Possessing Nothing

Large cities such as Behenger are being guarded by walls, knights and soldiers under the Lord's command. People living outside of the safe city often have reasons not to live inside the city. Some people are expelled from the city for their sins, and some leave the city without such a great reason simply because they do not have money.

The reason this town is leaving the city after subjugating Ogres is unknown to the rational people. I didn't need to know. As Rood said, making mercenaries move is not about recognition. Since you received the money and put in a quest, you only carry out the quest.

“But strange. ”

Lud, walking through the forest, mutters. He frowns and looks around.

“This forest. It's quite spacious, but it's too small for an Ogre...”

I agree with Lee Sung-min. Lee Sung-min had no experience encountering Ogres, but had some basic knowledge of Ogres. Ogres are powerful monsters who walk on two legs. He could be the top predator in any forest.

Why would an ogre like that be in a forest like this? The forest was quite wide, but not that big. Large monsters like Ogres don't suit you very well.

“Ogres are food. ”

Ruth walks in a loud voice.

“Everything that moves. Eating things that don't move. Eat well. But there's still a bounty. Come on, that's the law. Humans are cannibals, but they like meat. Ogres like meat, too. ”

Ruth stops walking in front of the fallen tree. He frowns and looks at the cutting edge of the tree. You didn't fall down with a woodcutter's axe.

“Ogres are big. It's about three meters tall, depending on the individual, but there are bigger ones. He eats as much as he's big.... I don't think there's anything to eat to fill this forest with Ogres. ”

Lud mutters with a strange look on his face. Ogres prefer meat. Ogres don't block Human Meat, Orc Meat. Common animals also eat. Ogres eat their own kind, too. Monsters are like that.

“The subjugation quest was yesterday, right? ”

“Yes. The ogre was first identified two days ago. ”

Ruth mutters.

“That's weird. This forest is no place for monsters like Orcs. No Goblin territory. You know? Ogres are so... thoughtful. They're ferocious, but they don't attack Humans when they're distracted. Of course, when you encounter an Ogre face-to-face, it's not that the Ogre is a merciful monster on its way to ignoring Humans. This means that Ogres do not attack Humans. I mean, Ogres don't raid villages first. ”

Lud was explaining his knowledge to Lee Sung-min. Lee Sung-min who looks at Lud is just a mercenary, but he has little experience. Ruth's perspective and attitude were not wrong. Lee Sung-min didn't have much knowledge about top monsters like Ogres. That's why Lee Sung-min listened to Ruth as he walked through the woods.

“Do you know why? If you raid the town, it'll be a big accident. If such an accident happens, the Ogres know the right hunters are coming for them. Even if this village is outside the walls of Behenger, the people who live here are living in the territory of Lord Behenger. If a monster the size of an Ogre raids the town, the Knights will march out and subdue the Ogres. Even monsters don't want to die the same way. ”

“But we're not knights. ”

“Yes, we are mercenaries. A mercenary who moves on money. But the result is the same. We're here to catch Ogres. Even if he didn't raid the town. ”

“I'm not sure what that means. ”

“It's weird. There's no food to fill this forest with Ogres. There are animals… but this forest is not a good place for Ogres to make their territory in the long run. The Ogre Forest must be bigger than this. We need more food to eat without backstabbing. ”

“Orcs or Goblins? ”

“That's right. Monsters don't move for mercenaries or knights. ”

“Maybe it's a temporary residence? ”

“That's even weirder. ”

Ruth frowns.

“There's no forest around here for ogres to rule. I thought the old Ogre who was pushed out of the realm quarrel might have escaped here... But that's also strange. You know? An Ogre driven by turmoil is half-given up on living. It's a town. We raid and eat. But he didn't raid the town. ”

“Is there a reason? ”

“I don't know why. Actually, it's none of our business. Even though the Ogres of this forest appear to have sprung up from the ground all of a sudden, all we have to do is figure out how to kill the Ogres, not why they're in this forest. ”

At that, Seong-min nodded his head. He's already got a spear against his back. I've never fought an Ogre before. If you say you're not nervous, you're lying.

It was not tension caused by fear. The emotion that Lee felt was close to the throbbing excitement. The subjugation was a good first practice after reaching its peak. On his way to Behenger, he hunted a few beasts and killed the monsters he encountered, but that wasn't even real.

‘It's been three years. ’

Traces of the ogre have remained varied. Huge footprints. Broken trees. While chasing his trail, he felt some kind of camouflage.

“That's strange.”

Lee Sung-min mutters. Ruth nods.

“That's right. It's weird. ”

“Son of a bitch. You don't poop? ”

“Cheap. If you have something to eat. ”

Ruth frowns.

