Chapter 28: Delilah
"FIREBALL!" Theo shouted.
He shoved the fireball straight into the goblin shaman’s mouth.
FWOOSH
The inside of the shaman’s head instantly cooked from the inside out. Sparks burst from its nose, ears, and eye sockets before the entire body jerked violently once—
Then went limp. Thin smoke began curling out from the shaman’s face.
Theo stayed on top of the corpse for a moment, panting heavily before wiping the sweat off his forehead.
“…Yeah. Not doing that again,” he muttered.
Clap Clap Clap Clap
David approached while applauding casually.
“Well I’ll be damned, boss,” David said, offering Theo a hand. “Not only’d you stop that ugly bastard from castin’ another buff—”
Theo grabbed his hand and pulled himself up from the dead goblin’s body.
“—you actually killed the damn thing yourself.”
“Yeah…” Theo muttered while dusting dirt off his clothes. “How’s the others?”
“We lost a few boys,” David replied, jerking a thumb toward Matheo’s phalanx squad.
Two spearmen were already lying motionless on the stone floor. Another man was still alive, though barely conscious, while two of Tara’s archers worked quickly to stop the bleeding.
“Oh… finally some dead bodies,” Theo muttered. “Still, not too many casualties, right?”
“Nah," David replied, "Coulda gone a whole lot worse.”
“KAAAGH!!”
The goblin general’s shriek suddenly tore through the chamber, cutting their conversation short.
Theo and David turned toward across the throne chamber.
Matheo’s phalanx squad was surrounding the blinded goblin general, repeatedly driving their spears into its body while the monster crawled helplessly across the floor.
“KRRRIIAAAGH!!”
The giant goblin writhed violently, green blood spreading beneath its body as stab wounds continued piling across its chest, shoulders, and stomach.
Then Captain Matheo stepped forward.
He raised his spear high—
—and thrust it straight into the goblin general’s chest. Right through the heart.
The goblin general convulsed once before finally collapsing flat against the ground. Dead.
“And that’s the last one,” David said while looking proudly toward the villagers.
Theo exhaled slowly.
“Thank god… it’s finally over…”
Then suddenly—
“Oh? I think Shaman-kun won’t be needing this anymore.”
The cheerful voice of the naked elf suddenly echoed across the chamber again.
Theo turned and immediately saw her casually step toward the goblin shaman’s fallen staff before picking it up cheerfully.
“Excuse me, ma’am,” David said carefully, though his tone remained polite. “Mind settin’ that thing down for us, ma’am? That there’s a mighty dangerous stick.”
Nearby, Tara and some of her archer squad were already approaching as well. Their bows were lowered, but every arrow remained nocked and ready to fire at a moment’s notice.
“Yes,” Tara added coldly. “Put that down. And explain why there’s a suspicious naked lunatic inside a goblin lair.”
“Oh? I’m actually one of Gen-san’s captives,” the elf replied cheerfully. “Same as that human girl hiding over there this whole time.”
She casually pointed to behind the throne.
Everyone looked.
Behind the stone throne, a frightened naked woman slowly emerged into view. Unlike the elf, this one looked exactly like what everyone expected from a goblin captive.
Terrified.
Her entire body trembled as she carefully peeked around the chamber, checking whether the goblins were truly dead.
“And please, I don’t want to put my staff down,” the elf continued while hugging the staff affectionately. “Shaman-kun took it from me awhile ago. I really missed it.”
“From you?” Theo muttered. “That’s your staff?”
“That’s right,” the elf replied happily.
Tara narrowed her eyes.
“…What exactly are you?”
“Me?” The elf smiled brightly. “I’m Delilah. A druid living in this forest.”
Several of Tara’s archers visibly reacted at that. A druid. Even Theo could tell from their faces that the title carried weight.
“…Do we need to worry about you?” Tara asked firmly, unlike the rest of her squad.
“Umm…” Delilah tilted her head innocently. “I don’t think I’m the one you all should worry about right now.”
Then she pointed directly at Theo.
“I think your friend over there had more urgent problem instead.”
“Huh? Me?” Theo frowned while pointing himself. “Why me?”
“Your skin gets paler every heartbeat, and your pupils are dilated,” Delilah commented cheerfully, “I think you’re suffering from mana deficiency. You’ll probably pass out very soon.”
“I mean, yeah, I’m out of mana,” Theo replied. “But I don’t feel any—”
Suddenly, his vision blurred and the strength in his legs vanished almost instantly.
“Huh—?”
His body collapsed before he could even react.
The last thing Theo saw was Delilah’s blurry figure standing across from him with that same cheerful smile. Then everything went black.
“See?” Delilah’s voice echoed faintly before his consciousness disappeared completely.
---
The Village
Theo slowly opened his eyes.
The first thing he saw was the familiar roof of a tipi tent above him.
“…Huh?”
He turned his head slightly to a nearby charpoy bed. Several slings resting on the table beside it, its David’s bed.
