It took me all night flying as fast as I could to reach the border of Jura, and now that I had returned to my home, I made a beeline for the ogre village. As a strong race, they would surely have at least some idea of what was going on, and I could use their village as a base while I decided how to tackle whatever problem was causing havoc in the forest.
Taking off the anti-magic mask, I let my aura out fully for the first time in quite a while. It felt really good, like letting off a big breath I had been holding. On top of being a relief, it would also serve to broadcast my approach to the ogres; I wouldn't want to scare them like I did last time.
As I neared the site of the village however, something began to feel off. I slowed to a walk, landing on the forest floor so I could take in the surroundings.
Shouldn't the ogres have greeted me by now? I knew they could sense my aura from this distance, and since I was such a big deal last time, I'd figured they'd send scouts or something to greet me.
Not just that… there were no birds chirping right now. The forest as a whole was eerily quiet.
At this distance, I should've been able to detect the combined aura of the village, a result of the many powerful monsters living there.
But there was nothing.
I entered direwolf form and shot through the trees even faster than I had before, worried that something was wrong but not sure what, a growing anxiety welling up inside me.
Even before I reached the hill that would let me see the village, though, [Magic Sense] was showing me the reality.
I didn't want to believe it.
I didn't believe it.
[Magic Sense] must've been malfunctioning, or lying to me. There's no way a village of 300 B-ranked majin could…
I crested the hill.
And I saw the ruins of the ogre village before me.
I couldn't sense a single soul; the place was entirely abandoned.
Maybe they evacuated?
The thought was reassuring, but at the same time unrealistic. I didn't entertain it for more than a single moment.
If it came to that… then… No, they wouldn't abandon this place. The ogres would defend it to the end.
To the end…
My anger boiled.
I suppressed the howl welling up in my throat, my aura was taking on a frantic, destructive edge. Overhead, roiling black clouds began to cover what used to be a cheerful, pure blue summer morning sky.
I nearly lost control of my shapeshift, almost splattering onto the ground–but I managed to control myself. Barely.
Thunder roared and rumbled in the sky above me, and lightning flashed black across it.
Slowly, I entered through the rubble of the village gate.
This couldn't be real.
It was an illusion… any moment now they'd jump out and apologize for scaring me to death like this.
For the first time in my new life, I used [Magic Sense] to its fullest.
My senses were painfully sharp, yet my thoughts felt foggy as I desperately tried to deny everything.
I took in everything, not letting so much as an ant escape my notice. Every blade of grass, every drop of the rain growing steadily heavier… the grain of the scorched wood boards.
There wasn't so much as a wall left upright.
In the mud I found the prints of deep, heavy boots, now filling with the downpour from overhead.
[[Notice: The composition of these tracks alludes to a large creature in heavy armor.]]
I suddenly realized I had wandered to the doorstep of the Chief's house, now nothing more than a damp foundation.
In a daze, my gaze drifted to the trampled firepit nearby.
…on the ground in human form, cross-legged and holding an ogre toddler in my lap while they tried to chew on my fingers with their deceptively sharp baby teeth.
Still in the wolf form, I turned away and wandered further.
"Let's play Hammerhorns!"
"I will come to you again for your final challenge tomorrow, Rimuru!" The purple-haired ogress said with a forced grin, hiding tears that seemed to be welling up in the corners of her eyes.
"We should hold a feast to send Rimuru off properly."
Flashes of the past crossed my mind, vivid memories of the happy times spent with the ogres, triggered by the familiar, yet changed locations in the village.
This was a place I had spent a good amount of time in, getting to know the ogre tribe, training with a sword, and just enjoying life. But now… that was all gone, reduced to ashes. The settlement had completely burned to the ground, and I couldn't help but feel like that was partly my fault, even though I didn't know the true cause just yet.
If I was here, could I have prevented this? I agonized as I stumbled through the streets of the decimated settlement.
I came upon something that I recognized; one of the spools of thread that I had given the pink-haired ogre princess. The spool itself was gone, but the strands of sticky-steel thread were unmistakable, balled into a small bundle and poking out from beneath the rubble of a building.
I switched to human form and picked it up, clutching it tightly in my hands and feeling utterly helpless as the rain ran down my body, soaking my hair and clothes.
"I am sure you are wondering what happened in your absence, spawn of the Storm Dragon." An almost angelic voice rang out through the sound of the rain pattering against the muddy ground.
