Bloody Battle

Because the ogre is a good couple of feet taller than me, I didn't catch it in the arm, but I took its entire right leg off. Blood spills everywhere.

The ogre screams and collapses sideways. I don't have much time before the next one comes, so, with no hesitation, I bring the ax down again at the fallen ogre's neck.

KTCH!

The severed head rolls into the woods beside the road. Blood pours out of the place where the head used to be. It's terribly unpleasant, but there is something cathartic in just ripping these monsters apart.

Here comes the next one. Its buddy's quick death scared it a little, but it's still coming right at me.

I lift my ax from the ground and get ready for this one. As it's about to reach me, I step to the side and swing my ax horizontally.

KTCH!

I slice its stomach open. Gore and guts ooze out of the gaping wound onto the dirt road. It screams and drops to the ground. Another wack, and its head splits open.

How satisfying.

"Keep sending them!" I yell at the oncoming ogres.

One by one, I splatter their body parts into the forest and onto the road. I got some ogre blood on myself, but I can't be bothered.

A few minutes later, the simple ogre horde has been decimated. Pieces of their remains scatter on the ground, and a small stream of blood is formed, flowing into the undergrowth.

"Keep your psycho in check, Kris. Jesus," Cisca says.

"Can't do this shit on Earth," I say.

"Nope, you definitely can, if you paid enough."

Yeah, I guess I really could do just about anything on Earth if I paid enough.

I raise my ax and point it at the only ogre left: the General.

"What are you standing there for?! Come on! I killed all your minions!"

The Ogre General shoots steam out of its nose and roars into the dusk sky. Veins pop out of its forehead, very reminiscent of that guy I had to talk to before I came to Eden. More reasons to let loose on this bastard.

It knocks the pine trunk on the ground a few times. Branches break off from the impact and are sent flying in all directions. The ogre stomps its feet and charges toward me. That's when I realized its true size. It must be at least half of the Dragon Queen.

It might take a while to take that beast down with the little ax in my hand. I am barely up to its waist.

Even though it's huge, it's still dumb as nuts. There is no strategy in its straightforward charge. I do what I did with the other simple ogres.

I dodge to the side and swing at the General as it gets close. The strike connects, but it doesn't do nearly enough damage to this unit of a beast to cripple it.

It groans in pain as its shadow falls over me, but it doesn't stop. The ogre swings the pine tree at me like it's a golf club.

BOOM!

The trunk connects right to my chest. I get sent ten feet into the air and twenty back.

That hurt, not terribly, but it hurt.

I brace my unprotected head for the landing.

Another shock wave of pain ripples through my body as I hit the ground. At least I flew over the piles of ogre guts.

ARGHHHH!

The Ogre General roars again.

I slowly push myself up to my feet.

"Does Master require assistance?!" I hear Lohikaarmi call out from behind me.

I look around, and the girls have gotten off the carriage to watch the fight. Faye is staring nervously, and Astra is jumping up and down, cheering for whom I do not know.

"No! I don't need help!" I yell back.

"Typical Kris," Cisca says and shakes her head.

"You better have meant that as a compliment," I say.

"Sure."

The Ogre General is charging toward me again. I just notice that the pine trunk has snapped in half from that impact. This Exosuit is really a miracle.

The earth shakes as the General gets closer and closer.

My mind is going blank on what I should do. I can probably jump high enough to get a cut on its neck, but that seems too risky. Well, I have no other choice.

When it's about six feet between the Ogre and me, I leap up into the air, trying to reach the height of its neck. Not even close. I manage to cut it on the chest, but that does nothing. The ogre pummels me with its fist, and I once again smash onto the ground.

"Ugh…"

Definitely had the wind knocked out of me for that one.

"Master!" I hear Lohikaarmi call out.

The ogre stares down at me with a twisted sneer. It raises its foot and gets ready to crush me under it.

I need a second to recover from the previous crash. My body isn't listening to me very well at this moment.

Oh well, I guess I will have to equip the helmet on the Exosuit and come up with an explanation for Faye later.

Regardless, this is going to hurt.

PSHH!

Before I have the chance to activate my helmet, a stick comes out of nowhere and pierces the beast in the neck. Blood squirts out of the wound like a pipe that's just been burst, and it all rains down on me.

The ogre lets out a few muted gurgles before it collapses onto the ground beside me, its feet still kicking. A pool of blood gathers around.

Was I just saved? Who? Who did that? I feel a bubble of madness rising up into my chest. Who had the audacity to think that I needed to be saved?

I get back onto my feet, and the girls are running toward me.

"Is Master okay?" Lohikaarmi comes up first and asks.

"Was that you?" I question while pointing at the dead Ogre General.

"Yes, Master, I threw the stick."

"Why?"

"Because-"

"Did I not tell you that I didn't need help?"

"Kris, calm down," Cisca says.

Lohikaarmi gets down on one knee and looks and the ground.

"Forgive me, Master."

"No, no, I won't let you off the hook like that. I did not need to be saved. I never need to be saved. Why did you feel the need to help me out?" I ask, my voice getting closer and closer to a holler.

"Kris…" Faye says.

"No, Faye, you stay out of this. Lohikaarmi listens only to my orders, and she disobeyed me. I just want to know why."

Faye becomes quiet and backs off.

"Perhaps, in the heat of battle, Master does not have a clear mind to make the right judgment," Lohikaarmi says.

"I do not have the clear mind to make the right judgment? How dare you question my judgment, Lohikaarmi? How dare you?!"

"I apologize for my presumptuous behavior, Master."

"Go," I say and point to the forest.

"Kris?" Faye asks.

Lohikaarmi looks up at me.

"Go take a break, Lohikaarmi. I do not need your protection. Spend a night away. This is your punishment," I say.