Chapter 8
Hunted
“Ouch.” Blood trickle down my hand which held a glass shard.
“!!!” The goblins continue to pound on the door roughly. At the same time down the hallway, another one of those disgusting green bastard bashes a rock into the window.
“Will you guys please just fuck off already!!”
As a man that once aspired to take over the world. I’ve seen and been through a lot of things that would’ve drive a normal person mad. But when it comes to a dangerous situation this, this easily takes the cake.
It’s bad enough that I have to walk around in this body I’m unfamiliar with, but I also got to deal these sexual deprave monsters trying break into the house. And to add icy to the cake my powers which could have quickly dealt with these creatures is nowhere to be found.
I would ask what the hell did I do to deserve this. But upon pondering that question, about twenty answers came to me, ten of which involved me destroying this kingdom.
Honestly, the only way I can see this getting worse is if lightning suddenly decides to strike me…. “Wait a second.” The world explodes into a bright flash of light. The panic of being consumed by a white light, quickly subsided as I listen to the rain pelting the window.
Right, I've been so busy running away that I forgot I’m in the middle of a storm. And from the looks of it, I wasn’t the only one startled.
Sometime during the lightning strike, one of the little creature’s that was trying to break into the window drop the rock it was using as a weapon. It covers both of its eyes and walks into a wall. It looks like the lightning blinded it.
If I recall correctly, goblins can see in pitch darkness just like me. Although from the looks of it their eyes are quite sensitive to bright light. If that’s the case, then the next time lightning strike, I’ll use that chance to escape from here.
“C’mon Lady luck, if you truly hate my guts, then here’s your chance to smite me where I stand!”
The world fell silent. The sound of the rain and the goblins bashing themselves against the door faded away. I tightly grip the glass shard and waited patiently.
The moment the lightning struck, I bust open the door. The goblin in front of the door looked up at me with his eyes wide open. I’m not sure if it was blinded by the sudden flash of light or was merely surprise I open the door. Either way, I’m not letting this chance slip by.
I plunge the glass shard into the goblin’s eye before it could react. The little creature collapsed on the ground and cried out and pain.
I dropped the glass shard out my hand and tried to run past the other goblins, but something grabs one of my legs.
“Damnit!” I shouted as I fell to the pavement. I look behind me to see the goblin I impale was tightly holding onto my leg. Blood spew from his missing eye painting half of his face dark red.
“Let go!” I repeatedly kicked the one-eyed freak in the face, but it refuses to release me. Before I knew it, the other goblins have already surrounded me. The smile that was plaster on their face annoyed me to no end.
“If I just had an ounce of my strength, I could easily wipe the smiles off your faces.” The goblins laugh at me which only infuriated me more.
One of the goblins suddenly drops to his knees. The light in its eyes fades away before he fell to the ground revealing an arrow sticking out the back of his head.
Before I could process what was happening, another arrow whiz past me and pierce the one-eyed goblin’s forehead, the moment the arrow struck him, the creature loosens his grip on me and collapse on my leg.
“Now’s your chance. Run!” The voice wakes me from the daze I was in. I kicked the dead goblin off me and made a break for the forest. More arrows flew me past striking the goblins that were behind me.
I follow the path the arrow took and notice a shadow standing on top a distance building. Usually, I would be asking who’s that mysterious person is, and what are they doing here. But after everything I been through these past few days, I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if a dragon suddenly decides to show up and tail whip the rest of the kingdom out of existence.
I took one last look at the mysterious figure and ran into the forest.
.
.
.
After I enter the forest, I ran as far as I possibly could, which sadly wasn't that far. The Storm clouds broke away letting the moon cast a silver light on the forest.
“Ok, Anna.” I collapse to the ground gasping for air. “We seriously need to talk about your stamina.” I know Anna was born with a weak body and couldn’t move well in her life, but still, we’re not going to make it far if I have to take a breather everytime I take two steps.
I need to get this body in shape. I doubt a random archer will come by and use whatever is chasing me as target practice next time.
Speaking of which, that Archer did a pretty damn good job at covering me. None of the goblins follow me into the forest; they most likely went after him.
I hope he’s okay, I still need to pay him back for saving me. I quickly shake that thought out of my head.
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“Calm down Anna. We have no idea who that guy was. Plus, with all those goblins swarming the area, I doubt he made it out alive.
“No, I made it.” I quickly spun around and swung my fist at whoever was standing behind me.
“Whoa!” The person behind me leans backward barely avoiding my fist. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you!” A brown haired boy that looked to be the same age as Anna held his hands in the air while smiling at me, the bow and quiver on his back immediately told me that he was the one that saves me earlier, of course, that wasn’t enough for me to trust him.
“How did you find me?” I thought I did a good job hiding when I enter the forest.
“Easy, your footprints.” The boy pointed down at the ground, showing a line of small footprints in the mud that led directly to me.
“Ah.” I immediately felt stupid when he pointed out the obvious. What’s the point of hiding in a forest, if I just leave a trail that shows exactly where I’m hiding?
“Don’t worry. I erase most of your footprints as I follow you. They shouldn’t be able to find us.”
“Us? Sorry kid, I appreciate your help, but this is a one-man team.” Dusting myself off, I get back up on my feet and walk in the opposite direction of the boy.
“Wait!” The boy grabs my arm and pulls me towards him. “You’re bleeding!” blood drip from the hand the kid held. I open it up to see a deep gash in the palm of my hand. A jolt of pain struck me when I saw the wound.
“We need to take care of this before it gets worse.”
“Let go of me!” I shake my hand free from his grip and quickly put some distance between us.
“What’s wrong with you? I’m just trying to help!”
