They stepped through the door into the final realm.
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Tension hung heavy. Leena wasn't sure how to settle it. The team felt divided, but no one was calling for retreat. That meant the fracture wasn't deep—at least, not yet. Maybe they could hold together. Or maybe they were just too loyal to voice what they all felt.
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A vast plain stretched before them, empty but for a slight breeze rolling over the grass. Nothing else. Maybe that was a mercy.183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS0U38hryEt
Leena felt tested—forced to hold them together, forced to lead. They never argued on how to handle this, not really, and now they stood here, unready. She scanned their faces, trying to understand them just little better. They were here, but something felt hollow about it—a duty, not desire.
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Nina was filled with reluctance to fight. Leena loved her sister's loyalty but wished Nina would share her fears. She couldn't help if Nina wouldn't talk.
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Arlin was facing his fear, and Leena was proud of him. She was also worried he would break or rage against the beast—neither would help them now when they needed a united front.
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Terra, that reckless, lovable giant of a girl—Leena wasn't sure if she was just happy to be out on an adventure or more excited that Arlin had shown up and wasn't completely ignoring her. Neither was good for leadership; Terra was testing Leena's patience when it came to following orders.
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Coby, like a second brother to her, was her second in command, loyal to a fault. Leena had seen hidden doubts in his eyes during the times he used his tracking to guide them deeper, but he never voiced them, leaving her conflicted about how to feel.
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They all harbored some form of doubt, even her, yet they now stood on the edge of the abyss. If there was another way, she would stand down, but people were getting hurt trying to defend them, and they could end this—she knew it.
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"That's it? We're done?" Arlin muttered. "I followed you into this... and there's nothing?"
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His words stung. She had gone to comfort him the other day while he grieved at his mother's bedside, his mother lying in a coma, and she had pushed him into a fight he hadn't wanted.
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He didn't look at her with hate, just a sad acceptance that they were making a mistake and a desire for them to stop.
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Truthfully? Maybe it was for the best they turn back. They hadn't trained enough, prepared enough—gods, they hadn't even talked enough. Everyone had just accepted that she would lead the way, even herself.
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She wanted to sigh. This was mentally draining, but she had wanted this role as leader, so she needed to take responsibility and end it properly.
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Leena turned to Coby to confirm it was over, but fear struck her as she met his eyes. For the first time, she saw fear on his face—and sweat was dripping from him as if he was holding back blind panic. He knew something, and it was bad.
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The ogre was here.
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She knew nothing else would cause that pause, that fear. She saw it in his eyes.183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL8ezLC3ZFg
She nodded, understanding the unspoken words. They would leave, end it now, then talk.
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"Don't luuk like much," Terra muttered near her, making Leena turn to see what had prompted those words.183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDHQz59KYkw
It was still in the distance, but it confirmed what Coby knew and must have seen with his wind blessing.
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CRACK BOOM
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The noise made Leena flinch, not knowing what the beast was trying to do. She felt a slight gust blow past them.183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrKQVuIhYUe
Damn. She had been too lax. She should have had a battle plan before this. Usually she rushed into battles, and it had worked before. This time would be no different. She could hold it down while Terra offered support, giving Arlin and Nina plenty of time for ranged attacks, with Coby providing cover fire. It would be fine.
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Yeah, they had run before, and the ogre was fast and strong, but they had trained since then. If they focused, they could handle this too.
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"Len, listen, I was wrong—" Coby tried to warn her that things were going to fall apart, but between his words and the events that followed, their planned formation shattered.
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"LUT'S GO!" Terra flared the flame within her mana and rushed forward.
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"TERRA!" Leena tried stopping the impulsive girl. She was supposed to lead, to rush first, not Terra. Even now, when it mattered most, she couldn't hold them together.
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But Terra was already flying across the field to meet the ogre, everyone stunned into inaction as they tried to process what had just happened.
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Leena couldn't just wait for Terra to get hurt.
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"MOVE!" she shouted. "COVER AND SUPPORT! WE NEED TO LOCK IT DOWN. DO WHATEVER YOU MUST!"
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So stupid. A blind rush? Hope for the best? Just charge in? Gods, what kind of leader says that?
