Centuries ago.
In a magic research institute of the Western Human Kingdom.
The magicians, a married couple who owned the institute, found a dying goblin nearby.
The goblin was pregnant and, even in the throes of death, gave birth to her offsprings, though most were stillborn.
But one last hatchling survived and came into the world.
Crying pitifully in the embrace of its dead mother, the baby was premature. Left alone, it would have been devoured by wild beasts or succumbed to exhaustion from crying.
Was it a stroke of compassion?
The couple saved the goblin infant and placed it in the magical cultivation facility within the institute.
Whether it was a natural mutation or the abundant mana of the cultivation facility triggered some special function was unknown.
When the goblin infant emerged healthy and grown from the cultivation facility, it was noticeably larger and smarter than its goblin peers.
And it followed the couple around just like it would its own parents.
The couple decided to raise the goblin themselves.
The Western Human Kingdom was an area chronically subjected to greenskin raids.
They hoped that by taming this goblin infant, they could devise a countermeasure against these invasions.
Or perhaps, it was because the couple had been infertile for so long.
Their hearts might have been swayed by the sight of this goblin growing up and following them as if they were its parents.
Whatever the reason, the couple decided to raise the goblin and named it.
Alexander.
The name of a once-great human king who ruled over the Western Continent.
***
Alexander was astute.
To be precise, excessively astute.
He learned much faster than human children his age. Perhaps, as goblins mature into adults at five, his brain development was also accelerated.
At three, Alexander could converse as well as an adult human, and by four, he could assist the couple with their work.
By the age of five, he was able to read all the books in the institute without difficulty.
Starting from when Alexander turned four, the couple employed him as an assistant in their institute.
For the elderly couple who had been handling everything on their own due to limited funds, the intelligent and robust Alexander was a godsend.
The problem arose just a month after Alexander began working as an assistant.
They had brought in some chicks for an experiment from a nearby village, and it happened the following morning after the couple had gone to sleep.
"I'm, I'm sorry... I just couldn't stand the crying of these little ones..."
Overnight, Alexander had brutally killed all the chicks; he had torn them apart, and devoured them.
Staring blankly, Alexander was covered in feathers and blood as he muttered.
"But... why is it wrong to kill them?"
"..."
It was then that the couple realized.
No matter how intelligent he was or how fluently he spoke human language, the child in front of them was a goblin.
A monster with a cruel and ferocious nature, prone to tearing apart anything smaller and weaker than itself.
The couple debated for a long time. Should they kill this goblin? Or should they abandon it?
But, however - they had already grown attached.
So instead of killing or abandoning Alexander, the couple decided to try to educate him.
"Alexander, let's start reading this from today."
The couple brought in a large number of books suitable for young children from the nearby village.
Picture books, novels, history books, and even poetry...
They believed.
No matter how brutal their innate nature, if exposed to a rich culture and treated with kindness and warmth, this goblin child could also adapt to human society.
Alexander diligently read all the books the couple brought.
The young goblin had always loved books, but poetry held a special place in his heart.
He was often moved to tears by the sentiments etched like constellations by the great poets.
Through his parents' steady education and dedication, Alexander gradually distanced himself from his brutal instincts.
He had progressed to the point where he was trusted with raising chicks.
Then came an event in the year Alexander turned five.
A festival was held in a nearby village, and his parents wanted to show it to Alexander.
"Come, Alexander! Let's go see the play together!"
To hide his green skin, Alexander wore long clothes and gloves, and a mask covered his face.
Holding hands with both his wizard parents, Alexander entered the human village—right into the midst of the festival.
Children wearing festive masks were scattered all over the streets. Alexander managed to enter the traveling troupe's theater without arousing any suspicion.
And there, Alexander saw a new world.
It was a play based on history. Onstage, the actors recited their lines, performed, sang, and recited poetry.
Everything Alexander had read in books was embodied there on the stage.
For the entire two hours that the play unfolded, Alexander watched, weeping uncontrollably.
It was perhaps the most intense memory of his life, one that would not be forgotten for hundreds of years.
***
But happiness did not last.
The fact that the research facility was raising a goblin had slowly spread.
Eventually, the village chief came to protest at the lab.
"Raising a goblin next to a village that lives in fear of greenskin raids... Are you out of your minds?! What if that goblin calls its kin?!"
"Our Alexander is not like that..."
"You've even named that monster?! You've truly gone mad!"
The village chief and villagers demanded that the goblin be killed immediately and thrown out, or the research facility must leave the village altogether.
The wizard couple did not ponder long.
They decided to move the research facility to an even more rural village.
"You are living proof that goblins can coexist with humans, Alexander."
