'There’s someone here?!'

Steel Hero’s heart clenched. The area was dangerous, a veritable death zone—what on earth was anyone doing here? He squinted, half-expecting her to be another Hero, but her height and strange outfit didn’t match anyone he’d ever seen.

“What are you doing here?! Get out of here, now!” he barked, not willing to spare energy worrying about some mysterious stranger.

The two Goblin Centurions erupted in laughter.

“More humans? They really talk too much!” Gottu sneered in Goblin tongue.

“Not bad, not bad! Humans are so entertaining. Why don’t we kill the woman in front of this one first?” Gothry cackled, eyes gleaming with malice. “I’d like to see if his mind is as tough as his body!”

For Goblins, toying with prey was a thrill, especially when the power difference was so clear. Cutting their captives down, bit by agonizing bit, brought them nothing but joy. Gothry stomped forward, closing the distance, each step sending a tremor through the ground. It made a deliberate racket, hoping to savor the look of terror in its prey’s eyes.

But as it neared, it met her gaze—a pair of unusually calm eyes.

'Wait!' An instinctual pang of dread shot through Gothry. Something was wrong. This woman wasn’t ordinary.

Too late.

Shlick!

A thick column of blood sprayed from Gothry’s back, a weapon driven deep into its body. Gothry’s eyes bulged as the woman moved with unnatural speed, a blade flashing down at its neck. In the next instant, its head flew free, a torrent of blood spilling in a grim arc. Shock froze in its eyes, the same question echoing in Steel Hero and Gottu’s minds.

'What… just happened?'

Gottu finally snapped to awareness. He watched, paralyzed, as blood-colored tendrils sprouted from the woman’s back, tossing Gothry’s massive, headless form aside as if it were nothing.

Her gaze shifted to Gottu, calm and chilling, wordlessly declaring: *You’re next.*

A surge of terror swept over him. This was an existence he could hardly comprehend—a monster in human guise. Gothry hadn’t even lasted a moment. If he faced her next… how long could he hope to endure?

Fight? Run?

The decision had to be instant.

“Suuu—!” A crimson tendril whipped toward him.

“Roar!” Gottu bellowed, activating [Encourage], red energy flooding his form as his speed heightened. He darted sideways, desperate to escape her reach. But her strike moved as if it anticipated him, adjusting mid-flight to aim directly at his head.

Gottu raised his Hobgoblin’s club, trying to block the strike, but just then, the tendril twisted, stabbing toward the back of his head.

Pfft!

He dodged, but the tentacle nicked his skull, pain exploding through him.

"Urgh!!!" Gottu clutched his face in agony, stumbling as he tried to flee. But then his gaze lifted, and he froze, staring in horror. Behind the woman, dozens of blood-red tentacles unfurled, twisting and writhing like a monstrous forest in her wake.

'No escape!'

With a final, defeated thud, Gottu dropped to his knees under Steel Hero’s stunned gaze. The Goblin Centurion raised both hands in a gesture of surrender.

"???"

Steel Hero blinked in disbelief. 'A Goblin Centurion… surrendering?' What kind of power was this woman wielding? He’d never seen anyone, Hero or otherwise, who commanded such terrifying force. Could she be another Hero?

As the woman’s tentacles swayed in the air, glistening with a menacing sheen, Gottu knelt with trembling hands, sweating profusely, his whole form quaking.

“I beg you… don’t kill me…” Gottu sobbed in Goblin tongue, hands clasped in a desperate plea.

Steel Hero squinted. Was the creature… begging for mercy?

Then Gottu stammered in broken human language, his voice barely above a whisper, "I... have… family..."

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Steel Hero felt a pang of surprise. He hadn’t known that Goblins could speak human language, much less plead with such desperation.

But the woman moved closer, her face impassive, silent. The blood-red tendrils coiled and struck with blinding speed.

Swish!

In a flash, Gottu’s head was gone, his body collapsing in a heap, the earth splattered with his blood. She didn’t spare him a second glance.

'Family?' Anyi thought, his eyes cold as ice. 'If your family is goblin, they’ll meet you soon enough.

Steel Hero, shaken but relieved that the Goblin was no longer a threat, took a step forward, calling out, "Thank you for your help, may I ask who you are—?"

Without a word, the woman turned, her blood-red tentacles retracting into her form as she shot off into the jungle, vanishing like a ghost.

“Ah…” Steel Hero scratched his head, unsure if he’d somehow offended her. What a cold, enigmatic savior she was!

Then, as he sank to the ground to catch his breath, two words materialized on the blood-stained earth before him:

[Exterminate Hero]

"Exterminate… Hero?!" Steel Hero gaped. Among the Heroes, the Holy Maiden’s team was known as the strongest, facing down Goblin Centurions even now. But this woman—Exterminate Hero—had dispatched two of them effortlessly. She was, beyond doubt, the most formidable Hero he had encountered.

"Exterminate Hero… Exterminate Hero…"

Steel Hero bowed deeply in the direction she’d gone, a solemn vow swelling in his heart. He would never forget this moment, nor the life she’d saved.

