“One good thing about Ogres is that they’re easy to find,” Itzel remarked. People continued to scream and flee through the streets, all rushing towards her and Gurk. She marched forward, her head bobbing around as she tried to look past all the bystanders that were running from the chaos. “Must be nice to know you aren’t the cause of mass hysteria for once, huh Gurk?”

“Yeah,” the crocodile replied with a growl. The further the pair progressed, the thinner the throng of civilians became. Instead of shrieks of terror, the most prevalent sound was the long groan of an Ogre as it continued its rampage. Itzel could see totaled vehicles laying on their side in the middle of the street. Further down, she saw the front of the massive Essencima. It had large yellow eyes that were still beady in comparison to the large round head that jutted out from its torso without a neck. Both sides of its face were flat as they came to a sharp edge in the center. The rest of the creature’s body was massive, standing well over the height of the vehicles it had demolished. Its long, muscular arms had veiny talons at the end that swung fervently at a target that Itzel couldn’t see. In the middle of its struggle, it turned itself around while still swinging at whatever had its attention.

“So what’s the plan, big guy?” Itzel asked as she began sprinting towards the Ogre. Gurk followed behind her.

“I distract.”

“You sure about that? You’re strong, but you’ve never thrown a carrier before, let alone crammed one through a doorway.”

“Yeah.”

“If you say so. But we’ve never taken out an Ogre and you’ve seen what they can do. If you don’t think you can handle it, don’t hesitate to back off. Understand?”

Gurk gave Itzel a thumbs up.

“While you’re dealing with it up front, I’ll try to chip away at it from a distance. Maybe then we can-“

Itzel stopped her run once the full figure of the Ogre became visible. Her head tilted up as she looked on in silent awe. Its back was towards her, showing off the pulsating purple veins that protruded from its dark and leathery flesh. She watched as it slammed one fist into the ground, obliterating the pavement and scattering chunks of pavement across the area. Its target became clear; Enidri jumped back, narrowly avoiding the attack. The swordswoman turned her head and saw Itzel staring back at her.

“Get outta here!” she shouted, shooing Itzel away with one hand. The Ogre turned around, locking onto Itzel.

She froze. The monster had completely turned itself around and began to stare at her. It took in a deep breath. As its mouth opened, it revealed two long jagged rows of talon-like teeth. A lengthy strand of saliva dripped out of its mouth as it walked closer. Every muscle pulled and tensed with each motion it made. A loud crunch accompanied every step it took as it traversed across scraps of vehicles and other debris. It bellowed out another yell, one so loud that Itzel unfroze from her timid pose to cover up her ears.

The Ogre raised one of its arms high above its head. The talons curled into a fist-like shape before slamming it down towards Itzel. She raised both of her hands as if she were still in a Ranked Challenge, preparing to guard an oncoming strike. She kept her eyes closed, realizing that she had made a mistake.

“Slice!”

Itzel opened her eyes in time to see Gurk swing his tail upwards in a bright blue streak. The attack collided with the Ogre’s fist, making it recoil and stumble back. She blinked a couple of times as she smacked herself in her face with the palms of her hands to break out of her chance.

“T-thanks big guy,” she said.

“Focus,” Gurk grumbled, keeping his attention on the creature in front of him. The Ogre was roughly Gurk’s size and a quarter, making him loom over the crocodile. Despite the height difference, Gurk took a wide stance, spreading his legs apart as he used his arms to grab the monster around the waist. He proceeded to bite into the creature’s chest, gnawing away at the flesh and veins.

The Ogre retaliated, moving back and forth, using its hands to pound on the crocodile’s back as it made painful wails from the lacerations Gurk was giving it. The first strike was short and quick; it caught Gurk off-guard and made him buckle from the blow. Gurk tensed himself and continued to bite into whatever his jaws could catch, letting out his chilling breath in the process.

The Ogre raised both hands higher, combining them into one massive, blunt weapon. It dropped down on Gurk, making a blaring splat as it crashed onto Gurk’s back. The crocodile’s entire body shook from the attack. He lost his balance and his grip, giving the Ogre an opportunity to fling him to the ground with both hands.

“Gurk!” Itzel exclaimed as she moved in closer. She tossed a Serrated Gale at the creature on her way to her downed friend. The attack hit the Ogre in the side of the head, only making it flinch. It turned its head to look at where the attack came from. It eyed Itzel as she ran to the side, trying to pull the creature’s attention away from Gurk. However, it remained uninterested and put his focus back towards the crocodile.

“Hey!” Itzel shouted. Another Serrated Gale was thrown, this time connecting to its back. The projectile turned into a stiff breeze, unaffecting the Ogre. It reached down and grabbed Gurk with both hands and lifted him to his feet. The crocodile squirmed but the grip from the creature’s wide talons made moving his arms impossible.

The Ogre lowered its head, opening its mouth wide and let out one more horrid wail. The putrid scent of decay overflowed the crocodile’s nostrils. Gurk turned his head up as the monster’s head zeroed in, flashing its jagged teeth. The Ogre tilted its head, going in for a bite of the crocodile’s exposed neck. Gurk continued to try flailing out of the monster’s clutches, but the claws of the Ogre began to dig into his scaly skin.

“Serrated Gale!”

Another headshot. The Ogre’s head jerked to the side from the blow. It shut its mouth for a moment as it turned towards Itzel.

“Glacier!” Gurk shouted as the creature was distracted. A frigid blue gas escaped from his mouth, encompassing the Ogre’s face. It bobbed its head back. Its mouth was sealed shut; icicles dripped down from its chin while the front of the face glistened like frost.

“Flying-“ Enidri wound her arm back, preparing to toss her Ion Blade until Itzel’s hand took hold of her arm.

“You’ll hit Gurk!” she shouted, still holding onto Enidri’s arm.

“I know what I’m doing!” she snapped back. “I’ve taken on an Ogre before!”

“This isn’t a Ranked Challenge. If you miss you could kill him!”

“But if I don’t toss this then the Ogre will! Your Serrated Gales might as well be spit at this point!”

Both women turned to look at the battle in front of them. Gurk lowered himself while the Ogre continued to try to keep him pinned down while shaking its head to try to free its frozen mouth. With Gurk’s knees bent, he jumped upwards, his metal mask angled perpendicular to the Ogre’s face. The mask collided with the creature’s jaw, sending shattered bits of ice and teeth across the street. The Ogre released Gurk from its hold as it pressed its hands onto its half-shattered face. The monster’s cries became louder as it staggered back, flailing its arms wildly into the air.

Itzel and Enidri both placed their hands over their ears, wincing from the painful cries of the Ogre. Gurk ran in for a tackle only to have one of the creature’s arms hit him with an upwards backhanded smack, sending him flying onto his back and into a carrier. The crying of the monster became subdued as it channeled its pain into fury. The flailing stopped. The Ogre regained a bit of its composure, and upon seeing the stunned Gurk, began to charge at him shoulder first.