[Divine Protection] Goddess of the Underworld, Altesia
[Attributes] Darkness, Death
[Subordinate Beasts] Kobold (Lv9)
[Abnormal Status] <>
The thick scent of the shed blood permeated the air.
I had gone after the main unit, but it was already too late. By the time I had caught up, the hunt had already ended.
âThe damages?â I asked, heaving, still out of breath after having sprinted so desperately.
âThe beasts under our command have all been killed. From the main unit, three goblins have been killed,â replied Gi Go with his head bowed deeply, a hint of apology in his voice.
âI read wrong,â I said.
The gray wolf wasnât alone. It could have been a pair; I donât know for sure. Regardless, while I was fighting with one of the gray wolves at the back, another one attacked the goblins from the front.
Thatâs why that gray wolf left me so easily.
Without putting itself in any more danger than necessary, it took what it needed, and left.
âFuck!â I cussed to myself, gritting my teeth in frustration. Then exhaling, I asked, âIs there anyone injured?â
âOnly shallow wounds, nothing serious,â replied Gi Go.
âThen let us go. I wish to reach the settlement if even a moment a sooner,â I declared.
In the end, the gray wolves never came back, and it became clear that we would eventually reach the settlement safely.
But at the same time, thereâs no doubting that I had lost.
And the bitter taste of that defeat remained within my chest.
I had lost⊠To a beast no less⊠A beastâŠ
Anger seethed, and I gritted my teeth in its fervor.
This humiliation⊠I will definitely make you pay for this, you mutts!
âââ
âââAhhâŠ. The red snake coiled around my right arm is itchingâŠ
Iâve been restless ever since the day I lost to that gray wolf. Even running without rest continuously is unable to exhaust this body. The word, fatigue, had completely vanished from my sensesâ lexicon. The only sensation left, the incessant itching of this red snake.
Before I knew it, the <> had been raging without my behest.
Like pyre in my brains, scorching its pith, magical energies violently flowed from my body as if it were being wrung out from the very nucleus of this flesh.
âWhere are the enemies!?â begged my soul. My eyes ravenously darting as I watched over my horde.
âEnemy! Enemy! Enemy! Enemy! Give me an enemy!!â beckoned my soul.
âSomething to kill! Something to cut! A foe! A threat! An enemy!!!â cried every fiber of my being. âIs there no one? Is there nothing!? Where are you!?â
Those craving, almost wishing thoughts stormed a gale at the back of my mind, driving me into lunacy when the village entered my eyes.
âTo the village!â I shouted, ordering the horde to enter.
Then I rushed back to the rear end of the hordeâs line.
Come after me, you mutts!
Iâll kill every single one of you bastards!!
âGURUuuuauuâŠâ
That restless howl left from the pits of my stomach, echoing out loud as I glared viciously towards the path we had come from. Then from my back, a voice entered my ears, âKingâ it said. It was the old goblin.
A king? King⊠Right! Iâm a king! A king! Me! Me! Me!!! A king!
I am a king!
By forcefully invocating the [Skill] <>, you are able to resist against the urges attacking you.
I want to swing my arm. I want to release this never ending gush of magical energy!
Destroy everything you see! Crush them! Break them! Kill them! Kill every single one of them! KILL! KILL! KILLââ
âOOOOAOOOAOooo!!â
At that bellowing roar gushing forth from the inner pits of my stomach, I struck Iron Second into the earth.
âSilence!â I commanded within my mind.
Gritting my teeth, I focused all of my strength, and activated the [Skill] <>. Then the old goblin spoke again, âKing?â it asked.
â⊠Are you done evacuating?â I asked back, at the same time wondering whether my voice was shaking or not.
âYes, without any problems,â replied the old goblin.
âI see⊠I want to be alone for a moment. Donât let anyone near me.â
âYes.â
The old goblin left, while I remained. I didnât move one bit from that spot until I had managed to calm down the <>.
âââ
Gi Goâs horde of goblins that were injured were able to reach the settlement safely.
This settlement still has plenty of room left, but thinking that if I donât do something Iâll end up remembering that loss again, I decided to go mark the boundaries between the different areas in the settlement.
At the center is an open space where the goblins are to have their meals. Some stones have been piled up in the center of that open space, serving as a fire place. Then north of that open space is the dwelling place of the prisoners. Then east of that is the kingâs, my house.
