Chapter 410 Paying the Ultimate Price

The weight of her words crushed him. He felt sick. His stomach churned. His heart pounded painfully against his ribs. He had run. He had abandoned them. Everything he promised—his vow to protect them, to stand guard, to be there—it had all meant nothing.

A strangled sound escaped his throat, but Suzuka didn’t let up.

"So how about you cut the self-pity trip, get your lousy ass up, and go inside before you make an even bigger mess?"

Hermit’s breath shuddered. His hands balled into weak fists. His whole body trembled as he swallowed back the lump in his throat.

Then, slowly—miserably—he rose to his feet. Hermit staggered forward, his legs trembling as he pushed the rickety doors open. The wood groaned, swinging inward with a creak that echoed into the dimly lit room. The moment he stepped inside, a gut-wrenching stench hit him—the pungent metallic scent of blood mixed with the musky stink of rats.

His breath caught in his throat. The scene before him was a nightmare.

Kaka lay sprawled on the ground, his body rising and falling with wheezing breaths. His beady eyes were dull and half-lidded, his flesh slick with sweat and blood. His tiny, frail body was riddled with deep bite marks and long scratches that oozed blood.

Next to the wooden crate where the hatchlings huddled lay three dead rats, their mangled bodies twisted in unnatural angles. The last rat was in Kaka's mouth, still struggling, its legs twitching, its tail flicking pathetically.

With a final burst of effort, Kaka clenched his jaw and bit down hard. A sickening crunch filled the air as the rat's spine snapped like a dry twig. Its body spasmed once before going limp.

Kaka spat the dead thing onto the blood-slicked floor, his feeble chest heaving. His small, mangled form trembled as he lay there, utterly spent.

Hermit let out a sharp, high-pitched squeal. His heart felt like it had been crushed in a vice. His vision blurred with tears as he launched himself forward, desperate to reach his broken father.

But, as always, his own body betrayed him.

His clumsy, trembling feet tangled together, and with a startled yelp, he tripped. His face hit the floor with a painful thud, knocking the wind from his lungs. The world spun in his teary vision, the pain in his knees and elbows barely registering.

But none of that mattered.

With a frantic scramble, he crawled—dragging himself forward like a wounded animal—until his shaking hands found Kaka’s broken form.

He pulled him into his lap, cradling the limp goblin’s head with a gentleness, like something precious, something sacred, something irreplaceable.

"K-Kaka! W-why... why you look like this?! What happened?"

His trembling fingers ghosted over Kaka’s wounds, not daring to press too hard, afraid that even the lightest touch would shatter him completely.

Kaka's eyes fluttered open—just barely. His breath rattled in his throat, a pained, wheezing exhale that sent fresh panic tearing through Hermit’s chest.

"You... You left... but I kept them safe. Like... I promised."

A choked sob tore from Hermit’s throat. His vision swam with tears, his grip on Kaka tightening. He swallowed back his words, his entire body wracked with shudders. His tiny hands, shaking and stained with filth and blood, brushed Kaka’s sweat-slicked forehead.

Kaka let out a weak, breathy laugh, a smile barely curling at the corners of his mouth.

"I kept them safe... I knew you’d come back."

Hermit’s lips quivered. A fresh wave of guilt crashed over him like an unforgiving tide. He had left. He had abandoned them. And Kaka had nearly paid the ultimate price for his cowardice.

With a trembling sob, Hermit pressed his forehead against Kaka’s, his tears dripping onto the broken goblin’s face.

"I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry..."

The hatchlings let out soft, pitiful squeaks from their crate, their tiny bodies still quivering from the terror of the night. Hermit lifted his head, his gaze darting to them, then back to Kaka’s ruined form. His chest tightened painfully.

Suzuka stood in the doorway, arms crossed, one brow arched high as she took in the scene before her. The dead rats. The blood-streaked floor. The shivering hatchlings. And at the center of it all—Hermit blubbering like a child, cradling Kaka’s battered head in his lap.

She let out a long, exaggerated sigh.

“Well, well, well... If it isn’t our great, noble guardian, the legendary protector of hatchlings, the fearless warrior who—oh wait—ran away at the first sign of trouble.”

She gave Hermit a slow, mocking clap.

