The newly dubbed "Hadron" looked to Somnus and with a critical eye appraised him. Fear flashed in the goblin's eyes.

"Thaaaaank. Maaaaaster." Hadron rasped, turning towards the enemy. "Hadron. Kiiiiill. Haaaadron. Exterminate." Its voice was like a dying man struggling to push air through the vocal cords.

The adventurers shared a look of worry. Somnus could tell that they were strategizing their approach for this fight. Somnus could be reasoned with, but a goblin was different; monsters lacked intelligence.

"It is a Named Monster," one of the mages in white robes said, "We can't!"

A few of the white mages shot Somnus fearful glances. Their expression said it all; the fact that a Named Monster obeyed Somnus made his existence all that more terrifying.

"Manaaaaa!!" the goblin roared as he looked at the white mages and then vanished from where he stood. The air cracked around the goblin as he appeared in the ranks of the white mages, and swiped his hand through the chests of two of them, killing them instantly. The stone where the goblin stood just moments ago exploded, leaving behind a crater of jagged and broken rocks.

The s.h.i.+mmering mist-like cloak around the goblin from the [Harbinger of Ruin] spell gave his hands the appearance of long-bladed claws. The goblin continued ripping into the already dead mages. The remaining mages watched the goblin tear apart the fallen and lost their will to fight, turning away in an attempt to flee.

Somnus blinked. Hadron did not know [Gale Steps]; the fact that he was breaking the sound barrier was entirely due to his physical abilities. [Harbinger of Ruin] itself came with the ability to reflexively cancel momentum, but the acceleration itself should have caused Hadron to black out or outright die. That was upwards of 50Gs.

Somnus chuckled darkly and shook his head. No, that kind of speed would not be achievable through those two spells alone. This was the goblin's natural ability; whatever Somnus did to the monster earlier fundamentally changed the goblin. Was it the heart with the Magitech Reactor that the goblin ate?

A sound like a melon cracking reverberated in the air as the goblin crushed a white mage's head with his bare hands. Still, the goblin's roaring overpowered every other sound. It was so loud that the entire boss room could hear it; surely, everyone thought it was a ma.s.sive beast, not a tiny goblin.

"Fire of Temnon!" the girl with the phoenix spirit shouted; "Starfire Lance!" Magical circles appeared around the girl and they filled out with amazing speed—rivalling even Somnus's Realization Speed. A luminous spark appeared in the air and then became larger until it looked like a sphere. Not just any sphere, but a miniature sun.

Somnus narrowed his eyes. He could feel the heat of that sphere even across the entire room. No, surely everyone in the entire boss room could feel the heat.

The sphere suddenly collapsed into a tiny point which elongated into the shape of a spear. This entire transformation took only a second to complete.

"Slay!" the girl shouted and pointed at the goblin. The spear obeyed the finger and launched itself at the goblin. The s.h.i.+mmering spear contained within it the heat of a star, or at least it looked that way. However, Somnus knew that the destructive potential of that spear rivalled even Somnus's former particle beam weaponry.

The goblin roared at the spear and even Somnus had to cover his ears. The ground itself shook from that sound. The spear slowed down and almost stopped flying towards the goblin, fighting through the shockwaves of the goblin's powerful roar. The magical s.h.i.+elds around the white mages and the girl who cast the spear s.h.i.+mmered violently. The elf skirmisher was forced to take several steps backwards.

The goblin grasped the spearhead, as it came close enough, not even afraid of the fires of a sun. There was a mad glint in the goblin's eyes as he stared down the phoenix girl. Slowly, the spearhead began to crack until it finally shattered. With the physical form of the spell broken, the spell was cancelled.

"Run!" the girl with the phoenix spirit screamed and turned to flee.

Hadron released another maddened shriek and threw himself at the girl.

"Greater Barrier!" the girl shouted, flicking a finger towards the goblin.

A s.h.i.+mmering barrier appeared in the air between Hadron and the girl, and then it shattered like gla.s.s as the goblin crashed through it.

