Heroine Netori

Instinctively, I opened my inventory and placed the bomb inside.

Fortunately, there was one slot empty.

“What… now?”

“Stay on guard!”

“Look at the opposite cliff!”

Following Siu's shout, I looked toward the opposite cliff and saw a bizarre goblin wearing glasses, holding bombs in both hands and staring at us.

-Kruruk? Kryung? -Krorororo!

The goblin twisted its head left and right, making strange noises that seemed to indicate confusion about why the bomb hadn't exploded.

Why is a goblin wearing glasses?

And why is it holding bombs?

Aren't goblins supposed to just swing a dagger a few times and then die quietly?

-Kruk! Kruk!

As we discussed the spectacle of the spectacle-wearing goblin, another goblin, let's call it Goblin A, appeared from behind with a burning branch.

Damn! They're planning to light another bomb and throw it.

“Everyone, back off!”

If they throw another, I’ll just have to catch it again.

I’d need to empty the inventory first.

I took a stance as if to throw something, then pulled the bomb out of my inventory and threw it back up onto the cliff.

Under normal circumstances, it would have been an impossible throw, but thanks to the 'Power of Goddess Aria' buff I had activated, the bomb effortlessly reached the cliff.

The goblins, not expecting the vanished bomb to be thrown back at them, didn’t know how to react.

Eventually, during their confusion, the bomb detonated.

-Kwang! -Kukwang! Kwang! -Kuguguguk -Kwaang! Kwaang! -Kang! Kang! -Kwaang! Kwang!

[Your level has increased!]

How many bombs were there anyway?

The noise was deafening, and as the dust settled, the cliff was partially destroyed.

And a level increase? Out of nowhere?

I was dazed by the unexpected level-up notification.

“Cough, cough… Are you okay?”

“Brother! Are you alright?”

Siu, with his holy sword drawn, was on guard, while Sophia used a purification spell to clean my face, which was dirtied by the bomb's aftermath.

“I’m okay. It seems… the bombs that guy had went off in a chain reaction…”

“Really? So, we've dealt with them all?”

Oh no, Sophia, you shouldn’t have said that…

-Krolrolrolrolrolrok! Kruk! -Kruk! Kruk! -Kukwakwa!

Damn it, new goblins appeared from the collapsed cliff.

These ones looked different from the goblins I knew; a human-sized goblin wielding a sword as big as itself glared at us, and three other fairly large goblins, still big for goblins, screamed as they brandished greenish daggers.

“Damn! Get ready for battle! Sophia, move back! Siu, you go forward!”

-Kruk! Kurol!

As Siu charged forward with his holy sword, the large goblin confronted him.

Meanwhile, the other goblins targeted Sophia.

“Dare you!”

I stood in front of Sophia and activated 'Aria Goddess’s Shield,' causing a blinding flash.

The flash caused one of the goblins to stumble, and I swung my shield at the other two.

One was knocked down by the shield, but the other dodged quickly and stabbed at Sophia.

“You bastard!”

I quickly turned to strike the goblin, but it stopped in place, grabbed its stabbing dagger in reverse grip, and jabbed it into my side.

“Son of a bitch!”

I cursed reflexively from the pain, which felt like burning flesh, and my vision blurred.

“Brother! Stay with me!”

Thanks to Sophia’s timely healing, I didn’t lose consciousness.

I grabbed the arm of the goblin that was still impaling my side with its dagger and created a new opening in its throat.

-Kryaek! Kiruk, Kiruk

The goblin collapsed with a short scream, chuckling mockingly as it went down.

This damn bastard laughing?

As I pulled the dagger from my side, blood gushed out.

The sudden loss of blood made me dizzy, and my body swayed, but I couldn’t afford to fall.

Following Sophia’s shout to look behind, I turned around and swung my shield again.

-Bang!

A dagger, thrown by one of the goblins, hit my shield and bounced off.

Seizing the moment it was distracted, I slammed down on it with my shield from above.

And as I raised my shield to face another oncoming goblin, my body swayed again.

For some reason, I couldn’t move as I wanted, and the stab wound in my side felt like it was burning to the bone.

“No! Brother!!”

Shit… I can’t muster any strength…

As the goblin rushed toward me, it flashed a rotten smile and plunged its dagger into my face.

-Phusshushuk!

Blood sprayed like a fountain.

