Elderwoods, Early Morning,

“You think we covered enough?”

“Everything but the roof”

“Works for me; light it up.”

“Gladly.”

I raised my hand and extended it outward. With a snap of my fingers, a tiny flame sprang to life. I blew gently, sending a stream of fire toward the trail of soot we’d scattered. And just like that, the fireworks started.

“Splendid, isn’t it, brother?” I asked, watching the blaze.

“Spectacular indeed, though a bit over the top, don’t you think? Not that I’m complaining.”

I scoffed. “No one will be living in such a place now, will they?”

“Fair enough.”

We watched as the cottage collapsed in seconds, the fire consuming it entirely, before we turned our backs and headed away. Nothing but dust would remain of the place that twisted old hag called home.

-~-

“Ugh. Is it just me, or have we been walking this same path for hours?!”

“Brother, it’s been fifteen minutes.”

“Well, it feels like hours! Look around! You can’t tell me we haven’t passed these same trees two or three times already!”

“We’re almost there,” I muttered, feeling the creeping unease as the familiar stench hit my nose. “I can already smell it... and no, I’ll never get used to it.”

“And you’ll never have to again. Not if everything goes according to plan.”

“Yeah... if it does...”

I suddenly stopped, my fingers fiddling nervously with the cuff of my coat.

“Amaye?”

“I-It’s nothing... just... this could be it, you know? We’ve planned for this moment with utmost care, but you can’t deny things could go south... just like that, and—”

“... Amaye…”

I trailed off, unable to finish. What we were about to do could be our end, and I’d already lost too much, too fast. Then I felt my brother’s hands close around mine.

“Sis, listen. We’re gonna be okay. There’s no way fate’s kicking us off now, not after everything it put us through these last four weeks. Besides, do you remember what we taught them? Brains no bigger than vermin.”

“Meant to be no bigger than vermin,” I corrected. “But he—”

“—He’s just an overgrown, arrogant lizard, and he’s finally getting what’s coming.”

Brother moved beside me, offering his elbow with a confident grin.

“Now, let’s go show that cold-blooded bastard why screwing with us was the worst mistake of his short, pathetic reign.”

“R-Right!”

I took Hiroshi’s elbow, drew a deep breath, and we pressed on. We started down a steep, winding trail, and as we reached the bottom, the forest seemed to close in on us. The trees towered overhead, their grotesquely twisted branches weaving a dense, shadowy canopy that choked off most of the weak morning sunlight. The ground beneath us was uneven, swallowed by a thick, rolling fog that reached our knees and clung to layers of moss and fallen leaves, muffling our every step.

We trudged deeper, stumbling over the concealed roots that snaked across the forest floor, nearly tripping us at every turn. The air grew colder and more musty, saturated with the earthy scent of damp soil and rotting wood, punctuated by the occasional sharp bite of sulfur. After winding through the underbrush for what felt like an eternity, we finally stumbled upon a cave entrance, obscured by a dense curtain of vines.

“You know,” Hiroshi began as we pushed through the tangled vines and into the cave’s shadowed mouth, “I know what I said earlier, but you have to hand it to them. Hiding out in a place like this with what they have going on is remarkably admirable.”

“Yeah, you have a point there.” I replied.

Inside, the cave was surprisingly intriguing, despite its dubious inhabitants. The space opened up into a large, circular chamber, dimly illuminated by translucent crystals embedded in the ceiling. These crystals filtered the scant sunlight into a warm, golden glow that was the sole redeeming feature of the cavern. Beyond that, everything fit its owners’ chaotic style to a tee.

The walls were rough-hewn and scarred, while the floor was strewn with discarded trinkets, makeshift furniture, and a carpet of meters long shed skin of scales, still in the early stages of decay. The air was thick with the pungent mix of stale smoke, unwashed bodies and rotting teeth. Flickering torchlight cast eerie shadows, revealing crude carvings and tattered banners that fluttered haphazardly. Each banner bore the same strange words – G'rath T’blon – which roughly translates to “Blinded Peaks.” It made absolutely no sense, but then again, when have goblins ever made sense?

