Damien, Luka, and Summer were at a severe disadvantage. The goblin outmatched them in every way—speed, strength, and, most unsettling of all, it could weaponize its bones.
The small explosion from earlier had blasted the trio backward, buying them a moment to catch their breath and regroup behind the crumbling shell of an old building.
Damien and Luka stood side by side, Summer a few paces behind them, her breathing ragged.
"What do we do?" Summer asked, her voice laced with worry.
Luka answered immediately, almost reflexively. "We kill it."
But Damien shook his head, just slightly, before speaking. "No. We can't. That thing's too strong, it's faster and stronger than all of us put together."
He hesitated for a beat, then continued, his voice low. "And you've noticed it too, haven't you? It has an ability."
That changed everything.
A monster with an ability meant it was at least third rank or higher—something far beyond what grade one deviants like them were equipped to handle.
Summer's voice broke the silence, shaky and uncertain. "How is that even possible? Didn't the lieutenant say this island only had grade one or two monsters?"
The three of them fell quiet, each trying—and failing—to find an explanation.
Meanwhile, another thought gnawed at Damien's mind. 'Where the hell is the control tower? They should've sent reinforcements the moment Randall's team got into trouble.'
But he didn't voice it. Right now, none of that mattered. All that mattered was surviving the next few minutes.
Damien spoke evenly, forcing calm into his tone. "Same formation. We keep fighting it, but the second we see an opening, we sprint toward the lake."
The plan wasn't ideal. The lake was notorious—the number one death zone on the island—but it was still a better bet than facing down a third-rank monster head-on.
Fear clawed at him, unbidden—the image of Randall's mangled body flashing through his mind, but he shoved it down. He couldn't afford to show weakness. Not now.
Luka, however, wasn't hiding anything. Fury radiated off him in waves.
He grabbed Damien by the shoulder, fingers digging in painfully. "Why the hell would we run? You saw what that bastard did to Randall, and you're telling me we're just gonna run away? No. We kill it."
For a split second, Damien lost control.
"That's exactly why we're running, you idiot!" he shouted, shaking Luka's hand off. "We can't beat that thing!"
However, that mistake became clear the moment sprinting footsteps barreled straight toward them. Damiens' voice was too loud.
'Crap,' Damien thought, gritting his teeth.
He shot a quick nod to Summer and Luka, and the trio sprinted back onto the cracked brick road of the ruined city.
Ahead of them, the goblin barreled toward them, tongue lolling from its mouth like a rabid animal.
Damien called lightning through his veins once more, his body crackling with power as his veins lit up with electric blue.
Luka, meanwhile, swapped his shield for his boots, keeping Nova ready in his right hand. He was banking on mobility—dodging instead of blocking.
Their goal was simple: stall the beast, keep it at bay, and pray for an opening.
Damien didn't charge in mindlessly. Instead, he gathered lightning into his hand and hurled it at the goblin.
The creature jumped backward, easily dodging the attack, and retaliated by launching a flurry of bone fragments straight at Damien's chest.
Before they could hit, shimmering golden bubbles snapped into place.
The bones slammed into the bubbles, their momentum slowed drastically, giving Damien just enough time to dodge.
'With this setup, we might actually hold it off until reinforcements arrive,' Damien thought, a flicker of hope sparking in his chest.
But the feeling was short-lived.
Without warning, Luka bolted forward, kicking off the air with Nova gleaming in his hand. His face was twisted in rage.
"I'll kill it myself," Luka muttered under his breath.
'Damn it, Luka, you are a pain in the ass,' Damien thought, cursing silently.
Without hesitation, he pushed off the ground in a blur of crackling lightning, racing after him.
..
Luka moved fast—blisteringly fast—as he continuously propelled himself forward, kicking off the air with explosive bursts. His sword, Nova, gleamed under the fractured sky as he thrust it straight toward the goblin's chest, aiming to impale it.
But the goblin twisted its body with frightening ease, slipping past the attack as Luka flew by, momentum carrying him helplessly forward. Before Luka could react, the creature's clawed hand lashed out, gripping his back with bone-piercing force. Its nails sank deep into his flesh, and Luka let out a raw, strangled yelp.
The monster spun in place, using its grip to hurl Luka like a ragdoll toward a crumbling building.
A golden bubble materialized just in time, surrounding Luka and catching him midair before he could smash into the rubble. The barrier shimmered as it absorbed the brutal momentum, keeping him intact.
Damien, trailing close behind, gritted his teeth and slashed with his lightning-coated blade, aiming straight for the creature's neck. Sparks danced off the sword as it whistled through the air, but the goblin caught the weapon with one clawed hand as if it were nothing.
In the same breath, it raked its free arm across Damien's chest, slicing through flesh and cloth with sharpened bone.
Damien choked out a stifled scream as white-hot pain lanced through him. His body faltered—and in that vulnerable instant, the goblin opened its gaping, slobbering mouth, aiming to tear into him.
But before it could sink its teeth into Damien's throat, a shining green projectile slammed toward the goblin. The beast snarled and disengaged, leaping backward several meters in a blur of motion.
Summer seized the opportunity. Another golden bubble formed around Damien, yanking him out of reach and floating him away from the immediate danger.
Damien felt the familiar warmth of Summer's magic surge over him, trying desperately to stitch him back together. The bleeding slowed. The edges of the wound pulled tight and closed, sealing the worst of the damage. His boots touched down lightly on the cracked brick street as the bubble dissipated.
"Don't you see, Luka? We have no chance! We need to run!" Damien shouted, his voice hoarse with frustration and pain, desperately hoping his idiot friend would finally see the impossible danger they faced.
But Luka, stubborn as ever, didn't listen. His eyes burned with unrelenting rage as he lunged forward once more, his sword raised high.
'Idiot,' Damien thought grimly.
Still, he couldn't abandon him.
Damien shot forward too, lightning exploding from his legs. This time, he and Luka moved in perfect sync, their attacks weaving together, their steps mirroring each other. For a heartbeat, they were a single force.