“There are three goblins coming this way. Don’t make noise or move,” Gjaki ordered.

Tili nodded. The vampire could feel her trembling, and see how she was gripping the spear tightly. Before long, dimly illuminated by the moonlight, three figures appeared.

“Tado!” The goblin exclaimed in a whisper.

“The one in the middle? Who are the other two?”

Although she asked, she had guessed the answer. The one in the center was an adolescent-looking goblin, like Tili. He was level 8, and had various bruises and cuts. He was walking limping, and his hands were tied.

The other two were at level 12, armed, and wore a plain and somewhat ramshackle leather armor. From their looks, she guessed they must be in their late thirties, though she wasn’t quite sure how age worked in goblins. In theory, they grew up very fast, but Tili had already proved that much of what she thought she knew about them was false.

“Speak! Where did the girl escape to? The boss likes her, we better find her,” one of them pushed the teenager.

“Over there, I suppose,” Tado pointed out.

“It’s dangerous there… I’d never go… They’ll all die…!” the goblin was overwhelmed.

“Hide here and don’t move,” the vampire ordered.

She nodded fearfully, while watching helplessly as her savior walked away. Unexpectedly, Gjaki suddenly stopped and turned around, as she smiled mischievously.

“He’s the guy you like, isn’t he?”

Tili froze. Her cheeks took on a color between purple and brown, which indicated how embarrassed she was. Gjaki didn’t wait for her to reply.

“Don’t worry, I’ll bring him to you in one piece,” she assured her, while wrapping herself in the shadows to the goblin’s astonishment.

Tili had already seen the spell on them when she had been leading the vampire, but it was a kind of translucent haze at that time. However, from the outside, it was different. Watching her disappear was a scene as terrifying as it was fascinating. She was glad that Gjaki was on her side.

Meanwhile, Tado fell to the ground and received a kick.

“Get up stupid! Don’t make me slice you in small chunks,” one of the goblins threatened.

While he was distracted and looking at the young goblin with contempt, his companion watched them a meter away, with disdain towards the one that was being kicked. The leather armor protected him from direct hits on his most vulnerable spots, like the heart, but only from a direct, perpendicular hit. It couldn’t stop a dagger that sought his organ by entering at a more inclined angle, barely brushing the edge of the cuirass.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

He died instantly, with no time to react or ask for help. A hand was covering his mouth, so he could only make a choked groan before falling to the ground.

“Did you say something…? Arrrgghh!” the other turned.

A whip had Grabbed his neck. As it was pulled, it squeezed him tighter and threw him towards the other goblin’s lifeless body. He fell on a spear which was pinned on the ground, and that the vampire was holding. It pierced his stomach. The bite on his neck was hardly necessary.

“It’s dirty and bitter. Yuck!” she spat, not the blood, but the dirt. Immediately, she took some water to rinse her mouth.

Tado watched from the ground, stunned. He looked up to find two red eyes and silver hair, which was tied in two tails that fell back. There were also two fangs, where there was still a trace of the slightly greenish blood that she had sucked.

He was paralyzed with terror and amazement at a scene that was as mysterious as it was gruesome. When he realized her eyes were looking at him, he barely managed to step back.

Tado believed that she would attack him right then, that she would suck his blood as the old tales told to scare the goblin children, as she had just done. However, it wasn’t the terrible vampire who threw herself on top of him.

“Tado!”

“Tili?” he asked confused, on the ground, while trapped by two greenish arms.

Suddenly, he reacted, grabbed her, and stand in front of her. He was shaking, disarmed and in pain, but still managed to half get up.

“I won’t allow you to do harm her… Ouch!”

“Don’t be silly! She is with us! Can’t you see that she has saved you!?” the goblin girl scolded him, after slapping him on the head

“But…?”

“There are no buts! Can you walk?”

Gjaki watched the funny scene, as there were two Bats guarding, and she was alert for any movement. Even though the young goblin had scolded Tado, the vampire could see that she was blushing. The act of wanting to protect her had moved her heart. Unfortunately, they couldn’t waste time.

“How is the situation in the village?” the vampire interrupted.

“This…” the goblin said hesitantly.

“Come on! Answer! We have to save them!” Tili urged him.

Tado looked at her. Then he looked at the vampire. He looked back at Tili. He received another hit.

“Ouch… Well… The strongest are wounded or dead. The rest are prisoners. They wanted… to take the young ones, but the boss wanted… Tili. When she escaped, they began to argue. They didn’t agree, so they decided to wait to look for her,” he explained fearfully.

Gjaki nodded. She couldn’t save those who were already dead, but she could save others. Feeling like a hero was strangely comforting, but she didn’t know if she would succeed, if she could do it. The pressure and the fear of failing were there, but she was a top player who had defended her rank for years, even when she was under fifteen. She was used to facing that kind of pressure.

Gjaki also knew that they couldn’t waste time, as every second of delay was a danger to the villagers. After all, it wasn’t her first time-limited mission. Although the sunrise wouldn’t be soon, they couldn’t waste time.

“Do you know how to use a weapon?” she asked the male goblin.

“Mace. Although he’s not as good as me. He still has to learn Smash,” Tili answered for him.

“That’s not true!”

“You know that it is!”

“Be quiet and be still.”

Tado’s jaw dropped as the vampire disappeared into the shadows. Tili, who had already seen it, was still in awe of it.

Suddenly, a level 10 bear pounced on them. The goblin girl raised the spear toward it while trembling. The unarmed aching goblin couldn’t help but hide behind her. He might have taken a weapon from the fallen goblins, but they had disappeared.

The bear’s race came to a sudden halt, when grim Tentacles emerged from the ground and trapped it. An instant later, the vampire appeared again, and thrust the dagger into its jugular with Backstab. At the same time, the nails of her other hand pierced under its ear, and her leg struck its abdomen. She used Surprise Dagger to drive the other dagger in its abdomen.

“This time I pierced the right place,” Gjaki boasted.

The bear collapsed at the incredulous gaze of both goblins. They were stunned when they saw the little fairy do its job.