Of all the intelligent beings scattered across the world, goblins are the last ones anyone would choose to meet, no matter the circumstances. With IQs on par with the shrewdest of rodents that scavenge through refuse with their tiny claws, one might wonder why they’re even worth a second glance.

Is it their foul, gas-burner breath? The lidless eyes that beg for a break from their own forked tongues? Or perhaps the fact that their attire consists solely of the scraps of skin they’ve shed?

No, it’s the sheer annoyance they bring. Goblins are an irritating, cold-blooded lot. In most encounters, they trigger confrontation but are as easily dealt with as swatting a fly. After all, their grasp of magic is minimal at best.

Yet, it’s not unheard of for a sizable group of these dim-witted creatures to gain the upper hand against a few unsuspecting intruders who stumble into their domain unprepared. In rarer instances, these groups display an unsettling level of organization. We may not be fools, but for the past four months, we had to face one of those exceptionally coordinated goblin gangs.

“...Hhhhiiiiisssss…”

The moment we crossed the threshold, a sea of yellow eyes fixated on us, their malevolent gleam cutting through the dim light. If not for our predicament, we’d have been dead already. A swarm of thirty or so would hardly favor us. Fortunately, we carry a sort of grudging respect here—a pass, to be exact. This pass grants us the privilege of moving unimpeded, provided the big shot himself approves. And right now, we're here to see that very big shot.

As we approached a rickety shack, three gaunt, sickly green goblins emerged, their noses twitching unsettlingly close. Others materialized behind us, swiftly surrounding us in a menacing circle.

Fear painted my face, a canvas of terror evident to them from their cruel, snickering laughter. Meanwhile, Brother maintained a veneer of calm, sweat beading on his forehead. Despite the encroaching goblin ranks, his composure remained steady as he spoke.

“We have what we were sent out to receive for the master.”

The goblin facing him straightened, trying to assert some semblance of goblin dominance. It snapped its long, curled, fungus-encrusted claws. At its signal, other goblin enforcers surged forward, confiscating our bags and patting us down thoroughly. A blindfold was hastily tied around my eyes, and before I could react, my grip on Brother’s arm was wrenched away.

The last sounds I heard were the hissing and grunting of the goblins as I was led away, shrouded in darkness and uncertainty.

-~-

“Cough! Cough!… Cough! … Blegh! … R-Remove his gags!”

The filthy rags were yanked off my face, leaving me squinting as I found myself perched on a rickety stool inside the old shack. The place reeked of dampness and decay, a cramped, moss-ridden warehouse where stray patches of plant life struggled to appear less ominous. At the back, a chaotic collection of valuable goods glittered in the gloom—jewels, piles of gold and silver, shimmering like bait for the desperate. Two plain, ordinary bags sat oddly among these treasures, one with a pointed hat draped lazily over it, far too out of place.

My eyes darted around, taking in every detail. Sis wasn’t here. The sinking realisation hit fast—they’d separated us. These wretched reptiles had known us long enough to understand how much we meant to each other. They knew we’d never risk one another for anything, not even for this.

Six hulking, muscular goblins surrounded me, one holding my bag up, while the others had their rough stares directed at me, sharper than the rusted weapons they held. Another blocked the door while the others stood ready, itching for a reason to strike. Across the cluttered table, a seventh goblin sat atop three battered books upon a taller stool, serving as his throne. This one was different—small, patch-eyed, with skin that looked like it was rotting from the inside out. He was their leader, "the master," a goblin blessed (or cursed) with more brains than most of his kind.

"After three days, figured you'd be halfway digested by now," he rasped, coughing between each sneer.

"Where’s my sister?" I spat, voice harsh with barely concealed fury.

"Heh, heh, heh... she's safe, for now... in another room," he wheezed, eyes gleaming with sick amusement. "But that can change real quick, ain’t that right, boys?"

More laughter erupted from the others, a sick, mocking chorus.

The goblin leader leaned forward, coughing again. "If you wanna keep her that way, you'd better make sure I like what I hear from you."

