Chapter 5
The goblins, having formed a small pack, began butchering the animals they'd hunted right on the spot. With each belly they sliced open, innards spilled out, steaming in the cold air, and the creatures reveled in it — chewing on the blood-soaked entrails as if savoring the aroma. For a time, that nauseating slaughter continued.
"Mm. Alright. Let's move now."
Eleonora, who had been watching the scene silently, spoke in a low voice. She slept in often, and compared to Lucrecia's cool demeanor, her softer, more mature appearance made her seem playful, clumsy, and prone to mistakes... but when it came to battle, she was the one in our party who judged things more coolly than anyone else and laid out the strategy.
"Luckily they're too busy with their prey to pinpoint our position right away. But that doesn't mean they're all here. Some might be inside the cave, and there could be another group that hasn't returned yet."
At her words, I glanced around and used my Clairvoyance to scan the surroundings. Fortunately, there was no sign of additional goblins nearby. But just as I turned my head back to focus on Eleonora — perhaps because my Clairvoyance hadn't fully faded — her right breast came into sharp view.
Skin so pale it could rival even Lucrecia's northern complexion, touched with a faint blush. A bra as large as her provocative red lace breasts. A black mole proudly displayed above her chest. And peeking through the gap in the bra, a hint of pink areola.
"Gulp."
I swallowed hard without meaning to suppress the bile.
"Kael? Are you nervous?"
"Ah... no. Go on."
I waved a hand and completely dispersed the mana lingering in my eyes. Only then did Eleonora's black uniform come properly into focus. But the image I'd just seen still flickered in my mind.
Why — after we've seen each other naked, had sex, even bathed together — does the thought of peeping make me even more excited? I took several deep breaths before I could finally concentrate on Eleonora's words again.
"It's tight, but we can handle them in one sweep. Attack the moment I give the signal. Kael, take the left. Lucrecia, I'll leave the right to you."
Lucrecia and I nodded silently. The plan was simple. Eleonora would strike first with a long-range mana attack. At the same time, the two of us would charge in from both sides and hit them before the long-range attack landed, throwing the group into confusion. Then Eleonora's attack would arrive, and we'd wipe them out in one go from three directions.
"Alright. Let's get through this one safely too."
At my words, the two of them simply looked at me without a word. In that brief silence, their gaze alone was enough.
A moment later, the goblins started squabbling over a small chunk of meat, meaty scrap. Punches flew, the fight grew nastier, and the surrounding goblins cackled and clapped, thoroughly absorbed in the spectacle. Right then, Eleonora raised her wand and began to draw on her mana.
For an instant, even the wind seemed to hold its breath.
Only the distant, shrill cries of the goblins lingered in my ears. Then the hem of her black coat fluttered softly. One by one, a brownish mana began to pour from her body.
At first it was faint, but gradually — with a density that seemed to cascade — her hair and clothes whipped endlessly in the surging current.
Valkyrie of the Green Light.
True to the nickname everyone at the Academy had called her, Eleonora's green eyes blazed intensely as she began to shape her mana. Formless energy took form in the air at her command.
Countless arrows rose, as if embroidering the sky. The moment that sharp killing intent filled the space, I knew instinctively — this was the moment she'd spoken of.
I drew my sword in a flash and launched myself forward. The rustle of brush, the trajectory of my sprint cutting through the wind. But the goblins, still engrossed in their brawl, never noticed. And the price was their lives.
Thwunk!
The mana arrows, wreathed in brown light, arrived first, piercing through goblin heads. They drove so deep they lodged in the stone wall behind. Seeing their kin collapse like scarecrows, the goblins let out shrieks and frantically raised the tools they'd been using to butcher their prey.
"Kieeeek!!!"
Goblins — small, vile magical beasts. They were known for their skill at ambushes, for charging recklessly despite their tiny frames... but conversely, when they were the ones ambushed, they collapsed and fled with surprising ease. I thought they'd break just like that. But this time was different. Because of the cave at their backs — probably their nest — they chose to fight instead of flee. But it didn't matter. Taking on creatures whose forte was ambush in a head-on fight was easier than pie.
"Hahp!"