I then decided to let the goblins that have evolved into goblin rares live near me. While the other goblins are to be situated around the open square, following the fence.
I decided on this arrangement in order to make it easy to distinguish who is close to the king and who is not, as well as to make giving out orders quick and easy.
As for the non-combatant goblins, I gave them the area west of the goblin raresâ dwelling.
The horde of goblins that Gi Go was leading, even after being reduced by the gray wolves, raised our numbers by 45.
Although thatâs for both combatants and non-combatants, having that many goblins added to our number would still definitely cause friction.
So in order to avoid that, I arranged them in this way.
After that a day passed since returning to the village.
There are now 92 goblins in total, but the goblins are too weak. I handed the thin ones over to Gi Gu, while I thought up of a countermeasure for the gray wolves.
We are, after all, only a dayâs distance away from a number of powerful beasts.
While they wonât be able to destroy the village in one raid, they could certainly prove to be a hindrance in our hunts.
But really itâs just that I canât stay put unless I do something.
For the meantime, I ordered my subordinates to spread their hunting grounds towards the west and the east.
From what I know thereâre at least two gray wolves. I need to think something up quick.
I walked while thinking, and before I knew it, I found myself in front of the shed where Reshia was being kept captive.
âUu~u,â cooed someone⊠or something.
Hmm? That voice sounds familiar.
Knitting my eyebrows, I looked for the source of that voice. And when I found it, I saw the kobold from before being fed by Reshia.
Suddenly, the kobold turned around, and then it wagged its fluttery tail vigorously.
Reshia threw it a bone, and the kobold chewed on that as if it were in heaven.
With it looking completely intoxicated like that, itâs really no different from a dog.
The shed Reshiaâs using was originally meant for domestic animals, so itâs easy to see whatâs going on from outside.
Itâs not even locked. Really, the only thing thatâs guaranteeing their safety is my word.
While thinking that, I noticed the kobold staring at me as it wagged its tail.
In the next instant, it ran towards me, and played at my feet.
But despite that, it didnât let go of its bone once. What a glutton.
[Skill] <> has activated. Oops, I guess stared too much.
[Race] Kobold
[Level] 9
[Class] Puppy
[Possessed Skills] <> <> <>
[Divine Protection] None
[Attributes] None
[Master] Enslaved to a Goblin Duke
Am I supposed to laugh that all it can do is literally eat?
Looking at this guy is kind of exhausting. All that anger is slowly seeping away, sigh.
As I breathed out a deep sigh, a voice called out from inside the shed.
âAre you back?â
âYeah, although we didnât come back unscathed.â
Having calmed down to some degree, I entered the prisonersâ shed.
âââ
âA bit cranky today, arenât you?â I asked.
To which the goblin in front of me responded with a smile as if deriding itself.
âI lost some of my subordinates⊠Even though I dared call myself king; itâs unsightly.â
In other words, youâre depressed? Even though youâre a monster?
Ever since I was acknowledged by the Goddess of Healing, Zenobia, and received her divine protection, Iâve been given a number of special privileges. The best education, exemption from taxes in different countries, preferential treatment should I enter a guild, and more.
One of the things Iâve been taught is the ability to see through lies. No matter who it is or what it is, as long as they possess intelligence, what theyâre thinking will definitely show in their eyes. This is knowledge I received from humanityâs highest institute of education, the Ivory Tower!
And just as Iâve been taught, I gazed into the goblinâs eyes, but⊠itâs not wavering.
Itâs common sense in human society that monsters are nothing but brutal, egoistical, creatures. Feelings of camaraderie donât exist. They are slaves to their lusts, and would attack all humans as their instincts would dictate. And yet⊠what is this goblin!?
Ever since Iâve been caught by this goblin, this goblinâs done nothing but topple all of my common sense, shocking me time and time again.
That time when the orcs attacked too. Even though itâs obvious that goblins are far weaker than orcs, and yet⊠and yet it still purposely went to oppose them.
On top of that, it actually asked for its comrades to be healed first before it. For it to have that kind of nobility.
His visage when he proclaimed himself a kingâŠ
If only⊠If only he were human, then he would surely be remembered as a wise king for generations to come, forever preserved within the annals of history.
Thereâs no doubting it. Feudal lords frantically scrambling amongst themselves for land while they ignore the people. The royal families that would ensnare even their own kin to protect their own position. The officials that know only to feather their own nest. The commoners who would betray even their closest friends for a little gold. And that unsightly mess of a church for what should be a guide to god!
