The chilly atmosphere in the cavern suddenly turned much colder as Vorgarag's expression twisted with helplessness written all over it. His expression managed to somehow express a deep sorrow as well as confusion and regret. These combined to form the twisted expression he currently bore.
"AAARGH!!!" Vorgarag roared madness evident in his eyes. His heads still raced to find a logic behind his current actions but it was to no avail. He always reached the same conclusion. Insanity. Everything felt, wrong, everything made him seem insane! HOW COULD THAT BE!?!?
But he couldn't pin down any other source, and thinking about it further only seemed to be drawing him closer to madness. Though it seemed he had long since reached the pinnacle.
So it turned out he was mad from the start... but looking back offered him no real clues as to when it started. It was too late anyway to find a solution. His ear-piercing scream acted as a catalyst.
Sharog's earlier words of helping Ed meant that the orcs came with fighting conviction. It just so happened there was a screaming lunatic here that attacked Shel. Things were so obvious that even the dumb orcs could understand what was going. This was their target!
"Rooooar!!!" "Who do you think you are!?" "HAHAHAA" All sorts of cries rang out as the crowd of orcs that had followed Sharog down started to launch themselves forward intending to kill.
"Aaaaah!!!" Sharog herself was not left out as she offered a roar of her own which all though lacking in power did not fail in spirit. It showed her resolve.
The mana in her body coursed rapidly perhaps due to the crisis of her heart. Though the situation itself felt none threatening, Sharog still felt pressured. There existed this hidden feeling that she was not respecting Vorgarag, that although he was not who he used to be, that she owed him too much to justify it.
So as the orcs behind her started to brandish their weapons with the want to mob the twisted Vorgarag, she decided that it was perhaps better to finish him off with a single swift strike,
The mana gathered at Shorag's hand, she forgot to carry a staff. But that was fine too, she didn't feel the need for one. Vorgarag for example didn't carry one and he was still able to cast just fine. He was casting at that very moment in fact.
The earlier vortex which blew away his hail did not discourage him in any way. Vorgarag just had to handle things differently. A confrontation was not good for him, he had already spent much mana and if he were to spend them conservatively he would gain little ground. If he spent it all at once, he would be inevitably mobbed by the survivors.
Vorgarag cast forth a wall of water. The charging orcs did not halt at the sight. They instead felt that this was a foolish action. A wall of water? Was that supposed to stop them?
They all simply ran past Sharog without minding it.
"H- Hey! Be careful!" Sharog shouted but by this point, it was far too late. The orcs had already reached the wall of water. Not even the fact that they could trample Shel in their bloodlust made them reconsider their reckless charge.
The wall of water which was harmless in every imaginable way showed no changes as the orcs approached. Vorgarag's expression on the other said even remained stoic, his hand outstretched but making no real movements.
"Watch me!" One orc yelled before bringing their axe back to splice the water wall in half. It looked thin, enough to walk through with a single step, a single slash was enough!
"Gurgh!-!" But the orc's swing was left unfinished. The sudden pain in his throat paused not just his movement, but also his brain. He dropped dead.
Vorgarag only made a slight change.
"Argh!" "Wh- Urgh!" There were all sorts of grunts and screams of pain but the technique Vorgarag was employing was nothing fancy. It was simple really.
All he had to do was use the wall of water as a reserve. Manipulate the water to form a weapon, a sharp dagger, a spear, something pointy and deadly. Then shoot it towards the approaching orcs and freeze it before impact. Simple, effective.
But the orcs of Sanctuary were not all mere cannon fodder, and even the worst of the orcs was capable of understanding what danger meant.
Suddenly, Vorgarag felt his ear ringing. It was as if he had lost all sense of hearing following a loud explosion. This caused him to be temporarily surprised. Especially so after discovering that not only were his ears ringing, but his vision also seemed to turn blurry.
"Ah…" But it all made sense, his throbbing head, and the constant ringing. It all made sense after taking a look down at his bod- no, another orcs' body. This was never his own.