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Yet rush they did. Leena wanted to flare the mana into her wind boots but feared colliding with Terra. She had gained more control over the speed burst, but this was an unknown variable—they hadn't trained for this.
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She needed time to see what to do.
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Surprisingly, Terra was holding her own. As they tried closing the distance, Terra seemed to glow ever brighter, the flames within her hammers dancing around her frame as if flaming fists were smashing into the ogre. Leena wanted to rush to Terra's side or even the ogre's back to force it to shift its attention to her.
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She saw Coby in the distance, firing arrows, trying to shift the ogre's focus. Good. Even if he didn't get a clean hit, it would break the creature's concentration.
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But as she watched, the ogre danced with Terra blow for blow while still deflecting arrows with wind magic. That level of multitasking was too good, too much focus for a mindless beast.
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"Nina, Arlin, she needs support," Leena called out as they tried to get closer. She knew she should be more specific, but she felt like she needed to say something to establish order other than rush and pray…
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Panic crept in as she watched the ogre turn things around, just as she had feared. Terra was built for support fighting, not tanking—that was why Leena had trained for the front line. She was supposed to be there, taking the hits she can heal from most things…
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Terra stumbled back from the hits, but they finally caught up to the ogre. It leaped back, seeing them close the distance, and reset its stance with a broad smile, waiting to see what they would do next.
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That wasn't normal behavior. Was it toying with them?
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Leena pushed healing mana into Terra, who grinned and pulled out a mana potion, chugging it. The ogre watched with interest.183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0RpoMs5sfK
It was learning. This wasn't a mindless beast. Maybe it never had been. The realization chilled her more than its strength—she'd prepared for a monster, not a beast that could think like us.
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"Terra, listen, let me rush," Leena said. "The ogre is thinking—that's not normal. We need to plan—"
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Terra pushed her away and rushed forward again, lost to her battle lust and desire for a fight.
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Seriously? You stupid girl.
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Leena saw Arlin trying to take advantage of the ogre's focus on Terra, using shadow vines and spikes, whatever he thought might land. But the ogre was watching Leena with a smile—not Terra, not Coby's arrows, not even Nina. Just her.
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How was it sensing so much while being able to focus on her specifically? Was it like Coby with his wind blessing? Did it really have that much control and power?
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Rocks from Nina finally started forming and flying at the ogre, but as if waiting for that cue, it grabbed them with wind magic and threw them back at the others. Leena rushed to help block as a panicked yelp escaped Nina, who used her skill to pull the projectiles off course.
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"You tried, Nina. Good job," Leena said. "Get on its left side. I'll go right. We'll try to bind it instead of wild strikes. It can see too much with the wind—we need to force it down."
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"Okay, Len," Nina replied with a determined look ears going flat.
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Arlin was getting frustrated; nothing he was doing was working. Leena could see it in his eyes.
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"It's fine, Arlin. You're here and helping. Just focus on binding to slow its attacks. I'm going in!"
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She saw him nod as she rushed forward. She was tired of playing defense; she needed to push it back and break its control.183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0mKbfq7OwL
The ogre watched her coming from the corner of its eye, smiling. It seemed tired of playing and threw Terra away with a casual toss, shocking Leena into momentary inaction—she hadn't expected that level of raw strength.
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The ogre turned and spoke for the first time, its voice a low whisper and meant only for her, letting her know how foolish she was.
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"I remember you…”
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“Weak."
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Leena tried to focus on recovery, knowing she needed to act, but learning that the ogre could think and speak was a lot to process in the heat of battle. Did it matter? This was still a fight to the death.
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"IS THUT ALL U GUT?!" Terra roared from behind the ogre as her hammers smashed into its back.
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Shock and surprise entered the ogre's eyes, but just as quickly, it regained focus. Anger followed—a cold look that promised pain and death—as it turned with blinding speed to finish Terra.
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Finally, Arlin was able to get close enough to bind the ogre with shadows while it was distracted by rage. Nina managed to bind its legs with earth magic.
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Leena readied herself to channel mana into her boots for a clean strike to end this.
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"We've gut it! We've GUT IT!" Terra's joyful victory cry rang through the air before the final blow could be struck.
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ROOOOOAR
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Even as Leena flew forward, the ogre broke free and rushed Terra. She couldn't turn mid-leap and sailed past the beast, her strike missing completely. The ogre, no longer indifferent, raged as it pursued her friend.
