Chapter 41: Theodore’s Conscience + [A Goblin Brute’s Hunt]

Blood exploded across the forest floor.

Theodore froze completely. "L-Lily?"

The Goblin Brute slowly lifted its massive sword back upward. Flesh and blood dripped from the rusted spikes while Lily’s crushed body barely remained recognizable anymore.

Theodore stumbled backward, his breathing becoming uneven.

"No... no no no no...!"

Cassien quietly watched from behind, that reaction catching his attention immediately.

Panic spread across Theodore’s face, as if he expected this mission to go differently.

The brute suddenly roared before charging toward them.

"Get out of the way," Cassien said calmly.

Theodore barely snapped out of it in time, rolling sideways as the massive sword smashed into the ground beside him.

Boom!

Dirt exploded upward around the green beast.

"Shit!" Theodore yelled while scrambling back to his feet. "Since when was this thing so strong?!"

Cassien slowly pulled one pistol from his holster. "Well... it is a Goblin Brute."

Boom!

The bullet slammed into the brute’s shoulder. The monster staggered slightly before immediately locking onto Cassien instead.

"...Great," Cassien muttered. "Now it likes me."

The brute charged him instantly, stomping noises resounding throughout the forest.

Cassien calmly sidestepped the first swing.

Bang!

The sword crashed into a tree hard enough to split it apart, as Theodore stared in disbelief.

’He’s calm...? Why is he calm?!’

Cassien spun one dagger through his fingers before glancing sideways toward Theodore. "So... you just gonna stand there?"

Theodore immediately gritted his teeth. "Tch... no!"

He rushed forward with his sword raised high, managing to cut across the brute’s side, drawing green blood across the grass.

The monster roared before swinging backward violently. Theodore’s eyes widened.

But he was too slow to move away, and Cassien had to improvise.

He suddenly grabbed the back of Theodore’s shirt and yanked him away just before the sword tore through the space where his head had been.

Another tree shattered apart while Theodore breathed heavily, confused.

"You saved me? Why did you save me?"

Cassien blinked. "Would you rather I didn’t?"

"No, I just..." Theodore stopped himself. "Never mind."

’Good, that makes the two of us.’

Cassien noticed that hesitation, and everything was going according to his thought process.

Because if Theodore was thinking about killing him later, then Cassien saving him now didn’t make sense.

Which meant Theodore had already started viewing him as a threat as well.

The brute roared again before charging wildly.

Cassien activated Flow State instantly as the world around him suddenly felt slower.

The brute’s movements became clearer. Mana Threading flowed through both daggers automatically, thin blue strands wrapping around the blades.

Boom!

The brute swung downward violently. Cassien dodged in a curl before slashing across its wrist.

More green blood poured out.

"Hit the joints, its movements slow down faster."

Theodore listened and immediately rushed in from the side.

Slash!

His sword cut into the brute’s knee this time, and the monster staggered heavily.

"Like that?!"

"Less screaming, more killing."

The brute suddenly spun toward Theodore again. He panicked, raising his sword a little too late, which was when Cassien used his dagger to stop the impact.

Clang!

That collision launched him backward across the grass.

"Stop being afraid and kill the damn thing!"

Theodore still fought like somebody who expected things to go differently, which nearly caused his death several times.

The brute charged Theodore again, its sword dragging against the ground loudly, but Cassien moved first.

His body slipped past the Goblin’s side while Precision Counter activated naturally. And right there, the opening was finally found...

"Theodore, now!"

Theodore reacted immediately this time, the goblin’s attention elsewhere, as he rushed forward with both hands gripping the massive sword.

"Just die already!"

Slash!

And just like that... it finally died.

...

After a couple of minutes of letting Theodore rest, Cassien finally brought up the question.

"You reacted quite strangely earlier."

"What?"

"When Lily died."

"Anyone with a human brain would react like that."

"Mhm, but you sounded surprised."

Theodore forced out a laugh. "Well, yeah, obviously I was surprised."

Cassien stopped in front of him, close enough to kill him at any moment.

Then Cassien smiled. "Relax, I’m just messing with you. What did you expect, no team bonding?"

Theodore laughed awkwardly.

"But you..." Theodore shifted the attention. "You were the one acting weirdly calm this entire mission, even after her death."

"I didn’t know the woman as well as you did. I’m surprised you didn’t get on your knees and sob, but you are a pretty reckless guy."

"I mean, adrenaline and all that," Theodore improvised.

"Sure."

Cassien looked at Theodore while Precision Counter was active, and his own teammate was full of patterns.

He moved to collect the Goblin Brute’s beast core. "What are you still curious about? I can tell something is still on your mind."

"I mean, how are you this strong already?"

Cassien collected the shattered green fragments. "Training."

"No, seriously. You fight like you’ve done this before."

"Well, I’d hope so. Fighting while inexperienced sounds like a terrible strategy. Look what happened to that girl over there... not like the academy cares if their students die on missions. It’s up to the kids."

"That’s not what I mean. Forget about her for a moment."

Then Theodore stopped.

"You ask a lot of questions for someone so weak," Cassien said.

"And you avoid answering them for someone so strong."

Neither of them spoke for a moment.

"You overthink a lot of things," Cassien finally broke the silence. "Especially this..."

Cassien finally pocketed all the fragments, adjusted his posture, spun around Theodore, and then suddenly placed him in a chokehold.

"T-c-gh-!"

"Stop trying to escape. The pain will only worsen," Cassien whispered.

Cassien dropped him to the floor, stepping on his back while pulling out his pistol.

"What’s wrong with you?!"

"Before we report this mission, I felt like there was one more thing I needed to do... I mean, think about it... Wouldn’t the report feel more exhilarating if I told them two out of the three of us died? What do you think?"

Theodore froze in fear. "N-no!"

"Anyways... we finally have some time to talk."

"Huh...?"

"Transmigrator to Transmigrator."