Chapter 21 - Goblins (1/2)

”CUÁÁÁÁ” One of them squealed furiously, and its four canine teeth were exposed. Those fangs were as big as a tiger's.

Meanwhile, the other two put on metal helmets and started running towards the half-wolf.

'One, two and three,' thought the boy, who carefully counted the accelerated heartbeats, excluding Nathalia's.

Preparing another thrust, the half-wolf stepped hard and exhaled densely through his teeth, calmly.

'At least I have a bit of a head start.'

His feet left the ground with a shrill sound and an explosion of dust. Then, a short distance from the first enemy, Luke stared into his eyes and propelled himself forward with the help of the trees.

Not fast enough to react, the Goblin felt his neck being torn apart in a line full of irregularities. As it was pulled, the curved sword of the half-wolf came out of the back of the first monster's head, and a spray of blood painted the leaves of the trees red.

Luke didn't get emotional; he just focused on his next opponent. Braced by the clash of the sword with the bone in the spine of the first Goblin, the half-wolf chose to wait for the next one with a helmet to come at him. His hands steady themselves on the handle of the small, dragon-like sword.

The moment the Goblin came within three feet, the boy spun around, and with a sudden burst, the monster was decapitated. The head flew upwards, and the sword continued its downward carving.

Enraged at seeing two of his companions killed in seconds, the leading Goblin pulled out of his side pouch a scroll.

”Don't let him use that!” Nathalia shouted.

However, it was too late, and the monster was more than five meters away.

”Desruc! Gnieb erupmisiht! Foerutaneurt ehtevlosba, do—” A thin throwing knife struck the Goblin's neck, but this could not stop its screams. ”retsnom eht foyrufeht...”

Dead, the Goblin's sturdy body collapsed. The dry thud reverberated through the woods, a moment that was followed by an eerie silence.

With his face still splattered with blood, Luke walked over to Nathalia and questioned in confusion, ”What was that language he was speaking?” The sword, soiled with blood, went quickly into its sheath again.

”It wasn't a tongue; it was a curse.” She said as she stood up with his help.

”What's a curse?”

”Impossible to say. It could be anything, but I don't think he could finish reading the scroll.”

Analyzing the bodies, they found no clue as to why there were monsters there. Although they were Superior Goblins, their items were not the best. The knives that those in the helmets were wearing were already almost blunt. The clothes they were wearing were old, too, which indicated that their last victims had been there for some time.

Inside the leader's side pouch, Luke found several other papers, and the one the monster read to him no longer had any words written on it. This did not necessarily mean that the curse had been applied because a scroll can only be opened once.

However, Luke did not know this rule, and in a moment of distraction from Nathalia, who was staring in disgust at the severed head of another Goblin, the half-wolf opened another scroll.

Contrary to what Luke expected, on the paper, there wasn't a sea of symbols he couldn't read, so he was happy. On the paper were three geometric shapes glowing in relief. They practically begged to be touched.

Fascinated, the half-wolf took one of his fingers to the square-like geometric shape that transformed into a rectangle and a hexagon.

When Nathalia noticed a faint glow coming from her left, she saw Luke with an open scroll and shouted: ”Don't touch!”

Too late, before she could realize it, he had already touched it, and a voice resounded in the half-wolf's mind.