The Birth of the New World

Gra

“plEase… nO, KilL!”

…

“… Eh? Did you just speak English?”

I can’t fight this thing. This Aura, this rage…

Holding Vivviv tightly against me, I can’t help the tears falling from my eyes as I gaze up in horror at the being standing before us. Her form is twisted in shadows with melting and growing, thorn and scale covered appendages, moving and thrashing and shifting about her person like living flesh made from darkness so deep that it feels as if I am staring into a hole gouged out of reality with a rusty blade.

Her eyes are like dark pits and the darkness of death escapes her lips with every breath, as if her very power cannot entirely be contained within her body, leaking out as rage causes it to bubble and boil to the surface from some dark well inside of her.

Just existing before her, crushed beneath her Aura’s presence, is already enough to make me fear for my life like I have never before. Not even when I am hunting large monsters that can trample trees like sticks, have I felt this way.

Every instinct in my body is screaming at me that I do not want to die by her hands. That such a death would be far worse than merely being eaten or crushed by some beast. My very soul is screaming at me, begging and pleading for me to run away from her as fast as I can.

But even when we take a chance to try and crawl away when her eyes are closed, we are easily stopped by her shadows, threatening to run us through as they pierce the wall mere inches away from our noses.

All we can do is huddle up against the frozen wall, holding each other as we wait for death to take its toll. To pray that our end will be quick and painless in this final moment.

Watching the Demon through tear filled eyes, I watch as she slowly brings in the anger, the air around us seeming to calm as she takes deep breaths and relaxes herself. Her shadows slowly retracting back into her until all that is left is a little Demon no taller than myself. If it wasn’t for the remaining presence of her Aura, she might even look almost harmless. Especially when compared to the beast of a man that is standing just behind her. But the power radiating off from her, even as it slowly diminishes, does not lie. Aside from Father, she is the most dangerous being in these lands.

A ruler, a veritable god standing amongst mortals. A Monarch.

Once she has calmed down some, she and the giant Demon start to talk with one another. Now that her rage is no longer screaming death into my very soul, I can finally start to think again, and desperation for both Vivviv’s and my life pushes me to act. To try and find a way out of this situation.

I don’t want to die yet. I still haven’t seen the end of winter yet. I want to cuddle with Vivviv again and hold her as I sleep. I still haven’t finished reading my books yet!

…

Wait, reading! Those books must have been written in the same language as these Demons, or as the Humans that Father told us about. If I can talk with them, maybe I can convince them to spare us, or at least Vivviv…

Pushing what little magic I still have left in my core after throwing everything at the Demons, my core now being prevented from hungrily drinking in the cold around us to refill by this domineering Aura, I desperately push it all towards one of the gifts of Father. The gift of language.

I used it to learn the writings of those books, and I will be damned if I can’t use it again to do this!

Slowly, their words draw meaning as the magic does its work, sounds entering my ears becoming words as they reach my mind through the filter of magic.

“… on healing. Sit down and take some pressure of that leg. I’ll kill them.”

“Lain…”

“I’m fine.”

She really is going to kill us!

I push even harder, my empty core aching in my abdomen as I drain it for everything it has left, squeezing it dry and pushing it until a headache starts to grow in my head.

Opening my mouth, I desperately cry out what few words I can put together.

“plEase… nO, KilL!”

…

“… Eh? Did you just speak English?”

She gawks at me with open surprise. Her eyes are no longer dark pits of nothingness, but are now golden halos resting upon a bed of black, slit like pupils watching me with interest. They remind me of the eyes of those fluffy and lithe terrors that often prey on the little ones from the dark alleys and hiss at me when I try to pet them. One clawed my hand and ran away from me the other day…

Stupid Gra, now’s not the time to be thinking about that!

All I can do is desperately nod my head, showing that I understand her.

She raises an eyebrow, curiosity clearing filling her face as she looks me up and down.

“Hmm… How did you learn English? Did someone teach you?”

I shake my head, unable to speak any further. Without any mana to use, I can’t speak a language that I haven’t learned. The magic is doing all the work for me, it doesn’t mean that I have suddenly learned the words and what they mean. The best I can do now is just understanding her words as the spell continues to translate them for me.

