Crash!
The beast slamd into the ground with a thunderous boom, rubble exploding in every direction.
Steve moved like instinct itself—leaping through the chaos, tumbling and rolling until he skidded to a stop. Stone and dust showered the space around him. Tonya, nearby, ducked instinctively as debris rained down, the world around her trembling.
In a single smooth motion, she flicked her hand behind her, grippung her sword. The cold tal t her grip like an old friend as her heart pounded.
’A goblin...and just the two of us?
Her mind spun.
’What the hell are we supposed to do? Is he even okay...?’
Her eyes darted toward Steve—just in ti to see him rising, calm, steady, standing tall amidst the settling dust.
He reached down, fingers finding the hilts at his hips. With a soft tallic whisper, both daggers slid free from their sheaths. He held them tight, his chest rising and falling in quiet, asured breaths.
’There’s no string on the goblin...
Is that even possible?....No...I shouldn’t mind that. This just ans I have to kill it—with nothing but my own battle skills.’
His gaze flicked toward Tonya.
’She’s here too. Damn it.
She’s a water elental, yeah, but... can she really help here?’
’No. Doesn’t matter. I need to move.
I could summon the ghost—call it to my side. But this... this is different. This is the first real challenge I’ve faced in forever.
And it’s just one goblin.’
The thought barely finished before movent drew his eyes.
Through the haze of lingering dust, the goblin’s form erged—each step shaking the ground as it lumbered forward, huge and misshapen. Its bloated body dragged behind it like a shadow, its fat fingers curled tight around a massive bat.
Steve didn’t blink.
He watched it. Read it.
Then—
"Steve!"
Tonya’s voice rang out, urgent and sharp.
"Co on! We have to go! We have to go now!"
He turned his head slightly, eyes catching hers through the fog.
’The hell is she yelling for now...?
Trying to distract at the worst possible mont?’
His focus returned to the goblin.
It hadn’t moved. Its eyes were still locked—completely, utterly—on him.
’ It’s only interested in , just like before.
Then that’s fine.
That ans I’ll be the one to bring it down.’
He inhaled once, slow and full. Then exhaled—and moved.
In a flash, he sprinted forward, body low, arms tight to his sides, slicing through the air with breathtaking speed. He blurred past the goblin, light on his feet like a shadow slipping through cracks.
The goblin roared, reacting in fury.
It twisted and swung its bat—a heavy, brutal arc of iron and rage—but Steve dipped just beneath it, hair barely brushing under the swing. He slid along the floor, his boots kicking up dust, his form precise and low.
The goblin snarled, muscles twisting unnaturally as it spun. It heaved again—this ti dragging the bat against the floor, carving through rubble as it swung in a wild, sweeping strike.
Steve launched himself backward just in ti, his boots crashing against the ground as he rolled away. A massive crack followed as the bat struck earth, shattering stone, sending dust clouds billowing high.
Groans and guttural roars echoed behind the rising curtain of dust.
Tonya watched it all, frozen. Fear twisted in her chest, her grip on her sword tightening.
’What is he doing...?
Why isn’t he making a run for it?’
The Beast roared—a deep, guttural sound that shook the walls—its bulging eyes flicking left, then right, scanning the battlefield with wild paranoia. Dust clung to the air like smoke, but Steve moved through it with blistering speed, a blur slicing in from behind.
His grip was firm around his dagger, his posture low as he closed in on the goblin’s thick, grotesque ankle. Each stride was precise. asured. Deadly.
Then—
"HRAGHH!"
Steve let out a cry as he struck, a raw surge of power behind his voice.
The Beast heard him. Its eyes dropped instinctively, scanning downward—
But it was too late.
With a sharp shhhk, Steve’s dagger extended mid-swing—stretching like a living blade until it reached the length of a full sword. Steel glead for a heartbeat. Then—
Slash!
The blade tore through flesh.
The goblin staggered with a howl, the back of its ankle sliced deep—tendon severed, blood spraying in arcs across the ruined floor. Its stance buckled instantly.
ROAARRRR!
The monstrous goblin cried out, stumbling backward before one knee slamd to the ground. Cracks split beneath the weight of its collapse.
Steve didn’t stop. He glided through, boots skimming the ground as montum carried him forward—then, with a twist of his foot, he halted.
A mont of stillness.
Then—he launched.
He burst forward again, this ti rising, his sword slicing upward as he leapt for the goblin’s exposed throat.
But the Beast’s instincts weren’t entirely dulled. Its eyes flared with fury—
And its arms moved.
With a grunt, the goblin swung its massive bat upward in a brutal arc.
Clang!
tal t stone-carved weapon. Sparks exploded.
