“Ugh… What happened?”

The Demon drowsily opens her eyes as the events of last night slowly play back in her mind. It´s almost like watching a movie, or a dream: Her restless night, her wandering around to sort out her thoughts, her desperate encounter with the monster. But at the point when she should have died everything cuts black. No that's not quite it, it doesn't turn black... there's something else...

Looking left and right she recognizes that she´s back in the cave, her home. She slowly lifts her bandage-covered upper body and holds a hand to her head as she releases a groan. Yet, there´s none of the unpleasant pain she expected.

The mother Goblin, noticing that her daughter has finally awoken, rushes to her side and hastily checks any and every inch of her body. “I´m good Ma" the girl laughs "Don´t worry, it´s just some scratches” Smiling and flexing her arm to show that everything´s fine, the Demon girl flinches as her mother suddenly shouts at her

As if she would let her daughter play the incident off like that. And as if it wasn´t bad enough already, there´s the girl's father too, standing there with eyes devoid of any kindness–

A mother waking up to one of her children missing, no idea where it could be. Naturally her heart would drop. She immediately shook her still-sleeping husband out of his slumber and frantically explained the situation. Not wasting a second, he ran out of the cave in search of the missing Demon. As he found his daughter non-movingly lying on the ground, he broke into a cold sweat. Making sure she was only knocked out, he was able to release the heavy sigh that had jammed his throat. Having returned with his daughter in arms, he left her to his wife and other children who then tended to her injuries, hoping that she would wake up soon…

The Demon girl silently listens to her parent´s outburst while casting her head down in guilt. She knows well that she shouldn´t have walked out, that she should´ve just kept lying down and eventually sleep in... and she knows best that they are only worried for her. The least she could do now is quietly endure and apologize, promising to never do something reckless like that again. That would be the right thing to do. It would be.

...

Yet, there´s a maelstrom of thoughts whirling inside her head, not letting her focus. Memories reappear before her eyes, forgotten memories. Memories of a giant and glistening palace, filled with strangers who are yet so familiar. Memories of a short yet luxurious life. Memories of another family that she used to love. Or did she love them? They´re all flooding her mind.

Noticing that something is off, the two Goblins momentarily stop their angry reprimanding and worriedly look at their girl who in return smiles a sad smile.

Suddenly, a silence nobody dares to break fills the cavernly home. At least, until the little girl gathers herself and speaks up:

“I-I remember. I remember what happened, so I mean before you found me. No that's not what I mean...” she stumbles over her own words “I mean… I remember everything”.

Her Goblin father raises an eyebrow while her Goblin mother gives her a blank stare, the confusion is visible in their faces. The girl sighs. “Yesterday I fought a monster and was... almost killed. I think I was saved by a lightning that hit both of us before the monster could finish me off. At that time I felt something… a warmth, power, memories. I-I remember so much.”

The Goblins sit down, the father crosses his arms. “I remember that my birthplace is called the Demons´ Domicile. Everything is so different there from this place. Everybody seemed so strong but still looked at me with amazement and expectations. But only because of my ´father´. |Demon Lord| or something they call him.” The two listeners´ demeanor slightly shifts, but the girl is too caught up in her own story to notice “The |Demon Lord|, this ´father´... he tried to kill me.

The expression on her face twists, showing a look of deep resentment “After he found out that I ´lack potential´ he tried to get rid of me, thinking of me as trash. Can you believe that? He threw me away thinking I´d be dead soon, this piece of shit. Who would do that to their own family?”

The male Goblin looks like he wants to say something, but his wife snarls at him which would translate into 'don't even think about it'

“He wanted to kill me, only because I wasn't what he wanted me to be..."

As the little Demon says that, her hands clench so strongly it almost damages her skin "This is so irritating, who does he think he is? I won't forgive him. He wants to kill me? Then I'll kill him first! I'll definitely kill him" she hisses

The |Demon Lord| not only betrayed her as a father, but also hurt her innermost value, her pride. For Demons, strength is everything. That is the initial concept that manifests in their minds from the moment they are born. Trying to kill her while insulting her very being is something that will take deep roots inside the Demon girl... Let´s say, a trauma of sorts.

“But…” the girl suddenly says and shows a conflicted expression “If it weren´t for him, I would´ve never met you. I know you´re not my real parents and siblings, I always knew. But... you are my real family.”

The little girl hesitates before unsurely looking up and speaking her next words “I… I want to become stronger! Much stronger than I am now! But…”

The girl remembers the bloodlust the |Demon Lord´s| aura emitted, the chills that ran down her back when she felt it; The |Demon Lord´s| inconceivable might. That is what she needed to stand against. And yet, her mind is set; She would get revenge. No, she will get revenge. She is going to become strong enough to rival, to surpass her own ´father´. Then, she will make him pay. This inextinguishable flame has been lit deep within the Demon girl´s heart.

The two Goblins look at each other before once again casting their gazes on their daughter. Seeing, feeling her determination they release a long sigh and… in the end smile.

