“Such a shame, isn’t it? For the most human trait, for Vanity, for wanting to have the biggest and fattest house made of shit, you perish?” L joked as he choked her to death. She flattered and clawed at his hands as they found their way inside her throat. She broke her nails on his skin, struggling painfully until her life wilted. It never had to be hard, anyway. There is no experience gained from killing anything, so not all bosses have to be capable of fighting. Now, for the tricky part. Just as the Vathiá slumped, L jammed his hand up her throat, pushing the pearl containing Braj’s souls as close to the brain as possible, jabbing forcefully with his finger in the parts where the rest of his hand could not reach.

The mana broke loose, within it containing Braj’s soul. It had nowhere to go but up, where L had already spread a thick coating of mana surrounding the Vathiá’s brain. He felt it clash against the residing mana already within the brain, a reminiscence of the previous soul, but with a little bit of support Braj’s soul overwhelmed the remains. But then, having nothing else to contend with, it crashed into L's own protective mana field. A few minutes passed as Braj’s soul quarreled against L’s thick coating of mana, attempting to find escape towards its natural destination, but L did not budge until the soul finally integrated itself into the brain.

He slowly slid his hand out, making sure to retrieve all of his mana with it. The Vathiá then fell to the floor, still not breathing. L groaned, and spit out all of the Bugbear’s teeth that were sticking to his mouth, and removed the skin he had attached on top of his own. Bits of dark mana escaped into the air from the dry skin as he peeled it away, joyous to have their salvation. Making sure all the skin stuck convincingly was not a pleasant exercise.

And neither what he did next. He bent down, locking his fingers, pumped on her heart, and then, when that did not work, he placed his lips against hers, trying to dispense some air into her lungs and get her heart beating. A shudder shook his spine. Not only was the sensation not in the least bit enjoyable, but had also served to remind L of the previous, also utterly repulsive things he had done in the past.

“Keklaks!” the Vathiá spluttered, it’s tongue falling out of its mouth. It held its throat tightly, wheezing for breath.

“Eh,” L said, wiping the saliva off on the Bugbear’s skin. The only thing he had on was a loincloth, as all the other monsters, which brought upon the question of just exactly where was this pre-primitive society getting all of its clothing ordered from. Regardless, L was extremely grateful for that convenience as he most definitely was not putting that things’ skin on his penis. “Careful there, you might drop your eyes from their sockets.”

“Kluwa cud row?” It said wildly, its limbs going all over the place. “Dwa ar? Dwa ik?”

“Quiet down, you might attract someone,” L said, crouching in front of the raving Vathiá. “Can you understand me? Nod for yay, shake to the sides for nay.”

She nodded eagerly, causing the abundant skin to flap all over her face.

“That’s a start. You probably can’t speak for now; you’re using a brain that’s not yours. I think. Probably. The language is still there.  Your language and hers. But you don’t got a human throat, so communication is limited. Oh, right, I almost forgot. You are Braj, right? The one I whisked away in the forest?”

She sniffed loudly, pulling up the snot that was dripping through its flat nostrils, blinking rapidly. Her eyes darting the hut with suspicion, head twitching one way and then the other. Then, hesitatingly, she nodded, studying L through clutched eyelids.

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“No, I am not L. Transforming into my original form takes energy. This is my body from now on, just as you are mine from now on,” L said, finding it somewhat distasteful to say that to such a hideous thing. “Get accustomed. Quickly. There is much work to be done, and only a few scanty hours to get it done in. Four, maybe? I lost track of time.”

“Kikla Uga, teda iga. Kikla tus got nlung, dus...klee!” Braj said, gaping at his arms. He inspected the dry skin hanging off, the short amount of flesh and skimpy bones.

“Ah,” L said, catching on. “This wasn’t the deal, no? I did not grant you power, no? no? No! I did grant you power. More than you can possibly handle. Step outside. Step outside, Vathýs Gérontas, and behold your--oh wait, shit. You can’t stand up, can you? Ok, fine, here, have your staff. Have a hand, too. Up we go. Gently now, there you go.”

