(Alright…)
The annoying numbness in my hand is almost gone. I move my fingers to check, then contemplate the Hobgoblin.
The Hobgoblin found me while I was in Stealth. So, it probably has either [Night Vision] or [Detection], but… it didn’t notice me in the tree, so it’s probably the former.
It could be the smell of blood, but the Hobgoblin is also covered in blood, so that’s less likely. …But if that’s the case, if it has Night Vision, it would find me if it knew I was there, even with Stealth level 1.
[Hobgoblin]
[Mana Capacity: 54/68] [HP: 197/340]
[Overall Combat Strength: 96 (Body Enhancement in progress: 111)] 5down
The neck wound would be fatal to a human, but the bleeding has already stopped. However, it’s a deep wound, so its HP is halved, and its Overall Combat Strength is still lowered because its left eye is crushed.
Even so, its Combat Strength is more than double mine. Normally, I wouldn’t be able to win in a head-on fight, but I won’t get another chance like this, where a strong opponent is injured and not used to having only one eye.
“…Haa”
I take a slow breath and exhale to dispel the slight fear.
I’ll settle things with it here. I understand that running away would be the wiser, the right choice, but… you will become my “sustenance.”
Its weapon is… a Hand Axe? It’s like the axe a lumberjack would use, but it looks like a Hand Axe when held by a large Hobgoblin.
The Hobgoblin is a Rank 2 monster, so I’ll assume it has [Axe Combat] level 2. High-ranked monsters might have [Intimidation] by race, but it hasn’t used it despite all the noise, so it probably doesn’t have it.
If it has any other Skills, it would be something like Defense or Martial Arts. Some Goblin species can use Attribute Magic, but if it could use Magic, its Combat Strength should be higher.
It seems to have Night Vision, but it probably won’t throw axes or stones with its unfamiliar one eye. Conversely, if it throws something, it would give me an opening to attack. For now, I’ll assume there’s a small chance it has Magic or ranged attacks.
“Gugaa…!”
The impatient Hobgoblin warily approaches me, holding its rusty Hand Axe in its right hand. I also hold my Black Knife, moving to its right to get into the blind spot of its crushed left eye.
I don’t need to focus on Stealth anymore. Even if there’s hardly any difference, trying to maintain Stealth distracts me and slightly lowers my athletic ability. …I’ll train if I survive.
Carefully watching my steps and using Body Enhancement to the fullest, I threw the Knife from its blind spot without any preliminary movements, just like Castro did.
“Gugaa!”
The Hobgoblin noticed something was thrown and instinctively blocked the Knife with its left arm.
Unlike the Bandit Leader, this one is decisive. It wasn’t an opponent I could underestimate from the start, but I raised my guard against it by another level.
“Gaaaah!!”
The Hobgoblin stepped in forcefully and swung its Hand Axe down, and I dodged it by jumping to the right, into its blind spot.
Normally, I would have lost my balance there and been cut down, but the Hobgoblin, still not used to having only one eye, couldn’t keep up with me as I escaped into its blind spot.
“Gaa!”
Even so, it wildly swung its axe into the unseen blind spot.
If I took even one hit, I would see death. I suppressed my fear even deeper and calmly continued to evade, circling into its blind spot.
I need to finish this before it gets used to having one eye. But if I can defeat it, I’ll have to rely on [Combat Art].
If I can’t defeat it with one hit, even a light counterattack would easily give me a fatal wound after I’ve used Combat Art and stepped in.
If I could crush its remaining eye, I could see a chance to win, but the Hobgoblin is wary of that, and my aimed Knives are reliably deflected.
Is there anything I can do…?
(…No, there might be one thing.)
However, if this fails, I’ll be in an even more desperate situation. But I decided it’s better than recklessly charging in.
“Gugaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!”
The Hobgoblin, having clearly confirmed my figure, chased after me as I tried to escape backwards into the darkness of the forest behind me.
My plan is to make it use its [Night Vision] Skill.
Unlike Night Vision that sees my “color,” normal Night Vision is a Skill that “sees” the “reflection” of Mana Particles caused by the wind or the movement of living things by enhancing the eyesight with Mana and “Body Enhancement” of the eyes.
I guess it’s not so much “seeing” as “visualizing” the information taken in from sight in the brain, just like my “color.”
Viro taught me that Humans can only acquire [Night Vision] at level 1 because their basic perception ability is lower than that of Demi-humans and Monsters.
This monster is used to using Night Vision on a regular basis. That’s why my “plan” will work.
As planned, I entered the dark forest where Night Vision is needed, and immediately used Stealth while focusing on “Magic.”
“—Tone・Pre—”
I use the words “in that place” that I found in the Dark Magic [Noise].
After that, I have to rely on my image and Mana Control… and my sense of seeing the “color” of Mana Particles.
I only take in the dark Mana Particles that fill the surroundings and dye my Mana with the color of darkness. When I release that Mana with Mana Control and release it to the specified location, my Mana drops sharply and my feet falter.
“Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!”
