Goblin Slayer (4)
Rydia, now unleashing her full strength, was far more powerful than I had imagined.
With a flat, emotionless face, she swung her massive greatsword. The aura blazing along its blade shot forward in a long, crescent-shaped arc.
BOOM!
A sound like an explosion shook the ground. The nearby goblins were sent flying, huts and all. One lucky survivor stared blankly at Rydia, so I fired my wrist crossbow straight at its forehead.
Shhhk—thud!
It was my first time using it, but the power was beyond what I’d expected. The bolt buried so deep into its brain that the fletching was barely visible, and the creature collapsed on the spot.
“…Yona. Leave the small fry alone. I’m going to pick up the pace now, so focus on keeping up. Actually… just get on my back.”
“Huh?”
“No matter how fast your legs are, you still can’t keep up with me yet.”
“……”
After seeing that last strike, I couldn’t argue. I climbed onto her back without a word.
Because she was wearing that half-bikini armor, it felt like I was clinging to bare skin. The direct heat of her body, the soft sensation, and that sweet, warm scent of her flesh made me flinch for a second.
“Hold on tight.”
The moment she said that, the world accelerated.
“Krrraaaaaaaaagh!”
I reflexively buried my face in the nape of her neck, screaming. If I didn’t, the wind pressure would’ve snapped my head back.
BOOM! CRASH! THUD!
While maintaining that insane speed, Rydia fired aura blasts at every hobgoblin she saw and simply kicked apart anything that tried to block her path. She was basically a living, breathing tank right now.
The only thing I could do was press my head against her shoulder and watch her massive chest bounce violently with every movement.
…This is fucking awesome.
But good times never last long.
The hobgoblin settlement might have taken up a fairly wide area, but in the end, they were still just goblins. Ten seconds of Rydia running at full speed was more than enough to go from the outskirts all the way to the chieftain’s hut in the center.
She crouched slightly, aiming a bit higher—probably planning to blow off just the roof instead of destroying the whole building, in case there were people inside.
I tapped her shoulder and shouted.
“Lady Rydia! Don’t just blow off the roof and charge in!”
“Why? There might be traps, but nothing that could threaten me.”
“That’s not what I mean! We’re here to rescue Mr. Hans, or maybe other captured men, right?”
“Yes.”
“Considering why they were captured, they’re obviously naked!”
“…I suppose so?”
“I don’t want you seeing any man’s naked body except mine, Lady Rydia.”
“……”
Rydia loosened her grip on the greatsword and replied with an utterly dumbfounded look.
“You literally just saw Sally’s naked body a little while ago. And before that, you saw the bodies of those elf sisters, Lemon and Apple. You even slapped their asses.”
“You saw that?! But that’s different! They’re cute!”
“……”
Rydia shut her mouth, looking completely done with me. I rubbed my cheek against the top of her head and continued.
“If it gets dangerous, I’ll obviously ask for your help. But if possible, I’d rather handle it myself. Is that okay, Lady Rydia?”
“…I’ll hold off the incoming goblins. Separately from that, I’ll keep my senses open, so if anything happens I’ll rush in immediately.”
“Thank you! And don’t look so disappointed! I can give you my underwear as a present!”
“I don’t need it.”
“What? I’ll give them to you unwashed. Are you sure? Wouldn’t they be useful as a handkerchief or something?”
“…I really don’t need them.”
Rydia swung her greatsword with a dead-serious expression. The crescent-shaped aura sliced off half of the massive chieftain’s hut.
BOOM!
Taking that as my cue, I stood up. I planted both feet on Rydia’s shoulders and crouched as low as I could. Something soft brushed against the back of my head and she let out a tiny squeak, but it wasn’t important.
I tensed the muscles in my thighs and unleashed all the coiled power in my body like a spring.
Whoosh!
My vision shot upward. I twisted in mid-air to look inside the building and saw the chieftain—easily one and a half times bigger than the other hobgoblins—and two naked men chained to the wall.
So there was one more prisoner.
I clicked my tongue and aimed the wrist crossbow I’d already reloaded at the chieftain. The bastard was in the middle of enjoying himself, half-naked. It tossed aside the leather it had been trying to put back on and desperately reached for a nearby sword.
I had no intention of letting it arm itself.
Shhhk!
The arrow flew fast and pierced straight through the back of its hand.
“Gobuuuuurk!”
The hobgoblin chieftain howled, clutching its impaled hand. In that opening, I landed safely and drew the Unicorn Dagger.
Vrrrr—!
The dagger vibrated more violently than usual, as if it disliked the situation. I gripped the hilt tightly and lowered my stance.
