It didn't take long for everyone else to start screaming along with the woman. People ran in every direction—some even toward the goblin. Some wanted to be the hero. Most just wanted to get away.
The goblin itself was only half the size of an adult. It wielded a short sword and wore nothing but a loosely wrapped cloth around its waist. It had a thin green head with pointy ears and sharp eyes. Its reaction to the situation wasn't much different from ours. It looked absolutely terrified. I mean, imagine being on a meager stroll through the forest and then happening upon a gigantic group of abnormal beings double your size who go ape-shit when they spot you.
I watched it all unfold while trying to regain my footing to no avail.
The shaking goblin, which should have been frightened out of its mind and running, instead charged at me with its sword raised.
"Ergh."
Coinciding with a loud grunt, I felt someone take hold of the hem of my shirt and yank me back.
While my frame wasn't overly heavy, it couldn't be considered light—standing at 6'4 and over 190 lbs, I wasn't an easy one to move, especially if the one trying to move me was half a foot shorter. Showcasing this, the same man who had given me his jacket earlier and was now yanking me to safety began helplessly tumbling toward the goblin—in an even more perilous situation than I had been in.
"Why?!" I screamed as he stumbled, throwing his arm into the goblin's path to shield himself.
The sword cut deep, exposing flesh to the bone.
I didn't know if it was arrogance or desperation, but instead of kicking the goblin back and retreating, he grabbed its arms and twisted, forcing it to drop the sword. But the goblin seemed to... calm? Like it was adjusting to the situation, strategizing.
I hurriedly gathered myself and tried to close the distance between me and the two entangled in a tango of death, but it happened in an instant.
"Kreee," the goblin let out a scream and opened its mouth, revealing a shark-like set of teeth that it plunged into the man's arm, perfectly overlapping where he'd been struck by the sword. The man screamed and loosened his grip on the goblin. In under a second, the goblin retrieved its sword and severed the man's left arm using the weakened area.
I finally reached them too late. Now I could only watch as the man who'd lent me his jacket crumpled to the ground, flailing around in agony while holding his severed left arm.
"Ho… I…" I couldn't even manage a single word.
"Snap out of it!" A tall blond man screamed as he charged by me and dropkicked the goblin who unknowingly had been a second from claiming my life.
I couldn't be bothered by that anymore.
I grabbed onto the injured man and dragged him away from the goblin. I didn't think he would die immediately, but blood loss would claim his life sooner or later. At this realization, I closed my eyes in an attempt to hide the tears that began to well up, and even further, hide from reality. This was all my fault after all.
His screams soon subsided, replaced by the sound of the blond man pulverizing the goblin. I couldn't stop the tears when I realized he had taken his last breath, and I hadn't even gotten to thank him or apologize. It was my fault he died. If he hadn't tried to save me, he would've lived. I might as well have killed him with my own hands.
"Shut your ass up!"
I opened my eyes and stared blankly at the source of the noise, tears still falling from my face to the ground. It had come from the man whom I held in my arms, whose cries of anguish had now turned into a silent grimace.
"But I…"
"Your thoughts are loud as hell." He pushed me off of him with his remaining arm, causing me to fall back, stunned, unable to even move. "I just tripped while trying to save your sorry ass. While I don't plan on dying, it seems likely, so could you set me down and get out of the way, let me see the sky."
I managed to get myself together just enough to talk.
"But… why?" I softly asked.
He grimaced, pain etched deep in his face.
"Didn't do it from kindness," he spoke fast and panted after each breath. "I did it because I saw my past self… in you. So mentally fragile, so mentally abused—resulting in a truly crazed man. Ha. And well, you see, I just happen to be a pretty empathetic person."
Crazed? Similar to him? Had he made some wild misconception about me in his mind? I didn't even know anything about him, and he knew nothing about me. Had he mistaken me for someone? Was that why he helped me in the first place?
Despite not saying this, he read my mind again.
