Chapter 296

Kill. Kill him. I thought as I tried to rise, but my knees barely lifted off the ground before I fell down again.

“Ugh…agghhaa…!”

Red combined with the blue blood on the soiled ground. I had pushed myself too far. Something was wrong within my body. But this guy had promised to kill Daniela. And so I had to kill him no matter what.

But, I couldn’t even swing my sword now.

“Ha…hahaha… You better hurry if you want to kill me… I went through so much hardship to acquire the ability to block off any pain and to regenerate… The longer you wait, the more I will recover…”

“How…but you’re just a goblin…”

I used my sword as a cane and tried to pull myself up. But my knee was glued to the ground.

“…Surely, you’ve noticed already?”

“…”

My hands shook.

“I…used to be human.”

Yes, there were a lot of strange things about him. Too many. While he was an abnormally evolved being, shutting out all pain was insane. He stayed on his feet even though I had cut him so many times. I hadn’t been able to tell while we were fighting, because all of the blood, but his wounds had started to close.

And he had said something about a ‘human body.’ The distinction here was clearly very important to him.

“I realized it about two years ago…that I had become a goblin.”

“Wh-why…”

“How would I know…? But I could not go back. I was a monster… And so I would have to live as one.”

That wasn’t true. Rachel had been reincarnated as a monster but was now able to coexist with humans.

“I happen to know a monster. She lived long and now has the appearance of a human…”

“There…is no guarantee that I can live long…”

“Regardless…”

“And so there is nothing I can do but take other lives…I have nothing to give.”

I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know what he had experienced and how that had led him to such conclusions. It was all done, anyway. We could do nothing but fight.

“Why do you need to kill?”

“Ah…yes. I can’t stop. I’ve killed so many. Goblins and humans. Sometimes it was to survive, sometimes it was because I was angry. There were many times that I hated myself over it. Haha. I pretend to be mad, but the truth is that I never forgot what it was to be human… And yet, I’m ruled by my instincts as a monster.”

He had a burden that only those who were reborn as monsters could understand. Still…

“Right now, I feel more refreshed than I have in a long while…perhaps it was because I fought so hard. My instincts have been satisfied…”

“…”

“…You. You’re from Japan, aren’t you? I knew it immediately. I have a request…”

“…What?”

I stared.

“Kill me.”

There was something in his earnest eyes that made me look away.”

“This would be a good way for me to die. To be killed by someone from my old home.”

“…!”

Suddenly, I wanted to leave. But I knew I would regret it if I did. He would only give in to his instincts again and lead another stampede. This time they would attack the Imperial Capital. In that future, Daniela could be killed. I would hate myself for not doing the job when I had the chance.

“Don’t even think about it. Just take my head off.”

“…But…”

“If you don’t kill me now, you’ll regret it.”

Of course, I would. And so I had no other choice.

Uhh… Alright then. He said he wanted to be killed by someone from home. And so I was the only one who could lay him to rest. There was nothing else I could do to help him. And Daniela was more important to me than anything. I loved her.

And so I would kill.

“I have one final question.”

“What?”

“What’s your name?”

My body was still shaking, but I used all of my strength to get up on my feet and hold my sword ready.

“The Queen’s Knight Goblin. It’s my title. I have no name.”

“That’s not what I mean…”

“There is no name. …Not anymore.”

“…Very well.”

Legs of the God Wolf enveloped my legs as I firmly planted my feet on the ground.

“I’ll remember you.”

“…Thank you.”

With the last of my strength, I cut down with my sword. It went through his neck easily. I’d like to think that until the end, there was no pain.

□ □ □ □

“…So, you killed him.”

“Hm…ah, Daniela.”

“Rindo was taken safely back to the village. I came back to help…but I suppose I was too late.”

“No…not at all. Thank you.”

“…Are you…crying?”

“Just a little…I’m fine. I really am.”

“I see… We should go back then.”

“Yeah… …Uh, wait a minute.”

“Hmm…?”

“The sword… I’m going to take it with me. As a keepsake.”

“…Very well. We will take it.”

“Thank you…thank you.”

The next morning, the blizzard had stopped completely. I had recovered enough to move after downing a few potions the previous night. And so I woke up Daniela and we headed to the house that Adlus was staying at. Daniela had already relayed what I had told her, but I thought it would be best to report directly as well.

“…And so, the Queen’s Knight Goblin is now dead.”

“Good work. Now, I wish this meant that you could continue to rest, but…”

There was a problem. The Queen Goblin. As long as it was alive, the goblins would not stop. Apparently, it took goblins one month to give birth. However, a Queen could do it in one week. And they didn’t just give birth to one goblin at a time. They gave birth to many. If the goblins we killed were just an advanced detachment, there could be many, many more. Things would only get worse, the more that time passed.