Beneath the table, my hand clenched into a tight fist. The urge to tear through them all, starting with him, burned hotter with every second.

“Did ya get it?” His voice came out as a wheeze, each word dragging like it took effort.

“Yes,” I replied hesitantly before raising an extended finger at the goblin clutching the sack. “It’s in there.”

The small goblin’s bloodshot eyes flicked towards the goblin holding it, a cough shaking through him as he snapped his decaying, fungus-riddled fingers. The lackey didn’t waste a second, rushing to his boss’s side and fumbling with the string. Slowly, the bag opened, revealing a severed head—half-cooked, wrinkled, and dripping with a rancid stench.

With a twisted grin, the smaller goblin snatched the head up, his sickly, clawed fingers sinking into its crevices with grotesque precision. He ran his nails along its scalp, curling into the ear and nose holes as if savouring every inch of decay. Then, with a slow, deliberate inhale, he brought the head to his face, relishing the foul stench like it was some fine delicacy.

"Heh, heh, heh! You outdid yourselves this time. Knew I was right the second my boys fished ya out of that river all those weeks ago.”

He raised the head high, staring into its lifeless eyes as if he’d claimed his ultimate prize. "What better way to kill a witch than with another?” His laughter quickly turned into a violent, raspy cough. With a final wheeze, he tossed the head aside and turned his attention back to me, waving a hand.

“Well, now... seems everything’s accounted for,” the goblin rasped, wiping the back of his hand across his rotting lips. “You did the job for four long weeks, bringing me exactly what I requested. Despite all the danger it dragged in… must’ve been a hassle for kids who looked like they’ve had it easy their whole lives.”

“No, it wasn’t easy... we almost kicked the bucket more times than I can count, going up against everything this cursed forest threw at us,” I replied, my voice sharper than intended.

“That’s the Elderwoods for ya,” the goblin grinned, yellow teeth glinting beneath his cracked lips. “Never meant to be a tourist trap. Only an idiot would wander here, let alone live here, so it’s the perfect spot to lay low. Nobody in their right mind would expect to find a goblin in these parts—heh heh—am I right?” His laugh twisted into a coughing fit. “Cough! Cough! Blegh!”

He let out a gag, coughing once more before regaining his breath. "Well then, witch boy... looks like I’ve got my end of the deal to hold up, don’t I?"

With a snap of his brittle fingers, a scar-faced goblin stepped forward, holding out two blank sheets of parchment. At first glance, the papers seemed ordinary, save for a single drop of dried blood in the corner. The smaller goblin narrowed his eyes, lifting the pages toward the slivers of sunlight cutting through the crystal-lined ceiling. As the light hit the parchment, faint symbols flickered to life, revealing an intricate web of cryptic writing that shimmered across each sheet.

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"Ahhh... there it is." The goblin’s lips curled into a sly grin, his yellowed eyes twinkling with amusement. "I've always had a soft spot for the kind of magic that forces others to dance to your tune. Binding contracts... they’ve always been my favourite toys. Before my boys fished you and your sister out of that riverbed, I thought these would sit gathering dust forever... unused, forgotten... then you came along."

He lowered his head, his grin turning more sinister as he tilted in my direction, as if trying to look right through me despite the patches covering his eyes.

"Which begs the question, doesn’t it?" he croaked, voice dripping with mockery. "Why in all the realms... would I even *think* of tearing these up?"

“Huh?!"

"Oh, you look confused," the goblin chuckled. "Let me put it another way... why would I release two leashed witches? Who in their right mind lets go of a goldmine like that? You’re far too valuable, lad... far too useful."

“Why you—Ack! Gah!”

—Thud—

The moment I shot to my feet, I was slammed back down to the cold, unforgiving ground. My throat felt like it was caught in an iron vice, squeezing tighter with every breath I fought for while a searing pain rippled through my entire body. The world blurred, dark spots swimming in my vision.

“What a stupid lad you are,” the small goblin sneered. He clambered onto the table, his tiny frame wobbling as he sauntered to me. His fungus-ridden feet slapping against the wood echoed like a twisted drumbeat.