"No, fucker," he said. "I don't know you, nor care to know you. But the way you… nevermind. Just know I have a pretty good eye for people just like me."
He shook violently in pain
How was he talking? Maybe the pain was getting to his head, which was why he was spouting nonsense. He heaved a long sigh and then stared directly into my eyes.
"Shit!" His sudden shout sent a shiver down my spine. "Make yourself useful and tie a damned tourniquet on my bicep already! Apply pressure! Stop being a useless dumbass! And all of you assholes watching at least try and get a fire going! This wound won't close on its own!" Noticeably agitated and growing paler, he turned back to me and continued, "Just because I said I wanted to see the sky and not your ugly mug doesn't mean Imma just let the reaper take me."
With his words, I snapped out of my daze, tore apart my bloodied shirt, formed it into a long strip, and wrapped his arm as tightly as I could. His screams echoed into the forest, but he managed to hold it together without passing out.
I looked at his pained face for a moment before casting my eyes at the stunned crowd around us, who had their attention split between us, the guy fighting the goblin, and starting a fire.
"Anyway, if I die, don't think that I meant to die for you," he said, drawing my attention back to him. "This only happened due to my bad luck and your good luck. With how I live, I'm surprised I've even made it to this age."
I had no response to him. I just scooted away from him and listened to the sounds of the goblin scream as it got punched repeatedly.
Finally, I found the courage to ask, "At least tell me your name?"
I wanted to know the name of my new savior.
"I'll tell you later…" He looked away from me, then closed his eyes and steadied his breathing, his voice noticeably weaker.
The smell of a small fire started tingling my nose. While I had been occupied with him, it seemed the others had managed to band together and create a fire. At that moment, about six people worked together transporting wood, and three worked on keeping it going, led by a young-looking girl. Thankfully, someone had a lighter on them.
It didn't take too long before the fire grew rampant enough that it could light the tail end of a decently sized log. They stuck the log in the fire and left one end in until it was primed with its entire end charred and still slightly on fire. Without a single word, the young girl handed me the log while not once making eye contact with me.
Why did I have to do this?
I reeled back at just the thought, but every second that passed, this man grew more and more feeble. Knowing this, I bore down on the man and lifted his left arm. He looked at me with pleading eyes as I jammed the charred end of the log onto his wound, beginning cauterization. He screamed relentlessly and thrashed around. Onlookers dropped in and held him down while someone stuck a piece of cloth into his mouth as a gag. After about a minute of enduring, he passed out, but it wasn't over yet.
"Tch."
I clicked my tongue when I removed the log, only to see that it hadn't entirely been sealed yet, even after two minutes. And the log was beginning to lose its heat. Thankfully, I was supplied with another log and began again.
Two more minutes went by, and I removed the log. His melting flesh loosely stuck together, and blood was everywhere. The entire time he had spent just enduring before any treatment had been about a minute and a half, followed by two to four minutes to even begin cauterizing the wound. Then, around four minutes of cauterization.
"Insane…" I couldn't help but mutter to myself as I put my finger under his nostrils and felt a slight gust of air.
While it was more than likely he would still die of blood loss or infection, the fact that he had made it this far was a miracle.
Something told me this guy wasn't going to die as easily as I thought he would.
"I refuse to die. Now get out of my sight and let me rest."
I stared at him with my eyes wide open in utter disbelief. I had no idea he was still conscious—better yet, coherent—yet I had just heard his voice and saw his open eyes all the same.
He closed his eyes again, but I couldn't grant his wish immediately. I couldn't bring myself to understand his willpower. I studied his wound some more, which was still crackling and popping.
"Yeah… my savior shouldn't die this easily." I could tell he wasn't like the others. He wouldn't only save me, he'd save himself too.
I brought my hand to his forehead and brushed his obsidian-colored hair out of his eyes so that when he woke up, he could see the sky properly.
A broken smile crept onto my face. After doing all I could do, I granted his request by using the blond guy fighting the goblin to forcibly draw my attention away.