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Everything was happening too fast. How was it gaining speed so easily? Even as Leena tried to reorient herself, she witnessed the strike that chilled her blood.
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STOMP
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She watched a massive foot press Terra down with enough force to easily crush her head. Leena wondered if Terra would survive, and even if she did, how much damage a head could take before even healing wouldn't help anymore.
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Leena rushed forward, desperate and reckless, trying to heal Terra, but the ogre was done playing. She made the mistake of ignoring it, and it swung at her with lethal intent.
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She flared mana in her boots and pulled back as a fist pushed forward inches from her face, before drifting away from her as she flew backward.
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A flicker of surprise entered the ogre's expression before it shrugged and tilted its head slightly, then rushed forward with a series of strikes. Leena tried to shift her footing to hold her ground.
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This was good—it was focusing on her instead of Terra, giving others a chance to heal her. Coby should have at least one healing potion.
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"NO!" Arlin shouted, pulling out a potion.
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It was hard to focus while the ogre kept swinging near her face in an odd rhythm, almost lazy compared to what it had done to Terra. Was it playing with them again?
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Leena tried thrusting her sword forward to force it to focus on her, even as it casually dodged both her attacks and Coby's arrows. Coby was still firing sporadically, desperate to help but unable to join the fight more directly.
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Coby should be going to Terra… did we only bring mana potions? Wait no… I thought I saw Arlin pull out a potion that must be a healing one, why Coby chose supporting fire.
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Nina was trying to shift the earth to bind the ogre once more, but it kept stomping its feet, disrupting any earth magic she tried to form. Cold indifference marked its features.
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And she knew she wasn't its primary focus.
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"IT'S A TRAP! IT'S GOING TO COUNTER! BE READY TO MOVE!"
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The ogre looked at her as if puzzled, then smiled as if pleased that she understood its fight with her was nothing more than a ruse. In less than a blink, it flashed to Arlin's side, who was near Terra, trying to help.
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Leena wanted to stop the ogre, but she was still trying to recover from everything happening so fast. The ogre grabbed Arlin's hand while he was trying to heal Terra.
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CRACK
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Arlin's scream froze everyone but Leena in fear. The sound would haunt her—another price paid for her choices. This was spiraling out of control; she needed to regain command and end this.
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She rushed forward with her wind boots, trying not to overthink it. focusing needing precise strikes, not elaborate battle plans. She needed to kill before it killed them.
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Flying forward with light channeled into her blade, she aimed for its chest, trying to pierce its heart.
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The ogre dropped Arlin and flung itself backward. Leena could pursue, keep up the chase, but doing so risked Terra dying. She could heal Terra now, even if only a little.
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Terra needed her more.
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She poured healing mana into Terra. The damage was extensive—so much shattered, so much broken. The poor girl had rushed forward to secure victory and gotten hurt because of Leena's leadership.
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Don't worry, Leena thought. I learn from pain. I promise I won't let it hurt you anymore.
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She felt mildly dizzy from healing both Terra and Arlin in a short time, a limit to her power that she can passivley heal easy but others drain her. Arlin looked stunned as she watched the ogre.
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"It was a rare healing potion," he said, maybe to himself, looking lost. "I've killed us all."
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Leena had noticed from the start that the ogre seemed wounded and covered in blood, but she had never thought it was truly weak or broken—she had just underestimated how much power it possessed.
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And now it had consumed a rare healing potion. The game had reset for the ogre, but not for them.
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"We're fine. You did your best," she told Arlin. "Do what you can. When you recover, I need you to help me stop this beast."
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She rushed forward once more. This battle wouldn't be won by tactics—the ogre had proved too intelligent for that. They needed to beat it through raw determination. It smiled, watching her fly toward it, and dodged easily, then pushed her forward, causing her to tumble in shame as she rolled to recover.
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But it wasn't waiting to gloat. No—it went for Coby, showing her the depth of her folly as it hurt those she loved, maybe even killing them while she watched. Coby, unable to flee or engage a massive beast in melee combat, was struck down with casual indifference as Leena rushed forward once more, trying to end this madness.
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She healed Coby as best she could. Oddly, the ogre had held back—it had hurt Terra far more than this. What was its game?
