The path he traversed so many times during the past week was hellish. Among the shadows, trees and foliage he slowly walked. Both his arms hanging down useless. Both his legs bruised, barely managing his weight.

The moon was his only source of light, yet it wasn’t the only witness to his pain. Each step was made despite the pain. He walked out of fear. Slowly, yet steady. He feared what was following him. This presence.

It wasn’t an aura of death. It didn’t bring suffering. In fact, the paladin behind the goblin gave off a warm and welcoming feeling. It was so painfully real. The man behind him did not harbor any hate, any regret. Right now in this moonlit forest Gob couldn’t see the face of the man following his steps.

This face was full of anger. Twisted. Out of place. Only his expression was impolite. When he kicked him, he did with efficiency and grace. He slaughtered everything without remorse or second thought. He walked without a burden. He killed so many and didn’t budge. He was something to be scared off. This human.

He didn’t feel human.

How?

How would Gob want to ask him for help? How could he feel comfortable near this butcher? This human. No. This monster was filled with mana Gob couldn’t understand. It made him trust the man behind him. It was fooling him with every step.

He wanted to ask him for help. Despite the slaughter.

He wanted to be near him. Despite the pain he brought.

He wanted to show him how good he was for Hestia and…

Only the pain he currently felt was keeping him awake. Each step. Slowly reminding him he should look at his own hands. Crushed shivering hands.

The moon wasn’t the only witness to his pain.

They walked down the forest path without rest. Gob was in agony. Each step took more and more out of him. He was barely conscious when they arrived at the cave. It was then when a small push made him collapse on the ground.

He painfully hit his right arm. Tears continued to fall down his face. He looked at the entrance where the man disappeared and tried not to sleep. His mind was in an inconceivable state. Even the pain he felt was gradually getting dull.

He bit his tongue to stay awake. Blood filled his mouth. He coughed nearly choking to death. Somehow he sat upright with a nearby tree at his back.

He wasn’t shaking anymore. He was too tired to be scared. He focused on breathing.

Regain your composure Gob.

You aren’t dead.

You aren’t dead.

You aren’t dead.

He finally realized that Hestia would be gone! He could enter the cave and sleep. There was some fish left for him to eat. Noone knew about this place. He would survive for sure.

As he kept his subconscious awake, he began to ponder more and more. It was somehow relaxing.

The shaman is dead. The hobs are scared. He would come back. He would be strong again! He would win. No. He won. The human didn’t matter. Nothing mattered. He won!

He looked left to the sudden sound coming from the bushes nearby when the human came back out.

He didn’t have his helmet on. In the moonlight Gob could see his young twisted face, but it was different from before. He looked puzzled. Gob gasped. The human was holding a small object in his hand.

“It seems that Hestia isn’t at home. She must have gone back to the orphanage. The housekeeping is so irresponsible! She even left the book behind!”

Gob looked at the book with shock. It was his book. Containing children stories and pictures, mainly about kings and knights. Why was this human talking about this book?

“Hey child! We need to hurry to the orphanage! We might miss the stories if we don’t hurry!”

The knight was suddenly smiling in a vicious way. His expression didn’t change even when he made Gob scream in agony by pulling him by his hand.

“AAAAAAghghhhh...”

The human stopped and looked at the goblin wriggling in pain. With a puzzled look he asked.

“Don’t you want to go? Hestia's stories are the best in the world!”

“...SHE… NOT… ROAD...”

The knight removed his hand and looked at Gob with a weird expression waiting for continuation.

“I… Lied.. She.. North...”

With the shaking hand Gob pointed towards the flowers where he found her crying yesterday.

“She.. went.. there.. Likely”

“New place? Guide me than child. She would always be in the most unlikely places.”

The knight nodded, the smile returning to his face.

“It's our Hestia after all.”

And so the march continued. The Gob set in his place with the knight following him. Step by step deeper into the hell. Crushed and slowly realizing just what it took for this human to kill with such ease.

He was insane.

Soon the cave became a distant memory. As Gob traversed the plains of Etra’s the flowers slowly moved towards his body. They felt the blood coming from his wounds. Not only his arms but also his feet. Tired and damaged by the trip.

It was slowly getting brighter. The sun was about to come up when the human suddenly rushed into the forest ahead of them, pushing Gob on the ground. As Gob stumbled, he rolled onto a small grassy plain encircled by the trees.

He could barely scream. There were no tears left in him. His eyes were blurry, but he focused on what was important.

“...no”

Hestia was covered in furs he gathered for her before. She managed sewn them together creating a blanket she could carry. Near her was a small bag made of cloth. She likely took some food with her.

Her wounds were properly bandaged. She really escaped on her own, but now it didn’t matter. Gob was lying on the grass, with his arms stretched in an unnatural way. Meanwhile the Paladin was trying to attend Hestia, but she paid him no mind. She was looking at Gob with tears in her eyes.

“...no”

She couldn’t mutter anything else. The sight of the broken goblin was too much. It was the same story over and over again. She finally looked at Oliver. This broken doll of the church. The paladin of the highest order. Oliver of the innocence. Filled with the grace of the gods. The orphan chosen to live the dream.

The child she pushed towards madness.

The knight was kneeling down before her and all she felt was disgust and shame. This twisted face of the orphan she once knew looked at her every move. His gaze was filled with adoration. She wanted to kill herself looking at his face.

In his madness he barely felt that she didn't pay him much attention. He turned his gaze from his saint and focused on the child that was left in the grass. His face was brimming with joy. As he pulled out his sword.

“I am grateful to you my child, I would never have found this place by myself.”

As he approached Gob he raised his sword. His face violently turned twisted.

“There won’t be any stories today.”

Gob looked at Hestia. As she was crying looking straight at him he felt that it should end.

This pain was too tedious. He would just go to sleep. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered from the start. He was strong. He closed his eyes. He only needed to sleep…

“Keruek!!!”

The sword was raised when the Fishcatcher popped out from the foliage. She didn’t even look at Hestia. With the dagger she took from the arena she rushed towards the knight.

The light of the blade shined in the sun that was already passing through the foliage. The slash was clean.

With an inhuman scream Fishcatcher raised her arm up. Her hand was completely cut off. The blood was gushing everywhere. It sprayed paladin’s armor once more.

Hestia was pale. Gob couldn’t think. As the Fishcatcher continued to scream Oliver raised his sword once more.

“Don’t bring me rats. Hestia said that she doesn’t like rats...”

As he muttered Hestia tackled him from the back, yet he didn’t even budge. She looked at Gob with terror. Then she started screaming trying to make her voice be heard over the wailing of the injured female goblin.

“I LOVED YOUR RATS! I LOVED THEM! SHOW ME THEM! BRING THEM! I LOVED THEM! I LOVE YOU! OLIVER I LOVE YOUR RATS! I LOVE YOU!”

“OLIVER!”

It was only when the blade severed Fishcatcher’s head Gob reclaimed his ability to talk..

“should have raped you”

Hestia froze.

“should have killed you”

Oliver slowly raised his sword.

“do you live?”

It was all over again, her tears fell down.

“Why do you live?”

“WHY DO YOU LIVE!!!”

With the last breath Gob gathered all of his mana into a single struggle. He didn’t have his dagger. His arms wouldn’t move. His mind was shattered.

Despite that he threw his life on the line and completed the spell he envisioned. As his broken subconscious finally gave up he noticed Oliver raising his hand. Small cut was made in his neck despite nobody attacking him.

As Hestia began to furiously shake him and kept shouting at him he left the unconscious child alone and moved to take her back to the orphanage.

There surely were children waiting for her stories.

And so he took her...

...and left.