Supreme Hunter of Beautiful Souls

Kael took a deep breath. His chest expanded, and the golden aura surrounding him intensified, pulsing like a living heart. His sword felt heavier, denser, but also more natural in his hands. It wasn't just steel—it was an extension of his own will.

The goblin wall crashed into him.

The impact was like waves crashing against a cliff. Shields clashed, spears advanced, axes descended, but Kael didn't flinch. Each blow against him was met with redoubled violence. A bone blade was lightly deflected with his forearm, and his sword pierced three bodies at once. An axe fell from above, but Kael spun, crushing the attacker's skull with the flat of the blade before cutting another in half.

The rhythm was relentless. They came in groups of five, ten, fifteen, trying to overwhelm him, but Kael moved like a storm. His feet barely touched the ground, his slashes like lightning, and his defense was an impenetrable wall. The golden aura crackled with each contact, shattering spears, igniting rusty weapons, reducing enemy screams to momentary echoes.

Suddenly, something larger moved. A colossal goblin, almost as tall as a troll, broke through the ranks. His body was covered in scars, and a crooked helmet of poorly forged iron hid part of his grotesque face. He wielded a club made from a whole tree trunk, studded with metal spikes. The monster roared, the sound drowning out even the drums.

Kael steadied his feet.

The club came down with the force of lightning. The ground shook, stones shattered, and dust rose in a flash. But Kael was no longer there. A golden glow appeared beside the beast, and the sword slashed diagonally. The club was split in two. The arm holding it fell to the ground in a grotesque spray of blood.

The giant's scream shook the clearing, but was cut short by the second blow. Kael plunged the blade into the creature's chest, piercing bone, flesh, and heart in a single motion. When he drew the sword, the body collapsed, shaking the earth.

The goblins hesitated for a moment.

Kael looked up, staring at the mass of creatures before him. Blood dripped from the blade in slow, almost rhythmic drops. His breathing remained calm, as if this fight were merely a prolonged practice.

It was at that moment that the shamans attacked again. Three of them raised their arms to the sky, and a sphere of dark green energy formed, growing until it transformed into a sickly sun. The magic screamed, distorting the air, and descended upon Kael like a meteor.

He did not flinch.

His aura expanded into a golden sphere, and when the magic collided, the impact was deafening. A flash engulfed the entire clearing. Trees were uprooted, goblins were thrown in all directions, and the ground split open in smoking cracks. The smell of burning flesh mingled with blood.

Kael remained standing in the center of the chaos, his hair disheveled by the wind from the explosion, his eyes even brighter. He charged at the shamans like a bolt of lightning, cutting the first in two before he could raise his hands again. The second tried to retreat, but Kael ran him through. The third was decapitated in a movement too quick to follow.

As the bodies fell, the clearing fell into momentary silence.

Then the drums began again.

Lounder. Faster. As if the forest itself were beating in unison.

Kael looked up at the throne of bones.

The Goblin Lord stood.

The sight was monstrous. The black stone axe pulsed as if it had a life of its own, emitting waves of energy that distorted the air around it. The creature descended from the throne with heavy steps, each stamp of its foot against the ground echoing like muffled thunder. Its presence alone was suffocating. The goblins bowed as it passed, howling in reverence.

Kael gripped the hilt of his sword.

"So you finally deigned to come."

The Goblin Lord roared. The sound wasn't just a scream: it was thunder, an avalanche, the roar of a predator preparing to tear its prey apart. Its red eyes were fixed on Kael, and there was no hesitation in them—only hunger for blood.

The distance between them was quickly swallowed up. The Lord advanced, his axe raised, and the world seemed to shrink in that moment. The air grew heavy, the shadows twisted, and even the drums fell silent for a second.

The impact came like a clash of worlds.

Golden blade met black axe, and the resulting flash blinded even the watching goblins. The sound of the collision reverberated through the trees, snapping branches, shattering stones. The earth opened beneath their feet, cracking like glass.

Kael slid backward, his feet digging into the ground, but he maintained his stance. The Goblin Lord snarled, pressing down with brutal force, muscles pulsing like ropes about to snap. The axe's evil energy tried to corrode the golden aura, spreading black flames that licked the air.

Kael gritted his teeth, his eyes glowing even brighter.

"You are nothing."

He thrust.

The shock generated a wave of energy that swept through the clearing, flinging dozens of goblins away. The Lord took two steps back, but smiled—an animalistic smile, full of fangs and hatred.

Kael didn't wait. He lunged forward, his sword slashing in a diagonal arc. The Lord raised his axe, blocking. The collision shook the ground again, and gold and black sparks exploded like fireworks. They exchanged blows in succession—cuts, blocks, energy clashes. Each impact was an explosion, each movement ripped the life from the surrounding forest.

The battle the goblins had expected to watch as a spectacle turned into a private apocalypse. Trees were shattered, the ground turned to dust, the entire night seemed to shimmer with the clash of light and darkness.

Kael felt the pressure. The Lord was not like the others. His strength was monstrous, his speed brutal, his endurance unbelievable. With each blocked blow, the impact reverberated in Kael's bones. But his eyes did not waver. His heart did not tremble.

It was as if this fight were inevitable. As if his entire life had prepared him for this moment.

The Lord raised his axe for a vertical strike. The air split before the blade even descended. Kael spun, dodging by a hair's breadth, and slashed at the creature's side. Blood gushed, black and thick, but the monster did not retreat. Instead, it roared even louder, its fury fueling its strength.

Kael gripped his sword. Blood trickled down his own hand, cut by the impact of the shocks. His muscles burned, his breath began to labor, but he wouldn't stop. He couldn't stop.

He fixed his eyes on the Goblin Lord, who was now advancing again, each step shaking the earth.

He smiled. "Let's finish this."