...

"Ho… ho… ho…”

Govan's breath rasped, chest heaving from relentless battle. Its strength was starting to wane, muscles aching from continuous combat.

Not far off, Layton fared little better. His once-intact slime heavy armor was shredded in places, blood staining the gaps where it had broken. The shield in his hand, which had morphed several times, now resembled a "Knight's metal shield," dented and battered from the onslaught.

Layton gritted his teeth, feeling the weight of Govan’s 40 Strength against his own 34 Durability. He could only deflect so much—each blow cracked his defense bit by bit.

“Roar!!” Govan bellowed, lunging forward to strike again.

“Ah!”

A voice rang out from the forest. Dus appeared, laughing loudly as he stepped into view. “Surprise, I’m back, haha!” He flashed a grin, shifting into an attack stance.

Suu!

Dus burst forward, like an arrow loosed from a bowstring, charging at Govan with startling speed.

“Haha! Came at the right time!!” Govan boomed in Goblin language, eyes locking onto Dus with a smirk.

For so long, Govan’s aggression had been directed solely at Layton. It had sensed Dus lurking nearby, a faint itch in the back of its mind, yet something had compelled it to remain locked in battle with Layton. Now, with Dus charging in, that strange pull faded. Govan felt free, unrestricted.

Snarling, Govan hefted its massive longsword, drawing it back in a rare maneuver, then hurled it directly at Dus!

“Ah!” Dus laughed, stepping to the side with casual confidence. 'No chance of hitting me with that…'

Then time slowed, his heart thudding as realization dawned. 'Wait.' The sword wasn’t aimed at him.

Bang!

His instincts flared too late. Dus tried to raise his war rod, but the immense force collided, sending him tumbling backward, pain flaring through his arms.

“Run! Now!” he shouted toward the treeline.

It happened in a heartbeat—the massive spinning sword, cleaving through the air, flew past him with lethal speed, aimed directly at…

'Ariana and Miruku’s position.'

Dus’s heart dropped. 'They’ve been discovered!'

At the same moment, Miruku noticed the incoming danger—but it was already too late.

The enormous sword hurtled toward them faster than she’d imagined, quicker than even the Goblin Centurion’s own movements. The force behind it came not from Govan’s agility, but from sheer brute strength, propelling it like a thunderbolt through the trees.

Miruku’s eyes widened, instincts kicking in, but the sword was mere meters away, hurtling through the jungle. She knew she was fast—yes—but no speed she possessed could halt time itself. In the split second she had, she saw only one option.

“Get down!” she cried, shoving Ariana to the ground—

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The massive sword ripped through the forest, splintering trees and leaving shattered trunks in its wake. Ariana, dazed and breathless, stared up in confusion as Miruku shielded her, limbs taut from the impact. But something else caught Ariana’s gaze: blood-red traces appearing in Miruku’s pale blue slime armor, seeping like ink in water, growing larger with each heartbeat.

Puff.

The venom armor vanished, and Miruku slumped against her.

“Ah… Ah… Ah—!”

Ariana’s horrified scream tore through the air. She wrapped her arms around Miruku, her voice cracking with despair.

Blood soaked through Miruku’s clothes, her HP teetering near zero. Gashes marred her skin, each one a reminder of how close death was—how death had come because of her.

“I’ll heal you! Don’t you die! Holy Healing! Holy Healing! Holy Healing!!” Ariana’s voice grew frantic, her hands glowing as she poured every ounce of her magic into her friend, desperation replacing reason.

Even with venom armor and the [Encourage] buff, Miruku’s Durability was only 8. Against such a colossal strike, even a glancing blow had been nearly fatal.

“Ha ha! Surprised?! (Goblin language)” Govan sneered as he retrieved his weapon, stalking toward them with a mocking grin.

“Goblin... damn Goblin!” Dus hissed through clenched teeth, his face reddened with fury, eyes hard and unblinking as he watched the brute approach. “Despicable. You’d use this underhanded trick!”

Of course, they were Goblins—trickery and malice were their nature.

“These two girls… they’ve saved my life twice now!” Dus seethed. “But today—today, I’ll kill you!”

With a powerful stride, Dus’s body erupted in raw strength, anger, frustration, and sorrow channeling into a single, deadly resolve. He surged forward, so fast that Govan’s taunts froze mid-breath as Dus appeared in front of him.

“Look closely, Goblin!” he shouted, voice reverberating through the trees. “This one strike will be your end!”

Boom boom boom boom!

The impact thundered through the air as Dus became a towering force, his war rod swinging with a blinding, monumental fury. In Govan’s eyes, Dus’s weapon became a massive shadow, a phantom of death. Cold sweat streamed down Govan’s face as he felt himself shrink to nothing—a mere insect under a descending mountain.

Boom!

The rod came crashing down, the force turning bone to dust and muscle to ice. There was no escape, no defense; nothing would save him from this.

“Die!!” Dus roared, his shout ringing out as Govan’s world went black.