Awake only for moments Jack looked around the room with hazy eyes to realize his head was in Jinx's lap. Much to Eva's displeasure.
"Well this is a pleasant way to wake up we should make it more of a habit." Jack said, giving a painful wink as he was still wounded in almost every spot imaginable on his body.
Jinx nodded, wiping tears away from her face, relieved to finally see him awake. She hadn't realized it but as she was watching the fight unfold she was more and more enchanted by the Demon Lord.
"Excuse me, I hate to break up such a tearful reunion but in the few days since you've been out things have picked up and we need to talk about it." Eva said Glaring at Jinx with heart piercing eyes.
"Sounds like a plan to give me a moment to get moving again and I'll be right there." Jack said ushering everyone but Jinx out of the room.
"So how bad are the wounds?" He asked, looking at the bandages encasing his body.
"It's not so bad I've been by your side every day you've been asleep replacing your bandages every few hours." She said while staring at the ground.
"Is something wrong?" Jack asked
"No I... Just am happy your ok, and I was scared I wasn't going to have much time with you, and Eva told us the news." Jinx Explained
"In my sleep I realized one thing. I quit being what they made me the second the Tunnels below caved in on me." Jack said smiling
"Turns out even Demon Lords gotta kill some demons." He continued as he left the room.
Opening his Strategy room Jack found Gar, Stein, Eva, and the Trog king Wrapped in bandages as well.
Jack turned to the Trog king "I don't believe we've met before."
The Trog Stood and handed over the dark gemstone. Upon grasping it Jack was able to relive the moments his companion was taken out.
"I see she is gone, but not lost thanks to you. I'm indebted to you." Jack said bowing low.
Glancing around the room "I have but one request, you let us serve you and be of you to you in some way." The Trogg king said.
"Of course I've been looking to establish a naval presence to head to the other continents." Jack replied smiling.
"Speaking of the other continents master, I have news that you might find important!" Gar said, cutting the introductions short.
Jack gestured to carry on "scouts report ships scattered around our continent from the neighboring kingdom." Gar said hastily.
"I was wondering when my old good friends would make their return." Jack said grinning.
"Has progress on the goblins main task been proceeding along?" Jack continued.
Nodding "faster than we thought master!" Gar said with a cheeriness in his voice.
"Good." Jack replied.
"Stein, you look great and different since I was last awake." Jack said, turning his attention to Stein on the other side of the room.
"A few more mechanical parts but the same old me nonetheless, but we need to discuss what to do about the armies approaching." Stein said with a concerning look on his face.
"Any ideas on what they could be doing?" Jack asked.
A stillness swept the room, all eyes went to the floor.
"Well obviously they're here for me but why circle our whole continent." Jack said, breaking the silence.
"We're not sure but every ship has a mage and a priest aboard so I can't imagine anything good will come of it." Stein said.
"Well I guess we bolster our forces and find out, but I must go for now I have some work to do." Jack said walking out.
"When you're done I have something to show you Jack!" Stein said with a sinister look wearing on his face.
Jack left the room and headed down the dark tower towards the caverns below. Arena games have not yet begun again but it was close. Walking through the interior of the grand room inside the cave, Jack reminisced the times Violet as a beast fought for success for them against a hidden Anak.
"Thinking of him I hadn't seen him at the meeting" Jack thought to himself.
Wandering through the cave Jack watched as all the monsters he raised in here took refuge and worked as a whole to make this whole thing work. None of it part of the plan those people had set for him, he knew he wasn't what they made yet the thoughts of him as a puppet plagued his mind.
Walking further down he watched as two goblins competed running around the cave trying to catch a rodent, quick as they swung their mallets the rat was just too fast one chased so vicariously it slammed straight into a low hanging stalactite crashing him unconscious.
The other slammed his mallet on a wall and ended up dropping a ton or large rocks on him had Jack not been there he would've ended up with more than a concussion.
"How did I manage all those years with only a few goblins to chat with." Jack asked redundantly at the goblin who only scratched his head to a rumbling tummy.
Reaching a depth at which Anak should've been somewhere in his grave yard but only a few rooms full of undead standing still so motionless they could've been mistaken for a group of statues that had the smell quickly wanting to drop Jack to his knees.
"We gotta get some vents down here." Jack said, covering his face with his shirt.
Making his way around to the center of the cave system he reached the large forge.
"I have a request!" Jack said
Goblins lined up bumping into each other.
"I need armor for the upcoming battles, as it turns out looking great is only half the battle." He looked at hood tattered suit and grinned.
"Alright chop, chop!" Jack said to the goblins still standing there.
Still not moving Jack shot them a horrifying glance and they scattered like ants one so scared to get away he dove head first into the pits of lava. All Jack could do was plant his hand on his face.
Returning to his room he began working vigorously on a magical material similar to leather or cloth, stitching it together like a mad man on a mission. That was just it though this was a mad man on a mission Jack has tried to keep his hands or his mind busy since returning home for fear his mind might wander again.
