Lively was in understatement.
The once peaceful and quiet goblin town was now brimming with organised chaos.
The goblins ran back and forth, hauling wood, pushing wheelbarrows of bricks and laying down a foundation for the construction of the new Chieftain quarters, under Akira's command.
Akira, who sat on a comfortable throne, watched from the porch and continued to instruct the goblins at work.
He leaned back and smirked, thinking of different ideas on how to gain full control of them.
It had only been a few hours, but the goblins had understood the type of man he was.
With a vast array of goblins, especially those who refused to follow his orders in the beginning, there was bound to be a few rebels within the crowd.
Although he wished to avoid killing them if they went rogue, he had to if he wanted to make an example of them.
Weeding them out was different from smoking them out. This required patience, nuance.
'I can already sense a few who want nothing to do with me. Not that they decide to make,' Akira chuckled to himself and settled onto his throne.
'There are those who will choose to run away when an opportunity presents itself. I won't force them to stay, but they should know what'll happen if I don't permit them to leave.'
The Sun began to set.
The goblins were drenched in sweat while their muscles ached. Some even dragged their feet as they walked around, panting and holding onto each other for balance.
"Alright, that's enough for today. You goblins did a good job. I'm impressed," Akira praised them as he smirked and rubbed his chin.
"As a reward..." he clapped his hands, prompting the female goblins to bring trays of food for the male goblins who were at work.
They marvelled at the scrumptious-looking food before them, their strength easily replenished from simply gazing at the goodies.
"We haven't had meat in months!" one exclaimed, salivating as he grabbed a plate.
"It smells like heaven! The herbs that were used aren't the ones we normally get!"
"Tomorrow, everyone will be returning to work. And I mean, everyone," Akira said as he looked at Masaki.
Masaki averted his gaze and cleared his throat.
Once they finished their dinner, Akira allowed the goblins to return to their homes.
Masaki was about to join them and sleep in a guest house, but once Akira placed his hand on his arm, slightly pulling him back, he knew he wasn't safe.
"Masaki," he called out, his tone of voice degrading. "A moment of your time," he added as he smiled gently.
Masaki felt his sweat run down his cheeks, and he turned to face his demise.
"Some idiots are going to attempt to escape. I need you to persuade them to stay. One less goblin means less productivity in building my perfect kingdom."
"Ha! Why would I help you? You already took the village. My soul's safe."
Akira sighed. "You still only care for yourself, even after all these years? Do I have to *convince* them to stay my way?"
Masaki furrowed his eyebrows and clenched his wrinkly fists. "What are you saying?"
With a sharp grin on his face, Akira advised, "Tell them off, or I'll use their blood as paint for my walls. I promise you that."
"... Fine... I'll do as you say."
"That's good. You're a pretty smart man, aren't you? I'll be sure to spoil your people rotten once they're accustomed to my ruling."
"You will never win them over. You're a demon and a mortal that trusts a demon is surely a fool."
"Just like you from 70 years ago?"
"We don't—"
"By the way..." Akira tapped his chin. "How's your brother?"
"You've made your point! I'll have a word with them in the morning." With that being said, Masaki stormed off.
"You will address it tonight. It should prove interesting..." Akira smiled to himself.
Masaki grunted, and Akira chuckled, awaiting a response in the morning.
***
The next morning, the townsfolk stood around the middle of town, their gazes unturned and bodies trembling.
The children cried silently, mothers seeped alongside them as they held them tightly, fathers clenched their fists.
Not out of rebellion, but out of pure defeat.
"There's no hope for us..."
Right in the middle of town was a sharpened stake made from red wood. A goblin hung limply, pierced and deceased, as the innards clung onto the wood.
Its blood flowed from its colon all the way out of its mouth, where the state's sharp edge was located.
Its eyes were grey, its shame uncovered, and its sensitive parts hanging outside for everyone to see.
Masaki opened his mouth in disbelief. "Akira..." he muttered under his breath as he felt his heart beating faster with each passing second.
Suddenly, Akira appeared on top of the stake with a sinister smile on his face. "Good morning, goblins. I'm sure you're wondering why this man is on the stake. That's a good question."
His smile ceased, and he stared at the goblins while emitting a murky and deathly aura. "He tried to leave me, so I killed him."
That wasn't a secret, but all the goblins raised their heads to look him in the eye as he admitted to it.
