I am the Ogre Lord Buvul, one of the Six Pillars of the Overlord Anstansia-sama, and leader of the Ogre Faction.

What are the Six Pillars, you may ask? Well, the Six Pillars are the six strongest beings among the six strongest factions, out of all the other factions. We are the cream of the crop, the elites of the elites.

I have pride in the fact that, even among the Six Pillars, I, Buvul, have the greatest physical strength.

Even the Lord of Dragons, Selena, cannot best me in a bout of physical strength. It is one of the reasons why I was chosen to lead the Ogres. After all, it is extremely rare for an Ogre to be birthed with such mythical strength, to be able to match up with one of the deadliest beings in this continent.

At the orders of the Anstansia-sama, the great me, along with Del’thrush, leader of the Undead, are to conquer the Dungeon [Eclipse] and present to her the legendary artifact hidden within, protected by the guardian of the dungeon.

The artifact’s power is unknown to us, but anything that could give us an edge over the 3 [Heroes] of the Human race would be beneficial to us. Furthermore, the Overlord’s words are absolute. There is no need to question the Overlord’s decisions.

Within the dungeon, nothing could deter our path.

After all, I am the strongest and toughest within the Six Pillars. With the exception of magic, no weapon could hope to scratch me unless if they are powerful artifacts, or if it’s wield by a [Hero]- class fighter.

And alongside me is the Lich, with extremely powerful spells at his disposal. Ever since i saved him when he was merely a Necromancer, he had been friendly to me, even when he rose quickly up the ranks and became the Leader of the Undead. He was the perfect friend that I never thought possible in a dog-eat-dog world such as ours.

With such firepower on my side, coupled with my brute strength and toughness, even if all the monsters gathered to attack us at once, it wouldn’t take more than a few moments to eliminate them all.

That is, until we reached the core of the dungeon, where the Guardian resides, an [Ancient Dragon].

Normal Dragons are powerful by themselves, but Ancient Dragons are another class of its own.

Though lacking when it comes to mental capabilities as compared to normal dragons, their heightened instinct, power, speed and toughness more than makes up for it. Even attacks that will pierce through a normal dragon would find it difficult to leave a mark on an Ancient Dragon.

Though, against two of the Six Pillar, it would be no match for our combined strength.

However, I was killed, brutally charred to nothing but black remains.

Not by the guardian.

But by the one I thought of as my friend.

And yet,

I’m somehow alive

In a slightly (?) different form…

—————

[Burst Stream]!

Gathering mana in my leg and letting it explode outwards, I jumped a height of 10 meters, letting loose a swing with my Greataxe which tore apart the wing of the ancient dragon like paper, rendering it incapable of flight and falling back into the ground.

Even if a cavern 25 meters high, letting that stupid lizard go out of range for most of my attacks would drag the battle for far too long.

It’s been only an hour since the start of the battle, and the end is already near. I may have burns and scratch wounds here and there, but the ancient dragon is already on its last leg, having suffered many magical damages and curses from my brilliant support, Del’thrush. If not for him this fight to the death may wind up lasting more than an hour…

That would really hurt my pride as the Six Pillars, one of the strongest beings. Not to mention the two of us are co-operating to fight against just one Ancient Dragon.

Speaking of co-operating, Del’thrush has not been sending as much support as I would have expected him to have, and he has been gathering his strength for a while now…just what is he planning for? Is there another hidden enemy somewhere? Should I be conserving my strength as well?

“Fool! Don’t daydream during a battle!” (Del’thrush)

Not missing this opportunity, the Ancient Dragon retreated a few steps during the brief moment where I hesitated and stopped moving, and began to suck in air, as the flow of mana concentrated towards its mouth.

“Watch out, it’s coming!” (Del’thrush)

As the dragon breathed out with a thunderous roar, the entire place heated up in a flash, threatening to melt the walls of the cavern just from the intense heat of the flames alone. This is a Dragon’s signature move, and its strongest attack, [Flame Breath]. A huge column of flame, with the power to annihilate all that stands in front of it.

Typically, an Ogre has weak resistance against elemental attacks and I am no exception to this fact.

To take a [Flame Breath] directly head on would not be a pretty sight even for me. However, I did not attempt to dodge the [Flame Breath] and ran head on towards it. After all, I have a expert magic caster behind supporting me.

[Darkness Shroud] (Del’thrush)

Before the flames even licked me, a dark, wispy substance wrapped around me, rendering most of the hellish flames moot as they brushed upon it. The wisp didn’t managed to cancel out all the [Flame Breath], and I took bits of damage from the flames that brushed by me with every second I rush towards the dragon.

