Anomaly (1)
"Geruk, geruk."
The things they held... compared to the ones the blacksmith had boasted about, they were pitifully shabby, missing teeth here and there.
But the truly creepy part was the goblins' swords reflecting in the torch lying on the ground.
Their green skin,
and that their faces were smeared with blood.
They were either injured or already dead.
"...Damn it..."
Should I raise the Warpick or the shield in this situation?
Should I leave the torch on the ground?
Facing the goblins alone without her, my head felt seriously complicated.
But after thinking for just a moment, those ugly little creatures were clearly approaching me.
...Alright, let's grab the Warpick and that torch first.
Slowly bending my waist, without taking my eyes off the creature, I managed to pick up the torch.
While keeping an eye on the growling one, I then placed my hand on my waist.
I gripped the handle tightly and pulled the Warpick out from the ring.
But attacking without being cut by the sword, huh.
Can I even do that?
"Kyieek!"
Suddenly, the creature raised its sword and charged at me!
Startled, I stumbled backward, but then realized the creature's movements were slower than I had thought.
Instead, the swing trajectory was so obvious that it looked easy.
So I gripped the Warpick firmly and swung it back at the creature's arm.
Whoosh—
A light cutting sound of wind passed, followed by a terrifying explosion.
It wasn't a cheerful sound like hitting a rock.
It was more like forcibly snapping a vine plant, accompanied by a crunching sound.
"Kya, kyaak! Kyahaaak!! Kyahaaak!!"
Clang— the sword fell to the ground.
I straightened my posture to figure out what had happened.
Knees slightly bent, torch in the front hand, weapon in the back.
What I saw was one panicked goblin, and another one screaming while clutching its... almost severed arm and shouting.
I turned my head slightly and looked at the Warpick I was holding.
Clearly, there were some blood droplets there.
I took a deep breath and exhaled.
'They shouldn't have sympathy or hesitation toward the creatures. They are the guards protecting this place. We are intruders. If they don't want to die, we must surely take their lives.'
Otherwise, my life and hers would be taken away.
"Ke, kehi—"
Staring at the injured creature, as soon as I heard me approaching, it jumped.
Now I see, the creature had yellow eyes.
It wasn't that it had human eyes, but rather, it resembled a reptile's.
An ominous eye like a line drawn on a yellow background.
Frowning, looking at me, then turning its tail.
...No companions?
So I looked at the remaining creature.
Blood was gushing from the severed part of the arm it was holding, but the flow was slowly slowing.
The creature could no longer look at me or shout properly, just lying on the ground and breathing shallowly.
...Should I leave it?
Ppak.
This time, blood spurted accurately, slightly getting on my face.
'Finish it properly. Otherwise, you might get stabbed in the back.'
Ppak, ppyeok—
The arm didn't stop until the squelching sound from the Warpick.
***
The feeling of taking a life wasn't very pleasant. Of course, I had experience dealing with golems or plants, but killing a living being with clear blood flow was the first time.
Moreover, every time I hit the head, the remaining arms and legs twitching was not a pleasant sight.
The Warpick was also covered in a lot of blood.
After swinging it several times on the ground to wipe off the pieces, I felt something was off.
"Ely unnie?"
Something was wrong. There was no reason for her not to come back like this.
...Injured, or no way.
"Damn it, damn it, no way...!"
As I was about to move toward the place where she disappeared with the Warpick, something shot out from the darkness like lightning.
Rabbit ears...!
But something was strange. Her rolled-up sleeves were full of pure white fur.
Although she was also covered in blood, I could tell that the fur below her neck was puffed up.
Moreover, her face seemed more fierce; now I see she has downy hair on her face too?
As she ran toward me, I waved the torch.
"Here— ek?"
Tup, her waist was grabbed by her, and then she clung to her shoulder.
"Wait, why now—"
"Kyihyaak, kyahaaak!!"
From the darkness where she came out running, a loud roar erupted.
The torch that fell in the darkness illuminated many green-skinned creatures.
"This damn—"
Like drumming on a drum, many footsteps filled the corridor.
Leaving the burning rod behind, leaving only the round space.
Even in the fading light, the blue wave of goblins didn't stop.
"Grab it tight."
Her voice came to me in panic.
Startled by the higher tone than usual, I turned my head slightly.
But realizing I couldn't find any mischievousness from her, I knew the situation had become serious.
She didn't have a hammer. If she did, she wouldn't have grabbed me with both hands and put me on her shoulder.
She was weaving through the various places in the corridor without hesitation, moving her feet quickly.
"Wait, wait, Ely unnie, I can run too..."
"I'm faster!"
I felt a strange feeling from the voice that sounded like an immature girl.
"I'll explain later, so hold on tight...! We have to get out of here. Hurry and report..."
She was still running while cutting through the wind fiercely, then stopped her feet for a moment.
She placed me carefully on the ground, and without giving me time to speak, pressed her head tightly to the ground.
"..."
She was concentrating. Flapping her ears, rolling her shining eyes clearly even in the darkness.
To not disturb her, I couldn't swallow my saliva properly and stood frozen there without making a sound.
"They're coming out from all around. How? The third layer shouldn't be like this...!"
"Then what happens to the other people?"
"It's not the time to worry about others, Marcus. If this continues, we'll die too."
"What happened to the hammer. What happened that..."
Thud, her arm was grabbed.
"I can't explain everything right now. There's no time. The hammer... is broken."
Her hammer is broken?
She's stronger than me.
She knows more than me.
But that her is rolling her eyes and looking serious.
The situation wasn't good. Really not good.
"Maybe we might get trapped here. It's not just us who noticed the anomaly, and some people who went deeper might have noticed the situation and come back. They might be able to solve this situation much easier..."
"We can't get out."
"Yes."
"If we stay here too long... won't problems arise?"
"It's okay for about a week. If more than that, it's dangerous. The longer we stay, the more we need to drive out the intruders... no way."
"Has someone stayed over a week? Who?"
"No, if that happens... normally, strong elite monsters would chase that person. Drive them out. Of course, people with great power hunt those monsters in return... but this is weird. There's no reason for so many goblins to appear..."
Flap, the ears were flapping.
"Let's move. The creatures are quite close. It seems they're filling all the corridors. Damn... how many are there."
"Do you know the exit?"
"Exit, exit... I don't know if I should look for it now. I didn't check because I ran away. Weapons, hold— lower them!"
"Kyaak!!"
A high scream came from behind.
I quickly crouched down, and soon a sound of something being roughly broken came.
"Kya— up! Ubeup— k— eop..."
Thud, crack, thud.
Clang, and a piece of meat fell weakly to the ground.
"Are you okay, Ely?"
"No injuries. Thanks, Ely unnie."
Yeah, no injuries. But it was her side that was...
No.
Really, her eyes were glowing red.
It was reflecting the goblin's knife. Two red spheres were shining brightly in the darkness.
"I'll use this. Since weapons are killing and getting more is fine. Ah, no way, did you already deal with the goblins?"
Did you see my Warpick in the darkness!
"Yes, two creatures appeared behind us. After killing one, the other ran away."
"Good. Well done! But, um... don't you think the front isn't clear?"
"Ely unnie has red eyes so she can see well, but the others can't see well. It's barely able to recognize the outline."
"Then give me the Warpick and raise the shield. Whenever we fight, stick close to my back and watch my back."
"What are we supposed to do?"
While handing over the Warpick to her, I felt uneasy about her busy appearance.
"What to do."
She seemed stronger and more bold than I imagined.
"Cut a path to the exit. Or, at least move until we find a safe space."
From afar, the goblins' roars were heard.
"If you're ready, from now on, we'll move."