you, then devour you!" it bellowed, lightning flashing in its eyes.
"Or we will kill you," Andras shot back, his voice cutting sharply through the air, "and craft a magic staff from your heart!"
"Two little humans! Not much meat on you! No matter—you'll make fine soup!" the Ogre mocked, swinging its massive mace.
"If you love soup so much, I'll give you water for it!" Andras shouted, conjuring a sphere of water that smashed into the Ogre's face.
The monster inhaled the water suddenly and began to choke. Ironclaw seized the moment, driving her claws with full force into the Ogre's stomach.
"How tough is this hide?" Ironclaw growled as she leapt back. "It barely tore at all!"
"I told you, Ogres have extremely thick muscle," Andras replied grimly. "That's why the neck must be targeted!"
"Damn it! So I should only strike the neck?" Ironclaw asked, her eyes flashing with determination.
"Don't attack the neck!" Andras warned. "I don't want to kill this brute right away. I still have many experiments to try on it!"
"You mean that tingling one?" Ironclaw asked, referring to Andras's lightning technique.
"Especially that," the Young Wolf answered, his eyes darkening as he summoned the power of lightning. "I want to see how a lightning‑element monster reacts to my lightning."
The air began to vibrate, as though the forest itself held its breath, waiting for the next moment.
The Ogre roared again after Ironclaw's strike. In fury, it swung its massive mace toward the beast‑girl, the weapon infused with the power of lightning. Sparks crackled around it, as if the wrath of the heavens themselves had descended into its grip. Ironclaw leapt aside skillfully, claws digging into the earth to absorb the momentum, narrowly avoiding the crushing blow.
"Watch out for that mace!" Andras shouted. "It's charged with lightning!"
"If it hits me, will it just tingle?" Ironclaw asked, her eyes flashing with resolve.
"If it hits with full force, tingling will be the least of your worries!" Andras replied grimly.
"That's one big mace!" Ironclaw growled, resuming her stance.
"Careful—I'm striking with lightning!" Andras cried, raising his staff. "Lightning Strike!"
The air trembled as the Young Wolf summoned a bolt of lightning, which crashed into the Ogre with a deafening crack. Yet the monster seemed unfazed: its blue hide merely glowed for an instant before it roared in rage.
"Perfect," Andras muttered. "It feels it even less than you do. Fine—next I'll combine lightning with water!"
"Irritating humans!" the Blue Ogre bellowed, its eyes flashing with savage light. "You'll all end up in the stew!"
"Give him the tingling!" Ironclaw shouted, baring her wolfish fangs.
"Then take this!" Andras raised his staff high. "Electroshock!"
Water and lightning fused together, and the air vibrated violently. Magical energy burst into sparks, then surged as a massive wave of electricity slammed into the Ogre's body. This time its roar was different—deep, agonized, and filled with fury. The ground shook, as though the forest itself had felt the power of the lightning.
The Young Wolf combined a sphere of water with a lightning strike. The magical energies fused, and a massive electric explosion shook the clearing. Sparks raced across the Blue Ogre's body, its hide sizzling as though the wrath of the heavens had entered it. The monster dropped to its knees, and for a moment it seemed truly paralyzed. Electricity crackled vividly across its frame—but it soon became clear that the pain was not enough to break it.
"Damn it!" Andras shouted, teeth clenched. "This brute is immune to lightning. Even my combined attack only dealt ten percent damage at best. I can use this technique three times in succession—thirty percent isn't enough to cripple it!"
"The tingling doesn't work!" Ironclaw growled, flashing her claws.
"I noticed!" Andras replied grimly. "I'll give it two more, then switch to water projectiles aimed at its neck!"
The air vibrated, lightning crackling through the canopy as though the forest itself watched the mage's experiments. The Blue Ogre roared furiously, slowly rising from its knees, savage light flashing in its eyes. The battle was only now becoming truly dangerous.
The battle had already raged for a full hour. The Blue Ogre's body was covered in bloody wounds, its movements growing slower, exhaustion plain upon it. Ironclaw too was weary—she had been forced to dodge the monster's heavy yet sluggish strikes again and again, relying on every reflex to stay alive. The Young Wolf's magical power was also nearing its end—he had strength left for only one final, devastating spell.
Andras spoke then, his voice ringing solemnly through the trees:
"The hour is nearly up. This Blue Ogre has shown nothing special with its lightning element. It can only empower its mace, dealing electrical damage. Against monsters, that is effective enough—but there is more to it. Knights' armor conducts electricity. If it strikes a knight in full plate, the blow need not be fatal by force alone—the lightning will run through the armor and kill the man outright. This Blue Ogre is the natural enemy of knights. A true scourge upon them."
His eyes darkened as he continued:
"As for me—the Ogre's blows are strong, but far too slow. It can crush an ordinary knight, but against a beast‑folk like Ironclaw, swift as she is, it cannot land a hit. And against me, with Water Leap, even less so. Lightning does not harm it, water barely affects it. But if someone were to strike with fire or ice, those two elements could deal swift, lethal damage to this blue brute."
The monster frothed with rage, struggling to rise once more, but every movement betrayed its fatigue. The air vibrated, as though the forest itself knew: the final moment was approaching, when it would be decided who would live.