There was only one thing that Alice and I needed to do. We needed to run away as fast as our feet could and draw the attention of these beasts far from the village. Since I was a puppet that can never grow tired, I carried Alice above my head, with my arms lifting her. Alice disliked that feeling, but she had no other choice. It was quicker this way.
"Put me down this instant!" Alice growled, while tapping my shoulder.
My body felt nothing at all from all the efforts that Alice hit to my body. After a while, those violent thrusts came to a stop. Alice became exhausted after doing all that.
Alice also stopped shouting directions for me. I told her not to yell at me ever again after that one mistake she made. It might be rude of me to scold her because of that, but Alice knew it too. If those directions she described were all wrong, those monsters would catch up to our tails. Alice knew about left and right directions. She was just panicking, considering our life-and-death situation.
Alice covered her lips, using her mouth as we went ahead to the unmapped territory. She never dared to give commands and hints to me, knowing she might screw up. It became a little tricky for me to trek the uncharted roads, but there was a glimmer of light at the trees.
We arrived at the grassy field with not a single flower blooming in the area. The land ranged for about one hundred miles, with another set of trees welcoming my eyes at the end.
"What is this place?" I asked.
My eyes wandered at every corner, trying to make sense out of the scenery. It was a magical yet empty place among the sites I had been on this journey. There had never been a field inside a forest, even back from Earth. This place only reminded me I lived in a different world, far from what I had remembered.
"Oh, I know this place!" Alice remarked. "But I don't like this even one bit! Detroit's used this site as their training grounds and barracks. It was from what I had remembered. My parents and teacher had a map before, and they told me about a field inside the Wonderland exterior forest."
Just as Alice finished her explanation, a makeshift spear hurled in our direction. With a whistling sound, my system notified me about the anomaly. I did not have any sixth sense, but I knew something was heading our way, even without my system telling me.
I dropped Alice from above and carried her like a princess. My arms wrapped around her body as I lifted her in front of my chest. It was easier for me this way.
Alice widened her eyes as she felt a slight thump on her bottom. Her face also turned flushed red, which I could only assume she found embarrassing for her. I also sensed Alice becoming too flustered from the situation, but there was no time to idle around given that the hobgoblins and his soldiers were on our way to kill us!
I bolted forward and went to the middle of the enchanted field. I lowered my body and allowed Alice to stand on the meadow. Alice almost kissed the ground as she fell on her knees, splatting her face on the soil.
"I swear, once this is over, I will carry you as you carried me!" Alice grunted, as she caressed her buttocks.
"Yeah, sure. But we have more problems than we need to face."
"Like what?" Alice replied.
I pointed my forefinger behind her and answered, "That army."
Alice turned around and observed the trees getting uprooted by the horde of monsters marching in our way. Her sweat profusely cascaded from Alice's cheeks as she jerked behind me, with her shivering hands hugging my knees.
"D-Do you-u.... think we-e... ca-can... de-defeat…. all of them?" Alice asked, as she gulped her dried saliva through her mouth.
"I guess? We did kill a dracogre from another forest. We might pull off something after this."
"HOW SURE IS THAT ANSWER?!" Alice yelled.
But there was no point in backing away now. The monsters had already made their move as they destroyed every creeping plant obstructing their way. As soon as they stepped foot in this place, the hobgoblin greeted me with a snicker on his lips.
"Humans. Meat. Delicious," the hobgoblin said, with his army cheering from behind.
"Another talking monster! Great!" Alice remarked. But as the monster growled in our direction, the gothic girl retracted her body. She concealed herself behind my back and hissed at the hobgoblin.
People in this world considered monsters that could speak to humans as intelligent creatures. In this world, the human tongue was a universal language. They did not have other languages and characters such as Japanese, English, and others. As soon as I arrived on this planet, I could understand Alice's words. And that girl never mentioned different languages. She only told me about various people and the ideals that they believed in.
Humans had the most population in this world, besides other creatures that lived on this planet. Since human language had complex words and letters, other species had a strenuous time understanding and using the human tongue. Some creatures like the elves, orcs and other mythical entities learned the human's words. They proposed a treaty to the humans and avoided wars. They used it to communicate with humans.
That's what the system and Alice told me when we were still in the cavern. However, I had yet to meet with other mythical creatures besides the talking vegetarian bat from the forest.
Alice gripped my legs as tight as she could while gritting her teeth. I was about to ask if she needed my help, but I shut my mouth afterwards. Alice quivered her head, as if shaking all the nervousness creeping from her veins. She ran in front of me and extended her arms from each side.
"Why do you want to eat us! Did the humans do anything wrong with you?" Alice asked.
To anyone's eyes, Alice must be a lunatic trying to create a reason for the monster. But I knew what was running inside her mind. After hearing the prince of the bat's speech, Alice wanted nothing but peace. She will do anything to achieve harmony with anything. Whether it would be other species or humans, Alice would try to fix all the problems she faces.
And that problem included our current happenings.
"Human destroyed homes! Goblins no home! Magic battle exploded homes! We will eat you and make your home our home!" the hobgoblin announced, and spitted on the ground.
I could only think about the war happening with the Detroits and the magical kingdoms. Since the two were battling to the deaths, these people would try to clash on lands inhabited by monsters. The damage accumulated by the blasts from the war might have destroyed countless lands owned by these beasts.
Draco and his cauldron did not have any problems, given that they live in the forest of Wonderland. However, these goblins and other creatures got affected by the skirmish happening between the two factions. Regardless of whether these beings were ugly-looking goblins or intellectual creatures, they all wanted a world where they could live in peace.
"My name is Alice Pleasance Liddell, the princess of Wonderland. I swear in my name that if you harm no village, I will bring you peace." Alice bravely confronted the hobgoblins. But I doubted that would be enough to stop their forces.
"Princess? Harm? No. We goblins do what we want!" The hobgoblin spoke. A thundering roar came afterwards.
"Humans traitor us! Killed my brothers and sisters! I kill them too!" the hobgoblin added.
The monster raised his hand and called upon something. With his words, the spear that should still nestle on a rack vanished. After a few seconds, the weapon emerged from the hobgoblin's hand. It was as if the legendary hammer that the Norse mythology god wielded.
"Alice, I think hobgoblin doesn't want to reason with us."
"But, Mask! If I need to be a princess, shouldn't I help them too? We helped Draco and his cauldron, then why can't we also help them prosper," Alice asked.
I shook my head and replied, "There are monsters that would refuse our help. And besides, we're talking about goblins. These creatures did not exist in our world, but I know they bring terrible omen to a village."
I left out the part where these green creatures assault and defy women like Alice. If a goblin knew a close by village, it would not hesitate to kidnap women and impregnate them. It was a cruel fact that everybody needed to accept.
Alice hesitated for a while and shifted her view to me. She clenched her fist and knew that my words had struck a nail.
"Maybe you're right…" Alice murmured to herself, and averted her gaze. "I hate it when you're right, Mask. I hate it."