Rex headed for the front entrance of the village, fully intent on leaving, before he noticed the presence of someone else. Rex didn’t recognise him, but he did recognise the fact that he was a guard. It looked like, contrary to his beliefs, the village had, at least, a few people able to forego their time to watch over the entrance at night. The man turned upon noticing the white-haired boy in the darkness and paled, his hands beginning to slightly shake as he put a hand on the handle of his sword.

“Wh-who are you?!” the man questioned in a louder voice than appropriate for the tranquil atmosphere.

“What’s with the terror. I’m not gonna eat you. I’m here to take care of the ogre problem you guys were having?” Answered Rex, noticing the man’s fear. He didn’t blame him. There was something about creepy children walking nonchalantly through the dark. Combined with his white hair and inhuman eyes it should’ve given most normal people at least a spook.

The man relaxed slightly at his words “A-Ah... the Drakin TrIstanbul was talking about.” He sighed out in relief “What are you doing out so early.”

“I’m going exploring.”

“Exploring?” the guard raised an eyebrow slightly.

“That’s right. See ya around.” He said before passing by. The guard didn’t stop him. Even if he was told the Drakin wasn’t a bad person he didn’t want to test what would happen if he got in his way for no reason.

As Rex left the village he walked down the path for a bit before stopping. He took a deep, long breath before, taking on a more serious expression. It was time to work. He took off into the forest, going West, the direction of the ogre’s cave. As he got closer he could smell it in the air. He almost dreaded approaching further, but did so regardless until he could see the cave and even hear the deep growling sounds of the ogre’s snoring. He thought for a moment about attacking it in its sleep, but set the thought aside. He couldn’t kill it in one hit with his toothpick of a sword and he would prefer to have a solid plan before acting.

He left the vicinity of the cave and explored the terrain around, hoping he could find something he could use. It was in the mountains. Digging a deep pit would be difficult. There weren’t many cliffs and those that were there were of little strategic value if any. There was plenty of food around which the ogre was known for eating, and he wasn’t very sharp. Poisoning him would be easy, but Rex didn’t know of any poisons that would affect the ogre significantly. He also couldn’t set fire to the forest in order to scare him off as that would have the same effect on the rest of the animals and putting it out would be next to impossible unless they were lucky enough to get a lot of rain before it spread significantly.

The strategic worth of the area around the cave... was almost non-existent. Setting up any effective traps would be next to impossible on the short notice he had. It was unfortunate, but Rex had to think up a plan of simplicity, involving only him and the four others that would participate. After some thinking he decided on something decent that should make use of the abilities of the two hunters as well as the sharp pieces of metal the two guards would surely have. Without delay. He started the preparations with a small grin.

Tristan woke up in his bed. He got up easily, used to the early mornings. He walked into the other room and ate some bread and leftover jerky for breakfast, deep in thought. It had been a week since Rex left. True to his word, the ogre hadn’t attacked the village yet. Some of the villagers had suggested sending people to check up on it periodically, but Tristan insisted they didn’t. He didn’t want to risk people dying or getting in the way of whatever Rex was planning. If Rex didn’t come back today… that would have to change. The old man trusted the Drakin more than he really thought he should.

Something about Rex simply felt like he was worth that trust. His usually quiet demeanour coupled with his practical actions. He wasn’t one to do something for no reason. Or at least so it appeared to the hunter. That made him believe that this job was actually something he was fully intent on doing and not something he was willing to fail. Tristan didn’t know how the boy knew the ogre wouldn’t attack, but he was right. And now that it had been a week…

Just as he was thinking that the door opened. In came a boy with white hair, causing to Tristan suddenly stand up.

“Rex!” he shouted in surprise

“Oh, Tristan. You’re already awake? Good. You think you can gather the others you mentioned? We’ll be heading off today.”

“Today?” the old man asked out loud unintentionally.

“Yeah. I finished the preparations and I’d rather leave as soon as possible. I’ll explain the plan here and we’ll head out.”

“G-Got it. I’ll go get the others.” He said before leaving the house. He quickly went around to the others’ places. Alan was still sleeping causing the hunter to need to wake him up. It wasn’t a surprise. For someone as dedicated at his job as him, he was bad in the mornings. That’s why his shift was from noon til evening. Thankfully the other two were already wide awake and they quickly gathered their equipment and returned to the hunter’s house where Rex waited.

