Thomas was in trouble.
Eric and the chimera gave him no time to rest or gather his thoughts.
If he wasn't fully immersed in the moment, he risked dying from a blow coming too fast from an unguarded angle.
The ogre fought like never before.
Thomas charged headlong at the chimera.
His steps shook the ground.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
He slammed into the beast, pinning it against a rocky outcrop.
CRASH.
His hands dug into the lion's mane, trying to snap its neck with raw strength.
Bones cracked. The wings thrashed furiously to break free.
ROAR.
The chimera roared, desperately struggling to escape the deadly grip.
Eric seized the opening.
He darted under the chimera's left flank as it tried to pull away.
He dove between the ogre's legs and slashed upward in one swift motion.
SLASH.
His blade pierced the giant's thigh, carving through its length.
Blood gushed in thick sprays.
"AAAAH!"
Thomas staggered, slamming his fist into the ground to stay balanced.
Damn it. This men is faster than I thought.
The chimera broke free abruptly, lunging at the ogre with wings spread wide.
Its reptilian claws sank into the giant's chest, tearing flesh down to the bone.
Thomas roared, grabbing the beast mid-air.
But with a powerful wingbeat, it soared over him, ripping away a steaming strip of flesh.
The ogre's blood evaporated before it even hit the ground.
"FILTHY BEAST!"
As Eric closed in for another strike, the ogre spun with a monstrous backhand.
He seized the prince in one hand like a rag doll.
His massive fingers tightened, aiming to crush Eric's ribs.
"I'll squash you like an insect!"
But Eric drove his blade through the monster's forearm, forcing the hand to open.
SQUELCH.
Black blood spurted in heavy jets, steaming on the prince's blade.
Thomas hefted a smoldering boulder and hurled it at the chimera.
With a wingbeat, the beast dodged and charged head-on, claws extended.
The impact was colossal.
BOOM.
It slammed into him full force. They slid across the ground for meters, gouging a trail of flames.
Eric took advantage of the opening.
He leaped onto the ogre's back, sword in hand, and struck at the nape.
SLASH.
But Thomas grabbed the chimera's tail and flung it backward, hitting Eric.
CRASH.
Three forces collided. The ground collapsed beneath them. Dust turned to searing mist.
The ogre grabbed an orc corpse from the ground and swung it like a flail.
SWISH.
The body exploded on impact with the chimera, spraying shards of bone and molten flesh.
He continued the motion to strike Eric, who barely parried.
CLANG.
The impact reverberated through Eric's sword into his shoulders.
"Tch!"
The chimera opened its maw wide, its throat glowing bright red.
A torrent of molten lava erupted, fluid and bubbling, sweeping toward Thomas.
The ogre barely hid behind a wooden building, but the lava melted the structure instantly.
SZZZZZZZZ.
Damn it!
He rolled aside, feeling the heat sear his skin.
The ogre and the chimera circled Eric like twin storms.
Each of the giant's blows split the air. Each wingbeat sent up sprays of lava.
Eric dodged, countered, struck at every opening.
One of the chimera's claws met the ogre's fist.
CLANG.
Sparks and blood erupted together.
Eric slipped between them, parrying a blow from the ogre with the flat of his blade.
The shock numbed his arm.
Thomas grabbed the chimera's lion head and smashed it into the ground.
BOOM.
It roared, wings flaring, lava oozing from its fangs.
Eric lunged at its back and struck, but the ogre recoiled suddenly, forcing the prince to block a counterpunch just in time.
SMASH.
The blow numbed his arm, but the chimera seized the initiative.
A wing swipe sent burning dust into the monster's eyes.
"AAAAH! I CAN'T SEE!"
The lion head clamped onto the ogre's arm and bit down hard.
CRUNCH.
Fangs sank deep, shattering bone and tendon.
Thomas shook the chimera to break free, but it twisted in the air, tearing away a chunk of glowing flesh in its jaws.
"YOU BITCH!"
Wounded, the ogre staggered.
The chimera opened its maw for another blast of lava. Eric, meanwhile, charged straight at the same target.
Their attacks struck simultaneously.
Thomas roared, slamming both massive arms: one blocked the chimera's jaws, the other struck Eric.
The prince's sword pierced the arm, but the fist sent him tumbling.
BOOM.
The lava sprayed sideways, scorching the ogre's chest.
