Chapter 7

Chapter 7
## Chapter 7: Goblins, Demons, Children (3)

—

The woods remained restless throughout the night.

Unnatural, shimmering lights drifted through the trees like funeral lanterns meant to comfort the departed. Rows of torches struggled against the oppressive gloom of the wilderness.

Yet, those carrying the fire were hardly masters of the dark. They moved with heavy, uncertain steps, their features twisted into masks of anxiety beneath the orange glow. Most of the men were on a knife’s edge, their eyes darting toward every rustle in the undergrowth like cornered prey.

“Wh-what was that?”

“Good grief, you nearly gave me a heart attack!”

The simple beat of wings from a passing bird sent several grown men into a frantic huddle. One villager mistook the blinking of fireflies for the predatory gaze of a goblin and raised a frantic alarm. Another lashed out with a tool at a stray noise, nearly striking his own companion.

Amidst this display of cowardice, only one figure remained unmoved: the dark-skinned colossus trailing just behind the guide.

Kadim’s expression was a stone mask, devoid of even a flicker of sentiment. He moved with such purpose and speed that he frequently had to slow down to avoid stepping on the heels of the man leading the way.

This forced march of fear finally reached its conclusion as the mouth of a cavern came into view. Brief, sharp looks were exchanged among the villagers as they came to a halt. Finally, pressured by the group, the man who had reluctantly brought along a small axe shuffled toward the front.

“Ahem… we’re going to… head back to the village now. We need to be there in case the goblins decide to strike the homes…”

It was a transparently weak justification, but Kadim didn’t bother to acknowledge it. These men, paralyzed by the mere thought of the monster, would be nothing but dead weight in a real fight. It was far more efficient to face the threat alone than to manage a pack of liabilities.

However, he required a single pair of hands. Kadim signaled toward Duncan with a sharp movement of his head.

“Merchant. You’re coming.”

“M-me?”

“I need a light-bearer. I can’t kill the creature if I’m fighting in the dark.”

While Kadim possessed eyes that could navigate the gloom better than most, the interior of a deep cave was a different matter entirely. Without a source of light in a place where the sun never reached, even he would be at a disadvantage.

“…”

Duncan stared into the entrance. The cave looked like a hungry gullet waiting to swallow them whole. He felt a lump form in his throat. He thought he could hear the faint, distant echoes of weeping drifting from the depths—or perhaps it was just the wind playing tricks on his nerves.

*Gods… I really don’t want to do this…*

But there was no escaping it. The barbarian gave him a look of cold indifference, while the villagers pointedly ignored him, looking at the ground or the trees. No one was going to volunteer to take his place.

“…Fine, sir. I’ll do it. Let’s get on with it.”

Duncan let out a breath that seemed to vibrate through his whole body. The villagers quickly handed over a torch stand and some flint before sprinting away as if the devil himself were at their heels.

The pair stood at the threshold. The torchlight revealed a stone floor that dipped gradually into the earth. As they moved further in, the tunnel expanded, and a trickle of water ran through a narrow groove in the rock. Kadim took the lead, his footsteps heavy and rhythmic, while Duncan followed, shaking as he held the flame high.

The entrance held no ambushes. Duncan peered behind every jagged stone and pillar, expecting a monster to leap out at any moment, but the shadows remained empty. The cries he thought he’d heard earlier didn’t repeat; he convinced himself it was just his imagination.

Finding a small spark of courage in the silence, Duncan looked toward Kadim’s broad back.

“Sir… may I ask you something?”

“…”

“Why are you helping these people without giving them a piece of your mind? They are wretched cowards who gave up their own flesh and blood to a monster just to save their own skins.”

He didn’t truly expect a deep conversation. He was mostly just trying to drown out the oppressive silence of the cavern.

Kadim glanced back at the merchant.

“Have you ever stood before a living demon?”

“What? No, never…”

Indeed, he hadn’t. While stories of demons plagued the land, Duncan had always made sure his trade routes stayed far away from such rumors. The only glimpses he’d had of that world were the shriveled remains sold in illicit markets.

The barbarian let out a soft sigh and spoke with unexpected depth.

“A person changes when they look a demon in the eye. All those high-minded ideals and noble thoughts crumble. All that’s left is a primal fear and a desperate need to keep breathing. A rare few can find the strength to push through that terror, but you shouldn’t expect the common man to possess that kind of iron will.”

