The Reality of Overconfidence II - Variant Ogre

Sigurd's eyes blurred as his devil form faded.

A sense of weakness washed over him as he stepped towards the wall, holding it for support. The sharp feeling from the protruding rocks pressing into his hand brought him back to his senses, allowing him to collect himself and prepare for the next battle.

"Eva, how tired are you?" he asked, feeling the intense pain from the new monster triggering his body sonar.

"I'm not exhausted, but I will need some time to recharge before we can take it on." Her face looked tired. Sigurd noticed her face seemed pale, and her chest became sweaty. 

"Take the bow. Eva, move back and let me deal with it upfront."

"Why?"

"Just do as I say," he ordered, and without waiting for an answer, he grabbed several arrows from the ground, some broken and tossed aside as he handed them to her. Eva's lovely blue eyes opened wide, watching as he pushed her away. 

Sigurd straightened his back as he grasped Mammon, holding his long black sword curved over his shoulder, using his spine to keep it steady. The weight of each ring felt heavier than usual, but that didn't phase him. He remembered the bloody battles as a slave, eating from the ground and drinking murky water to survive.

"Mmm..." Her face changed from his fierce voice. The order made her nod and step back, and she jumped onto the elevated shelf while testing the bow's tension and quality.

Bang!

Thud!

With resounding steps, the monster from the depths rushed up the cavern tunnels; its body seemed large, crashing against the rocks, causing debris to fall from above Sigurd, even this far away.

"Just what kind of monster is this?" Sigurd grumbled under his breath and felt the power and excitement surging in his body. "Why am I enjoying this so much?"

He didn't understand what he was, nor that just like sexual desire, he felt a desire to be the strongest, his greed to become stronger, far more potent than his desire to sleep with a woman.

Sigurd seemed to be a man who loved battle and felt alive only when fighting. The beast in his heart seemed to grow with each opponent as he realised this truth.

'I want to fight this monster, to crush it.'

The creature smashed into the room, revealing a grotesque appearance.

A monstrous body, close to two metres, filled with huge bulking muscles, almost sickening as black tribal paint covered its body, face, and white hair. Its skin is dark red with a human-like face. Sharp fangs, at least an inch long, protruded from its mouth, while its eyes were white with blood-red pupils. 

The monster had no tail or wings. It had black claw-like nails, which were mostly human-like, but three fingers and toes and dangling between its legs was a rather brutal weapon. But not enough to challenge Sigurd.

"Ho... a Devil?" The monster's gruff voice sounded like he hadn't spoken in years, and his lips twitched with an insane smile. His eyes locked onto Sigurd, showing the deepest hostility and obsession, like a naked maiden waiting for him. "You smell so good, little devil... come, let Grok'Tam eat!"

"He can speak common tongue?!" Sigurd clicked his tongue, feeling bitter after hearing the ogre could speak his race. Hearing the name caused his facial features to change. His eyes turned golden and his sclera black... once again, he transformed, the intense pain of his muscles almost snapping, bones creaking with the load.

—Calm down, boy, this monster spoke in the common tongue for Devils, the language most Agmar use. 

"Hm?! Is that right?" Sigurd heard Lilith's explanation and licked his lips, feeling the thick saliva form in his mouth. "Pah! Monster, today you will pay the price for uttering those words."

"Ah, an actual devil," Grok'Tam growled, raising his huge club with a deep, long growl. "That woman was right. Grok'Tam is happy."

"Go to hell!"

Sigurd's cold, heartless voice echoed through the caverns. Eva watched with a confused face, her arrow fully drawn, ready to shoot. 

'Did Eva hear me!?'

—No, she would hear nothing but you speaking the same language as this trash.

He nodded, lifting Mammon, the weight now light, as if the moment he entered his devil form, it lost all the weight and became like paper. Sigurd stepped forward with a powerful aura surging from his body.

"Come then, ogre."

"Grok'Tam will crush!" The monster replied with a growl and jumped forward. He swung the club in a full circle with speed, belying its size, causing Sigurd to show a moment of concern before smirking as his body moved according to his will, dodging by a hairsbreadth.

The intense force caused small rocks to slice his skin despite evading.

"It's amazing to think it can quickly move with such strength. Fine, let us see how much stronger you are!"

