The three of them rushed down the mountain path.

Loose stones cracked beneath their feet along with loose boards as the cold wind swept violently across the narrow descent. Luka led from the front, trying to keep his steps even while enduring his injuries. He clutched his side while crimson miasma continuously leaked from his torn sleeves.

The clang of Galatea’s armour rumbled behind him as she removed the heaviest parts, down to her royal blue gambeson and leather underarmour. She then grasped the weathered rope and slid quickly down the rough wall, making a lot of noise.

Levia was different.

She slithered through the shadows in silence, her steps almost floating along the ground.

When it came to her descent, she scaled the wall with swift movements.

The dark elf leapt across broken rocks and ruined barricades with unnatural grace, her golden eyes locked firmly upon the distant Goblin Shaman ahead of Luka.

"Hold formation, dig deep into your souls. We fight for our families back home!"

Gerard’s roar echoed throughout the village as three goblin monstrosities dragged a knight, screaming, from horseback and crushed his face.

Their bodies no longer resembled normal creatures. Purple veins bulged beneath split skin while black saliva dripped from jagged mouths.

CRUNCH!

One of the revenants bit directly through a man’s helmet.

"Sir Gerard!"

The old knight immediately cleaved the creature in half before kicking another backwards with his shield.

"...!"

Yet even with his wrathful aura, he couldn’t get rid of them all.

The goblins came from all directions with dizzying assaults, turning Amol’s shattered streets into a sea of blood and fire.

Luka lengthened his stride, refusing to let it end with defeat. Despite his body screaming in protest, he accelerated. "Faster....Faster...!" Wrath, Lust and Pride pulsed beneath his skin violently as though feeding on the surrounding Miasma.

His breath so hot it created a foggy mist.

Because of this, his gait became unsteady, and he became unstable.

"Luka..." Levia mumbled as she clicked her tongue as three goblins burst from a collapsed alleyway ahead. "Tsk!" One carried a rusted spear, while another lunged directly toward Luka, exposing broken, yellow teeth.

"Hmph!"

Schk!

Galatea’s sword split the creature apart instantly.

The sheer force crushed the second Goblin against a nearby wall hard enough to burst its skull, while the third barely had time to shriek before Luvia’s blade sliced through its throat from behind.

[You have gained EXP]

With the last Goblin falling without life, Luvia spat on its corpse.

"Pathic scum... Peh!"

The group couldn’t afford to halt.

They kept a rapid pace until the moment they reached the village of Amol.

Ahead of them, the towering wooden shrine loomed larger with every passing second. Black smoke twisted around its structure unnaturally while dozens of goblins guarded the base like rabid animals.

"There’s the fucker!"

Atop the shrine, the Goblin Shaman slowly turned to face them, with a beligerent smile.

"Galatea, take the right, Luvia, pick an opportune moment to strike, I will go first!"

Without waiting for an answer, Luka accelerated, rushing forward.

His body protested.

A sharp pain sank through his flesh and bit into his ribs, while three forms of Miasma violently fought for the excess Miasma outside his body. They pulsed beneath his skin like seething poison or burning venom.

Yet the surrounding Miasma continued feeding them endlessly.

"KRRRRAAA!"

The Shaman raised its staff.

Dark purple Mana exploded outward in a massive shell.

It formed a sort of barrier, distorting the goblins guarding the shrine.

Dozens of them rushed forward through the smoke with rusted blades and warped limbs. Several undead goblins dragged themselves across the dirt behind the living ones, their broken bones cracking loudly with each movement.

"fucking vermin!"

Galatea surged ahead toward the right flank exactly as ordered.

Her greatsword swept horizontally.

BOOOOM!

Three goblins exploded apart instantly.

Wooden barricades shattered beneath the sheer force, while nearby creatures stumbled backwards in panic.

"COME!"

Her sharp voice echoed through the battlefield as she intentionally drew attention toward herself.

"I will slaughter every last one of you!"

As a deep purple glow formed across the surface of her skin, more and more goblins peeled away from the shrine to intercept her.

Likely viewing her as the biggest threat.

Meanwhile, Levia vanished.

One moment, the dark elf remained beside Luka.

The next, only a faint puff of green smoke lingered behind.

Luka scanned the battlefield before taking a deep breath as he came to the shrine’s steps, a faint grin on his lips.

’This is great, they’ve got this in their hands.’

With each step leading to the Shaman, Luka felt a dense pressure that spread across his entire body, crushing him into the ground. The Goblin Shaman clearly sensed the danger as its crimson eyes darted around frantically searching for Levia’s presence.

That hesitation gave Luka enough time.

He slammed his foot into the ground and leapt onto the shrine with Oblivion drawn.

Crack!

Loose dirt exploded beneath him as dark-red Miasma burst violently around his body.

The nearest Goblin swung a jagged axe directly toward his neck.

Luka caught the creature’s wrist mid-swing, before squeezing enough to crush its bones completely.

