My Protect skill can take my life but it can also help me flirt and make love with cold beauties!
Chapter 14: End of the battle

The ogre, too, twisted its face in anger as it noticed me suddenly appearing before it, but it still swung its arm downwards, aiming for me.

Time seemed to slow down. No, to be precise, it only looked like it had stopped. I saw the giant fist coming towards me with every wrinkle on its surface visible.

I realized that my movements were in slow motion, as if I had been in a severe accident before. This next hit can be lethal.

"Haha..."

I let out a dry laugh as I pondered my fate.

Then, in the next moment, time resumed its normal pace. The ogre's fist came at me at a tremendous speed, but it missed, just barely grazing past me.

The force of the blow created a gust of wind that knocked me off balance, but it didn't hit me directly. Instead, it struck the ground with a loud thud. In the next second, it was ogre that screamed in agony.

"Grrhhhh!"

A blood-curdling roar pierced through the air. When I looked to see what had happened, I saw that a throwing knife had been thrust into the ogre's right eye.

"Uwoooo!"

A furious voice echoed through the forest, not belonging to the ogre. When I turned to face the direction of the voice, a man flew out from between the trees and leapt through the forest. He drew a huge sword from his back as he emerged.

"Grrr!"

It is Mr. Raul, the owner of the sword. The ogre no longer had any interest in us and turned its entire body toward Raul, shaking its massive frame as it charged. Although Raul was also muscular and large, he looked small in front of the ogre.

"Grrr!"

"Get out of the way!

In an instant, the ogre's thrust and Raul's downward sword strike intersected.

"Guaaa!" The ogre was thrown back. Despite the difference in size, Raul had won the battle head-on.

"Dieee!" Raising his arm, he delivered a straight hit to the now empty torso. The ogre endured the pain and tensed its abs, and even the bulging muscles became visible.

Thud.

With a sound that was a little too dull, the Ogre stepped back. Blue liquid dripped from the gap between its arms as it held its stomach. The armor of muscle that the Ogre was so proud of was no match for Raul's strength.

"Guh, oaaaoohh!!"

Still, the Ogre's fighting spirit remained. It stepped forward, making a squishy sound as more blood flowed out.

"That Ogre is definitely not right in the head," El said, shivering as she watched. "Even an Ogre wouldn't be able to stand with that kind of injury."

El was right. The injury on its body is so grave that even its intestines are visible from the wound in its abdomen. Eva looked away, and Emily held her close so she wouldn't have to see. Even I wanted to look away.

After all, Raul is an experienced adventurer who had sensed the abnormality of the Ogre and changed his stance. He narrowed his stance and tightened his grip on his sword, gathering his strength for the next strike.

"Grrrhhhh!!"

Without hesitation, the Ogre lunged forward in a low stance, intending to throw its entire body weight into the attack. With the Ogre's size, weight, and momentum, Raul couldn't hold it back head on.

"Take this!"

However, Raul-san faced the ogre head-on, letting out a short shout

as he swung his great sword straight down from above. The huge mass of iron crushed the ogre's head and slammed its body onto the ground without even giving it a chance to cry out.

The ogre's limbs twitched spasmodically, but it never stood up again. Raul-san swung his sword to shake off the ogre's blood, then came over to us with a stern expression.

"Let's get away from here," he said, and then quickly took Emily-chan, who had been injured, in his arms and rushed out of the forest. The air was heavy.

Eva-san and I thanked Raul-san, but he only replied with a short "yeah." There was no further conversation until we arrived at the guild.

"Eva-chan! Emily-chan!" Seira-san hugged the sisters who had entered the guild. "Honestly! How could you go into the forest without permission, Eva-chan! Do you have any idea how worried I was?!"

Seira-san was unusually angry. She continued to lecture Eva-san and Emily-chan.

"Um...thank you very much for earlier...you really saved us," I thanked Raul-san again while Seira-san kept lecturing.

"Well, it's fine. I heard most of it from Seira anyway," Raul-san still seemed unhappy. "But, did you really need to jump out like that?"

"Huh?"

"Wasn't there something else you could have done, like looking for other adventurers?

"Well..."

As expected, Raul's tone was heavy. What he said was reasonable. Maybe I had been a little too confident about my abilities after they became average. Looking back, I think it was because of my careless thinking, such as thinking that I could handle goblins.

"Um, Raul-san. I also allowed this incident to happen, so that's about it..." Seira-san noticed our situation and came to my rescue. "Kazuya-san must be tired too, so it's better to return to the inn."

With those words from Seira-san, Raul turned around and simply said, "Rest well."

The two of us, along with Eva and her sister, left the guild together. It was beginning to get dark outside. Emily-chan, who was exhausted, dozed off on my back.

"Thank you so much for today," Eva lowered her head as we walked towards the square.

"No, in the end, I couldn't do anything," I replied.

"That's not true!"

I was surprised when she raised her voice a little.

"Ah, sorry... but if Kazuya-san didn't go to find Emily, that big one would have... before Raul-san came."

Eva stopped speaking after that. She is probably still feeling the fear from earlier. Even I felt like it was a miracle that I survived facing that monster. When I thought about what would have happened if Raul didn't come, I shuddered.

"That's why we are able to be alive like this. Thank you so much, Kazuya-san," she thanked me properly.

I felt a little embarrassed by the gratitude and returned a vague smile. When we reached the plaza, Eva and I parted ways. She declined my offer to accompany her home, saying that I must be tired too.

She took Emily-chan on her back and disappeared down a narrow path that led away from the plaza. Indeed, I am too tired today. I can’t wait to go and rest in a quiet place as soon as possible. Without any conversation, El and I returned to the inn.