Not enough damage to push me back, however. It was enough to enrage me and fuel my fighting spirit.

“Hah! Take this you…dumb…lizard! [Burst Stream]!”

Mana burst forth from my arms, as I let loose a downwards cleave, tearing apart the dragon from its shoulder straight down to the lower abdomen before coming to a halt. Blood spurted all over me, and with a weakened roar, the dungeon guardian finally fell to the ground, defeated and forever still.

Most weapons wouldn’t be able to do what I just did. However, mine is a special artifact handed to me by the Overlord herself when I became one of her Six Pillars – A globe of magic metal, which turned into a weapon most suited for the wielder when they first touched it. Combined with my enormous strength and special technique, to be able to chop the Ancient Dragon into nearly two separate piece is nothing to be surprised about.

Once I was completely sure the dragon was down, I breathed a sigh of relief and the instant I let down my guard, IT happened.

“…! ARGH!”

A beam went through my body, forming a cavity the size of my fist.

Pain coursed throughout my entire body as I fell to my knees. I turned around, seeing no one else but Del’thrush. His finger pointed at me, with a look that’s truly discernable only as apathy.

“Del’thrush?! Why?”

“Why indeed, I wonder? Kukuku…to think the almighty Ogre Lord, unmatched in strength, has fell to his knees with a single strike from the weak, fragile me.”

“Don’t give me that bullshit! Why did you betray me like this?”

“Because I have no further use of you.”

“Use? What do you mean, use? You mean…”

“Yes, finally you get it, you dumb mutt! All this time, just to make use of you and your Ogres, I have gotten close to you, using your position to elevate mine in the meantime. It worked so perfectly well, even I was surprised at your stupidity, to be so easily misled and taken advantaged of!”

“After…after all the things I did for you…HOW CAN YOU DO THIS TO ME!”

With every sentence Del’thrush says, his skull cackled louder; even without a face on his clear white skull, I can tell that he’s mocking me, looking down on me…casting me with a look of contemn.

Even…even after all the things I’ve helped him with, and being nice to him, is this how he repays me in return? Stabbing me at the back?

“You know…I have always hated you. That look of superiority, even though you are just an Ogre with

more brute strength than normal, you think you can be more arrogant than the rest?! Every time I have to act friendly with you, I feel absolutely disgusted! An intellectual being like me should stand above the likes of you!”

“Grrr…Anstansia-sama will learn of this! And you-”

“Why, but is an order from Anstansia-sama herself. Even as we speak, the Ogre faction is being purged…or rather, they should have been completely annihilated. And you, the Ogre Lord, can do nothing at all to prevent this.”

“No….no, this can’t be true…you’re lying! Anstansia-sama would never give an order like this! We Ogres have served the Overlord’s army for generations, she couldn’t…no, she wouldn’t possibly just abandon us like thi-”

“She can. And she has. Give it up; the Overlord’s orders are absolute. As much as I…kukuku…hate this, the era of the Ogres has henceforth ended, and its fate will be sealed with your death.”

I was stunned beyond belief. We had fought for the sake of the Overlord’s will…and she decides to just abandon us, just like this?

I don’t believe it…

I refuse to believe it!

“But don’t worry, your Ogres would have more use even in death…as my experimental undead puppets and research materials…kukuku…KUAKAKAKAKA!”

“Don’t…don’t you dare mess around with the Ogres! I’ll kill you!”

I roared and with every ounce of my strength, I lunged towards Del’thrush, swinging my Greataxe with every intention to split him into two.

At least, before I die…

Even if I die, I will drag him down along with me!

“[Darkness Shroud, Bind mode]”

“Wha-?!”

However, before the Greataxe could even reach him, the shroud of darkness that still surrounds me coiled around, tightening and restricting my movements. The sudden entrapment caused me to drop

my weapon on the floor.

As though a puppet frozen in time.

“Tsk tsk tsk, let’s not be too hasty, shall we? After all, we’re friends, remember? Surely you won’t try to kill off a person you call a friend, would you?”

“Grrr…friend? FRIEND?! You just tried to kill me, you bastard! You betrayer! To think i saved your life once, and this is how you chose to repay me?!”

Instantly, the entire area felt a lot colder. Even without a face to show, I could tell that Del’thrush is seething with rage. On contrary, the aura he is emits is cold enough to even form ice on the surface of the dungeon.

