Villainess x Grimoire

Somewhere in the southern lands.

As the night passed, the ravaging howls of terror continued shaking the land of this cruel world.

The unison of the heartless voices sang in honor of their goddess, “blood! Blood! Blood!”

“10 children! Two survivors!” The shaman, the oldest magician in the green kingdom, extended his wooden staff, pointing at all the newborns: the gobogos.

“You shall do anything to survive.”

The cheers went on, “fight! Fight! Fight!”

He struck the bottom of his weapon on the ground, creating silence: in such a place, power meant everything.

“Win to earn the right to the ceremony!” Unlike humans, these fellows made their children fight to have the right to go through the ceremony. The system acted differently according to each race.

Green creatures, grotesque, vile, fierce fighters, and heartless warriors. Such were the surrounding goblins.

They stomped the floor, clapped, and made a heavy tune, bringing pressure to the younger ones.

The children remained around an enormous bonfire, picking up the diverse weapons on the floor, and attacking one another carelessly.

One of them went for a long stick, using it to push a foe into the bonfire, burning him. He pushed him further deep into the fire to make sure it died. His hands stopped only when he heard the message from the system, granting him experience and the Kin Slayer title.

“Goblin fried!” A big one yelled, rolling on the dirty ground, laughing, increasing the amusement around.

On the other side of the bonfire, the smell of burnt meat and blood entrained the nostrils of the shy goblin children. Fear and panic slipped inside their brains.

They quickly picked a weapon at random and jumped at one another.

A dagger hit the elbow of one, and a different one pierced the eye of another.

The one-eyed child ran away from the goblin who hurt him, colliding against one he hadn't taken notice of.

Due to the impact, the young one was mercilessly pushed onto a sword that awaited in front of him, causing his death.

The feet smacked on the floor, causing it to vibrate like a minor earthquake, getting fiercer and louder as the children died.

The older ones yelled in pure amusement, “kill, kill, kill, kill, kill!”

He pulled the sword out of the corpse and took a step on the deceased's body, using it as a step to jump higher. With the advantage in height he slashed at the neck of the one-eyed goblin.

A head soon rolled on the ground, causing blood to spur.

Without time to waste, he climbed on the new corpse and ran to the dumbfounded goblin. This one had a dagger in his left hand.

They struck one another, briefly clashing weapons. The one wielding the dagger moaned in pain as blood poured out of his shoulder.

The one wielding the sword kicked the opponent’s stomach and then lifted his weapon upwards to slash the one in front. However, fear reigned over his opponent, causing him to thrust the dagger deep into his foe’s chest. Blood came out of the sword wielder's mouth.

A sneak attack followed from the side, a sword that sliced the right hand of the goblin, whose dagger became stuck in the opponent’s body. He screamed from immeasurable pain.

“HANDLESS ONE! HANDLESS ONE! HANDLESS ONE!” a goblin warrior yelled repeatedly, exhilarated by the clash between the children in front of him.

A moment earlier, on the other side of the bonfire, the goblin who fried his kin used the same tactic to push another with the long stick. It forced the enemy to take a few steps toward a different opponent, causing them to fight.

Without wasting much time, the stick wearer turned around, checking on every opponent.

He then noticed the screams of the handless one, running at him, picking up a nearby sword on the way. Once the goblin got closer, he pushed the handless one away. To his misfortune, an enemy stabbed his neck from behind, extinguishing his pained cries.

Once again, the one wielding the long stick found the two leftover foes. Checking how far he was from them, his hand got hold of a dagger, removed it from the corpse, and then threw it with all his strength at the back of one of them. Because of the lack of precision and strength, the dagger curved, hitting the foot of one of them, making the prey scream, raising both arms.

This allowed the one in front of him to slash his arms and then his neck. The blood squeezed out from the opened neck, spraying into the surroundings.

The remaining two goblins glanced fiercely, madly, ecstatically at each other, preparing for the last duel.

The sound of a particular staff with bells echoed throughout the surroundings, causing everyone to grow quiet.

“The goddess Luna has offered us a goblin with an actual brain, and another who knows when to take his chances.”

Upon hearing those words, everyone around the two survivors started clapping in honor of their feats.

“In the name of the goddess Luna. Mother of us all, we welcome you two to the tribe.” The shaman smacked the staff two times on the floor, and a party to celebrate went on.

A while later, the old one with the staff moved closer to the monarch, who was watching the festival with a malicious grin. The shaman bowed, hearing its almighty voice from above.

“When the time comes, I shall name the one who pushed the goblin into the fire. He might become a great leader one day.”

“As you command, almighty goblin king, Vrag.”

"Soon we will destroy those filthy humans," he declared mercilessly as his fiery eyes looked into the thousands of goblins in front of him. “Soon.”