“How many times has it been now, witch boy?” the small goblin rasped, crouching just out of reach, waving the contracts with smug satisfaction. “You keep forgetting, don’t ya? You belong to me.” His fungal nails twitched with glee. “What’re you gonna do, eh? Curse me? Turn me into a maggot and squish me underfoot till I’m just a puddle of goo? Heh, heh, heh! -Cough! Cough!- Tch! Thought your lot was supposed to be smart—hella smart—better than some gobby like me, ain’t that right?”

He leaned in closer, head tilting as if trying to savour how low I’d sunk beneath him. His crooked smile widened, eyes glinting with the pleasure of my misery. But that smile faltered when a sound escaped my lips—something unexpected—a chuckle.

“What the heck’s so funny, aye?!” he spat, eyes narrowing.

Even with the strangling grip around my neck, I met his gaze, a smirk tugging at my lips. "I’ll answer that... with another question … Don’t you smell that?"

“Smell what?” he snapped, confused.

“Uh, boss?” one of the goblins called out from near the throne. “Why’s the bag all... smokey?”

The small goblin’s eyes darted back to the sack, and sure enough, thin tendrils of smoke began curling out from its seams. “Eh? What in blazes...” He stumbled over to it, snatching the bag into his scaly hands. Blind as he was, he couldn’t see the smoke, so he thrust a claw inside, his rough skin feeling the warm, damp sensation of something smouldering. His brows furrowed in confusion at the pointed tip of his fungus-filled nail. brushed against something smooth yet cracked.

—Crrrrraaaaaccckkkk—

If he had used his eyes, with how smart he was supposed to be, he might have chosen to do anything essential other than allow something as sharp as his nail to run through what it did.

But he didn’t, so he did, and now, as a splintering sound filled the air, unexpected chaos began to erupt.

The moment the sound of cracking glass echoed through the shack, the small goblin's patch-covered eyes widened, his confusion thick as the doom unfolding before him. Ignorant of the final warning the world had just whispered, he gripped tighter around the fractured object nestled within the sack. His trembling claws dug too deep, piercing the fragile crystal.

A fatal mistake.

Tendrils of thin and writhing smoke began to spill from the crack, coiling like serpents freed from their prison. The smoky wisps grew, merging into a thick, murky cloud that ascended to the top of the shack, taking on the sinister form of a serpent—massive, ethereal, its maw a gaping, four-pronged abyss.

“What the...?”

The smaller goblin, blind to the chaos unravelling before him, could only feel the sudden force that shoved his hand from the bag, sending him stumbling back. Panic set in, his instincts screaming that something had gone terribly wrong, though it was already far too late to reverse it. The gas loomed above, a predator savouring the panic of its prey. It moved swiftly, faster than their reptilian reflexes could comprehend, winding through the air and creeping along the walls like a phantom.

“Boss...?” one of the goblins muttered, his voice drenched in fear as his trembling hands thrust a spear into the mist. The spear passed through the smoke without resistance. Before the goblin could react, the vapour coiled around him, slithering into his nostrils and down his throat. A sickening gurgle escaped his lips as the fog filled his lungs, silencing him forever. His body crumpled to the floor, twisted and lifeless, leaving only an empty husk as the mist moved on to claim its next victim.

I had just managed to pull myself up, using the stool for support, as the serpent cloud continued its ravenous rampage. It swept through the room like a vengeful spirit, devouring each goblin in its path. The gas forced itself into their bodies, choking the life out of them, leaving behind only the stench of death and the dull thud of their corpses collapsing to the ground. No goblin had the chance to fight back, scream, or even beg for mercy.

The small, blind leader stumbled backwards, his coughs ragged as the poisonous vapours circled him like death's final embrace. Most of the gas had seeped through the cracks in the shack, but enough remained to engage him within in its toxic grip, keeping him paralysed in helpless fear.

It was then, in his disoriented state, that he heard footsteps approaching—slow, deliberate—until they stopped just outside the swirling cloud of poison, sealing him in.

