Chapter 23: Going All Out!

Splat.

My left arm is filled with pain, I feel that my bones had been broken, I can’t move it without feeling a powerful surge of pain. Oleander the goblin yelled, his hands covering over his face. I struggled to get up, this duel isn’t over yet, I took my staff and used it like an old man’s walking stick.

“Curse you!” Oleander shrieked, “Look what you had done to my face!” He removed his hands to reveal my damage to it, his cheeks are swollen, his nose is deformed. He growled, which made his face more disturbing. “You’ll pay! I won’t let you get away with this!” His raised his hand, flames ignited in his palm, and he hurled it towards me.

Trust me, you guys don’t want to get hit by fire.

I don’t have time to defend myself. When Oleander’s flames hit me, I got blown away from the combustion. My clothes had been burned, to proof that they can be burned, I felt that I am being cooked alive in a microwave. So, this is how it feels like to be in a cooking stove…

As I landed, the bones in my left arm cracked again for some reason. My pyjamas had been damaged, my chest was slightly bleeding due to the flames, the good news is, that my top hat is still in one piece. I can’t endure the pain, I don’t want another blow from that, I don’t even know whether I will be alive after another blow… Is this how I die? Will I actually be dying just to protect some wish-granting Orb?

I wanted to drop my staff and break down, I wanted to surrender, at least getting teased and mocked by a short and dangerous goblin will be much better than getting killed. However, the memories of the happiest things in my life flowed over me; my parents cuddling me as an infant, the hangouts that I had with my friends, my brother praising me… No, I won’t surrender, then, my foes will think that I’m weak. I won’t show them that, I am not a coward.

I got up from my feet, which looks hilarious since my legs are already as springy like noodles. “Hungry for more, huh!?” Oleander’s hands ignited again, I raised my staff, ready to defend myself. “Yeah,” I nodded as a response, “I will be full until I had defended the Orb of Wishes from you.” This time, Oleander didn’t laugh or something, he scowled, “Fine, then try to stop me.”

He snapped his fingers, and he combusted into flames. When they were out, he had vanished. The goblin already has his hands on the Orb of Wishes, and that’s not good. I froze the ground beneath Oleander into a slippery, icy floor. He tried to maintain his balance, but I won’t let him do that, and he won’t let me stop him. The icy floor ignited and steamed, I created a chair made from ice, and I threw it at Oleander, in the face again.

He stumbled and glared at me with his frog eyes, his hands ignited, however, I am already prepared as a ‘junior-firefighter’ as I had made a fire extinguisher too. I sprayed it at the goblin’s hands, and the fire extinguished. But Oleander has been fed up by me. After the flames had been cooled off, he pounced at me, I raised my staff to smack him again, but he blocked it. “You will never hit me again!” In this struggle, Oleander has the upper hand. He took my staff, and threw it aside.

“Without that, you guys are nothing.” Oleander grabbed my throat, but it doesn’t look like that he is going to choke me. He grinned, I can feel that his hand is getting hotter (the temperature ‘hot’, not the… other hot, you guys get it), “I want to make you properly terrified before I send you to the Underworld.”

Smoke steamed from the goblin’s palm, my eyes watered, either from the smoke or from the fact that I will suffer much more than just a few burns. “Since this will be your death, I will make you choose on how am I going to kill you.” He removed his hand from my throat, and he stood on top of me. “Would you want me to… just burn you to ashes? Or do you want me to…” His nails got more sharper than before, “Give you a mercy kill, by mauling your face until you die?” Those are painful way to die, and I’m not taking either of those options.

Before I can respond, Oleander gave me another suggestion. “Oh wait! How about, I get to maul you alive, then I’ll burn you to ashes!” “That… sounds way worse than those two that you mentioned…” I squeaked. “Oh, right! I apologize for giving you that much stress in your final moments…” The goblin ‘apologized’.  Clearly, he didn’t feel sorry for mentioning that and was probably planning to give me more horrendous options to die.

