The last medium Gorta was a being born from the union of an orc and an ogre.
In the game, he had been positioned as a mid-boss monster directly beneath Orc Lord Hargon.
“The way we’re going to take him down is with a one-hit kill.”
“Am I the one doing it?”
“That’s right. The bastard had high resistance to magic.”
That was why Maya’s presence had been essential.
With the technique she had learned at the sanctuary, even if it took some time, she could kill Gorta in one strike.
“Is there a reason we can’t kill him slowly?”
“The problem lies in the bit in his mouth.”
“The bit?”
“Yeah. It is an artifact that suppresses the wildness contained in ogre blood. In exchange for gaining rationality, his physical strength weakened significantly.”
In the game, he had been treated as a two-phase monster.
Once his health dropped below a certain point, the bit in his mouth would fall off, and he would lose his reason, becoming a creature focused solely on destruction.
That part was even more troublesome.
Once the bit was removed, Gorta would gain physical strength comparable to Orc Lord Hargon.
On top of that, he would unleash a fear imbued with physical force, gaining long-range attack capabilities as well.
The safest method is to kill him instantly during the first phase.
It was around the time Jun was explaining all of this to Maya.
As they entered the temple where the final medium had been sealed, Maya who had been sniffing the air suddenly spoke with a grim expression.
“Leader.”
“Hmm?”
“I smell blood.”
“What?”
At Maya’s words, Jun felt a chill run down his spine.
“Blood? The smell of blood?”
“It’s human blood.”
“What are you talking abou—”
“It’s here.”
Thud— Thud—
“Damn it.”
“What should we do?”
“That thing has an excellent sense of smell. There’s no way to hide.”
Jun immediately drew upon his mana, assuming the orc had already caught their scent.
“We stick to the plan. But be careful. Something’s not right.”
“Understood.”
A shadow cast across the temple ceiling.
What finally appeared was Gorta, a half-orc, half-ogre monster boasting a six-meter-tall body.
“Murgle… Murgle…”
When the creature moved its lips as it spoke while staring directly at them, Jun’s eyes widened.
Damn it. The bit’s gone.
At that moment, Maya pointed at Gorta and spoke.
“Over there. There’s a dagger stuck in its side.”
“Shit. Looks like others reached the temple first.”
It seemed some mercenaries or adventurers had discovered the temple before them and met a grim fate.
Judging by the countless wounds covering its body, the ones who’d been attacked must have fought desperately until the end.
– Guooooooh—!
Without even a moment to mourn the dead, Gorta let out a roar and charged forward.
“Ugh…!”
Maya tried to dodge the incoming rush, but her body was suddenly and heavily weighed down by something.
It was one of Gorta’s main patterns in his second phase. A technique called [Shout of Might].
From a distance, he would unleash a fear attack imbued with physical force to briefly bind his target.
“Summon!”
Jun, also bound but with his mouth still free, summoned the golem and positioned it right in front of Maya.
Screeeeech!
A huge fist came crashing down, tearing through the air.
Booooom—!
The golem raised both arms to block the blow.
Crunch!
The ground beneath the golem’s feet collapsed first, and at the same time, cracks split through its arms, breaking its guard.
Once again, Gorta swung his fist down.
Kwaaang—!
With just two punches, the golem was forcefully unsummoned.
It worked!
But the biggest hurdle had been overcome.
One of the reasons Jun had been so wary of Gorta in phase two was precisely because of the [Shout of Might] and its resulting [Bind] status effect.
In the meantime, with her body freed, Maya launched herself toward Gorta using [Spirit Dash].
“Hmph!”
Gorta, distracted by the unsummoned golem, didn’t notice Maya approaching from behind. She slashed her sword straight at his ankle.
The unusual part was that, for a brief moment, Maya’s sword turned semi-transparent as she swung it.
Whoosh—
Her blade passed straight through Gorta’s ankle as if ignoring it entirely.
“Number eight!”
At Maya’s shout, Jun immediately cast a support spell on her.
[Enchantment: Elemental Armory]
[Attribute Enchantment: Wind]
Seeing the wind swirl around her boots, Maya kicked off the wall again and leaped upward, slashing at the creature’s head with her sword.