The Hobgoblin, having caught up, screamed and charged, slamming its axe sharply at me, whom it found with Night Vision.
It has [Axe Combat] Skill level 2. If I took it head-on, it would tear a child like me apart in one hit. But you see—
Gatsu!
“Gah…!?”
The Hobgoblin, suddenly stabbed by a Blade from the side, waved its arm around in confusion, blowing me, who was next to it, away.
“…,”
Blown away, I endured the pain and stood up, spitting the blood that had accumulated in my cut mouth onto the ground.
During that time, the Hobgoblin didn’t attack me. No, it couldn’t attack me.
A skewer had pierced deeply into the Hobgoblin’s face… into its remaining right eye, completely robbing it of its sight.
The “me” you cut was my “humanoid form” made of dark Mana Particles. It would be exposed in a bright place, but those who are used to [Night Vision] are easily deceived by it the first time they see it.
Dark Mana Particles are particles and amorphous. Therefore, depending on Mana and image, most things become possible… I hypothesized, and I’m glad it worked.
However, this is both [Magic] and [Sorcery], so I consumed my remaining Mana to just before the limit.
I felt a slight sense of hunger close to Mana Depletion, and when I licked the Hobgoblin’s blood that had splattered on my face, the smell of blood slightly heightened my senses.
“Now then…”
“Gugaa…”
When I muttered, the Hobgoblin, hearing my voice, trembled and growled like a cornered beast.
I have no Mana left to use Combat Art or Body Enhancement. I don’t have the power to defeat you with one hit. But you still have the power to fight, even if you can’t see, right?
Struggle to the end to live.
I’ll also be with you until the end… until you die.
“Mina!!”
“…Ah, Sera-san!”
When Sera found Mina in the darkness, she collapsed in relief.
When Sera questioned Castro at the mansion, he said that he had left the child as a lookout in the forest on the border.
Castro was from the Slums, and he hated those from the same Slums due to the weight of the sins he had committed in the past.
I don’t know what happened in his past, but perhaps because of that, Castro hated and never forgave those who betrayed their comrades.
That’s why I trusted him in some ways, but I never thought he would be so twisted that he would target even a young child.
Moreover, he placed her in a forest where Goblins might appear.
Castro also turned pale when he learned that Mina, who was out of touch with the world, was thinking of bringing food to the child, and that two victims might result.
So, in order to quickly secure the two, Sera and Castro, along with two Shadow Knights from the Shadow Unit, rushed to search for them.
“Calm down, Mina. What happened?”
“W-Well… I heard the screams of multiple monsters from the forest many times, and I… I was scared and ran away, but there’s a child there… but…”
At that testimony, Sera and Castro exchanged glances, wondering if Goblins had really appeared.
“Understood. Castro, after you send her off, bring Viro back. I will search for that child.”
“…Understood.”
Leaving Mina to Castro, Sera ran as if melting into the darkness, holding the slender knife hidden in her sleeve in both hands.
If it was a child Viro brought, they might be able to defeat a Goblin or so. But arrogant young people often challenged enemies they couldn’t defeat and were beaten in return.
If you can’t win, you should run. But… what if you can’t escape?
Mina heard the voices of multiple Monsters. That meant they were quite close, and if there was a scream, it could mean they were in the middle of a battle. Who were they fighting? It was highly likely to be the child Viro brought.
Why was Mina, who was so close, able to escape? And why didn’t that child escape?
(Could it be…)
Castro said the child looked like someone from the Slums. A child who had lived in the Slums… no, even Sera, who had been trained as a member of the Shadow Unit since childhood, and her son, wouldn’t easily challenge an opponent they couldn’t defeat to save someone.
If that was the case, that child might already be dead.
In the worst case, Sera felt heavy-hearted at the thought of showing Viro, who had brought the child, the child’s corpse.
Sera, who had caught the scent of blood in the Forest and was running silently, changed direction.
The trail of blood was soon found. But there was only the corpse of one Goblin there, and neither the other Monsters that were said to be multiple, nor the figure of the child could be found.
Sera made full use of her level 4 [Detection] Skill to follow the trail of blood. And then she found something in the Darkness beyond the Forest—
(…Something’s there.)
She involuntarily stopped, feeling a sharp Killing Intent emanating from beyond the Darkness.
This kind of Killing Intent wasn’t something a Goblin could emit. At least Rank 2… if not, there was a Monster equivalent to Rank 3.
Her equipment was a little lacking to face a Monster of Rank 3 or higher, but Sera fearlessly held her knife and stepped towards it.
“…This is…”
There were three Goblins lying dead on the ground. And the corpse of what was clearly a Hobgoblin was covered in countless wounds, telling the story of the fierce battle.
And… in front of the corpses of the Goblin and what seemed to be a Hobgoblin, a blood-soaked child, emitting an icy Killing Intent, stood like a wounded beast, holding a Knife.
Bloody!
How was the close-quarters combat?
In a normal story, Goblins are just small fry, but to the average person, they are a threat.
Next time, recruitment.