SSS-RANK SUMMONING WEAPON SYSTEM-Chapter 40: Goblins[Final]

The warlord’s roar shook the cavern, but what followed was not the clean clash of hero and monster. It was chaos.

The goblins didn’t wait for orders—they hurled themselves forward, shrieking, their jagged blades flashing in the firelight. Xavier cut the first down, his dagger sliding into its throat with a wet crunch.

Blood sprayed across his cloak, hot and metallic, spattering the bones beneath his boots. He twisted, ripping the blade free, and another goblin lunged. Its teeth sank into his arm before he drove a dagger into its eye, the creature convulsing as black ichor poured down his wrist.

Aria’s aura flared silver, but even her blasts couldn’t keep the swarm at bay.

Goblins clambered over one another, clawing, biting, their frenzy animalistic. She struck one with a burst of energy, its chest exploding in a spray of bone and flesh, but three more replaced it instantly.

"They’re going to kill us!" Lyra yelped in fear.

"We have to do something, Xavier." Ezra snarled in fear, too. "I don’t want to die!"

The warlord moved through them like a storm. His cleaver swung wide, and the impact shattered stone, splitting a goblin in half as though it were nothing. He didn’t care for his own kind—he crushed them beneath his boots, his eyes locked on Xavier.

Xavier met him head‑on. The cleaver came down, and sparks flew as his daggers caught the blade. The force drove him back, his boots skidding across blood‑slick stone. The warlord snarled, spittle flying, his breath rancid. He shoved forward, the cleaver grinding against Xavier’s blades, the sound shrill, unbearable.

Xavier twisted, breaking the lock, and slashed across the warlord’s arm. The blade bit deep, carving through sinew. Thick, dark blood poured down, splattering the bones at their feet. The warlord roared, swinging wildly, his cleaver carving a goblin in two as Xavier ducked beneath the strike.

Aria’s aura flared again, her blast striking the warlord’s chest. Flesh tore, ribs cracked, blood sprayed. But the brute did not fall. He staggered, snarled, and charged again, his cleaver raised high.

The cavern was a slaughterhouse. Goblins shrieked, their bodies piling, their blood soaking the stone. Xavier moved through them like a shadow, his daggers carving arcs of steel, his cloak drenched in gore. Aria’s blasts tore through flesh, her silver light painting the walls with blood.

The warlord pressed harder, his cleaver sweeping in brutal arcs. Xavier ducked, twisted, struck upward, his blade carving across the brute’s throat. Blood sprayed, hot and thick, soaking his face. The warlord staggered, his roar breaking into a gurgling cry.

He collapsed to his knees, his cleaver clattering against stone. His eyes burned red, his breath ragged, his body broken. Xavier stood over him, his daggers dripping, his shadow long across the bones.

The goblins froze. Their shrieks faltered, their frenzy collapsing into silence. They watched as their warlord bled out, his body twitching, his blood pooling across the cavern floor.

Xavier’s voice was low, steady, filled with quiet fury.

"You thought you could stand against me. But this is your grave."

He drove his dagger into the warlord’s skull. The blade sank deep, cracking bone, splitting flesh. The brute convulsed once, then fell still, his blood spreading across the stone in a dark river.

The cavern trembled. The drums faltered. The goblins fled, their frenzy broken, their voices fading into the tunnels.

Xavier stood tall, his daggers dripping, his breath steady, his eyes burning with resolve. Aria’s aura flared silver, her presence cold, her gaze unyielding. Together they faced the silence, their victory absolute.

The warlord was dead. The nest was broken. The cavern was theirs.

[Shadowfang Daggers gaining experience +1]

[Shadowfang Daggers gaining experience +1]

[Shadowfang Daggers gaining experience +1]

[Shadowfang Daggers gaining experience+1]

[Shadowfang Daggers gaining experience +1]

[Shadowfang Daggers gaining experience +1]

[Shadowfang Daggers gaining experience +1]

[Shadowfang Daggers gaining experience+1]

[Shadowfang Daggers gaining experience +1]

[Shadowfang Daggers gaining experience +1]

[Shadowfang Daggers gaining experience +1]

[Shadowfang Daggers gaining experience+1]

[Shadowfang Daggers gaining experience +1]

[Shadowfang Daggers gaining experience +1]

[Shadowfang Daggers gaining experience +1]

[Shadowfang Daggers gaining experience+1]

[Congratulations, host, for slaying an enemy. +10 to all stats.]