Two attacks in total.
But not a single scratch appeared on the creature’s hide.
Undeterred, Maya shouted again.
“Number seven!”
“It’s coming!”
Gorta had already turned around and was swinging his fist at Maya.
So fast!
As she narrowly dodged the huge fist, Maya activated [Spirit Dash] once more.
Debris from the shattered ground, struck by Gorta’s fist, passed straight through her body.
“Damn it!”
Gorta’s movements were shockingly fast, completely contradicting his massive size.
[The influence of the spell, ‘Odyssey of the Lazy Pilgrim’, is reduced by 5 percent.]
Seeing Gorta’s fist flying toward Maya’s head, Jun hastily cast [Shield].
Bang—!
With a thunderous crash, cracks appeared in the [Shield].
Taking advantage of the moment, Maya slipped to the side again, but Gorta’s eyes were already tracking her every move.
His reflexes were astounding.
Whooosh—!
With his body lowered, the creature swung its leg.
A shin the size of a human torso was about to crash directly into Maya.
[Grease]
Friction vanished beneath the creature’s foot, and it immediately lost its balance and fell.
– Guoooh—!
The creature’s leg barely grazed over Maya’s head, and she swung her sword.
The blade sliced cleanly through the length of the creature’s calf.
Maya shouted.
“Number six!”
“Fall back for now!”
“Just one more time!”
Pushing off the ground, Maya threw a dagger toward the head of the fallen creature.
Its eyes weren’t as well protected, so just as it tried to block with one arm—
Maya’s sword skimmed past its thigh.
“Huh?!”
But even then, the creature never lost track of Maya’s movements.
A huge fist came crashing down above her head.
[Grease]
Just as Gorta was about to lose his stance again, Jun’s quick-thinking magic activated.
Gorrr—!
As if saying he wouldn’t fall for the same trick twice, the creature accelerated his punch even more.
[Rapid Cast]
[Shield], [Shield], [Shield]
Three Shields unfolded in quick succession and shattered one after another.
Maya’s slender body was hit by the immense force and hurled away.
“Kaagh—!”
“You okay?!”
“Ghh… thought I was dead for a second.”
A thin line of blood trickled from Maya’s lips.
Jun was startled and quickly fumbled for a potion, but Maya shook her head.
“Just got hit by a deflected stone. It’s not a serious wound.”
“…That’s a relief. So we’re at number five now?”
“Number four. I got one more hit in just before I fell.”
“Phew…”
Right now, Maya was using a new ability she had learned at the Sanctuary.
The name of the ability was [Spirit Frenzy].
Depending on the strength of the opponent’s soul, it would etch a mark on it. When the marks reached a certain number, they would detonate all at once, killing the target instantly.
It was a kind of stacking instant-kill skill.
It had been one of Maya’s main abilities in the game, and so powerful that many players had cried out that it was overpowered…
But it’s not as convenient as it sounds.
To begin with, landing multiple successful hits on a boss monster wasn’t an easy task.
And she gets exhausted after just one use.
There was the clear drawback that it couldn’t be used repeatedly during battle.
It was quite literally a one-hit kill move, and the numbers Maya had been calling out to Jun referred to how many stacks were needed to shatter the creature’s soul in a single blow.
“Whew… This is ridiculously tough.”
“But now we only need four more successful hits.”
“It won’t be that easy. That thing… it’s already gotten used to our combat pattern.”
Guoooooh—! Gor! Gor! Gor!
Having missed his prey multiple times, Gortan seemed furious, wildly smashing the walls and floor of the temple.
In the process, he grabbed chunks of debris and, in the blink of an eye, hurled them at Jun and Maya.
Tatak!
[Burning Step]
Whoooosh—!
Maya and Jun split in opposite directions.
The spot where the two had just been standing was now caved in as if it had been bombed.
“You’re dead meat――!”
This time, it wasn’t Maya, but Jun whom the creature charged at.
[Iron Rampart]
Jun who was already prepared raised a huge wall in defense.
Bang! Bang! Baaang!
The wall managed to block the punches three times at most.
