Vol 1 Chapter 17 – A Near-Death Hold-Off【Vol 1 – Spoiled Princess Arc】

The Ogre did not regard Erik as a threat.

Not the sort of fearsome enemy that makes one sense death breathing down one’s neck.

The Ogre’s instincts insisted that Erik lacked that kind of power.

Back when he still lived in the deeper levels—before he became master of the “Beginner-Slayer’s Chamber”—many monsters far stronger than him roamed about.

And the humans who reached those depths were likewise far more powerful than he was.

Thus, down there he had been the weakling.

But that miserable life ended the day he wandered into this little chamber by chance.

Because the room appeared randomly in shallower layers, no other monsters ever blundered in.

Humans did stumble inside from time to time, yet they were nothing like the ogre-slayers who prowled the deep; they were frail—so very, very frail.

From that moment on, the Ogre became the strong.

Crushing every fool who wandered in, feeding his ego day after day, made for delightful days.

Grrr…!

Yet the prey that had appeared after so long had actually dared to wound him.

A wound—pain he had not felt in ages. It was only natural he lost himself to rage.

Given a little time, however, his temper cooled.

The prey had apparently tried some scheme during that lull, but it was mere small fry. Whatever they did could never pose a threat.

———And yet.

GWOAAAAAAH!!!

Even so, someone who harmed him had to pay.

With that in mind, the Ogre launched his first all-out assault in ages.

With astonishing leg strength he closed the distance to Erik in an instant, then brought his foot down to crush him.

Erik leapt sideways, shivering when he saw the floor pulverized beneath the Ogre’s heel.

“Hah!!”

Erik swung his sword right back at him.

……Yet—

“What?!”

Miriam gasped.

Small wonder: the sword Erik had swung was caught between the Ogre’s fingers in a bare-handed sword catch (shiraha-dori).

The Ogre had already noticed that Erik’s skill was, in fact, nothing impressive.

Compared with the humans who had once ventured into the deeper levels—no, it was an insult even to compare—Erik’s swordsmanship was abysmal.

Once he calmed down, even a circus trick like a one-handed sword-catch was possible thanks to the Ogre’s dynamic vision.

“Tch…!”

“Hero! At times like this you’ve gotta let go of the weapon!”

Erik tried to wrench the sword free, but there was no matching the Ogre’s strength.

The blade did not budge.

Freezing up like that was a mistake one must never make in battle.

Princess Debora had been taught self-defense.

Her instructors were the elite among the knight-order, and they had drilled her on what to do in emergencies like this.

Erik, however, was no knight—just an ordinary commoner.

Having never trained for combat, he had no idea that refusing to release a weapon, even for a heartbeat, could prove fatal.

That refusal is a weakling’s instinct—and an exceedingly dangerous one.

“GWAAAH!!”

WHUD!

The Ogre’s rising knee drove mercilessly into Erik’s stomach.

———

He could not even scream.

Miriam heard a bizarre noise she could barely describe.

It definitely came from Erik’s belly, gouged out by the Ogre’s brutal kick.

Bones shattered; several internal organs suffered heavy damage.

“Guhh…!”

A thick glob of blood spilled from Erik’s mouth—enough to end a life.

He survived only thanks to his skill and stayed conscious purely because his extreme masochism considered blacking out “wasteful.”

Even after that blow, Erik was… delighted.

“GAAAAAH!!!!”

The Ogre did not relent.

That one strike alone should have been enough to plant Erik in the ground.

Instead, the Ogre followed the rising body with a rock-hard fist.

WHAM!!

The impact slammed Erik deep into the floor.

“E-Erik…?”

Face-down, he gave no answer.

He lay motionless, half-buried, while blood slowly pooled outward.

Any beginner—or honestly, any adventurer short of the top tier who delved to the dungeon’s depths—would certainly have died from that barrage.

“…Forget the insult thing; the Hero croaked first,” Debora muttered, sweat trickling down her cheek.

Even the usually carefree princess could not help feeling fear after watching someone torn apart before her eyes. She was still a child, after all.

“Ohoh…”

The Ogre curled his lips in a grin, baring razor-sharp fangs.

The most troublesome foe was dead.

The cuts still angered him, but landing two perfect blows had sated his battle lust.

Now the urge to toy with fresh prey flared up.

Should he torment the little brat first, or…

…!

…or perhaps the girl glaring so bravely at him.

Miriam did feel fear—yet her anger at the Ogre for mangling Erik blazed hotter.

And breaking humans who possessed that fierce will… nothing pleased the Ogre more.