Why? Why wonât people be a little kinder?
I hated the capitalâs atmosphere, thatâs why I had hoped to work at a church somewhere near the borders.
For a moment, I held on to the hope that as long as the atmosphereâs different, then even the people would act differently. As a follower of Zenobia, I would save those who have been abducted, but instead I was driven into the Forest of Darkness⊠And now, for some reason, there is a goblin in front of me who is calling itself the king of goblins.
The change in the environment was a bit much, so I was pessimistic at first. But lately Iâve started to get used to it.
On top of that, the goblin in front of me doesnât act like a goblin at all. A goblinâs a goblin, but for some reason, this one stinks of being human⊠I can feel it, in its behavior, in its words⊠I can feel traces of complex emotions.
Even though I was taught that goblins are simple. Even though my experiences proved that to be true. Even though goblins were supposed to be monsters that could do nothing else but live their lives, slaves to their desires as filthy, gluttonous beasts.
These goblins took that common sense, and turned it upside down.
And in the short time Iâve stayed here⊠I couldnât help but find them to be more human than humans.
Yet despite that⊠I am human. If they were to fight against the humans, I wouldnât be able to stand with them.
So please, I prayed. Donât fight with the humans.
âââ
I am dreaming.
I know this because I know it to be so.
A dream wherein a sword-wielding maiden is facing against a monster.
The monster is towering; they are not equals. But the brave woman minded that not, and she opposed the crafty beast with her sword in hand.
The maiden had with her neither the craftiness to outwit, nor the strength to stall. The one thing she possessed was her courage.
Her brandished sword was proof of that, though her breath found itself tottering.
Aah, I thought. Sheâs going to lose.
The ferocious, mighty beast pitted against a frail maiden; who would believe otherwise?
Yet the woman showed no signs of retreat, her steps, not faltering even once.
The maiden walked. And a howl that could swallow both heaven and earth erupted, yet she faltered not.
The earth split, she dodged the threat. Slipping through the monsterâs attack, she opposed the monster with only a sword in hand.
âŠAnd then she reached it.
The bosom of the monster wielding a flaming great sword.
In the instant that the flaming great sword fell, the monsterâs face met with mine.
It was me.
The monster stopped in its tracks.
And the maidenâs sword pierced into my chest.
The flaming sword fell from my hands, and it pierced itself onto the maiden.
Then a voice spoke.
âThis is destiny,â it said. âYour destiny, that is.â
âTchâââ
Clicking my tongue, I woke up, jumping from my bed, drenched in cold sweat.
In the darkness of the night, the moon and the stars were brightly shining.
To think Iâd actually have an extraordinary nightmare, enough to make me jump awake, shown to me.
Speaking of which⊠Whose voice was that?
Destiny? Mine?
âHa ha haâŠâ
Interesting. So youâre telling me Iâm going to be killed, huh destiny?
As the two red moons shone brilliantly in the night sky, I stood up, letting the evening wind pass through me.
The wind passing through the forest from the lake was a delight to my sweat-drenched body. As I walked, with no direction in particular, I found myself unusually cautious of the rustling trees. Iâve probably just become too timid, I thought. But paying it no more mind, I continued to walk.
Before I knew it, I was once more, in front of Reshiaâs prison.
Sheâs probably sleeping, I thought. Iâll know though, since I can see even in the dead of the night with this pair of eyes. I suppose it can be quite convenient.
But as I went closer, what reflected on my eyes was Reshia, praying.
Praying towards the two crimson moons.
âAre you going to curse me now?â I jokingly asked.
Her eyes opened slightly, but the expression on her face immediately made me gasp.
âBastard⊠who are you!?â I asked.
A resolved face. If it was only that, then it wouldnât matter. No, it wouldnât really be a good thing, but regardless, right now, I canât feel even the slightest hint of life from Reshiaâs expression.
Normally, her face would at least show some displeasure or anger or perhaps sorrow, but right now, thereâs nothing. A completely blank expression.
âNot the sharpest knife, I take it,â replied Reshia, or at least that shouldâve had been Reshiaâs voice, but for some reason, something was different. But exactly what was different I wasnât sure.
Her amethyst-colored eyes shot at me.
A mere gaze, nothing more, yet my body felt as if it had turned into ice.
