Calika Nehu
I slammed my right fist into its face with full force, snapping its head to the side, while my left hand yanked Elda out of its jaws, pulling her into my arms.
The fish beast stumbled back a few steps, then turned to look at me, unfazed.
Even with my full strength, it wasn' t affected at all. Its stone armor didn' t crack, but my hand' s bones shattered, fingers twisted and unusable, needing time to heal.
Its armor morphed into sharp spikes, thrusting outward. I quickly turned, shielding Elda with my body.
"Argh!"
The spikes pierced slightly into my back, drawing blood.
Thankfully, its attack wasn' t as brutal as that bastard Roja' s.
I sprang up, grabbed the beast-eared girl, and carried both her and Elda to safety, thanking her for protecting Elda.
The beast-eared girl flinched at my thanks, then lowered her head and sobbed.
I didn' t know what happened before, but I saw her reach for Elda as the beast tried to eat her. Anyone else would' ve fled.
No matter. We' d escape. As I ran, the ice soldiers who spotted me were grouping up and heading this way, but I was faster and reached this point first.
I just needed to reach them and let them hold the beast off.
Then a loud crash came from behind. I instinctively dove sideways, landing on my back to protect the girls.
BOOM!
The beast had slammed both hands where I' d just been. A second slower, and I' d have been crushed.
"What are you? Whose side are you on?" it asked, pointing at me.
I didn' t answer, scrambling up to flee again.
This time, I heard a powerful flapping sound. Turning, I saw stones and weapons around the beast lift off the ground.
I clutched both girls tightly, crouching low to shield them with my body.
The stones and weapons struck me with precision.
It' s fine. It doesn' t hurt much. I can endure this.
But then a strange sound cut through the wind. Sensing danger, I glanced back.
I hurled both girls away just as the beast, wielding its stone armor as a fist, struck my back with devastating force.
BOOM!
"Urgh!"
I crashed into the ground, spitting out a pool of blood.
It stomped my head into the dirt and moved toward the girls.
Gritting through the pain, I grabbed its leg tightly. It kept walking, dragging me along.
I swung my left fist, burying my arm into the ground to anchor it.
When it couldn' t move, it turned its attention to me.
"Are you less evolved than me, or just a weaker form? Let go, and I' ll spare you."
I didn' t respond, just locked its right leg with my arm and shouted to the beast-eared girl.
"Beast-ears! If you can still move, take Elda to the ice soldiers!"
She nodded, crawling to drag Elda by her shirt, struggling to escape.
"I don' t understand. Why are you like me yet not like me?" the beast said.
I had no clue what it meant. It shed its stone armor and flapped its scales again.
Not on my watch.
"RAAAAGH!"
My roar disrupted its scales' wind control, causing weapons to drop and the beast to stagger, dazed.
No matter how many times it tried, my roars stopped it from weaponizing the wind against the girls.
Luckily, I' d thrown them far enough that its spikes couldn' t reach.
"Annoying pest."
It formed its stone armor into a pillar above me and dropped it like a hammer.
THUD!
"AAARGH!" I choked, blood flooding my throat.
It raised the pillar again.
THUD!
THUD!
THUD!
THUD!
I lost count of the blows. My body sank deep into the earth, dragging its leg down with me. Bones shattered, organs ruptured, my body healed and broke repeatedly. Blood pooled around me.
It panted in annoyance while I struggled to breathe, pain consuming me. My vision blurred, strength fading, consciousness slipping.
I smashed my head against the ground to snap myself awake, splitting my scalp. I couldn' t let go until I was sure they' d escaped.
When I wouldn' t release its leg, it turned to target the girls, preparing to hurl its stone armor with wind-guided precision.
Even if I roared to disrupt it, the armor would still fly. I couldn' t risk it missing.
It was ready to chase them if I let go. In my state, I couldn' t outrun it to protect them.
I scanned around—no one nearby, the ice soldiers too far to help in time.
Then I noticed its scales. It might work. I had to try.
As it prepared to throw, I pressed my mouth to its scales as they opened and roared with all my might.
"RAAAAGH!"
It screamed, dropping the stone armor and clutching its head, collapsing to its knees.
I yanked my left hand free, stood, roared again, and punched the stone armor with my broken hand, sending it rolling far away to buy time.
As I ran to the girls, the ice soldiers were closing in.
Focused on escaping, I hadn' t closely checked Elda.
I' d glimpsed her but avoided looking too hard to focus on survival.
When I flipped her over and saw her condition clearly…
"Elda…"
Tears poured uncontrollably.
"Sis… I' m sorry…"
It was too cruel.
Elda' s cute face was mutilated—mouth slashed, cheeks torn, teeth around her fangs ripped out, gums a horrific mess.
Her left arm was gone, her remaining leg charred and useless.
A massive scar marred her abdomen, with countless others across her body.
Elda didn' t respond, only faint breaths signaling she was alive, barely.
"Sis… I' m so sorry…"
My body trembled. Even as a weapon struck my head, I didn' t care.
I pulled Elda into a gentle embrace, apologizing endlessly.
I' m sorry I was late. I' m sorry I couldn' t protect you. It' s my fault.
Then a weapon flew toward Elda. My still-healing hand shot up, crushing the blade.
[ALERT!!! Anger levels rising sharply]
[If possible, suppress your anger]
When the ice soldiers arrived, I handed both girls to them, ordering them to take them to Sister Tiarra at the [Resonant Magic] guild.
"Wait! I' ll let the beast-food go, but I must eat that trash-food!" the beast said.
[ALERT!!! Anger nearing critical threshold]
[If possible, suppress your anger immediately]
"I' m the one who put it in that state, heh heh!"
I turned to the beast, ignoring the alerts and my mask falling off.
[ALERT!!! Anger has reached critical threshold]
*****
Wind-Scale Stone-Armored Fish Beast
After the headache faded, I flapped my scales, using wind magic to retrieve my armor.
While waiting, I watched her, still unsure if she was prey or a different kin. What to do with her?
"What race did you evolve from? Mine' s fish."
No response, as always. She just stared at the trash-food in disbelief.
"What form did you get? Mine' s mutant."
Despite my proud tone, she ignored me, crying uselessly and muttering apologies to the trash-food.
If she wouldn' t answer, I' d provoke her. I used wind to hurl a sword at her head.
It struck hard, tilting her head, but she didn' t react, still cradling the trash-food tenderly.
So I aimed another sword at the trash-food.
It worked. Before it hit, she grabbed and crushed it without looking, despite her mangled hand.
Still protecting that trash-food.
Then those foolish ice-magic prey arrived, practically melting themselves.
She handed both trash-foods to them, expressionless.
"Wait! I' ll let the beast-food go, but I must eat that trash-food!"
Suddenly, the air around her shifted. It worked. But she still ignored me, so I pushed harder.
"I' m the one who put it in that state, heh heh!"
Then fear gripped me, shaking my core.
As her mask fell and she turned, I saw her golden eyes dim to pitch black, then glow blood-red.
I knew instantly she was neither prey nor kin.
She was an enemy to eliminate or flee from to survive.
*****
Calika Nehu
[Anger has exceeded critical threshold. Disabling anger alerts]
[Target selected]
[Reason and thought suppressed]
[Ogre race' s primal instincts awakened]
[Adjusting body to align with race traits]
[All unupgraded skills +5]
[Damage output raised to Level 5]
[All upgraded skills x2]
[Body balance raised to Level 20]
[Strength raised to Level 10]
[Skin durability raised to Level 16]
[Agility raised to Level 12]
[Regeneration raised to Level 20]
[Calika Nehu has entered Berserk state]