The translucent interface hovered in the air, cold and unfeeling.
Elrick stared at it for what felt like hours, though the glowing numbers hadn't shifted once. His emotions tangled into a knot he couldn't name. Was this excitement? Fear? Dread? All of them at once?
The option was simple: Summon Next Unit.
He didn't move.
He couldn't move.
Beatriz was already beyond anything he thought he could handle. Every time she moved, every time she spoke, she felt like a blade hanging over the world itself. The thought of adding another… thing… to his side? It made his stomach churn.
He remembered the game. The characters he'd drawn back then. Half of them weren't even remotely human—monsters in mind and form. The humanoid ones weren't much better, their beauty often hiding something far worse.
He'd been lucky with Beatriz. That much he knew.
So why risk breaking the streak?
His eyes drifted over the smooth, unblinking surface of the UI. One question kept gnawing at him: Why did I even get another draw? He hadn't done anything… or had he?
The thought sat there, festering. Then—like a puzzle piece snapping into place—it hit him.
What Beatriz had just done.
The chieftain. The camp. Every last goblin.
A kill count… filling some kind of invisible bar. A meter he couldn't see, but the system clearly could.
He stared at the "Yes" option for a long while. Then exhaled sharply and tapped No.
The screen didn't fade. Instead, another window unfolded in front of him, its text almost smug.
Automatic Summon in: 24:00:00
Elrick blinked. His jaw tightened. "You mother—" He cut himself off, glaring at the floating letters as if sheer hatred could burn them out of existence. If the system had a throat, he'd have strangled it.
That's when he saw her.
Beatriz emerged through the settling haze, her tall, statuesque form moving with quiet inevitability. Obsidian and gold shimmered faintly in the dying light, her mere presence pressing down on the world around her. Even the forest seemed to recoil.
She stopped before him and spoke—not with warmth, not with cruelty, but with the same unshakable gravitas as always. Her words were the chieftain's final confession.
Elrick felt his anger at the system drain just a bit. He already knew the locations—he'd seen them on the map—but said nothing. Instead, he pulled the parchment free and unfolded it.
"Were the captives there?" he asked.
"Yes," she replied without hesitation. "About a hundred."
A slow, relieved nod. "Good… we finally saved them." His voice softened, carrying a rare warmth. "I just hope they make it to the settlement without trouble." His gaze drifted toward the southeast, picturing the freed captives on the road—tired, but alive—moving toward walls that would keep them safe. "Now it's time to find a human settlement of our own."
He wanted Beatriz to guard the freed captives until they reached a settlement, but the thought gnawed at him. She was too powerful—maybe too unnatural—for this world. Her mere presence might draw the wrong kind of attention. In a land whose politics he didn't understand, that could be dangerous. And if there were other powers here—people who might see her as a threat—it could spiral into a huge problem.
The obvious choice would have been the nearest one—but he knew the freed captives would be heading there. He wanted no chance encounters yet.
"Southwest," he murmured under his breath, more to himself than to her. "Five, maybe six days by caravan…" His eyes flicked to Beatriz's towering form, her spear faintly catching the light. "With your speed… I wonder…"
The sun had dipped low, shadows stretching long across the forest floor.
"It's about to get dark," Elrick murmured. "We also need food."
Beatriz stepped forward without a word, scooping up the heavy sack of spoils as if it weighed nothing. She lowered herself to one knee, silent, yet her intent was clear.
Elrick's gaze lingered on the sprawl of the main goblin camp. They could strip it for more—gold, weapons, supplies—but without a cart, it would only slow them down. This would have to be enough.
He climbed onto her back, settling in as she rose in one smooth motion. Then the forest became a blur, each heartbeat swallowed by the breakneck pace as she streaked southwest.