Perfect Soul

Chapter 8:

“This place is disgusting…” Garbiral said to himself as he walked down the corridors, turning back to look at the creature behind him. “What are you doing? Move it!” He yelled; an annoyed expression plastered on his face.

The elf-like creatures stopped, turning to him and running over quickly after. Each of them wore dirty slave drags and looked scared by what he may do to them. Although they looked like elves, they thought like elves, they spoke like elves, they acted like slaves. Their biology was something else entirely.

The truth is, the four of them were nothing more than homunculi, artificial humanoids creatures that were authorised to be slaves by most kingdoms in the world, immortal beings to be used for the express purpose to serve traditionally made beings. In some underground crime rings though, people can pay magicians to put a living creatures deceased soul into these artificial forms, giving them powers a normal homunculi wouldn’t have.

Was this a crime? Yes, in fact, no nation on the planet would allow such a thing, not that it stopped many from participating in the practice. Garbiral being one of these people who use what are referred to as ‘Illegal Homunculi’. Not that he cared whether it was legal or not, he just needed someone to help out on his adventures, someone that would heal and buff him to make sure he didn’t die, take credit for doing everything alone and get money that way.

“Hey, black…scout ahead will you?! Blonde, get ready to buff me!” He demanded, not referring to them by name but rather their hair colours. Not that he cared to learn what their names were anyway.

“Oh right, yes, I’ll do it!” One with black hair responded, immediately running ahead of the group and into the darkness. No torch to help her see, no light source to at least make sure she didn’t get lost. Absolutely nothing.

“You four are little help to me, I wonder if you’re even worth having around sometimes.” He said with a look of disgust on his face. Knowing they wouldn’t stand up to him, they never did. He always treated them horribly, the only reason they ever did what he demanded was out of fear of facing worse.

It was all a complete contradiction to the loving, kind and heroic adventurer that everyone who knew about him were familiar with. Instead, was really this self-centred, manipulative, sinister excuse of a man who thought himself superior to these innocent people, who had once lived normal and happy lives, now forced into slavery for his own gain. A fate many people, including elves like themselves, would consider worse than death itself.

As he walked down the dark corridors, he saw the black haired elf standing in the corridors, looking forward dead still like she was talking to someone, though her posture indicated she was afraid, more so than she ever showed to Garbiral.

“Why have you stopped?” He asked, finally getting close with the other three elven homunculi, the others looking at her like she’s asking him to attack her while Garbiral himself looks like he’s just dealt with a huge inconvenience.

“I’m sorry my Lord, there seems to be a powerful presence down this hallway! I can’t tell what it is, but it feels like a monster! A really strong one too!” She pleaded, terrified between getting attacked by Garbiral and whatever creature was lurking down these corridor.

“Ugh, useless…fine, I’ll go first if you won’t, but don’t think you’ll be getting away with this. Trust me, you won’t.” He said with a sour expression, pushing her out of his way before practically marching forward.

As he reached the end, he noticed the torches coming to life, orange flames filling the dark, cold room with a light that illuminated the plane and empty space. In the centre, a small hobgoblin, perhaps 3 feet tall with white hair and in a butlers uniform. He stood there all alone with his arms crossed and staring forward at the adventurer and the elf homunculi slaves.

“So, you’re the foolish intruders who dared infiltrate the great Ravenscroft Castle?! I will show you the error of your ways and present you a fate worse than an agonising death!” He said with a smile that looked like it belonged to a child who was proud of a terrible drawing than an evil torturer.

“Is this some kind of joke?” He asked with an annoyed expression, like he was being told his opponent was a literal child. “I will end you without getting any sort of buff!” He said confidently, drawing his blade and running forward without a word, hoping to end it quickly.

Swinging his sword down on the goblins head. His attack was immediately stopped, by the hobgoblin before him, stopping the blade with a pinch of his fingers. “Is this the best you have for me, human?” He asked, giving Garbiral a punch his stomach, then chest before round housing him across the head with strength a hobgoblin shouldn’t have.

Garbiral was sent multiple feet back, slamming into the stone wall with immense, more so that even the average Orc shouldn’t have. After for a few seconds, he eventually peeled himself off the wall, most of his bones broken, shattered into pieces all over his body, likely also massive internal bleeding in just a few hits.

“Hey! What are you stupid?! Heal me now!!” He yelled, looking back to the elf slaves he had brought with him, his voice mixed with both rage and desperation, a tone that was likely mixed with a lot of threat too. “Come on! Do it now!!”

Scared for their lives, they did as he said, using multiple healing spells to heal his body back to full restoration, just as he was before he had engaged in this fight. “Now use your magic to buff me!! Strengthen me! Quickly!” He demanded, still too afraid to do anything, each of them doing as he requested, increasing his strength, speed, reflexes and so on. “Ha! This should close the power gap!”

“It really doesn’t, but I like your style, guess it’s my turn now!” He said with the same smile as before, lifting his hands and getting into a monk-like fighting stance. “Goblin King!” The words flowed from his mouth like water in a river, his body growing, muscles becoming more toned, his features sharpening until he looked much more human-like.

Garbiral and the four elf homunculi slaves stared in shock and horror, none of them could have ever begun to understand how a creature could do something like this, what this power was, how he was able to access it, why it was actually happening now.

“So…ready to face me now?” The goblin asked, his voice much more mature and human like, no longer childish or silly. His facial expression dead serious while still holding the same stance as earlier.

“What in the-…” Garbiral muttered, lifting his blade and running forward again. “GRAHHHHHHH!!” He screamed out, running as fast as he could.

The goblin stared as he got close, reaching out a hand at speeds that eclipsed light itself, pressing against pressure points all over his body in an instant. Garbiral’s body dropping to the floor, paralysed completely.

“Slaves…how pathetic of you…you couldn’t just have a normal adventurer teammate…as much of a villain I’m supposed to be, even this kind of stuff disgusts me…and unfortunately for you, Nanilk has been in need of test subjects.”