Village of Toffa, Kingdom of Hensberg, Northern Continent
The swordsman grabbed my collar roughly and began shouting at me.
"What have you done, kid?!"
My body was too exhausted to resist him. Outside the temple, I could hear the screams and cries of children and women piercing through the air. My own right arm had been shredded by the axe of one of the orges that attacked this village.
I ran into this temple, desperate to find even a glimmer of hope... Yes, hope. Am I not allowed to have hope that a hero might save this village?
I made it here thanks to the sacrifice of the soldiers who risked their lives to keep the orges at bay as they tried to kill me. But why... why is the hero I summoned shouting at me like this?
This is madness.
I could no longer hold it together.
I grabbed the strong hands gripping my collar-hands trying to choke the life out of me. These same hands brought pain, suffocation, and misery.
Tears streamed down my face as a deep-seated rage boiled over within me. I shouted at the man before me, pouring out all the anger bottled inside.
"Why... is it wrong to have hope? Who are you? I summoned a hero! Not a vile scoundrel like you!"
"What did you just say, you brat?!"
The man in front of me raised the pommel of his sword, ready to strike me.
I didn't care anymore.
"Look at yourself... Just hit me already, you filthy bastard! Now, look outside..."
I pointed toward the scene beyond the temple doors. He turned his gaze toward where I directed.
"Are you blind to everything out there?! Are your ears deaf to their screams and cries?!"
My voice erupted louder than before, venting all my fury, exhaustion, and pain.
"I summoned a hero, not a piece of garbage like you!"
I dropped my head, sobbing. I clung tighter to the strong arms still gripping my collar as if attempting to break them.
Damn it... Damn it all!
I cursed my rotten luck. I was supposed to be this village's last hope, but I had completely failed. The hero I summoned turned out to be trash-a loathsome bastard.
I had wasted the sacrifices of the soldiers who died holding back the orges, ensuring I could make it to this temple and perform the summoning ritual. Despair overwhelmed me, mixing with the blood and tears streaming down my cheeks and arm.
Suddenly, the powerful hands released their grip on my collar, and I collapsed to the ground. On my knees before the scoundrel of a man, I heard him speak-softly this time.
"What's going on out there...?"
I looked up to see his face pale in horror at the scene outside.
"What are those creatures out there...?"
Could it be... Could I still have a shred of hope?
Words spilled from my mouth involuntarily.
"Please... I beg you, save us!"
He looked at me for a moment, then gently placed a hand on my head.
"I'm sorry"
He turned and stepped outside, his expression now filled with fury and disdain for the carnage before him.
"Tie up your arm with something. Otherwise, you'll bleed to death."
Then, he sprinted out and charged at the nearest orge, which was about to devour a little girl in a red hooded cloak.
The man moved swiftly, slashing the orge's arm to sever its grip on the girl, then catching the falling child before she hit the ground. The orge let out a shriek of agony.
With the girl in one arm, he leapt again, this time slicing his blade toward the orge's neck. Moments later, the creature's head was severed, tumbling to the ground. He had slain an almost three-meter-tall orge with shocking ease.
Not long after, another orge charged at the man from behind, swinging its massive axe.
The man seemed to sense it. He spun around and jumped into the trajectory of the axe. A single stomp of his boot crushed the orge's toes, sending the weapon flying into the air and forcing a howl of pain from the creature.
In an instant, he drove his blade into the orge's chest, plunging it in until it disappeared into the flesh. With a sharp sideways motion, he tore a massive gash across the orc's torso.
The beast wailed in agony as blood gushed from the wound. Moments later, it collapsed, lifeless.
I felt a chilling sensation on my right leg. When I glanced down, I saw my thigh soaked in my blood, flowing from my injured arm. The cool night air only made the chill more biting.
I had to stop the bleeding.
As that thought crossed my mind, something slammed violently into the temple wall beside me. Turning toward the source, I saw a soldier, bloodied and battered, thrown there by the swing of an orge's axe.
The same orge now fixed its eyes on us.
"Elena-sama... run!"
The soldier shouted, struggling as he saw the orge begin advancing toward us.
No... I didn't want to flee anymore. I refused to abandon the lives before me.
The orge charged.
I began chanting.
"O lucis domini! Da mihi praesidium tuum!"
(O Lords of Light! Grant me Your protection!)
As the orge drew near, it swung its axe wildly at us. I raised both hands, shouting the final words of my spell.
"Clypeus Lucis!"
(Shield of Light!)
A glowing wall of light formed before us, intercepting the orge's axe with a deafening clash.
Again and again, the orge swung its weapon, hammering the shield with relentless fury.
I gritted my teeth, my injured arm trembling as I held my hands steady, struggling to maintain the barrier.
I closed my eyes, enduring the excruciating pain in my arm from the immense force of the blows.
Suddenly, the attacks stopped. Moments later, I heard the orge roar in pain.
Before me stood the man I had summoned.
"Are you alright, little girl?"
He no longer called me a "brat" but instead, "little girl".
Still holding the child he had saved, he handed her to me.
"Take her... And bandage your arm. At least stop the bleeding! You don't want to die foolishly, do you? You summoned me to save you and this village, right?"
I nodded.
He smiled at me briefly before turning and rushing back into battle. Orges fell one after another under his blade. It was impossible to count how many he had slain.
Suddenly, a thunderous roar echoed across the battlefield.
All the orges froze in place before retreating, parting to reveal the source of the dreadful sound.
My body trembled uncontrollably. I was terrified beyond words. The little girl in my arms shivered violently, frozen with fear, her tears streaming silently as she stared at the monstrous figure approaching.
It stepped into the fray, heading toward the summoned man.
A massive red-skinned orge, towering over four meters tall.
An Orge-lord!