Garden Of The Abyss

"Oh," he muttered, "I did it."

As he stood there, still with a bit of surprise at his success still, a peculiar cracking sound, as if something was beginning to break, met his ears.

"Huh?" He looked down.

Before he could react in time, the branch in which he stood snapped in half beneath his weight, causing him to begin plummeting back down to the jungle floor--directly above the Stormfallen squadron of mages.

"Ghhh--!" He let out.

Catching himself before falling on his back, he landed on his feet properly as they dunked into the mud waiting below.

"Well, I guess greetings aren't going to do me much here, are they?" He said wryly with a small smile.

All around him, the goblin mages surrounded him, having fallen still out of complete surprise from the human that landed like a fallen star.

In that moment, absent of action and reaction, he drew in a prolonged breath that briskly filled his lungs as he drew both his sword and dagger into both of his hands. While the constant precipitation trailed down his knuckles, he could hear his heart thumping in his ears as the drum of battle began.

This time, it was different.

Rolling his shoulders and stretching his neck side-to-side, he felt the clarity in his joints that had been missing the prior days.

You guys had your fun with me when I was already one foot into a grave. Let's see how you handle me when I'm operating at one-hundred-and-ten-percent! He thought.

"--!"

"----!"

The Stormfallen mages yelled out their indecipherable language as their invaded barrier vanished, all of their attention being brought to the singular, readied human.

That's right.

If I want to become someone good--no, I have to punish the incorrigible. It was missing from me all of this time: the anger towards the unjust, the evil, and the wicked.

...I'm here, goblins, I'm your judgment, he thought.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the leftmost goblin, shrouded in black robes, bringing his hands together as embers sparked.

Before it could weave the spell properly, he dashed forward, closing the distance before it could react before bringing his sword across its neck.

--He didn't let up there.

Knowing the nature of the organized goblins, he spun around as the slit goblin fell back with blood spewing from its fresh wound, aiming his sights on the other, flame-wielding mage amongst the Stormfallen.

Not a word left any lips as the waltz of death began; with a spinning slash, he cut away the fire mage's hands, whisking the conjured flame from between its palms.

Just as he reared his right, sword-wielding arm back for a strike to its neck, he was forced to dodge as his reflexes kicked in at full-force.

Barely missing him, an axe carved through the air before slamming into the mud below, being wielded by a towering, blubborous hobgoblin, plated in sable armor.

It was just as he thought; the mages weren't alone.

Shifting his balance after stepping back, he swung himself into a spinning kick that launched his shin directly at the brute's snout. Even if the hobgoblin seemed superior in size alone, the reinforcement used by him was enough to cave its nose in with a violent crack, accompanied by a spill of crimson.

As the kick resounded through the rainfallen air like a snapped whip, the hobgoblin stumbled back with a pained grumble.

It all transpired across a few seconds; behind him, he felt a buildup of mana from the two barrier mages among the squadron.

He sprung himself towards the unmoving barrier mages as they stood, weaving their light-born spells as he sprinted through the loose mud, carrying his steel through the heavy rain.

Before his steel could meet the two Stormfallen mages, he sensed two presences coming from either side of him--rapidly.

Leaping into the air as he spun his body around, he evaded a duo of arrows that were aimed directly for his vitals.

In the moment his feet landed back on the moist mud, he was left with a split-second choice to go for the mages or handle the archers; he made his choice.

"---!"

All the while, the fire mage behind was left howling in pain with an inhuman screech at its cut-away hands.

Like a throwing knife, he flung his dagger into the skull of one of the barrier mages, embedding it deep as the small, robed goblin completely fell limp the moment the black steel pierced its head.

He followed up with a swift 'Shadow Step', landing behind the partner mage beside it as he retrieved his dagger, stabbing it into the throat of the surprised barrier mage with a resounding squelch that was carried by the rain.

Grabbing the body of the Stormfallen mage before it fell lifelessly to the damp mud, he pulled his dagger from its punctured throat.

He began to run forward with its body lifted in front of him as a shield, blocking the incoming arrows as he moved in such a direction that let the trees behind him block the bowman from behind.

Each time an arrow cast itself into the flesh of the shield-made goblin, it let out pained gargles as it choked out on its own blood, eventually falling lifeless and silent in the hands of the snowy-haired young man as he reached the archer hiding in the foliage.

