25 | Bloodlust?

Keen studies the Transfer who has just intervened in the goblin-ogre upheaval. The man is in a sleek armor and moves incredibly fast. For a normal human's eyesight, it would only seem that only one strike has been made after drawing the sword.

However, Reaper's guild master clearly sees ten thrusts in quick succession.

"He's fast," Vi admits in a whisper.

Four other Transfers jump off from a canopy of trees.

The taller guy with a glowing, white longbow on his back punches the guy in reddish brown armor. "Guild Master, don't go running off on your own again."

He then proceeds in shooting some of the critically injured goblins jerking helplessly on the ground.

"You worried us," the girl dressed in white cloak with a golden clasp at the neck and a red petunia embroidery at the back removes the hood from over her head. She is also wearing a thin, red armor underneath, which she barely reveals as she raises a hand to pinch their impulsive comrade in the nose.

The reddish brown armored guild master giggles in a slightly deep but feminine voice. "I'm a berserker. That can't be helped. Plus I have you at my back, anyway."

Before the two other members are able to state their own concerns, the group realizes a red-clad entering the fortress gate with a barely conscious woman on his shoulder.

The girl in white cloak shivers. "That person…is unholy. The woman is in trouble!"

"Whaaat?" Their guild master quickly wraps her fingers on the grip of her longsword and leaps to the fortress gate's direction with immense speed and power.

The guy with a bulky cyan-colored armor dashes right behind her despite his seemingly heavy equipment. His hands are bare and holding no weapons. "GM! Don't rush over on your own!"

The archer signals the girl in white to stay close to the remaining guy who barely even has armor except on his forearms and upper torso and wears goggles instead of eyeglasses.

"Let's not get left behind." Right after saying that, Goggles pulls White Cloak by the wrist to run after their teammates. To his delight, their guild master has left over a hundred goblins half-dead on the hill.

With a single cast of his skill accompanied by a precise position calculation, all goblins become the feast of explosions, their Release fragments a full course meal to his mind.

Goggles inhales deeply and maniacally.

Meanwhile, their guild master continues to pursue the red-clad kidnapper. When she reaches the fortress halls, she sees no sign of ogres. There are not even a sign of struggle or fight inside.

"Where did the guy go, Esme?" Heavy Armor asks the guild leader.

She shakes her head. "Not even a drop of blood or any other clue. Even scent."

"I'll try using my and inspect the one kilometer radius," suggests the archer who just arrives and catches his breath.

◎◎◎

Vi should have screamed. However, it would only attract the attention of the other guild trying to get the prized loot of the fortress. Additionally, she was just slightly surprised earlier that Keen decided to use a different method of carrying her.

More importantly, she needs to calm down her breathing before the bloodthirsty abomination they are currently facing.

The monster gurgles in a low growl. Its black skin almost hides its presence behind a shattered altar with six candles placed in a circular formation, if not for the glowing red tattoos on its skin. It is standing on a semi-crouched form, as if ready to attack any time.

It has a long but straight hair brushed to its back and a pair of elongated canine teeth protruding from its lower jaw. The only pieces of armor it wears are on its shoulders and shin. Despite that, it radiates a boss-level aura.

With every passing second, its body seems to throb along a low, thumping rhythm akin to a heartbeat.

Keen, who is beside her, stares calmly at the beast. "Level…thirty Warmongering Ogre Commander."

Her eyes widen while her hands reach out for the bone lances on her quiver. "What?"

The ogre commander jumps to their direction with a large hand about to grab Keen's head. The two assassins both jump backwards, but the enemy's speed almost matches that of Sir Albert as it quickly recovers its momentum and changes direction towards Vi this time.

As her partner is not even able to give a command in that short time, Vi decides to grasp her holster for the poison dagger for defense. She's just level sixteen and this monster intelligently separated her from the guild master.

But that doesn't mean she'd be helpless.

To prove it, she throws one lance to try distracting the monster while reaching out for another weapon from her Item Bag.

The ogre commander deflects her bone lance with a swift slap of the back of its palm, then takes another leap with a faster speed. One of its hands is actively trying to reach her head while the other is on a sort of defensive posture.

Her eyes try to catch on. "Why does it have its guard up near its abdomen?"

The secret dark room Keen found earlier led to this encounter. However, there was no sign of the map material anywhere else in the fortress.

An idea comes to her mind.

Using the Clone Ring's ability, she creates two clones of herself on either side of her. She then steps back even further as she draws out a sledgehammer trimmed down to match her body proportions using the and skills she learned from their cunning magus grandis guild member.

The ogre commander grabs one of her clones on the torso, but leaves the other alone. As it attempts to bite off the clone's head, she teleports herself to the ogre commander's side and swings her sledgehammer with both hands.

"One…full…swing for you!" The sledgehammer lands a blow on the monster's other arm.

The ogre commander growls in pain and drops the girl it holds captive to increase its defense.

Vi smiles in joy. She saw it in a matter of seconds despite the dark space where they are fighting, but the monster is in fact protecting an item clasped to its waist. "That must be the map material!"

However, her smile disappears as she witnesses the ogre commander growing two more arms after shivering maniacally like a zombie. To make matters worse, the additional arms are holding spears with tips as silvery as mercury.

The boss-level monster then poses in an offensive stance, dropping its physical guard but replacing it with a heavy, ominous aura.

"Damn. Where's he all this time?" She quickly glances in all directions while the monster bathes in buffs for itself.

The ogre commander charges at her direction with double of its previous speed.

"So fast—"

Keen appears on its back with even more bloodlust. He only has one hand stretched out and almost touching the skin of the ogre commander but it already stops the assault towards his partner and shakes in fear.

Reaper's guild master gives the enemy the very concept of utter helplessness. "You like bullying so much, don't you?"

"Hu…man. No…," the ogre commander struggles to say in the midst of trembling.

The assassin duo both show obvious surprise. Who wouldn't if they see a monster speak human language?

But Keen has a more pressing matter at hand. He can sense the other guild coming closer. He needs the map material fast. With steadfast conviction, he uses in its newest form: two katanas with their bases connected via a long connecting string.

The ogre commander, having powered up, jumps forward then turns to face the other monster behind. With two spears, it jumps to Keen's direction while its free hands are being cautious over the torso.

It growls as it thrusts one spear, but the red-clad evades with minimum motion by sliding the katana against it and redirecting the momentum of the attack to the floor.

The other spear shifts handling and goes for a close-range strike towards his leg. However, Keen's response is still on-point as he successfully anticipated that retort.

With the blunt side of his second katana, he parries the ogre commander's other weapon. He then jump-turns to give the monster a powerful half-spin kick to its side.

The ogre smiles, having grabbed the red-clad by the ankle during that exchange. One of its free hands has been waiting for the opponent so it can exploit its advantage in the number of limbs it can use in battle.

That should be true, but when it sees Keen's wide smile, protruding fangs, and glowing red eyes that seem to be in a battle trance, the large-bodied monster frets and decides to try and throw the enemy to the corner of the room where a trap of metal spikes lay waiting.

To its surprise, the little body of the red-clad feels heavier than any other creature it has grabbed before.

"Hu…man. No…," it grumbles again as the red tattoos on its skin glow brighter.

"Crap, "Vi realizes, then runs towards the two monsters, "It's going berserk! Let me help you!"

Like a steam engine, the ogre commander's strength increases tenfold with its tattoos glowing bright red. Summoning more force, it succeeds in finally slinging the body of its enemy to the direction of unseen trap spikes.