I slapped my hands together, dusting them off.

There were way too many items for my liking. But I had to dig through all of them. Twenty...or maybe thirty minutes later, it was all over. I was finally done organizing!

I breathed, taking a moment to relax. Boring work truly drains both my energy and patience. But on the bright side, Katsu likely already figured out what happened in this village by now. Wouldn’t be long from now that we’d probably hunt down the monsters responsible for this mess.

And so, I went around the village looking for Katsu. But he didn’t seem to be anywhere. I did eventually find him on the outskirts of the villages, staring off into the distance, stroking the chin of his helmet.

“Were you able to figure anything out?” I asked.

“Hobgoblins.” Katsu murmured, “Hobgoblins. That’s what happened here. An organized group of them rode through here, and just decided to spill blood.”

Usual monster activities. Killing just to kill, I guess.

“Do we at least know where they ran off to? I assume you’d like to find them as soon as possible.”

“Your assumption is correct.” Katsu replied, “From what the villagers say, the hobgoblins spread out in off in different directions when they left.”

But there was just one problem, he stated. When he had asked what directions exactly, none of the villagers could seem to remember due to all the chaos they endured at the time. Memories blocked by trauma. Just our luck. Still, I don’t blame them. It must’ve been a horrible scene to witness your loved ones die in front of you.

“Naturally, I searched for horse tracks that might lead me somewhere.” said Katsu.

“So you figured it out then?”

“Not quite. There’s too many tracks for me to cover. I can’t tell where they ran off to.” he shook his head, “I’ll give you an estimate of five hours until I come up with a lead.”

“five hours??!” I nearly shouted, “Are there really that many?”

When I decided to gaze at the ground in front of us, I realized just what he meant. The dirt was littered with horse tracks. None were clear tracks though; it was hard to tell where they led exactly.

“Oh....I see what you mean now.”

“If we came a few days earlier, this wouldn’t be hard.” said Katsu, “The wind did a good job of covering their tracks.”

“What do we do then?”

Didn’t seem like there was a whole lot we could do. It was nearly impossible to figure this out. Maybe if there were fewer tracks, and like Katsu said, maybe if we came a lot sooner, this would be a little easier. There was no point in dwelling. We had to figure this out.

Plus, I was eager to do something that wasn’t boring.

“We do our best.” Katsu replied, “There’s more tracks on the other side of the village. There’s a chance this could take longer.”

If only there was a way to speed up the process. That’s when it hit me. There was. This was something within my power, something I could do.

“Wait...” I muttered, as I inspected the dirt, “Let me try something.”

“Try what?” Katsu asked.

“Just watch.”

My eyes squinted, analyzing every single grain of dirt.

[Analyze]

Not visible to the normal human eye, a trail of horse tracks were highlighted blue, for me to see very clearly. I saw exactly where they lead. Off to the right, over a large green hill.

“They lead that way.” I pointed.

“What? How can, you be sure?” Katsu asked, skeptical of the fact I suddenly solved this difficult issue.

“It’s an ability of mine. I can see things like this.”

“You should’ve just said so.” he sighed, “I can recall some situations that would’ve been useful.”

He stared at the top of the hill. I knew him well by now, he had one thing on his mind. Hobgoblins.

It was time to explore. I had a feeling we should’ve at least told the other monster hunters about this, but Katsu said we’d “fill them in” once we got back, and that telling them changed nothing. Somebody had to stay behind to watch the village while we were gone.

Which was a valid point. With me following the tracks, Katsu followed right behind me.

It wasn’t a long walk at all till we reached a small forest area. Up ahead, we could see some sort of wooden fence. A tall one at that. It was defiantly meant to keep unwanted guests out. Standing tall, right beside it was a watchtower, where I could see a humanoid with red skin. Watching from above, a hobgoblin.

“So, what’s the plan?” I asked.

“To late for a plan. It clearly sees us.” Katsu kept his hand rested on his blade, ready to draw the moment it was needed. “Stay put for now?”

Stay put? Excuse me? I was more than capable of fighting If I had to. Did the honesty expect me to sit back and watch? If so, then we was terribly mistaken.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Butttt....on the other hand, I should just see what he was going to do first.

Katsu calmly approached the gate of this little fortress, not one sign of hesitation.

“I’m going to ask about the attack on the village. They have one chance to answer.”

“Then what.”

“Then get ready to fight.”

Fair enough.

After a few moments, the gate opened and a group of fifteen hobgoblins came out and surrounded him. One in particular stepped up, an insignia on his shoulder. He must’ve been a high-ranking among the others.

“What do we have here?” The hobgoblin grinned widely, showing off his spikey yellow teeth. “A human has come to visit. State your reason for visiting very carefully.”

I saw Katsu look around, like he was observing their numbers. Knowing him, he was coming up with a plan right on the spot.

“The attack on the village. Are you the ones responsible.”

“Ohoho. So, they’ve sent a warrior for revenge, is it?” The hobgoblin grew even more amused, I feel the bloodlust aura flowing around him. He was clearly guilty.

“Should I take that as a yes?” Katsu stood firm.

“Take it in whichever way you want. The outcome stays the same.” The hobgoblin slowly drew a long-curved blade, “We never planned to let you live from the moment you showed up here.”

Silently, Katsu just stood there. I sensed no fear from him, or even any sort of anxiety whatsoever. Instead, he nodded.

With a sudden draw and thrust, his sword stabbed straight the hobgoblins stomach.

