Chapter 246: Green creatures

Serelyth banked to the side and circled, her golden eyes narrowing. "These are no villagers, no lost travelers," she rumbled. "Goblins." Her tone was sharp, edged with disgust. With a powerful wingbeat, she lowered them into a clearing a short distance away from the clusters of green-skinned creatures. The air here was damp, thick with the scent of moss and rot.

As soon as her claws touched the ground, she shifted, her form shrinking and reforming until the dragon stood as a tall, sharp-eyed woman. Her expression betrayed her annoyance. "I dislike taking this form, but moving as a dragon will draw every eye."

The group dismounted carefully, adjusting their packs. Renkai cracked his knuckles and then ran a hand through his hair, his sharp foxlike grin showing. "We should go in like we own the place," he muttered, low but fierce. "Show them we’re not afraid. But—" his eyes scanned the trees—"since there are many of them, best to be cautious. Let me scout ahead."

Lira gave him a nod. "Alright. Be careful. We’ll follow slowly."

Without another word, Renkai’s body shimmered and compressed, his form shifting into a sleek fox with fur the color of embered gold. His ears twitched, tail flicking once before he darted silently into the undergrowth.

The rest of the group crouched low, following in a slower, more careful path. Branches creaked softly underfoot, the forest floor damp with fallen leaves. They kept close to the bushes, eyes fixed on the faint movement of Renkai ahead.

The goblins soon came into view. A cluster of them, maybe a dozen, scattered across a muddy patch beneath the trees. Their bodies were squat, with mottled green skin, crooked teeth, and long, pointed ears. Most carried crude weapons—branches sharpened at the ends, heavy stones tied to ropes, jagged bones strapped to sticks. They jabbered and grunted to one another, voices harsh and broken, a language of growls and clattering syllables.

Patricia wrinkled her nose and whispered, "Oh, look at that... one of them is rolling in the mud like it’s some kind of game. Crazy."

The others peered closer. Sure enough, one goblin flopped happily onto its back, wriggling and splashing, sending clumps of mud flying into the air while the others barked and snarled at each other.

"But most of them..." Patricia continued, her face twisting in disgust. "Ugh, they stink! Do you smell that?"

The foul odor wafted through the trees—sweat, rot, and damp filth mixed together. Even Maelin gagged softly, covering her mouth with her sleeve. "By the stars, that’s worse than the academy stables in summer."

"Quiet," Serelyth hissed, her golden eyes narrowing. "Mock them if you wish later, but do not let your words carry. Goblins may be stupid, but they are not deaf."

Lira’s heart pounded as she crouched lower. These weren’t lost creatures in need of saving—they were wild, dangerous, unpredictable. And they were too close for comfort.

Renkai padded silently back into the brush, his form shimmering until he stood once more as a man. His face was grim, eyes narrowed. "There are about thirty of them," he whispered. "All male. Likely a hunting band—killing, stealing, taking whatever they can carry."

Lira’s breath caught. "Thirty?" she murmured, her eyes widening. "What now? Should we leave? Fight?"

Before she could form another thought, Serelyth turned to her, eyes blazing with quiet fury. "I would cleanse them from this land without hesitation," she said coldly. "These creatures bring nothing but ruin. If they stumble upon a village, they will tear it to the ground. They know no empathy, no kinship. Even their offspring are left in foul, shallow pits to fend for themselves. I wonder only how they gathered in such numbers here—and where their females are." Her lip curled. "Disgusting little vermin."

Lira lowered her gaze, deep in thought. Her fingers pressed against her temple as she leaned her head into her hand. Thirty goblins—an entire swarm of stinking, armed scavengers. Fighting them could be suicide... and yet, if Serelyth was right, leaving them could spell death for any innocent settlement nearby.

Her thoughts spiraled, her heart heavy with indecision. She barely noticed when Serelyth’s sharp eyes shifted toward Renkai. He met her gaze, gave a subtle nod, and in the next instant both figures slipped soundlessly into the background, vanishing between shadows and brush.

Still crouched low, Lira sighed, unaware of their absence. Maelin and Patricia knelt beside her, holding their sleeves over their faces, muffling their words.

"Gods, the smell," Patricia muttered, her nose wrinkling.

"Worse than anything," Maelin agreed through her sleeve. "It clings to the air."

Lira half-heard their complaints, their voices blurred under the weight of her own thoughts.

Thalanir, ever silent, remained standing. His hand rested near his sword, his sharp eyes sweeping the trees, watching for the slightest shift, the faintest danger.

Lira rubbed her temple again, whispering under her breath, "What do we do...?"

