### Damon ###

What the fuck is that thing?

Damon stood before the walls of their beacon, staring at the shoulders of a gargantuan thing. Their defenses looked flimsy compared to its robust—though lumbering—figure, feeling as if a minor gust could’ve blown their homes away.

What shields would defend against its might? What defenses would repel that beast away from their beacon?

“Arthur…” He shifted his eyes away from the terrifying sight. For once, the young man looked… clueless.

His eyes shot wide open after Justine slapped his back.

“Get yourself together!” She screamed, her voice trembling. Her brave visage did not hide her terror. Damon didn’t blame them, at the sight of that, who wouldn’t be?

If there was one saving grace, the giant hadn’t done anything after it saw their home, didn’t move a muscle, didn’t do anything other than just standing there menacingly.

But that posed a difficult question.

Do we fight? Or do we avoid provoking it?

The skeletons waited for Arthur’s command. He sighed and shut his eyes.

“I don’t know what to do.” He expelled those words out, “-feels like we’re stuck in a rock and a hard place. Agil, Justine… do you see other goblins?”

Agil shook his head. Justine confirmed with a resolute no.

“So it’s the lone giant against all of us.” He winced. “Either it’s foolish… or it knows it does not need help. I do not want to find out, honestly.”

The giant raised its hand. Everyone’s eyes widened…

…it scratched the back of its head.

“Fucker…” Justine sighed.

Arthur reared his spear up. “We have two choices. We wait until the entity finishes its job and kill that thing together… or we attack now.” He cast a somber glance at their encampment, as foreign and weird as it was… this beacon had become their home. “We… might have to rebuild after this battle. Entity…” he turned to the skeletons.

They had gone completely inert after the giant showed up. Inert, as in, it didn’t respond to their inquiries.

If there’s one reason why…

Something had earned its complete and undivided attention. A threat so enormous it rendered it mute.

“It may need assistance.” Arthur retreated and spoke.

“It? The entity?” Desmond whispered. “Really?”

Arthur nodded. “Don’t you find it strange that it came alone?” He pointed at the giant’s head. “I refuse to believe that it’s the only goblin from our wave. There must be more… they just aren’t here.”

“That’s… a dismal thought,” The old man sighed, “Are we that uninteresting?”

The entire invasion… attacking the crypt? Could that be possible? Why did the giant even bother to come, then? Damon took a closer look at the hulking monstrosity, then he recalled the crypt’s walls… about its invulnerability.

Wait… Can this thing even enter the crypt?

“Are you serious?” Justine whispered, her brows furrowed deep. “You saying we’re all standing here for nothing?”

“It’ll still attack… but not now,” Arthur said. “But if their other waves prevail…”

“We’ll be doomed.” Sarah completed her sentence. “Well-fucking-fucked.”

Desmond, Judas, and Adrian leaned closer.

“If you’re wrong… we’ll lose this beacon.” Desmond said, “This… display could be a simple charade; a ploy to draw us outside.”

“It’s what my gut says.” Arthur shrugged, looking away. “Regardless, we can’t move unless that thing’s dead. And frankly… they don’t need to plot against us. That giant alone can crush everything we’ve built.”

“So we fight?” Adrian asked. He seemed eager… weird, that guy stopped speaking after his one sentence when they first encountered the crypt.

“Adrian…” Arthur displayed the same level of surprise. “…y-yes.” He stammered as he adjusted his shield. “That will be the best. For us… and the Entity.”

Their eyes fluttered toward their foe. Damon wiped the sweat off his lip.

Cool, cool… How the fuck do we do that?

###

“Now… That is a domain lord.” Hak’Thar laughed when his domain lord entered the fray. “You’re finally baring your fangs, entity.” It tilted its head, grinning. “Let’s see…”

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Sapphire flames burned through his domain lord’s hefty armor, coating it with flickering ghastly flames. A conflagration of pure eldritch energy, focused on its unseen body, all aimed at where Hak’thar and the other general.

[Magic blade]

The domain lord brushed its staff along the length of its sword from the hilt to the point. A swath of the same grim flame bathed its edges.

[Eldritch charge]

His domain lord pulsated before its body vanished in a trail of blue flames. A stroke of destructive force carved through the path between it and the generals. Its blade met the invisible general’s daggers. While his adversary had the speed…

Frail’s domain lord overpowered it. Its daggers might as well be sticks in the way of his lord’s blade. The invisible—now not so much—general grimaced as the lord’s slash sliced through its daggers like butter, then proceeded to devastate its body into two sere halves, each charred deep with an Eldritch inferno.

The swing produced a crescent wave cleaving past the deceased general. It slashed a vertical azure line on Hak’thar’s body.

“Akz,” Hak’thar grimaced. “Fool-“

Akz. I shall remember its name. Its death did not cause Hak’thar concern. No, it was his elite lancer’s follow-up that alerted the general. Its spear trailed close to Hak’thar’s chest, and would’ve landed a clean stab…

But goblin mages had one defensive trick up their sleeves.

A magic shield. The elite lancer’s spear smashed a glassy surface hovering inches away from Hak’thar’s body, forming fissures that spread throughout Hak’thar’s body. One stab and the lord’s magic blade weren’t enough to shatter the shield.

Either it was an unbreakable barrier… or magic wasn’t too effective against Hak’Thar.

I still have one more. His lancer dashed away while the domain lord vanished, reappearing at its original spot. It lifted its staff and launched one [Eldritch blast].

A beam of pure destruction boiled the air on its path toward Hak’Thar.

Watcher…

Frail heard glass shattering right when the combined beams and blasts ray collided against the general. The eruption propelled everyone remotely close to the blast radius away, his lancer included. Though, it didn’t suffer any damage.

