"Captain! We—" Ali forced himself to speak, his voice trembling as he turned to face his leader. His heart pounded in his chest, each beat echoing like a drum in the eerie silence of the forest. The air was thick with the metallic tang of blood, and the faint rustling of leaves seemed to mock their plight.
But when Ali looked up, his words died in his throat.
A thin red line stretched across Kido's neck, as vivid as a serpent's tongue against his pale skin. Ali's breath hitched, his eyes widening in horror. He knew exactly what that mark meant.
It was the mark of death.
"Captain..." he whispered, his voice breaking. The word was barely audible, a fragile plea that hung in the air like a dying ember.
*Thud.*
Kido's head rolled from his shoulders, hitting the dirt with a sickening sound. Warm blood sprayed from the open wound, splattering across Ali's face. He staggered back, clutching his mouth to stifle a scream. The coppery taste of blood filled his mouth, and his stomach churned.
Kido's body swayed for a heartbeat longer, then crumpled to the ground, blood pooling beneath him. The forest seemed to hold its breath, the silence deafening.
"Ahhhhhhh!"
Watching his comrades die one after another had broken Ali's composure. Panic flooded his senses, shattering every shred of courage. He turned and fled into the darkness, heedless of the branches whipping at his face or the roots that threatened to trip him. His breath came in ragged gasps, his heart pounding like a war drum.
"Run... I have to run..."
Terror consumed his thoughts. Kido was dead. The strongest of them all was gone. What hope did he have now?
"It's impossible... It's impossible to win..."
Regret gnawed at his mind, a bitter taste that made his stomach churn.
*I shouldn't have run away from home...*
If only he hadn't stormed off, he wouldn't have become an adventurer. If he hadn't joined this damned guild, he wouldn't be here. None of this would've happened.
*No... it's Kido's fault...*
If Kido had just listened... if they'd never entered this cursed forest... his friends — his sister — would still be alive.
"I... I don't want to die!" Ali sobbed as he stumbled blindly forward, his vision blurred by tears.
But what Ali didn't know was that from the moment he turned his back on Kaito, his fate was sealed.
*Swish!*
A blade whispered through the air, cutting clean across his throat.
Ali's terrified eyes bulged wide as his legs buckled beneath him. The world spun, and his vision darkened. Somewhere distant, he heard the dull thump of his own head hitting the earth.
[Congratulations on killing a human. Strength +1.]
[Congratulations on killing a human. Skill acquired: 'Physical Enhancement D'.]
---
Kaito hung upside down from a tree branch, his cold gaze fixed on the lifeless body below. Blood pooled steadily beneath the corpse, glinting faintly in the moonlight. The forest was silent, save for the faint rustling of leaves and the occasional hoot of an owl.
"So powerful," Kaito murmured, his voice barely audible. "Yet so easy to manipulate."
Had they faced him head-on, Kaito knew he wouldn't have stood a chance. Even Kido alone could have bested him.
But Kaito didn't fight fair. He was an assassin — a predator in the shadows. The first rule of survival: never fight unless you're certain of victory. The second: strike fast, strike true, and leave nothing to chance.
He dropped silently from the branch and began looting the bodies. The adventurers' gear filled his sack — coins, rations, weapons, and even a few trinkets that might amuse his mother.
"She'll be happy with this," he muttered, his tone void of emotion. As for the goblins' belongings? Worthless junk — not even worth touching.
---
Moments later, a group of adventurers stumbled upon the bloody clearing. The stench of death hung heavy in the air, and the ground was slick with blood. Fiona, the group's healer, covered her mouth with her hand, her face pale.
"What... what happened here?" she murmured, staring at the bodies.
"Looks like a massacre," Derrick said, scanning the scene grimly. His hand tightened around the hilt of his sword, his knuckles white.
"Could they have killed each other?" Fiona asked, her voice trembling. "But... Guido wouldn't have fallen to these goblins."
"No," Morris muttered, kneeling by one of the bodies. His fingers traced the clean slice across the fallen man's throat. "This was no ordinary fight. It was the work of a professional... an assassin."
"An assassin?" Derrick frowned, his brow furrowing in disbelief.
"One strike," Morris continued, his voice low and grim. "Precise. Efficient. No wasted movement."
"Impossible," Derrick scoffed. "Guido's squad were seasoned fighters! No goblin could've done this."
"Then you underestimate what's out there." Morris's gaze turned cold, his eyes narrowing. "There are goblins that kill like men."
On the other side of the clearing, Amy knelt beside her brother's body. Her face was pale, her expression frozen in shock. Her hands trembled as she reached out to touch Ike's lifeless face.
"Ike..." she whispered, her voice breaking. Tears streamed down her cheeks, but her grief quickly turned to rage.
For a long moment, she didn't move. Then, a tremor ran through her. Magic swirled around her like a gathering storm, the air crackling with energy.
"I'll kill it..." she whispered, her voice barely audible. "I'll kill that monster."
Fiona opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, Amy slammed her fist into the earth. The ground cracked beneath her strike, stone splintering from the force.
"I'll make it suffer!" Amy snarled, her face twisted with rage.
A crater, nearly six feet wide, marked the spot where her fist had struck.
Derrick, the group's brawler, swallowed hard at the sight. "...Remind me not to get on her bad side."
---
In the darkened forest, Kaito moved silently through the trees, oblivious to the storm of fury brewing behind him. His sack of loot swung at his side, the weight of it a small comfort in the cold, unforgiving night.
"I survived..." Ali's voice echoed weakly in the night, a faint whisper that seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere at once.
But his relief turned to dread as he looked down. His body lay twisted on the forest floor — headless.
"No..."
The disembodied voice trembled as the truth settled in.
[Your exclusive skill: 'Soul Displacement' has been activated. Searching for new vessel...]
[Searching nearby bodies... Found a damaged goblin body. Transferring...]
"No... no, no, no!" Ali's voice screamed in panic, the sound echoing in his mind.
A cold force dragged him forward — and in an instant, his spirit plunged into the broken body of a dying goblin.
Ali staggered to his feet, clutching his grotesque new form in horror. His hands — green, clawed, and covered in filth — trembled as he touched his face. His breath came in ragged gasps, his mind reeling.
"Eli!" Amy's voice called faintly from the distance.
Ali's heart — or whatever passed for one now — leapt with hope. He turned toward the sound, his body moving awkwardly in its new form.
But when he raised his hand and saw the green, clawed fingers...
He froze, his hope shattering like glass.
If they found him now, they'd kill him on sight.
"Why... why did it have to be me?" Ali whispered, his voice trembling with despair.
He turned and fled into the night, his new body stumbling over roots and rocks. The forest seemed to close in around him, the shadows swallowing him whole.
---