Chapter 38: 36- The Play

Contrary to his expectations, the opponent wasn't a growling beast or another snarling snake, nor a body-builder with iron-clad rippling muscles instead what the Goblin get as an opponent was, 

"Pl-please… don't-i-don't want to die!" 

A frail-looking old man, with more visible bones than meat, thick white brows and braided beard covering his wrinkly face, and a rag-like cloth barely hanging on his shoulder with a pair of mismatched boots.

Crouching down, the homeless old man begs with tears to the guards who had escorted him to the iron gates, separating the arena and the backstage path. His legs and hands were chained, while bruises covered his body, the telltale of the gruesome past and the suffering on the streets. 

Slapping, the brutal guard made a disgusting face seeing its snot spitting on his shiny boots. The other, as if deaf to the old man's pleas, roughly unlocked the chains before he shoved him away, practically hurling him to his death by the awaiting Goblin who was visibly much stronger than his hollow bones. 

"Dear citizens of Argon, it's a story of blood and carnage, the era of chaos and brutality. The time when monsters run rampant, and prey on humankind ravenously. For they crawl from the abyss, demon's pawns, and everyone's enemy"

Capturing the crowd's attention from the shivering old man, the host tells the legend of the past. A time when there was no God to guide, and no prosperity among humankind. The hardships, as they struggled to hold their defense, with no future, nor hope to strengthen them any longer. 

Amidst his captivating voice and the perfectly synchronized music, all the gates among the large arena were unbolted. Revealing chained-up humans, dwarfs, elves, and others. Enough to crowd the arena. And unlike the old man, they evoke no sympathy, but the brutality and viciousness only veteran criminals on death sentence may reveal at a glance.

Right as they stand in line around the edges, and hatefully glanced at the guards behind before menacingly eyeing the lone Goblin ahead, the ground shakes… rumbles spread. 

And as the Goblin turned back, he saw a humongous circular cage had sprung forth in the center in a dramatic corkscrew motion. Housing the same number of cavernous Monsters as the brutal criminals. Separated by iron barriers, radiating with magic.

'The what?'

Within a blink, Oscar too was surrounded by 5-meter tall iron bars, making a concave tunnel; leading straight to the Old man at the front and his empty portion of the central cage behind. 

Likewise, the whole arena had been separated into tens of sections, locking mankind and the Dungeon Monsters on each end. 

The unlucky ones who received the hounds of the netherworld, or crawling maggots of high grades despaired. While the lucky few who got orcs or savage boars, grin foolishly; not knowing their actual strength. 

"-Grizzly Manhur, Haunting Hound, and Scary Scyrllas, the four generals of demons. They led their army of Monsters and hailed devastation on mankind. Slaughtering, without mercy, for they are the incarnations of death and misery"

*click!*

At his gesture, the gates opened. And all the monsters blasted ahead upon their assigned foods who in return despaired; mimicking the humans of the past, who must have tried to fight against their fate only to get slaughtered with a hopeless face. 

The audience, swayed by the rhythm of the show, screams in terror as if they're the ones who are facing the monstrosities of the past and experiencing the current live carnage; Bloody bits and pieces flow in the air current, as the monsters devour their easy preys in savage bites.

"Snob! Please… sp-spare me! I-i won't do it again! Never! Please!"

So… am I also supposed to kill him? Oscar, thought with a frown, eyeing the pathetic excuse of an opponent he got, who still couldn't muster the courage to see a goblin in the eye. 

'Well, even I'm feeling bad for him…'

Oscar, having 'The Slaughterer' as the title and the bloody track records of a butcher, had avoided killing a human. Because: Firstly, watching a murder and doing it himself were two different things… even for him; one was guilt-free, and the other wasn't. And secondly, the humans he had met until now were all damn too strong! It would be no different from suicide if he had tried to kill any of them. 

But now, matched with a human who can be killed with a slap, Oscar… hesitated. 

Despite mentally preparing himself in the past month to not flinch when killing another human, if it was necessary. Oscar still felt a strange pang of sympathy for this old man who most likely had been framed for a crime before being pushed into a deathmatch with monsters for the entertainment of some God on the thrones above. His green eyes caught the sight of a huge figure surrounded by similar ones in silk robes, looking down at the exhilarating show.

'Sigh…' 

Shaking his head, Oscar spotted that every monster had done their part of the story; Killing all mankind, and successfully gaining the audience's hate upon them, just as intended by the host. But going against the norm, the wild goblin, instead of killing, helps the old man to stand back. Causing many eyebrows to be raised, and Chief Hermann to shake his head in disappointment, still too lacking. 

"-ah!" Stopping himself from moving to the next part, the Host exclaims seeing the anomaly among the monsters, "Everyone… before we move to the next part. Let's engrave this moment in our souls. As some monsters also…"

'Yea yea! I know, I'm a good goblin. No need to thank me', Praised the Oscar himself with a stupid grin. All the audience watched, awed by his lack of… enthusiasm. And before they could question if the little monster had been born a vegan by chance, the Host continued with an ominous voice. 