Gor—!
Just as Gorta’s face burst through the crumbling wall—
[Flare]
Maya unleashed the magic she had been gathering, embedding her will into it.
Her aim was locked precisely on the creature’s forehead.
Shhhhhhh—!
Gor, Gorrrrrrgh—!
The creature had considerable magic resistance, but taking a [Flare] full force at point-blank range still hurt like hell.
Kraaaahhh—!
Another burst of flare exploded.
Unlike the last one, which had been packed with physical force, this one sent magical power surging through the area.
“Tch.”
Though the spell he had just completed dispersed, Jun didn’t care and cast another spell.
[Burning Step]
With flames erupting beneath his feet, he escaped from his spot.
In that brief opening, Maya had already passed by, slashing the creature’s neck twice.
Now, only two stacks remained.
“That’s… dangerous… that’s really dangerous…”
By that point, it seemed Gorta had started to sense the danger as well.
As a being with a strong soul, he must have felt something steadily building within.
“You… youuu!!”
Only then did Gorta realize that Maya was the one responsible, and he focused all his attention on her.
Now, instead of recklessly charging at her, he heightened his guard.
Jun was annoying enough to leave alone, but Maya was someone who could truly pose a threat to him.
“Wuaaaaahhh!!”
Gorta began hurling fragments of the fallen pillars wildly.
Whether he was relying more on instinct than reason, his aim was terrible.
“Ugh…!”
But because of the monster’s immense strength, the debris scattered threateningly in all directions.
Jun quickly cast [Shield] around Maya to protect her.
In this battle, he had committed himself fully to supporting Maya.
But things weren’t going well.
From the moment Gorta became aware of Maya, she hadn’t had a single chance to get close again.
With his back completely turned to a wall, Gorta ripped out a massive stone pillar and swung it like a weapon.
We can’t use her ability to blend into the surroundings either.
Gorta’s primal instincts would surely sense it.
In fact, throughout the fight, Maya had tried multiple times to blend in, but Gorta had never once lost track of her.
“Leader. What do we do?”
“I’m thinking.”
What if Jun started bombarding him with magic from afar?
Impossible.
To cast a spell strong enough to damage the creature would require too much time to prepare, and above all, there was no way the creature would just stand there and take it.
There was still plenty of debris around Gorta that he could fling at any moment.
In that case…
They would need to change tactics.
Jun turned his gaze to Maya.
“Maya. Can you distract him for a bit?”
“How long?”
“About three minutes. It’s been a while since I’ve used this spell.”
“Got it.”
Normally, it was a difficult spell to use.
He had only learned and used the spell a handful of times.
But in that moment, countless images began to form in Jun’s mind.
He was always thinking about how to make use of the things he possessed.
Even Bern, a Level 7 Paladin, was left speechless by Jun’s adaptability.
If Maya’s with me… it’s definitely possible.
Jun’s fingers began to twitch as if pressing the buttons of a calculator.
Mana started to flow through his mana circuit.
[The influence of the spell, ‘Odyssey of the Lazy Pilgrim’, is reduced by 15 percent.]
Too much mana would be detrimental.
Instead, the magical pattern that formed the spell had to be intricately precise.
And on top of that, he infused a powerful mental image.
What image came to mind?
It was a puppet.
A puppet suspended by strong, individual threads, moving with delicate precision.
But then, an unexpected obstacle emerged.
A fire-imbued magic circle was rejecting Jun’s spell.
[The influence of the spell, ‘Odyssey of the Lazy Pilgrim’, is reduced by 18 percent.]
[Mana Body] forcibly silenced it.
Using magic this way would eventually cause problems.
Just hold out for me.
Mana flowed through the circuit like water, and an intricately designed magical pattern was drawn.
His mental image seeped deeply into it.
“Leader!”
“Almost… there!”
“Hraaagh! Stay away, stay awaaay!!”
Gorta hurled massive shards of stone at Maya like baseballs, again and again, as she tried to approach.
The randomly flying debris made Maya’s face grow increasingly tense.
Jun’s [Shield] was gone, and Maya had to conserve [Spirit Dash].
“Tch!”
