The goblins fanned out, their clawed feet scraping against the loose, broken tiles. Rust-flaked shelves groaned under their weight, warped metal bending as the creatures crouched low, bows drawn, blades glinting in the fractured light.
The pharmacy became a cage. Shattered counters and fallen aisles closed in around Jagger, forming jagged walls of debris. The fluorescents above flickered weakly, casting the room in strobing half-light. Shadows stretched long, broken glass winked like shards of ice, and the air thickened with stench—sweat, damp fur, and the rancid rot clinging to goblin skin.
Jagger—no, the thing inside him—straightened. His chest expanded as though inhaling every reek, savoring it. His grin stretched wide, too wide, the muscles in his face twitching under the strain of holding it. His body vibrated with energy, skin buzzing as though it could barely contain the fire burning within.
The goblins muttered in their guttural tongue, voices rasping in a cacophony of clicking consonants and wet snarls. One leapt down from a shelf, landing in a crouch. Its blade dragged against the floor with a screech, sparks spitting across the broken tiles.
Jagger's head turned, too smooth, too sharp, like a predator locking onto prey. His hands flexed, veins bulging beneath torn skin.
"I'm gonna enjoy killing each and every one of you."
A beat of silence stretched.
Then—chaos erupted.
Arrows hissed through the air, loosed in rapid succession. Goblins leapt from their perches, their shrill cries splitting the air as they swung axes, knives, and claws. They rushed from all sides, a frenzy of gnashing teeth and steel.
Jagger's smile widened.
And time—slowed.
'How am I doing that?'
The world stretched thin, each heartbeat elongated. His nerves fired like sparks, every muscle twitching with electric anticipation. Arrows crawled through the air, weapons hung mid-swing, goblin eyes gleamed in frozen malice. He could see it all—every detail etched sharp—but he did not know how.
Then time snapped forward.
He moved.
His body twisted, sliding between arrows with inhuman precision. One shaft he snatched from the air, flipping it in his grip before plunging it into a goblin's eye. The creature shrieked once before Jagger hurled it against the wall. The body hit with a wet crunch, shattering tiles before slumping lifeless to the floor.
Spinning on his heel, he surged into the fray. One goblin's skull fit neatly in his palm before he slammed it down. The floor split under the impact, blood spraying in a crimson halo.
Two more rushed from the left. Jagger whipped the limp corpse in his grasp and flung it at them. The force was brutal—bones cracked mid-flight as both creatures were flung backwards, crashing through shelves in a rain of bent steel and shattered pill bottles.
Jagger launched after them. His feet dug deep, stone cracking under his step as he propelled forward like a missile. In the blink of an eye, he was on them. The last sight the goblins knew was his glowing red eyes and that monstrous grin before his fists caved their skulls in. Bone shattered, brains bursting under the force.
He tore his fists free from the gore, laughing as blood rained across him. Droplets sizzled against his skin, evaporating on contact with the heat radiating from his flesh.
"This is amazing!"
The goblins froze, weapons trembling in their claws as they watched their kin fall. Their wide, yellow eyes locked on him, horror dawning.
Jagger raised his hands, licking the blood from his skin as if it were honey. His lips curled. The red glow in his eyes darkened, pulsing like coals.
"Come on. Don't be shy."
The remaining goblins stood paralyzed, jaws slack, claws scraping against the floor tiles in trembling spasms.
"Why aren't you fighting me?" His voice warped, distorted, as if his throat no longer belonged to something human.
Fear rippled across their faces. Pupils dilated. A faint whine rose in their throats.
Jagger roared, the sound rattling the ruined pharmacy, and lunged. His charge split the floor in a spiderweb of cracks, dust and debris billowing outward.
He seized a knife from the ground in mid-motion, swinging it wide. The blade carved through the first goblin from shoulder to hip. The creature shrieked, innards spilling wetly to the tiles as its body folded to the ground.
Two more charged, blades raised high. Jagger dropped low, movements blurring, weaving between their strikes. With one clean thrust, his knife punched through the first goblin's skull. Bone gave with a sickening crunch, blood spraying from its eye socket. He yanked the blade free in a wet squelch, letting the body collapse twitching at his feet.
The second goblin faltered, its blade slipping from numb fingers. Its gaze flicked from its fallen kin back to Jagger. It barely drew breath before the knife hovered millimeters from its eye. The blade's steel reflected its own wide stare—then sank deep.
The pharmacy floor grew slick with gore. Shattered shelves glistened with spatter. Blood rained thick, sizzling off Jagger's flesh in steaming trails.
What is this feeling?
Laughter tore from him, manic and raw. He was ecstatic, his veins on fire, adrenaline pumping like pure venom. His blood surged, his nerves crackled, his skin sang with power. The air tasted sharp, metallic. His vision swam in red.
And he loved it.
The three remaining goblins stumbled backward, weapons limp, feet dragging as if chained to the floor. Their wide eyes locked on the blood-drenched monster in human form. Their expressions contorted, primal terror overriding reason.
They turned to flee—but their limbs betrayed them. Feet tangled, claws scraped uselessly at the slick tiles.
Jagger rose from the mangled remains of the fallen, his back to the fleeing trio.
A chuckle, dark and low, rolled from his lips.
"Oh, the fear..."
He dropped into a deep lunge, his muscles coiling like steel cables. The floor cratered under his kick, dust pluming as he exploded forward.
The lead goblin glanced back. A fatal mistake.
A shadow loomed. Then its skull burst apart in a red mist.
The second goblin turned, stabbing desperately for Jagger's throat. Jagger caught its wrist, bones snapping under his grip. With a snarl, he sank his teeth into its neck and ripped free flesh and artery in a spray of gore. The goblin collapsed, twitching in its own blood.
The last goblin screamed, its weapon clattering to the floor. It stumbled back, fell, claws scrabbling against the tiles slick with gore.
Jagger advanced, crimson eyes burning. Blood soaked his body, dripping from him in steaming sheets. He looked demonic.
"How long I've waited to feel this again. This euphoria. This excitement."
The goblin shrieked, clawing desperately for purchase, its screams deafening in the ruinous silence.
Jagger dropped low, his grin feral. "Thank you for all your help."
He seized the goblin's throat and lifted it high. It kicked, claws scraping his arms, choking for air. With his other hand, he gripped its shoulder and pulled. Muscle tore, bone snapped, sinew ripped as he wrenched the head free. The spine dangled like a rope of meat, blood raining down over his arm.
"Ohhh, yes."
The sound that left his throat was no longer human. The guttural, alien voice echoed from his mouth.