"-Born among us…" 

"Ghaaaaa!"

Amongst the silence of the crowd, the scream of a goblin resounded. 

Oscar, having just helped the old man out of sympathy turned back only to feel a sudden chill crawling under his skin. Out of habit more than anything else, the Goblin shifted his position right when a silver dagger stabbed into his back, missing his heart by an inch. 

"He! He! He!" 

Gone were the previous snobby old man, and his act of begging for life. An evil smile of a psychopath plastered on his face, with gold teeth glittering under the sun, he drives the dagger deeper; relishing every moment, and the bone-crunching sound that comes with it. Not able to remain standing the monster dropped dead with a thud!

"Ahhhh! Here I killed it! Happy? Now get me outta here!" 

Screams the old man, stunning the whole crowd who all but starting to hate the Goblin who was tasked to kill such an elderly man. 

                                                            

"Terry, the treacherous trash. The psychopath who had excelled in his [Backstab] class, and the one who could gain sympathy from even the monsters. Looks like the Chief got too excited, and overdone in strength checking the little one" 

Recounting the details, Waazir released his hand holding back the Red Hulk from jumping into the arena right away.

"Waazi, is he dead?" Asked the half-orc, though he hadn't befriended the monster at that level to feel bad, he certainly hates to see a great budding warrior he had fought to die in such an underhanded way.

"See for yourself" Shrugging, the man smirks, finally seeing something he thought wasn't possible before, certainly a high mutation then.

                                                              

"I said release m-?!"

Through the corner of his eye, the old man with a lopsided smile saw a white blur. And a second later, a claw tore his ankle, making him scream genuinely before dropping onto a knee. 

"Ghaaaa!"

Though the Goblin snarls, it wasn't because of pain but annoyance, 'Almost fall for it damn it!'

Pulling out the dagger without flinching, Oscar glanced at the screen, 'from now on, never dismiss any prompt without reading twice.'

The first prompt repeatedly appeared as the old man continued to scream loudly the more the Goblin took his little revenge. Confirming Oscar's guess as to why he behaved too exaggeratedly earlier. Sure, he felt sympathy for him at first, but it wasn't enough to forget his own and foremost priority of survival. 

Grasping, Oscar stabs the same dagger that the old psycho had used to kill his countless victims before, straight into his heart. While shrugging off his countless attempts to 'Charm' and thrashings with cursings. 

Oscar was sure after this incident, he won't be trusting any elders as, 'A good elder is a dead elder' 

The Goblin felt neither pleasure, nor remorse seeing the light leaving his victim's eyes, becoming lusterless much like his. The breathing stopped after scratching his steel-like hands continuously for a minute. Though the level difference wasn't much, but the strength distribution was world's apart. 

Right when Oscar pulls back the dagger, a new prompt pops up. 

'Deadman Devourer?' 

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He guessed, before nodding. Curious about its uses. Instantly, a vacuum opened around his hand, and his Soul shimmers as a chilly wind washed over him, while Oscar felt like he had gained some metaphorical weight all of a sudden.

"And like every night coming to an end, the time of misery and anguish too ends. Our prayers were answered with God's descent, and their army to push back the abyssal Monsters. Cleaning the world and our city Argon!" 

Meanwhile, in the background, the Host reached the last part and the crowd cheered with him. Their shout responded with a heavy echo of footsteps, caused by the numerous soldiers walking in perfect syncs, like a Behemoth they make the ground tremble. 

"Ghe?!"

Busy rereading the prompts and trying to understand what had changed within him, Oscar failed to notice when the gate opened and five knights in armor invaded his section. And spears, capable of tearing winds, threatened him to take any step anywhere other than backward. 

'Good, now that our role is finished we will be put back into the Cages?' 

As he turned back to the empty iron cage, the goblin couldn't help but growl furiously. His back still dripping with blood, the dagger had all but torn his ribs. 

And though [Heart Of Isolation], gives him a hypothetical coldness that freezes his emotions, giving him a focused mind with no mortal distractions while also shielding his psyche from the outside influences, Oscar could still feel the bottle-up bubbling frustration within him.

The crowd continued to cheer, as the chivalry wearing exaggeratedly shining armor easily, single-handedly pushed back even the most fearsome Minotaurs whose howls of pain gets buried in the midst. 

The goblin feels like he was in a circus, with worse treatment than animals. 

Although, they haven't outright killed him and only pushed him back with whips, battering of shields, and poking him with spears. The Goblin too wanted nothing but to gain back his freedom, and be treated with respect! 

'For God's sake! That's my balls!', "Shaaaa!'

Hissing at them, Oscar clenched the dagger hard. Taking yet another step back, he considered his choices; should he willingly back down like that Hound, or should he fight more valiantly like that brown Orc and get his head rolled on the ground? 

'But I'm neither a submissive Dog, nor a proud Orc', with a vicious grin, he concluded 'Let's take my chance, and run like a true goblin'

His soul splits into two, one being the true him while the other an extension; capable of carrying out orders like a mindless servant. His dagger shone for a split second before returning to normal, an image of the expressionless old man reflected through its glossy surface. 

