The Hobgoblin straightened to its full height—which wasn't very impressive, considering it was Cassian's size—its daggers spinning lazily in its hands.
"I'm probably one of the strongest goblins," it declared with inflated pride.
It paused. Thought.
"No. Correction. I'm definitely the strongest."
Humility clearly isn't a goblin virtue, Cassian thought cynically.
The Hobgoblin took a step forward, its confident smile widening.
Then its foot slipped.
On the thin layer of ice Cassian had discreetly spread across the floor while it was bragging.
"WHAT..."
It flailed, arms windmilling comically as it tried to regain balance.
Cassian didn't waste a second.
She raised her hands, mana exploding around her. Ice projectiles—sharp, fast, deadly—materialized and shot toward the off-balance Hobgoblin.
SHING. SHING. SHING.
The goblin's daggers rose in a blur, parrying each projectile with precision that sent a chill down Cassian's spine. Ice shards exploded against the metal, falling as harmless fragments.
And it was laughing.
A grating laugh, like breaking glass, echoing in the underground chamber.
"Not bad, elf! But you'll need more than that!"
It fully regained its balance and charged.
Cassian backed up hastily. Close combat. Impossible. I have ZERO experience with blades. Back on Earth, it was just fists. No edged weapons. I'll get destroyed.
Distance. Keep distance.
She channeled more mana, feeling her already low reserves drain dangerously. Moisture in the air responded to her call, condensing, cooling, transforming.
A thick mist began rising from the ground.
In seconds, visibility dropped to under two meters. The Hobgoblin vanished into the opaque white, its footsteps echoing somewhere in the fog.
"What?!" Its muffled voice. "You think some mist will stop me?!"
Maybe not. But it'll slow you down, asshole.
Cassian moved silently, her feet instinctively finding the least slippery ice patches. She thickened the mist, making it almost solid.
"It won't help to resist!" the Hobgoblin shouted, somewhere to her left. "The others in your group? Probably already dead. The traps here are designed to kill. You're alone."
Hiro. Lena. Lucia.
A spike of panic hit Cassian. No. Focus. Worrying now does nothing.
She used the goblin's voice to roughly locate it, raising her hands. Smaller ice projectiles formed—this time to conserve mana—and shot toward the sound.
THUNK. THUNK. THUNK.
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Sounds of ice hitting stone echoed. Close to something. Just off.
Silence.
Shit. It'll figure it out.
And it did.
The Hobgoblin immediately stopped talking. No more bragging. No more threats. Just... silence.
I should've thought of that. Of course it'd figure it out.
Cassian moved instantly, feet gliding silently over the ice. She crouched behind a stalagmite, breathing as softly as possible.
Seconds later, she heard footsteps. Fast. At the spot where she'd been thirty seconds ago.
A pause.
"Smart," the Hobgoblin murmured, its voice so close Cassian nearly jumped. "You realized your mistake and moved. Good. Makes the hunt more... interesting."
Hunt. It sees me as prey.
Anger surged, but she swallowed it. Not the time. Stay calm.
The Hobgoblin stayed silent now, moving somewhere in the mist. Cassian couldn't see it. Couldn't hear it clearly.
Okay. Change of tactics.
She began channeling more mana—dangerously more, considering what she had left. But she had no choice.
The temperature of the mist started rising.
Slowly. Subtly. Then faster.
From cold, it became lukewarm. Then hot. Scorching.
---
The Hobgoblin stopped dead.
What the...
Heat was hitting it now. Oppressive. Like standing next to an open furnace.
"No." It spun, searching for a cooler spot. "No no NO."
But no matter where it went, the temperature stayed the same. The entire mist had become a sauna.
That bitch! She's heating the whole area!
Its green skin was already reddening. Its lungs burned with every breath. It ran desperately, seeking relief.
Then it felt it.
A spot. Right there. Slightly cooler. Not by much, but enough.
An anomaly.
A slow smile spread across its burned lips.
She has to protect herself. Create a normal-temperature zone around her. Otherwise she'd burn too.
Got you.
It charged toward the anomaly, daggers ready.
---
Cassian maintained the heat with difficulty, feeling her mana reserves drain at an alarming rate. How long can I keep this up? Two minutes? Three?
A noise. Footsteps. Fast.
She turned just in time to see a green figure emerge from the fog.
"FOUND YOU!"
The daggers slashed down.
Cassian rolled aside, pure instinct guiding her. One blade whistled inches from her face.
Not fast enough.
The second dagger caught up, slicing shallowly into her thigh.
"AH!"
