The Goblin's End
The forest is home to fairies. But don't you dare assume those fairies are friendly. If even fairies can be like that, then what about goblins? Those vile creatures.
"Ugh."
My former superior's words suddenly came to mind. It was back when we'd received orders to clear out a goblin den. Yes, the time we literally "cleaned" the place using blades and oil. Just remembering it made my stomach churn, so I quickly clamped a hand over my mouth.
"Kereuk!"
The reason those memories felt so vivid right now was obviously because of the goblin standing before me. I shook my head, trying to shake off the unpleasant old recollections.
"Was it you?"
"Kereuk?"
"The one who turned the beasts into monsters and tried to put the village in danger?"
"Keruruk! Human, you're the one who interfered with my work. Hand over the mana crystal."
"This?"
"That's right."
The goblin spoke as it pulled back its hood. The face that appeared was about as ordinary as goblins got. Sunken eye sockets and a gaunt frame. When people thought of monsters that resembled humans, wasn't this the first thing that came to mind? That was exactly why it looked so hideous.
The creature bared its teeth in a wide grin and pointed the staff it was holding directly at me.
"Whether you hand it over or not, I'll kill you anyway. You're everyone's enemy."
"Huh."
A goblin burning with fighting spirit. I'd never seen anything like this in my previous life. Goblins had always been nothing more than lumps of malice filled with nothing but lust and a drive to breed. I'd even thought that peace wouldn't come until every last goblin in this world was wiped out.
Yet that pure evil was now pointing its staff at me, openly provoking me.
Crack!
Before I knew it, I was kicking off the ground. My only target was the goblin's neck. There was no wasted movement in my action. Gripping the sword Hildegard had given me with both hands, I thrust forward with all my strength, aiming to pierce straight through its throat.
Thud!
"It went in...!?"
"Keruruk!"
But what I'd pierced wasn't the goblin's neck. Something enormous had suddenly burst up from the ground. No, a beast. Its entire body was shrouded in murky energy, looking like nothing more than a moving chunk of meat. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was a massive bear.
"Damn it."
I yanked my sword free and leaped backward, resetting my stance. I hurriedly expanded my gigaam, and immediately sensed several more monsters hiding underground. I'd let my guard down. For someone whose only real advantage was his gigaam, to lose focus at such a critical moment...
The goblin burst into laughter at my state, a sound like phlegm rattling in its throat.
"Kereuk! Kereuk! Man. How pitiful. No matter how much you imitate a knight, you'll never become one."
"...!"
The goblin's filthy voice pierced right through me. It was enough to make me unconsciously grind my molars. But I didn't let my breathing falter, nor did I loosen my grip on the sword. There was only one thing I needed to focus on.
Boom!
The ground beneath my feet shattered as a monster smashed through it. Even so, I didn't stop moving. It wasn't so much dodging as letting them graze past me. The moment I lost concentration would be my end.
"Kiek? Rise. Kill that fool."
One, two. At the goblin's call, the ambushing monsters began to awaken. Wolves, bears, snakes. It had turned every threatening beast into a monster. If I didn't stop it here, an entire village might really disappear.
That was why I advanced toward it. I kept walking forward.
Boom—!!
I rolled to avoid the bear's massive forepaw that tore through the earth, then used my sword to block the wolf's jaws that snapped at my neck and head. I kicked away the snake that tried to coil around me and threw myself clear with everything I had.
"Haa, haa, haa."
Countless black spots were visible across their bodies. I swung, stabbed, blocked, dodged, rolled, and cut with all my might.
Slice!
One monster fell. The remaining two had their cores stabbed and slashed in various places, so they could no longer charge as aggressively as before. They were beginning to feel fear from my attacks that seemed to dig straight into their nuclei, their weaknesses.
Perfect timing. It looked like I no longer had the strength left to deal with anything but that one goblin.
I dragged my exhausted body and trudged toward the creature.
"Kiruk! What are you doing? Kill him!"
......
The monsters had broken free of its control. Aside from the one already fallen, none remained. When I focused, I could sense that the energy emanating from the goblin had grown weak. That was probably why it had lost control over the monsters.
A golden opportunity. I kicked off the ground and thrust my sword toward it.
But at that moment.
Clang—!!
"?"
My sword was blocked by something invisible. It felt as if I'd hit some kind of barrier. For a second I thought my arm strength had given out, but that didn't seem to be the case. When I tried pushing the blade forward, it only produced a grinding screech without any sense of penetration.
"Kehyk! Stupid human!"
"......"
This was starting to piss me off. No, it wasn't "starting" — I was outright furious.
I focused my gigaam on the tip of my sword. Gigaam. The power to sense foreign energies. The more I concentrated, the more detailed and clear the sensation became.
What I felt through the blade right now was...
A massive glass wall? It felt like glass, but there was no sign it would break. The only thing that could cut through something like this was probably that.
"......"
"Kereuk?"
Thump!