“Hmm? Can’t talk anymore? Don’t want to?” She looks me up and down, her eyes seeming to take on a new shine as she takes me in, a feeling like she is peering into my very being and sifting through the layers that make me up, like flipping through the pages of a book. It fills me with a quiver that runs down my spine as her gaze makes my very soul itch.

“Or… you can’t?” She asks with a slight tilt of her head, her pupils dilating ever so slightly like one of those lithe and fluffy creatures finding some interesting prey to play with.

Without a word, her Aura begins to lighten ever so slightly, and my core is finally able to drink up the cold of the air around us, the strangle hold around my core being reduced to merely an iron grip.

Finally with some energy to push towards fueling the magic, I try to speak again, the words messily escaping my lips as I speak their language for the first time with an unpracticed tongue and nothing but a dripping flow of magic to push towards the spell.

“pLease… PleAse no Kill. yOu win!”

I tighten my grip around Vivviv as I hold down a wince from my broken arm. It is radiating with a pain that travels through my whole body and makes it hard to breath. Vivviv peeks out from where she is hiding with her face buried in my breast, her eyes fearfully watching us without understanding. She doesn’t know how to use our magic like this yet. Most of my Brothers and Sisters probably don’t even know that they can, or even care to try for that matter. If they can’t throw it or make something explode, then they don’t care about how else their gift can be used. Magic is only a weapon to them.

The Grey Demon tilts her head further, her eyes digging into mine with her gaze, those golden halos of hers, filling my vision as my heart begins to beat faster and pound in my chest. She holds our lives in her hands, and she knows it. The only reason we are still alive is because I have her interest.

“Why shouldn’t I kill you? If I had left you to continue on your warpath, your people would kill and eat mine, burn down my land and destroyed our home. Look at what you have already done to our city. Look at what YOU did to MY Demons. You hurt them; you might have even been able to kill them. Would you have spared their lives if they asked for mercy?”

Would I have spared them? I don’t think I would have. They are my enemies, and they would have killed me given the chance. The one had nearly succeeded at that.

Looking around at the destroyed city, everything is either burning or burned, collapsed into a giant spanning sink hole that trails across the city, or frozen solid by my Aura having pushed the winter into hellish conditions. All around us is destruction and death, the remains of dead monsters and thousands of the little ones littering the streets like so much garbage mixed with the rubble of falling apart buildings. This place was practically already ruins when we got here, but our presence had certainly not made it any better, even before the battle.

Still, I don’t want to die.

“Gra wouLd SpaRe theM! PleaSe No kIll!”

“That’s a lie. I can feel your soul, Goblin. Don’t lie to me. Would you have spared their lives?” She asks again with a promise of violence behind her lips, that old rage starting to claw its way back out a little bit through her voice.

My heart nearly jumps out of my chest as her presence tightens around me like a hand squeezing my heart. It only lasts for a second, but I quickly get the message. No lying.

“NO! Gra soRRy! plEase no Kill!!!”

Her anger goes down somewhat, and she returns to simple curiosity. Behind her, the other Demons are limping over and take a seat on the rubble of the destroyed street as they tend to their wounds, glancing over at us curiously.

“Good, I don’t like liars. Now, why shouldn’t I kill you? I’m willing to try forgiving you for hurting them, this is war after all, and I just killed a bunch of your guys, but we can’t risk keeping you around. You’re dangerous.”

Behind her, the giant Demon speaks up. “Lain, why draw this out? Just hurry up and-“

She raises her hand and silences him, not removing her eyes from me as she does so. She just waits for me to respond.

Why shouldn’t they kill us? Can I give them something? What would she even want?

“Gra… Gra giVe you Books?”

“You read?” She asks with a raised eyebrow.

“YES!”

“What are you reading?”

“Book iS called The hobbit. Gra give For oUr liVes?”

“You’re reading The Hobbit? Huh, something weird about a Goblin reading that… It’s a good book though. You like reading?”

“YES! But Gra Trade foR lifE!

“Unfortunately, I already have that book. I have a whole library full of books at home. What else would you trade me for your life?”