Pain exploded. Cassian forced herself to keep moving, limping away as blood flowed from the cut.
Not deep. Just a scratch. Keep going.
The Hobgoblin landed where she'd been, yellow eyes gleaming with satisfaction. "You're fast. But not enough."
Cassian dropped the mist heating—too costly. Temperature immediately began dropping back to normal.
The goblin glanced around, analyzing. Small ice spikes now littered the floor—obstacles it had to navigate.
It followed their placement, their angles.
"That way," it murmured, pointing in a direction. "You went that way."
Shit. It's too smart.
---
Cassian opened a small gap in the mist—just a slit, to see where the Hobgoblin was.
She spotted it. About five meters away, moving in her general direction.
But it looked up too. Directly at the slit.
Their eyes met.
"Ah."
Cassian slammed the opening shut, but the damage was done.
Footsteps. Fast. Closing in.
Too close. It's too close now.
The Hobgoblin burst from the fog, smiling wide.
"No more hide-and-seek."
Cassian swung, the sword arcing clumsily. The goblin dodged easily, sneering.
"You don't even know how to fight!"
It advanced, daggers dancing. Cassian backed up, using her sword to keep distance, swinging desperately to hold it at bay.
It wasn't working.
The Hobgoblin slipped through her defenses like they didn't exist, its daggers parrying every strike with insulting ease.
CLANG.
Cassian's sword flew from her hands, landing somewhere in the mist.
"NO!"
She immediately started forming another, mana gathering...
Her legs gave out.
Cassian collapsed to her knees, confused. "What..."
"The poison's kicking in earlier than I thought." The Hobgoblin approached slowly, savoring the moment. "In a few minutes, you won't even be able to move a finger."
Poison. The cut on my thigh. Its daggers were poisoned.
Panic surged, cold and absolute.
"YOU COWARD!" she yelled, desperately trying to move her legs. They wouldn't respond. "You use POISON?! What kind of honorless bastard are you?!"
The Hobgoblin laughed. "Honor?" It dropped its daggers to the floor with a metallic clatter. "Who needs that?"
"I challenge you! Fair fight! One on one!" Cassian's voice rose hysterically. "If you're really strong, prove it!"
It ignored her completely.
The mist slowly cleared—Cassian couldn't maintain it anymore. She tried forming a sword, but her hands shook violently, the weapon barely materializing before dissipating.
"The poison will paralyze you just enough," the Hobgoblin said softly, kneeling in front of her. "You'll see everything. Feel everything. But you won't move. Won't resist."
"FUCK YOU!" Cassian spat. "Your life's worthless! You're just a pathetic goblin who..."
Her arms grew heavy. Fell limply to her sides.
"...who'll die alone and forgotten... no one will cry..."
Her tongue thickened. Words became hard.
"...you're nothing... nothing..."
Silence fell. Cassian could still move her eyes, still breathe. But nothing else.
"I appreciate your energy," the Hobgoblin said, grabbing her wrists. "Good sign. But now, shut up. I have an army to start."
It raised her immobile hands above her head, pinning them to the cold floor.
Its face drew closer. She could feel its breath on her neck.
How... how did I end up here? How did this catastrophic situation happen?
Green fingers tenderly stroked her cheek. Then gripped her chin, forcing her mouth open.
The Hobgoblin's tongue emerged. Long. Too long. Waving in undulating motions, drawing closer.
No no no NO NO NO.
Cassian's face was frozen in an expression of disgust and powerless rage.
This can't be happening. Not like this. NOT LIKE THIS.
The tongue was an inch away. Half an inch.
CLANG!
The sound of metal on metal exploded in the chamber.
The Hobgoblin was hurled backward, rolling several meters before jamming its daggers into the ground to slow its momentum.
A figure now stood between Cassian and the goblin.
Hiro.
"You..." The Hobgoblin stood, shocked. "You all should be DEAD!"
Hiro didn't respond immediately. He stood there, back to Cassian, sword raised.
Cassian couldn't see his face. Part of her was relieved—finally, someone—but another part...
Perfect timing. Too perfect. Exactly at the most dramatic possible last moment.
It's suspicious. Really, really suspicious.
"You can consider yourself dead from now on," Hiro said finally, his voice cold.
The Hobgoblin sneered, shock turning to rage. "You INTERRUPTED me. At the most important moment! You're going to PAY for that!"
It pointed its daggers at Hiro, yellow eyes gleaming with malice.
"You know what? You'll get front-row seats. You'll watch this elf scream in pleasure."
It spun its blades.
"And then, I'll kill you. Slowly. Painfully."
