Chapter 229 The Bandits Treasure

Suzuka, maintaining her composure, didn't let excitement show just yet. She approached the chest, her hands working efficiently to open it. The creak of the hinges gave way to a sight that made even Suzuka's composed facade crack - the chest was brimming with a dazzling array of glistening coins, reflecting the dim light of the hidden chamber.

"Well, I'll be damned," she muttered, running her fingers through the shimmering coins.

 "Looks like Hermit knows more than just stinking puddles after all."

The goblin beamed with pride, eager to receive the long-awaited praise he believed he rightfully deserved. In a constant seek of validation, his chest puffed out as if he had just conquered the world. With outstretched arms, he approached Suzuka, his eyes gleaming with hopeful, childish expectation.

 "Master, a warm hug, please? Praise Hermit, I did good."

Suzuka's annoyance flared, and she shot him a withering glare. 

"Ugh, no! Forget the hugs. But you did well. So! In return, I will give you my lunch leftovers. Just keep those poop-stained fingers in your pants and away from me. As for now, no hugs, no praises. If you've got time for such nonsense, go check the doors and keep watch for any threats in the corridor. It will take a few minutes to stash these coins in my item storage. Be useful for once and watch our backs, would you?"

Hermit, shoulders slumped in disappointment, dragged his feet towards the corridor. He moped toward the door like a kicked puppy, casting glances over his shoulder, half-expecting Suzuka to change her mind and offer that elusive hug. Alas, there was no reprieve.

The goblin, his spirits crushed by Suzuka's dismissive response, slumped into a pit of self-pity. His tiny shoulders drooped, and his once-beaming face became a canvas of sorrow. In a desperate attempt to seek approval, with a low-hanging head, he peeked into the dimly lit passage. Slowly, he turned his head from one direction to the other, the silence of the corridor creating an eerie atmosphere. It was quiet, too quiet, and the goblin's nervous gaze darted around, searching for any sign of lurking danger.

As Hermit peeked in the dim corridor, his goblin mind started to envision wild scenarios of rejection and isolation. The silence was only broken by the faint sounds of Suzuka shuffling coins into her magical item storage behind him. The corridor stretched ahead, and Hermit's imagination ran rampant with thoughts of unseen monsters lurking in the shadows.

In an attempt to distract himself from the harsh reality, Hermit half-heartedly surveyed the corridor. His beady eyes darted from one end to the other, and he strained his ears, hoping to catch any sign of impending danger. 

Suddenly, a mysterious noise echoed through the corridor, and Hermit's eyes widened with terror. The sound seemed to come from one of the darkened corners, where his gaze failed to penetrate. The goblin's imagination conjured images of grotesque monsters emerging from the shadows, ready to pounce on him.

His heart raced, and his breath quickened. Trembling, Hermit dared not move, afraid that the unseen threat would reveal itself. The silence that followed felt like an eternity, amplifying the dread that gripped him.

His pointy ears perked up, and he squinted into the darkness.

"Wreeee!" Hermit let out a frightened, yet quiet squeal, shivering in fear as he imagined all sorts of monsters closing in on them. He rushed back to Suzuka with a panicked expression.

"Master! There, there's something in the dark. Something bad, Master! Wreeee!" he stuttered, pointing frantically into the shadows.

Suzuka, maintaining a low profile, stealthily approached the door and peered into the dimly lit corridor. Her keen eyes, adapted to the darkness, quickly identified the source of Hermit's panic - a lone rat crunching on some scattered seeds at the far end of the passage. With a sigh, she turned back to the jittery goblin.

"Good observation, Hermit," she remarked, her voice a mix of sarcasm and reassurance.

 "But it's just a rat munching on something. Nothing to worry about, but keep your guard up and keep watch. I will soon finish up with the coins and we will get out of here."

Hermit, still trembling, struggled to catch his breath. His eyes widened in realization as he focused on the innocent rat. With a weak smile, he attempted to save face.

 "Wreee... just checking, Master. Can never be too cautious, you know," he stammered, his voice quivering with a blend of fear and desperation. Deep down, he knew that Suzuka was unimpressed by his display of panic, and the realization only added to the layers of his misery.

Suzuka, rolling her eyes at Hermit's feeble attempt to save face, dismissed the goblin with a nonchalant wave and returned to her task at hand, securing the coins within the treasure chest. 

"Yeah, whatever, Hermit. Just keep a keen look. And try not to wet yourself this time."

As she meticulously stashed away the last of the coins, the atmosphere in the room seemed to shift. Suzuka, sensing a strange tension, turned her attention back to Hermit, who, despite her dismissive tone, was still visibly shaken from the recent encounter with the rat.

