Kyle looked to Mudhand. "You think this world belongs to those who kill the fastest."
Mudhand chuckled. "Of course. This is Veltra. The world of eternal battlefield. Every race fights for survival. Elves against demons, vampires against spectres, orcs and goblins against kobolds and many more, but humans? They are toys, meat, servants. You must have crawled from some forgotten burrow if you don't know that."
Kyle was silent for several seconds.
Inside, he felt anger stirring, not from personal insult but from the absurd cruelty. Yet he forced himself to stay composed. "So you goblins are part of this… Gnarlak Kingdom. And this kingdom rules over other races?"
Mudhand snorted. "We rule ourselves and crush all who oppose us. The Gnarlak stretch across the southern plains, a million strong, with warlords and shamans. Even the kobolds and elves tread carefully around us."
He sneered. "So, human lord of a flying fortress, listen well. You've made an enemy of my kingdom by interfering. But if you kneel, hand over your citadel, all your women and swear fealty to our king, perhaps you'll be spared. Your women will be welcomed in our harems, your men may serve as slaves. And you—" his grin widened, "—may even keep your life, if you amuse our king enough."
Laughter erupted among the goblins behind him.
Even Gnar cackled, slapping his thigh. "A flying citadel ruled by a soft human! The world truly mock us."
Myrith's voice dropped into a cold whisper. "My lord, please. Allow me to end them."
Kyle's gaze never left Mudhand.
The goblin leader misread the silence as hesitation and stepped closer, his hand brushing the hilt of his jagged sword. "You think to intimidate me with silence, boy? I've gutted hundreds with more spine than you."
He was about to spit on the ground when something blurred.
A sharp crack split the air.
Seraphine, one of the four guardians standing beside Kyle, appeared before Mudhand in an instant. Her golden hair fluttered slightly as her gauntleted hand struck the goblin's face with a thunderous slap that sent him spinning. Before his body could hit the ground, her knee drove into his stomach, lifting him several feet into the air before he crashed down, gasping for air.
The courtyard went dead silent.
Kyle's expression hardened. "Seraphine. Stand down."
She turned her head, voice calm and measured. "Forgive me, my lord. I held back. I merely sought to remind the creature where it stands."
Mudhand coughed, green blood trickling from his mouth. "You… dare…"
He staggered to his feet, trembling with fury. "You will regret that. The Gnarlak Kingdom will erase you! You hear me, human? Erase you!"
Kyle didn't flinch. His voice was even. "You talk a lot for someone who was on his knees ten minutes ago."
Mudhand's breathing grew harsh. His pride, more than pain, was what fueled his rage now.
Kyle continued quietly, "Tell me something before you doom yourself further. Why do you do this? Why hunt humans at all? You said the war ended two centuries ago. Why keep killing them?"
Mudhand bared his fangs in a grin. "Because they're weak, every race in this continent does it. Because it's what we've always done. Because they taste good. Every race in Veltra fights for dominance. Humans are just easy prey and can be bred. The only surprising thing is that some managed to build all this."
He gestured mockingly to the courtyard. "You think you can survive in this world? You're worms with gold and silver crowns. When our armies arrive, this fortress will be torn apart and fed to our beasts. Your women will serve as broodmares, and perhaps, if your fate are kind, your head will decorate the gates of Gnarlak."
He laughed loudly, the sound echoing.
Behind him, his soldiers joined in, cackling and howling insults.
Even Ria looked frozen in horror, while Ethan's hands tightened around his sword hilt.
Kyle said nothing. He simply stared at them, his face unreadable.
That silence stretched on for too long, and something inside the goblins shifted. Unease. Fear.
Myrith's eyes flicked to her lord, then back at the goblins. The grin on her face faded, replaced by a dangerous calm.
"Your words," she said softly, "drip with stupidity. You stand surrounded by a thousand of our kind, beneath the gaze of our lord, and you still boast as if you are not already dead."
Mudhand laughed, forcing himself to look confident. "We goblins do not fear death! You kill us, and the Gnarlak will come for you. We are one kingdom among hundreds, millions. Kill us now, and you will bring the wrath of our Kingdom, our Kingdom rule more than half on this continent. Your little flying rock will fall!"
The goblins behind him roared in agreement, weapons clanging against their armor. Spells began to shimmer in their hands, crude but potent.
Ria gasped. "They're going to fight!"
Kyle's eyes never wavered.
Mudhand raised his blade and bellowed, "You humans better think twice! Kill us, and we'll take hundreds of your own down before we die! And the Gnarlak will hunt you to the ends of the world!"
He began to chant in his guttural tongue, dark magic rippling over his skin. The air around him warped as muscles bulged and his veins glowed green.
The goblin army followed suit, some casting strengthening spells, others launching fire and lightning that crackled toward Kyle and his knights.
But the attacks never landed.
Invisible walls shimmered into being, domes of telekinetic force that stopped every spell midair. The energy rippled across the barrier harmlessly before fading into nothing.
Mudhand's eyes went wide. "What... what is this?!"
Kyle didn't move.
At once, a dozen Esper knights stepped forward. The air around the goblins compressed like an invisible fist. Weapons were ripped from their hands and flung into the sky. Some goblins screamed as they were lifted off the ground, suspended helplessly.
Mudhand swung his glowing blade wildly, but it clanged uselessly against the invisible barrier that encircled him. He turned, looking for the humans they came with in this citadel but only to see the group of Ethan and Ria being lifted gently by the same telekinetic power, rising toward the upper levels of the citadel.
His scream of rage echoed across the courtyard. "You can't keep us here! You'll regret this!"
Kyle watched in silence as the goblins thrashed helplessly against the barrier.
Only after the noise died down did he finally speak, his voice calm and cold.
"Get information from them as much as possible," he said to Myrith. "I want information on this Gnarlak Kingdom and every major power on this continent. We need to know what kind of world we're in."
Myrith bowed, a faint smile playing at her lips. "As you command, my lord."
As she turned to leave, she cast one last look over her shoulder at Mudhand, who was still snarling behind the psychic wall. "You should be grateful," she said sweetly. "My lord shows mercy where I would not."
The goblin spat weakly against the barrier. It splattered, sliding down the invisible surface.
Kyle didn't react. He simply turned and walked toward the inner halls of Aethelgard, his cloak brushing lightly against the marble floor.
Ria and Ethan, floating higher above, watched in silence.
"That man…" Ria murmured. "What exactly is he?"
Ethan nodded faintly. "If he's human, then he's the kind of human this world's been missing."
Far below, Mudhand's laughter began again, broken, bitter, but defiant.
"You think you can save them, human?" he shouted. "This world will eat you'll alive!"
Kyle paused at the edge of the platform but didn't turn. His voice carried softly, carried by unseen power across the courtyard.
"Then I'll make the world choke."