One shard grazed Maya’s thigh deeply.
The way the blood gushed out, it was clear the wound was serious.
Of all places!
At that moment, Jun shouted.
“Now!”
“Haaaaah―!”
She dashed forward at full speed.
As she entered a certain range, Gorta swung a massive pillar, as if he had been waiting for her.
The immense force sucked in the surrounding air.
Even as she tried to dodge, her body involuntarily tilted toward the pillar.
One.
“Idiot.”
Maya’s figure blurred… and the pillar passed straight through her body.
If Gorta had possessed rational thought, he wouldn’t have swung his weapon after realizing the properties of her [Spirit Dash].
However, this was the last time Maya could use [Spirit Dash].
After channeling the spirit energy she had stored into her sword, Maya leaped forward right in front of Gorta, who was too busy swinging the pillar to react.
“Gor――!”
She saw the fear in his eyes.
Before he knew it, her sword that now turned faint and ghostly came crashing down between his brows.
And then.
[Spirit Frenzy]
Crack, craaack―!
“Khah, KHAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH――!!!”
Though there wasn’t a single physical wound inflicted by Maya, she could see Gorta’s soul.
His spirit was being torn apart by something.
They were the internal wounds from [Spirit Frenzy]. The slashes she had been stacking all along.
Not enough.
To kill Gorta in one blow, a total of nine strikes was required.
Just one short.
“Ghk-?!”
Her entire body went limp as Gorta’s fist smacked her away.
“Gahk―!”
Even though she barely twisted her body to lessen the impact, the shock spread through her entire frame.
In an instant, Maya’s body slammed into the wall, and Gorta continued to thrash about with blood-red tears streaming from his eyes.
“Ki… kill, I… I’ll kill youuuuuuuu――!!!”
Even so, he dragged himself toward the one who had caused him this agony.
Barely able to walk, he hauled his battered body forward, clenching a fist as huge as a boulder above the collapsed Maya.
Just as he was about to bring it down—
[Mental: Marionette Line]
Black threads embedded themselves densely throughout Gorta’s entire body.
Their number easily exceeded hundreds, even thousands.
Eyes, nose, mouth, ears, spine, chest, waist, heart, arteries, veins, lungs, windpipe, large intestine, small intestine, liver, stomach, pancreas, and so on.
At this point, it looked as if threads were pouring out from every part of his body.
“G-Guh―”
At the same time, Jun’s mana was injected into him.
[Marionette Line].
It was a mental-type spell Jun had once used against a golem in the Black Forest, one that invaded the opponent’s mind.
Though it was merely a third-circle spell, it was not something even a goblin could fall victim to….unless they were a ghost-type monster like a fairy or a spirit.
The reason was simple.
The black threads of [Marionette Line] could not reach the soul, which was protected within the vessel of the flesh.
However, Maya’s [Spirit Frenzy] was a technique that struck the soul itself.
[Marionette Line] pierced through Gorta’s tattered soul.
“G-Goruh.”
The powerful soul of the ogre resisted.
“Stop struggling.”
Jun glared at him coldly, pouring in even more mana.
“Ruaaah…”
Like a taut tug-of-war.
Jun gave everything he had to subjugate the creature’s soul.
He pierced it entirely with black threads and commanded it to obey.
Gorta fiercely resisted…. for a moment.
Then Jun pulled the black threads tight.
At that same moment, the soul was constricted by thousands of threads.
“―――!!!”
That must have been what a silent scream looked like.
The creature’s soul shrieked.
Unlike his resilient body, it was the first time his soul had taken such a blow.
He was clearly trembling in fear, and Jun took full advantage of it.
—Submit, obey, despair.
He etched it into the creature’s soul again and again.
“…….”
As if something inside him had come loose, Gorta stuck out his tongue and rolled his eyes back.
Jun’s hands moved like those of a puppeteer.
The black threads lifted Gorta’s arms. His massive, rock-like hands rose limply and covered his own face.
And then―
Crack―!
A chilling sound echoed through the temple.
Along with it, Gorta’s body collapsed to the ground with his head twisted in a grotesque direction.
The last medium had met its death.
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