I'd noticed her presence a moment ago, but didn't bother with this person since I wasn't in a talkative mood. However, her knowledge about my origin immediately put me on edge.
"Who are you and what do you want?" I coldly asked the green-haired woman of inhuman beauty.
"I am Treyni, a Dryad and one of the overseers of the Great Forest of Jura appointed by Lord Veldora." She smoothly introduced herself.
"An… overseer? I met Veldora, and he doesn't really seem like the type to do something all formal like that. But if he did..." I paused and thought about what she said for a few moments.
She seemed pretty powerful, just based on magicule count, stronger than the ogres at least. If she was a supposed overseer of Jura, then…
I turned to her, my aura flaring as my rage boiled over. "If that's the case, then why didn't you help them?" My tone was lividly soft, in spite of the clouds raging overhead so loudly.
"I wasn't fast enough, and the Orc Lord was too powerful. I am sorry." Her face was blank, and her eyes dry of both tears and the rain. She bowed softly after staring for a few moments, inspecting me intensely with her emerald eyes. They were sharp, cunning, and confident, yet cautious of me, but it didn't show anywhere else on her.
"You still haven't told me what you want." It was clear she knew a lot more about what happened than I did, and she must've had a reason to approach me.
"I want you, Rimuru Tempest, spawn of the Storm Dragon, to defeat the Orc Lord in his name." Treyni stood back up from her bow and smiled at me placatingly. "If you want to avenge the ogres, that is who your target would be."
Avenge.
The word was bitter to hear.
Still, she told me something important: The title of my prey.
Despite that, it felt too easy. I quickly wondered if she may be deceiving me… With that confident gaze, and power of her own.
[[Notice: Dryads are known as the virtuous managers of the Jura forest, ones who exact divine retribution against those that pose a threat to it.]]
She could still be lying to me. I crossed my arms bitterly.
[[Notice: evidence of activity consistent with the birth of the Unique monster, Orc Lord, has been previously observed.]]
The sage seemed convinced enough, and the anger building inside me was making me more and more apt to believe it and this dryad's words.
"Tell me where this 'Orc Lord' is." I firmly demanded.
"As much as I want you to take them on before they consume the entire forest, you must know that they have forces numbering–"
"Tell me where the Orc Lord is!"
Treyni looked a little surprised, possibly because of the [Coercion] I'd laced into my words. After a moment of consideration, she nodded.
"The lizardmen and the direwolves have joined forces and are fighting the orc siege in Lake Siss."
After hearing that, I moved to leave almost immediately, but a stray thought stopped me from rushing off too soon. Already turned away, I glanced back at the Dryad and softly asked, "are there any ogre survivors?"
"There were a few. Against my advice, they attempted to fight off the orcs by themselves, and perished."
I stopped, clenching my fists. "With your help?"
The dryad shook her head. "Even with my help, they couldn't have won–and I couldn't risk allowing myself to be devoured. I wanted them to wait for your return, but they insisted on swift revenge."
Quivering with rage, I tried to maintain my sense of reason. She should have at least saved them… stopped them in some way… she's probably strong enough to restrain even Redhead, was what I thought, but–no. "Who…" I took in a shaky breath, "who were they?"
"The ogre chief's son, the princess and her guard, a blue-haired scout, the sword ogre, and a blacksmith," she listed off. I could see her gauging my reaction, reading me cautiously. What was she afraid of?
"That idiot." I buried my face in my hands. "Of course it was him. Stupid, stupid, stupid Redhead. Stupid old man. Stupid, immature ponytail… stupid Pr-…" I stuttered, "P-Princess."
Why didn't they just wait for me?
Oh. Right… I never told them when I'd be back.
This was my fault. Stupid, stupid, stupid slime.
I hated this feeling, this helpless guilt and grief. I wanted it to go away!
"Hey, Dryad." I hissed, too upset to bother controlling my tone much. Her eyes widened very slightly with surprise, but she met my gaze regardless, mostly unbothered.
Stalking up to her, I craned my head to get as close to her face as my short body could manage. "You're the one putting me up to this, right?" I growled, sticking a finger to her chest. "You're the 'overseer of the forest' or whatever? Then you have to fight with me."
"Of course." Treyni, to my surprise, responded immediately with a resolute expression and a nod. "My sisters and I will fight alongside you, and help you keep the promise you made to Lord Veldora."
