Phillippo moved his dagger in a downward motion, and the ground began to shake slightly. It felt as if a gigantic creature was burrowing underground, causing a rhythmic tremor. When the dagger was raised again, the tremor briefly stopped, only to resume with even greater intensity.
The ground behind the ogre heaved upward, and a colossal centipede-like death bug, easily over ten meters long, emerged from the earth. Its segmented body was covered in an exoskeleton as hard as steel in bright red and yellow warning colors. Its numerous sharp legs dripped with purple venom, and six red-purple eyes scanned its surroundings. Its enormous mandibles and mouthparts clicked menacingly.
The ogre slew the death bugs approaching from the front and turned to face the massive centipede emerging from behind, but the centipede attacked first.
“Ki-shaaa!!”
The centipede emitted a high-pitched screech, causing the surrounding ground to ripple, shattering small stones, and distorting the hearing of those who heard it. Even its allied death bugs were forcibly immobilized. The ogre, despite its strength, was also momentarily paralyzed by the sound.
The giant centipede’s massive body, coiled like a whip, crashed into the ogre from the side. Its powerful mandibles clamped down on the ogre’s abdomen and back, digging deep and breaking bones while injecting potent venom into its organs. The ogre’s black skin began to darken to a deep purple, its torso contorting as the centipede’s jaws tried to tear it apart. In agony, the ogre dropped its halberd, which struck the ground with a burst of lightning before falling inert.
“You couldn’t dodge that one, could you?” Phillippo quipped. “This is the Armored Centipede, Artilum, a Disaster-designated monster. It’s one of my prized pets.” He spoke with pride, his eyes gleaming with admiration as he watched the ogre struggle in midair, suspended several meters above the ground in Artilum’s grasp.
“Artilum’s venom should paralyze your organs with just a scratch, but you’re still alive. I really want to know which God’s blessing you have, Mr. Ogre. But I’ll just find out later when I dissect you.”
Artilum’s mandibles bit deeper into the ogre, causing more blood to pour out. The area affected by the venom continued to spread, with a third of the ogre’s torso already turning purple. The ogre’s muscles bulged as he tried to pry Artilum’s jaws apart, but the sheer strength of the centipede seemed insurmountable. Blood flowed more freely, staining the ogre’s lower body.
About a minute after being bitten, the ogre finally lost all strength and went limp, his head drooping.
“Wait, Artilum. Don’t totally eviscerate him; I don’t want to clean up that mess,” Phillippo commanded, signaling with his short sword for Artilum to lower the ogre to the ground.
Obedient like a dog to its master, Artilum gently laid the ogre on the ground, withdrew its deeply embedded mandibles, and brought its enormous head closer to Phillippo. Smiling, Phillippo began scraping the carapace of Artilum’s head with his short sword, causing the giant centipede to writhe in apparent pleasure.
“Good job, good job. Now, go back to your post and keep up the good work. It’s over here anyway.”
With a reluctant screech, Artilum raised its body skyward, then plunged its head into the ground with such force that dirt and stones sprayed everywhere. Within seconds, its massive form was completely burrowed underground, leaving only a series of tremors behind, which soon ceased.
Once Artilum had departed, Phillippo, still smiling, turned his gaze back to the ogre.
“Now then, I’ll take the ogre’s body back and… Huh?” His cheerful tone abruptly shifted to one of confusion and disbelief. “Huh? What? What’s going on?”
Phillippo’s face contorted in bewilderment as he stared at the spot where the ogre’s corpse should have lain. Instead of a body, there was only a pool of dark red blood, stark against the surrounding crimson-stained earth.
Where had the body gone? What had happened? How was this possible? Questions raced through Phillippo’s mind, paralyzing him with confusion. He stood stock still, his form riddled with openings.
Taking advantage of this, something moved silently into Phillippo’s blind spot. But because he was a Brave, Phillippo’s body reacted instinctively. As Phillippo ducked his small body down with all his might, something sharp and thin like a needle shot through the air above him, glinting silver.
“Tsk.”
