Chapter 76 - The One Beyond Phantasm (.5)

As the sun began to set on the second day of the Monster Hunt, an enigmatic entity not of the Outlanders made his way to the sight of the great magic used to seal the monstrous goblin.

"--Looks like I was right. Bestowing the authority onto a simple-minded creature such as a goblin was a bad call. You couldn't even distinguish the difference of power between yourself and that Outlander woman--isn't that the one instinct shared by animals?"

Speaking to himself, or rather, the sealed entity which had no way of reciprocating a conversation, the man let out a small huff as he brushed his hand through his messy, jet-black locks.

"Whatever. It doesn't matter now. All that matters is I need that authority back, Furcas."

The enigmatic man held his index and middle fingers together, pointing them at the ground below approximately where the goblin was buried within the primordial bud.

"Re: Hollow."

Uttering an unknown incantation, mana generated in the air, the particles of which vibrated in the air aggressively until moving in such a way seemed as if they were retracing their own movements through time.

The specks of radiant mana of celestial stripes spiralled around the area of the great magic that had been long cast, letting loose a volatile eruption of mana.

In response to the man's casted magic, the stone seal that had replaced the ground crumbled, then the mud below dried up, shifting into nothing more than dust before the green monster held within woke up in a frenzy.

"Morning, Furcas!"

The black-haired man greeted the goblin, who was clearly left in confusion as its senses had been held back in its temporary slumber. Its golden irises locked onto the man dressed in white and black robes, flipping its switch from confusion to aggression as it bared its canines--charging towards the mysterious human.

"--Oh, that won't do."

The goblin moved in a flash, circling around the man as it was no more than a few centimeters from having its fist meet the back of the man's head--before it was stopped in its tracks. Before it could process what had happened, a hand had already been gripped around its verdant neck, holding it into the air.

Still, its animalistic instincts couldn't pick up a drop of hostility from the frivolous man. A single squeeze of its neck displayed to it the absolute strength the human possessed, reverting to its goblin way of thinking--it wanted to run, it wanted to live.

"...kaa. Kraa!"

It cried out, struggling as it kicked its feet, clawing at the man's arm to no avail. The sight itself would cause a second look from any onlookers--the alpha goblin stood over two meters, with a build that would put bodybuilders to shame, while the man stood a good head shorter than the creature with a build only one degree higher than "skeletal".

Ignoring the goblin's plight to live, the man pointed the fingers on his free hand in the shape of a dagger, piercing the creature's chest with no resistance met to his overwhelming power. Blood flowed out like a waterfall from its punctured chest, its verdant skin turning pale as it lost its source of life.

"--I don't like this anymore than you do. I won't be able to get rid of this smell on my hand for a week…"

With no remorse or care for the taking of a life, his eyes lit up before letting out a "Got it!", gripping onto something with the dying creature's torn open cavity. A sickening tear echoed through the area as he ripped the object out of the goblin's body with a hand soaked in crimson, shaking his hand to rid it of the chunks of flesh that came back from the creature's body.

Flipping it into the air and catching it in his hand, the bloodstained object revealed itself to be black ore in the shape of a pulsating heart, illuminating slightly with a silver glow. A smile wrapped across the man's lips once more as his violet irises locked onto the object, tossing the bleeding body onto the ground below as the goblin began convulsing in the grass.

"Well, my job here is done. Kudos, Greenie!"

Looking back at the half-dead goblin, shaking and salivating at the rapid loss of blood, the man gave it a frivolous wave before his form faded into a spiral of black and white particles of mana, seemingly transporting himself with magic.