“Damn... so this is what it feels like, standing over someone you despise at their weakest. I gotta say, I like it. Thanks for showing me that feeling... boss.”

I crouched beside him, watching the vapours thicken around his frail form. He wheezed, gasping for air, while I tossed the torn pieces of the binding contract onto his face. Some of the scraps entered his mouth as he inhaled, causing him to cough frantically. Feigning concern, I patted him twice on the back—hard, perhaps harder than I needed to—then, as he winced in pain, I leaned in close.

"So, you probably want to know what happened, huh? Just how’d you go from sitting on your high horse to where the filth all belong beneath? Let me enlighten you."

A wicked grin spread across my face, darker than the mist that choked him, my glowing blue eyes casting an eerie light in the gloom.

"It all started four months ago, when your lackeys fished me and my sister out of that river and dragged us here. We were unconscious, vulnerable... and the moment you realized what we were, you bound us to those cursed contracts. Do you remember that day? I bet you do, 'cause before we woke up to the sight of you slimy reptiles grinning over us... you had something just killed .. a certain black cat."

"?!"

"Oh, you remember now? Good. 'Cause that's where your death sentence began. You see that cat—Ebony. He was our birthday gift for our F=fifteenth birthday. He was the kindest little guy, wouldn’t hurt a stinkbug... and his charred corpse was the first thing my sister and I saw when we woke up here.”

The goblin’s breathing grew erratic, his mouth hanging open in disbelief.

“And then you—” I seethed through clenched teeth, “—you played with those contracts, choking the life out of us like it was some kind of joke. Ten. Whole. Minutes! Especially on my sister! She had every right to jump at you when she did! We always wanted a pet, and after just one day, you turned him into charcoal! And once you were done torturing us, you had the nerve to say we belonged to you. For the next four weeks, you worked us like slaves!"

"P-Please... j-just hang o—"

-BAM!-

The sickening sound of my fist meeting his face echoed through the shack. “I’m. Not. Done. Talking!” I barked, raw fury in my cracked voice. The goblin’s head lolled to the side, blood oozing from his nose as I stood over him, shaking with rage.

“So, four weeks of slave labor, thinking this was our life now... after what happened before the river… But things changed the day you sent us after that old hag. You know how you didn’t hear from us for three days? Well, in case you were wondering, we got there within hours. There was this fight you see—yeah, we were ignorant of her true nature—but in the end, we dipped her into her own cauldron. After she was dead, we had the freedom to explore her place, to find whatever caught our interest. And we did.”

I leaned in close, my voice a deadly whisper. "We found a book, a very intriguing book. And you know what it contained? Something only a witch would find... useful. Like how this thing is created by grinding down indigo polka-dotted mushrooms to dust with the magic contained in the crystal ball."

I gestured to the swirling mass of noxious gas that filled the room, a living, writhing cloud that seeped relentlessly through the cracks in the walls and ceiling. More and more of it escaped, yet the fog didn’t diminish.

"It was a gamble, really," I sneered. "There was only one crystal ball in that hag's lair, but we took our chances. And would you have it? Luck was on our side. That cloud? Instant death. A self-aware poison driven by the simple desire to eradicate the closet forms of life. It’s so potent that even the slightest whiff can be fatal to anything and anyone… Unless, however, a hefty amount of a certain kind of berry is consumed beforehand."

I leaned closer, letting the words sink in. "You know the ones I’m talking about— stale, tiny red-berries with that little layer of fungus growing on them... the only stuff you fed us for the past four weeks!."

The sickly goblin's beady eyes widened unnaturally as the bitter irony and cold realisation clawed their way into his thick, marble-sized brain. The look on his face … was profoundly and genuinely satisfying.

“All that was left,” I continued mockingly, “Was to sit back and wait for one of you filthy reptiles to get your claws around that crystal ball and trigger the whole ordeal. And here we are... Hay presto. So... ready to find out what death tastes like?"