“Kikiki…!”

Prey decided—it was you.

He started toward Miriam—

A hand clamped around his thick leg.

It belonged to Erik, blood-soaked and limbs bent at unnatural angles.

“P…prin…cess… Debora…”

“Y-yes?”

Erik forced out words.

Debora shoved her carefree tone aside, straining to catch them.

They might be his last. The thought made her chest tighten—another first for her.

So she listened.

“L…ittle…”

“Little?”

“You flat-chested runt of a loli princess…”

———

Time stopped for Debora.

“…Pff—”

Beside her, Miriam stifled a snicker.

Erik had hurled back at Debora every insult Miriam had once fed him—things Miriam wanted to say to Debora’s face but never could. Delicious.

Seeing Erik’s state was heartbreaking enough to stop her heart, but that dig eased the tension just a bit. Thanks, Erik.

“Hm… so that’s what you thought, Hero.”

Debora whispered calmly.

Not angry? Hardly. This was the calm before the storm.

“You’d better own those words, y’hear?!”

FWOOSH!

Mana-laden wind burst from Debora, spiraling out to fill the entire Beginner-Slayer’s Chamber.

Even the Ogre, who had witnessed veteran adventurers fight, had never felt mana this dense.

How big was the blast going to be? Despite mortal wounds, Erik’s heart pounded with excitement.

“GRUOAAAOOAA!!”

The Ogre’s intellect lagged behind a human’s, yet instinct screamed that this wind was lethal.

He pivoted from Miriam toward Debora, legs bunching to close the gap and squash her before she could act—

“I… won’t… let you!!”

A glorious explosion was incoming; Erik could not allow interference.

He clung desperately to the Ogre’s leg.

Even with all his might, the Ogre couldn’t shake off the man pouring out his last strength.

“GRUAAAAAHHHH!!!”

Rage near-burst veins in the Ogre’s head.

How far would this wretch go to anger him?

“Geh! Guh! Gwah! Gyah!!”

He pounded Erik’s back, stomped him, raked flesh with claws, even tore off chunks with huge fangs.

Human meat ripped; blood spurted; screams—no, moans of pleasure—spilled from Erik’s lips.

At last Erik went limp, and the Ogre smiled in satisfaction.

Yes—so it should be. A weakling daring to hinder him could never be tolerated.

After venting on a human for the first time in ages, the Ogre felt calmer.

He coolly eyed Debora at the center of that colossal mana vortex.

Time was short, but with his powerful legs he could still make it.

Miriam stood crying beside her, yet she was no obstacle. A charge would blow her away.

Certain of victory, the Ogre bared his fangs in a grin.

He took his first step toward massacring Debora and Miriam—

“Gyaa?!”

Agony shot through his foot—pain unlike anything he’d felt since taking over the Beginner-Slayer’s Chamber.

Looking down, he saw Erik—bloody, barely alive—grinning as he drove a sword into the Ogre’s foot.

“Th…this… keeps you… from moving… right…?”

Just how far would he go?!

Was that tiny, angry Debora over there really so precious?

Was that crying Miriam girl, eyes swollen from tears for him, really so important?

“GAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!”

The Ogre unleashed strength beyond even his limits, battering Erik.

Each punch crunched bone.

Each claw rent meat.

Pain and suffering unimaginable—surely.

Surely… and yet—

“Not… lettin’… go…!”

The Ogre thrashed madly; Debora’s ultimate blast loomed.

There was no way masochist Erik would miss this.

He clung on for dear life—literally.

“Gwah?!”

Somehow, the mana vortex now formed around the Ogre.

—or rather, around the insult-spouting Erik sticking to him, which meant the Ogre was trapped inside the area too.

“GOAAAAAAHHHH!!”

The Ogre thrashed even harder.

From the outside, Erik already looked like a corpse.

But his skill would not let him die.

He tightened his grip on the sword pinning the Ogre’s leg to the floor.

“Princess… Debora…!”

“Heh heh… I’m gonna hit you with the biggest blast I’ve ever conjured…!”

Erik, hacking up blood, gazed at Debora with sparkling eyes.

Responding, she raised her small hand skyward.

“Get obliterated!!”

“GAAAAAAHHHHH!!!”

The mana vortex compressed at once.

The Ogre’s instincts howled that death was imminent; he struggled to flee, but Erik would not let go.

“Erik!!”

“Heh…”

Miriam cried his name; Erik only flashed her a soothing smile.

Then, Erik and the Ogre alike vanished in the titanic explosion.