My words made both of them stiffen up.
The goblins' attacks grew restless too as they tried to claw through the barriers.
Obviously, I could keep this up for as long as I wanted to, but I would love it if these idiots just gave me a reply quicker.
Thankfully, my words perked one idiot right up.
"I agree!" Melissa nodded swiftly. "I'll join you, boss!"
"That's too much. Just call me Amon."
"Boss Amon!"
"..."
Never mind.
I turned to her brother, who was hesitating more than he should.
"What about you?"
He just stared at me.
Getting the message loud and clear, I scoffed at him.
"You would rather die than get help from a demon child? Is that it? You are a pathetic excuse for a cadet, and a brother."
My expression turned cold as I approached Melissa and grabbed the back of her neck.
It was a gentle grab, but to Brian, who was staring at me like a hawk, it looked like I was strangling his sister.
And I decided to play off that fear.
"If you don't agree to team up, I will kill her now, and then I will let you get gobbled up by goblins. That is a pretty fun way to go out, isn't it?"
"Boss Amon...?"
Hearing her uneasy voice, I leaned in and whispered, "Play along if you want your brother to live."
The moment those words left my mouth, I heard a sniffle.
Then another sniffle, and another. Eventually, those sniffles broke out into a full-blown sob.
"Waaaaah! Brother!"
Wow...
This is like an opera.
Insert knight in shining armor... now.
"Melissa! Unhand her, you bastard!"
"Pfft..." I held back a laugh.
I glanced back at him.
"You have three seconds to make a choice. One, two..."
Before I could even finish the count, Brian sent a hateful glare at me and then nodded.
"Fine! Let her go and I will help."
"Good choice."
I let her go immediately.
Then, I sent out a small pulse from my body, knocking away the hordes of goblins a few meters back.
Right after, I dissipated the barriers that surrounded us, earning a confused look from Brian.
So I explained myself.
"I am a damage dealer, not your support. If you want a barrier, just use your skin hardening gift, idiot."
"But if you can do it, why do you not?" he retorted.
"If you could pick up a fairy staff and shoot glitter in the middle of a fight, would you?" I rolled my eyes. "I know I wouldn't. I don't want to waste my energy doing useless things."
Then, I glanced him up and down.
"Speaking of useless things, get ready. Goblins are about to swarm you, so harden your skin or something."
Although Melissa was laughing silently, Brian stared at me like I was his worst enemy.
But obviously, with the goblins right on our asses, he had other things to worry about.
His skin shone, and as a goblin bit down on him, it did not manage to pierce his skin.
Brian merely grabbed the goblin by the back of its neck and tossed it elsewhere.
Seeing that, I was left dumbfounded.
No wonder the numbers were not decreasing.
This guy had the power to fling goblins tens of meters, and yet he chose to toss them into nearby bushes so they could run back afterward.
Honestly... The more I see this guy, the more irritated I get.
Still, not both of them were a lost cause.
[Your stats have temporarily increased by 10%.]
[Your Gift temporarily costs 10% less energy to use.]
I felt energized and much stronger than before.
The changes also reflected in my status screen, and I had none other than Melissa to thank.
So I gave her a nod, and right after, I kicked off the ground, arriving in front of a pair of goblins.
Before the goblins could react, I grabbed both of their heads and slammed them together.
Green blood gushed out, spraying all over my face.
Though I was unfazed.
Maybe...
Maybe a few weeks ago, or even a few days ago, it would have been different.
I would have been disgusted.
But now, I could not feel a thing, nor did I care about appearances.
All that was on my mind at the moment was getting rid of the enemy.
My vision blurred for a moment.
This time, however, I did not black out.
My body began moving all on its own, slashing through the necks of several goblins at once.
I neglected defense since I had my Telekinesis to deal with that.
It felt a little strange not being in control.
But at the same time, I felt like I could regain control with a single thought.
And so, after killing nearly fifty goblins, I thought of returning to my senses.
It happened in an instant, and I was back in control.
I stood atop a goblin while clutching the neck of another.
The blackout changed.
Was it some kind of sign?
Maybe it was some high-stress coincidence?
Either way...
Crack
I dealt with the goblins again and again.
It got to the point where Brian barely had any goblins coming at him since I dealt with most of them.
And eventually, as I glanced around, spotting the hundreds of corpses littered across the ground, I felt at peace.
All the goblins were dead, and I had not even broken a sweat.
But my moment of peace was quickly interrupted by a person flying straight toward me.
It was Isabelle.
Although I was confused, I caught her with Telekinesis right as she was about to hit me.
Then, I placed her gently on the ground and observed her injuries...
There were none.
With Blood Sight, I could not detect anything weird.
Just at a glance, she seemed unscathed too.
"Did you miss me or something?" I could not help but ask.
She met my gaze with twitching brows.
"I cannot deal with that general."
She cannot?
Bullshit.
"So you came back to ask for help?"
"Do not misunderstand."
She stomped the ground firmly.
Though her cutesy attempt at acting tough made her stomp down on the head of a goblin, squashing it like a grape and splashing goblin blood all over her outfit.
Her cheeks flushed, and I did my best to hold back a chuckle from escaping.
Despite how mature she acted, she was very clumsy in stressful situations.
She did not even continue what she wanted to say.
Instead, she puffed out her cheeks and simply shot an ice bolt at the distant general.
Just then, an arrow came soaring through the sky, redirecting her ice bolt.
But it did not stop there as the arrow flew straight between her eyes.