After my stomach growled everything went silent and even the air seemed to stagnate as my nerves tensed to the max.

[It seems you brought someone along to help you, it’s too bad they’re incompetent. If they ambushed me while I was busy with you I might’ve been in tough spot.]

My face twitches when Ellis insults me. I want nothing more than to ask him how it feels being snuck up on by someone who is less than a week old, but I resist in order to ensure my safety.

Poking my arm out from behind the branch, I face the back of my fist toward Ellis and extend my middle finger. Seeing a vein bulge on his forehead as he mutters something under his breath while trembling in rage I retract my arm as my patented smirk once again rears its head.

With Ellis slightly distracted Sionia hastily draws her bow and launches an arrow at him while strafing to her right. Her opponent isn’t so easily beaten and reacts quickly by deflecting the arrow with the dagger in his right hand while simultaneously returning fire with the throwing knife in his left hand.

Following the knife he quickly rushes toward throwing another knife before he reaches the stream. He’s met with an arrow aimed at his thigh which grazes him as he narrowly avoids it.

Sionia easily dodges the knives thrown at her while countering with arrows of her own. She frowns slightly watching all her arrows being either dodged or deflected.

Neither party wants to cross the stream to engage their opponent since they would be a sitting duck while doing so, yet neither side can manage to gain an advantage while fighting from range.

Watching the pair sling projectiles at each other I shimmy my way along the branch. Carefully standing I turn to face a branch from another tree a short distance away. Deeply bending my knees I lean forward and launch myself to the other branch.

Latching onto the branch with my nails I quietly pull myself on top of the branch. Cautiously glancing at Ellis I’m relieved to see he hasn’t noticed my antics. Feeling relieved that my opponent is unaware of my moves I silently stalk my way across the branch to the trunk of the tree. I slide around to the opposite side of the tree and locate a branch jutting out in Ellis’ direction. Stealthily I make my way along the branch until I’m almost directly over top of Ellis.

Before I have the chance to continue my shenanigans I spot movement in the distance behind Sionia. Lured by the sound of the ongoing battle a trio of wolves are sprinting over to join the fray. Seeing things turning in his favor Ellis grins smugly as he taunts Sionia.

[You know Sionia you’ve never been the sharpest tool in the shed. Do you know why I chose to set my ambush on this side of the stream? In order to clear out this area without outside interference the guild made this area into a temporary restricted zone. While most of the monsters on this side of the stream have been killed off the same can’t be said for the side you’re on. By setting my ambush here I could take advantage of the stream when you decided to cross and even if you didn’t my side would be less likely to be effected by outside interference. Don’t worry I won’t let you die easily, after all I still have some use for you hehehe.]

Sionia looks disgusted as she listens to Ellis’ taunts. The wolves are quickly closing in so she has no choice but to deal with them while fighting Ellis at the same time. Quickly spinning around she launches an arrow at the closest wolf. The arrow successfully hits its target but the cost of that arrow was a throwing knife to the thigh.

She hastily shoots arrows at the remaining wolves but her second shot is knocked off course when she’s struck in the shoulder by yet another throwing knife. Unable to fire another arrow before the wolf reaches her she clicks her tongue and pulls out the dagger hung at her waist.

She swiftly plunges the dagger into the wolf’s eye killing it easily. Without having a chance to pull out her dagger she dodges to the side but is still hit in her thigh with a third throwing knife.

Sionia once again takes out her bow and begins firing arrows at Ellis. He cackles as he deflects the arrow and throws a knife at her legs. She winces in pain, barely dodging the knife as blood spurts from the wounds on her thigh.

The pair continue attacking each other while dodging the others projectiles. The balance slowly shifts toward Ellis’ favor as Sionia’s wounds make it progressively harder and harder to dodge the knives thrown at her. The wound on her shoulder makes it painful for her to fire her bow while also decreasing the accuracy of her shots.

Eventually the fight turns one sided as Ellis attacks while Sionia is only able to defend or dodge. No longer having to worry about defense, Ellis ramps up the speed and number of attacks he dishes out.

Seeing both parties focusing on each other Jellal moves in to position to start his master plan. Situating himself directly above Ellis he waits for him to throw the knives in both hands. As soon as the knives leave his hands Jellal drops down from above.

[Slime Style: Secret Technique – Suffocation From Above]

Landing on Ellis’ back he uses his legs to lock down Ellis’ arms. Meanwhile, Jellal uses his hands to force Ellis’ head back while covering his mouth and nose. Thrashing about he tries to use his dagger to slice at Jellal but his arms wrapped up too tight. Struggling to get the nuisance off of him he loses his balance and falls to the ground. Over time his resistance lessens continuously until he finally passes out due to lack of oxygen.

