Chapter 255 Promise Not to be Broken

Suzuka stepped into the cavernous chamber, her eyes scanning the dimly lit surroundings. The room, though meager by any standards, exuded an air of authority befitting its occupant - the Master goblin of the breeding farm.

Crude furnishings adorned the space, consisting mainly of makeshift tables and chairs fashioned from rough-hewn logs and scavenged animal pelts draped across the walls. The floor, composed of hard-packed earth and stone, bore the marks of countless goblin feet that had trodden upon it over the years.

Faint glimmers of light emanated from small crystals strategically placed throughout the room, casting eerie shadows upon the cluttered corners and scattered piles of junk. Random assortments of discarded items littered the space - broken pieces of armor, tattered clothing, battered wooden crates - a result of the goblin's penchant for hoarding.

As Suzuka's gaze swept across the room, she spotted her target immediately - the gobliman himself, frozen in place with a look of incredulity etched upon his face, his mouth gaping open in disbelief. With a faint smirk, she waited patiently, relishing the moment as the gobliman struggled to regain his composure.

With a sudden snap of her fingers, Suzuka shattered the silence, the sound echoing through the chamber like a crack of thunder. The gobliman jolted as if yanked from a trance, stumbling backward in panic, finally snapping out of his stupor.

 The gobliman let out a startled screech, "Krrrrrrrk!" and lunged for the safety of the nearby table. With a quick motion, he seized Hermit off the ground and pulled him close, brandishing a rusty dagger threateningly against the goblin's throat. His eyes darted frantically, searching for an escape as he clung to his hostage.

Suzuka's voice dripped with sarcasm as she addressed the gobliman, her tone oozing with mock affection.

"Oh, how adorable. Are you giving a hug to good old Hermit? How touching. Tell me," she continued, her voice taunting, "is that rusty dagger the best you could come up with? Oh well, don't bother to answer, stupid goblin like you probably can't even understand a single word I say." She took a step closer as she regarded the gobliman and his hostage with jest.

The gobliman's eyes glinted with spite as he slammed the back of the dagger's handle against Hermit's head, eliciting a pained groan from the unconscious goblin. He snarled in Suzuka's direction, his voice dripping with menace as he spoke in the common tongue.

"I understand your words, human," he spat, his grip on Hermit tightening. 

"And if you don't want this shit goblin's brains smearing the walls, you'll stay right where you are. Move a muscle, and I'll gut him like a rat he is. Me not stupid, I know he is your pet! A rat! A spy! He is valuable to you alive! So you better not move, you stinking human! You will let me go if you want your precious pet back!"

Suzuka's response was laced with a playful yet confident tone, "Well, well, well, look who's decided to join the conversation and here I thought cat got your tongue," she said, a smirk playing at the corners of her lips.

 "It's a pleasant surprise to find that you're not just a snarling goblin after all. Who knew you had a silver tongue hidden beneath all that grime?"

Suzuka's lips curled into a smirk as she took another step forward, her gaze fixed firmly on the gobliman. 

With a snarl of rage, the gobliman's fist collided with Hermit's already slashed back, the force of the blow sending shockwaves of agony through the unconscious goblin's body. Hermit's frail form convulsed with pain, his breath hitching as he struggled to remain unconscious.

The gobliman's eyes burned with cruel satisfaction as he watched Hermit's reaction, relishing in the sight of his victim's suffering. He leaned in close to Suzuka, his voice low and menacing as he spoke.

"That's just a taste of what's to come if you don't back off," he growled, his grip on the dagger tightening. 

His threats did little to deter her and she responded with a nonchalant tone, tinged with mockery.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I interrupt your little hostage situation?" she quipped, her voice dripping with sarcasm. 

"How careless of me. But you know what they say about playing with fire, don't you? You're going to get burned."

Her confidence seemed unshakable as she continued to advance.

 "You might think you have the upper hand, but let's face it, you're not exactly in a position to be making demands. If you kill the goblin, you won't be walking out of here alive. So why don't you put down the dagger and step away from the goblin before you do something you'll regret?"

The gobliman's eyes widened in terror as he gazed upon Suzuka's imposing figure. What he saw was not a beautiful woman, but a formidable force of nature, a being radiating an aura of raw power and primal fury. Her beauty was eclipsed by the darkness swirling around her, a sinister blend of bloodlust and dark magic that sent shivers down his spine.

At that moment, in gobliman's eyes, Suzuka seemed less like a mere mortal and more like a looming shadow of a mythical creature, a harbinger of doom. 

She took a step forward, her posture relaxed.

 "Now, let's not resort to violence, shall we? I'm all for a civil conversation, and I'm sure we can come to some sort of agreement that benefits everyone involved. I much prefer to settle things with words rather than bloodshed."

Leaning forward slightly, she offered the gobliman a disarming smile.

 "So here's the deal. You release the goblin, and you can be on your way. And don't worry about me, I won't lay a finger on you. I'm sure a smart fellow like yourself has a secret escape tunnel or something, right? So what do you say? Sound like a fair deal?"