"Ghaaaa!"

Shouting, the goblin then jumps at the five men standing in a row, blocking his path to escape. 

With a dagger in hand, Oscar kicked the ground the moment a spear landed upon him, intended to impale his feet. The dust flayed, and the Goblin landed before traversing the said spear handle up to the faces of the knights, while his [Climb Lv6] assisted him, building his momentum. 

In response, the shield-walls were positioned to batter him. But right before they could slam the upcoming Revenant Goblin with maniacal laughter down to the ground, an unexpected dagger zapped and clinked their helmets. Shifting their attention at the last second, and giving the precious chance for the goblin to jump above them and roll behind their back. 

"Khe! Khe! Khe!" 

As the knights turned back, they saw the Goblin had bypassed their wall of defense before rolling and running further without so much as glancing at them. And the moment they took their steps towards him, a tiny dagger zoomed past them, and fly towards the Goblin's side like a sentient drone. 

*Clink!*

And before the wondering gazes of the countless spectators and the guards behind… the Goblin took his flight. 

Clasping the flying dagger with all his might, possessed by its previous owner, Oscar launched himself up in the air like a rocket. Dodging the now desperate Knight's spears, intended to kill rather than stop. 

"I hated to admit it but it looks like this Goblin refused to play along the storyline" The Host whistles, causing a burst of laughter to erupt and the Oscar to clench his teeth harder seeing the ground getting further and further away. 

'I will die if I dropped from here right?'

Gulping, Oscar saw the guards panickingly running around the borders of the arena walls before taking their aim at the flying monster. Meanwhile, the topmost abode where he had seen the gods sitting was strangely silent. 

'Of course, they didn't have hundreds of guards for anything right'

Guessing, and hoping these gods wouldn't intervene in a lowly chase of a goblin, Oscar prepared himself for the upcoming barrage of arrows and was ready to fuel the possessed dagger with as much Mana as possible. 

"Ghe?!"

But the moment the little rebellious goblin reached the height where he could take a peek through the City beyond the walls and could taste the sweet upcoming freedom, at last, undisturbed. Oscar saw a glint shining through God's abode, and right a second later a golden elemental arrow streaked like a laser projectile blasting his hands with the dagger altogether within a split of a second. 

"Ghhhhhhhh"

A delay of a second later, a horrible scream came.

Suddenly losing the sensation beyond his elbow, Oscar screams more in horror than in pain. The blood sprayed as he desperately flailed around in the air like a wingless bird but to no avail, the gravity took its own sweet time to let him understand what may come next, and to let him sink further in despair.

'Wh-why?!' 

And right when the chains of his own weight pulled him down to his death, Oscar saw a woman with the coldest features, long flaming hairs, and dressed like a princess of winter elf in fairy tales holding a longbow standing with a Tall figure of a God covered in burning flames. To their side, a man with a big belly sings praises of her perfect shot, like she hadn't just shot Oscar but an insignificant bird. 

While Bucky, standing with a true Giant man with an elephant face and the Chief, grumbles in clear displeasure. 

'Y-you will pay for this!' 

The Goblin's eyes dripped with hatred, as his body dropped down pulling his gaze away from that woman whose image he had engraved. 

The high-speed winds slapped his face, and his vision got larger the more he saw the crowd getting closer and closer. 

And before his mind could come up with anything that may help him, or heck even leave his physical body before hoping to make a desperate attempt in escaping within his spectral form, the Goblin slammed into the crowd, head first. 

A loud crack boomed, overpowering the horrified screams of people in the stands. And Oscar lost the connection to his mind, blacking out without uttering so much as a squeal for help. 

                                                             

"You okay, Julia?"

A woman asked with concern, to her side was her best friend who couldn't tear her eyes away from the ghastly image of a Goblin dropping right on top of her with mouth opened wide, as if to chew down her skull but stopped an inch away by a magic barrier sprang forth by the witch at the last moment. 

Gently lowering the monster trapped inside a white cocoon, The witch checked upon her friend first before turning to meet the line of guards that had come to rescue them but came a bit too late. 

"Julia! Are you alright?", among the guild members, a young man with distinct features came running. 

And as he saw the mangled body of a Goblin, who miraculously is still breathing, Nellar decided to kick it, trying to show his anger was genuine. But, he stopped the moment he found the Witch was checking upon the monster before widening her eyes. 

"This… Nellar, can you ask your captain if an audience would be possible? Please?"

Though it was a request, and knowing the girl wouldn't blame him for this, the young man still didn't refuse.

"O-of course!"

Despite knowing that these three repeated blunders of his would definitely earn him an eerie of the captain, Nellar still readily agreed with a confident smile. Seeing the witch smile with relief, his cheeks reddened.

'Still worth it', thought the man as he embraced himself for the upcoming punishment, while also failing to see her girlfriend in name clenching her fist silently behind. 

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