“Everybody I met these pasts few days have tried to kill me, so sorry I’m having a hard time trusting people.”
“…” The intense glare the boy was giving me softens. “Fine.” He says as he reaches into his pockets. “Since you don’t trust me, you can take care of your wounds yourself.” The boy tosses a ball at me, at least that’s what I thought it was until I caught it.
My eyes widen when I open my hand. A beautifully clear crystal with a strange white light emanating from it laid in the palm of my hand.
An energy crystal? This is something only the Entities’ knights and elite guards should have. What the hell is a brat doing with this?
“Um, to use that you need to….”
“I know how this work!” I shouted quickly shutting the kid up. I look back down at the crystal. The crystal itself isn’t special; it’s the content inside of it. The white light emanating from it means that the energy stored inside it is either a healing type or an explosion one.
I held the crystal in the air and looked directly into the boy’s green eyes. Unlike the goblins who looked at me coldly like I was a toy, they can easily replace. This boy's eyes were much more gentle and soft, if I didn’t know any better, he seems to be concern about me for some strange reason.
Well if this a healing crystal, then I’ll be just fine, but if this the latter. Then I guess I’ll be saying goodbye to my hand, and probably half of my body as well.
I tighten my grip on the crystal until it broke into pieces. The white light that radiates from it envelops my body. A gentle warmth spread throughout my body. I let out a sigh of relief as the pain that tormented me vanish alongside the light that surrounded me.
The moment the light faded, I examined myself. Not only was the gash on my hand gone, but the cuts and bruise I got from running away also vanish. Unfortunately, it did nothing about the ungodly fatigue that’s slowing me down.
“See, told you I’m not here to hurt you.” The kid said with a wide grin.
“Why are you helping me?” The smile on the kid’s face vanished, and he looked at me like I said something weird.
“Because it’s the right thing to do.” An awkward silence fell upon us.
I remember Anna showing me a scene like this in one of those books she uses to read. An adolescence kid risks his life to saves the princess from a dragon or a bandit or whatever evildoer that decided to kidnap her that week. And every time he saves her the kid would give her a bright smile and say. “You don’t owe me anything.”
“Haa. I wish my price would come and save me.” Anna said as she vigorously flips through the book she read a hundred times, completely forgetting that I’m sitting in the room with her.
“You seriously don’t expect me to believe that you risk your life to save me for no reason.”
“I don’t see why not, isn’t that what everyone would do in my situation?”
My god, he’s even smiling like the stupid main character in Anna’s book. If I didn’t know any better, it looks like he read and memorize the story. If that’s the case, then I guess I’ll play along.
I grab the boy’s hand and look at him with pleading eyes “Is there any way I can pay you back?”
The boy quickly pulls his hand away from me. His face was flush red with embarrassment. “Um, y-you don’t have to do anything.”
I grab his hand again before he could escape from me. “Please let me repay you back. I’ll do anything~” I seriously wanted to vomit, but watching the kid freak out was definitely worth it.
“I, um, ah.” Unable to form a sentence the kids turn away from me. A wide grin spread across my face when he showed his back to me.
“Bang, you’re dead!” I jab the boy in the back with my finger causing him to jump slightly. “You shouldn’t turn your back to a stranger, that’s the quickest way to getting yourself killed.”
I pulled my finger and blew on it like it was a flintlock. “There, Satisfied now?”
“Huh?” The kid looked back at me, his face still beet red.
“I repay you for saving me, by giving you some advice on how to survive. So, we’re even now.” Even though I was directly talking to the boy, I was actually speaking to Anna. The last thing I want is the little princess inside me to start acting like one of the damsels in one of those erotic novels I caught her reading.
Oh hero-sama, thanks for saving me. Please, put a baby in me!
“Anyway, we wasted enough time here. We should get moving before the goblins find us.”
“Wait, we? Does that mean you trust me now?”
“Of course not, but, seeing that you're stupid enough to let your guard down around a stranger. I’m confident I can deal with you if you decide to backstab me.”
“Oh.” The boy's shoulder slouches forward, not bothering to hide his disappointment. Ignoring him, I head deeper into the forest.
I hate to admit it, but in my current state, this kid may be my chance at escaping this forest. At least, if that goblin doesn’t get involved in this.
That goblin, I’m not sure where he came from, but from the way he was acting, it looks he was raised by human rather than a goblin. I seriously I hope I’m wrong on this, but if I’m not. Then I seriously hope that whoever raise him, didn’t teach him how to hunt like a human too. Or else escaping from this forest is going to be borderline impossible.
(Cain’s P.O.V)
"Damn!" I collapse back onto the ground. The unbearable pain in my side made it impossible for me stand back up again. “That girl, where did she get that strength from?!” I slam my fist on the ground, annoyed that I let such a beautiful treasure escape from me.
“Tell me, why is our brave leader lying on the ground like some weakling?!” An obnoxiously loud voice pierces my ear. I weakly lift my head to see a giant man with a red bird painted on his round green belly towering over me.
“Abel? What are you doing here?”
“I heard you let a girl escape.”
“Who told…”
“The little ones,” Abel answered my question before I could ask it
“Those guys, I told them to capture her, not gossip.”
“Wait, don’t tell me a little girl seriously injure you.”
“And if I did?”
“Then, I will take your place as leader. I refuse to be ordered around by someone weaker than me.”
I tried to laugh, but the pain in my side refuses to let me. “If you can bring that girl back then you can have my position, but I should warn you, she’s incredibly strong, I think she broke one of my ribs.”
“Quit joking.” A small smile forms on his face, but it quickly fades the moment he noticed my somber expression. “So, we’re dealing with a strong fighter huh? Abel flops down next to me causing the ground to shake.
“Please, tell me more.”