“But still, sir… to hand over their own children? Even a wild animal will die to protect its litter…”

“Survival sometimes means crawling through the dirt and eating filth. As repulsive as it looks, that was their path to staying alive. You can’t judge them so easily. They told you themselves—they felt they had no other choice.”

“I can’t accept that. From the child’s point of view, the entire world has turned its back on them. What is the value of a life bought with such a disgusting betrayal?”

“…”

Kadim’s posture stiffened. He offered no retort to Duncan’s final point. Fearing he had overstepped or offended the warrior, the merchant turned pale and quickly covered his mouth.

But Kadim wasn’t angry. He was simply lost in thought. For a moment, it felt as though their roles had shifted.

Duncan’s sense of right and wrong was grounded in a reality Kadim had long ago left behind. It was a perspective far removed from his own, which had been twisted by years of cleaning up the Hero’s wake and walking through a literal sea of gore.

*If I ever truly return to a normal life… could I even function?*

It was a fleeting, hollow thought. Duncan, sensing the tension, quickly tried to change the subject.

“Regardless, sir… do you think those children are still drawing breath?”

Kadim closed his eyes, searching his memories for the patterns of the monsters he had hunted in his previous existence.

The answer came swiftly.

“If this demon were mindless and simple, they would be dead. But if it is as clever and malicious as it seems? Then it has almost certainly kept them alive.”

“Wait, what? That doesn’t make sense—”

Before he could finish his thought, a high-pitched, grating shriek tore through the air.

— *Keeek, kyak!*

— *Kick, kiiieee…!*

Multiple pairs of crimson eyes ignited in the darkness between the hanging rocks. A wave of pure, murderous intent washed over them. Duncan’s questions vanished instantly as he scrambled backward.

“Aaah!”

Just as the merchant tripped over a loose stone, Kadim’s hand axe left his grip. The weapon blurred through the shadows cast by the torch, burying itself perfectly in the skull of the lead creature.

*Thuk!*

— *Kek!*

The strike was so rapid the other goblins froze in confusion. They stared dumbly at their leader as he slumped into the dirt.

In that heartbeat of hesitation, Kadim unsheathed his sword and lunged.

“Hyaaah!”

*Stab—*

— *Gruk, hihek….*

The steel found the narrow throat of the next monster. The goblin wheezed and collapsed. Kadim used his boot to shove the corpse away, freeing his blade, and then stooped low to reclaim his axe.

*Thuk!*

Another goblin’s head was split open by the falling axe. A grim, terrifying smile touched Kadim’s lips. The remaining monsters finally snapped out of their shock and swarmed toward the giant.

— *Kyeeeeek!!*

One beast swung a heavy wooden club, nearly as thick as a man’s leg.

Kadim used a short, precise parry to knock the club aside. With a fluid motion, he pulled the sword back and executed a vicious horizontal slash. The goblin’s stomach was torn open as if by a jagged saw, its innards spilling onto the cave floor.

— *Kihik, kihihihik!*

— *Kyeeeeek!!*

Two more goblins leaped from the rocks like aggressive toads.

The narrow passage, filled with stalactites, didn’t allow for wide, sweeping strikes. Kadim adjusted his grip, pressing the flat of the blade against his palm and holding it near the tip. He used the sword like a reinforced pick, driving it forward with lethal power.

*Whish—thuk, thuk!*

— *Kek!*

The impact was devastating, crushing their skulls in a narrow arc. The force of the blow sent the goblins tumbling back across the stone.

Before he could accidentally cut his own hand, Kadim returned to a standard grip. He realized the sword was ill-suited for such a cluttered environment. He decided to finish the rest with his axe.

He tore the axe from one skull and buried it in the next. He shattered a hand holding a crude mace and followed with a blow to the crown of the head. He kicked a wounded creature and opened its throat with a follow-up strike. Finally, he brought his heel down on a fallen goblin’s back with enough force to snap its spine outward.

The slaughter was systematic. The goblin numbers crashed from over twenty down to a mere handful.

— *Kyeee, kyak!*

— *Kihihi, kiik, kiik!*

Though they were bloodthirsty, they weren’t entirely suicidal. The few survivors let out whimpering cries of terror and scrambled into the shadows. The green-skinned shapes vanished into the darkness ahead.

Duncan stood frozen, his arm trembling as he held the torch over the scene of carnage.

“Hah… hah… mercy on us…”

“Move. We have to follow. Now that their group is shattered, they’ll run straight back to their master.”

Kadim spoke with a chilling calm, as if he hadn’t just butchered a dozen creatures. Duncan followed, unable to shake the feeling that the man in front of him was just as frightening as the things they were hunting.