The wizard couple consoled Alexander, who sobbed knowing that he was the reason they were being driven out.
"And you are our son as well."
"No matter where we go, we can live happily."
The family of three—consisting of the wizard couple and Alexander—packed up the moving carriage.
It was a small carriage, unable to carry much, so all the books Alexander cherished had to be left behind.
The wizard couple promised that once they moved to the next village, they would buy him a new book of poetry. Alexander nodded happily at the promise.
It took three days by carriage to the neighboring village. The family of three took the journey slowly, enjoying it as if it were a pleasant trip.
During the day, they admired new landscapes, and at night, they sang songs together around the campfire under the sky.
The attack by a group of greenskins came just one day before they would reach the neighboring village.
***
The ambush was over in an instant.
Orc cavalry on wolves struck the side of the carriage, and the heavily loaded wagon toppled over.
The wolves killed the horses, and the husband wizard, struck by an orc's blade, died without uttering a last word, bleeding out.
The wife wizard, thrown from the overturned carriage, attempted to cast a spell as she lay on the ground, but an orc cavalryman's wolf trampled her, breaking her neck.
The assault was swift and decisive. The two orc cavalrymen laughed contentedly.
"Rrrrgh! Loot, loot!"
"They were wizards! They must have valuable things! Take everything!"
Following the orc cavalry, a group of goblins righted the fallen carriage to loot it.
Alexander regained consciousness inside a toppled carriage, the first sight that met his eyes were the horribly slain bodies of a couple of mages, and two orcs rummaging through their remains.
Snap.
Something inside Alexander's head broke at that moment.
It was the instant 'humanity' that the couple had carefully bound within him burned away.
"Hahh... Hahh..."
When he came to, Alexander was standing atop the bodies of the two orcs.
Two wolves lay dead, their entrails spilled out, one orc's neck was severed, and the other was crushed completely in limbs.
Perched atop that orc, Alexander was slowly lifting an orcish blade he had seized from it.
"Goblins... nothing but a slave..."
The orc uttered its last words.
"Daring... against the great orc..."
Slash!
He had never received combat training.
But Alexander instinctively and violently swung the blade, decapitating the orc.
Green blood sprayed as the orc's head tumbled to the ground.
A group of trembling goblins looked up at Alexander.
"..."
As Alexander looked at them with blood-drenched eyes, the goblins immediately prostrated on the ground, quivering.
"Chirrik!"
"Spare us! Just spare our lives!"
"We will serve! Just please don't kill us!"
"We will serve you from now on! Please, just spare us!"
Ignoring his kin, Alexander walked over to the bodies of the mage couple.
His parents, who had loved him all their short lives, lay dead without even having closed their eyes.
Alexander dug the earth with his own hands and buried his parents' bodies.
All the while, the goblins didn't move an inch, continuously prostrated on the ground.
They were slaves.
Needing someone to give them orders.
"..."
Looking down at his kin, who sought to serve him, Alexander let out a long sigh.
"Hey."
"Ch, Chirrik! Speak, strong goblin!"
"...Where is the base of these orc brutes?"
"No, not far, it's a fortress... but why do you ask, chirrik?"
The goblins cautiously lifted their heads to gauge Alexander's intent. Muttering to himself, Alexander picked up the orc's blade.
"I'm going to kill them all."
As he departed, the watchful goblins hurriedly followed. Alexander paid them no mind.
This was the first group that Alexander had formed.
With this group, Alexander began his quest for vengeance for his parents.
***
For the next ten years, Alexander lived on the battlefield.
He killed orcs at every opportunity and took the goblins, who had lived as slaves beneath them, into his own group.
He possessed a natural talent for command. Having read human strategy books also proved beneficial.
He calmly and strategically defeated the orcs, who relied solely on their brute strength, and killed them off.
Above all, he emphasized military discipline among his soldiers.
Instead of fighting on instinct, he demanded a well-ordered army that strictly followed his commands.
During the Greenskin Civil War, he was refined into a commander, and his soldiers into a well-tempered force.
Ten years later, Alexander personally killed all seven orc lords, and the orc armies were decimated.
The Greenskin Civil War ended with the victory of the goblins.
The goblins, who had been slaves to the orcs from birth, now had the orcs serving as their slaves.
When Alexander came to his senses, his revenge was complete, and he found himself the ruler of a vast Greenskin kingdom.
"Chirrik! The great Alexander!"
"Goblin among goblins!"
"My king! What shall we conquer next?!"
Alexander responded concisely to his subordinates' questions.
"I won't fight anymore."
"Kilik?!"
"What do you mean by that...?"
"From now on, our goblins will not attack other races."
His army was strictly governed by military discipline.