“I’m back?” Theo muttered groggily.
He slowly pushed himself upright from his own charpoy bed, his head still feeling heavy.
---
A few moments later, Theo stepped out of the tent. Daylight greeted him immediately.
The village looked completely normal again. Busy. Lively, even. Villagers moved back and forth carrying baskets of food, chunks of meat, and sacks of milk while conversations and laughter filled the air.
“Ah, boss, you’re finally awake.”
David’s voice called out from the side.
Theo turned and saw David and Greta already walking toward him, both looking cheerful just like the rest of the village.
“David…” Theo muttered. “How long was I out?”
“You’ve been sleeping like a log since yesterday, boss,” David replied with a grin. “Good thing you woke up in time.”
“In time for what?”
“Tonight’s celebration,” Greta answered cheerfully. “Chief Tara decided killing a goblin general and wiping out its army deserves a proper party.”
“Ah… I see…”
Theo watched a villager pass by carrying chunks of freshly butchered buffalo meat over his shoulder.
Then his expression suddenly tightened.
“Wait. The casualties,” Theo asked quickly. “Where's the bodies?”
---
Village Morgue
“Ugh… damn it…”
Theo stared at the floating status panel in frustration.
----------------------------------------
[ CONDITION FAILURE ]
Post-Mortem Vessel
Brain Status : Dead
Time Since Death : 28:32:49
Body Integrity: 83%
ASSESSMENT : Brain ceased to function
CANNOT EXECUTE
----------------------------------------
In front of him lay two corpses already covered with cloth. It’s the two of Matheo’s spearmen.
Theo, David, and Greta now stood inside the village morgue tent while Captain Matheo remained nearby in silence, his posture rigid as he looked toward the bodies of his men.
“Not working, boss?” David asked quietly from behind him.
Theo shook his head.
“As I thought,” he sighed. “It only works on fresh corpses.”
“Damn…” David scratched the back of his head. “Kinda hoped we’d get ourselves another Earth fella.”
“Does that mean I may take my men for burial, sir?” Matheo asked.
“Yes, Captain,” Theo replied. “Give them a proper one.”
Matheo gave a slow nod.
“Yes, Vice-Chief. Tomorrow, I will lay them to rest in the most beautiful grassland I know.”
For Earth’s nomadic tribes, burial beneath the earth was uncommon. Open-air burial was more natural to them. Apparently, Civara wasn’t much different from Earth in that regard.
---
The Village
“How about the female captives?” Theo asked later.
The three of them had already left the morgue tent and were now walking through the village again.
“We’ve tended to them,” Greta replied. “But they only speak a few words. Traumatized. Months as goblin captives will do that.”
“Where are they from?”
“Different tribes around the grasslands,” Greta answered. “Scavengers, beastmen… even a few barbarian women.”
“Hm…”
Theo rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
“Returning them could open good relations with nearby tribes.”
Then suddenly, he remembered something.
“Ah. That naked lunatic captive calling herself a druid,” Theo said, looking alarmed again. “What about her?”
“Ah…” David muttered. “…Her.”
---
Livestock Pen
Just outside the eastern side of the village was the livestock pen. Buffalo, bison, goats, sheep, whatever animals the villagers managed to catch from the grasslands and breed were kept there.
And in one corner of the enclosure, old man Shum could be seen dancing around happily.
Right beside him sat Delilah, the elf druid. Thankfully no longer naked, though the green robe made from leaves and tree bark somehow still looked unnecessarily seductive.
She sat calmly on a wooden stool, humming and smiling while holding her staff against a leather fermentation sack glowing with soft green light. Several village children surrounded her in fascination, staring at the strange magic like it was some festival performance.
“She’s helping old man Shum make the milk moonshine with her magic,” David explained.
Theo, David, and Greta watched from several meters away.
“With magic?” Theo asked.
“Yep, says her nature magic speeds up churnin’ an’ all that.” David replied, “Stuff that oughta take days gets done in a few hours now.”
“Oh… really…” Theo muttered.
He tilted his head slightly, trying to process it.
Nature magic affecting fermentation? Did that mean druid magic accelerated biological processes or something? If so, wasn’t that basically biotechnology disguised as forest hobo wizardry?
“Well, if she really wants to help, that’s good for us,” Theo said. “This village barely has any magic users to begin with.”
“True,” Greta chimed in. “Druids are extremely reclusive mages. Most of them choose to live deep in nature far away from any settlements.”
Theo turned toward her.
“And whenever a village accidentally discovers a druid’s territory,” Greta continued, “they usually try very hard not to offend them. A druid willing to help your settlement is considered a massive blessing.”
“I see…” Theo muttered. “But if druids are that powerful, how did she end up getting captured by goblins?”
“That’s because shaman-kun refused to give my staff back.”
“WHOA—!”
Theo nearly jumped out of his skin as Delilah was suddenly already standing right behind him.