Hours passed many goblins tried to enter only to be blasted away with balls of flame even Gar with reports was greeted the same. Until finally a large blast started rumbling the tower from within the castle, coming from Jack's room.
Jinx, Eva, Gwen, and Gar all huddled outside the door as Jack opened it finally but not alone.
Next to him stood a tiny female no taller than three feet when all the sudden she began to roar.
"Explain why I'm so tiny, what happened to my body?!" She roared more and more, growing more agitated by the minute.
"Well ah, you kinda died and the trogg king brought your soul back that was trapped inside the gem so I brought you back." Jack explained trying to quell the storm.
Immediately the girl stopped and it looked as though she spaced out.
"But yes everyone, the thing you're all thinking is true, that is our dear friend Violet." Jack proclaimed waiting for cheers of his Triumph that their friend had been revived.
But he was disappointed when all of them rushed Violet and flew right past him. Not sad for long though when he saw them happy together again.
Coming to her senses again she cheered along with everyone and turned to Jack. "Sooo, why am I so tiny?" She demanded.
"Well funny story I ran out of the material to create the bodies and I'm still too injured to create more." Jack said, hoping not to further invoke her wrath.
"You couldn't have waited a little longer then? To create more and a better body no?" She drilled the questions into him.
"Hmm, no." He replied with a simple grin.
"You're so frustrating!" Violet screamed loud enough all of Libast could hear.
Jack pretends his ears aren't bleeding from the screaming. Started walking down the Ebony tower gesturing Violet to follow.
"We've gotta get you used to your new body so follow me!"
Upon reaching the ground level Jack flung open the huge iron double doors to the Libast, and was greeted by an army of orcs.
"We've felt the magic of violet and came as soon as we could!" One orc shouted from the crowd.
"Where is Miss Violet?!" Another began.
Jack in quite the outrageous fashion stepped back and opened his arms to show the tiny women.
"This is Violet now." Jack said with glee.
"Prove it!" One orc said, stepping forward.
Fire lit up around Jack "do not make demands of me orc! Know your place.." Jack said angrily.
The orcs grew quiet and watched as Violet stepped forward walking next to the orc and whispered "I'm sorry." Jabbing him straight into the gut, sending him to the back of the group, and rendering him unconscious.
"Violet, Violet, Violet!" The orcs began cheering out.
"Well Violet, let's go say hi to some old friends." Jack said to her.
Following behind was a group of around twenty goblins. They made their way through the forest and just like old time Jack watched as the uncontainable goblins got distracted with every leaf that fell.
"Can I ask a question?" Violet asked Jack also watching the goblins roam around.
"Sure, why not." Jack said.
"Why's goblins? Why do you love them so much?" She asked.
"You've asked three questions total, that's getting to be a bit much." Jack said laughing.
"But if You must know, it's because they're as loyal as they are stupid. The only thing that is on in their brains is chaos." He continued
"I mean you have a point there, they love you so much I'm sure they'd not think twice about even running into lava for you if you just asked." Violet said jokingly.
Jack began to laugh remembering the goblin flying into the sky from the forge. "You've missed quite a bit." He giggled.
"Like what?" She replied.
"I'll tell you later, we're here!" Jack replied raising his hand to assemble his goblins and they should remain still.
After a moment a man climbed up the mountain, it was the same man who first met Jack after climbing out of his prison in the ground.
"Let's get straight to it. What's the complaints you've heard?" Jack said stern as ever.
The old man who's aged a bit since Jack last saw him, and seemed to be enjoying his food much more as the added pounds could be seen for miles said "They fear, and hate you. They saw you took the continent and they've shared information to the lord that visits here."
"What lord, and what information?" Jack continued.
"We're not sure but a man in a hood claiming to be a lord, and information on what's happening around Libast and your tower." The old man said.
Violet began having flashbacks to her fight with Merloc. "It could be the same hooded man that was with him." She thought to herself.
"Very good, travel the path to Libast You've been instructed with accommodations and a job." Jack told the old man.
Pointing toward the small village below Jack said "let's go show them how we handle betrayal!"
Violet led the charge with the goblins close behind while Jack watched from the hill. She grasped her power and pulled out her axe now cut to be her size. Her power felt the same swinging it into buildings with ease.
It only took mere moments for a goblin to be caught on fire trying to start one himself. So before he burnt to a crisp he ran around the fields of wheat they had that were almost ready to be harvested. Engulfing it all into flames it didn't take much for the old wood houses to follow slowly turning the sky dark.
As the buildings collapsed the goblins cheered, yearning and feasting in the chaos. Those who tried to stay didn't last long either met with either flames or a wooden mallet held by a goblin.
Violet had the chance to realize she was shorter but more versatile when it came to her.
Finally after a few hours of it Jack finally called them back. They dragged behind them a giant sled full of farming tools, gold, and food.
"We must head back now, there's nothing more here except ash." Jack said, turning his back from the village one last time.