Alexander believed that his entire race could live by the law, as his parents had believed in him... that they could be reformed.
And so it happened. When Alexander's orders were given, the goblins ceased all acts of looting.
Peace came between the Greenskin Kingdom and the neighboring human kingdoms.
Soon after, a human delegation arrived.
Alexander, dressed in human clothes and a metal mask, met with the delegation. The envoy was taken aback but conveyed his message to Alexander.
"The ruler of the Greenskins has changed, and so I have come to deliver the words of our great king."
"Speak, human."
"Now that the seven orc lords are dead, the only warriors left for the Greenskins are goblins. With but a thought, our human forces could sweep you away."
"..."
"However, our king is merciful and does not wish for unnecessary conflict. If you continue to not assault us and maintain the borderlines, we can live in peace."
The envoy's tone was arrogant, but Alexander was a gracious king. He nodded his head.
"I, too, do not wish to be hostile towards humans. Let us interact in peace."
"...For a goblin, you seem quite civilized?"
"Take it as a compliment. Attend to these gentlemen with great care!"
The delegation was initially alarmed at the idea of a goblin's hospitality, but Alexander provided them with human cuisine and drinks.
The delegation was impressed by Alexander's eloquence, exceptional insight, and friendly stance towards humans.
By the time the short banquet was over, the delegation was wholly on Alexander's side.
"When I return, I will speak well to our king. That we can peacefully and culturally exchange with the King of the Greenskins!"
"Do tell."
Alexander and the now-friendly envoy shook hands. The delegation left the palace, bidding farewell to the Goblin King.
Alexander thought to himself that he would interact with the human kingdoms and spread culture among the goblins.
To clothe them, teach them language, and share the joys of poetry, song, and drama.
But the delegation never made it back to their own kingdom safely.
Before they could leave the borders of the Greenskin Kingdom, they were attacked by a small band of goblins and were all killed.
***
"Why did you kill them?"
The goblin band that attacked the delegation was captured and brought before Alexander.
Standing before them, Alexander roared.
"We could have lived in peace with humans. Without war, accepting their culture and prospering together."
"..."
"But you ruined it. You ignored my command to stop the raids and looting, and you had to kill the delegation from the human kingdom!"
"..."
"Why did you do it? Why? Out of hunger? Need for treasure? Or was it hatred for those humans?"
"..."
"Answer me! Why did you kill? Speak now!"
Swish!
A goblin's head flew into the air as it met the sharp edge of Alexander's drawn scimitar.
Covered in splattering blood drops, one trembling goblin answered.
"Ki, Kirik... Just..."
"...?"
"Just wanted to kill..."
"What?"
"Couldn't stand it... after so long not being able to kill or plunder, something inside was boiling..."
At those words, Alexander's eyes turned wild, and he swung his sword down in a frenzy.
"Damn you! Barbaric! Idiots! Brutes!"
Slash! Slash! Slash!
"For just such a petty reason! Just for thatttt!"
When he came to, Alexander was covered in blood.
The brethren before his eyes were all torn to shreds, dead. Alexander slowly raised his hand, looking down at his blood-soaked palm.
He realized then.
That the corners of his mouth, were upturned in a smile.
He remembered the time when he was young and had torn a chick to death.
Nothing had changed about him from that time to now. He had to admit it.
It was enjoyable.
The slaughter.
The joy of tearing apart those weaker than himself was irresistible.
Looking around, he saw a strange fervor burning in the eyes of his subordinate soldiers, who stood perfectly still as they had been trained to do.
To kill,
To take,
To set ablaze -
The lust for destruction.
'Ah.'
Only now did Alexander realize. Only now did he accept.
This was... the nature of a goblin.
Cultivation, reform?
Such things were nothing but mad ravings.
"Kirik! Kiririk! Your Majesty!"
Just then, a goblin guard hurried in from outside.
"The human army is approaching! They have already crossed the border! Kirik!"
"..."
"They seem to be incredibly enraged by the murder of the envoy! What should we do, kirik?!"
What to do?
"...Everyone, take up arms."
If this is our nature. If we are born this way, with no other choice.
What to do?
"As we have trained, assume defensive positions. Prepare for battle."
But still, having been born.
Shouldn't we have to live...
Kirik! Kirik! Kirik!
Thud! Thud! Thud!
His soldiers all at once slammed their spear butts into the ground. It was an action born from instinct that he had never taught them.
After observing his goblin kin, excited by the smell of blood, fire, and ashes,
"My beloved and hated brethren."
As if looking into a mirror, with both self-loathing and self-pity,
Alexander said,
"Let's kill and burn."
He had decided to accept it.
"...Just as our nature dictates."
The fact that he too, was nothing more than a goblin.