Of course, the books wouldn’t be enough. Of course, someone powerful like her would have lots of good things… What do we have that is worth our lives? Anything that will keep her from killing us!

…

I only have one thing that I can give her…

“Gra… Gra give you everything. Gra becoMe yoUrs. PleasE, JuSt spaRe Vivviv!” I beg her as I hold Vivviv in my arms, still peeking out at us with tears staining her face as she watches us communicate in an alien language.

The Grey Demon reels back a bit, any sense of predatory playfulness leaving her for a moment as her eyes flicker down toward Vivviv. Her eyes lingering as she sees how I am holding the quivering girl.

“You would become my slave to protect her?”

“Yes…”

Why would I go so far for her? I’ve only known her for a couple of days, but I would… The thought of seeing something bad happen to Vivviv… It tears me apart.

The Grey Demon looks at me, her eyes weighing my words like golden scales. She seems to come to some conclusion and smiles.

The look on her face sends a chill running down my back.

Reaching out with her hand adorned with void-black claws, her arm wreathed in golden markings of roots and branches growing from the many jagged scars that adorns her slim arm, golden leaves dressing those branches, and along the inner side of her forearm, three sentences are etched in black lettering with golden particles flowing through them by some divine magic.

Her hand reaches for my face, and I have to hold back the urge to pull away from her as my skin itches at her touch, not wanting to anger her. It really is only Vivviv’s touch, that for some strange reason, doesn’t bother me. But I will endure this for her.

Her thumb pets my ash stained-cheek, a clawed finger moving to touch my long ear that is still stinging from where it got hit by the giant Demon. I want to slap aside her hand, my skin crawling under her touch, but I hold myself back out of fear of retaliation. Memories of what my Sisters were doing in Father’s room come back to me. The sight of them rolling around as they wrap their bodies around each other and moan like rutting animals, their faces planted in each other’s crotches.

As her eyes gaze into mine, the image of the Grey Demon in my mind pushes me down and takes me, her hand buried between my legs as she forces me to moan against my will. In my mind, I can’t help but imagine as Vivviv is there… watching from the side as I am taken…

If it is for Vivviv… For our lives… To keep her safe…

Her face draws near, her lips far too close to mine, so close that I can almost feel her. My body fights to move my face away from hers, entirely unable to get away from her deceptively strong hand that hold me by the chin, but also not wanting to anger her, entirely unable to resist. My breaths coming out hitched and halted as I endure her presence so close to my skin, making me want to beg her to stop. When she speaks again, her voice can be felt on the corner of my lips, tickling my cheek with her warm breath, a little giggle reaching my ear. “Hmhm~ You would give me your body?” She asks, her voice laced with honey, promising sweetness, but also a sticky trap that can never be escaped, no matter how much I might wriggle and writhe.

“Yes…” I say through quivering lips, a tear running down my cheek.

Her thumb, ever so gently, moves across my cheek and wipes away the tear. I can feel as the tip of her claw glides just over my skin, right below my eye…

“For a Goblin, you certainly are cute~ But, luckily for you, I have no interest in cheating on my lover. Nor do I have any interest in making slaves. That would violate my promise.” She whispers into my ear seductively as she slowly retracts her hand, her claws gently sliding across my cheek before departing, promising blood with but a little bit of pressure. Her markings lightly glow against the backdrop of the night sky as her arm returns to her side, the promises she has made coming to the forefront of my mind just by gazing upon her arm.

My eyes return to her face as I look up at her in utter confusion, my skin still crawling from her touch and begging to be itched. She just giggles at the look of me, her perfectly symmetrical, heart shaped face becoming something quite lovely as her face blooms with a smile, her perfectly white teeth showing clearly through parted lips, a black blush on her cheeks. She looks like she is eating up my mix of confusing emotions like a freshly cooked meal, looking down at me with utter glee and satisfaction. A stark contrast to the horrifying face that she wore when I first laid eyes on her.

With that blush of black showing through her grey cheeks, she lets out a satisfied sigh, “Ah… I feel so much better now. Now that I got a little bit of revenge by bulling you some, I can finally feel my anger calming down. Hahaha~ Ahhhh, bullying cute girls really is the best medicine, I really am too far gone now, hahahaaaa~ Though, I do have to blame Sky for that. She keeps feeding all of my bad habits and urges like gasoline and fire~” she says to herself as she looks off into the distance with a smile, as if gazing into some happy dream, a little pink tongue peeking out and licking her claw as her finger slowly traces her lower lip.