Shank!

“Don’t worry. Me neither.” he pulled his blade back, watching the hob collapse against the ground.

Within seconds, all the other charged at him, rapidly swinging their blood-stained axes. The way Katsu moved; his footwork was fast. Easily maneuverings around them, delivering cuts to their back sides. In just a few seconds, he left four of them lifeless a mutilated. But even he wasn’t perfect. An attack landed against his arm, causing him to jump back out of reaction.

At this moment, he gave me a nod of approval. So, I ran right in. Thrusting my katana through the first hobgoblin I saw.

Shank!

Katsu was still under attack, but a few of the other turned shifted their attention to me.

Ot wasn’t long till I was flooded with attacks. My blade collided with their axes. Over and over. Till one of them made a fatal mistake, losing their balance for just a moment. But a moment was all i needed.

[Speed Boost]

A silver stream from my katana, I sliced it’s head clean off. From the side, an axe came down towards my face, but it was too slow. I side-stepped and gave a powerful upward slash, spitting that hobgoblin in two.

The another, came from behind. Like I had eyes in the back of my head, I felt it coming and ducked underneath, an axe swung right over my head. But It caught off guard, I tripped and rolled across the dirt, losing the grip on my weapon.

I was standing face to face with an angry hobgoblin, its eyes showed only one intention. To kill me.

With my weapon at least eight feet away, I didn’t have enough to reach for it. I had to face this one with my bare hands.

“....That’s kind of scary.”

A gnarly grunt, the hob sprinted at me full speed, stater than I expected. Its axe came down on my shoulder. I dropped down on one knee, my blood spurting out as it yanked its axe from my bone.

With both hands, this hobgoblin raised its axe into the air, ready to split my face apart.

Not gonna happen.

I weaved to the side, watching the axe hit the dirt instead. My palm jabbed against the throat of the hobgoblin, causing him to drop to his knees. With a roundhouse kick, my heel bashed into the center of it’s back, knocking it on its back. I lifted its axe from the ground, and looked into his eyes, full of fear.

This thing is a monster, but I almost felt remorse after seeing it’s fear so clearly. I almost didn’t wanna do this. But I remembered every single detail of that village. These monsters didn’t dever any sort of mercy. Without a second thought, I splattered it’s brain matter across the dirt, using its own axe.

Crush! Splatt!

“....Gross...”

They were no joke... I only made one wrong move and nearly died because of it.

I took some time to catch my breath, and only turned around when I felt a hand gently touch my shoulder. There he was, standing there, a trail of death behind him.

“You’re shoulder. Are you okay?” Katsu asked. I could almost feel a hint of concern in his tone.

It wasn’t until now that I actually decide to gaze over at my shoulder wound....and I regretted looking. I felt my arm turn numb.

Blood was spilling out, and my shoulder bone was clear as day, splintered apart.

“That was a dumb question to ask.” Katsu reached into his coat, pulling out a bandage, he began wrapping my entire shoulder, applying pressure till the bleeding stopped. When it did, he rested me up against a tree stump.

“A wound like that is never good.”

“I guess they got us both pretty good.” I replied, “What about your wound?”

I could see blood dripping down his arm, the flesh showing from his open wound.

He gave himself a quick assement, “I’ll be fine. Rest here for now. There's one more thing I have to do.”

A fierce glint shined in his eyes, visible through his helmet. He walked with suppressed rage, towards that hobgoblin with the insignia. He was still breathing, barely alive from that stab wound through his stomach.

Katsu lifted him by the throat and into the air.

“Why did you attack the village.”

“I had orders. I don’t expect a human like you to understand.”

“You’re right. I don't understand.” Katsu slammed him against the wall of the fortress. His hand tightened around his throat, “Tell me more!”

The hobgoblin laughed in the face of death, blood dripping from his mouth, “Telling you won’t benefit me in any way.”

“It doesn’t. Your death can be slow and painful. But I can make it quick and painless. You choose.”

The hobgoblin struggles to speak over Katsu painful grip, but he managed to get a few words out.

“...I’ll tell you...please put me down.”

Upon releasing his grip, the hobgoblin slid down against the wall, leaving blood smeared on it. He got to the point right away.

“...Our leader...he gives the orders...I don’t know the reason behind the things we do...I just follow orders.”

Katsu crouched, staring into this hob’s very soul.

“How many of you are there. And who are you?”

“We’re called the Hell bringers...the one that leads us is an elite warrior, we call him... Kilken.” The hobgoblin started to cough up blood uncontrollably, to the point where he struggled to speak further.

Katsu firmly held his chin up, to stop him from losing consciousness. He needed to know more.

“Just one more thing. You’re insignia. What’s it for?”

“...it...means...it means...I am a solider...one who has killed many... powerful foes...” the hobgoblins breathing slowed down, each breath sounding like a gasp for air. It was clear that he wasn’t capable of answering any other questions.

So, Katsu drew his blade. And with an effortless swipe, he sent its head rolling across the dirt.

Gross...I don’t think I’ll ever get used to seeing that.

I blinked. For just a second I blinked. Next thing I knew, the air quaked from a loud, angry roar. Dirt jumped up... as Katsu’s body tumbled across the ground.

What the freak JUST HAPPENED!

Well, I'll tell you what happened. A monster happened

A figured emerged from the gate of this small fortress. A bulky red creature, big throbbing muscles, veins pumping full of pure rage. This was no ordinary hobgoblin.