章 22: Velheimort Forest (3)
Raphael and Erin quietly crept closer to the goblins.
Watching her, Raphael felt a pang of guilt. Though Erin tried to hide her nerves, her body betrayed small signs of anxiety.
Her hands were trembling.
"This is necessary for her to grow stronger," Raphael reminded himself.
Swallowing the bitter taste of regret, he turned his gaze away and continued moving forward, inching closer to the trees near the temporary camp of the Forest Goblins.
— One, three... five, — Raphael whispered.
He counted five goblins in total. This wasn't a main camp, just a small hunting party. Their skin had the typical blue-green hue of Forest Goblins, and they stood about 165 centimeters tall — a towering height for children, though not for grown humans.
Raphael surveyed the clearing. Scattered across it were carcasses of magical beasts.
— Hunters, — he concluded.
— What's the plan? — Erin asked, her voice quiet but firm.
— I'll take care of those three.
Raphael pointed to the three goblins farther away. One held a bow, and the other two were armed with spears.
— You handle the two on the sides, — he added.
Erin examined her targets.
Raphael had chosen easier opponents for her — goblins with daggers, smaller in stature and seemingly weaker. It was her first real battle, and he understood that she needed to fight those wielding familiar weapons. An archer or spearmen could easily overwhelm her inexperience.
— Understood, — Erin whispered.
Raphael glanced at her hands gripping her sword. They had stopped shaking. With clear instructions, she had regained her composure, placing duty above fear. He smiled faintly, admiring her resolve.
He drew the rapier that Aurora had stolen for him. It was a beautifully crafted weapon with gold engravings on the hilt and scabbard. Although it wasn't as powerful as Adelais, it was still a family heirloom, worthy of its reputation.
In reality, Raphael could've used a regular rapier, like the one Erin carried. Cadets were allowed to bring their training weapons outside of classes, but he didn't want to risk it breaking during a real fight.
— I'll go first. Follow right after, — Raphael said, focusing on his targets.
— Got it, — Erin nodded.
In an instant, Raphael dashed forward, launching himself from the bushes and closing the distance to the goblin archer on the far side of the camp.
Within a split second, he was upon the creature. Before the goblin could even comprehend what was happening, its head was severed from its body.
The last thing the goblin saw was its own falling torso and a boy wielding a rapier much longer than one would expect for his size. Despite its length, the weapon felt natural in Raphael's hands, which handled it with surprising ease.
The remaining goblins stared in shock at the archer's collapsing body.
— Krrahh!!
They let out furious growls, drawing their weapons and slowly advancing on Raphael. But before they could get close, Erin struck from behind. She sliced off the arm of one goblin wielding a dagger.
— Krrk!!
The goblin screamed in agony, clutching the bloody stump where its arm had been.
Hearing the scream, Raphael knew Erin was holding her own and turned his attention to the two spearmen. Using subtle movements of his left hand, he manipulated mana to gather behind one of the goblins while he lunged at the other.
He deflected the first spear thrust, ducking low and dodging a second strike from the goblin behind him. Staying crouched, Raphael fortified his legs with mana, sweeping the first goblin to the ground before leaping back.
The remaining goblin charged at him, but Raphael twitched his fingers slightly, shaping the gathered mana into form. A spear of ice materialized in midair, piercing the goblin from behind.
The last goblin, seeing this, rushed forward in desperation, aiming to stab Raphael in the chest. But Raphael easily parried the blow, redirecting the spear. With a burst of speed, he spun and sliced the spear in half.
As the spearhead fell to the ground, the goblin hesitated, glancing up at Raphael — and then its world went black as its head was severed cleanly from its body.
Raphael glanced over at Erin with relief. She was still locked in combat with the last goblin. She had already taken down one, and now she was relentlessly pressing the second. Their blades clashed at equal speed, with Erin relying on her agility, trying to strike from the creature's blind spots.
However, her opponent was just as nimble, used to swift attacks. Coupled with the fact that this was Erin's first real fight, it made the battle tougher. Her movements were fast but lacked the confidence of a more seasoned fighter.
"She's doing well, but her technique still needs work," Raphael thought, watching her closely.
— Need a hand? — he asked with a smirk, a hint of sarcasm in his voice as he sheathed his rapier.
Erin, hearing his comment, grinned.
— And allow myself to take my achievements? No, thank you!
Raphael chuckled and sat on the ground, content to watch.
Erin sprang backward, bracing her legs with mana before launching herself forward with such speed that the goblin couldn't react. In the next moment, her sword sliced through the creature, splitting it in half.