The wide cavern path suddenly constricted. The space, once broad enough for several men, narrowed until they had to move in single file. Kadim turned his body sideways, using the back of his axe to smash through obstructing stones as they chased the fleeing goblins.

Eventually, the tunnel opened up again. This section didn’t look natural; the limestone walls showed signs of being hacked and shaped by crude tools. It was clear the goblins had been expanding this area to serve as a permanent lair.

Suddenly, Kadim’s nostrils flared.

The heavy, metallic scent of something foul hit him.

“Stay back. The demon is here.”

“W-what? Oh, gods!”

Duncan scrambled away. Kadim gave him a final, low warning.

“Don’t go too far, and don’t run. If the goblins find you alone, you’re dead. If one gets close, use the torch as a spear.”

“I… I understand…”

Kadim scanned the dark. The smell was overpowering now—it was right on top of them. His blood-stained axe began to tremble slightly in his hand.

But something was wrong. He couldn’t see a shape, hear a breath, or feel a presence. He narrowed his eyes, focusing every sense on the flickering light playing against the walls.

He found it by looking at the shadows.

Tucked between the jagged rocks was an outline that didn’t belong—a silhouette with sharp, protruding edges.

*Scrrch—*

He realized the danger and threw himself backward, but he was a fraction of a second too slow.

He managed to twist so the strike missed his face, but he couldn’t avoid the three deep gashes that ripped across his forearm.

Kadim hissed through his teeth as the pain flared, his eyes hardening into flint.

— *Ah, a human… a new face for my collection.*

The demon licked a smear of Kadim’s blood from its claw, its voice a hollow, chilling rasp.

It was exactly as the villagers had said: bulging, milky eyes, jagged teeth, and deep red skin. Its limbs were thin but ended in massive, lethal talons. It looked like a mockery of a goblin, but it radiated a pressure that was far more sinister.

However, there was a discrepancy.

*…Blast it, it’s growing a horn.*

A small, finger-sized horn was protruding from its temple. It was the mark of a demon transitioning into the middle ranks. Kadim felt a surge of genuine concern, biting his lip.

The demon pulled its lips back in a sickening grin, sensing his unease.

— *I adore humans. Do you know why? They are so brittle and obedient. Even these worthless goblins bow to me… and when I demand their children, they bring them without a fight… Ki, kihik, kihihihik….*

The gap in power between a low-rank and a mid-rank demon was immense.

A low-rank beast could be taken down by a group of determined men if they held their ground. But a mid-rank? Even trained soldiers often met their end against such a foe. Kadim had failed to dodge the initial strike because the monster’s speed was already beyond human limits.

— *But you… you’ve thinned my pack too much. I’m starting to find humans annoying. Beg.*

“…”

— *I’ll be merciful. You won’t need that arm anymore. Take your axe and take it off. Sever the limb, consume the flesh and bone yourself, and I might let you crawl out of here. Not before.*

Kadim noted the size of the horn—it was still small. That was his only advantage. The evolution had likely started recently, perhaps fueled by the kidnapped children. A true mid-rank with a full horn would have been a death sentence for Kadim in his current state.

The demon’s neck clicked as it tilted its head, stalking closer. Its voice turned into a grating screech of metal.

— *Why aren’t you listening to me?*

“…”

— *Ah, now you’re quiet? You’ll do as you’re told now, yes?*

Kadim scowled. The creature had been monologuing, but Kadim had been too busy calculating his chances to hear a single word. It wasn’t as if the monster had anything worth saying.

Kadim reached for the pouch at his side and finally spoke.

“No. I don’t take orders from meat-bags.”

*Splash—*

He ripped the seal from the leather bag and forced the thick, metallic liquid down his throat.

The room was instantly filled with the pungent aroma of old, corrupted blood. The demon’s eyes dilated in shock as it recognized the scent of its own kind.

— *What… Human, what are you doing…*

The blood was stale, but the effect was immediate. Starting from his nerves, a surge of violent energy exploded through his veins. His vision blurred and spun as a wave of vertigo hit him. His muscles expanded, and his breath became a hot, rhythmic hiss.

He didn’t have much time. Deciding to end this quickly, the berserker cast the empty pouch aside. Kadim leveled his hand axe, his eyes now glowing with a feral, crimson light.

As the demon looked into those bloodshot eyes, a cold, unfamiliar sensation of terror began to crawl up its spine.