Unaware, the decision was already being made without her.

Deep within the shadows, Serelyth’s form shimmered, scales sliding across her skin before she fully embraced her draconic power. Her humanoid guise melted away, leaving only the predator beneath. A low, guttural growl built in her chest as she crept along the tree line.

Renkai padded silently at her side in fox form, golden fur rippling like liquid fire between the underbrush. His movements were quick, precise, untraceable. When Serelyth’s eyes flashed toward him, he flicked his tail once in acknowledgment. The hunt had begun.

The goblins were chaos made flesh—grunting, shoving one another, waving crude sticks and jagged stones as if they were fine weapons. One wrestled with another over a half-rotten bone. Another cackled as he rolled in the mud, smearing filth across his own face. Their guttural screeches carried through the clearing, drowning out all else.

They didn’t notice the shadows closing in.

Renkai struck first. His form blurred, fox shifting into man mid-leap, twin blades flashing in the dim light. Two goblins fell before they even registered the attack—one throat slit clean, another pierced through the chest. Their screeches rang out, but Serelyth was already there, descending upon them like a storm.

She opened her mouth and loosed a searing plume of fire. The air roared as heat rolled outward, swallowing five goblins at once. Their cries turned to shrieks of agony before being snuffed out in ash and smoke. The stench of burning flesh filled the clearing.

Panic spread through the swarm. Goblins scrambled, some charging recklessly, others stumbling in retreat, but there was no escape. Renkai moved like liquid shadow, blades flashing, cutting down any that tried to scatter. Serelyth raged through their ranks, fire sweeping across the forest floor in controlled bursts, each strike precise, cleansing.

The goblins fought back with feral desperation—clubs and stones swung wildly, sharp sticks thrust forward—but none of it pierced their hunters. Against dragon flame and fox steel, they were nothing.

Minutes stretched, though it felt like only heartbeats. By the time the last goblin shrieked and fell, the clearing was littered with bodies. Ash drifted in the air. The reek of sweat, blood, and smoke clung heavy to the ground.

Serelyth straightened, her chest rising and falling, a grim satisfaction in her eyes. "They would have only spread rot," she said coldly, shaking cinders from her clawed hand.

Renkai wiped his blades clean on a fallen goblin’s rag, his expression unreadable. "It is done."

Without another word, the two melted back into the trees, their steps silent, their presence once more hidden.

Back in the bushes, Lira still sat with her head in her hand, trying to puzzle through the choice before her. Maelin and Patricia bickered softly through their sleeves, and Thalanir watched the woods with his steady, patient gaze.

None of them knew the danger had already been erased.

A sudden silence fell over the forest.

The goblin screeches and cackling that had filled the clearing were gone. Not even the crack of branches or rustle of leaves remained—only the faint smell of smoke drifting through the air.

Lira frowned, straightening from where she had been resting her chin on her palm. "Wait... where are Serelyth and Renkai?"

Thalanir’s eyes narrowed as he scanned the trees. "Gone. They moved without a sound."

Patricia lowered her sleeve, sniffing the air with disgust. "Ugh... it reeks even worse now. Burnt and foul. What is that smell?"

Lira’s stomach sank. She rose and pushed through the bushes, the others trailing behind her. As they emerged into the clearing, the sight froze them in place.

The goblins were gone.

What remained were only smoldering piles of ash, charred bodies collapsed in grotesque shapes, and streaks of dark blood soaking into the dirt. The air shimmered faintly from the heat of fire that had only just died down.

Serelyth stood tall amidst the ruin, her eyes gleaming gold, scales still glinting faintly across her arms. She exhaled, a curl of smoke drifting from her lips. Beside her, Renkai cleaned his blades calmly, as if nothing about the slaughter required explanation.

Lira’s breath caught. She stepped forward slowly, eyes darting between them. "You... you did this?"

Serelyth turned, her voice steady, almost cold. "They were a disease. Had we left them, they would have devoured villages, torn children from their homes, spread rot until nothing remained. I ended it before they had the chance."

Renkai sheathed his blades and looked at her with quiet certainty. "Better by our hands now than by their hands later."

The others shifted uncomfortably. Patricia covered her mouth, pale at the sight. Maelin gripped her arm, eyes wide but saying nothing.

Lira swallowed hard, heart torn between shock and reluctant understanding. She looked again at the carnage—at the foul, twisted creatures who would never harm anyone again. She exhaled slowly.

"...I wish you had told me first," she whispered.

Serelyth’s gaze softened just a fraction. "Sometimes, little fire, there is no time for hesitation."