Thunder roared in the distance, and darkness quickly overwhelmed the atmosphere.
Midas was panting as he stood above the body of the decapitated goblin, Grem.
His heart pumped, the adrenaline of a kill quickly embelishing him.
His eyes, however, looked like those of a killer. They were calm, icy, yet intense all at once.
He glanced at the unconscious goblin on the floor. Without a second of hesitation, his feet moved closer as his grip on his dagger tightened.
'Quickly... I must kill him as well.' These were the only thoughts in Midas's head.
His right hand moved swiftly, his knees bending slightly as he reached for the neck of the unconscious goblin on the floor.
Before his hand could reach its target, an iron grip forced it to a screeching halt.
A hand loomed over Midas' head, reaching from behind his back and grabbing his wrist before he could make the kill.
Midas instantly glanced at the hand above him that was holding his wrist.
'It's... enormous.' Midas thought in the moment, amazed by the sheer size of this hand.
The arm was like a hundred coiled vipers making a large trunk--muscle fibers the size of drinking straws.
This was no hand of a human, but still resembled one. It had five fingers, pale gray skin that almost looked white under the sunlight, and rough leather armor covering it.
"That will be enough." A deep voice came from behind Midas's back.
'A foe... way more powerful than these goblins.' Midas imagined he only had a couple more seconds to think of something.
If he didn't, his life was surely going to be taken from him.
'And I can tell its grip is loose, yet my hand is shaking from the strength of it.' Midas thought, 'Am I... dead here?'
"It must have been fun... toying with these goblins. Now it's my time to have fun!" The deep orc voice sounded again, this time almost sounding excited.
"Let go of my hand..." Midas said in a low tone. His eyes shadowed, his body no longer shaking.
The orc behind him noticed this, raising an eyebrow with slight confusion.
"Oh? Do you think you are in a position to make demands? You fo--"
At this precise moment, Midas let go of his blade.
This caught the orc off guard, forcing him to stop his sentence.
'Why would he...' The orc mused in confusion.
Time itself felt slowed down as Midas' left hand flew forward.
He grabbed the dagger out of the air, using the same momentum to slash behind his back.
"Arrgh!" The orc exclaimed in pain as the dagger dug several inches into his lower left abdomen.
He took several steps back, letting go of Sin's right hand.
Sin stumbled forward while his grip on the dagger came free. The blade was now lodged inside the orc.
He turned, getting his bearings as he stared the orc down.
"You fucker! Ack!" The orc roared, its eyes seething with rage. It pulled the dagger out of its abdomen and tossed it to the ground.
It clanged loudly, skidding all the way into the bushes of the forest.
Due to the orc's dense muscles, little blood trickled down its waist.
"I'll make you wish you were dead!" The orc charged forward, reaching back and grabbing a giant mace that was holstered across its back.
The mace was 7 feet long, its head the size of a basketball, and covered in sharp, pointy metal spikes.
Midas breathed heavier than normal. He clutched his right wrist, which was now bruised from the orc's grip.
He quickly dashed forward, grabbing Grem's dagger before running behind a pillar. Looking back, he saw the orc clearly not having enough speed to catch up with him.
When he looked forward again, the orc's face was mere meters away from him.
'Shit! He anticipated my movement! He's no dumb goblin... I can't underestimate this thing!' Midas thought, taking a step back.
However, the orc was already running at him at full speed.
'I... can't.' Midas continued to spin on his heel, his eyes looking past his shoulder to keep his gaze on the orc.
The orc was too fast. Its legs were the size of three average humans, each step propelling him forward like a muscle car.
'I can't evade his attack... he's not just stronger, but also faster than me.' Midas realized this fact at this moment.
He stopped turning, facing the orc head-on.
'If I have no chance of survival by running, I have no other choice but to fight it.'
This very thought was nerve-racking. No... it was terrifying!
This brute was like a bear rushing at him. Its canines were large and poking out like a hippo, and its sheer size and aggression reminded Midas of a savage beast.
His knees buckled, as would the knees of most human beings.
"Ergh!" He resisted the weakness of his body, stomping his front foot on the ground and regaining his balance despite still being slightly shaky.
The orc was at a close distance now. It raised its mace to the side with one hand and slashed down from an angle.
Midas tried blocking with his dagger, but it was fruitless.
His dagger was flung into the air, and his body was thrown like a rag doll to the center of the ruins.
Even though his body was untouched by the mace, the sheer vibrational force of the blow rendered his right hand completely paralyzed.
Seeing the orc approach him, Midas began pushing himself away.
He clawed at the floor with his left hand, slowly inching toward the altar area.
The orc walked with his mace over his shoulder, an angry but condescending look on his face.
"What will you do now, player?" He grunted, mockingly saying, "player."
"An orc does not let one live who makes him bleed crimson blood. I don't give a damn what the commander has to say about it... You will not see the end of this day, human. And it's clear to me already that you are no stronger than a basic orc soldier anyway."
By this point, the orc had reached where Midas had managed to crawl.
Midas lay at the elevated platform of the altar, his back resting against the fountain behind him.
"No... I'll give you more honor than that before ending your life. You may have even been able to defeat a couple of them before getting slaughtered." The orc grinned.
Midas had run out of adrenaline. His body had been struck by a tsunami of weakness and fatigue.
He felt the exhaustion that the adrenaline was blocking him from feeling in the moment.
He lazily looked up at the orc menacingly standing before him, one eyelid lower than the other.
The beast's weapon was now raised high in the air.
Midas made eye contact with the orc, capturing its attention for a split second.
Finally, Midas opened his lips: "Fuck you."
This was the final straw for the orc. He immediately growled with anger before swinging his mace down with full force.
Seeing this, Midas smiled.