“Good. Now I’ll explain the plan and everyone’s role in it.”

As Rex explained the men were sceptical at first, but quickly understood that this was a good way for them to help. Even after the explanation was finished and they walked through the forest, heading for the monster’s resting place the words echoed in their minds, each reflecting on them in their own way.

“Okay. The plan is simple.” Rex had said. “The ogre is big but not necessarily slow. What he is, is unintelligent and easily tired. So our objective will be to weaken it first, before I carefully attempt at finishing it off.” He paused to judge everyone’s opinions, but it didn’t look much like they had any. Except Arin who seemed upset. That was nothing new as he had looked like that from the moment he stepped in. “Right. The way to weaken him is as follows. I’ll focus his attention on myself and while that’s the case Arin and Lean will attack his legs from behind. Aim for his tendons and render him disabled. Tristan and Michail. You’ll attack the ogre with arrows to further distract him. As soon as you cut his legs you’ll instantly run away again and get yourself in position for the next attack as I get his attention fully on me again. Oh. And archers. Try not to get his eye.”

“Eye?” Asked Tristan out of curiosity. The ogre was supposed to have two. He had seen the beast himself after all.

“Ah well. You’ll see.” Rex just answered mysteriously before telling them all to get ready.

It was three hours ago now and they were getting close to the ogre’s cave. Slowly a noise came to reach their ears, at first confusing the group save Rex, but quickly become evident to be the snoring of the enormous creature, they were there to end. They continued closer as the intimidating sound grew louder and louder until they could finally see the cave. Rex raised his hand, causing everyone else to disperse and hide in the foliage. He took his bow off his shoulder and nocked an arrow. His cloak had been left in Tristan’s house as it would only serve as a nuisance in combat. While he had the confidence he could handle a few people with it on and it might even help. In this terrain where it could get stuck on something at any moment, it would be a problem with fighting a giant monster which would require a lot of movement.

With the arrow nocked Rex took a deep breath. He quickly focused on the locations of his companions, keeping a mental note of them so that he can lead the ogre away possibly give the archers a better shot and the swordsmen a clear opening, and with that… he screamed out with all his breath. The ogre quickly got up from his slumber, almost startled, almost fearful. He exited the cave revealing his full body. Standing at six meters (~20 feet), he wore absolutely nothing, his face and even head deformed and disgusting by human standards. He had no hair growing over the top of his head, his body overweight and covered in dirt, with three giant fingers on both hands and feet.

The monster’s two eyes moved around until they landed on the white haired boy and narrowed. Rex pulled back the arrow in the bow and took aim before releasing it. The arrow flew through the air and pierced the ogre’s eye. A deafening roar followed as the ogre wailed in pain. It looked at Rex again, it’s remaining eye, bloodshot in rage, before it rushed at him in an enraged stupor. As an answer Rex emotionlessly threw his bow far to the side and drew his sword.

The ogre brought down his palm on the Drakin, being almost five times his size, but Rex jumped to the side avoiding the attack easily. To normal people it would have been difficult if not impossible to dodge, but he was stronger than anyone else here. He had confidence that if he concentrated on defence then the ogre wouldn’t be able to harm him. That’s why. That’s why he had decided he would attract his full attention while the others would wear it out with their weak damage.

As the attack landed the two guards left the foliage, running towards the beast. As it started lifting it’s arm the two hunters both struck an arrow in each of its sides bringing it a small amount of extra pain, distracting it. While the pain was nowhere near that of it's eye being gouged, it nonetheless distracted it further. It roared once more, trying to swipe at the two men, only to feel getting stabbed from the front by Rex.

Again it turned to him and attacked. The one attack had not been enough to disable its legs and it stepped forward again trying to squish the nimble white-haired midget, but time after time it failed to capture him. Again it felt pain in one of its shoulders and the other arm and it braced itself for the pain in its legs to come though it never did. Instead, it felt another slash on its gut, opening its eyes it saw the boy again. This boy. This infuriating creature!

