"Where is she?"
Stood at the edge of the village walls was a short, muscular goblin adorned in leather armour. The worry and concern etched on his facial expression wasn't something that was commonly seen, only on rare occasions such as this very moment would the usually cold and ruthless Kornac display such emotions.
The goblin commander had returned from his scouting mission quite some time ago, but upon seeing that Sherna and her unit were nowhere to be found, he had been standing at the walls that faced the Berserk Goblin's village ever since.
Despite the pleas from the members of his unit to come down and rest, Kornac stubbornly remained where he was with his eyes fixed upon the treelines for any sort of movement. Part of the reason for his concern was to do with the fact that he could finally bed the strongest female goblin in the tribe. But what it really was that over the long years they had spent together as the former goblin chief's commanders, he had grown to love the woman.
He never understood why the chief refused to use his position to fuck as many women as possible, that's what he would've done if he was the chief. But if there was one thing he did understand, it was why the chief never looked at any other woman other than Sherna.
She was perfect in every way.
Love wasn't something a goblin should be able to experience with their uncontrollable desire for sex, that was what Kornac had always believed. He would often mock those people who believed in such a thing as love. He found it absurd that people would spend their lives chasing after one person, why not have some fun on the side while doing so? But then, it happened to him. Love.
Of course, initially, the ruthless commander refused to acknowledge such feelings, he would drown them in his lust. Despite this, the feeling in his heart continued to grow until his lust could no longer hold it down. That was when Kornac accepted that he had become one of those people that he used to mock.
Over time, the goblin commander began to reduce his indulgence in fleshy pleasures and focused on strengthening himself. Though he desired his chief's wife, Kornac knew that he didn't have it in him to challenge the chief for his wife. It wasn't because of the chief's strength but more so to do with his loyalty to the powerful goblin.
Kornac gave up on Sherna, but his feelings for her never decreased. Instead, they only grew over time. The other warrior goblins started to believe that their commander had given up sex to train more, just like their chief. How were they to know that his lust had been washed away by the pangs of love?
But things changed with the death of the chief, there was nothing blocking Kornac's way from fulfilling the deep desire of his heart. However, with the apostle pushing for the conquest to begin as soon as possible, the veteran warrior couldn't find any opportunity to approach the woman of his dreams.
That was until her departing words on the day they had left for their respective scouting missions. Although Kornac felt a great deal of anticipation and excitement for his return to the village, among these emotions there were also traces of embarrassment.
'Was I being that obvious...she knew the entire time'
With how lustful the goblins were, they didn't exactly see a point in hiding their desires from the world. Other than rare exceptions like the goblin chief, most goblins wore their hearts on their sleeves, with Kornac being no different. So, how would the goblin commander be able to hide his overwhelming love from the eyes of a goblin as sharp as Sherna?
As he sank into his thoughts, Kornac noticed movement around the treelines, resulting in him leaning forward with his eyes narrowed. His hands moved towards his sides, prepared to grab the hatchets hanging from his belt but then his whole form relaxed.
With short, spiky hair and a bow clasped in her hand, Sherna's stern face became visible as she stepped past the dense treeline along with the rest of her unit. Her eyes seemed to be unfocused as her mind was occupied with a certain matter, though this changed when they landed on the figure standing on the village walls in the distance.
Realising who it was, the stern look disappeared from her countenance as her lips twisted into a seductive smirk.
Even though they were quite some distance away, Kornac could slightly make out the expression on Sherna's face causing him to gulp in excitement. It would appear he would be active at night after many years.
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Fear.
Confusion.
Hopelessness.
That was all she could feel upon realising the current state of her situation. Standing before her was a handsome middle-aged man, with purple skin and pointed ears, wearing a gentle smile. But to her, that smile looked so terrifying.
How could she feel comfort from the being who had just told her how she and other women were to become the vessels of demonic spirits with the newborns they held in their hands to be used as sacrifices?
A few days ago, Emilia had given birth, bringing a beautiful baby girl into her and her husband's lives. The little girl was their first child, the first of many to come. That was how it was meant to be. She was supposed to see this little girl grow, celebrate birthdays with her, comfort her when she was struggling, scold her when she had taken the wrong turn in life and so much more. But all of that wasn't going to happen now.
The young mother had been resting in bed, cuddling her bundle of joy before there was a flash of purple and everything went black. Emilia had been awoken by the sound of crying, at first she thought it was her daughter but upon listening more carefully she realised it was actually a woman.
This information jolted her from her groggy state, allowing her to inspect herself as well as her surroundings with great clarity. The sight being displayed to her eyes brought shock and terror to the young woman. A part of her didn't want to believe what she was seeing, like it was all some nightmare and she would wake up to find herself in bed with her daughter.
But it wasn't happening.
The scene laid before her wasn't shattering away. The rows of poles with naked women tied to them weren't disappearing. The purple beings with their predatory gazes didn't fade away. And that's when the despair settled in and took hold of her, seeping into every inch of her body.
Just like the other women, Emilia had been stripped of her clothing and tied to a pole, left on display for all to see. A rope fixed around the top of the pole tightly bound her wrists, leaving her hands hanging above her head, in turn, forcing her to stand. Another rope ran around her ankles and the pole, preventing her legs from having any free movement.
Taking in the circumstances of her situation, she believed that this was some sort of degradation act, that was supposed to weaken their minds before they were raped.
Though her conclusion filled her with fear, this was not at the forefront of the young mother's mind, instead, she was concerned for the safety of her daughter. A certain thought came to mind but Emilia struck it away, she held onto the hope that her captors were only targeting her.
And that was when he came up to her. He called himself the First Priest of Corruption, making it clear to Emilia that she was involved in some sort of cult ritual, which slightly alleviated her fears. From what she knew about cult rituals, it was likely that along with the other women, she was going to be used as a sacrifice.
Although the thought of death was absolutely terrifying, she would rather die than experience the horrors of rape.
But when Emilia heard what the man had to say, her blood ran cold. She was going to become a vessel? And her child was going to be sacrificed?!
It was at that moment, that she could hear it. Her mind had initially blocked it out to prevent itself from collapsing from the shock. But she could hear it as clear as day now. The pleas hidden in that woman's crying.
"Please not my child"
"I'm begging you, I'll do anything"
"Sacrifice me instead, just spare the life of my child"
She wasn't the only one, nearly all of them were begging their captors, only to be ruthlessly ignored. The hope which had been glowing in her heart had been snuffed out.
And now he was back.
He walked right up to her and came to a stop when there was merely a few inches between them.
She tried to open her mouth, to try and beg like the other woman, hoping she could draw even the tiniest shred of pity from the man. But before she even had the chance to speak, his deep but gentle voice resounded in her ears.
"Do not fear for your child's life, to be sacrificed for the Lord of Corruption, she truly is a lucky child"
The faint light in the woman's eyes vanished after hearing those words.
She had given up.