I took a deep breath and thrust my sword in a straight line. The sensation of the blade cutting through bone and flesh traveled vividly through my fingertips. And finally, the tip pierced through the goblin's back and emerged on the other side. At the same time, my Clairvoyance caught another one hiding behind the first goblin, so I drove the blade deeper without hesitation.
The blade, tearing through the first goblin's back with brutal force, met another green hide — and this time too, it pierced the frail flesh without mercy, claiming a second victim.
"Kieeeeek!!"
I spotted a goblin charging at me with a shriek and quickly withdrew my sword. The two corpses thudded to the ground as I swung my blade upward, cleaving the leaping goblin clean in half.
"Kael!"
Eleonora's shout reached me. I instinctively pulled on my mana. In an instant, countless images flashed through my mind. A goblin charging from behind — sometimes two, sometimes one — and occasionally one leaping like the one I'd just killed. Images of Future Sight — that's what I called this ability, though it was really just a poor man's version of that name. Still, having even this was better than nothing. I'd grown accustomed to it in battle long before — from the Academy all the way through my frontier journeys, I'd faced enough fights to make it second nature.
I quickly scanned the images and chose the clearest one, the one that best fit the current situation.
Shwack!!
I cut down the goblin leaping from behind, blood spraying, and only then realized my choice had been right. Even those brief, clumsy glimpses of the future made my head throb and burn.
If even catching a single future glimpse in the middle of a fight was this hard and overwhelming... then what in the world was that horrible vision I'd seen this morning?
Was it truly a future shown by my ability? Or the blossoming of some other power? Or maybe...
"Junior!"
Lucrecia's cry snapped me back to reality. I'd lost focus for a split second in the middle of battle — and the price was dangerously close.
A wooden club swung right before my eyes, about to crush my face — when in an instant, the goblin holding it froze solid, then collapsed to the ground, literally shattering into pieces.
I turned my head. Lucrecia stood there with her hand extended toward me, and from her palm radiated a chill so cold it stung.
"Junior."
"Sorry, Lucrecia."
Her voice — usually firm yet carrying a hint of warmth — was now as cold as the frigid air emanating from her palm. It pierced my ears.
Knights possessed immense power, but they weren't invincible. The abilities of those who'd graduated at the top of their class each year could practically be called invincible... but it was only practically so.
Complacency on the battlefield was a fatal mistake that could lead even the greatest to their deaths.
"Kiek!"
A brown mana arrow flying through the air lodged itself in a goblin's head, ending the skirmish. Eleonora, who'd been attacking from a distance, approached and surveyed the battlefield.
"Good. We got every last one, didn't we? Good work, Kael."
"No, I let my guard down and..."
Thwack!
The sudden pain cut me off mid-sentence. I squeezed my eyes shut. When I opened them to find Eleonora, her expression angry, slapping her own palm with her wand in a threatening gesture. And Lucrecia nodded in agreement, as if endorsing her actions with tacit approval.
I had to apologize again before Eleonora finally pulled me into her arms. The softness of her embrace seemed to dispel the heat that had built up during the short battle.
"You know it's because I worry about you, right?"
"I know. I'm sorry. Eleonora... and Lucrecia too."
"Junior. You said you had a nightmare this morning — did it affect you even in battle that much?"
"No, that's..."
I tried to deny it, but the scene that flashed through my mind again shut my mouth. The auditorium filled with that grotesque creature, those countless tentacles that seemed to be its limbs, covering their bodies, violating them — the women who were now scolding me while still sending worried looks from right in front of me — their minds shattered, falling into the abyss. The thought made my whole body tingle and my heart ache.
"Really? Is that it? Are you okay?"
Eleonora stroked my head as she held me, whispering softly. Only after receiving her care for a while was I finally able to extricate myself from her embrace. Truth be told, I wanted to stay in her arms a bit longer, but after some time passed, Lucrecia's gaze as she looked at me seemed to carry a different kind of anger — plus, there was the gaping mouth of the cave right before us.
We waited at the cave entrance for a while.
"I think this is enough. Let's go in."
At Eleonora's words, Lucrecia took the lead and stepped inside. We hadn't seen any approaching groups from outside despite waiting, and no goblins had fled inside during the battle nor was there any sign of life within — so we'd more or less ruled out unexpected surprises.