Steve’s sword clashed against the bat, the jarring force vibrating up his arms. He grunted sharply, barely registering the goblin’s snarl before the monster pushed.
WHAM!
The weight behind the bat hurled Steve backward.
His body flew, crashing against the floor, sliding across broken rubble.
Dust kicked up around him as he struggled to steady himself mid-slide. But—
It was coming again.
That bat—massive, jagged, heavy—was already descending. A wall of death.
Steve’s eyes widened.
"Shit—"
He barely had ti to react.
His sword ca up instinctively, both hands gripping the hilt as tight as iron. The mont he braced, the bat slamd down.
BOOOOM!
The impact cracked the earth beneath him. The ground dipped.
Stone split in spiderweb lines under Steve’s boots. He gritted his teeth as the pressure threatened to fold him in half, his body straining under the impossible weight.
Blood splattered from his lips.
’God...damn it...’
His muscles scread. His arms trembled. His knees nearly gave out beneath the force of the blow pressing down like a mountain.
And yet—
He held.
Sohow... he held.
He could feel the goblin’s furious stare bearing down on him, feel the sharp grind of the bat pressing deeper against his blade.
’This can’t be it.
This can’t be how it ends...’
"Steve!"
The voice pierced the ringing in his ears—barely audible, but enough.
It was her.
Tonya.
She had seen it. Seen him nearly crushed.
She drew her blade in one swift motion, her eyes wide with fear and fury, and sprinted toward him.
’Steve... no...He’s going to be smashed—’
Steve’s arms were locked, his vision shaking. He could feel his strength slipping. The goblin was still pushing, trying to finish the job with sheer weight.
His mind was spiraling.
’I can’t move... This weight... it’s too much.
Damn it. Damn it. Is this it?’
The voice returned—muffled but urgent.
"Steve!!"
His na.
He turned his head slightly, eyes bloodshot and strained—
And saw her.
Tonya. Rushing toward him like a bolt of lightning, her sword gleaming.
She was coming for him.
’Tonya... should I summon the ghost?
Is this it? Am I really not enough on my own...?’
And still, he held.
Bruised. Bloodied.
’Is this really how weak I am in battle?’
Steve’s thoughts ca bitter and ragged as he strained under the weight of the bat.
’Without the Puppeteer’s Strength... or the Ghost... or the Author’s Notebook... I can’t even hold my ground? Co on. I should be better than this. I am better than this. So why the hell am I struggling just to breathe against this monster?’
His teeth clenched tighter.
The goblin above lood like a mountain of wrath. Its bat, carved from black stone and blood-soaked madness, pressed down harder. His arms trembled violently.
’ No. The fight isn’t over. It’s only beginning.
I can’t lose now. I said I would bring this beast down.
And I ant it.’
Grit flared in his chest.
’ I’m not going to run. I’m going to take this beast down—right here. Right now.’
His fingers curled tighter around his sword hilt. His knees buckled, his ribs scread, but he refused to drop.
Across the battlefield, Tonya was sprinting, eyes wide, mouth open.
"Steve!! Run! Please—just run!!"
But Steve didn’t hear her anymore.
His world was narrowed down to one thing.
Victory.
’ I’ll beat this thing and get that damn healing potion—’
CRACK—
Suddenly, the stone bat slamd down with brutal finality.
BOOOOOOOM.
A thunderclap echoed across the battlefield.
Dust exploded into the air like a bomb. The earth split apart beneath the blow, a crater forming where Steve once stood. A ripple of force blasted outward, slamming into Tonya and stopping her dead in her tracks. She raised a hand to shield her face, stumbling from the shockwave.
Then—
Silence.
A dreadful, unnatural calm settled over the battlefield. The dust hung suspended in the air. The Beast stood still, its enormous shoulders heaving.
Tonya’s breath hitched.
’ What just happened...?’
She blinked rapidly, her ears still ringing, her heart pounding. Her eyes scanned the scene—and then stopped.
There.
At the base of the goblin’s bat.
Blood.
A thick, dark pool of it was slowly spreading out beneath the monster’s feet... leaking from the very spot Steve had been.
"...N-No..." she whispered.
Her sword slipped from her hand, clattering to the floor without a sound.
Her lips parted, but no voice ca out. Her limbs felt numb. Her eyes were locked—unblinking—on the crimson pool.
’No. Please... no.’
Her legs gave out, and she dropped to her knees. A tremble ran down her spine, her hands beginning to shake uncontrollably.
This couldn’t be happening.
’Steve...?’
Her voice cracked as her mind scread for a different answer.
"Steve..." she whispered again, her voice barely audible.
Then louder.
"Steve...!"
Her throat tightened. Tears brimd at the corners of her eyes as a terrible pressure weighed down on her chest.
And then she scread.
"STEEVE!!"
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