Behind him, he could hear the heavy footsteps of the angered hobgoblin now attempting to chase him; opting to deal with the archer swiftly, he tossed the lifeless body he held as a shield directly towards the hidden bowman.

As it crashed into the leaves, the archer was forced to leap up into the air to avoid it--meeting the ruthless human in the rain-filled air as the longsword separated its neck from its shoulders before it could even let out a surprised breath.

Finding his footing on a branch while the decapitated archer landed on the mud with a bloodied splash, he turned to find the hobgoblin storming in from below, growling and roaring with a fractured nose, streaming with blood.

Though it didn't attempt to jump up on the tree to fight up, but instead opted to bring the tree down with a mighty swing of its axe.

A single cut didn't do it, but it vigorously chopped away with an array of cuts sent within seconds--cutting through the thick, verdant-laden tree in moments as it began to creak.

As it started to fall, he leapt from the branch he stood on, rearing his blade back as the hobgoblin watched him from below with a smile painted by red.

The large, armored hobgoblin chortled as he gripped his rain-slick axe with both hands, bringing it overhead as he prepared to clash with the human.

--But only a cough of blood erupted from the armored creature's lips as it looked down to find the end of a blade protruding from its throat.

Stepping into the shadows while in mid-air, the young man appeared behind the hobgoblin, burying his longsword through his neck before slowly withdrawing his blade.

Falling face-first into the mud, the large member of the Stormfallen fell like a tower as his landing created a loud thud, letting his axe sink into the mud beside him.

Now, his eyes were set on the other archer that was positioned somewhere across from the one he had taken care of.

He knew the risk that would be posed if the archer ran off and altered the other stationed squadrons around the outskirts of the wall; that threat pushed him forward as he sprinted at full-speed.

With only a single breath of the cold, damp air of the jungle drawn into his lungs, he heightened his senses as he found the lurking archer in the distant, bushy foliage of scarlet leaves.

An arrow was launched his way, but he moved his head to the side with minimal movement to evade it.

Before another could be launched, he arrived at the hidden archer's location, delving into the secretive bush with the goblin as their unseen dance commenced.

Through its chest, his blade stuck through the goblin with ruthless force, being pulled away as he gave no second thought to the creatures born of even further ruthlessness.

All that was left was the handless mage, still writhing on the mud as it shouted in pain with its blood-spewing nubs held in the air.

He walked over slowly with no joy present in his expression, only doing what needed to be done as he pressed the sharp tip of Belus against the shrouded goblin's throat, piercing it as he snipped the thread of life.

"...All done," he muttered.

As he stood there for a moment in the aftermath of the battle, surrounded by the result of his actions, the blood that slicked the silver of his blade was washed away by the rain.

It still doesn't feel right. Maybe it's just not supposed to, he thought.

Tucking his dagger into its small sheath, he kept his longsword drawn as he trudged onwards to the northern outskirts of the wall.

Over his head, the rain-slick, vibrant leaves of the jungle drooped as the sound of showering precipitation was all that filled his ears, for the most part, besides the infrequent, distant blasts of magic in the midst of the siege.

Though he wore an insulating coat and a cloak over it, he still felt the cold around him embed itself into his body through his exposed walking limbs as stepping over the chilly mud served nothing positive.

I'm taking another nap when I'm done here. Regibald's bed was surprisingly comfortable, he thought.

Another thought came to his mind as he moved forward, cutting through the abrasive foliage in his path and stepping over jutting-out logs and rocks; he remembered the comfort of the bed he shared with Iris.

A small smile came over his lips as those soft memories surfaced, fueling him with just enough motivation to ignore the cold that latched to his bare calves.

In his march through the muddied jungle, he was reminded of something he already learned previously: the goblins weren't his only enemy here.

After cutting through a low-hanging branch that carried intertwined vines, he stopped as a low, chilling growl fell to his ears.

Though he fell completely still so as not to antagonize whatever jungle-dweller was prowling around him, he slowly moved his left eye towards the prickly tree to his direct northeast.

"Rrrrgh…"

The guttural vocalization emitting from the black-furred, big cat continued as it slowly walked across the branch of the ivory tree.

Just my luck, he thought.