Oh. I did make a promise a while back, didn't I? Wait–no! "How do you know about that!?" I balked, hopping back a little. That was a telepathic exchange between me and Veldora!
Her knowing I came from Veldora's magicules was one thing, something even the ogres were able to half figure out, but knowing a secret like that… I'd never spoken a single word about it out loud.
The green-haired beauty smiled down at me knowingly. "Dryads know all that happens within the borders of the forest of Jura."
I shuddered.
"...how long have you been watching me?"
"After your conversation with Lord Veldora, I was able to see you up until you left for the human lands." Her smile and tone were disgustingly innocent.
"...ugh." I shivered, shaking myself to remove the tingling, uncomfortable feeling I had at the thought of that. "Bunch of freakin' stalkers, no wonder." I turned away, taking my mask out of my coat pocket and donning it again.
What's the big deal about a slime like me, anyway? I mean, I was named by 'Lord Veldora,' sure, but really?
Treyni, who had apparently been spying on me for most of my life, seemed confident enough in my chances. She probably had a decent gauge on my abilities, in that case. I didn't like it, but it was a problem for another time.
"Well?" I glanced over my shoulder, spreading my wings. "Can you keep up?"
"Before we leave," Treyni's expression suddenly darkened. Sensing the seriousness in her tone, I gave her my full attention.
"No matter what happens, you must not let yourself get consumed." Treyni stepped close to me, towering over me to drill her point in. "The Orc Lord is a creature that grows in power the more it eats, stealing skills, resistances, even physical attributes of its prey. If it fed on you, it would evolve, and become unstoppable. It doesn't matter if you can't win–should things turn dire, you must flee."
"...Sheesh, fine." I turned back, "no need to be dramatic about it."
Like I'd let something like that happen to me… I'm not a total idiot!
My tone had recovered, talking to her, but inside my anger still surged like a pot verging on boiling over. I was done talking, it was time to see some action.
With one quick, downward flap, I shot into the sky and banked in the direction of Lake Siss.
The lizardmen's home base was a series of big caves in a rock formation, surrounded by wetlands in the middle of the lake. I had stopped by to check it out during my jaunt mapping the forest, though I never bothered talking to the inhabitants.
Fortunately, that meant I knew exactly where I was going.
I was hovering in the air high above a horde of armored, pig-like majin. I guessed these were the 'orcs' Treyni had mentioned.
They were digging a tunnel into the rock face with pickaxes, while another row behind them would lift and throw the rocks back. I could clearly see why as well. There were thousands, no, tens of thousands of monsters taking shelter in the cave networks the orcs were digging into.
None of them had noticed me, too distracted by their petty siege, which worked just fine as I pondered how to take out such a massive horde.
Maybe I should just drop down and eat them? …No, that would be dumb…
Suddenly, I caught sight of a flash of light at the edge of the marsh. That dryad Treyni, and a couple others like her, were waving at me from where they had just appeared.
{{What?}} I sent her an irritated [Thought Communication].
{{My sisters and I will take on the orc horde. We need you to locate and destroy the Orc Lord controlling them.}}
{{Yeah, I got it.}} I replied, a bit impatiently. {{Ladies first.}}
I watched as the three dryads suddenly each summoned a spirit… Treyni had a wind spirit, but the other two summoned higher flame elementals.
Ifrits. I thought in anger, but even as I watched, Treyni and the rest fused with the summoned spirits… and chaos broke out on the battlefield.
With Treyni fuelling the others' fire attacks, they obliterated the orcs on the edge of the massive throng surrounding the lizardmen's stronghold.
The strongest orc I could sense was skulking through the tunnels, planning a surprise attack. The cowardly display got me just a bit peeved.
I waited until just as he was gonna attack, then sprung into action.
Immediately, I used [Spatial Motion] to drop into the middle of a large cavern, right above an orc in black armor, wielding a massive axe.
Without giving it a chance to even notice me, I dropped onto its back. The orc was several times larger than even the biggest lizardmen in there, and I wasn't sure my sword would do any damage to armor like that, so instead I deployed [Body Armor] on my hands and tore into it with my bare claws.
"GRAAAAAAAAH!" The orc roared in surprise, briefly turning its attention from the monsters it had been fighting–two lizardmen, one of them quite elderly, and a couple wolves darting in to harass it.
