Chapter 3: The Battle Beyond the Stones

A sharp sound broke the silence, slicing through the stillness of the cave like a knife. It was distant but distinct. A scream. No… multiple screams, panicked and desperate. His ears twitched, and his mind immediately focused, sifting through the echo of voices. 

His enhanced senses kicked in, narrowing the source — it was far off, but not too far for him. A shiver of danger crawled up his spine. Something's wrong.

His eyes narrowed, and instinct took over. Without a second thought, he shot out of the cave, the ground beneath him vanishing in a blur of stone and dirt. He was a streak of shadow, his body propelled by super speed, cutting through the thick forest that surrounded the cave. Trees bent as he passed, the wind rushing around him, but he didn't notice. His mind was already on the threat ahead.

The screams grew louder as he neared an ancient structure — twin stone towers, crumbling from centuries of neglect, standing like sentinels in the middle of nowhere. They loomed against the twilight sky, casting long shadows on the forest below. It was a place of mystery, and now, a place of violence.

His enhanced senses picked up the foul stench of sweat and rot before he even saw them — hobgoblins. He recognized the smell of their filthy bodies, the snarling sounds of their raspy breaths. Dozens of them. They spilled out from a crack between the twin towers, a portal of sorts, jagged and unnatural, tearing through the air like an open wound in reality.

Thirty hobgoblins, armed with crude weapons, their red, beady eyes glowing with malice. They were hunched, twisted creatures, leathery skin pulled taut over wiry muscles, moving with unnatural agility as they circled their prey.

A group of hikers, terrified, huddled near the base of one of the towers. A family. He could hear the rapid thud of their hearts, their fear thick in the air. The hobgoblins were closing in, their weapons ready to tear through flesh.

Not on my watch.

He activated parallel thinking, his mind splitting into separate streams, each one processing different strategies and outcomes. His body moved before his thoughts fully formed, muscles tensing as he charged forward at breakneck speed. In an instant, he was between the hikers and the hobgoblins, his cloak swirling as he came to a halt.

Time seemed to slow.

With a flick of his wrist, his hidden blades shot out, gleaming in the dying light. His eyes locked onto the closest hobgoblin, the beast's snarl twisting into a look of shock as it realized what was happening.

Too late.

He lunged forward, his super strength driving the blade deep into the hobgoblin's chest. He twisted it with a brutal efficiency, feeling the creature's body crumple under the force. Before the hobgoblin's body hit the ground, he was already moving again. 

His parallel thoughts guided him, calculating trajectories, angles of attack, and weak points. He moved faster than they could react, faster than they could scream.

A huge 9 ft hobgoblin swung its club at him, but he dodged easily, his body a blur of motion. He ducked low, sweeping the creature's legs out from under it with a single, powerful kick. As it fell, he drove his wrist blade into its throat, silencing it in an instant.

Three more rushed him from the side, thinking they could overwhelm him. He smirked. Big mistake.

His eyes flared with heat vision, twin beams of golden-hot energy shooting from his gaze. The beams sliced through the air, carving through the hobgoblins' weapons and armor like butter. Their screams filled the air for only a second before they were incinerated, the stench of burning flesh filling the battlefield.

Another hobgoblin charged from behind, thinking it had the advantage. Without even turning around, he reached out with biokinesis, seizing control of the creature's muscles. It froze mid-step, unable to move. He spun, his gauntlet-clad fist crashing into its skull with enough force to shatter bone. The hobgoblin fell limp, a lifeless heap on the ground.

But there was no time to pause. More were pouring from the crack in the tower. The portal pulsed with dark energy, and the air around it shimmered with unnatural heat. 

He gritted his teeth, scanning the scene with his enhanced senses. His parallel thoughts calculated the best course of action. He had to stop them at the source.

He took to the air, soaring over the battlefield in a single leap, his cloak trailing behind him like a shadow. From this height, he could see the full scope of the chaos. Hobgoblins were still emerging from the portal, their grotesque forms scrambling over each other in a frenzy to reach the hikers.

With a thought, he unleashed a blast of radiation absorption, drawing in the ambient energy from the portal and the environment around him. His body glowed faintly, charged with raw power. He aimed both hands at the portal and let loose a focused burst of energy, a shockwave of destructive force that hit the portal like a sledgehammer.

The ground trembled. The portal flickered, then collapsed with a deafening roar, the crack between the towers sealing shut as the remaining hobgoblins were ripped apart by the force of the blast.

Silence fell. The remaining hobgoblins, disoriented and leaderless, faltered, their eyes wide with fear. He landed among them with a thud, his expression cold and unyielding. They tried to run, but he was faster. He moved like a phantom, his blades flashing, his fists crushing bones and breaking bodies with terrifying precision. Each hobgoblin fell, their lives snuffed out in seconds.

When the last of them lay dead, he stood tall, surveying the battlefield. The hikers were safe, still huddled together, their eyes wide with disbelief.

He sheathed his wrist blades, the hiss of metal breaking the eerie quiet. His senses relaxed, his mind slowing from its hyper-focus. The danger had passed, but questions remained.

What were the hobgoblins doing here? Why the portal? And why did he feel so at home in this chaos, this violence?

The wind stirred around him, and he glanced back at the twin stone towers. There were answers to be found — and he intended to get them.