"N-No! P-lease,-- ack– no! W-w-witch boy! D-Don’t do this t-to me! –gah– Don’t l-let me end like –ack– this! I’ll do anything ya want! –cough– Anything! –h-hack– ANYTHING!!!"

"Anything?"

Oh, how that single word sent a surge of bliss through me.

"You know what, my scaly little friend? Sure, I’ll take your offer—your life for three favours. How’s that sound?"

"R-Really?! *wheeze* I-I’ll get to live?!"

"As long as you don’t tell me things I don’t want to hear." I couldn’t resist throwing his own words back at him. "So, to start us off... where'd you put my sister?"

He was quick to answer—panicked. "T-There's this hole I had my boys dig a while! Just to the left of the entrance to this here shack! F-for when I wanted to –ack –threaten this rival of mine with being buried alive! A-after you two were fished out... she's in there—unharmed, I swear! –cough–!"

"...You put my sister... in a damn hole?.."

"Ah... Aaaahhh..."

I was on the verge of losing it, ready to tear him apart with my bare hands, but I held myself back just enough to rein in the rage, clawing its way up my throat. I forced myself to stay composed, at least for the moment.

"Second..." I began, my voice still low and seething, "We’re taking a ton of that treasure over there... since, as far as I’m concerned, the rules say finders keepers—and me and my sister were the ones who found most of it if you remember."

The scaly midget twitched, coughing hard as he struggled to curse his heart out until he nodded frantically. "Tch!—Ugh! S-sure... take as much as you want!”

“Good.” I stood up, my gaze shifting to the pile of treasure looming in the corner, ignoring the small goblin's desperate wheezing. I quietly walked over to the treasure, my movements deliberate, my mind already miles away. At the front of the stash were the two out-of-place bags—our bags—the ones they had taken from me and my sister after dragging us out of the river. I grabbed them, slinging both over my shoulders, then took a brief moment to readjust the pointed hat originally rested upon one, upon my head as it had always belonged there.

In silence, I pulled an empty sack from the heap and began carefully filling it with as many gold and silver coins as possible. The small goblin’s eyes darted between me and the treasure with nothing but seething contempt as I made sure the ordeal lasted as long as I could to inflict the most mental anguish he could take.

When I finally finished, I hoisted the now-full sack over my shoulder and turned toward the door, ready to leave.

That’s when his voice croaked out, raspy and strained, barely managing to break through the fog choking him. "O-Oi! W-wait! -cough– What about me?!” He croaked out, raspy and stained his voice was “This bloody smoke... it’s still –cough–closing in on me!"

"Ah, that’s where the third favour comes in," I replied indifferently, flipping him off without looking back. "As you die, try your absolute best to scream... loud enough for me to hear it from outside. Our employment here is over.”

With that, I stepped out of the shack, the door creaking as it closed behind me. The sound of my footsteps faded into the distance as the toxic fumes slithered ever closer before invading his lungs, convulsing them in an instant. He hacked violently, his scaly hands clawing at his throat, eyes bulging in terror as the gas smothered him internally.

-~-

I don’t know how long it’s been since they blinded me. Time feels distorted when you’re lost in the dark like this. The last thing I remember is feeling their grubby hands dragging me away, my grip slipping from Hiroshi’s arm. Panic set in as I stumbled, feet scraping across the dirt, but I couldn’t hold on. They dragged me a few steps before I fell into something that seemed bottomless.

The descent felt like it lasted an eternity, like being suspended in the void, my heartbeat the only sound in the suffocating silence. And then, suddenly, I landed. Soft. Too soft. It wasn’t the hard, bone-snapping crash I’d braced myself for. At first, I thought I’d fallen into something like a pillow. My relief was brief—gone the moment my hand brushed against something slick and warm.

I froze, my mind scrambling to make sense of it, but the truth became apparent when I raised my trembling hand to my nose. The metallic tang of blood filled my senses, immediately joined by another repulsive, sharp, nauseating stench. I swallowed hard, my stomach twisting violently. It was when it hit me—and I didn’t dare remove the blindfold since. I wouldn’t. I couldn’t. I didn’t need to see to know I wasn’t alone here. Whatever I’d landed on beneath me was drenched in death. I didn’t want to know what—or who—I was sitting on.