With a crunch, the Goblin releases a pained screech.

Then Luka drove his clawed gauntlet straight through the Goblin’s chest, dislodging its mana crystal. A spray of blood and shattered bone burst from the wound as Luka tossed the gobling aside, rushing ahead.

Another goblin lunged toward him from the left, and a swift stomp crushed its knee backwards before a second strike caved in its skull. The crimson aura within his body exploded, growing denser as it fluctuated with power.

The sensation made his head throb and a little nauseous.

Because part of him enjoyed this far too much.

Above him, the Goblin Shaman screeched furiously before raising both hands toward the sky.

The black smoke surrounding the shrine began twisting faster.

Then the corpses scattered around the battlefield suddenly convulsed again.

Luka’s expression changed instantly.

"...Not good."

His pupils shrank.

He felt a sudden weight drop in his stomach.

His gut twisted.

"LUVIA, GALATEA, IT’S GOING TO USE CORPSE EXPLOSION!"

Though he didn’t know every foul spell in the world, this one was despicable enough to drive him crazy upon the momentary glimpse of the activation.

The Goblin’s crazed eyes gleamed in pure delight.

His body was swirling with the putrid Mana of death and decay.

"What!?"

Luvia stood half enshrouded with

Galatea dashed towards Luvia, who seemed oblivious. "Dark Elf! Hurry and find cover!"

Luvia stood half enshrouded within drifting black smoke atop the ruined barricades, one dagger already poised toward the Goblin Shaman’s throat.

Her golden eyes narrowed.

"What nonsense are you screaming abou—"

BOOOOM!

The first corpse exploded.

Rotting flesh and bone fragments blasted across the battlefield in a wave of black Mana. The undead Goblin near Gerard detonated violently enough to tear apart two nearby militia members alongside it.

Then another exploded.

And another.

The battlefield instantly descended into carnage.

"AAAAAHHH!"

A knight vanished beneath flying bone shards.

Several goblins were ripped apart by their own allies as swollen corpses burst into clouds of diseased blood and corrupted Mana.

Galatea’s expression changed immediately.

"Damn it!"

She lunged toward Luvia without hesitation, her steel boots crushing broken corpses beneath each step. The dark elf remained shocked, completely stunned at the sight as Galatea yanked her behind a broken building.

BOOOOM!

The shockwave blasted splintered wood through the air.

Luka shielded his face while forcing himself forward against the explosions.

’That insane bastard!’

Corpse Explosion wasn’t a sophisticated spell.

It was the worst type of crude, efficient and easy to learn spell born out of pure cruelty and destructive desire.

A favourite among necromancers who valued slaughter over control.

The Goblin Shaman screeched hysterically atop the shrine while its body swelled with corrupted Mana. Black veins bulged across its skull as if moments from bursting apart entirely.

It had gone mad.

Descending into madness due to overdosing on Miasma.

And that made it even more dangerous.

However, there was a slight benefit.

Necromancers couldn’t revive any corpse used for the spell.

"LUKA!"

Galatea’s voice rang out sharply amid the chaos.

A corpse near his feet suddenly twitched.

His eyes widened.

The murky eyes shone brightly as it grinned at him, swelling like a balloon.

"Damn—!"

BOOOOOM!

The explosion swallowed the entire path beneath him.

The blast hurled Luka violently through the air.

His body smashed through a wooden barricade before crashing hard against the muddy ground below. Pain exploded through his ribs while ringing filled his ears.

"...Kh—!"

Hot blood spewed from his mouth.

The sweet taste was almost addictive as the world spun.

Nearby, flames spread rapidly across the shattered fortifications as corpse after corpse continued detonating throughout the battlefield.

"Fall back!"

"Raise your damn shields!"

"W-What good is a shield?! It tore right through!"

"Sir Gerard!"

Screams echoed everywhere.

Luka forced himself onto one knee while black-red Miasma flickered wildly beneath his torn skin. His vision blurred for a moment before finally locking onto the shrine, and his stomach sank.

The goblin shaman was laughing.

Its shrivelled body convulsed with delight atop the wooden structure while dozens of corpses slowly dragged themselves upright around it once more.

’You...!’

An infernal rage exploded from Luka’s stomach, forcing him to his feet, as he held Oblivion towards the Shaman. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

"Foul Beast!" He shouted.

A massive swirl of pure red enveloped his body in dense rings of smoke.

His eyes narrowed before he let out his intense emotions with an unrelenting roar.

"Goblin!"

Luka pointed his blade towards the Goblin Shaman as his aura of wrath exploded through the entire place, overwhelming Gerard’s, dissipating the Shaman’s and creating a newly formed shroud around the warriors.

"Kihihihihi!" The Goblin giggled, oblivious to his anger.

"Luvia, Galatea."

He paused before taking a deep breath, ignoring the throbbing agony spreading through his organs.

"We’re going to end this now."