“Never…never speak of that again, that is the greatest humiliation of my entire undead life! To fall for a trap made by those pesky humans and their [Heroes], and to be rescued by ogres… this is a dirty stain that can only be removed with your death.”

“Why you…I’ll break free of this, and I’ll kill you! I’LL KILL YOU! I SWEAR IT! VENGEANCE WILL BE MINE AT ANY COST! RARGGGGH!!”

I struggled to break free of the bonds, but to no avail. I struggled until blood started gushing out violently out of my wounds.

Just what are this bonds made of? I’m the Ogre Lord Buvul! There should be nothing i can’t destroy!

Come on…COME ON!

“GRAAAAAAH!”

“…Give it up, I spent the entire battle gathering enough mana just for the sole purpose for binding you down, there is no way you could break free of this, especially with a hole in your chest.”

“ARRGGHHHH! GRAHHHH!”

“Farewell my friend, it’s been nice knowing you…or maybe not.”

As i continued to try to break free from the shroud, Del’thrush begins to gather mana towards his palm.

“As one who transcends death, heed my bidding; souls of the dead, converges as one…”

As Del’thrush begins chanting his spell, the air turned stale. Numerous wisps emerged out of him,

gathering into his palm. As more and more gathered, the ball of wisp became denser and denser.

The whole room filled with the stench of death.

“DAMMIT…DAMMITTT!! I’m not going to die here…I’ll have my revenge!”

“…fell thy mighty foe; suffering throughout annihilation!”

“RAHHHHHHHHH!”

I felt something snapped within me, as my body limped away.

Too much blood loss…I have no more energy to struggle left.

Forgive me, my clan. I have failed you…shit.

[Soul Sacrifice – Burning Soul Rupture]

As tears of agony and anger fell, my view was completely covered in pure darkness…and everything went dark…

——

Del’thrush POV:

So this is how it ends, Lord of all Ogres.

I pointed my palm at Buvul, and unleashed my ultimate spell, sacrificing a third of my accumulated souls. A huge, pitch blackness erupted in a conical shape and everything in contact with the black

flames was scorched and smoothen out with a black sheen.

The stalagmites,

The pieces of rocks,

Even a part of the dead dragon that’s within the blast radius.

All vaporized, and what’s remaining is a shiny black surface.

Yet, the Ogre Lord himself remains, though charred black. More surprisingly, the Greataxe that’s near him doesn’t even had a single blemish on it!

The spell i just cast – [Burning Soul Rupture] – combines a large quantity of souls which I’ve harvested from adventures, monsters, even ogres, and condenses them into a ball of energy.

That energy would then be activated with my own mana to burst out in hellish black flames, engulfing and utterly destroying anything in its way.

Typically, magic have no need of chants. Chants are but just a way to help with the visualization and concentration of the caster, invented and carefully structured by geniuses of the past. The fact that I can invent an original spell of such high difficulty and pulling it off with this level of success once again proves my superiority!

Even at full power and strength, even the Ancient Dragon would succumb to this attack of mine, leaving nothing but shiny black bones. Not even the Extreme magic, the highest tier of magic humans can use, is capable of such a feat. At most Extreme Magic would be able to weaken it severely.

But no matter. The fact remains that he’s dead for sure.

“Even though I hated him so much, I have to admit that he’s definitely tougher than I expected. To think that he can still have most of his body intact from that blast…does it mean that I can push this spell of mine even further and stronger? Such a pity that he had to die a dog’s death like this.”

I initially thought of just reanimating his corpse, but on account of past favors, i decided against it.

Besides…I have no wish to have him by my side. Strong he may be, but a charred meat shield such as this makes him more of a liability to us.

Ogres have high vitality and strength, but are slow, bulky and have very typically low resistances against elemental attacks.

Which means that, a single well-hidden magic caster could wipe out a whole group of ogres with relative ease, if not supported by necromancer with the ability to shield them with [Darkness Shroud].

The mere thought of him infuriates me, to think I was saved by that idiot… kukuku, thankfully I managed to ‘persuade’ Anstansia-sama into allowing me a chance to get rid of him once and for all.

Now the entire Ogre faction is mine to control and experiment with, as undead!

I have plans to re-animate ogres a long time ago, and by doing so they’ll at least work more properly like the mindless buffoons of meat shields they are, taking hits without question and without fear.

Combined with my special [Darkness Shroud] that I will insert into the bodies, they’ll gain some resistance to elemental attacks as well!

They shall be known henceforth as…Abominators instead!

Fufufu, as expected of a genius like me!