Braj eyes, milky and dry, as opposed to the bland yellow of the younger Vathiás, widened, and her short misfit of teeth fell open. Before her, more than a hundred worth of unbalanced huts were raised, with countless goblinoids spreading before her. They played and scuttled, sniffled each other and bickered with wild blows, dirt, and curses consisting of spitting and groaning. Some of the smaller ones, Vathiá and Snortlings, were tossed about by larger and more power Bugbears, their conflict resonating from territory, food, or hut size. The number and diversity of the monsters were staggering. Species that were notoriously against each other were now leaving their babes to be cared by a handful of mothers, while presumably, everyone else was out hunting for prey. 

A group, to the far side, seems to be even teaching others how to hunt effectively, showing them techniques, having them swing in unison, and even some were drawing shapes. Next to them, a few paces over, a mushroom farm was being grown. Small, large, round, triangle, curvey, and countless other shapes were growing on the edge of the walls, next to the green moss and large varieties of lichen. 

Bat wings fluttered above, prompting a glance. Twenty meters above, large stones drooped from the ceiling, their sharp points aimed directly at them. Hundreds of bats flew in and out of the ceiling's many openings, attaching themselves to the stone above.

Braj whimpered softly, and if L had not tightly held his arm, he would have no doubt crawled back into his hole. It was a disaster, for a human. Goblinoids, much like humans, were an invasive species. Wherever they went, disaster, population, and extinction of local life went. They reproduced much faster humans, and though they were not bright creatures, they were still one of the most intelligent monsters, capable of speech, magic, and civilization. Though they were individually weak, they simply could not be left to their own devices. Many kingdoms have fallen before their unhindered onslaught, and nearly all of those disasters began with the goblinoids looking like this. 

“Why so scared, Braj? You think your tiny body will be devoured by those bloodthirsty monsters?” L said, chuckling. He then leaned in close, hooking an arm around his shoulder and whispered. “It’s not much different than our village, really. Look, over there. They’re fucking in the open, with no care for anyone else. Familiar scenery, no? But do you know the difference?” he said with a wide ear to ear smile. “You get to control it. It’s all yours. Every hut, every man, every woman, every child. All the food. Each piece of weapon. Anything of worth. It’s all yours, baby. What do you say to that?”

Braj did not say anything. Besides a pained swallow, he did not say anything at all. L was getting used to his speechless moods. They were much more preferable than his inquisitive ones. L went on. “But we’re here for a reason, as you know. Round them up. Now. We have work to get to.”

“K-k-ikla?” he said, barely.

“Yes, you, who else?” L said, straightening his back.

Braj gave him an inarticulate look, the words refusing to leave his twisted mouth.

“No, I am still not able to understand Vathiáion. I am simply the Devil. I get these things, once in a while. Now, for what purpose you ask?” L said, raising an eyebrow.

Braj did not ask that question, as he was currently to busy imagining all the many different ways he would be ripped apart by those monsters, but he nodded still.

“Good question! You see, it seems that your village is having food problems. How do I know that? Simple. Look at them. That isn’t a number of goblinoids that can be supported in such a small forest area. There is just a distinct lack of them killing each other, and them killing everyone else, that is throwing food chain into the jitters. Today, we solve that issue!”

“Kluasi, Gladua dos to kla?” Braj said.

“How?” L said, realizing that this most likely not the question he asked, considering the number of words he used. “Well, I heard that there was a meat farm, not very far away from here. The cattle are already trapped within walls.” L lips slightly widened at the edges, his eyes half closing.

Braj shuddered. He opened his mouth, closed it, and then opened it again. Nothing came out.

This is definitely Braj, in his fullest. He nodded slowly, making sure to allow a few specks of dark mana to glimmer out of his mouth. “I’ll be by your shoulder, guiding you,” he said, a devilish smile spreading on his face.