"Devour!!!" the goblin roared as he dug his claws into the second s.h.i.+eld protecting the girl. Ribbons of translucent magic shot off the s.h.i.+eld from where the goblin was forcing his way through, spraying out like jets of stardust. Eventually, the s.h.i.+eld failed and broke, allowing the goblin to swipe his enhanced claws at the girl.

Blood sprayed into the air.

Somnus watched as the blood floated in mid-air; both the girl and the goblin seemingly frozen in time. Then Somnus saw it; the phoenix. It hovered above the girl with four wings in its various colors, each feather radiating heat and s.h.i.+mmering with a haze.

The phoenix glanced at Somnus with disdain. The cosmic vastness of the creature shocked Somnus; it was like with Hadron when his aura changed. The phoenix was similar to that, except its aura was ancient, proud and as significant as heaven itself. To stand in the presence of an ent.i.ty like that was crus.h.i.+ng to mere mortals, but not Somnus. Somnus stood in the presence of a G.o.d and fought back. What could a mere bird do?

He will crush it and reduce it to its components. Its heart should make a good Mana Reactor.

As Somnus was about to leap at the phoenix, time seemed to have "continued" for the girl. The blood flowed back into her neck. The girl looked at Somnus. Was this how she almost managed to behead Somnus. He was still frozen in time while she wasn't?

Somnus then realized that this was the moment when she could be killed. He did not know why he thought so or if that a.s.sumption was true, but the fear and caution in the girl's eyes seemed to confirm his theory.

The girl's fear grew as she realized what Somnus was considering. "You cannot kill me. I am the Champion of Temnon," she said.

"Query, does term "Champion of Temnon" make subject immune to death?" Somnus asked as he pointed his index finger at the girl.

"Wha—"

"Extinction Ray," Somnus said, instantly releasing a beam of violet energy that swept over the girl.

As the beam faded it revealed the girl laying on the ground, her robes tattered and ruined as was her body. Blood poured from numerous wounds, as if her flesh had been ripped apart.

"Result inconclusive," Somnus said, lowering his finger. "Method is flawed."

"Please don't kill me…" the girl whispered, barely even conscious.

In the meantime, the other white mages had fled the scene, but not the elf. The elf threw herself before Somnus, discarding her bow.

"Please don't kill her! If you do, a great calamity will fall upon us!" the elf spoke. Not only did she have graceful body language, but her voice was honey-sweet and she spoke in a manner that was also graceful. Were all elves like this?

"Define "Calamity"," Somnus said, glancing to the elf, and then to the goblin. Why was the goblin still frozen in time? Surely, he should've been free by now.

"Phynion, the Fragment of Temnon, is within Gemma. Gemma is a Vessel for the Fragment. If you kill her, you will release Phynion," the elf explained as she scurried towards Gemma, trying to put herself in harm's way.

"That is what I desire to do," Somnus said, pointing his finger at Gemma once more.

"Mia… leave me…" Gemma said, voice sounding harsher than Hadron's. "He will… kill me…"

"I won't! I will protect you," Mia said.

A memory flashed through Somnus's mind. It was like a deja vu. As if he had seen this once before. But it was like a dream being chased away by the light of dawn, he simply could not tell what it was, only the feeling remained.

"Release Codename "Hadron"," Somnus said.

"Do it yourself! You have to interact with him!" Mia said, her manners graceful even in belligerence. Did she think she was threatening?

Somnus walked up to Hadron and went to pat his shoulder. The very moment he made the motion, the goblin unfroze and seemed confused that there was no one in front of him. The goblin followed the trail of devastation left behind by the Extinction Ray to Gemma, and then to Somnus.

"Follow," Somnus said as he turned around and began leaving.

"Haaadron. No… kill?" Hadron asked.

"Not today. Require more weapons to kill Fragment," Somnus said, loud enough for Gemma to hear.

"Hadron… no… understand. Hadron. Hunger."

Somnus sighed. "Fine. Go eat the other humans."

"Hadron. Obey."

A breeze ruffled Somnus's hair as Hadron left.