- The Goblin King

-Boom!

The sounds of their fists connecting shook the grounds and the chamber - the very door frame Lia was standing under threatened to cave in.

The ground cracked and the sounds of a shock wave popped her ears, as she clutched them, protecting them from the shrilling sounds of the battle.

From over the flames and the shock waves of the battle piercing her ears, Lia could hear a small but noticeable conversation between Cain and the large goblin.

"Is that the girl? The one you wished to protect?"

Cain responded with a punch to his jaw, staggering the goblin back as he roared in his face.

"Don't touch her!"

Another punch and the ground cracked beneath the goblin, but still he stood, unwavering.

The group of Hunters hadn't yet reached her, their weapons already drawn after hearing the commotion, and seeing the blazing light coming from deeper into the fortress.

Before they could reach her, Lia had already drawn her own sword, and had driven head first into the battle, cutting apart flaming goblins as they rushed towards the exit.

It was then that she decided no goblin was leaving this fortress alive.

"Lia!"

She could hear the voices of Rian and Lukali, as they called out after her disappearing form.

The goblins, though already burning to death, still put up a formidable fight, for those who were aware of her presence.

Through cutting and slicing, Lia watched as three unsuspecting goblins fell to the ground, their blood seeping into the stone and dirt underneath them.

She didn't think, she didn't question, all she did was look upon the battle Cain was engaged in, and instantly she was off, cutting through goblin after goblin. Like mechanical movement, Lia's hands were dyed in red, her arms slick with blood.

The fire was raging, yet it never ceased. Instead it continued raging and raging, like a constant feed to the fire. Lia soon found out the reason why.

While the large goblin and Cain were battling, Cain was spewing flaming rays, bursting from his hands, causing the goblin to side step, or even attempt to defend itself.

The scene was like that of a warrior fighting a magician.

"Kree!"

From her side, a goblin jumped over the ring of flames around her, his dagger drawn and slick with poison. But before it could reach her, an arrow flew through the air, slamming into the goblin's skull, killing it instantly.

From behind her she saw the outline of Lukali standing with his back straight, bow trained on the goblin that he just shot. By his side was Rian and Randolph who had reached the door before the others

Just as she was about to turn back to the battle Rian grabbed her hand, pulling her back. Lukali let loose three more arrows, killing off a few goblins who were running to her, their snarls silenced by the eerie thump of arrows digging into their flesh.

"Are you insane Lia! Look around you! You could have died if you set foot any farther than this."

Rian sternly spoke down to her, as he pulled her back, kicking away another burning goblin.

"What on earth possessed you to-"

"Cain!"

Before he could finish, Lia turned in his arms, facing back towards the battle, where Cain was currently fighting…and losing.

From his side, dozens of goblins climbed all over him, barely being shaken off, as the large - oversized goblin threw a flurry of punches, not caring for the smaller goblins themselves.

At the sound of her voice, Cain turned halfway, just enough to catch a glimpse at her face, filled with worry, surprise, shock, and joy.

She was happy. Happy to see him again, to feel his presence that gave her such comfort, yet she was willing to throw herself into fire to help him. Help he desperately appeared to need.

'How strong is that goblin?'

She wondered. She had seen Cain destroy spiders - seas of them, yet he was struggling against this giant goblin.

A crash and a shock wave sent both her and Rian flying back, knocking her from her thoughts, as she landed on the stone floor with a thud.

Raising her head, Lia's eyes passed over the giant goblin, whose fist was embedded into the stone ground, his face contorting from rage, as Cain repositioned himself, and blasted a vortex of flames at the goblin.

However, it had little effect on the goblin, as he simply brushed it off, pulling his fist from the stone, and ripping out tons of rocks with it.

He raised his fist and threw it towards Cain, who sidestepped him, blasting him with another wave of flames, as he circled the goblin slowly and steadily.

The goblin raised his hands to block the incoming fire, but Lia could see the struggle the creature was having from keeping the flames from reaching his face.

"You bastard! Hold still!"

The goblin roared, pushing away the flames and slamming his fist against a pillar, only to find Cain was not where he thought he was.

"Where did you-"

-Zap!

A burst of pure lightning and electricity hit the giant goblin, encompassing the body and electrocuting him to the point Lia was almost certain she could see its skeletal structure through the flashes of electricity.

"Gaaaa!"

The goblin roared, swiping its arm through the air, striking Cain in the head and sending him flying across the chamber. He landed with a loud bang against the stone stairs leading up to a throne at the back of the chamber hall.

From her side, she could hear a voice speaking to her, deep and serious, as the owner surveyed the battle before them.

"Is that you summoner over there?"