The two of them have lived long enough to know how ´getting stronger´ works. Although they firmly feel that living together as a family would bring more happiness to life, they also know that in this world it would hinder growth. They have taught their daughter many things, shared many experiences. Judging by the changes in her aura, she will manage to survive out there on her own now. She might even be ready for that. Especially since she will think twice now before diving head-first into danger after her latest experience. She surely will, right?

It pains them to let a child of theirs go, but they won´t force their personal beliefs on her.

The mother Goblin stands up and makes her way further into the cave, the father Goblin gets on one knee and hugs his daughter. The Demon gasps, surprised for a moment, but then slowly returns her father´s embrace.

Her mother returns with a weirdly artificial-looking case. She urges her daughter to open it

As Vienessa removes the lid, the small box begins growing in size until it stops at some point. The girl is slightly taken aback, until she just accepts it and looks inside. There she finds a bunch of equipment:

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Drakania´s Skin

Drakaina´s Skin

Rarity: Low Epic Grade Explanation:

Skin-tight top.

What once protected the strong.

Defense up. Resistance to malleable Status-effects up.

Shiro´s Robe

Shiro´s Robe

Rarity: High Rare Grade Explanation:

Spun by the eight-legged being.

Diverts Attention. Resistance to Cold.

Fallen Dryad´s Gown (Top)

Fallen Dryad´s Gown (Bottom)

Fallen Dryad´s Gown (Sett)

Rarity: High Epic Grade Explanation: Worn by a deity of nature who was consumed by darkness.

Adjusts to wearer. Equipped with Self-Repair. Deceives others of thinking the wearer is one of their own.

Ryū Ō´s Armament

Ryū Ō´s Armament

Rarity: Intermediate Mythic Grade Explanation:

A gauntlet manufactured for the mighty Sovereign.

Adjusts to wearer. Shifts between Base Form and Battle Form at will.

Battle Form: Increase Attack.

“!!” The Demon cannot believe her eyes. She shakes her head and hastily tries to push the case back to her mother. “I-I can´t accept something this valuable! You should keep–” Though before she can even finish, she is interrupted by a snarl, implying that no kind of protest will be accepted.

Hesitantly, the girl nods as she takes the equipment. Slipping out of her usual rags, she slips into her new clothes which shift to fit her size. The two Goblins release a satisfied sound.

“This... is amazing”

The rest of the night the two Goblins spend educating the girl in everything they deem useful to know about the outside world, especially about humans, to prepare their daughter as well as they can. Well, that´s at least part of the reason; they also want to spend as much time with her as they can before she leaves.

–

The next morning, three Goblin children cry waterfalls as they hug their Demon sister, not letting her go. “Jeez, I already told you that I won´t change my mind. Besides, it´s not like I´ll be gone forever, I´ll come visit you before you know it. So please, stop crying, okay?” Certainly, they did not stop crying.

Quite a bit of time passes until they finally let go of her. The two younger siblings are still crying, the older brother is somehow trying to calm them down but can´t suppress his own tears either. “Well then, I´ll be going now. Please stay safe, everyone.”

As the Demon turns her back on them and is about to leave, she suddenly hears words from behind her

“Dau …ghter”

The girl freezes. She looks at her parents in disbelief

“We … You … Love” “Come … Strong … Back. Wai … ting”

With this final push, the girl cracks up “Since when did you –” She holds an arm to her eyes, hiding the tears she so desperately tried not to show “I tried to leave you with a smile. Why do you make it so difficult for me?” The girl sniffs. Then she gathers herself and speaks in a loud voice “Ma, Pa. I will definitely come back stronger than you could ever imagine! I´ll be so strong, even you won´t stand a chance, Pa!” Then she turns to her siblings “And you become strong too! Listen to Ma and Pa and don´t cause them any trouble like I did! And Ro, take care of Re and Ba for me!”

The three come running at their sister, again. Their parents come too, embracing all of their children into a hug.

The Demon girl leaves for real this time “Everyone, I love you. See you soon,” are her final words. The Goblins wave as they watch their beloved member go. Even after the Demon is completely out of sight, they still remain standing and waving. Only when the sun begins to set, they finally return back into the cave.

–

As stars start appearing on the dark night sky and paint it in white dots, the Demon finally decides to take a break. For a whole day she walked straight in the direction her parents instructed her to. She was so excited that she just kept going, but now her fatigue kicked in all at once.

She hears water splutter in the distance and approaches the source of the sound. As she comes to a river, she decides to spend the night here. She lays down her leather bag which she got as another farewell gift and takes out some dried meat. After eating her fill, she sticks her head into the river and takes a few big gulps of water. Then she sits down at the side of a chunky tree “Haaaa, when will I finally arrive? Or where am I going anyway? Pa said I´d immediately know, but– !”

There´s a sound

She turns her head to her right and makes out a gloomy cavern in the darkness. “What the…” she mumbles as she slowly rummages through the dense vegetation and towards the entrance.

Then, something sends words directly to her mind:

[Mana density has risen. Now entering: Low-Rank Dungeon]