I proceeded to take the trapezohedron-shaped artifact off the pedestal (of course I aimed away from the artifact, what fool would risk shooting at it?)

Before I left, I tried to take the Greataxe along with me. However, I couldn’t even lift it up, no matter how hard I try, even by means of magic.

No matter…as soon as my grand plan is completed, the Greataxe might as well be as useful as a toy axe. I…shall reign supreme!

[Mud Wall]

I sealed off the cavern with a wall of mud, with magic, before leaving. For someone who managed to climb to the height of Six Pillars, that “sealed tomb” should be more than sufficient.

“So long, fool.”

—–

I opened my eyes, and the next thing i see is pure white.

Everywhere is white, the ceiling or sky, the ground.

Everything.

So…am I dead? Tsk, even though I said I would get my revenge…I can’t just let it end like this!

That bastard…

(If you really wish to have your revenge, I can easily make arrangements for that, you know?)

“WHOA?!”

I turned about, and all i see is a guy in a white suit with a white top hat, seating on a wooden chair.

He has a cheerful smile on his face, and a noticeably black tear-shaped tattoo below his left eye.

“Who are you? What is this place?”

(Who, me? That’s not really important is it? What’s important is that I’m your ally.)

“Ally? Hah. I had an ally, and he back-stabbed me mere moments ago. That traitor, to think I saved him last time when he was caught in that trap. I should’ve left him to his doom.”

(Looks like you really hate him a lot huh?)

“Hate him? I don’t just hate him. I want to tear him apart bone by bone, and after that grind them

down into dust and-”

(Hey hey hey, calm down there big fella! Though, wasn’t your death sentence approved by Overlord Anstansia? Doesn’t that mean she also deemed you useless as well? Hmmm?)

“That must have been a lie! It must be- wait a minute, how do you know so much? And where is this place really, aren’t I dead?”

(You are really smart for an ogre, aren’t you?)

“Don’t try to change the subject!”

(I’m not telling ~)

“Why you little…!”

(But, I can give you the chance of new life. The chance to seek out revenge, but for a price, would you accept it?)

“What..? Wait, to give me new life, to revive me? But how? Aren’t I dead already? No one has the capability to resurrect anyone, not even Liches could give back true life…”

(But I can.)

“W, who are you really?”

(Ah ah ah, no more questions, just answers. Buvul, Lord of Ogres. Are you willing to pay any price for the sake of your vengeance, or to drop everything and be at peace, forever? Make your choice!)

Do I want my revenge? I can just choose to lay rest here, and be done with everything…but no, I can’t be at rest…I can’t rest until I’ve taken my own personal revenge, as well as for the lives of all

the ogres who died for some sick, twisted reason!

“…Yes, until my revenge is done, my soul can’t be laid to rest. Even if I have to pay up my very soul, or sacrifice anything else, I WILL HAVE MY VENGEANCE SEEN THROUGH!”

(Very well. I, Ancient God Kpsid, have seen your resolve. Ogre Lord, I shall now return you to the realm of the living. Oh and, to help you along, I have given you an extra bonus. Have fun in your new life~!)

“Huh? Wait, WAITTTT…!”

—-

I stretched out my hand, and woke up in a jolt. The next thing i realized is that I’m staring at a wooden ceiling, my body laid down on a soft, comfortable material.

I tried to sit up, but a sharp pain on the upper part of my body caused me to flinch instead. Is that the wound that Del’thrush inflicted on me? But…it only feels like a flesh wound, not a death-from-

hole-in-chest wound…

“Oh! You’re awake; thank the heavens, quick, someone go call for the doctor!”

Sounds of scampering feet were heard, and the owner of the feminine voice walked closer to me.

A beautiful woman with decent proportions appeared in my vision. Though showing signs of aging on her, it can be seen that she was a beauty in her youth, through her facial symmetry and delicate face.

“Don’t move around too much. You lost a lot of blood after being attacked by the Hind Bear in the forest, remember?”

Hind Bear, forest? What is this human talking about? I use Hind Bear’s claws to clean my teeth after meals; they pose no threat to me at all. I can stand still all day, and no Hind Bears in existence could leave anything more than imprints on my skin.

“What…are you talkin- huh?”

M-My voice?! Why do I sound so different…like a human child?

I took a closer look at my arms, they are supposed to be gray and muscular, something which I’m very proud of.

…They’re scrawny and…beige?!

Ignoring the pain shooting throughout my torso, I sat up and pat myself all over.

…I can’t believe this.

I have become…a human child?!

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Author : Kiribou

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