Chapter 31 - Eclipse

Merri lay curled up next to the fire, warmer than she had been for years in the cold metal box she called home. She looked better already amidst the glow of the flame. Sol had even used his sword to trim her hair. It was still a large, curly mess, but she could walk without fear of tripping over it, at the very least.

As Merri finally found some peace, Sol and Luna were working on the absolute opposite. A battle plan. “It’ll be a mix of our first fight with him and our battle with the Dire Deer. We lure him out, restrict his movements, and then I’ll blow his head off with a Munditia.”

“You really think it’ll be that simple?” Sol pondered, glancing down at the cave’s entrance. They hadn’t moved from the cliffside, wanting to keep a close eye on the Ogre. “How do we know he’s even still in there?”

“He is.” Merri muttered, to their surprise, still awake. “Blüt sleeps for days because he’s so big. His snoring is so loud it used to shake the box. It was fun sometimes, I used to pretend it was an earthquake.” She reminisced.

Sol half-smiled, finding some amusement in Merri’s recollection. Luna remained horrified. Every little detail she learned about Merri’s imprisonment only increased her righteous bloodlust. “If he’s in there, he’ll come out as soon as he realises Merri is gone. He’ll assume she escaped somehow and come to find her.” She began. “But… We need a backup for if he chooses to wait.”

“He won’t. He’s not patient like that.” Merri shook her head, eyes glazing over once more. “Every time Merri escapes, he comes straight for her… Running away is useless.”

Sol walked over to her, petting her on the head. “Can we leave this until morning, Luna?”

“No!” Merri jolted up, knocking Sol’s hand away with her forehead. “Let me listen. Let me help! I want Blüt dead more than anyone!” She insisted, rising as her enthusiasm did. “I’ve been on his back for ten years! I can tell you anything you need to know!”

Luna frowned, hesitating. “Are you sure? Isn’t it painful for you to… You know?”

“Yeah, so?” Merri dismissed. “It’s gonna be painful for you to fight him! Shouldn’t I at least do my part?”

Sol chuckled. “If you’re that determined, who are we to say no?”

Luna sighed, joining the two closer to the campfire. “The first thing I want to establish is his level of intelligence. I need to know how capable he is of strategizing…”

The conversation continued long into the night. By the end, Luna was certain they had a foolproof plan to end the Immortal Ogre forever.

Luna breathed heavily inward. Then out. In. Then out. They had been waiting all morning, but there was still no sign of Blüt. “Merri?” She huffed. “Are you certain he’s not going to fake us out?”

“He’s not that kind of smart.” The Auf mused. “He can figure stuff out when it's in front of him, but he’s not good at thinking. He probably knows something’s up, but he’s not gonna sneak up on us. He’s still sleeping.”

Ironically, the cave began to creak and rumble as soon as Merri finished talking. Her casual attitude instantly melted away, as did the colour in her face. She backed away, olive skin as pale as it could be at the mere sound of Blüt.

Luna’s mana reserves immediately pumped into action. She raised her hands above her head, gathering energy for a Munditia. The plan this time was as she had described it. Sol would manage the target’s movements and Luna would lie in wait to strike the killer blow with a spell. Much like the encounter in Lillinberg, their win condition would be a gigantic Munditia, straight to the beast’s brain.

Sol lurked close to the cave’s entrance, muscles tight and twitchy. After hours of waiting, it felt almost unreal that it was finally happening now. He gripped his sword tight, hands sweating with anticipation.

The orb of Munditia grew as the tension in the air did. It ballooned larger and larger until the whole battlefield-to-be was awash with a blue so bright and potent that even the river beneath them paled in comparison. It was like Luna had taken the sun and dyed it her own colour.

The light it emitted crept toward the edge of the cave, just as the scratching and scraping of the emerging Blüt hit the open air. He was one step away from walking out into that blue light…

Even a beast like him knew it was suicide to leave the cave. Luna’s Munditia was a gateway to hell, and he would be a fool to go quietly. Instead, he retreated inward.

Sol breathed a sigh of relief, though everything remained tense. Luna didn’t match him, eyes still firmly trained on the cave’s mouth. The second she saw something emerge, she knew what her next action would be.

What came from the cave next was not Blüt, but rocks. Boulders larger than full grown men came flying rapid-fire from the dark. They flew haphazardly in Luna’s direction, an indiscriminate mortar.

Munditia dissipated, shrinking away as Luna’s energy was directed elsewhere. She ducked and weaved the rocks, her eyes slipping away from Blüt and instead onto the falling stones. Merri followed suit, rushing from tree to tree as the projectiles shattered them to splinters behind her.

Munditia’s light shrunk back significantly. Luna still held the spell in her hand, but its size was greatly diminished. Blüt had carved out a perfect opportunity. He roared as he tore himself from the cave’s rocky entrance. His size allowed for an impressive burst of speed; in only two steps he was past the shore, toes already wetted by the edge of the river.

Sol knew that was his cue. He rushed from his vantage point toward the ogre, drawing his sword. He grit his teeth, a joyless expression as his feet drove him to catch up with the monster.

On the cliff, Luna gathered herself. She glanced over at Merri and smiled, though the girl didn’t return it, Blüt’s presence below seemed to limit her emotional range.

From nowhere, the world grew blue once more. The grand reveal: The fading of her Munditia wasn’t a result of a loss of focus or control. It was a ploy. As soon as Blüt’s assault began, Luna had gathered her mana inwards, absorbing it back in through one hand, sending it through her core and straight out the other.

Munditia burst back out from her palm, quickly returning to its full size. Retreat was no longer an option for Blüt, large feet already sinking into the mud of the shallow river. His doom became apparent as the spell hovered over him.

From behind him, Sol burst forth with speed, flashing with momentum as his armour glistened with the blue of his sister’s spell. The orb was so large that any evasion would be difficult, but he was there to ensure it was impossible. He drew his sword, ready to sever Blüt’s leg again.

Munditia reached its apex, hovering over the cliffside as Luna finally released it. Gravity did all the work, directing the huge orb straight down toward Blüt. This time, his head would be erased for good. His skin, skull, brain, and very soul would be erased from the earth and at last, the once immortal Ogre would finally lose his title.

That would have happened, had Blüt not leapt toward the attack. An unthinkable manoeuvre. He leapt so high that he evaded Sol’s slash entirely, both feet clear of the ground as he ascended toward his death.

Luna’s eyes widened, utterly stunned. “Is he trying to kill himself?” She muttered. Sol was similarly shocked. Only Merri, who had been bound to his back for most of her young life truly understood what was happening.

The only reason one would jump into certain death is if they were well and truly immortal. Although he had lost his means of physical immortality, Blüt still thought like one. This is why he, and only he, could jump toward that Munditia without hesitation. To an immortal being, the physical body is naught but a resource. Anything lost can always be regained, and therefore risked at no cost.

Blüt’s huge hand reached upward and grasped the Munditia, long fat fingers snaking around it. The unstable mana quickly poured into him. It caused his skin to bubble and burn, muscles to expand and burst, bones to melt to nothing. His hand still grasped though, and as he took in the mana that tore him apart, the orb shrunk. The entire process was over in mere moments, but one moment remained frozen in the memory of all who saw it: Blüt’s hand snuffing out Luna’s Munditia. His five grossly oversized digits wrapping around that blue light, crushing it in his fatty palm and darkening the landscape. Luna’s strongest attack. Perhaps one of the strongest magical attacks that was possible was snuffed out in an instant, eclipsed entirely by the Immortal Ogre’s hand…