"Wake... d..! Ru...!"

  Within his blurry senses, Lucian thought he heard a voice.

  It was so faint that he could have dismissed it as his imagination, but his gut told him that ignoring it could lead to deadly consequences.

  Slowly, his senses returned.

  The cold rain battering his body.

  The weirdly hot, gravelly ground beneath him.

  The strong scent of earth—dampened after a long drought—where he lay face down.

  The distinctive taste of iron, the tang of blood filling his mouth.

  And the pain assaulting every inch of his body.

  'What's going on?' Lucian wondered as he struggled to open his eyes.

  His senses were overwhelmed with information, momentarily disorienting him.

  As he turned his head to the right, the first thing he saw was... a face, just inches from his own. It was simply that—a severed head, eyes frozen in fear, blood trickling from its nose and mouth, and a short, jagged neck—without anything attached below.

  "...!"

  It was a dead man's head, visibly torn apart from its body.

  Despite the shocking sight, he didn't flinch in panic or let out a scream. Instead, he remained still, calming his ragged breathing while surveying his surroundings.

  It didn't take long for him to realize that he wasn't alone.

  Corpses littered the area, strewn about haphazardly, as if something had come to feast on them—only to lose interest and leave some of its "meal" unfinished.

  The sky above was layered with thick, dark clouds, obscuring the sun. Yet, the dim light filtering through told him that it wasn't nighttime—at least not yet. And in that faint illumination, he spotted movement not far from him.

  A bipedal creature, standing roughly a meter tall.

  Its skin was a sickly shade of green, unlike anything he had ever seen before.

  Its limbs were thin and wiry, contrasting sharply with its bulging stomach, creating an unnatural, imbalanced figure. Its ears were long and pointed, its mouth filled with rows of sharp, jagged teeth—teeth stained with fresh red.

  Lucian's hazy memory pulled forth a name for such a creature.

  'A goblin!'

  A monster that, from everything he knew, existed only in fantasy. A being that had no place in reality.

  Yet, here it was.

  Despite how surreal his current situation was, the idea that this was just a dream didn't even cross his mind.

  He didn't have time for that.

  Because at that very moment, the two goblins he had spotted were moving toward him, kicking aside corpses, as if searching for any signs of life.

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  'At this rate, they'll find me—and most likely—kill me!'

  His heartbeat pounded in his ears, but his body remained still, his breathing shallow. Only his eyes moved, tracking the creatures while ensuring he gave away as few life signs as possible.

  "Wake up, kid! Run 'til here!"

  Some distance away—in the opposite direction from the goblins—an old man could be seen, his voice barely above a whisper. His thin, malnourished arms waved desperately, urging Lucian toward the manhole he was peeking out of.

  Another human—but this time, obviously alive and well. Seeing him, Lucian felt a flicker of hope—a potential path to survival.

  But he knew.

  To reach the old man, he would have to push himself up, turn around, and run through the sprawled corpses surrounding him. With the pain radiating through every inch of his body, he doubted he could even make it in one go.

  One thing was certain—if he moved now, the agile-looking creatures nearby would notice him instantly. And before he could even reach safety, they would be upon him, turning him into their next meal.

  The goblins' footsteps approached, their guttural growls growing louder.

  Lucian knew it was too late to escape.

  His life was in danger—

  "Kieek!"

  One of the goblins reached his position, its foot slamming into the severed head lying before Lucian's face, sending it rolling away like a kicked ball.

  "Kek kek kek!" The goblin cackled, its partner joining in the laughter. Then...

  "Ngeeeh?"

  The goblin that had kicked the head suddenly took interest in Lucian, staring down at him with beady red eyes. It raised its foot—the thick, sharp nails at its ends resembling claws.

  If that thing kicked him, he wouldn't just be hurt—a deep laceration was the least of his worries.

  The goblin's leg tensed.

  Then, it came down—

  "KEEEK?!"

  In the same instant, Lucian moved.

  His arm shot out, grabbing the goblin's other leg and yanking it hard. The creature let out a startled shriek as it lost its balance and fell backward. Its ugly face twisting in pain and confusion, arms stretching forward reflexively, as if looking for anything to grab onto.

  For a brief moment, its bloodthirsty red eyes flickered—right before a sharp rock came crashing down on its face.

  *SPLAT!*

  The jagged stone embedded itself deep into the goblin's eye socket, angled perfectly to pierce through to its brain.

  One dead.

  A clean kill.

  "SHIEEEEK!"

  But Lucian's problem wasn't over.

  The second goblin snapped out of its stupor, its red eyes widening in shock before quickly twisting into rage. It lunged at him, its long arms slashing forward, razor-sharp claws gleaming under the dull light.

  Like a row of daggers, they aimed to rip him to shreds.

  "Hup!"

  Lucian didn't panic.

  Moving with instinctual precision, he grabbed the now-dead goblin's leg once again—this time, using the corpse as a weapon. He planted his leg forward, and began spinning, slowly standing up.

  The goblin was heavy, easily around 20 kilograms, but he took advantage of centrifugal force, swinging the lifeless body like a crude, makeshift mace.

  The second goblin froze mid-charge, momentarily intimidated by the sight of its dead kin being wielded as a weapon.

  That moment of hesitation was fatal.

  "HNNNGH!!!"

  Lucian stepped forward and swung with all his might.

  The goblin corpse's head—still impaled by the sharp stone—smashed into the other goblin's skull.

  *SPLAT!*

  Just like that, both their heads burst into a gooey mess.

  The force of the impact wrenched the corpse from Lucian's grip, sending it flying forward and knocking over the other goblin's lifeless body.

  "Haaa..."

  Lucian exhaled sharply, falling on his backside, his body tensed as he scanned the area.

  No more movement.

  After a few moments of silence, he muttered out of habit, "All clear..."

  "Y-You..."

  The old man's voice broke the stillness.

  But this time, it wasn't filled with urgency or panic. Instead, it was filled with sheer disbelief.

  "You... killed those goblins?" He asked, as if needing confirmation.

  Lucian turned to the two corpses again, nudging them with his foot before giving a curt nod.

  "Seems like it."

  "A-Ah! You must be a hunter, then...!" the old man exclaimed, as if convincing himself.

  With great effort, he flung the manhole cover aside and crawled out.

  "I—I'm Biren, Mr. Hunter... I want to thank you for killing those Minions of the Apocalypse," the old man said, introducing himself while extending a trembling hand forward.

  Lucian's eyes flicked from the old man's face to his outstretched hand.

  He hesitated.

  Then, after a brief pause, he grasped it firmly.

  "...Lucian," he replied.

  "I—I see. Mr. Lucian, right?" Biren smiled, looking visibly relieved. "Nightfall's about to come. We should retreat to my bunker for now."

  He gestured toward the open manhole.

  Lucian simply nodded.

  After all—he had no idea what was going on.

  And other than his name... he remembered nothing.