In truth, I wanted to learn everything I could about goblins. I knew asking questions would just freak everyone out, so I stayed quiet. If they really were nearby, any noise would alert them to our presence. One word could put everyone in danger. The others were probably thinking the same thing. They all kept their mouths shut.
I have no idea how much time passed. Maybe about an hour? At that point, I heard another sound mixed in with the rain. As it grew more distinct, so did my fear. Were they footsteps? Then, out of the blue, there was a high-pitched sound like something clawed at glass.
As those sounds grew closer, Mom and Marie trembled more and more. Mother and child alike were terrified. Everyone in the room noticed the sound. It wasn’t Dad and the villagers. There was no signal they had returned.
The sound reached the front door of the house and stopped.
Something was there. I could guess what it was, but then that’d make it real.
A few minutes passed. Pure emptiness. Just when I started to wonder if it had scampered off…
WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!
There was a loud banging against the front door. I heard something like grunts. Everyone started to quiver and cover their ears. I was the only one who kept listening. The barrage lasted for a few minutes, but the door held. The sounds died down.
The footsteps started to move. They went over to the flank of the house. Then there was a duet of a grotesque groan and a piercing, shrill screech.
SMASH!
It was broken glass. Then, the banging and scraping resumed. Eventually, there were the sounds we most dreaded to hear: the clear crunch of broken wooden planks and a thud on the first floor.
This was real. There was a monster here. The goblins were coming in.
A hideous, bloodcurdling groan screeched throughout the entire house. It sliced through the whole second floor and sent every villager into fits of terror. Tears streamed down their trembling faces, their bodies hunched over and quivering. No one dared to move or make a single sound. All we could do was wait for the horror to pass.
For some time, the sounds of rampaging across the first floor continued. But then a different sound emerged on the stairs.
Thok. Thok. Thok.
A presence was slowly but surely coming closer to us. It climbed all the way up the stairs, then moved down the hallway where it finally stopped.
“Gghhi, gigigi!” It grunted.
It was so close. Fear gripped my entire body. Unable to control my trembling, I stared at the door. Marie clung to my side. Rose held my hand. Mom huddled over us, trying to protect us.
The calm didn’t last. When the thin door rattled, the other boy screamed. We were all terrified. Nobody could blame the boy, but his cry made the goblin start slamming viciously into the door.
The door was bent after a few blows. It would only last a few more seconds before breaking completely down. There was nothing we could do other than pray the door and the planks held. That prayer was shattered to pieces. With a snapping burst, the top of the door broke clean through. A greenish, wriggling arm and a hand with sharp claws reached out into the room.
I knew that it had the intention to kill. I peered through the crack in the door to look at its face. It was fear personified. It’s foul face was grotesque. It’s black eyes ogled me, while its mouth twisted into a leering grin.
It howled and cackled maniacally as it smashed into the door several more times. Almost all of the top half was gone.
The goblin stepped into the room. It was hunchbacked and had a disgusting and swollen gut. It looked more like an ogre than a stereotypical goblin. It wielded no weapon other than its thick, sharp claws and the fangs protruding from its mouth. A single bite from those things would put an end to everything.
There it stood before me. It was the very creature I wanted to research. Was I crazy? Now I’d lost interest. I only felt fear. I cursed my past self for wanting to conduct research on something like this. I had been treating it way too lightly. I didn’t consider them real threats. I knew now I was wrong.
Oh, goblins, they’re easily disposable small fries. They are the weakest of the monsters. That’s what I had thought this whole time, but the small fry facing me now was nothing less than utter despair.
We could do nothing to oppose it. Everyone in the room knew that each and every last one of us would be killed.
“N-not the children! Don’t kill the children!” Mom screamed.
The monster couldn’t understand language, could it? Its mouth only grinned at us more, indicating it did understand. Having cornered us, its miserable prey, it was feasting in its dominance.
It’s over. Time to die.
Just as those thoughts crossed my mind, Marie leapt up to her feet. She unsheathed the sword and took a stance. She stood in front of me to block the goblin’s path. She was the swordswoman facing down the goblin, but I could see her shoulder still shook with fear.
“Y-you’ll have to fight me f-first!” she said.
I was in awe of her courage, but I also felt a cold desolation. She didn’t stand a chance. It’d destroy her. In a split second, the goblin lashed out its claws. Marie’s sword danced through the air to meet them and lashed straight into the wall.
“Huh?” Marie’s gasp bordered on the hysterical.
The monster had knocked the sword out of her hands with a simple swipe. The goblin may have been stupid, but it was overwhelmingly powerful. Only a bit taller than Marie, its body was jam-packed with brute force.
The goblin raised its hand.
“Ahh!” Marie screamed and froze in fear.
I instinctively sprinted towards her. Before I could reach her, something flashed in front of me.
There was some clashing, then a body crumpled over. I saw Marie, and in front of her, Mom. There was blood everywhere. Mom had sacrificed herself for Marie. There were deep rends in her back oozing blood.
Marie had been buried underneath Mom’s body and was safe. Her eyes brimmed with tears as she stared at Mom.
Mom raised herself to her knees.
“Marie…are you…injured?” she asked.
“N-no, I’m f-fine! But, Mom—.”
“I’m okay, dear. All that matters is that…you’re safe.”
She was grievously wounded. There was no doubt about it. She was spurting blood. I could see the heat leaving her face. Mom was going to die. The thought brought fear, and the fear overcame me more and more.
The goblin lurched towards Mom. It acted as if it was enjoying the moment. Mom hugged Marie tightly, putting her body in between my sister and the monster.
No, this wouldn’t work! It wouldn’t! Now the two of them were going to die! My family—the most precious people in this world to me—would be killed before my eyes. No, anything but that! I won’t accept it!
I impulsively kicked against the ground. I didn’t know what I was doing. I just wanted to save them.
I supposed the goblin couldn’t have predicted my movements. I was just a kid. So, it certainly wasn’t expecting me to suddenly charge straight at it. Before I knew it, I was touching the monster.
Our eyes met. I looked into its red pupils. It was repulsive beyond belief.
Its mouth curled into a smile. Naturally, it was facing down an unarmed and hapless kid. What could I do to it besides tug on its arm a bit?
I was aware that there wasn’t much I could do. I just couldn’t stand there and do nothing!
I had no strategy and no weapon. I had nothing until I noticed that its whole body emitted a faint glow.
I couldn’t see it until I was up close. It was mana coming off of the goblin.
Instantly, I felt composed. I remembered everything I had learned to this point. I didn’t know exactly how, but it was clear as day, that everything was connected. Everything I had achieved—it all came together in this instant. I realized the answer to the essence and workings of mana. And then, I had the truth to which that answer led me.
I activated Magicoat, then used Magicluster. I packed the mana into my right hand that touched the goblin. The goblin flung its claws out toward me. They were cutting through my eyelashes. I felt the mana burst through my body.
“GAAAAAAHHHH!” The goblin let out a shriek, and a pungent, foul stench immediately filled the room.