“Ogres are eaten as the top predators in the chaotic areas. They're right. They don't hide their shit. Rather, I use it as proof of my realm. By the way... I don't see shit in the Ogres. ”

The invisible was not just Ogre feces. There's no sign of a "meal." Instead, I found other traces.

A miserable torn deer corpse. It was more about decommissioned meat than a corpse. A piece of meat that was disassembled by the power of an Ogre. Lee Sung-min and Ruth look down at the body of the slimy deer.

“I haven't eaten. ”

“Why?”

The torn corpse shows no signs of food. No bite marks. I just... ripped it off.

Bodies were found over and over again. The corpses of various beasts were ripped apart. Grotesque looks at the visceral landscape at the base of the broken tree.

“That's weird.”

Ruth mutters. Ruth has experience subjugating ogres. I've caught three ogres, but none of the ogres Ruth subjugated are this weird.

“Is the ogre even right? ”

In that muttering.

I felt Lee Sung-min's skin. It was creepy coming up. Before listening with my ears, sniffing with my nose and smelling it, Seong-min 'felt it.’ It was a warning of the senses that Lee Sung-min gained while performing on the mountain of the mesh.

Lee Sung-min immediately pulled out a spear. Lud did not feel what Lee Sung-min felt. But Ruth did not question the behavior of Lee Sung-min. He immediately pulls back and draws his sword.

Boom.

I can only hear the sound after I feel it on my skin. It was the sound of something moving. It was the heavy... footsteps. Bang, bang. Footsteps approaching.

Wood Duck, Kuang! The tree collapses with a swing of the hand. Where did that goose crouch? Lud and Lee Sung-min swallowed awe and saw the ogre reveal itself. No, should I call that an Ogre?

“... What is that...? ”

Ruth mutters. The ogre appears... odd. It was a strange figure. Hefty and shapely are undoubtedly ogres.

But it's different. A big mouth is sewn shut. Thick threads were tightening the ogre's lips tightly. It's not just your mouth. There are traces of rubble lying around the ogre's body. Ruth swallows a gulp.

When I looked closely, my body was different from an Ogre. The shape of the right hand and the left hand is different. The right hand was a thick ogre's hand, but the left hand was thin fingers and long fingernails. Lee Sung-min saw the thread on the left wrist of the ogre. The shape of the muscles, the color of the skin, varies slightly. And the eyes. The ogre's eyes were different colors.

“... Chimera? ”

Lee Sung-min mutters. Ruth's shoulders tremble. Chimera. A monster made of monsters and monsters. Of course, a monster named Chimera does not naturally occur.

Chimera is a product of magical research.

“Let's run away.”

Ruth said in a small voice. A chimera based on ogres! I've never heard of such monsters. If that really is an ogre chimera, the odds are slim. Even if Ruth is an S rank hunter with the best of the best, she is not confident in defeating the ogre chimera.

Chimera contains a variety of magical treatments. In the beginning, the goal of chimeric research was "ultimate species." The limits to which a species can reach are clear, and there are insufficient conditions to achieve evolution beyond the limits of a species. That's why the chimeric study began. Research to artificially mix different species to reach the ultimate species is a chimeric study.

That is, all chimeras have a variety of procedures in place to reach the end. Even a simple Orc Chimera, the base is just an Orc, but its strength depends on what procedure you have performed. How could a chimera based on an ogre that is the highest predator of its kind… not a monster for a Class S mercenary.

“Grrrgh!”

The ogre gives a huge shout. The tightly bitten lips made the shout roar. When I saw it, I could see why the ogre didn't eat. He didn't skip a meal. I couldn't eat. I couldn't eat because my mouth was closed, and I tore my prey to pieces as a wrath for it.

Hunger becomes ferocity. The ogre starts running. We have to run away. Like Ruth said, Lee takes a step back. However, it was faster for an ogre to attack than for Lee Sung-min and Rud to withdraw.

An ogre moves in the eyes of Lee Sung-min. He swings a huge fist. The heavy violence was aiming for the body of a rational person. If you get hit, your whole body will shatter and your insides will burst and die.

Die.

Right here?

Suffering in the mountains grazes my head. Every day, the steps I took were captured by Lee Sung-min's consciousness. Should I call him unconscious or unconscious? ‘should.’ I thought about it, and he moved.

This is not a mountain of mesh.

Lee Sung-min's body was not heavy.

Eternal Soul Season 02 Episode 03

Illinois.

Lee Sung-min's body disappeared. Lud's eyes, looking at Lee Sung-min from behind, are greatly opened in surprise.

Seong-min was suddenly entering the Ogre's arms.