"Not bad," Raphael thought, satisfied.
In that final strike, she had perfectly mimicked his technique from his sparring match with Crado. One of Erin's unique talents was her ability to instantly copy any movement she saw.
In their past life, this ability had saved her many times, helping her win battles that seemed hopeless. Even Aurora had been shaken after witnessing some of Erin's duels.
"Though it took her a bit longer to copy it this time, this talent will become her greatest weapon in the future," Raphael mused.
"She was watching my fight with the two goblins the entire time..."
Raphael had felt her gaze during his earlier battle.
Even while fighting two goblins, Erin had been observing Raphael's movements, memorizing them.
As he watched her wipe the blood off her sword, Raphael let out a relieved sigh, as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
— Alright, let's check what they have and move on.
— Okay.
After searching through the goblins' belongings, Raphael and Erin found some gold and a couple of Gleaming Lumens. Raphael insisted that Erin take them.
— Lord, I don't need this...
— No, you do. I'll never have money problems, but you'll need some pocket change.
— But you killed most of them...
— Doesn't matter, just take it, — Raphael brushed off her concerns.
He practically shoved the coins into her hands and moved forward. Erin sighed, slipped the money into her pocket, and hurried to catch up.
After another half-hour of walking, Raphael suddenly stopped.
— Lord?
— We're two kilometers out from the castle, — he said.
While two kilometers might seem trivial to the family's cadets, Velheimort was a dangerous place. They had taken several detours to avoid monsters, which slowed their progress significantly.
— Now, look for bushes no taller than half a meter with red berries about the size of bullets.
— Got it, — Erin replied, scanning the area.
They split up, searching for the bushes Raphael had described.
After about ten minutes, Erin signaled Raphael, who quickly ran over.
— You found them?
— I think so. Are these the ones?
— Yes, good job, — he praised her, patting her on the head.
Erin blushed from the gesture, feeling a little flustered.
— W-what do we do next? — she asked, trying to shift the focus.
— Here, — Raphael pulled out a glass container from his spatial ring and opened the lid. — Put the berries in here, but don't crush them.
Erin nodded silently, crouched down, and began carefully gathering the berries.
— You gather them while I look for more. If there's one bush, there should be others, — Raphael said, heading off.
After walking a few meters, he found several more bushes. Taking out a second container, he also began collecting the berries.
Once they had cleared all the bushes, Raphael used ice magic to freeze the five containers of berries. He stored them in his spatial ring and turned to Erin with a smile.
— That's it. Time to head back...
Bang!
Before he could finish, they both heard a loud thud.
Raphael spun around, instantly drawing his rapier, ready for battle.
— Lord, what was that? — Erin asked, her voice filled with concern.
— I don't know, but it's definitely not friendly, — Raphael replied, frowning.
They stood in defensive stances, waiting, but nothing happened.
— Strange...
"Damn it, that sound couldn't have come at a worse time," Raphael thought, gritting his teeth.
If it had happened elsewhere, they might've ignored it. But the fact that the noise came from the path they planned to take back meant they had to check it out before returning.
— What should we do? — Erin asked, looking to him.
— Hah... We'll have to investigate. Stay close to me.
— Understood.
Raphael took her hand, crouching as they moved forward. Erin's heart raced, but she quickly focused, listening closely to their surroundings, ready to detect any threats.
After about a hundred meters, they stumbled upon a chilling sight.
In the clearing lay a small magical creature, resembling a fox with pink fur, bleeding out. It was far too small for an adult fox.
"A cub, maybe..." Raphael thought, staring at it in fascination.
The creature was unfamiliar to him; even in his past life, he had never seen anything like it.
Surrounding the little fox were three massive saber-toothed wolves, each about three meters long, with fangs sharp enough to cut through steel.
— Ah! — Erin gasped at the sight.
She immediately covered her mouth with her hands, trying to stifle the sound.
Raphael shot her a quick glance, signaling for her to stay quiet. But it was too late.
The wolves turned toward the noise, locking eyes on them.
Seeing the beasts' faces, Raphael's eyes widened, and a dark aura erupted around him, causing even Erin to flinch in fear. She stumbled back, falling to the ground in surprise.
— You see it too, don't you? — The dark presence in Raphael's voice slipped out.
— Look at their eyes, — Dark Raphael continued, as if he was enveloping the boy.
— Yeah... I see it, — Raphael said, struggling to contain the fury boiling within him.
The wolves' eyes glowed with a blood-red aura — the same murderous energy he had seen in the assassins and in Alice before his death in his previous life.
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