Suddenly, a series of ominous clicks echoed through the corridor, like sharp claws hitting the cold stone. Suzuka's eyes narrowed in suspicion. Before she could react, Hermit's scrawny body convulsed in sheer terror, and he let out a spine-chilling screech, "Wreeeee..." The next moment, a grotesque claw, large and menacing, shot out from the darkness of the corridor. It grabbed Hermit by the head with a swift, brutal motion, snatching him away in the blink of an eye.

The goblin had been seized by some monster, leaving Suzuka alone in the dimly lit chamber, her mind racing with irritation at the turn of events.

Despite witnessing Hermit being violently yanked away, Suzuka maintained an air of indifference. With deliberate disregard, she walked toward the corridor, her mind seemingly unfazed by the unfolding chaos.

 "Oh, for the love of the gods," she muttered, her eyes narrowing in mild irritation.

 "That stupid goblin can't even keep a decent watch. Look where it got him - in the clutches of The Beast."

Suzuka, unfazed by Hermit's pitiful screech, followed the sound to find The Beast at the end of the corridor, she pondered her next move in the dimly lit corridor, The Beast stood menacingly, a grotesque figure with the wretched goblin ensnared in its enormous claw.

 The Beast, infamous for its sadistic tendencies, reveled in the agony it inflicted on the weak, savoring every moment of their pain. 

Hermit, caught in the monstrous grip, attempted to scream for help, but The Beast silenced him with a cruel squeeze, crushing the goblin and preventing any coherent cries. The creature toyed with Hermit like a plaything, its massive claw tightening and releasing, causing the goblin's body to contort unnaturally.

With each squeeze of The Beast's claw, Hermit's tiny frame contorted in ways that defied the laws of anatomy. His head leaned impossibly backward, and his mouth stretched open in silent agony, only to be brutally shut again as the monstrous claw eased its grip. The goblin's eyes bulged with terror, and his breaths came in desperate, gasping intervals.

The Beast, its grotesque features contorted into a wicked grin of sadistic delight, glanced towards Suzuka, misinterpreting her momentary pause as a strategic move rather than sheer shock. In a bizarre twist of perception, the monster assumed the goblin in its claw was now a hostage, and it had no need to scurry away to its usual hiding spot.

The Beast tightened its grip on Hermit, crushing the goblin like a fragile insect, and his attempts to scream for help were futile, drowned out by the bone-crushing pressure applied by The Beast. Each squeeze twisted the goblin's form grotesquely, eliciting sickening sounds of crunching bones and the gurgling of internal organs.

While Hermit endured excruciating torment, seemingly indifferent to the unfolding scene, Suzuka playfully tapped her chin, musing about the goblin's fate.

 "Well, well, looks like this goblin's got himself into a real pickle. And who's expected to play the hero? Yours truly. But hold on a second, do I need to save him? Do I really need to intervene, though? I've got his treasure, got the coins; I don't need him anymore. What use do I have for this goblin? Sure, Larry might throw a fit, but we can always find another goblin. Raid a few goblin nests, and voila! I mean, we were planning on doing that anyway. But wait, why did we need him in the first place? Oh well, I can't remember with all the thoughts with the town-building on my mind."

During her monologue, Suzuka tilted her head, struggling to recall the purpose of the goblin's involvement.

 "Why did I need this scrawny goblin again?" she wondered again, her thoughts scattered among the myriad tasks associated with building the town. Her disinterest in Hermit's plight was clear, and the temptation to abandon the goblin grew stronger with each passing moment.

Meanwhile, The Beast reveled in the symphony of suffering he inflicted. With a sadistic glee, he twisted and wrung Hermit's form like a damp floor rag, producing grotesque sounds of bones snapping and internal organs spilling. The Beast's guttural growls of delight harmonized with Hermit's agonized cries, creating a ghoulish soundtrack to the goblin's torment. Feces streamed from Hermit's tortured body, a clear sign of the brutality he endured.

With each sadistic twist, the goblin's diminutive frame was wrung out like a soaked cloth. The Beast reveled in the audible crunches and squelches, relishing the sounds of Hermit's tortured form. The evil creature's actions peaked as it continued to twist and contort the goblin, pushing him beyond the limits of endurance. The goblin's guttural cries and tortured whimpers filled the eerie silence of the darkened corridor, echoing the depths of his misery. 

The goblin's insides reached a gruesome breaking point, violently bursting forth from his mouth in a grotesque display of gore.

As the twisted spectacle unfolded, the Beast enjoyed the grotesque scene it had staged, its sadistic nature finding perverse satisfaction in the suffering of its pitiful victim.