My body is heavy, and my limbs wouldnât move.
This⊠this sensation is!?
Activating the [Skill] <>, I went against that pressure at full power.
But then in the middle of that, a cursed scream suddenly echoed at the back of my mind.
âZenobiaaaaa!!â screamed the voice.
Altesia, the goddess of the underworldâs scream, eroded whatever control over my body that I had.
âI implore thee, to that which must be, and to that which must not, bring unto him, peace.â
The words Reshia recited kept the goddess of the underworld away.
Heaving, I fell to my knees.
Ignoring the sweat that has gathered on my forehead, Reshia seems to be ââ No, weâve gone this far, thereâs no other way but to accept it. The person before me right now is no other than the goddess of healing, Zenobia.
âYou seem to be suffering,â said the goddess.
âThanks to you,â I replied, putting on as much of a tough act as I could, but unfortunately, my body wouldnât move.
âWhy do you rebel so much against destiny?â she asked.
âLet me throw that question back to you, why do you accept destiny?â I asked back.
I thought I heard her sigh, but as expected, I couldnât tell what she was thinking behind her voice.
âMy elder sister revolted against her destiny to rebel. And again, just now, she opposed me as soon as she saw me⊠Donât you think itâs foolish?â said the goddess.
âThen how about leaving us alone!? Me, and even Reshia!â I answered.
ââŠThe source of your power, the will to rebel (insurgent will), is not infinite. In fact, it is already reaching its limits.â
As the goddess said that, Reshiaâs glowing fingers touched my forehead.
And I felt heat move from my forehead to my chest.
Again!?
âYou wonât be able to break free from the saintâs charm,â declared the goddess.
You wish to trample on my heart again!?
Who would have thought that being too busy to check my status would actually bite me back like this!?
The charm of the goddess I had neglected released a great power that pressed hard against me.
âKu⊠GuâŠâ I groaned.
I tried to stand up, but I failed, and I fell to my back instead.
As if to obstruct the moon up in the sky, Zenobia whoâs been hiding Reshiaâs feelings, looked at me.
âItâs not really my place to say this, but please take care of this child,â said the goddess as she neared me, bringing herself over my chest.
âHow much longer do you wish to toy with peopleâs feelings!?â I yelled.
Reshiaâs glowing finger headed towards me once again. When her finger pierced into my chest, I felt something change within me.
âA gift from me. This should release the curse from⊠siâsterâŠâ said the goddess as her voice slowly faded.
Reshia tottered a bit, then finally losing all strength, she fell on my chest.
âBut you should take care. The more you use magic, the closer you will be to sister,â whispered the goddess through Reshia, as she twisted about on top of me. âMy sister is also known as the goddess of rebellion. The goddess who rebelled against my father, the goddess of revenge and rebellion. Thatâs why⊠please⊠protect this⊠my beloved⊠daughterâŠâ
After that, the only thing I could hear was Reshia breathing as she slept.
âŠNot long after, I noticed that my arms could move again, and the voice of the goddess of the underworld no longer echoed.
I stretched my hands toward the twin crimson moons.
ZenobiaâŠ
You said that it was foolish of me to rebel against destiny.
And you also told me to protect Reshia.
But the destiny I saw⊠arenât you aware of it? The face of the sword-wielding maiden?
That maiden; she was crying. Reshia was crying.
If youâre telling me to protect that.
Then just as Iâve thought, I donât have a choice but to rebel against you and your brethren.
I wonât die, and I wonât kill Reshia. If that is a revolt against the gods, if that is a rebellion against destiny, then so be it.
I shall gladly become a rebel.
ââââââ
The effect of the [Skill] <> has increased.
Because of the divine protection of the goddess of healing, Zenobia, the mental attacks of the goddess of the underworld, Altesia, will be suppressed.
ââââââ
Authorâs Note:
Think the protagonistâs mental irregularity is at its peak yet?
TL Note: In the kill kill kill part near the start of the chapter, the protagonist actually started turning into how the goblins speak in this novel.
The goblins, you see, normally speak in katakana with some hiragana here and there and some broken sentences, so since the protag started talking in katakana near the end of his intoxication, it kind of showed how he was actually devolving into a monster for real. Just something I thought some of you guys would be interested in knowing.
P.S. I really wanted to translate Reshiaâs glowing finger as shining finger xD.