“Really, Hermit, you sure know how to make an entrance. What was the plan, huh? Dramatic last-minute rescue? Some grand return to glory? Too bad Kaka over here already did your damn job for you. Hell, with how he fought, I’d say he’s twice the goblin you’ll ever be—and there's only a torso left of him.”

She stepped closer, nudging one of the dead rats with her boot.

“Look at this mess. Kaka’s out here fighting off an entire rat invasion with nothing but his teeth, while you were outside throwing yourself a pity party. Pathetic.”

She shook her head, but—despite the sharpness of her words—there was something else beneath them. Something rare. A flicker of admiration.

She crouched down, looking at Kaka properly, her golden eyes scanning his pitiful form.

“You, on the other hand. You actually pulled it off. You protected them. Didn’t hesitate. Didn’t run. You did what you had to do.”

A smirk tugged at her lips.

“Damn, Kaka. I’d almost say I’m impressed.”

Then, she shot a side glance at Hermit and added, with a smirk,

“Shame you can’t rub it in, huh? No arms to pat yourself on the back.”

Hermit's hands trembled as he gently stroked Kaka's battered head, his heart pounding in his chest. His body was still shaking from the shock of the scene, his mind struggling to process everything. He could feel Kaka's breaths, shallow and uneven, the lacerations on his body.

"Kaka... Kaka, please... I... I should've been here. I should've... I should've done something. I should've protected you... but I... I ran... I ran, and you... you stayed. You stayed and fought. I'm sorry, Kaka... I'm so sorry. I... I failed you."

His chest heaved with sobs, the weight of his failure suffocating him.

"You didn’t deserve this. None of you did."

Suzuka's mocking words rang in his ears, they felt like daggers. The sting of truth hit him harder than any blow. She was right. He had abandoned them. He had run when they needed him most. Kaka had saved them. Kaka had done what Hermit couldn’t.

“I... I never wanted to be this way... I wanted to be strong. I wanted to protect everyone. But... I’m just... I’m just too weak. I can’t do anything right...”

Suzuka's expression was cold as she watched Hermit sobbing, his tiny body shaking with guilt. Her patience, as usual, was wearing thin. She crossed her arms and stepped forward with a sharp stride, her eyes narrowing in annoyance. Without a second thought, she raised her hand and slapped the back of Hermit's bald, wrinkled head with a sharp crack.

"Stop whining like a little baby. You’re not helping him by falling apart, you damn idiot."

She took a step back, eyeing Kaka’s broken body with a sharp gaze.

"How about you try doing something useful for once? Treat his wounds. Smear some of your stinking goblin medicine on him, wrap up his cuts, or maybe even bandage him. You know, the basics of not letting him bleed out while you sit there blubbering like a damn fool."

Suzuka’s eyes flickered with frustration as she paced slightly, looking down at Hermit with a hard stare. 

"Quit your sorry act and get to work, or I’ll be the one to leave you behind next time, you hear me? This is a mess you’ve got to fix. Kaka didn’t give up, so don’t you dare give up now, you miserable little goblin. Now get up. You've got a job to do, and if you actually give a damn about Kaka, you'll stop acting like a child and fix him up before I have to do everything myself."

She reached into her item storage then tossed a bundle of bandages and a small vial of goblin medicine toward Hermit. The items landed with a soft thud next to him, the bandages unrolling slightly as they hit the ground.

"There. Now stop acting like you're about to keel over and use your brain for once. Do what you know best, Goblin. If you want to make things right, then start by fixing Kaka up, not crying about it."

Hermit hesitated for a moment, still cradling Kaka’s head in his lap, his tear-filled eyes meeting Suzuka's cold stare. He didn’t want to feel worthless anymore. He didn’t want to be the one who failed, the one who ran. He had seen Kaka fight so hard to protect the hatchlings, and now… now it was his turn to do something for Kaka.

With shaky hands, he picked up the bandages, his heart pounding in his chest. He poured a little bit of the goblin medicine into his hands, the familiar scent of herbs and potions mingling in the air as he began to apply it to the gashes and scratches on Kaka’s body. Each movement was slow and tender, his hands shaking but filled with care. Kaka’s wounds were deep, and some of them looked infected, but Hermit did his best. His fingers fumbled as he worked, the bandages awkwardly wrapped around Kaka’s torso. He had no skill with such things, no finesse, but he did the best he could.