The longer the fight dragged on, the more Thomas tired.
He was losing reaction speed and taking hits—some too severe.
Maybe I could've handled the human or the beast alone. But both at once? It's too much.
He considered fleeing.
I don't want to die here. Not like this.
As the chimera landed, Eric slid to its right, using the shadow of its wing to mask his approach.
With a spinning step, he delivered a circular backslash aimed at the ogre's hip.
SLASH.
The strike split skin and cracked bone.
His sword screamed through the air, coated in flames and blood.
Thomas threw a direct punch—heavy, fast, precise—aiming for Eric's head.
The prince parried in time, but the force buckled his knees.
The ogre didn't stop: he pivoted instantly, swinging his other fist in a lateral blow that cleaved the air.
SWISH.
The gust from the swing sparked against Eric's blade, pushed back like a straw.
The chimera whipped its tail in a circular motion.
Its scaly tail struck like a steel hammer.
SMASH.
The impact exploded against the ogre's chest, hurling him several meters back.
The tail's scales briefly glowed under the friction.
The shockwave toppled debris, raising a curtain of incandescent dust.
Thomas tried to grab Eric, but the prince leaped onto the extended arm, ran along the forearm like a ramp, and stabbed at the base of the neck.
THRUST.
His blade sank halfway into the thick flesh before jamming.
He yanked the weapon free with a kick, propelling himself back just before the ogre's hand smashed where he'd been.
BOOM.
A flash of steel, a breath of death.
Eric panted, eyes wild with determination.
The chimera beat its wings, creating a fiery gust.
Droplets of molten lava sprayed from its maw, scattering like burning rain.
SIZZLE. SIZZLE. SIZZLE.
They exploded on contact with the ground, turning the battlefield into a red inferno.
Thomas shielded his face with his arms, his skin already blackened and blistered.
The air became unbreathable. The ground crackled beneath their steps.
As the chimera charged, Eric used it as a distraction: he slipped into its wake and struck in rhythm with its assaults.
Each wingbeat, each claw strike, he followed with a precise blow: tendons, flank, elbow.
Nothing was left to chance.
For a brief moment, Thomas had a chance.
Now or never.
He vanished before Eric and the chimera's eyes, stunning them.
Just like that.
"WHAT?!" Eric exclaimed, frantically looking around.
They scanned every direction.
"Where did he go?!"
They even struck at the exact spot where the ogre had disappeared, swinging into empty air.
SWISH. SWISH.
Nothing.
He was gone.
"Has he fled?" Eric muttered, incredulous.
The chimera sniffed the air, searching for a trace.
But there was nothing.
High in the sky, far from the camp, Thomas reappeared.
He had used magic to cloak himself in an invisible veil.
The veil dissipated like mist, revealing the ogre once more.
Maintaining the veil too long consumes too much mana.
Currently, Thomas was airborne, held aloft by his wind magic.
But keeping such weight in the air was taxing.
His muscles trembled. His breath was short.
Good thing I held back from exhausting myself too much. Otherwise, I couldn't have escaped like this.
He glanced back at the ground below.
It's a shame, but I'll have to abandon the camp. My survival comes first.
Suddenly, something struck him in the back.
SMASH.
The impact was brutal.
It threw him completely off balance, and he fell.
"WHAT?!"
He barely cushioned his fall with wind magic, but not entirely.
CRASH.
He crashed heavily into the ground, creating a crater.
It was so sudden. What the…?!
The culprit was Cassian.
He hovered in the air, looking down at the ogre with an excited grin.
Thomas looked up, shocked.
A human child? How is he flying?
It was well-known that humans couldn't use mana in childhood.
Of course, there were exceptions.
But to be capable of flying?
Thomas was stunned for a moment but quickly regained his senses.
If this kid can fly like that, he's probably capable of far more.
His blood ran cold.
I need to escape. Now.
In the air, Cassian was talking with The Sea Without Shores.
He held a book page that The Sea Without Shores had produced.
"So, I just tear the paper to gain a unique ability?"
The Sea Without Shores nodded vigorously to encourage Cassian.
"And what does it do, exactly?"
The Sea Without Shores gestured as if to say: Surprise. You'll find out by using it on the ogre.
Cassian looked down at the ogre.
Thomas struggled to stand, his heavy, wounded body faltering.
With a playful grin, Cassian slowly began to tear the page.
RIIIIIP.