"Anyone who decides to go against me again will meet the same fate. Man, woman or child, I don't give a shit. You go against me, you will not be forgiven. That'll be all," he ended with a bright smile on his face.
"No way..." one of the female goblins muttered.
"This is the end for us..." another said as she covered her mouth.
"What about the women and children?" a young goblin asked.
"Are you stupid? He said every man, woman and—"
"I said... that'll be all. Get to work," Akira said in a menacing tone.
The goblins quickly scrambled and began working.
Meanwhile, Masaki gritted his teeth, questioning why Akira had him convince the goblins to stay if he would do this instead.
'Was it all for nought?!'
***
After only 5 hours of work, Akira's new Chieftain quarters were completed.
He stood in front of it with a serious expression, inspecting it, even taking mental notes.
The goblins eagerly awaited his response as they felt their nervousness getting the better of them.
Akira stepped forward and felt the walls. Then, he turned his head and smiled brightly. "This is pretty good! You built this in only a couple of hours?! I'm impressed!"
One sigh of relief later, the goblins' shoulders slumped, the fruits of their labour recognised.
"But, the work's not done yet. Go to your homes and remove all your belongings. Place them in the centre of town, immediately."
Without wasting any time, the goblins got to work removing and placing their belongings at the centre of town.
They wondered why Akira gave such a mundane order, but followed it nonetheless, picturing the image of the staked fellow in the centre of town as they did.
After that was done, Akira took a deep breath and blew his frost breath at the goblins, alerting them and causing them to shriek in fear.
The frost enveloped a large area around them, rising and forming a clear dome to shield them.
"What was that about?" one curiously asked.
"Stop asking questions or you might end up dead!" one warned.
Akira cracked his neck and sighed in exhaustion. "It's been a while since I've destroyed a town with just my base powers..."
"Huh?!" Masaki exclaimed from within the barrier after hearing what Akira said.
"Let's see if I still have it in me." He smirked and began cutting the air, cleanly destroying every house in town.
One by one, the buildings fell, years of accumulated hard work and nights on end without proper roofing, gone in mere seconds.
The huts cracked as they fell on the ground, dust covering the entire done, and Akira's cackle reverberating throughout the destruction.
The goblins lowered their heads. 'We shouldn't expect anything good from this man...'
Akira sighed and whipped his hair before swatting the air and clearing the smoke, revealing the destruction before him.
"Good. That should do it," he snapped his fingers, causing the barrier to dissipate.
Their village was now a completely green area with a few dirt patches from where their infrastructure once stood.
They felt their hearts sink as they looked at the devastation before them.
'What did the rest of us do to deserve this kind of cruelty...?' a young goblin asked as she fiddled with her fingers.
'I may be a demon, but I am not a monster. And so, to prove to them that if they give me everything, I'll return the favour, I'll have to go above and beyond,' Akira said to himself.
He snapped his fingers, causing a paper to appear right in front of him.
He tore the paper in two, which caused it to burn a red flame, shocking the villagers. From the flame, a bright light emerged, and from it, a tiny fairy appeared.
Her wings were as red as her eyes were forest green. She donned a black dress and black pumps while her long, red hair was tied back.
Her distasteful look made her look like a delinquent middle schooler.
"Akira, you called?" she said in a sharp tone but squeaky voice.
"You bet. Copy that house right there and plant 30 of them," Akira ordered.
"Huh?! 30 houses?! That's freaking too much! I can't do that many!"
"I'll let you leave and join your sisters in the realm of the fairies if you do."
"... You'd better keep your word," the fairy retorted as she scanned Akira's quarters with her red flames.
She then flew down towards each dirt patch and placed her tiny hands on the ground. This spewed her red flame, and slowly, multiple houses began growing from the flames.
The goblins watched in awe as they witnessed the beautiful home they had built for Akira being imprinted for every single goblin family in the village.
"Is this...?" a young female goblin spoke up.
"That's right. From now on, you'll be living in these types of homes. This is no longer the Stone Age. Everyone deserves a good-looking home," Akira said as he turned his head and smiled at the villagers. "You can cry, smile, scream, if you want to. I'm not against that."
The villagers slowly teared up while some began cheering.
"You can move your belongings back inside, but once you're finished, it's back to work," Akira cautioned as he walked away.
While the townspeople moved their belongings into their new homes, Masaki watched Akira walk away, wondering if this was his true intention after all.