The chief ogre focused on Maddy, studying her closely, not even sparing a glance for the green ogre wailing like a child.
"This worm… it's different from the rest of its species—no, different from any monster in this cave. I've explored these tunnels, and I've never seen a creature take my spear without a scratch, let alone survive a fire elemental attack. Interesting."
Before he could react, the ogre woman burst in from the side.
"SCREW IT! I'LL BURY HER BACK IN THE DIRT!"
The brown skinned ogre woman charged, her massive arms coiling together like twin wrecking balls as she raised them high, ready to smash Maddy flat.
"I'LL SQUASH YOU!"
The brown skinned ogre woman's fists slammed down like meteors, the ground itself trembling from the impact. But Maddy didn't flinch. Not an inch. She simply absorbed it. From the sidelines, the green ogre erupted in cheers.
"Her strength even surpasses the Chief's! Show her the might of a demonic ogre—finish that lowlife!"
But the celebration ended instantly. The brown skinned ogre woman's triumphant roar twisted into a bloody, high pitched scream.
"AAAAAH!!! My hands!"
She lifted them only to see them mangled and flattened, flopping in her hands like wet paper. Her confident roar crumbled into helpless panic.
Maddy had used her Crystalline Growth, covering her skin in sharp crystal spikes that shattered the ogre woman's fists on impact.
"W-what… how… how could this be!? I'm strong! I'm untouchable! This can't be…!"
Just as she cried out in pain, a massive shadow fell over her. Maddy opened her jaws wider than ever larger than the massive demonic ogre herself.
"No… s-somebody h-help me!"
CHOMP!
Her scream was cut off as Maddy devoured half her body. The last thing she saw was the monstrous gleam in Maddy's six eyes and that gaping mouth lined with sharp, crystalline teeth. Only her waist remained, blood spilling across the ground.
"You've got guts… but guts don't mean much when you're just a snack to me."
[System Notice]
[You have ingested an object containing a trait.]
[Trait acquired—
Before the system could say another word again she cut it off.
"Store it! ALL OF IT!"
The green ogre froze, trembling. The strongest of their kin had been eaten in half. In that moment, he understood this chimera worm was far beyond them. Strength left him, and he sank to his knees.
"What in the hell is that worm…? My flames, her fists… they didn't work… C-Chief… they died, we'll die… We should've never crossed the sea. This place… it's worse than—"
The chief ogre remained calm, clicking his tongue.
"Tch! If only the four of you could cast the demon's magic, this wouldn't have happened. Failures…"
The green skinned ogre blinked in shock.
"C-Chief?"
In a blur, the chief leapt toward Maddy. She only felt a sharp whistle of air and gasped.
"Huh?"
The princess was gone. Panic hit instantly.
W-where is she?! Where did the ogre chief go?!"
At the far end of the cave, the chief ogre stood holding the princess by her hair. He glanced at the corpses of his kin and clicked his tongue.
"Fools. Even after seeing my spear and elemental attack fail, they still rushed in. We may have evolved, but my kinsmen are still a bunch of idiots."
He lifted the princess by her hair and forced her to look at him.
"Never mind them. As long as I have you, I can make more. With your blood, they'll all be strong—magic and might, just like us."
Maddy saw it and instantly rushed forward.
"Damn it! That scumbag grabbed her holding her like a doll!"
But before she could reach them, the green-skinned ogre unleashed another fire elemental attack.
"Flamegust!"
Even trembling with fear and grief over his fallen kin, he forced himself to stand.
"I-I am not a failure… I deserved that demon blood!"
The flamegust caught Maddy off guard, stopping her mid move.
"ARGH! This greeny won't stop trying to fry me!"
She shifted her focus to the raging fire, thinking fast. She couldn't go straight at him, it would waste too much time. Then, an idea sparked.
"What if I just swallow as much air as I can…? Let's try it!"
Maddy stretched her jaws as wide as they could go and inhaled hard, sucking in the surrounding air. Within seconds, her body swelled, bloated with the pressure she trapped inside. She snapped her mouth shut just as the pale ogre closed in through the raging flames.
Then Maddy released it.
All the compressed air blasted out of her in a violent shockwave, tearing across the battlefield like a cannon blast. The green skinned ogre's eyes widened at the sight of Maddy's gaping mouth and the rushing air.
"Oh no… I'm so dead—"
The air collided with his Flamegust and rebounded, engulfing him in fire. His mind spiraled as his flesh sizzled in the searing heat.
"AAAH! IT'S HOT! HOT! IT'S BURNING ME! AAAHHH!"
Then the air shot tore through him. His limbs ripped away one by one under the crushing wind.
"GAH!!!!"
His screams echoed through the cave as his head was severed, his hands torn off, and his body blasted backward. Limbs flew through the walls like bullets.
[System Notice]
[Congratulations! You acquired a skill: Air Shot]
[Air Shot: Compress and store air in your body, then release it in a powerful shockwave. Can tear through enemies, projectiles, and terrain alike. Effect scales with the amount of air stored.]
Maddy staring at the system notice as a smile spread across her face.
"Air Shot… huh? My first attack skill? And it's… devastating. That blast just now that's exactly what I needed to wipe out those pests! And I barely even tried, yet it tore through them like paper. This is… insanely good!"
The addictive thrill of power coursed through her, making her pulse race. But the excitement was short lived. The real enemy was still alive and still holding the princess she had promised to save.