Though his vision seemed to be turning cloudly and muddled it could never look any more clear. Vorgarag's body formed one last expression, a wry smile. Maybe the world had a way to naturally correct things, it was beyond himself to know.
"Hah…" On the other end, Sharog's own ears were ringing from being so close to the blast zone. Not only that, but she also grew short of breath and her hand was trembling after casting such a thing.
The earlier shout of warning to the orcs had caused her focus to lapse and her mana to run rampant. This meant that she had no option but to cast the spell in a half-assed overly destructive manner.
It was a new spell. At least to her, and it was very much powerful. Drawing mana onto her palm to shoot out a formidable cannon of wind. The sound which was like that of thunder left her and the others deafened. This was overkill.
Sharog had learned to cast this spell out of respect rather than a necessity but in the end, she still failed to live up to the expectations she placed on herself. She couldn't aim for the head.
Thus, she was forced to watch the realization dawn on Vorgarag's face and the eventual clarity that overcame his eyes in his last seconds of life.
"This is all a mess…" She muttered on the verge of tears. No one could hear these words however as everyone's ears were still ringing. This only persisted for a couple more seconds. The orcs then started to make the confusion on their faces known through speaking.
"Di- Did we do it?" The orc didn't know what exactly they were supposed to do but it was supposed to help Ed. Sharog had called all of them there to do that but something felt odd.
"Yeah! YEAH!!!" But as soon as the cheers of victory started to sound in the cavern the orc cast aside all notion of doubt or curiosity. Did it matter if all of them were unneeded for this exchange?
The question answered itself as the party picked up speed.
"What are you all doing! Help Shel!" Sharog shouted before running over herself and asking for one of the orcs to pass her a healing potion.
Anticipating that something like this could happen, she had made sure to grab some more healing potions. There weren't many more since Ed had yet to restock but she still managed to grab sufficient
This turned out to be a very smart decision. It had helped save two lives.
"How is Dakgu?" She asked the orc she put in charge of his supervision.
"Still out cold" The orc responded. This sounded like a joke but Sharog did not laugh. Dakgu's body had been frozen solid when they first entered the room which had given her a definite scare.
Luckily, there was a fire crystal left at his feet. As she was a mage, she was able to actually use this to cast fire spells. In no time at all, Dakgu was freed from his frozen prison.
At this point, Sharog started to feed him much of the potions she brought. She could only rest easy after feeling that his body temperature had returned to normal as well as the fact that he was breathing.
As for Shel's current condition… She was thankfully alive and well. The potions also worked wonderfully.
"Sharog… Who was that?" Nag who was obviously also brought along asked after limping over. His current state only allowed for limited and sluggish movements.
But this much was already a miracle, he only managed to get this far due to Ed's potion. The effects were not all immediate so it was only after a couple of days that Nag was finally able to start moving numbly and now where he could walk.
"That's… It was someone from the Sacred tribe" Sharog said in response to Nag's inquiry.
"Oh" Nag said before dumbly scratching his head. He could faintly remember seeing or hearing both Ed and this orc next to his sickbed. He, therefore, found it odd for them to suddenly go mad and be taken down.
But in the end, Nag didn't pay it any more mind only ending things at a simple oh.
Sharog could only sigh. The situation was deplorable but it could be worse. She had to find solace in that at least.
"How many died?" Sharog then asked.
"Five" An orc replied. This orc woman and the others had piled up the bodies on the side of the cavern making for easy counting.
"Five…" Vorgarag was able to take out five when faced with such a disadvantageous situation. Sharog had to admit he was worthy of praise.
Now the only other problem came from figuring out how exactly she was supposed to keep the orcs down there. If they went up… they would definitely get massacred.
It was impressive for Vorgarag to take out five but it wasn't all his merit. It was the reckless nature of the orcs mixed with their own lacking combat techniques. This made facing the human seem like the suggestion of a madman.
Only the now dead Vorgarag could have made this happen....