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Laughter. The ogre was simply laughing.
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"Sorry, Coby. You tried to warn me, and I still led us to this. I'll make it right."
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She drank a mana potion from Coby's pouch—the only one not broken. Coby had carried their supplies, and now everything lay smashed around him.
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She healed him a bit more, making sure he was stable. She wanted to rush forward, but she needed to conserve mana. It took time for new mana to flow within without making her sick.
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Nina and Arlin needed her too, so she focused on where the ogre would go next.
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As she turned to intercept the ogre and prevent this systematic destruction from continuing, it was already striking Nina down. The speed of its attacks, the power it truly possessed—this made no sense. Was it holding back just to mock them?
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It was moving too fast. It could have ended this within seconds if it had gone all out from the beginning, yet it danced between them, wearing them down for a slow, easy victory.
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It was toying with them.
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Leena tried to cut it off, but it danced around her without even acknowledging her presence. It showed passive indifference as it leaped away from Nina toward Arlin, and she was torn between helping Nina and fighting the ogre. Every choice felt wrong—save one friend while another suffered, or fight while they all bled.
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If she was right, Nina was fine—just hurt. The ogre wanted them all alive to suffer so it could gloat. But if she was wrong, her sister would die based on that belief. The same belief that had brought them here. Everything came down to reading the mind of a monster—and hoping she understood cruelty better than kindness.
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No.
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She rushed to Nina to heal her. Nina was hurt, but more mentally than physically. She had pushed her mana too hard, resulting in some minor internal damage, but nothing that couldn't be easily healed.
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Leena wanted to think, to plan, to do anything other than watch the beast systematically take down her friends. But even as she turned to help Arlin, it was already over.
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Gods, it could have ended them all so easily. All her training, all her preparation—and it had been toying with them from the start.
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The ogre smiled proudly. She was all that remained standing. Everyone was broken somewhere in the battle. This was what her leadership had bought them—exactly what the ogre wanted to see. She wanted to heal Arlin, and she could see in the ogre's eyes that it wanted her to try. It had left him alive to make her suffer, to watch her run and try to heal them so it could break them all again.
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It wanted her to struggle until she had nothing left, and only then would it let her bleed.
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She knew it was a game, so she breathed out slowly, calming her mind. She wasn't sure how to fight such a cunning beast, but she would find a way. If she couldn't out-think it, maybe she could outlast it.
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Confusion entered its eyes at her lack of blind rushing to heal or flee, but it soon recovered. The game was still being played, and it was still winning. It just needed time.
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So it smiled as it watched and prepared to taunt her into despair.
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"Do you know why I saved you for last? Or even why I never chose to speak before now?"
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A slight breeze blew between them—the only answer to its question. Leena was planning how best to counter the beast she had come to hate. It had a cunning mind, and she didn't know how to counter that.
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"You're weak." The words made her focus, and the glee it showed disgusted her.
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"I did not need to waste my breath showing you how little you all meant." It flexed its arm while watching her. "But beating you down, breaking you—that was worth more than words."
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It pointed its flexed arm slowly at her. "Power. I am power, and you are weak."
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Leena hated trying to negotiate with the beast, but she wanted to save her friends. Perhaps talking could work.
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"Maybe we can work something out. You spare my friends—it's not too late. I'm sorry we took your herb. Maybe we can get you a replacement?"
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"No." It replied flatly, cruelty entering its eyes, promising pain to come. "I wanted death. That was denied to me, as I now deny it to you."
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"You made me suffer, so now you shall suffer. When I shatter your bones and you weep for mercy, I will offer none. I will kill you only when I'm done forcing you to heal your friends over and over again."
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It smiled wide and extended its hand toward the distance. "Or you can run. I will swear to tell others that you are the coward who fled, but I'll let you live to spread my legend to all. It's fitting—you're worth that little to me."
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It looked over at Terra and growled. "That flame girl wasn't part of our original conflict. She thought I would let her play. It was fun at first, until she mistook my mercy for weakness." It smiled. "You all learned that was a mistake, didn't you?"
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Mad laughter echoed across the battlefield—it was the king of the hill, looking down on all it had defeated. All except one.183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaK5u3tkl2W
Leena flared the mana in her boots, rushing forward for a clean strike. But a fist fractured her cheek, and two more blows slammed into her ribs before a kick shattered her leg.
