Roland exhaled a tired breath. Realistically, there was only one option here. He squeezed the gemstone and hoped that whichever God was listening would make the next process less painful.
A dense warmth quickly gathered beneath his firm grip, it turned so hot Roland unclenched by instinct.
"Ow! What the hell is th-"
He stared at the sizzling wound imprinted into the centre of his palm. A thin Red Cross glared painfully at him. But whilst Roland questioned his life choices he saw the most bizarre thing taking place. The wound crystallized and broke away into tiny dust particles.
Roland gawked with a troubling feeling at the black tattoo left behind. He blinked a few times and four tiny circular symbols appeared. Revolving around the thin cross. The black tomoe started circling the cross. Roland stared at the goblin searching for answers. But the Goblin simply pulled an ugly smile before lightly clapping.
"Bravo! Bravo! Welcome! Welcome to the family! Ah before I forget, there is a short read I think you should have a look at." The Goblin slowly unearthed a thick scroll which tumbled open all the way down the goblin's slender frame.
"Ah a short read you say" Roland said with a wry smile.
"This covers everything you need to know in regard to the rules and regulations of attending the tea party. It's imperative that a member attends every invitation. Missing a single one may result in an unfortunate penalty. Further action beyond this is well…fatal to say the very least."
Roland nodded his head casually, he was very much still stuck in a trance about the black tattoo against the palm of his hand. He never owned one in his old world. And was wondering what the change in his outward appearance looked like to the rest of the world.
"Ahem! Now that's all the fun stuff taken care of. I suggest you have a careful read of the rules before the next gathering"
"The next gathering?" Roland asked a little confused.
"Yes. You should expect a summon at least once every fortnight. You'll know when it's time…now then. I think that concludes this meeting of ours. I look forward to seeing your performance…Mr Goat." The Goblin concluded with an ugly smile.
Roland's body stiffened in response. He was given no real choice in this matter from his own point of view, whilst also understanding any other choice he did make other than accepting this obscure and very cult-like invitation likely spelt trouble for him.
'From one trouble to the next.' He thought to himself, inwardly, he was practically cursing that lying old wizard who set him up.
He moved his arm, regaining full mobility over the now-restored flesh. His clothes were still caked in dried blood, but he would rather take the uncleanliness, rather than not having an arm.
'I wonder if this undead body of mine helped reattach my limb quicker.'
There was still a large area of unknown when it came down to the strange vitality of his body. Roland healed quickly, not to the point where he could grow limbs in a blink of an eye. But wounds and cuts noticeably closed up at an inhumane rate. At this point, he still couldn't pinpoint what else this body of his could do.
"Oh by the way, what would you have me do with this one."
The goblin turned its head towards Alyssa. Roland also did the same, he slightly gasped only now just remembered she was even there. Frozen in time like a statue.
Roland stared into those rattling fountain-colored eyes deeply. She must be really scared right now, that much was clear. There was too much hate between them at this point to let this go.
Since he had transmigrated into this body their only interactions seemed to be a one-sided form of abuse. Back in his old world, Roland would have labelled these kind of people as bullies. The kind of people he hated the most when he thought about it. But in truth, Roland didn't carry any deep-rooted hate or quarrel with these people specifically. So he found it a little hard to hate or dislike them. At best, the overly aggressive nature of how Alyssa in particular dealt with him only made him cautious of her.
But…
'I can't justify whether or not their hate is just.'
He still had those letters left behind by the previous owner of this body. And after he read through those ramblings himself. Roland had surmised that the boy who previously owned this body was insane.
Who had potentially plotted or at least attempted a few crimes. Therefore, their hatred may be coming from a reasonable place, but nevertheless, Roland wasn't going to hand himself on a plate for them to torture.
He was in control of this body now, and there wasn't any small doubt about where his moral compass spun in that respect. He blinked plainly before steering his gaze away from Alyssa. His attention was more poised towards the Goblin, more specifically the coloured rings against its 6 fingers.
'I bet those magic rings are filled with mana. Hmm, wonder if I asked him nicely would he let me hold one.' The main reason he even came down here in the first place was to gain something helpful for him learning magic.
A sigh broke through his lips, he used his left hand to brush away the tussle of braided locks covering his eyes.
A cold glint sparkled in his brilliant pool of violet irises as he arrived at a firm decision.
"She wanted to kill me. So you should treat her the same way you'd treat any of my enemies. If you may…" he said performing a slight bow.
Alyssa's eyes rattled frantically out of sheer horror. The goblin beheld the boy in silence for a few moments. Then it turned on its heels and faced Alyssa with a firm nod.
"Very well."
Roland's heart beat rapidly as he watched it take one foot forward and vanish, reappearing in the air right beside Alyssa. Its hand blurred as it waved it across her face. Roland blinked in horror watching Alyssa's head blast into a dark paste. Pieces of flesh splattered against the wall of the cave. Her body was released from its invisible cage and flopped down against the ground.
Just like that, she was dead. The prodigy of the cloud family was gone. Roland remained seated for a short while, and could only stare in disbelief. Ever so often the headless corpse twitched whilst blood poured out of the gaping hole.
If it wasn't for the very hard-to-miss tiny goblin busying around, Roland might've just sat there and stared all night.
***
Roland finished going through the lengthy scroll filled with poorly written rules and regulations on how to conduct himself at one of these so-called 'tea parties.' And if he hadn't seen the sheer power behind the composed frail thing. He might've laughed or mocked the idea of a tea party in the first place. But the two corpses were a reminder of the mysterious power he was up against. And he wasn't about to get himself killed over his own ignorance. On the contrary, Roland spent twice the time reading over the tall scroll over and over.
Once he was satisfied he had somewhat of an understanding about this strange cult-like club. He delicately handed the scroll back to the Goblin.
"Perfect! Nicely Done Mr Goat. And on that note, I shall-"
Roland also caught wind of that distraction as well. The emerald jewel embedded into the forehead of the Ivory mask started to pulse. The silence made the tiny hairs against Roland's arm stand tall. And after a brief tense moment of nothing being said. The Goblin gave him a stern look before it opened its mouth.
"Well, this is unusual Mr Goat. It seems you've been offered a personal audience with our General overseer. Ah, glory, oh-glory" The goblin started to sing emphatically.
Roland was still stuck on the pulsing jewel and paid no attention to the Goblin at first, but he did eventually snap into focus. He heard the word General Overseer and narrowed his brows in deep thought.
"Who...who is-" Before he could say anything else the pulsing light turned more volatile. Now it looked as though it was an urgent call being sent.
The Goblin started clapping its hand, before urging Roland to do something he perhaps had no confidence in doing right now.
"Right! Go on then put it on Mr Goat. Our Lord awaits for your arrival. Go on now, don't be shy."
Roland took a deep look at the eerie-looking mask before he shifted his uncertain gaze towards the Goblin. He moved his eyes between the mask and the Goblin a few times before taking a deep breath.