Better to stay in the dark. Better not to know. Yet, not knowing was even more terrifying.

"… Brother …" I whispered "… Hiroshi … where are you…"

They must have taken him to that cursed shack, where their boss looms like a dark cloud. Just the thought of him—the vile goblin who tormented us—filled me with a hatred so deep, I could almost taste it. I’ll never forget how he laughed as he burned Ebony to ash... Ebony was just a kitten, defenceless and trusting. He took pleasure in our pain, in watching us writhe as those cursed contracts tightened around our throats.

And then Hiroshi—my brother—tried to protect me after I tried to rig his throat out, only to get kicked in the gut for his trouble. The memory made my blood boil.

The cruellest part of it all? We could’ve escaped. Easily. If things had gone differently, Hiroshi and I would’ve torn through these scaly bastards without breaking a sweat. We’re witches—more powerful than they could ever comprehend. We bow to no one but our mirror reflections. Yet here I was … helpless.

Why did this happen to us? Why did they have to show up on that day? What kind of sick joke is fate playing on us?! Why—

“Amaye!”

"Huh?"

I froze. Was that...?

"Sis! Grab my hand! I’ll pull you out!"

I ripped the blindfold off in an instant, my heart racing. There, standing at the edge of the pit, was--

"Brother!" Relief crashed over me like a wave, and a smile—real, genuine—spread across my face.

He was here. He was alive.

"Thank those of Grandure," My voice trembling with joy as I reached up to take his hand, and he hoisted me.

"Dear me… he’s seen far better days."

"Eh?"

I followed my brother’s gaze and nearly gagged at the sight—a goblin’s rotting corpse, its body decayed and twisted beyond recognition. The stench hit me all at once.

"O-oh… oh my stars… I-I was sitting on… ugh!"

A wave of nausea surged through me. I felt like I might faint right there, but Hiroshi's arm around me kept me upright as I clung to him, burying my face in his shoulder.

"Well," I managed, voice still shaky, "from the looks of all this mist around us, I take it—"

"Oh yeah," Hiroshi interrupted, casually placing my pointed hat back on my head like it was nothing while smugness painted all over his ace. "An utterly terrible case of death befell him. Completely untreatable. No known cure. Same for the lot of them."

He gestured around the cave. Everywhere I looked, the goblins lay still, lifeless, their lungs choked full of the deadly fumes I thought would never actually work. Tears welled up in my eyes as I counted the bodies. But these weren’t tears of sorrow. No, tears of pure, unbridled joy were what they were

I couldn’t help it. A small, breathless laugh escaped me.

"I hope they end up wherever they sent Ebony," I muttered, wiping a tear from my cheek, "just so they can beg for forgiveness before whatever happens to the worst of this world comes for them."

"Likewise, sis, likewise… Now, let's get the heck out of here before—"

“BROTHER, LOOK OUT!!!”

The warning came too late. A shadow lurched from behind Hiroshi—a goblin, barely clinging to life, fungus infested rotten claws out with its last ounce of strength devoted to a final, desperate attack–

“URK!!!”

But it could never reach him. A thorny vine erupting from the ground beneath made sure of that, spearing the goblin straight through the chest with a sickening–

-Crunch!-

The goblin's eyes widened in a final, futile scream as the vine embedded itself, eating through every internal organ or muscle it could find throughout its entire body before it constricted, ripping through the goblin's insides with brutal force. The creature's body convulsed violently, its blood and guts spilling out in a grotesque display as the vines ruptured it from the inside out. The grisly remains fell to the ground in a twisted heap before us.

“You tried to hurt my brother.” I advanced toward the remains of the vile creature, my eyes glowing with a fury that my otherwise impassive face failed to reveal as I spat at it all.

“Damn… he must have been the rare goblin who took out a healthcare package. The old crone's book said the poison should have been instant death—how did he—”

“It doesn’t matter, he’s dead. Now let’s get out of here.”

“Right behind you, sis.”