Sigurd twisted his arm while dropping low and performing a horizontal slash, taking advantage of the ogre's exposed body after swinging its club. The black sword whistled through the air, leaving a streak of red in the shape of a crescent, and headed straight for the ogre's chest.

"Foolish, child!" Grok'Tam spat and stretched out his hand, clenching the sword between his fingers as if the sharp edge was like a feather.

Sigurd's face turned grim, his eyes narrowing, and a look of confusion flashed before disappearing. The next second, he lifted his left hand to cast a spell, only for Grok'Tam's elbow to smash into his abdomen. The heavy impact cracked several bones before hurling him across the room like a ball, almost losing his consciousness.

"Sigurd!"

"Get back, idiot!"

His words caused Eva to pause, before she released several arrows from her bow while moving back towards the wall.

Sigurd rolled on the ground and stood, spitting a mouthful of blood that even the healing ability of his form couldn't handle instantly, the bones inside him rubbing together, creating an unbearable pain.

"He's fast and strong, much stronger than I expected, but we can win!"

"Gorum Terramus!" Grok'Tam shouted, his spit and foul breath spreading from his enormous gaping mouth, before dozens of earthen spears grew from the ground, sharp enough to skewer a wild boar heading towards Sigurd.

"These are the spells of an Agmar?!"

His eyes turned golden. A gust of wind appeared behind him, sweeping dust off the ground while the black ice coated his body before being assaulted by several intense earth spears. The rocks penetrated his body, damaging his flesh, and three nearly pierced his heart.

"Grrr!" His groans filled the cavern, causing the sound to reverberate.

"Sigurd!"

Eva released another arrow, the crude goblin arrows coated in poison, penetrating the ogre's flesh but barely making it take notice as it stepped towards Sigurd's wounded body.

'Argh, damn, that hurts!' Sigurd swore in his mind.

The loud growl increased in volume; his eyes could only see darkness as he waited for an opening. 

The magic inside his body started churning violently, anger and frustration at the difference in strength causing his flames to become chaotic while the black ice deformed.

'Fuck, I should have been careful.' He clicked his tongue in anger as the Ogre moved closer, its rough fingers reaching out for his body, only for Sigurd's face to show no fear or worry. His lips curled into a smirk as the Ogre reached further.

"Got you."

Before the Ogre understood Sigurd's smile and words, a black ring of unstable fire encircled its entire body as Sigurd clapped his hands together.

With his palms colliding, Sigurd's clap created a pillar of brutal flames that reached the cavern's ceiling, the heat so intense it melted the rocks below. "T.... hats..... not..... all!" Sigurd's voice filled with pain, his lips bleeding as he clenched both hands. He ignored the howling of the Ogre as dozens of black ice spears grew from within the ice.

Each spear skewered Grok'Tam's body, leaving no place untouched and not giving him a chance to fight back.

"Haaaa!"

The Ogre howled as the intense flames burned its skin, peeling off its flesh as if it were removing rotten meat. Its powerful skin cracked and burned, seeping to its core, a deep dark red blood oozing out with the flames and melting its innards.

"Argh! Stupid Devil!" The Ogre bellowed before swinging its club, the force causing the rocks to explode into dust before hitting Sigurd's shoulder.

"Damn!" The bone shattered like glass, the intense force crushing his bones with sharp bones and rocks, almost destroying his left arm. Sigurd flew several metres, rolling along the floor, allowing the Ogre to use his free arm and yank out the ice spears.

The ogre's voice cracked and deepened as it ignored the damage to its body and grabbed Sigurd by the throat, lifting his body as his devil form faded.

"No!"

Crude arrows rained down, blood dripping from the exhausted fingers of Eva, who made the Ogre into a porcupine. Her eyes filled with despair as she grasped her glaive.

"Ahahaha! Child, your arrows are useless." Grok'Tam laughed in Sigurd's face before cracking its head side to side and gripping Sigurd's throat tighter, "Tell me, Devil. How shall I devour and break that girl you brought with you? She could help repopulate the lost goblins, hahaha!"

Hearing those words, it felt like something snapped inside Sigurd's mind. 

A seal.

A limiter.

The wall holding back his devil's bloodline from awakening fully.

Had Just cracked.