The gobliman's response was fraught with fear and mistrust, his eyes darting nervously between Suzuka and the unconscious Hermit held tightly in his grasp. He well knew that he stood no chance against her and the only sliver of hope was her offer.

"You think I'm a fool, don't you?" he retorted, his voice trembling with anxiety. 

"You think I'd just let him go and walk into your trap? No, no, no. I'm not that stupid. I won't fall for your tricks! You will kill me the moment I drop the dagger!"

Suzuka's mocking response cut through the tension like a blade, her voice laced with sarcasm and disdain.

"Please! If I wanted you dead, you would've been nothing but a stain on the ground before we even started this little chat. So spare me the drama."

She took a step forward, her eyes flashing with impatience.

 "Drop the goblin and get out of here before I change my mind and decide to crush your skull like a grape. Trust me, you don't want to see what happens when I get angry."

The gobliman's voice trembled with fear as he reluctantly agreed, his grip on Hermit loosening slightly.

"Fine! But you need to promise me!" he spat out, his words tinged with panic.

In the goblin kingdom, the absence of formal laws or regulations, the promise served as the bedrock upon which goblin society was built. It was a currency more valuable than gold. The concept of a promise held a sacred significance. Despite the chaotic and brutal nature of goblin society, there existed an unwavering belief in the sanctity of one's word.

From the lowest goblin slave to the most powerful master chieftain, the idea of making a promise was not taken lightly. It was understood that breaking one's word was not only dishonorable but also a disgrace to oneself and one's entire clan, a mark of shame that would follow the offender for the rest of their days.

 "I'm willing to release this stinking rat! You can have your pet back if you promise that I can go if I release him! But you better keep your word! A promise is sacred, not to be broken!"

Suzuka chuckled mockingly, "Yes, yes, I promise not to harm you. Just get lost already, don't you worry! Just get lost already. You've got a minute to scuttle away before my friends show up. And trust me, if they see you, I can't guarantee your safety. They'll tear you apart."

With a cruel sneer, the gobliman grabbed Hermit by the scruff of his neck and hurled him to the ground with brutal force. Hermit's filthy body left a streak of grime as he crashed onto the rocky floor, emitting a pained yelp upon impact, "Uuuuuf!"

 And to show his 'generosity and goodwill,' the gobliman delivered a bone-crushing kick to Hermit's side, sending him sprawling at Suzuka's feet in a pitiful heap. After he callously kicked Hermit, the gobliman wasted no time in making his escape. With a panicked frenzy, he darted across the chamber, tearing down the bear pelt off the wall that concealed the sturdy door. With trembling hands, he removed the plank barricading the entrance, revealing the passageway that was supposed to be his ticket to safety. 

But as he swung the door open with desperate hope, his heart sank like a stone. Before him lay a scene of devastation - the tunnel, his only means of escape, was completely blocked by a mountain of rubble and debris. Rocks and boulders cascaded down, sealing off any chance of passage. A stroke of pure bad luck. 

With trembling hands, the gobliman began to claw and scrape at the obstacle, his fingernails cracking and bleeding as he hurled rocks aside in a desperate bid for freedom. But no matter how hard he tried, the collapsed tunnel remained impassable, mocking him with its impenetrable barrier. Rocks tumbled and clattered around him as he hurled them aside in a futile attempt to clear the way. With each passing moment, his panic mounted, knowing that his only chance of escape was slipping further and further away.

Meanwhile, Suzuka knelt beside Hermit. She gently rolled him onto his belly, revealing the gruesome extent of his injuries. Besides being brutally beaten to death he was mercilessly whipped. The whip marks crisscrossed his back's skin like jagged lightning bolts, tearing through flesh and muscle with grotesque slashes.

 His back was a landscape of devastation, shredded flesh exposing raw muscle and bone. Chunks of torn flesh dangled from his ribs like ghoulish ornaments, and the stench of blood and filth reeked from his wounds.

Suzuka reached into her pouch and withdrew a vial of the healing blood she had prepared before the raid. The liquid shimmered with a faint glow, her healing blood helped the goblin many times before. With a steady hand, she poured the potion onto Hermit's back, watching as it splashed onto his wounds.

At first, there was a moment of stillness, as if the very air held its breath in anticipation. Then, slowly, the torn flesh eagerly drank in the healing blood, its magical properties sparking a flurry of activity within Hermit's body.

His flesh eagerly absorbed the healing blood, its powerful magic knitting together torn muscle and shattered bone with astonishing speed. The torn skin fused back together, sealing the wounds with a delicate lattice of scar tissue.

With each passing moment, Hermit's breathing grew steadier, his features relaxing as the pain faded. As Hermit was recovering Suzuka pulled a towel from her item storage and slowly cleaned Hermit's body, wiping away the filth that clung to his skin. Finally, ten minutes later, as Suzuka finished her work, Hermit's back was healed, though the injuries had left his skin rough and blemished.

Suzuka looked upon her handiwork with a sense of satisfaction, knowing that she had saved Hermit from a fate worse than death yet again. And as she glanced over at the still-frantic gobliman, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of pity for the desperate creature.