For the past week he had terrorized it. He would steal its prey. He would interrupt its sleep constantly, not letting it get even a wink night after night. He would attack it and he would mock it. He would do anything and everything to infuriate the ogre. He had succeeded. The ogre had reached a level of rage it didn’t know it was even capable of. With an eye flooded with bloodlust it attacked again, but differently. It flailed it’s arms back and forth attacking relentlessly, not even Rex being able to evade the attacks easily. It toppled trees and left prints of its hands in the ground, trying to crush the bug that had made its life miserable in the last several days.

Another two arrows shot out, both of them hitting it. The ogre looked around again, even more confused while blinded by rage. It felt the pain in its legs again, completely having forgotten about it until the moment. It looked around again, but by the time it did the ones responsible were already hidden. It roared once more and not targeting anything began destroying the forest around them, indiscriminately. Once more Rex had to stab it and attract its attention, concentrating its attacks back on himself. He dodged an attack, noticing that it delayed pulling back its arm and this time took to countering, attacking and slashing his sword at the tendon of the arm it had just attacked with, cutting it completely and causing the arm to go limp as the ogre screamed. It held it’s arm only to feel more pain, unable to lift it up.

The two warriors once more saw their chance and both left their hiding places in the foliage. Lean slashed at the ogre’s legs and turned to run, but was surprised when Arin di d something else. Even though he didn’t see him he could hear it. Arin let out a large battle scream, one they had never let out so far as to not alert the ogre when attacking from the back.

“Die beast!” Arin shouted out before stabbing his sword deep into the side of its torso. He tried pulling it out immediately, but it was stuck and at the moment the ogre turned to look at him with tears flowing from its eyes from the pain it was as if time stopped. Lean turned his direction and ran towards Arin. The ogre moved his good arm and was about to swat Arin away. Rex could clearly see that. Lean wouldn’t make it, but he had time to react. With his speed he could barely manage to save the boy… but at the same time… he couldn’t. And as he steeled himself to not intervene Arin got slapped away, hitting a tree and falling to the ground. His bones were visibly broken, most limbs twisted in strange forms and directions.

“Arin!” Screamed out both Lean and Tristan.

The ogre turned to attack Lean next, but he felt a slash at his front again, not just on his gut this time, but on something much, much more precious. He roared, turning to Rex again and attacking him instead. As Rex jumped out of the way he shouted.

“Don’t get distracted. Back to positions. The fight isn’t over!”

Lean hesitated before running back into the foliage, but Tristan didn’t listen. He ran around the ogre, taking the long route to get to Arin’s body and got to examining him. Rex dodged another attack and as he landed, he grabbed Arin’s sword forcefully pulling it out of the ogre and throwing it to the side.

“Michail! Take Arin’s role! We’re only a few strikes away from downing this thing!” he shouted out again to the man, he had thrown the sword near to. Michail was the only one who hadn’t screamed out and so he decided to trust him with it. Of course it could have been out of fear that he had remained quiet, but Rex saw no one else to give the sword to.

After once more evading the ogre he stabbed him in the front.

Lean came out again, slashing the leg of the ogre, finally snapping the tough tendon and bringing the ogre to one knee before running away, barely escaping the range of the ogre before it’s extended arm could grab him. Unsurprisingly Michail was nowhere to be seen, but this was within expectations for Rex.

The leg the ogre couldn’t use was of course on the same side as the arm he couldn’t. Rex circled around him from that direction, the ogre tried to turn and reach him with its hand, but it was too slow, it’s movements sluggish from obvious tiredness, as it felt its other tendon being cut and snap. Falling over from the pain in both its legs, it lay on its stomach as Rex climbed over its exhausted and battered body, dropping himself in its vision. It tried to move its hand to grab him, but its stamina was at its end and it could barely move.

Before the hand reached him Rex stabbed his sword deep within the Ogre’s remaining eye with a beastly roar, accompanied by his full strength. The ogre let out a scream but its voice was weak. It was obvious it was close to death. As a finishing blow Rex turned his hand into a claw as he punched the sword even deeper into its socket, with even part of the hilt going inside of the ogre’s eyeball. Rex panted a few times. He reached into the eye and pulled his sword out, before walking over to Tristan and Arin’s mangled body.

Tristan heard someone approach and looked back, to see Rex and Lean both. He heard a twig crack and saw Michail coming out of the woods into the destroyed area, his head down in shame and holding Arin’s sword. He lowered his head and then looked at them once more, giving a solemn shake of the head. Arin was dead.