CHAPTER 36
"You know, I still have a significant use for him, so it would be in your best interest if you pesky beasts backed off!" an angry, booming voice shouted, just as the area around Grey began to grow thick with mist.
Out of Grey's unconscious form, a dark, swirling black vapor was seen rising.
From within the shroud, a small red wolf with a singular horn protruding from its forehead emerged, standing protectively over the mage and glaring at the goblins, who instinctively took a step back in sheer surprise.
The remaining three elites walked over to join their comrades, and the five of them leveled their weapons toward the small creature standing before them.
"It will be much better for your health if you do not attack, or else you will all perish!" the wolf snarled, its voice echoing with authority inside the goblins' minds.
However, the language barrier proved fatal; the monsters did not comprehend the human speech the familiar used to communicate, and they collectively dashed toward the wolf with a murderous roar.
One goblin thrust its spear forward, but the wolf suddenly vanished from its line of sight, reappearing behind the attacker in a blur of motion.
With a swift strike, it plunged its sharp horn into the goblin's leg, causing the creature to howl in tremendous agony.
Quickly, the wolf shifted its position again, moving with incredible speed to avoid a lightning bolt that had been launched toward it a second earlier.
It then lunged toward the specific goblin that had fired the magical strike.
Leaping high into the air, it swiftly plunged its horn into the goblin's eye, totally destroying the socket.
With a fluid, acrobatic movement, the wolf pounced off the creature's face and flipped through the air, landing gracefully a short distance away, closer to Grey's side.
The blinded goblin tried to stagger backward, but a sharp, high-pitched sound cut through the air.
A searing red beam of energy shot forth from the wolf's horn; in a flash, it crashed into the goblin's skull, killing it on the spot.
The Goblin Lord, who had been watching from his throne, stood up in sheer terror as he witnessed the sheer amount of power the small wolf exerted.
'How is this even possible? Where did that creature originate from, and why does it possess such terrifying power that it can handle my elite squad single-handedly?
Were my eyes playing tricks on me, or did I actually see that wolf emerge from the mage? Whatever the truth is, this beast is truly dangerous and horrific!'
Immediately after discharging the lethal laser beam toward the soldier, the wolf's horn began to dim.
Noir wore a small, devilish smirk on his furry face, his eyes glinting with predatory satisfaction.
Seeing their comrade dead on the floor, the remaining four goblins did not flee to safety.
Instead, they were driven by a desperate rage and dashed toward Noir simultaneously.
They unleashed a flurry of bolts, but the familiar was far too quick, easily sidestepping the attacks.
The electrical strikes kept pouring in as the goblins frantically fired bolt after bolt from their spears, yet Noir simply ran around the chamber, effortlessly weaving through the barrage.
Finally, the magical energy in the spears was exhausted, and they were unable to produce any more lightning.
Noir seized this golden opportunity, instantly closing the distance to stand in front of the goblin whose leg he had punctured earlier.
In a sudden, terrifying flash of transformation, Noir began growing in size rapidly.
Within seconds, he was as large as a small house.
In one smooth, brutal motion, he chomped down on the goblin's head, totally tearing it from its neck with a sickening crunch.
That was two down, with only three more goblins to go.
Spitting the severed head out of its mouth and onto the dusty ground, Noir immediately discharged a searing laser beam toward another target's skull, killing it on the spot.
In that same moment, without even shifting from its current position, Noir launched a concentrated fireball toward another goblin.
The projectile caused the creature to ignite in a pillar of flame, quickly reducing it to nothing but fine ash.
'It is a good thing my fire magic is significantly more potent than that young mage's,' Noir thought smugly.
The final remaining soldier began slowly backing away in terror, while the Goblin Lord frantically scanned the cavern for a viable escape route.
"Look out!" a strained voice shouted.
Suddenly, a limp body was hurled toward Noir's location.
Without moving a muscle, the wolf shot a fireball toward the flying corpse, totally burning it to ash before it could connect.
Noir could finally see the dwarf who accompanied Grey; Randin was riddled with various injuries, with jagged bits and pieces of his heavy armor lying scattered around him.
The floor was littered with shattered swords and broken shields, surrounded by the five dead bodies of the elite squad, each sliced and dispatched in different, brutal ways.
'I suppose the dwarf isn't entirely useless after all; he clearly possesses his own unique strengths,' Noir mused, his predatory eyes settling on the last fleeing goblin.
With a powerful leap, the familiar was suddenly in front of the escaping monster.
Without wasting a single second, Noir bit its head off.
Then, just as rapidly as he had grown in stature, Noir quickly reduced back to his small, puppy-like size.
With his signature agility, he dashed toward the Goblin Lord, who was still desperately trying to flee the carnage.
"I am well aware that you comprehend the human tongue, so you can certainly understand me," Noir spoke directly into the Goblin Lord's mind.
The massive creature was rooted to the spot in sheer fear, unable to look away from the terrifying beast before him.
"Good! Usually, I would have slaughtered weak trash like you without a second thought. However, that kid over there has specific questions for you, and I am also curious to hear the answers. Therefore, I won't kill you," Noir stated.
Upon hearing this, the Goblin Lord heaved a heavy sigh of relief.
"But he didn't exactly specify that he needed you kept entirely intact, did he?" Noir asked.
He smirked evilly, his singular horn starting to glow with a bright, ominous red light.