[KAEL'S POV ]
Getting back on my feet, I place my feet on the uneven ground of the dungeon.
Stabilising my stance and raising my sword, I cautiously look at my surroundings.
In the dim light of the dungeon, I could barely see them.
"—HEHEHEEEE"
"—GEHAHAHAA"
Damn, this sounds like 2 goblins?
Nervously gripping the hilt of my sword, I found myself in a very bad situation where one goblin in front of me, glaring at me in anger, His face contorting in pain.
And behind me, 2 goblin –one holding a club and the other empty-handed, coming.
Their face was holding a grinning smile filled with mockery, coming towards menacingly.
I have to take one out and fast!
Without wasting any time, kicking my feet on the ground I launch myself on the goblin in front of me, catching the goblin completely off guard.
—whoosh
The blade of my one-handed knight sword whistles through the empty air as I slice at his head with a vertical Slash from above, snapping out of pain goblin raises his dagger in an attempt to meet my sword.
While 2 goblins from behind also dash towards me.
clang, scrap
The sound of two weapons ringing out as my sword deflects upward,
I won't make the same mistake twice.
using the same movement, I brought my sword down in a diagonal arc
A silver flash divided the air, followed by a sickening crunch—the sound of steel finding the narrow gap between the goblin's vertebrae. Dividing the neck and his right shoulder with the entire right side.
"Gah!"
His body collapsed in black smoke dropping a magic stone and a dagger.
I didn't relax instead, I turned around quickly to brace myself at attack coming from behind
It's too late, I can't reach it
"Ugh!"
A cry of pain escaped my throat as the goblin slammed his club on my back, Impact of the force surged through my spine.
The heavy wooden club connects with a sickening thud, the vibration rattling my ribs and stealing the breath from my lungs.
For a moment, the world blurs into a haze of grey and white.
Thud
I slammed into the wall, the metallic taste of blood flooding my mouth. Behind me, the goblin cackles. Another goblin bounces at me with his claws.
I roll to the side as his claw scratches my right cheek and lodges in the wall.
Spitting out blood, rising on my knees with the support of the sword.
I tried to rise to my feet when suddenly a darkness of shadow filled my vision
A goblin raised his club in an upward arc–without giving me time to prepare, and slammed it on my face
So this is how it ends?
Right after I found a home?
Whoosh. thud
"—AAHHHH"
My head snapped back, the world fracturing into a jagged void. There was no pain yet, only the hot, metallic rush of blood erupting from my nostrils, and then the light died. The last thing I felt was the hot, metallic rush of blood pouring over my lips, thick and unstoppable, before the darkness swallowed me whole.
I am… I am going to die!?
[third-party pov]
Suddenly air began to tremble. Kael sat on the ground with his head tilted back, eyes out of focus, blood spilling on the ground from his nose and mouth.
His grip on his sword starts to loosen
–but no goblin came forward to deliver the finishing blow; instead, they began to back away, their faces filled with fear.
The air grew heavy and frigid. A suffocating malice filled the room. The silence was sharp. As their breath hitched in their throats, Primal instinct screamed at them to flee. An icy shiver raced down their collective spines. An intense, suffocating, and murderous killing intent condensed in the atmosphere
Twitching violently, Kael rose from the damp ground, slowly, and with a series of wet clicks, he stood up, his wound began to close, and his posture relaxed, holding the sword in one hand and its tip pointing down, his expression blank, his face dripping wet from blood
"Unknown skill activate "
Then, he vanished.
Goblins froze in mid-movement, and suddenly silver light enclosed them from all angles. For a brief moment, the dim cave was lit with light. When vision returns to normal, Kael appears behind them still in the same posture
Nothing remains in a place where goblins were –not even a magic stone.
Kael sank down to the ground as if a puppet with its strings cut, seemingly overwhelmed or exhausted.
"—I found him"
At the far end of the corridor, a male adventurer pointed toward the unconscious Kael and shouted to his teammates.
A tall, lightly tanned male with a tough build. black hair and eyes, wearing a lavender, red, gold and black Kamishimo top along with brown pants tucked underneath long white bandages in black boots. His armour consists simply of matching colored lower arm guards
Kashima Ouka. Captain of Takemikazuchi Familia
———
[KAEL'S POV ]
The heavy, cloying scent of drying valerian and boiled mandrake root wakes me before my eyes even open. My last memory is a blurring of grey stone and the screech of a goblin—then nothing but the sensation of my face being smashed by a club remains
I'm lying on a thin cot in a cramped room that looks more like a cluttered storeroom than an infirmary. Bundles of herbs hang from the low rafters, and the walls are lined with dusty crates of glass vials.
"You're finally awake," a gruff voice says. I turn my head to see a tall, muscular man with short, dark hair and the steady gaze of a seasoned warrior. Kashima Ouka stands by the door.
"Goddess Hestia was frantic. She practically begged us to go back in for you. Consider yourself lucky I was nearby."
Before I can ask who he is, a man with long, dark blue hair and an impossibly kind smile enters the room. He wears a simple black robe and carries a tray of steaming, purple liquid.
"Easy now," the stranger says, his voice like silk. "I am Miach. You're at the Blue Pharmacy. Ouka here brought you in after finding you collapsed on the 1st floor."
Behind him, a Chienthrope girl with drooping ears and a sleepy expression watches me with crossed arms. Her right arm—made of gleaming, intricate silver—clicks softly as she shifts. This must be Naaza, the one Ouka mentioned as he gestures toward her.
"Don't get too comfortable," Naaza mutters, her voice flat and indifferent. "The potion you just drank wasn't free, and the bed rest isn't either. We'll be sending the bill to your Goddess."
I sink back into the pillow, the throbbing in my head finally beginning to subside. I don't know this Miach or his silver-armed assistant, but as Ouka gives me a final, stern nod before heading out to report to Hestia, I realise I've narrowly escaped the Dungeon's grip.