Is that enough? Three of Frail’s most destructive attacks landed. It had to do something. He knew the watcher’s blast destroyed the shield… but that didn’t mean much outside of that.

Frail needed visual confirmation. A corpse he could drain, perhaps. Anything.

A momentary pause enraptured those with active consciousness. The thick haze of dark smoke faded… and in its place…

Nothing. Frail saw trails of green smoke layered underneath it all.

“*Coughs* That is… rude,” Hak’thar groaned from a distance. It now stood behind his army of goblins, with Akz’s carcass on its other arm. “-almost got us…” It cackled, blood bursting from its lip as it contorted, “This is perfect… Our chieftain will be happy.”

It didn’t kill. That is one hell of a barrier.

“ENTITY!” Grimright’s voice called out to him from the depths of his domain. “The gas! It’s thinning!”

Frail was so absorbed in the battle he’d forgotten.

One problem off the checklist.

His constructs responded to his will, united in their purpose. Don’t give them ground. Attack. All of Frail’s constructs bolted and went all out, with his domain lord leading the pack.

He didn’t end the fight there… but he’d gained a momentary advantage.

“Not so easy.” Hak’thar spat a glob of blood. It clasped both hands together as if praying, then slammed his staff on the floor.

An invisible expanding force repelled Frail’s advances.

How much magic does it have? Fireballs, resurrection, teleportation, magical shields… They all had cooldowns, of course, if not, Hak’thar would’ve cast the same spells again and again.

Only his grave guard and Domain lord remained on their feet. The watcher hovered far enough to avoid the shockwave.

Hak’thar grimaced when it saw the same embers coating his domain lord’s figure. “Tch.” He spat. “I suppose we can’t prevail against that. That… is a foe ripe for our chieftain. Retreat.”

Assassins. Stop him.

Frail kept them hidden in the corners of his domain, cloaked in darkness. The moment was ripe for their contributions. Bring as many down as you can.

Unfortunately, Hak’Thar’s figure lodged too deeply in its force for any normal constructs to penetrate through. Beams, magic, and arrows rained, but neither contained his invaders within his domain.

Hak’Thar cast some form of a defensive barrier as it hurried outside. It hampered his watcher’s beams, and it knew enough to never stare nor aim anything toward it.

[Domain lords cannot exit their domain.]

His domain lord and watcher caught a few stray goblins before the message appeared. The boundary… what a pain.

Outside, his forces would lose their resplendent buffs and support. It would be foolish to take them on there. He had half a mind to pursue Hak’thar with his elites… but he’d seen the outcome of that choice before.

Besides…

He saw glimpses of Hak’thar’s shield reforming around its figure.

The shield’s back up… so fast.

Chasing wouldn’t end well for him. Not only did the lancer have to contend with the roves of goblins between them, but it also lacked brute strength to shatter the magic shield—which had sealed up in seconds.

Hak’Thar dropped Akz from his grasp. “Do not be so disappointed, Entity. It will be foolish to send your forces outside… You will lose.”

Frail’s domain lord froze before the entrance.

Hak’thar’s head craned the other way. “I wonder how the humans are faring. Ogrin never listens… I told him to come and watch, but alas…”

It conjured a long horn from thin air. “It is time for the feast.” It took a deep breath, pulled the horn’s mouthpiece to its lips… then exhaled.

An ear-splitting alarm thundered into the air and scattered the clouds—a signal of doom.

[Invasion parameters have changed.]

[The chieftain, Grog’mar hears the siren of the end.]

The skies turned red in an instant. Every goblin cheered, raising their blades and weapons in reverence.

Another horn answered Hak’Thar’s call from the far distance.

Two generals… their entire force… and the chieftain. All would coalesce in one spot. All… waiting.

“Entity?” Grimright asked from the deepest parts of his chamber. “I heard a horn… what is happening? The chieftain… The invasion parameters…”

He had no answer.

Hak’thar tapped the skull-end of his staff at Akz. The two halves of its body conjoined, flesh by flesh, reforming into Akz’s usual form. “Get up.”

“I’m not doing that again,” Akz grunted, its voice trembling. Its face mask muffled its voice. It cracked its neck and knuckles, groaning, “That is painful.”

“I can’t imagine.” Hak’Thar laughed. “You should’ve let me take the hit.” It tapped the transparent layer on its body, “I take it well.” The tall goblin winked at Frail’s domain.

Laughing… in this scenario? Frail couldn’t come up with a better insult. Frail stared at the dead goblins within his domain. Some had their hands scrabbling to escape the entrance, their bodies blackened, their souls… gone.

Take them. His remaining constructs hauled the mangled carcasses back to his domain pedestal.

“It’s feeding on us,” Akz adjusted its face mask. “Can’t cast it? That spell?”

Hak’thar sighed. “Cooldown.”

They didn’t bother to keep their conversation a secret… almost as if they wanted him to listen.

[Drain essence]

[You gained 250 essences.] x 23

[You obtained 5,750 essences.]

That’s a pitiful amount. It seemed that Hak’Thar’s gas turned them into undead. Or was it the emerald flames? Both?

The humans… How are they?

Frail’s bout with the two generals took his attention away from Arthur’s camp.

Are they… dead? No…

Haven, their home, had been reduced to rubbles. Torn walls, ravaged tents, and smoking ashes stretched as far as his constructs could see. The destruction did not reflect the human’s fate; however, most were alive, albeit bruised and agonizing from their wounds.

Five of his dispatched constructs perished, all five warriors, to be exact.

What happened there?