I dug deeper, tearing off the armored plates, into skin, into bone. The flesh tore away, but it wasn't enough for me. I added to my attack a bit, searing the muscles apart with black flame I'd wrapped around my claws.
The orc's flesh melted under my hands, and I grabbed its spine in both of them, cracking it easily.
The creature's enraged screams stopped. It fell to the floor, lifeless.
I stood up, the blood dripping off my claws quickly absorbed into my body. In the blink of an eye, I was clean as a whistle.
"W-who–who are you?" The old lizardman asked shakily, hefting his spear. I glanced around at the terrified huddle of goblins, lizardman civilians, and direwolves.
I felt bad that they were all so terrified by what I just did, but I had other things to worry about at that moment.
"I'm someone on your side," I said simply, then teleported back to the surface to finish the job.
That orc I killed wasn't the only one of its type. All across the battlefield there were massive orcs in black armor, towering above the rabble below them.
I decided to dub these guys 'generals.' The term felt right.
With [Magic Sense] I spied four other sources of massive power. Two of them were grouped together, with a significant difference in strength–I would save those for last.
Flapping my wings, I decided to keep the battle claws I had made with [Body Armor] since they proved so effective. I dropped down on another general, dispatching him in the same way as the first.
One of Treyni's sisters let a massive torrent of flame loose across the battlefield, and I dove into it without hesitation. Fire didn't affect me after all, so as orc grunts screamed and died around me, I streaked towards the general that had been caught in the blast, and I needed to make sure he didn't survive this.
He went down the same was as the last.
Lastly, I needed to address the pair. Surely, I'd need to fight them both at once, with how close they were to each other. I felt I could do it, though. No, I needed to do it.
The larger, stronger one was clearly the Orc Lord, having finally stopped being a coward and disguising its aura to match the generals. But, it wasn't moving a muscle, so I focused on the smaller orc.
I shot into my target, ripping into him with my claws. He had just enough time to cry out, "My king! Help me!"
I whipped around, expecting to have to fend off an attack from the 'king' before I managed to finish this guy, but… nothing. The Orc Lord was still just standing there, staring silently.
"Oi," Abandoning the claws, I spread out a slimy tendril and wrapped it around the pig's throat, forcing him into a sitting position. "Are you seriously just gonna stand there?"
No response. Just a beady-eyed blank stare devoid of any emotion.
Something was happening inside me. It was something I didn't fully understand, but… I came here to make this monster suffer for taking my friends away, and it was just standing there?!
"F-father…" the captured orc in my grasp choked out, reaching for the silent figure.
The Orc Lord simply watched me slowly dissolve one of his most loyal subordinates; his son.
It was sickening.
I didn't stop, though. I wanted to see his eyes fill with remorse, I wanted to see something.
Anything.
"Are you kidding me!?" I smashed what was left of the orc into the ground, "this is your freaking son, and you're doing nothing!?"
Even after that, the creature's face was blank.
Something inside me snapped. I finally finished the job, and the last orc general died with a muffled gurgle.
There was still no reaction from the giant pig.
{{Rimuru.}} Treyni's voice appeared in my mind, {{I and my sisters are running low on energy. What is your status?}}
At that moment, I had an idea. {{Yeah.}} I replied, {{my status is helping you.}}
I slipped off my mask and put it away. Magic had always been easier to control without it on.
Then, I summoned the same spell I'd used to destroy the perverted costume Yuuki tried to give me, a [Black Flame] amplified inside a barrier, but much more intense.
And, without any more hesitation, I threw it into the crowd of orcs, and it went off with a massive BOOM. Not even ashes were left once the flames died out, leaving a glassy scorched surface and nothing else.
I grinned softly.
Go straight to hell.
A deafening boom and sickening crackle filled the battlefield as the massive dome of black flame obliterated a large swath of the orcish army.
Then another, and another. Leaving behind nothing but molten ground turned glassen by the searing heat of the attacks.
"S-sister…" Trya stuttered, watching this all happening with wide eyes. "If that were to be used on our–"
I stopped her before she could finish that thought, "I know. But Rimuru Tempest is kind and caring. He even went out of his way to save the Lizardmen in the caverns before starting this rampage. Doesn't that speak to his character? With no reason to attack our settlement, he wouldn't so much as think of doing it."
"You're probably right…"
There was a pause of silence from my two sisters and I as we continued monitoring the fight, one that was clearly being won by the slime. Already tens of thousands had been destroyed by him, and that number was continuing to climb.
