Suddenly, Audrey came to the rescue swinging her sword in an air assault. Just barely missing to slash Dick's face.

  

"No! Keep your hands away from him, beast. I am sorry I'm late, Konstantin... Those adventurers you killed aren't surviving! Their souls have passed on, and I won't let you take the life of another human, monster.” Audrey said, facing Dick in front of Melian and Konstantin.

  

  

"Audrey, Konstantin, Ogres may be the weakest of all giants, but they are considered to be on the low end of town grade. The average Ogre possesses a power rating 65. None of us have the power to match him!" Melian said as a warning.

  

  Konstantin barely stood up with his legs trembling and his hammer in hand.

  

"I don't care about power ratings... the only thing I care about is putting this hellish evil back where it belongs. As long as I breathe, that monster isn't going to have it easy!" Konstantin exclaimed before violently attacking Dick even surprising the ogre at his ferociousness.

  

  

"Audrey, I have a plan." Melian said, inspired by Konstantin's determination. Audrey listened to what Melian said while Konstantin was wailing at Dick with his last strength.

  

  

"Konstantin move! Encantation Corrosive acid!" Melian shouted as a sphere of purple liquid formed out of the magic in front of her 2 forward facing hands.

  

  The acid scattered and Konstantin jumped under the attack, getting away safely while it was about to hit Dick. It splattered all over him and he screamed as it seeped into his wounds.

  Audrey rushed at Dick jumping 3 meters in the air with her sword in hand. Dick reacted and was about to dodge, but Audrey missed her swing barely and was unable to strike him.

  

"Dick is tired with these trick, take this, miss girl!" Dick swung the log with all his might to crush Audrey just like Fallace.

  

  However, she blocked it with her 2 arms being able to withstand the attack without falling back. Dick was stunned, but then he saw it. That emblem on her blade, she was a knight. Dick never fought knights as he knew to stay away from them. Audrey was currently tightly holding Dick's log in place, not giving him the chance to move.

  

"Let go!" Dick screamed.

  

  Normally, he would have the physical strength to overpower Audrey, but as the fight went on, he was weakening.

  

"Audrey, do it now! Encantation Explosion!" Melian screamed, and Audrey followed.

  

  She let the log go and tackled Dick with her shoulder. Then bounced off him with a two-legged kick. Dick wasn't really hurt by those attacks but got shown away from Audrey and Fallace's body. Audrey ran to protect Fallaces body while Dick was stunned.

  Dick turned around and saw a white glowing orb slowly approaching him. A bright burst of light originated from the orb and, in a split second, became a 3 meter radius fire explosion emitting a large amount of heat. Everyone on the battlefield could feel the hot wave it caused. Trying to block the spell with his arms, it overpowered Dick's defenses and vaporised his arms. Dick was sent flying by the shockwave, throwing Audrey that was further away off balance.

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  Audrey and Konstantin were shocked at Melian's capability to cast such a powerful spell. Dick was still alive, trembling on the ground. Audrey carried their fallen comrade on her back, and they met up in front of Dick.

  

"Dick begs you, mercy! Dick will never pray on humans ever again. Dick promises, Dick could be useful to you! Please..."

  

  

"You're a pathetic creature demanding our mercy when you mercilessly slaughtered the weak. Those weren't knights hunting you but just some adventurers." Audrey said to the ogre on the ground.

  

  

"Your body parts will be far more useful than any rotten assistance you could give us." Melian replied.

  

  

"Demons that prey on the weak shall be served divine justice carried out by God's will. You took the life of one of my friends, and I shall behead you for your sins!" Konstantin exclaimed.

  

  Konstantin bashed in his hammer into Dick's neck, crushing his head's connection to his body.

  Audrey had killed someone before, but this was the first time she assisted in the extermination of a monster. It felt good. Like their spirits were elevated. They also consequently saved people in the future. Audrey thought while still holding Fallace's body. Melian was, on the other hand, cutting Dick's fingers off and other small appendages.

  

"With these body parts, we could surely brew some potions." Melian said, attempting to brighten up the mood as she preserved the parts in glass jars.

  

  

"Melian Audrey, Fallace will live if we hurry. I can still feel his magical energy. Thank God, his soul has not yet left his body. We need to hurry to the nearest town with a church. Audrey, I will take care of Fallace, and you take care of the girl over there." Konstantin said while pointing over to the girl and then carrying Fallace's body to the wagon.

  

  

"Everything is going to be alright! That monster is dead." Audrey told the battered girl on the ground after checking her pulse and carrying her to the wagon.

  

  The girl had an empty looking face and broken jaw, but she was still conscious.

  Audrey put her down and treated her wounds with some healing liquid. Melian sat quietly, looking at the disturbed donkeys as she was about to get moving.

  

"Konstantin, how could you sense that Fallace's soul is still with us? You aren't just saying that to give us hope?" Audrey said desperately while looking at Fallace, feeling responsible for his state.

  

  

"Audrey, don't worry, you aren't a magic user, and that's why you can't sense it. I, Melian, and Fallace possess the ability to cast magic and to accomplish that one needs to be able to sense magic energy even in its less concentrated forms. Magic is not limitless, but it still gives us a clue about if someone is alive. When we cast spells, we transform pure magical energy through our souls. The soul can not be sensed by anyone, but when someone just recently has used a spell, their souls leak out a magic footprint. When a soul fills with magic, the leakage increases and is known as a magic aura." Konstantin told Audrey while closing all of Fallaces body's gaping wounds to preserve it.

  

  Audrey knew some of these phenomena but never thought deeper about their causes.

  

"So you can figure out if someone's alive by their magic energy leakage?" Audrey asked.

  

  

"Absolutely Audrey, a soul produces lifeforce to inhabit a body. If that lifeforce is drained to zero, the soul passes on, and the magical energy immediately disperses into the dimension of magic." Melian added to the conversation.

  

  

"I see." Audrey replied.

  

  She also wished many times during her childhood to be able to use the miracle of magic. However, she was never even able to learn the basics. Her father told her that he was also never able to learn it, but the reason was not because it was impossible.

  Just like any other talent, people are born with different levels of magic affinity. Every soul is dissimilar and has different affinities for magic. It's theoretically possible for Audrey to learn it, but it would take around 10 years, which is 5 times more than the average time.

  Morning and noon had passed, and the group was peacefully chatting about their day to day lives before the Assisted Adventurers program. Audrey told them on a surface level about the incident with Clause Frodou. Konstantin was disappointed that a father of the church could be so foolish and heretical.

  Konstantin was mostly helping out with the church and the orphanage back in St. Michael. Although his favorite pastime was studying holy scriptures and dwarfish history. Melian stayed quiet on the topic of her life. Replying with nothing more than rudimentary answers to keep the conversation going without saying anything of meaning at all.

  The adventurers had not noticed the passage of time and noon had quickly transitioned into night time. The moon was almost full, and its shining light gave hope to the scarred adventurers. However, even the moon's heavenly light couldn't give the broken girl a smile.

  

• Dick's height: 269 cm
• Konstantin's height: 228 cm
• Audrey's height: 178 cm
• Melian's height: 175 cm
• Fallace's height: 117 cm