Heaving a sigh of relief Jellal pushes Ellis’ unconscious body off from on top of him before slowly standing up. After getting to his feet he lightly brush the dirt off of his body and strikes a victory pose. Across the stream, Sionia knocks an arrow before lifting her bow and aiming at the goblin across the way. Panicking he scrambles behind Ellis and lifts his body up to use it as a shield.

Peeking his head slightly over Ellis’ shoulder he peers at Sionia across the stream. She slowly lowers her bow as she stares back at the goblin with a complicated look on her face. Seeing that she no longer has her bow draw he roughly throws his human shield to the ground.

Sionia warily starts making her way closer to the stream while keeping a close eye on the mysterious goblin. Seeing that she’s no longer displaying hostility he cautiously removes the throwing knives from Ellis’ hands. While checking to make sure Sionia doesn’t have a change of heart he proceeds by carefully remove Ellis’ dagger and bag.

Sionia comes to a halt when she finally makes it to the stream. She stands there unmoving while staring at abnormal goblin with a look of suspicion plastered all over her face. Naturally as she’s staring at him Jellal stares back at her waiting to see what she’s going to do.

Seeing that the situation has stagnated and Sionia is extremely vigilant towards him, Jellal takes the initiative to move things along by taking the things he just took off of Ellis and tossing them to the side away from him as a sign trust.

After placing the things to the side he then takes a step back from the unconscious Ellis and raises both his hands above his head to indicate that he is unarmed and means no harm.

Sionia is taken aback by his series of moves and is momentarily stunned. She gives him a deep look and hesitates slightly before jumping from one side of the stream to the other. She winces in pain as blood shoots from her wounds upon landing.

Having successfully crossed the stream without trouble the suspicion in her eyes diminishes slightly. She starts cautiously walking over to Jellal while keeping her keen eyes trained on him. Jellal slowly lowers his tired arms in turn as the tension in his body gradually starts to dissipate.

The two eventually end up face to face with one another with only a few feet separating them. The little goblins face spasms when he realizes he doesn’t even reach Sionia’s waist and would have to tilt his head back at an extreme angle just to look at her face if they were to stand right next to each other.

Looking at the beauty in front of him Jellal starts feeling nervous. He hadn’t thought about it before but he’s never actually spoken to another person so far in this short life. Doing his best to hide his anxiety he points at the unconscious Ellis and tries to start up a conversation.

[Kekeke, what are you going to do with this guy? It seems like you put a lot of … what are you doing?]

[I’m looking for flying pigs … ow! hmmm]

Jellal’s first attempt at having a proper conversation is promptly interrupted by Sionia’s head darting all over the place as she watches the sky. Unable to see a pig fly she pinches her own check before placing her hand on her forehead to check her own temperature. Finding nothing out of the ordinary she’s both shocked and puzzled.

The corner of Jellal’s mouth rises and begins to twitch as he watches the perplexed Sionia. Unsure what to do he stands there motionless with a dumbfounded expression on his face. Finally after his annoyance accumulates he begins muttering incomprehensibly under his breath.

Realizing the situation Sionia gives a light chuckle as she scratches the back of her head. Following that she drops to her knees to get closer to eye level with Jellal and extends her hand to pat his head.

[Nee, I’m sorry about that. It’s just … you’re a goblin … and you talked. You’ll forgive big sis won’t you?]

Jellal brushes away the hand and snorts as a vein bulges on his forehead.

[You dare to treat a superior being such as myself like a child? I’ll have you know that … guu …]

[Oh my! Are you hungry little fellow? Hold on a sec, I have some food in my bag. Don’t worry; big sis won’t let you go hungry.]

Jellal’s face flushes as his stomach interrupts his lecture. Sionia begins pulling dried jerky and bread out of her bag leaving the embarrassed Jellal no way to retort. Hanging his head Jellal shyly receives the food he’s handed and begins immediately chowing down.

Tears stream from his eyes as he compares the normal tasting food to the awful raw meat and bitter fruit that he was forced to eat when he was still in the nest. Seeing the emotional Jellal, Sionia is taken aback before a worried expression sneaks onto her face. Panickedly she extends her hand to help but unsure what to do she spastically waves her arms about between the two of them.

[Ah, what’s wrong? I didn’t do anything to the food it’s completely normal. I’m not bullying kids I swear!]

[There’s nothing wrong. It’s just the food tasted so normal … and I told you not to treat a superior being such as myself like a kid!]

[Amazing, this is the first time I’ve met a superior being before! Do all superior being cry over food like they’re children?]

Hearing Jellal’s retort Sionia replies with a sarcastic smile leaving his mouth opening and closing as if he’s doing his best fish impersonation.

[Nee, if you’re not a kid then how old are you? Could it be that superior beings grow extremely slowly?]

Faced with Sionia’s constant scathing retorts Jellal hangs his head before dragging his feet over to a nearby tree. He stops at the base of the tree and squats while using his finger to draw circles in the dirt. Gloomily he gives his response in a mosquito like voice.

[I’m not a child I’m a superior being. Superior beings aren’t judged by menial things like age.]