There was a sickening cloud of magicules already filling the air, the spirits and souls of the dead released back to the environment.
I'd need to take extra caution with the area in the future.
"Are you certain you can control him once this is all over? He is stronger than you figured, from what I have seen so far," Doreth added, wincing as another dome of flames erupted in the distance.
"Control may be too strong a word, but I believe that I can at least keep him on our side, or better."
"I will trust you on that, sister."
"I will too, but this has me nervous. What if he becomes something worse than the Orc Lord after this battle? He will end up consuming it if he wins, right?" Doreth asked with equal worry to Trya.
"Most likely. I am certain he will want to steal its skills, as he has done with other lesser monsters in Jura."
"I hope he will keep his senses… gaining mass amounts of power at once, it could overwhelm even the strongest of monsters."
He almost seems made to absorb power with how quickly he has gained strength, so I doubt that will be a problem. Rimuru Tempest was born of and is blessed by Lord Veldora himself, his soul and will are strong enough to not lose himself to such a thing.
"He will. Once Rimuru calms down, he will go back to his usual self. No amount of power should change him in that way."
My sisters nodded, agreeing with my firm conclusion.
"Though, you two should leave, now that your job is done. For your own safety."
"But, sister–"
"This area is being polluted by death. I alone can handle monitoring Rimuru from here. There is no reason to risk all three of us when there is no benefit to it."
Trya and Doreth seemed hesitant, but still faded away, returning home.
I continued my watch of the slime, and hoped for the fate of this forest that I was right about him.
At the end of this, he would surely become something more fearsome than the Orc Lord. But, at his core, he would still be the same slime I'd been watching since his naming.
After using a few more fiery attacks, newly named [Hell Flare]s, I thought of something that might be even more effective.
I had a few skills I'd never really gotten to use until now. Whatever it took, I was going to make the Orc Lord suffer. Feel the pain that I was in.
I knew from history class just how effective chemical weapons were at making soldiers suffer, and this army was packed closely together. They would have a hard time escaping that kind of attack.
I thought about the right kinds of skills to use for that, and two came to mind. Storm Magic could quickly spread a material across the battlefield, and [Miasma] should be able to make any kind of poison I wanted.
A thunderstorm, paralytic and painful. It would immobilize them, stopping their attack, and would put them in pain. It would put them in the same pain they put my friends in.
That spell was simple enough, and the reliable sage had finished it by the time my thought was over.
Thanks.
I lifted my hand, and a set of magic circles spread around me, and up into the sky. A dark black rumble of clouds formed above me with a sickening crackle of black lighting and noxious fumes, until a downpour of toxic rain fell onto the army.
It was pelting them as a poisonous monsoon, and many of the orcs began to fall and squirm in pain. Their breaths heaved and their movements became labored as it continued to pour down on them en masse.
A small grin made its way onto my lips, and I wasn't entirely sure why. It just felt refreshing.
But, despite the poison, a handful of orcs across the battlefield were managing to resist it somewhat, stumbling to their feet.
Their actions were revolting; they'd crouched onto the ground and had begun devouring their comrades. I could see the magicules surging inside them as they did so, and a thought crossed my mind.
Is this what happened to the ogres?
My aura turned a stark black as my anger burned inside me with an even stronger hatred.
Screw this, I have to attack the Orc Lord directly. But just as I was about to take a step, a newcomer entered the battlefield.
It was that stupid majin who tried to manipulate the ogres before I left. He seemed to ignore me completely and just started uselessly beating the Orc Lord with a staff, whining the whole time.
"Listen to me, you pig! Go kill that majin before it destroys our entire army! If you don't stop them now, what was this all for?!" He pulled out a sword and tried to hold the Orc Lord at the point of it to order him forward.
A sword I recognized, but it had changed. It was more refined and held the symbol I'd seen the ogres wear on their outfits. It had those magic crystals I'd given over to the old smith, and the steel I'd provided so Redhead could be ready to fight me the next time I came back.
All of that was in the hands of this disgusting lowlife.
How dare he… I couldn't believe this. I trembled, shaking in rage. I shot forward and grabbed arrogant idiot's shoulders and forced him into the mud, not even minding the nearby Orc Lord.
"Gehh!" The pathetic majin shrieked, "this is a Rare-grade suit, do you have any idea what you've just soiled!?"
