Chapter 18 Into the Darkest Den

"Handle it," Kai said without turning, the weight of his voice low but solid. Skye blinked up at him, ears twitching. Her hands gripped the hilts of her blades, nerves masked by poise. Beside her, Fara adjusted her footing. She raised her staff-spear and leveled it with purpose, its tip reflecting the low glimmer of mosslight from the damp corridor walls.

"What?" Skye asked, uncertain.

"You and Fara," Kai said, still moving forward. "Eight goblins. That’s two apiece. Practice. Learn them. If it gets too hot, you run. Understand?"

Skye gave the softest of nods. Fara's grip tightened around the shaft of her weapon in quiet agreement. The air was damp and close, heavy with the scent of old stone and distant rot. The deeper they had gone into the goblin den, the more alive the tunnels had become—noises, tremors, and eerie, glowing moss that cast strange shadows on the walls.

Then Kai was gone, his footsteps fading down the deeper vein of tunnel ahead. He muttered, low, as he ran. “Damn imp.”

The corridor widened into a vast open cavern, hollowed out like a forgotten cathedral beneath the world. What Kai saw made him stop short.

A troll, hulking and deformed, scraped its shoulders against the cavern ceiling. Its skin was the color of burned moss, gnarled and crusted with fungus. In its hand—tiny, slack, and nearly lifeless—hung Revoli, her little form dangling between the troll’s fingers. Her pink bobbed hair fell over her face, her yellow eyes barely visible beneath fluttering lids. Her pinkish skin, usually glowing with mischief, had dulled. Her small tail, ending in a devilish barb, hung limp.

The troll growled once, low and hateful, and flung her like trash.

Kai moved. No thought. Just action. He sprinted forward, shoulder low, feet gripping the stone as he dove. He caught Revoli against his chest, the two of them tumbling hard into the cavern floor. His back scraped stone, but he didn’t wince. She was safe.

Still breathing.

Kai stood up with her in his arms and started to walk.

The roar behind him wasn’t just anger—it was primal, insulted. The troll gave chase.

As the beast lunged, Kai pivoted, bent low, and drove his leg into the troll’s ankle. The creature's forward momentum betrayed it—it flipped, crashing through the air, smashing into the cavern wall with bone-shaking force.

Kai didn’t wait. With Revoli tucked against his side, he made his way back toward the goblin-infested corridor. His thoughts were tight and focused, heart pounding not from fear—but fury.

He found Skye and Fara finishing their work—Skye panting, a nick on her arm; Fara, more composed, brushing green blood from her cheek. The goblins lay scattered around them.

Kai handed off the imp girl to Fara.

"Watch her."

Fara nodded, her arms already wrapping gently around Revoli’s small, bruised frame. The barbed tail twitched faintly.

Kai turned without another word, and the trembling in the earth returned. The troll was coming.

Its roar hit first, then its charge. Kai stood his ground.

The troll’s fist came down like a hammer.

The sound echoed. Dust flew. Stone cracked.

Skye screamed. Fara gasped.

But the troll's hand… shifted.

Kai was still there, arm up, pushing. The beast’s fingers trembled, pressed back. Slowly, impossibly, Kai forced its massive weight off himself.

He gritted his teeth. Then he stepped forward.

A flash—he was under its legs. Another movement—his shoulder rammed into its kneecap. The troll buckled, groaned.

Then came the fist.

Kai’s fist. Straight between the troll’s eyes. One hit.

The creature dropped.

Dust settled. The cavern quieted.

Kai stood, backlit by the cavern’s glow, the shadow of a broken monster behind him.

He turned to his party.

“Let’s go,” he said, voice even. “Still work to do.”