"Is that a serious question?" Vanessa’s voice drifted coolly from outside the carriage.
Raphael shot a desperate glance toward the window. The Saintess was levitating effortlessly alongside the moving train, hovering mid-air.
"You are fighting a monster!" she called out, completely unbothered.
"I noticed!" Raphael yelled back, straining against the blade.
"Then stop speaking as though it is unusual for it to resist!"
Before Raphael could respond, the Goblin violently slammed its forehead into his face. Pain exploded across his vision, loosening his grip. The creature seized the moment, driving its dagger down.
Raphael twisted wildly. The blade missed his chest but sank deep into his upper arm.
He shrieked as blood soaked his sleeve. The monster yanked the dagger free, sending Raphael staggering backward into the dark aisle. Searing pain radiated down to his fingertips, turning them numb.
His mind went entirely blank with panic.
Suddenly, Vanessa materialized inside the carriage. Ignoring the threat entirely, she stepped forward and lightly tapped a single finger against the Goblin’s forehead.
A glowing purple sigil flashed on its skin. With a flick of her hand, the creature flew backward, crashing through the jammed train doors and tumbling onto the platform outside.
Raphael clutched his spurting arm. "You said you wouldn’t interfere!"
"I said I would not correct every mistake."
"You just threw it out of a train!"
"You were about to die."
"I was handling it!"
"You are bleeding."
"That doesn’t mean I wasn’t handling it!"
Vanessa eyed his blood-soaked sleeve with sheer disdain. "You are an idiot."
"Probably," Raphael wheezed.
She gestured toward the window, where the Goblin was slowly dragging itself back onto its feet. "Finish it."
"My arm is bleeding."
"You still have one."
"That is a terrible argument!"
"Move."
Wincing, Raphael slunk out of the carriage. His legs felt like lead, but the monster was on one knee, rattled by Vanessa’s magic. Seeing him approach, its red eyes flashed with pure malice, and it lunged with a desperate burst of speed.
Raphael sidestepped the wild thrust. As the dagger bit air, he slashed down, his knife carving through the creature’s back armor. The monster stumbled, snarling, but turned and swung blindly.
Raphael raised his knife to block. The impact sent a shockwave of agony through his torn arm, nearly dislodging his weapon. The force shoved him backward until his heel struck concrete.
He was at the edge of the subway platform. Behind him lay the dark tracks.
The Goblin raised its weapon for a killing blow. Panicking, Raphael’s eyes darted down to the pit. A severed electrical cable lay across the rails, spitting faint sparks.
It was a terrible, desperate idea- which meant it was his only option.
Raphael took a deliberate step back onto the ledge. The Goblin took the bait, stepping forward onto the damp cable. Raphael slammed his boot into the exposed metal junction box beside the track.
Arcs of blue electricity violently exploded down the wire. The Goblin convulsed wildly, locking its joints. Raphael lunged forward, driving his blade straight into its heart. The monster dissolved into smoke.
[Combat Participation Detected!]
[Host has defeated a weakened Goblin Warrior.]
[Combat evaluation: Poor.]
[Improvement detected: Tactical thinking.]
Raphael doubled over, gasping for air. Three monsters. He had killed three, but none of it was heroic. He felt less like a warrior and more like an unlucky civilian who kept stumbling through violent accidents.
Vanessa floated down beside him. "You are improving."
"Really?" he panted, looking up.
"You are still weak," she said flatly, causing his face to fall. "But you are becoming less useless."
"That was almost encouraging."
"It was not intended to be."
A loud crash echoed across the station.
On the far side of the platform, Elena pulled her glowing broadsword from the chest of a Goblin Warrior Captain, watching it dissolve. Captain Vale and the Bureau operatives had already wiped out the rest.
Raphael swallowed hard. They had cleared an entire horde in seconds; he had barely survived three weakened stragglers.
Elena trotted over, her eyes instantly locking onto his arm. "You’re hurt."
"It’s nothing."
"It’s bleeding."
"That’s usually how injuries work."
She ignored his cheek, pulling a roll of heavy bandage from her tactical coat and wrapping the wound tightly. "You should have stayed behind the main formation."
"I was trying to participate."
"You nearly got yourself killed."
"Apparently that’s part of the job description."
Elena yanked the knot tight, making Raphael wince. "Sorry," she offered neutrally.
"You don’t sound sorry."
"I’m not."
Before he could complain further, Vanessa’s voice cut through the cavern. "Enough."
The Saintess wasn’t looking at them. She was staring into the pitch-black tunnel ahead, her knuckles white around her staff.
A low, guttural horn echoed from the darkness- the sound vibrated through the stone floor. Farther down the tracks, the few remaining low-tier goblins stopped searching for scrap.
They lowered their heads, their small green bodies trembling in visible terror.
Captain Vale reached for his sidearm, his jaw tightening. "That sound..."
"The horde is being commanded," Vanessa warned.
Shadows shifted within the tunnel. Heavy, thudding footsteps shook the platform as glowing red eyes multiplied in the gloom. Glowing text bloomed in Raphael’s vision:
[New Hostile Formation Detected.]
[Five Lesser Goblins | Two Goblin Warriors | One Goblin Warrior Captain]
[Additional Entity Detected - Classification: F-Tier Boss]
[Name: Goblin Chief]
Raphael paled, turning toward Vanessa. "Please tell me the boss isn’t stronger than all of those combined."
She didn’t answer.
The horn sounded a second time, a deafening blast that rattled the subway light fixtures. Out from the darkness stepped the Goblin Chief.
Massive and towering, its green skin was scarred and clad in mismatched iron scrap. A rusted greataxe rested on its shoulder, and a string of crushed skulls hung from its chest.
It lowered the bone horn from its tusks, its blood-red eyes sweeping past Vale, past Elena, past Vanessa, and locking directly onto Raphael.
Vanessa raised her staff, her magic flaring purple. "Prepare yourself."
Raphael raised his knife with a trembling hand, his arm throbbing violently. He had barely survived the small fry, but somehow, the dungeon’s leader was glaring at him like it had been waiting for him all along.