“We have no time. Thankfully, you are the only one who was badly hurt. We’ll reorganize and begin our march.”

Thankfully… I would have knocked him off his feet if I felt better.

“We don’t know the precise location, but the Queen’s Knight Goblin approached us from the north, so we will travel in that direction. It is most likely that we will encounter more goblins the farther we go.”

“Wait. Maybe I can find out where it is.”

“Hmm. Really? ‘Eyes of the God Wolf,’ was it? Yes, it might be possible.”

I had explained to Adlus about its capabilities before the fight. But he had probably forgotten about it.

“Just give me a minute.”

“Very well.”

And so I activated Eyes of the God Wolf. …But, a sharp pain stabbed into the back of my eyeballs.

“Ggaahh…!”

“Asagi! Are you alright?”

“I’m fine…I’m fine…”

I smiled weakly as Daniela looked into my face.

“Sorry. I think I used it too much… It’s not going to work…”

“Don’t worry about it. We will search for the nest. I, Rindo, and Daniela. And the Jades…”

“I am sorry, but I will not be leaving Asagi. I cannot go north.”

Daniela refused to go.

“Wait, Daniela. If we don’t deal with this now, the city will…”

“That might be true, but if I do go, who will protect you now that you are exhausted?”

“I can take care of myself…”

“No. It is my duty to protect you.”

Daniela folded her arms and stared down at me. She was not likely to change her mind…

“…Sorry, Adlus. Daniela…”

“It’s fine. Well, it’s not fine. But I suppose we have no choice. We’ll hold the goblins back for as long as we can until you are ready to join us. I’m sure we can expect both of you to come?”

Of course. I just needed some rest. I would regain the use of my eyes soon. I think. It would be easy enough to catch up with them then.

“More haste, less speed… That’s something an old Hero once said. We’ll leave as soon as we finish breakfast.”

Adlus said as patted me on the shoulder and then left. It was just me and Daniela here now. And Manager.

“Good work, Asagi. You must be tired.”

“Thank you… But what about you?”

“Haha. I’m feeling a lot better than you, at least. But, I definitely underestimated that thing…I need to be more careful.”

She had been taken completely by surprise but had apparently protected herself with shadows. And so she came out with just a light bruising. That being said, the impact had been strong enough to knock her out of consciousness.

“Well, it’s a mistake I’ll be learning from. See you later then.”

“Don’t push yourself too hard.”

“You too. I’ll be waiting.”

‘Take care of him,’ she said to Daniela before leaving. There had been some Jade scouts here a moment ago as well, as they were busy making reports and discussing things. So it was now suddenly very quiet. Of course, they were all outside, eating around a campfire. Just being indoors made you feel like you were in a different world sometimes.

I slowly leaned back in my chair and tried to find a comfortable position. However, it was difficult, as my body hurt all over.

“Still, that was lucky. There was someone who could use void magic.”

“I’m not healed completely, but I do feel a lot better now.”

When Daniela had carried me back, one of the Jades had helped treat me using Void Magic. Thanks to this, the wounds on my shoulder and thigh were now closed. She said she wasn’t very good at it yet, but it was a great help regardless. I thanked her and was able to rest.

Then I drank the potions we had been saving and focused on my recovery. The damage to my boots and my shirt was especially worrisome.

“I’ll have to get it repaired again.”

“Do you have any materials left?”

“Not much. Maybe we can get more somehow…”

We had been lucky enough to be near to a wind dragon last time, but they were still rare monsters. I might just have to wait for the materials to enter the market. But maybe I had just enough to patch up my gear.

“Do you think I should go for metal armor instead?”

“But speed is your distinct quality. It will affect that, you know?”

“That’s true…”

Material that didn’t break would be ideal, but clearly such a thing didn’t exist. Well, there were green wind dragons, which were above wind dragons. But until that day came, I would have to make do with what I had. Besides, these green dragons had such a legendary status that it was doubtful I would ever see one in my lifetime.

“Hmm. There is much we will have to think about when we return.”

“Yeah. I’d like to fix this sword too.”

The keepsake from the Queen’s Knight Goblin. A monster who was originally from my home. I wanted to have it fixed. I would carry it as a reminder. No matter what, I had sworn to protect Daniela.

“But first, you must rest. Now go to sleep.”

“I will. Where’s the bed?”

“Rindo rested over there, so you can use it now.”

I opened the door that Daniela had pointed to and saw a large bed. But when I collapsed onto it, it smelled like her to an uncomfortable degree. Well, beggars can’t be choosers. I would rest so I could fight again. There was so much to think about. Next time, I would try harder not to get hurt, and prevent others from getting hurt as well…

It was with such thoughts that I closed my eyes. I felt the mattress sink as Daniela sat next to me. That alone enveloped me in a sense of security, and I slowly drifted off to sleep.