Uhm… What the hell is going on? Is she not going to have her way with me?

The Grey Demon finally returns her gaze to me, a pleasant smile on her beautiful face as she looks the two of us over. Vivviv is hiding like a little animal under her cloak, a big blush on her face as she looks between the two of us, while I can only tighten my hold over her, uncertainty filling me. I don’t want to get my hopes up in case she suddenly changes her mind and decides to attack us, or to push me down and take me against my will.

I just can’t get past how she was looking at me. That felt real. Like she actually wanted to take me, and that is horrifying! We aren’t even of the same people!

“I have no use for slaves. Nor do I have any desire to… Well, ok, I can’t lie, I am interested, but I am not going to do anything to either of you. Instead, there is something that you can give me.”

Either of us? Does she want Vivviv too!?

“Anything!” I squeak out desperately, her words making me want to hide my body away from her, lest she decide to eat me or even try to take Vivviv from me. She just giggles as she watches me squirm under her hungry gaze, the dark blush in her cheeks growing deeper as she seems to be getting far too much enjoyment out of this.

“Careful about promising a Devil anything, cute little Hobgoblin. I might just take everything, hmhmhm ahhhh~ But jokes aside, I want information.”

The giant Demon who had given up on convincing her and was resting nearby, turns with interest as he hears this, his ears perking up to listen in.

“inFormAtion?”

“Yes. I want numbers, names, descriptions, and powers. I want to know everything about your people. Where you are hiding, your plans, who your leader is and where they are. You will tell me everything I want to know.”

“Gra wouLd beCome traItor?”

“Yes, but you and your cute little friend here will get to live.”

…

I would be betraying my people…

I look around at all the destruction caused by us, and remember the trail of scorched earth left in our wake. The uncountable number of our own that died just to get here. How everything that has happened so far, has been because of Father’s obsession with finding the very being that is standing before me now.

We could have claimed any place along the way and made homes for ourselves. We didn’t have to go on a warpath, destroying so much and losing so much, just because of one man’s revenge. Vivviv and I could have been living quietly somewhere safe instead of being here right now. I could have still been in bed cuddling with her, but instead, I am having to bargain for our lives in the middle of the night with a Devil…

… But.

If I could send the Grey Demon to Father? If he could be killed? I could take those that would follow me and make a safe place for us. A safe place for Vivviv and I…

“… SpaRe Gra’s forces. My CaptAins and littLe Ones. And Gra wiLL do as You asK.”

“Your forces? I don’t see them here?”

“Gra saw what Was happening… ORRderd forCes to Stay bacK. Would HaVe died to Demons uSeleSSly. Vivviv was suPPosed to Stay baCk, but foLLowed. Vivviv Is stupiD…” I speak out with broken words, petting her messy green hair with my hand.

The Grey Demon just smiles, her pearly white teeth peeking out from behind her lips as she does. “She clearly loves you.”

I can’t help but blush at that, my fingers digging into Vivviv’s hair to scratch at her scalp and hold her head to my chest. Despite the situation, Vivviv purrs as I pet her, pushing and rubbing her face lovingly into my clothes.

“Alright. I’ll spare your forces. But you have to tell me everything I want to know, no lies.”

I go to nod my head, desperate to get us through this situation, but she raises her left hand to stop me.

“Hold on. Before that, I need a guarantee. The both of you are going to enter a contract with me.”

“A ContrAct?”

“Yes.” Is all she says as her domineer Aura seems to change, her smile taking on a devilish charm to it. Her voice, though spoken as only a single word, carries a cheery tone to it and tastes of blood on parchment to my ears.

The world darkens around us, a black haze filling the very air and dying the earth as shadows stretch and grow. When she speaks next, her voice is not entirely heard by our ears, but is instead perceived by our souls. Her every word reverberating through our very being with the weight of a goddesses’ will.

Gra, Vivviv, I would like to offer you both a contract…