[Don’t take it so hard kid I didn’t mean it. You’re an adult just like me; you just haven’t fully grown yet. Yeah that’s it! You’re just a small sized adult, right kid?]

[Jellal]

[Hmm, did you say something just now kid?]

[I’m not “kid” my name’s Jellal.]

[Jellal? Are you playing “named monster”? I heard that monsters are no longer able to evolve after they gain a name and only special individuals are capable of gaining a name in the first place. This is the first time I’ve heard of a named goblin.]

The sound of glass shattering resounds in Jellal’s head when he hears Sionia’s casual remarks. Mechanically he turns his head to look at Sionia his face looking like he’d seen a ghost.

[Di- did you just say named monsters can’t evolve?]

[That’s right. Could it be you didn’t know that even though you’re playing “named monster”?]

All kinds of thoughts swirl around in Jellal’s head as he processes the extremely valuable information the Sionia just passed to him off hand. For a fraction of a second he had gained hope of becoming something more the a mere goblin, but that hope was immediately crushed to dust and swept away on the wind with the revelation that he couldn’t evolve anymore since he had a name.

Jellal staggers under the weight of the revelation. Unable to bear the frustration he mumbles audibly as his thoughts flow out in the open like water from a burst dam.

[It’s a joke right? It has to be a joke. Why did no one mention it was possible to evolve, or that you can’t evolve once you gain a name? How can a superior being such as myself be stuck as a goblin for my entire life? Why was such crucial information not in the instruction manual? Kekeke … I knew it! That deceitful, poo-loving con artist definitely did this on purpose. That bastard is probably sitting back laughing at how I fell for his tricks, kekeke.]

[Are you feeling okay?]

Jellal is pulled back to reality by an extremely confused and worried Sionia. Unable to heads or tails of Jellal’s incomprehensible mutterings Sionia could only ask about his condition completely oblivious to the mental breakdown her casual sentence nearly caused him.

[I’m fine, just coming to terms with having to spend the rest of my life as a goblin, thinking about what the future has in store, coming up with a plan to kill god, about the same as normal.]

[ … I’m pretty sure that last one can’t be considered as “normal”. You must have quite the head on your shoulders to be planning to kill god.]

[Cough cough … Is it okay to just leave him there like that?]

Jellal points at Ellis who is still sprawled out on the ground unconscious. Seeing Sionia’s attention divert off of him, Jellal heaves a sigh of relief trying to forget his embarrassing outbreak. While the pair are staring at Ellis he begins to regain consciousness as he tries to sit up while letting out a groggy groan.

Seeing the person she went through so much trouble to catch stirring Sionia swiftly lunges in his direction. Grabbing the back of his head with both hands Sionia delivers a powerful knee to Ellis’ face before he has a chance to understand what’s going on.

Blood gushes from Ellis’ nose as he falls flat on his back. Not wasting the opportunity Sionia mounts the unconscious Ellis and repeatedly pounds her fists into his battered and bloodied face. Watching from the sideline Jellal can feel his back covered in cold sweat as Sionia pummels the unconscious Ellis to the point that he’s unrecognizable.

Having relieved her pent up stress Sionia gets off of Ellis with a bright smile on her face. The stunned Jellal watches on as she casually removes a rope from her bag and ties the possibly still living Ellis’ hands and feet before giving him one last kick in the ribs for good measure.

[I don’t think you need to worry too much about Ellis. Although I’d love to stay and chat I have to drag this guy all the way back to town so I’ll be heading out now, superior being Jellal.]

Sionia does her best not crack up as she says goodbye to Jellal. Grabbing the unconscious Ellis along with his bag, she walks over to the bank of the stream before carelessly throwing him to the other side. Ellis bounces roughly before finally coming to a stop on the opposite bank.

Nodding in satisfaction at her handy work Sionia gives the stunned Jellal a quick wave before jumping across herself. On the other side she ties a rope to Ellis’ feet and proceeds to drag him off in the direction she originally came from.

Jellal can only watch in silence as she literally drags Ellis back. He can feel a cold sweat cover his back as he watches Ellis’ face dragged through the dirt while occasionally bouncing off rocks and twigs. He scratches the back of his head unsure of how he should feel about the situation transpiring before him. Seeing someone’s face literally dragged through the dirt his natural reaction should be to sympathize with the person, but he also knows that Ellis was a pretty terrible human being and probably deserves it.

He watches Sionia’s back until it disappears into the forest. Realizing he’s yet again left all by himself he leaks a sigh before picking up the knives that were left behind and heading toward the stream. Building up his speed he tries to jump from one bank to the other the same way Sionia had, but ends up splashing down nine tenths of the way across.

Wading through the knee high water until he reaches the bank, he easily pulls himself ashore. Standing on the shore he takes a few steps forward before stopping to look around. All alone he sternly stares into the distance preparing to once again face the unknown.