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Dazed from the pain, she lost focus, but no more blows followed. Instead, she slowly regained awareness to find the ogre stumbling slightly back, confused.
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"I broke you," it said, but the words lacked conviction. There was confusion in its voice. It had indeed hurt her, but broken?
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No.
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She had healed worse injuries faster during training with Terra's father, and she had gotten good at conserving mana. True, healing of others was draining, but healing herself? The light wanted her whole, wanted her strong. She might bend, but she would never break.
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Even so, she was breathing hard. She could focus and endure pain, but it was still pain, even if fleeting. She stood, trying not to shake.
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"Is that all you've got? I've fought worse in a sparring match. In fact, if he were here now instead of his daughter, you would already be dead." The words felt familiar...how many times had she used the same tone, the same goading, to push herself past breaking in her training?
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The surprise on the ogre's face transformed into anger. It assumed a fighting stance.
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Damn, Leena thought. It's not just getting angry—it's focusing.
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She waited, trying to catch her breath. Between one inhale and exhale, the ogre was there, a fist inches from her chest.
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More from instinct than conscious intent, she shifted her shield and blocked the hit, feeding mana into her earth enchantment to absorb the impact. The shield's weight shifted, becoming dense as stone for that crucial moment.
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BOOM
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Even blocking and trying to deflect the attack, it still hit with enough force to create a sonic boom. She slid back slightly, and the ogre shook its hand but quickly stopped, refusing to show weakness.
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Surprise marked its features—the blow had been strong enough to shatter stone, yet her shield had held, and the force that should have thrown her backward had barely moved her.
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A deep, animalistic growl rumbled from its throat, and its eyes shifted from cunning to wild rage.
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Good. When it wasn't thinking, when it was more primal, she could handle that. She just had to endure.
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"Is that all you've got? Or maybe you still think I deserve mercy? You don't have the luxury of—"
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A fist swung high, skimming her cheek. She tried to raise her shield to brace for the next strike but was too slow. The follow-up came wide from the side, beyond her shield's protection, and shattered her ribs as the force threw her sideways.
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She spun, tumbled, and then rolled down on the ground. She coughed, spitting blood and bile. Even as her side healed, the waste still needed to be expelled. She waited for the next strike to counter, but it never came.
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The ogre was smiling, reverting to its old tactics. Not good.
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"Is that it? A love tap? I didn't know we were friends. thought this was a fight. I told you I—"
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It was already upon her, slamming its foot down on her prone form. She braced for impact with mana channeled into her shield.
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BOOM BOOM BOOM
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A crater formed where she lay as the ogre stomped repeatedly, then tried to kick her away.
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BOOM
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Breathing hard, the ogre rushed forward in the distant's to see where she had landed, intending to finish breaking her. Tired of her defiance, it looked everywhere, but there was nothing. Even if it had broken her, there should have been pieces scattered about,
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But there was nothing.
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When it turned back, the dust from the crater was clearing, and she was standing there, unbroken, glowing with a light so bright it spoke of hope among despair.
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"No..." the ogre whispered, stunned into silence.
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As the dust finally settled, she was still glowing with an inner light and smiled in defiance, uttering the words that finally broke its composure.
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"I've got you now."
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"YOU GOT ME? ME?!"
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ROOOAAAAAR
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It rushed forward, and she matched its charge. The exchange became brutal—an endless storm of rage. It wanted her dead, broken, bleeding, begging. Dead, dead, dead.
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DEAD!
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It no longer cared to think, no longer cared to taunt. This child was challenging it to a battle of pure power, and it would not lose.
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She shifted ever so slightly, slipping away from the strikes. Each time the force and speed increased, she timed her counters to match the flow, gaining control with each exchange. A few strikes would fracture parts of her, but the healing kept her whole as she shifted more in a rhythm to not break.
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She had done this before—been here countless times. The hammers that had pounded her flesh during training hurt as much or more than these fists. The mistakes she had made, the lessons learned through cruelty harsher than this ogre could deliver—all of it had taught her how to fight monsters and win. She'd hated the pain of those sessions she pushed for, but Terra's father had been right—pain was the only teacher that stuck when lives were at stake.