From behind Randolph, the other Hunters drew their weapons in surprise as they surveyed the battlefield. The raging fire and the cries of the goblins filled their eyes and ears, as they looked upon the giant green titan that stood before them, targeting Cain.

Lia didn't need to nod or show any signs of acknowledgement. Just one look at her face filled with worry and doubt, Randolph knew this was true.

'So that's the creature that killed those five?'

He thought as his eyes passed over the goblin king, who roared in hatred and anger, all directed towards Cain.

'If that's the creature that caused all this, that man over there must be…'

As Cain blasted another bolt of lightning towards the goblins, striking over a dozen through bolts that formed through the ground, Randolph became increasingly aware all too quickly of the pieces that were beginning to form in his mind.

'...Lia's summons. A wizard maybe?'

However, Lia's previous worries about someone discovering Cain's true powers, were unfounded. Instead, Randolph mistook the flames and lightning as magic, produced by a wizard who could cast spells. It also explained as to why he was able to heal the lone Hunter who had survived the attack by the goblins. Something he was questioning, even with several witnesses claiming it was so.

Shaking his head, Randolph turned back to the ground of Hunters, each who had their own weapons drawn ready for a fight.

"That creature is the one we are after. Lia's summons are buying us time, but he won't last forever, so we need to move quickly."

Leaning down to whisper in her ear, Randolph spoke quietly to Lia, advising her to act for herself.

"Go after your summons and call him back if he needs it. I won't ask you to let your summons die, but let him hold out for a little longer, then call him back. We'll deal with the rest."

And with that, he raised his battle ax high, roaring to the group.

"Charge!"

A flurry of footsteps and a dozen shimmering glints of silver, and off they went, eleven ready and brave men and women - Hunters who cried out at the face of battle.

Cutting their way through goblin after goblin, the Hunters made their way closer and closer to the giant goblin, whose roars shook the chamber - dust falling from the crevices.

"Lia, wait - don't run in there blindly!"

Rain called as Lia jumped to her feet and bolted off down the chamber along the wall, keeping behind the pillars to avoid anyone's sight.

As he called after her, Rian was suddenly hit with a dozen goblins that ran to him, their daggers drawn. Even Lukali could not rush after her, as his attention was too focused on providing cover for the charging Hunters.

From the walls, down the chamber, Lia called back to them, her voice echoing like drums and gongs through the open air, raging with smoke and ash.

"Rian, Lukali, keep back! Don't follow me, alright!"

She ran through between the pillars, avoiding the goblins that ran around in panic, frenzied screams that shilled like fingernails on a chalkboard.

Lia had to keep herself from clutching her ears, and huddling in a corner due to the amount of cries she was hearing. But still, she pushed onward, slicing through the flesh of any goblin that crossed her path. Her ruthlessness showed no bounds as she slowly made her way to Cain.

Flames and lightning flew in the wind like ashes after a fire, as the goblin did battle with Cain, brushing off his attacks like they were nothing in the end, while his own dealt massive damage to him each time.

As Lia grew closer, the amount of goblins thinned, their corpses and bodies sprawled across the ground, symbolizing the extent of their battle, as it had quite the effect on the creatures around them.

Raising her sword, she slashed open the neck of a goblin titan, who was crouched on the ground, struggling to breath from the flames and smoke that suffocated his lungs.

"Cain!"

Crying out, Lia reached for Cain's hand, just beyond the fire line - a wide circle of fire at least three people long, that encompassed the battle before her.

Hearing the sound of his name being called, Cain's eyes flickered to Lia's direction, before he reached out a hand to join with hers, not paying attention to the goblin king's attacks, as he raised his weapon above his head, preparing to bring it down on Cain.

Lia cried out again, her voice filled with fear and worry, a feeling that she didn't wish to ever repeat again.

Fear of Death.

A flash of red and silver, the goblin king's sword pierced stone, sending a shock wave bounding out through the chamber. The force of the attack broke apart the ground as the goblin stared at the fading dust cloud that blinded him.

However, instead of seeing his prey, the fallen body of a man who had mocked him no more than a few minutes ago - a man who deserved every ounce of pain his sword could deal to him, was not there.

"What?!"

The goblin left his sword embedded in the ground momentarily as he struggled to look around the chamber for the man who had somehow evaded him.

"Where are you, pest?!"

He cried out, his voice acting as a taste of fear to the goblins that scurried from the fire, and into the tunnels. From behind him, he suddenly felt the presence of a strong magic, one that had momentarily vanished from his sight and sense.

Slowly he turned, his eyes filled with rage, and his mouth twisted in disgust.

"You, Human?"

Across the raging flames and the dying embers that had once been his kin, a lone woman stood at the bottom of the stairway that led to his throne.

A lone woman with eyes of crimson red rage, that starred on with an even greater hatred towards him than he could have ever had against the man he hated.