Having lost all strength, I collapsed to the ground. I withdrew every bit of gigaam I'd focused on Hildegard's sword. I simply lay there as if I'd given up, blankly staring at the stars floating in the sky.
"What is this, human? Have you given up?"
"...Yeah."
"Kihihihihihit!"
A demonic laugh echoed through the forest. The goblin, which had been cowering just moments ago, completely changed its attitude in the blink of an eye. It burst into wild laughter, clenched its fists, and glared at me while holding its staff upright.
"For a human, you weren't half bad. Any last words, human?"
"Plenty."
There were far too many people I'd become indebted to. I recalled their faces one by one in my mind.
"There are so many I couldn't possibly say them all."
"Kihyik! Humans really are stupid after all. That's why you lost to me. Kihit!"
The goblin was so excited it was even stomping its feet. I ignored it and simply stared blankly at the sky. Then suddenly.
"Now that I think about it, human, you're male? If I offer you, that person might like it..."
The goblin muttered some incomprehensible words to itself before suddenly shaking its head vigorously as it looked at my sword.
"No. I'll kill you. You ruined Karlak's plan. Die!"
"What are you even saying? Have you finished your little dilemma?"
"Kieek!"
Its yellow eyes burned with rage as it glared at me. The goblin gripped its staff with both hands and raised it high into the air. Looking closely now, I could see nails and spikes embedded in various places. Getting hit by that would definitely hurt.
"Die! Human!"
Just as the staff raised high above its head was about to smash into my face.
Thwack.
"......"
Splat!
Something sticky sprayed in all directions. With a light bursting sound, the goblin's head vanished cleanly.
The thing I'd needed to break through its barrier. Seeing it with my own eyes, I realized just how incredible it truly was.
I slowly shifted my gaze from the sky where I'd been staring blankly.
"Did you really give up?"
"You never taught me how to deal with mages."
"Tsk. That's true. My mistake."
It was Hildegard, casually flicking bits of brain matter off her hand. The unique dark red aura of hers still crackled around her fingers.
"Actually, there was something I wanted to ask you."
"What is it? Speak quickly. We don't have time."
My gigaam was spread wide across the area. That's how I understood exactly what Hildegard's words meant. Selena and the others were heading this way.
Perhaps for that reason, Hildegard casually tossed the goblin's corpse into the fallen wolf's maw.
"Master."
"Hm?"
I took a slow, deep breath before asking.
"A true knight wouldn't draw their sword except on the battlefield, right?"
"...Obviously."
"Then that's fine."
I wasn't sure if this resolved anything, but I flopped onto my back. If there were any more mana crystals the goblin had scattered or any remaining monsters, I could have helped with my gigaam. But my arms and legs wouldn't budge, so I could only squirm on the dirt floor.
Click!
Hildegard calmly sheathed her sword and looked at me. Then she placed the blade on my chest and let out a sigh.
"Once this is over, I'll double your training volume."
"Kek. That's a bit..."
"Also, I'll teach you how to deal with those petty spellcasters."
"I'd appreciate that."
"If you appreciate it, then rest. They're coming."
"Huh?"
When I lifted my head, I could see faint lights in the distance. When I looked to the side again, Hildegard had vanished without a trace. Since I couldn't even sense her with my gigaam, she must have gone quite far. To create that much distance in such a short time... she really was a monster.
"Huu."
Should I call her a good master? Or a reckless one? I honestly couldn't tell, so I just let out a small chuckle.
A few days later.
"The monster subjugation is finally winding down."
"It's all thanks to the support from the Gluwin family. Please convey our gratitude to the family head."
"Hehe. Thank you, family head. The Ribein family's supply of resources was excellent as well, wasn't it?"
Whoosh!
Iselina and Angelica were chatting while burning the monsters' corpses. It was certainly thanks to the support from both families that the village had been able to stay safe. Protecting anything required power. Whether that power was money, military strength, or anything else.
I burned that fact into my heart as I sat by the campfire with Selena.
"Are your injuries okay?"
"Yeah. You're the one who got hurt, Selena."
"Compared to Ruines, it's nothing."
Selena smiled. Her expression seemed much brighter than when we were kids. Sometimes I found myself thinking that Selena had always been this beautiful.
"By the way, Ruines. You collected all the mana crystals, right?"
"These?"
I pulled the mana crystal fragments from my pocket and showed them to her. I wasn't entirely sure, but apparently the guild paid quite well for them. There were even adventurers who made a living just by searching for these crystals.
Of course, since I was going to become a knight, it didn't really matter to me.
"Yeah. There are quite a few. We'll divide the mana crystals we obtained this time according to each person's contributions... Huh."
At that moment, Selena's eyes sparkled strangely.
"Ruines. Were these originally this clean?"
"Hm? No? They were definitely pitch black before."
The mana crystal Selena held was filled with a dark, murky energy. On the other hand, the ones I'd been carrying in my pocket were...
"Huh?"
"??"
Selena and I tilted our heads in confusion.