I didn't bother with a response, just wrenched Redhead's sword from his filthy hand and stepped back.
The Orc Lord was still watching us, and I was done playing around. It was time to end this.
I broke off a little bit of my slime and let it fall to the ground, and sent it off to go handle the other orcs. I needed a boost in magic anyway, and a clone could eat enough of those orcs to get what I needed.
A black cloud of smoke formed around my little drop of slime before flying off into the distance toward the main part of the army. 'Good luck, little guy~.'
"Eeeeeeee!" That wretched majin shrieked in rage, "you don't deserve that!" He ran towards me to try and take the sword back, but I just shoved him off without even a glance.
I lifted the sword, ready to strike down the Orc Lord with the very weapon Redhead would have used to do the same if he could, but the majin's ranting didn't stop… and in it, I heard some interesting things.
"This is all your fault!" He shrieked at me, trying to pummel me with aura bullets, but they had no effect. "You were supposed to be weak! Weak enough for that stupid pig to consume!"
What? I stopped, cocking my head just a bit to listen. They were expecting me?
"Why can't you just let the Orc Lord eat you!" Gelmud created a massive ball of energy and shot it at me, but I didn't move. "You're the last piece! Once he's a Demon Lord, I'll–"
I grabbed the majin tightly by the throat, effectively shutting him up.
Then, an admittedly sinister idea crossed my mind. I turned my attention away from the idiot still floundering in my hands and back to the Orc Lord.
"Hey… I dunno what to call ya. So… Orc Lord, if you really wanna become a Demon Lord, how 'bout just killing this waste of space? You're obviously stronger than him." I almost blamed the Orc Lord for not doing it yet, if this useless moron had been ordering him around.
He may have ordered the Orc Lord to kill the ogres, but the Orc Lord could've just killed him instead. There was never any need for my friends to die.
"Kill… Master… Gelmud…?"
Ah, so the living statue has a voice after all. He had even given me the bird-masked moron's name that I had forgotten, not that I cared. But confirming that he was taking orders from Gelmud was something much more valuable to me.
"Yeah," I said, "this guy wants you to evolve." I shoved Gelmud forward, still holding him by the neck as he writhed. "He seems strong enough. Eat him, and you'll fulfill your master's wish."
"I…" The Orc Lord lurched. "I… will please… Master… Gelmud…"
I forced the majin's arms behind his back and smiled a bit as I started walking toward the Orc Lord slowly.
"H-How could you!?" He squirmed in pain like the worm he was, trying desperately to escape my grip. Begging with every movement. "Say something to me! Say something, you brute! You MONSTER!"
"Why would I answer you… I don't even see you as a person." I grinned at the horrified majin and whispered, "Good luck~!"
I held him in place as the monster in front of us lurched forward, imposingly standing before the two of us.
I stretched out my slimy arms to hold him a good distance away, and watched with a hint of glee as the Orc's cleaver lobbed the waste's head clean off.
The Orc Lord was on him before I could even react, so I had to quickly pull away my tendrils, lest I be on the menu as well.
Listening to the sickening belches, scrapes, and cracks as the creature devoured him, I analyzed the Orc Lord, watching its power grow.
As it was now, the Orc Lord wasn't even capable of sympathizing with its own subordinates. I could kill it in a few blows, probably, but I wanted it to suffer.
I wanted this creature to know what I had taken from it, just like it took my friends. I wanted a fight, not a one-sided slaughter… and to do that, it needed to evolve.
Gelmud was gone, and across the battlefield, the Voice of the World rang out.
{Notice: The Individual Geld has received the blessing of The Great Spirit of Darkness. The Individual Geld shall commence an evolution into an Orc Disaster.}
Here we go. I watched as the Orc Lord completed its evolution.
"I… am Geld…" It hefted its massive cleaver, now significantly bigger. The orc's skin had grown thick and leathery, and a crown of horns adorned his head. "But you may call me… the Orc Disaster!" It bellowed across the battlefield.
"Heh… hehehe." My body was shaking, but I wasn't afraid.
I was angry.
I was excited.
I was hungry.
Never before had I seen a monster like this. This whole battle, another side of me, something monstrous, had surged within… but now it positively roared.
This was what I wanted. This was exactly what I wanted!
I couldn't contain myself anymore. I shot towards the Orc Lord–no, the Orc Disaster.