====

"Sophiaaaa!"

Sophia's scream echoed from behind, jolting me back to consciousness.

I couldn't die like this.

If I did... I'd never see Sophia again.

Sophia was crying.

This was all my fault.

"Damn you bastards..."

It was all because of them.

Frustrated, I lifted my knife with trembling hands.

The goblin, panicked, tried to escape but didn't let go of the dagger.

Just drop the dagger and run, you fool...

As the goblin twisted the dagger trying to escape, the wound near my mouth worsened, but I no longer felt the pain.

I thrust my knife deep into the goblin's abdomen.

As the blade sank deeper, the goblin's face was painted with the terror of death.

When the handle was pushed all the way in, the goblin's struggles ceased.

"Ptui."

I spat out the dagger, along with the blood and pieces of my tongue that had pooled in my mouth.

Staggering to my feet, I approached another goblin that had been crushed under my shield.

I drove my knife into the back of its head, and with a grunt, it twitched before going silent.

-Thud.

Only then did I allow myself to collapse in relief.

====

When I regained consciousness, I was in Sophia's arms.

She was sobbing uncontrollably as she held me.

"Sophia..."

"Brother... sob... I'm sorry, brother! I'm so sorry! Sob..."

Sophia couldn't stop apologizing as she cried.

Ironically, I thought even her crying was beautiful.

-Krororororok! Krong!

"Ha! Haat!"

It wasn't over yet.

Far away, Siu was still battling the huge goblin.

They were so engrossed in their fight that they seemed to forget everything else around them.

"Sophia... ugh, I'm okay now."

"No! You're still being treated... sob... you can't move!"

"But Siu is still..."

"Siu is handling it... so it's okay!"

Sophia had been healing Siu every time he was wounded by the goblin's greatsword.

The goblin seemed frustrated, but Siu didn't give it a chance to target Sophia.

But it's not fair for him.

That monster goblin seemed like a troll, healing itself whenever it was wounded.

"Sorry, brother... I didn't know about the poison... sob..."

So, it wasn't an ordinary dagger after all.

I had thought it strange that the goblin mocked me as it died, but it turned out it was a poisoned blade.

Did you think you'd take me to the afterlife with you? Sorry, but we have a saint in our party.

"It's okay, Sophia, really. I survived, right?"

Forcing a smile, the cuts at the corners of my mouth stung.

This is just great... I look like the Joker, don't I?

I almost said 'Why so serious?' but held back.

It wasn't the time for jokes.

"If only I had known earlier... you wouldn't have been hurt like this... uaaaah!"

As Sophia sobbed, she collapsed into my arms again.

I gently patted her back and looked over at Siu, who was still fighting.

But is it okay to be so affectionate while they are still fighting?

...I almost died, so Siu will understand, right?

Yeah, if Siu has any conscience, he'll understand.

Both were evenly matched, but although it looked like Siu was getting pushed back by the goblin's attacks with the greatsword, he didn't retreat.

As the goblin screamed in rage, Siu remained cool.

Suddenly, the situation changed.

Siu stepped back significantly and transformed his holy sword into the size of a greatsword.@@novelbin@@

Then he started swinging it wildly.

What? This is...?

As Siu launched into a frenzied attack, the goblin countered equally fiercely.

But their movements mirrored each other.

As the goblin swung its greatsword, Siu mirrored with his holy sword.

When the goblin slammed its sword down, Siu did the same.

It was as if they were one body, fighting with identical swordsmanship.

No, it wasn't just the same swordsmanship.

As the fight continued, Siu's swordsmanship evolved.

Sharper, quicker, stronger...

Eventually, Siu gained the upper hand.

With a swift motion, he deflected the greatsword and sliced through the goblin.

But it was shallow.

Suddenly, the poison the goblin released sapped Siu's strength.

"Damn! Sophia!"

Ignoring my pain, I rushed toward Siu.

Sophia also ran, casting purification on Siu.

But it was too late—the goblin had already knocked Siu's holy sword away.

"No!"

Just then, a blue flash crossed the goblin's neck.

Simultaneously, the goblin's head dropped off effortlessly.

"...What?"

-Thud! -Phushuk!

The headless goblin collapsed to its knees as blood spouted from the severed neck like a fountain.

"Interesting."

Behind the kneeling goblin, a knight with blue hair stood, smiling as if amused by the spectacle.