Then I charged without giving it a chance to recover.
Of course, the chieftain didn’t just stand there. It swung its injured arm like a whip to keep me at bay while successfully grabbing a massive club that matched its size with its other hand.
“Kiiyaaack! Tiny human!! I won’t forgive you, gob!!! I’ll pick you up and violate you until your lower half breaks, gobuu!!”
“Shut up, you filthy thing. Annoying.”
I dropped low to the ground and slid underneath it. Just dodging felt too boring, so I flicked the dagger upward and sliced the wrist passing overhead.
Splurt!
I must have hit an artery. Blood exploded out, drenching my entire body in sticky crimson. Luckily none got in my eyes. If I could slip between its legs and cut the Achilles tendon next…
“Guh, ughhhk…?!”
The hobgoblin chieftain, about to lift its club, staggered and fell backward with a choking sound.
THUD!
“…Huh?”
I didn’t know what happened, but it looked like an opportunity. I stabbed the dagger into its side and dragged it across.
Its guts spilled out with a wet rush. But the creature still showed no reaction.
“???”
Wondering what was going on, I looked up at its face. Its already ugly features had turned deathly pale. Foam bubbled from its mouth, and its eyes had rolled back. It looked exactly like something that had died from extreme poisoning…
“Ah.”
I glanced at the Unicorn Dagger in my hand.
“Was it you?”
Vrrring—!
It gave a single affirmative vibration before falling silent. It seemed satisfied that it had erased one more filthy, non-virgin existence from the world.
“Having a weapon that’s too good might actually be a problem.”
So far, every hobgoblin I’d killed had died from a slit throat or a stab to the heart, so I hadn’t noticed… but at this rate, I wouldn’t even get a proper fight. My skills would never improve.
“No, wait. There’s no need to obsess over fair, head-on combat in the first place.”
My specs were complete trash. Why would I bother with honorable sword duels? If I could stab someone in the back and end it in one blow, that’s what I should do.
Feeling a little more clear about the path I should take, I nodded in satisfaction and turned toward the captured men. Cleanup could wait.
“Whoa.”
Up close, the condition of the male prisoners was pretty hard to look at. They were covered in bruises, slathered in fluids I didn’t want to identify, and their eyes were completely vacant—whether from drugs or broken spirits, I couldn’t tell.
Well… at least neither of them seemed to be in immediate danger of dying. That was something.
I smiled brightly at the prisoners.
“Hey there. Which one of you is Mr. Hans?”
“……Yes?”
“……”
One of them flinched and lifted his head. The other just stared blankly into space as if he hadn’t heard a thing.
I pointed the dagger at the one who had reacted.
“Aha? So you’re Mr. Hans?”
“Hiiik! Please spare me! Please spare me!”
“Sally sent us, so don’t worry!”
“Sally…?”
Hans, who had been shaking his head frantically at the dagger’s sharp edge, froze at the name. He looked like he’d heard something impossible.
Chuckling at his wide eyes, I swung the dagger.
“Huuuaaaagh!”
Clang!
“……?”
Hans, who had squeezed his eyes shut on reflex, carefully opened them again. What he saw was a broken shackle. One of his legs had been chained to the wall.
So I freed him first.
“It’s okay now, so just wait a moment. I need to free this other person too.”
“Ah. Y-yes… yes…”
Hans nodded with a dazed expression. I also broke the shackles on the man beside him, but he still didn’t react at all.
“…Do you know what’s wrong with him?”
“Ah, it’s probably because the chieftain fed him an aphrodisiac. The hallucinations are severe…”
“Tsk. Can’t be helped. This might be tough, but could you carry him on your back, Mr. Hans? My body’s still too small to carry an adult.”
“Well… the truth is, I can’t even stand up properly anymore…”
Hans carefully showed me his arms and legs. Deep, not-yet-healed wounds marked his wrists and ankles.
“Did they cut your tendons?”
“…Yes.”
Hmm. In that case, there was nothing else to do.
“For now, put this on.”
I tore every leather item I could find in the chieftain’s hut and wrapped them around the two men’s bodies.
“Help me out, Lady Rydia!”
CRASH!
The moment I shouted, the wall exploded and Rydia appeared. She quickly assessed the situation, then tilted her head at the already-dead chieftain and me, who was covered in blood. I gave her a bright smile.
“Could you go call Sally over?”
“……”
Rydia stared at me with an expressionless face. She looked exactly like someone who had dropped everything and rushed over because they were told it was urgent, only to be asked to turn off the lights.