"You…"

His eyes passed over the crimson hue that covered her eyes - eyes filled with hatred.

"...your his summons?"

And it was then that his eyes landed on the red runic crest on the back side of her hand, his mind no longer asking such a question. It was a statement of pure threats.

At once, as Cain's form melded back into the rune, Lia felt the previous fear and lost sense of moral she felt disappear instantly. The feeling of uncontroling rage and hatred instead, filled her blood and her bones.

And it was all directed at one person.

As her eyes landed on the goblin King, she knew instantly how strong it was, how powerful, and ultimately, how she would defeat it.

But just as soon as she felt the all too familiar bile rise in her throat, aided by the rage boiling in her heart - both her's and Cain's - his voice sounded out through her head. Like the ringing bells that belonged well in a church.

'Leave Lia. Let me deal with this.'

Lia instantly protested, drawing her blade to deal with the goblin King herself along with the powers of Cain at her side.

'Let me help, I know together we can-'

'No.'

His stern voice shocked her back to her senses, as the goblin King slowly reached for his own sword, and pulled it from the ground - effortlessly.

'You won't stand a chance against him. Leave now-'

'But you nearly died against him yourself! I can't leave you here alone!'

The goblin king raised his sword, and like a flash of lightning, quickly brought it down where Lia was once standing. In fact, if it wasn't for her narrowly dogging out of the way, she would have been crushed to death.

'Lia. Leave now. If you don't you will die. It doesn't matter about me, you must be prepared to save your own life before me!'

Using this chance, Lia swiped her sword across the king's thigh, changing its weight to the lightest possible for a quick and easy slash, before she ran to a different position.

'Lia, that is enough! Leave now, or else there will be punishment.'

'We're meant to help one another! I can't just leave you-'

In a flash, she felt her body being hurled against stone, the breath knocked from her lungs.

"Human. Where's my prey?"

The goblin king spoke, his voice deep and bellowing through the chamber, as Lia realized it was he who struck her, sending her flying against the stone throne.

Struggling to stand, Lia firmed her resolve in Cain and stayed there.

'I won't leave you…'

Tears began flowing from her eyes as both the pain and the moment were getting to her. The feeling of helplessness, and the fear of losing Cain once again suffocated her.

Cain felt this within her, a feeling of long lost fear he had thought to quell long ago. The fear of abandonment her family inflicted upon her in her younger years.

As Lia's tears fell to the floor, her back aching from the pain, she felt the all too real sound of a sigh forming from her side.

Looking up, she laid eyes upon Cain, who stood with his back straight, and fully exposed in his dark leather clothes.

"Lost little angel, whom do you cry for? Let not your tears fall upon this castle floor."

Smiling, he motioned with his hands out towards the chamber where Lia could see the battle lay out before her.

Hunters were fighting viciously, some even being stabbed several times with the goblin's poisoned tipped daggers, yet still they continued fighting. Their warrior cries of pride and courage resonated not only in the chamber, lingering within the air, but also in her heart, lingering in her soul.

At once, Lia realized what she had done. She had led these people here and put them in danger with her rash actions, and false hopes. She had put them in the center of danger, and quite possibly death, yet she dared to complain about leaving Cain?

These people probably had families, and yet here they were given it there all in battle, just to defend the outpost from harm. To protect their people. To protect their homes.

And what had she done?

Quite possibly lead them to a horde of goblins that was tearing them to shreds.

"I…I…"

"Those people need you Lia. You can't go back on what you've decided, but in the long run, with great thought and courage, you can lead people back on the right path, and out from the danger you put them in."

As she stared deeply into Cain's eyes, she felt the sense of fear of his disappearance come back over her - only this time, she crushed it.

"Who has time for the weak anyways?"

As Cain's words echoed in her ears, she felt the brush of wind and the gust of cold air, as her eyes landed on the form of Kal, who had suddenly appeared beside her.

"Take her to them, then bring everyone out of the building. Let no one come back in, and let no one escape."

Kal nodded, picking up Lia and caring her like a bride walking down an aisle, he sped off into the distance, using Drifting Winds to keep himself up to speed.

As her eyes left Cain in the distance, one last bit of advice filled her ears.

"I'll give you something to help them out…"

His voice drifted out, soon replaced by the sound of another voice filling her mind.

'...Just make sure you use it well.'

And with that, Lia suddenly found herself in the air, her body flung upwards by Kal who sped off into the distance, slicing through dozens and dozens of goblins amassing the hundreds.

Below her was the growing body of Randolph, who raised an arm to defend against the attack of a goblin titan who stood over him.

Lia didn't think. She didn't let logic take over. She just acted like the warrior she was born as.

And for the last time in the battle, she raised her sword, and brought it down.