And so we entered the darkness-filled cave. When Eleonora stored away her wand, which was wreathed brown mana, there was nothing to light the darkness. That might seem reckless — we could be attacked by goblins — but it was basic knowledge taught at the Knight Academy.
In a winding cave like this, unless you spread a considerable amount of light, dark spots would form everywhere, and eyes accustomed to the light wouldn't be able to spot enemies hiding in those shadows.
Especially with a small group like ours trying to leverage the element of surprise, it was crucial not to reveal our position.
I'm parading this knowledge around, but most of it was learned at the Academy or taught by them while hunting down monsters in various caves after graduation.
The title of Top Graduate really was different. So were the secret techniques passed down through noble families for generations. I'd worked tirelessly to catch up to them, I'd faced countless real battles at the Academy, but after graduating... even though my starting point as a commoner put me behind, even the finish line of being valedictorian felt impossibly far.
Would I ever catch up to them? By the time I did, would I be the one holding them in my arms, comforting them like an adult? Feeling the lingering warmth of Eleonora's touch on my cheek, I walked endlessly through the darkness. My eyes had adjusted to the dark, so it wasn't too dangerous.
We wandered through the winding cave for a while, and strangely enough — no goblins appeared at all.
This definitely wasn't normal. Lucrecia, leading at the front, stopped several times to assess the situation.
Then, finally, light appeared around a corner. Lucrecia stopped immediately and surveyed the area.
"Lucrecia."
"Junior."
"Let me take a look with my Clairvoyance."
"Please do."
I nodded and focused mana into my eyes. I looked through the stone wall, whose flickering shadows covered it, to see what lay beyond.
Beyond the corner was a fairly large cavern, with torches planted here and there to push back the darkness. And in that space were numerous women — presumably the villagers. Torn clothes, limp bodies, and some with bellies swollen like mountains — it didn't look like a good situation.
When I relayed what I'd seen, a quiet anger flickered in Lucrecia's eyes. I patted her shoulder and looked a bit more. But there were no goblins anywhere. I even checked the passage we'd come from — nothing. I figured they must be in one of the many branching paths we'd passed on the way here.
"It's too good to be true to think the goblins we killed outside were all of them, right?"
Lucrecia nodded.
"If there really aren't any goblins, let's go in and check on the hostages. Kael — you wait right at the corner and make sure no goblins come up from behind."
I wanted to go inside with them, but then I thought about it — inside were women who'd been raped by goblins for a long time.
There was no reason to provoke their already frayed nerves, so I obediently nodded and kept watch at the corner. Meanwhile, I could see them entering and checking on the women's condition.
Most of them flinched and convulsed at the sudden contact, but when they realized the shapes before them weren't goblins but women like themselves — wearing very well-tailored uniforms — whether from hope or relief, they burst into tears.
Watching that sight through my Clairvoyance, I noticed yellowish mucus scattered over their torn clothes.
The moment I felt a sense of recognition, a violent headache struck me out of nowhere.
"Ugh!"
My body staggered and hit the wall. The pain, like a spike driven through my skull, forced my eyes shut. I hurriedly opened one eye, trying to call out to them — but in that instant, screams and shouts erupted from inside instead.
"Kael!"
"Aaahhn❤️! Hoooh❤️! Kael!!"
How urgent must it have been — Lucrecia called my name instead of her usual title. I quickly looked inside. And there I saw small, green-skinned goblins clinging to Lucrecia's body, trying to subdue her.
One of them had somehow managed to latch onto her neck, its arms wrapped around strangling her, its long tongue flicking out to lick her cheek. Others were clinging to her legs, tearing her white lace stockings and leaving red wounds on her jade-white skin.
'Where the hell did they come from?'
I had no idea. But one thing was certain — we'd allowed a fatal surprise attack.
"Lu... Lucrecia..."
I tried to endure the skull-splitting pain and rush inside, but I couldn't take a single step.
Eleonora!
Her name suddenly flashed through my mind. Unlike physical-type knights, she had significantly less close-combat capability. If she'd been ambushed like Lucrecia, she'd definitely be in danger. And besides — the words I'd heard after Lucrecia's shout, the ones she'd called out to me... they sounded strangely aroused, lewd.
I hoped it would be different from what I feared — but her situation was even worse than Lucrecia's.