Xavier didn’t listen to the notifications. The cavern was still dripping with blood when Xavier turned, his chest heaving, his daggers slick. The warlord lay broken behind him, a heap of bone and flesh, but his victory did not soothe him. His eyes burned as they fell on Ezra and Lyra, who had lingered in the shadows during the fight, their blades barely stained, their faces untouched by the chaos.

"Are you guys fucking stupid?" He snarled at them.

Ezra looked confused. "What are you talking about?"

"You didn’t help me an aria at all. You were basically useless."

"You useless cowards," Xavier spat, his voice raw, echoing against the stone. "Not a single strike worth remembering. I can’t even see a fucking wound on any of you. You stood back while I carved through hell itself. What do you really want? Because it sure as death wasn’t to fight beside me."

Ezra’s face shifted, his mask of loyalty cracking. His lips curled into a sneer, his voice low, venomous. "We told you before, Xavier. We didn’t want the gold. We wanted you."

Lyra stepped forward, her auburn hair wild, her eyes gleaming with madness. She laughed, high and sharp, the sound bouncing off the cavern walls. "Do you know what your skin is worth? Your eyes? Your strength? Black like midnight, rare as a god’s curse. You’ll fetch a price beyond kingdoms. We thought you’d die in the battle, torn apart by goblins, but you didn’t. And now... now you’re tired. Now we’ll take what we came for."

Xavier chuckled, low and cold, his daggers dripping. "Expected. Betrayal always stinks before it strikes. But Aria..." He tilted his head toward her, his grin sharp. "...she’ll kill you before you even touch me."

Aria’s silver aura flared, her eyes narrowing, her presence suffocating. She said nothing, but her silence was promise enough.

Lyra’s laughter grew louder, unhinged, her voice rising into a monologue that dripped with obsession. "Do you think I followed you for loyalty? For friendship? No. I followed you because I wanted you. I wanted your strength, your shadow, your curse. I wanted to be black, Xavier. To wear your skin, to wield your power, to feel the world bend beneath me. Do you know how many nights I dreamed of it? How many times have I imagined tearing you open and stepping into your place? Tonight, I’ll finally have it. Tonight, I’ll become what you are."

Her eyes gleamed with hunger, her voice trembling with madness. She raised her blade, Ezra lifted his, and together they stepped forward, ready to strike.

Then it happened.

Ezra’s head exploded.

It wasn’t a clean death. It was gore, sudden, and violent. His skull burst like rotten fruit, shards of bone spraying across the cavern, blood painting the walls in thick arcs. His body convulsed once, then collapsed, twitching, headless, a fountain of crimson soaking the stone. The smell of iron filled the air, hot and choking.

Lyra froze, her blade trembling in her hand. Her eyes widened, her face pale, her madness shattered by shock.

Xavier’s breath caught, his daggers lowering slightly. Even Aria’s cold composure cracked, her silver aura flickering.

’What the fuck!’ Xavier thought as he stared at the New corpse."

From the shadows, a voice chuckled. Low, mocking, playful.

"Oops. I thought he’d dodge it."

The sound was wrong. It was not a goblin, not a warlord, not anything Xavier had heard before. It was human, but twisted, dripping with amusement.

A figure stepped forward, grinning widely, his teeth gleaming in the firelight. His presence was suffocating, his aura heavy, his eyes burning with something Xavier could not name.

And then it came—the scream.

Lyra’s voice tore through the cavern, shrill, broken, filled with terror. She dropped her blade, her body shaking, her madness gone, replaced by pure fear.

"DEMARANIAN!!!!!!!"

The name echoed, heavy, cursed, a word Xavier had heard but felt in his bones. His blood ran cold, his instincts screaming.

’Wait! I’ve seen a Demaranian! I...I killed one!’ He thought in shock. ’Th...this monster. He can’t be one."

Aria’s eyes widened, her aura flaring in shock. She trembled as she stared at the entity before him, the pressure sinking into her bones.

The figure’s grin widened. The cavern trembled.

And Xavier realized this was no victory. This was the beginning of something far worse.