Once Key opened his eyes, the first thing he noticed was that everyone was gone.
The second, where he was.
A forest.
But not any forest. This one stretched endlessly, its trees blacker than night, their bark slick and pulsing faintly as if veins ran beneath the surface. Roots coiled across the ground like snakes, twitching here and there as if listening. A low, hollow howl drifted through the stillness, the kind of sound ripped straight from Silent Hill.
It was eerie. Wrong. Alive.
And it was watching him.
Key smirked faintly. 'Guess it's a good thing I've got Void Vision. And being a vampire doesn't hurt either.' he thought. Fear wasn't even in his vocabulary.
His mind wandered. He hadn't had the chance to check his new skills and rewards from the last quest. Then again..had he even completed the quest yet? Interesting.
A familiar chime filled his ears.
[Do you want access to a random active skill? 25 Void Residues will be consumed.]
Key raised a brow, then grinned. "Hm? Oh really? You know me well. Hell yeah, what you got, game?"
[Randomizing…]
[Complete!]
[Void Maggots LV.1]
Born from the rotting hunger of the Abyss, these parasites infest and consume whatever they touch.
Key squinted his eyes, disgust twisting his face even as curiosity burned through him. "Maggots?"
Oh, he absolutely absolutely hated the fuck out of maggots. But now they were on his side, so..he supposed he was Nidus from Warframe now. Gross. But effective.
"I can't wait to use it. But first.." he cracked his neck, scanning the trees, "..time to clear this floor and regroup with the others."
That's when it came.
Heh. Heh. Heh.
The laughter was low, raspy, scratching against his ears like nails dragging across stone.
"Heheheh..how about we hang you from your intestines and feast on your organs?"
"Nah, better—we'll take him back to the nest. The Queen will love him for breeding!"
"No, no..we eat him out from the bac—"
Key immediately raised a hand, smirk curling wide.
"Pause." His voice cut sharp through the dark. "First, that was hella sus. Second, I'll be damned if I get killed by goblins that look like a mix between Shrek and the worms from Men in Black. And third—" his purplish-crimson eyes gleamed, dangerous and hungry, as he pointed straight ahead—"look behind you."
The forest went silent.
"..Wait..he can see us?"
One goblin blinked, confused, turning to his silent companions. "Why are you all quiet no—"
His voice cut out. His friends weren't quiet. They were petrified. Staring.
At them.
Key's Vampiric Void Tendrils.
About fifty of them.
They twitched and slithered hungrily, eager for violence, swaying like loyal grim reapers ready to collect souls. Some gleamed blackish-crimson, their tips sharpened into scythes, blades, spears. Others pulsed with abyssal black, their shapes formless and shifting.
Key's smirk widened.
He hated goblins ever since he watched Goblin Slayer. And since there were so many of them..this was the perfect time to test his new skill.
His voice dropped cold. His eyes narrowed.
"Activate Void Maggots."
The surroundings pulsed, like the Tower itself leaned closer, eager to watch the carnage unfold.
The tendrils quivered—and from their surface, pale, writhing shapes began to ooze forth. Maggots. Dozens. Hundreds. Each one dripping violet ichor, screeching with tiny gnashing maws as they rained onto the forest floor.
The goblins weren't laughing anymore. They were already terrified shitless but now, they were silent.
Key tilted his head, amused. 'Damn..that's terrifying.' Straight out of The Mist. 'But terrifying for them, not me.'
He clenched his fist.
And it began.
Carnage. Absolute carnage.
The maggots erupted first.
Fast. Too fast. Like they hadn't eaten in a hundred years.
They swarmed across the ground like living rivers of rot, latching onto goblin legs, arms, faces. Screams tore through the forest as flesh was chewed away in wet chunks. One goblin ripped at his chest, shrieking as maggots burrowed beneath his skin, only to choke when more spilled out of his throat. Another collapsed, thrashing, his belly splitting open as writhing shapes ate their way out.
"HELP! HELP ME!!"
That scream came from the goblin who'd talked about eating Key's ass.
Key laughed. "Aye, wasn't you the one who wanted to 'eat me out from the back'? Looks like my little niggas beat you to it."
His Void Tendrils struck next.
Scythes flashed. Spears impaled. Blades carved through bone with wet, tearing sounds. The forest echoed with their agony—bones snapping, tendons ripping, goblins shrieking for a death that wouldn't come quick enough.
Those impaled by his tendrils were held in place, forced to feel the swarm devour them slowly. Maggots crawled through their eyes, their nostrils, their ears, their mouths..biting through flesh like leeches against wet paper.
He would get justice for what happened to that girl in the beginning of Goblin Slayer and justice for whatever they did to anyone else.
It was glorious.
And all Key did was walk. Calm. Slow. A predator on his way to his prey.
He could already sense where the others were.
"I'm coming.." he murmured, voice low like the boogeyman for Goblins.
The Tower pulsed again.
The ground shivered. The trees trembled. For a moment, it almost sounded like laughter echoed through the forest, not goblin laughter. Not human.
The Tower was pleased