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The dynamic shifted from the ogre trying to break and bleed her to a rhythm she was controlling, and the ogre knew it.183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpm5FBESnvL
It could end the fight at any time, kill any of them, or break her resolve. It could hit and run, use speed and tactics to overwhelm her defenses. But that would prove her words right: I've got you now. even now they echo it in it head, taunting him.
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It would mean she would win with wit and strategy, that she knew it better than it knew itself, forcing it to acknowledge that it wasn't strong enough to break her without tactics—tactics that would make it smarter than her, not stronger.
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The ogre already believed it was both stronger and smarter than her. It was going to win with power alone since it had already outsmarted her.
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The dance became a blur of motion. Faster and faster it pushed beyond its limits, and still she held her ground, as the ogre slammed bloody fists against a shield that refused to break while she stared back at the ogre with cold resolve.
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What was it she was seeing? What hope glowed in those eyes it couldn't extinguish? Why wouldn't she break?
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RAOOOOR
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No more thoughts, no more strategy. hit harder. Win. An endless barrage of strikes became more reckless, more furious, more desperate for an end, not caring how, just wanting to finish it.
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Between its mad blows, she pulsed her shield slowly, widening a gap it never knew it left open, so consumed in its rage.183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUhz68uX7q0
Now.
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In the briefest of moments, so narrow that only the tip of her sword could slip through, she made her opening strike.
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Once.
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Endless swings from the ogre.
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Twice.
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More wild swings.
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Three times she pierced its heart in the narrow gaps between its attacks, made by pulsing her shield with mana to push it ever so lightly back, thrusting her thin blade home.
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The ogre began slowing, confused about why its arms were getting heavy. It looked at her in a daze. She wasn't broken—but it was falling?
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It dropped to its knees, now closer to eye level, seeing clearly her intent. She had wounded it. How?
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"People assume the blessing of light only heals," she whispered. "They forget that even the light can kill."183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6A2IuVINIj
It now saw the thin blade in her hand—when had she drawn that? It watched, dumbfounded, as she raised the weapon to its head.
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"For all those you hurt, I return the same mercy you offered us."
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The last thing the ogre saw in its confused state was searing light piercing its eye, ending its life. For a moment, she felt nothing—no triumph, no relief. Just the weight of her choices.
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Leena watched as the massive ogre that had shattered them and her team faded into motes of light, leaving behind only a single mana gem.
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It sickened her to think that all monsters could be like this one—intelligent, cruel, yet still choosing to fight. Beastkin chose mercy, love, and peace. This ogre had not. They weren't the same. The uncomfortable thought followed: what did that make her, dragging the team back into this when they'd tried to choose peace?
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Mentally drained, she reflected on how she had pushed them into this, pushed them to an edge that hadn't needed to be reached. She would learn from this. She wouldn't be blind like the ogre—she would keep adapting and improving so everyone could live in peace.
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The terror of the ogre was over. The battlefield, once a vast open green plain, was now pockmarked with endless craters from all the destruction. She checked on her team.
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Weak but stable, they probably felt like her—mentally drained. They had been playing at being heroes and ended up fighting legends.
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At least now this legend was put to rest. She wondered if it would respawn—she wasn't sure how monsters worked in dungeons, but she would deal with that if it happened.
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For now, they were safe, and it was over.
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She finally allowed herself to relax and slouch, glad that she had managed to bait the ogre into acting like a mindless beast. It had been a gamble. The tactics had worked because she understood what drove it—the need to prove strength, to force acknowledgment through power. The recognition was uncomfortable. How different was her own obsessive training, her own need to drag her friends back into this? At least the ogre was honest about wanting to hurt people. She'd convinced herself everything was about protection, but here she stood with blood on a blade meant only for saving. The ogre had gotten exactly what it wanted—all of them here, all of them broken. She slowly let her thoughts drift as a cool wind blew across the battlefield. They'd won, but victory felt like betrayal of their peace, their trust, their chance to be anything other than what she demanded.
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Anyone who came to this field would assume all lay dead and defeated, with Leena the last to fall. But the monster was gone, and this was where their heroes would rest until the aftermath of their choices came to pass.183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaaqeNnJpi5
and then Add to home screen.