A small tongue click. Hearing right beside him the faint sound of irritation at his narrowly avoiding the attack, Phillippo leaped sideways with beast-like agility, all four limbs pushing off from the ground. That reflexive action saved him from a blade that descended like a guillotine.
Cold sweat trickled down his back when he realized how close he had come to being killed. He glared at his assailant suspiciously.
“I’m genuinely surprised, Mr. Ogre. How did you survive that?”
Standing before Phillippo was the ogre, unscathed and gripping the halberd he had apparently dropped.
“Why would I tell you?” the ogre replied, sounding exasperated.
Phillippo laughed and nodded. “Right, of course. Well, the one who died must have been a fake, but still, fooling me like that is impressive. My compound eyes are supposed to see through a lot, but you completely tricked me.”
Phillippo’s normally squinting eyes opened wide. His dark green compound eyes, like an insect’s, reflected countless images of the ogre.
“Maybe I sent Artilum back a little too early. But it’s probably far away by now, so there’s nothing I can do about that.” Phillippo chuckled bitterly and pulled out yet another glass tube from his pocket. This one contained a large, poisonously colored caterpillar floating in yellow fluid.
“This is one of my trump cards,” Phillippo announced. “You’re way too strong for an ogre, so I thought I’d use this to play with you. But before that, how about we properly introduce ourselves? Even if we’re going to kill each other, it’s nice to know a bit about your opponent, right?”
“That might be true, but I decline,” the ogre replied. “I’d rather not reveal too much right now.”
“Wow, you’re so cold, Mr. Ogre. That’s fine, I’ll just introduce myself then. My name is Phillippo Belld Locarta, the second son of a noble in the Keelica Empire. As you probably know, I’m part of the Eight Great Knight Corps, Rugald Orden, and known as the Bone Bug Brave. By the way, my rank is seventh from the bottom, so I’m far from the strongest. Just because we’re evenly matched, don’t—”
As Phillippo spoke, the ogre thrust his halberd from several meters away. Despite being out of range, three spears of lightning shot forth, aiming straight for Phillippo’s face.
Using the superhuman reflexes and physical abilities of a Brave, Phillippo narrowly dodged the attack. However, a part of his antenna-like hair got singed, and his body was jolted with electricity.
“Ouch! That was mean, Mr. Og—”
Ignoring Phillippo’s protest against his sneak attack, the ogre shattered the ground beneath his feet and closed the distance in an instant, bringing the halberd down in a swift strike. The blade moved so fast it became a blur. The intention was to increase its destructive power by wrapping the axe head in a watery edge, but the blow was stopped, effortlessly.
A high-pitched metallic screeching echoed around, and a foul, metallic stench filled the air.
What had blocked the halberd were six tentacles that now extended from Phillippo’s abdomen. Covered in overlapping small shells, the tentacles not only defended against the attack but also began to move individually, attempting to ensnare the ogre. The ogre instantly leaped back to avoid them.
“Darn it. I ended up using my second trump card before I could even play the first. I wanted to save it for later, but you’re too fast, Mr. Ogre. Actually, aren’t you moving much faster than before? Huh.”
Seeing no response from the ogre, Phillippo sighed like he was bored and began manipulating the surrounding death bugs with his short sword again. The death bugs, which had remained perfectly still to avoid interfering with Artilum’s attacks, now ignored the ogre and gathered around Phillippo. He pierced them with the tentacles from his abdomen, absorbing their essence.
With each insect absorbed, the tentacles grew thicker and stronger, and Phillippo’s body began to transform. His back swelled until it burst out of his clothes, revealing new appendages that resembled a blend of dragonfly and butterfly wings. His arms developed green exoskeletons, akin to gauntlets, and his head morphed into something resembling that of a praying mantis. Other parts of his body also changed, exhibiting pronounced insect traits and making him look anything but human.
At once, he appeared more ferocious than any of the death bugs, exuding a menacing aura and vitality unmatched by any other creature in the area.
The ogre furrowed his brow at the transformation, but soon enough, he displayed a feral grin. It was the look of someone about to feast on delectable prey. The ogre’s eyes gleamed with hunger, and his slightly parted mouth revealed teeth glistening with saliva.