I tried to think of a plan to defeat Oleander, there’s still hope that I can turn the tables on him. But it’s difficult to plan when there’s a homicidal goblin right on top of you.

“Okay, what else?” Oleander tapped his foot on my chest. “Aha!” he scratched my chest with his toenails, which are now claws. “Why don’t I, rip your organs out from your body?” My eyes narrowed in shock; my chest hurts even more when he did that, though it doesn’t hurt as much as he had burned my pyjamas.

“Yes! That’ll do!” Oleander sunk his claws slightly deeper into my chest, I winced from the pain. Oleander brought his face closer to mine, he grinned, which revealed his white and disturbingly sharp teeth. “Now, before you die, young one. You may utter out your final words.” He whispered, my breathing rate must had increased, cold sweat flooded my skin, there’s no way that this will be the end for me, right? There’re so many things that I haven’t did yet!

Will the dinner I had tonight be my last dinner? Will that be the last time that I had a conversation with Claude? Will hanging out at my library be the last time that I hanged out with Felix and Aisha? And not long ago, will that be the last time that I will use magic?

“Hey, kid. You’re taking too long.” His claws had started to rip my chest slightly, “C’mon, spit it out. You have something too say, I know that!” Oleander smiled; he was clearly enjoying the pain that he inflicted on me. I do have something to say, but my words are cramping up in my throat. “If you don’t say anything, I’ll take that you had accepted your death in honour and grace!”

Before the worst can happen, another voice spoke. “He won’t be dying tonight.”

A figure sliced Oleander’s arms off and tackled him aside, at first, I had always expected Claude, but the figure had worn a golden armour, a golden chest plate, golden boots, basically everything he wears is gold. He even has a golden sword. General Kano stood between me and Oleander.

“Why does this keep happening to me?!” Oleander howled as he saw his hands on the floor, crimson red blood was leaking out from his empty arms. “How many injuries do I have to resist, just to steal THAT ORB!!!!????” “This isn’t the last injury that you will receive, but those injuries that Prince Edward had inflicted on you,” He turned to face me, his expression either saying that, it’s going to be alright, you did well. Or, you’re going to be in trouble once we get back.

Oleander’s missing hands ignited to ash, his wounds burned up, which healed when the flames dispersed. “You’re a strong one, right?” He pointed at Kano, “What if I am?” The General replied coldly. “Then, perhaps you can take this fellow’s place instead!” Oleander’s hands ignited once again, Kano, still remained silent.

“General,” I whispered to him, “He’s a goblin, you can’t take him on like…” “Young Highness,” Kano replied, “I had faced creatures much deadlier than a goblin.” He raised his sword, but he faced towards the Orb of Wishes, “You want the Orb, correct?” “That’s why I’m here!” Oleander hissed, Kano turned to the goblin, “Then go get it.”

Our trusty General javelin-throwed his golden sword directly at the Orb of Wishes. The round-shaped crystal glowed even faster. “WHAT DID YOU DO!!!???” Oleander rushed to the Orb’s side, desperately trying to pull out Kano’s sword, but it won’t budge. Kano then dragged me, to the nearest boulder. “No! No! No! No! You ruined it! You ruined it! Wait, it won’t affect the wishes!” Oleander snapped his fingers, he and the Orb of Wishes were surrounded by flames, the sly goblin is trying to get away with the damaged Orb!

The Orb can’t have a scratch on it, or it will blow up.

I remembered Felix’s words, I shouted to the goblin “Don’t do it! It’s going to ex-”

Well, it did before I can finish my warnings.

The Orb exploded into bluish-flames, Oleander screamed, the goblin’s body had been ripped apart due to the explosion, the pieces of Oleander crumbled into dust, and it disintegrated in the explosion. Kano dragged me behind the boulder again, to avoid being hit by the flames, and those are really nasty ones.

The damage was devastating after the explosion, my ears rang from the loud Boom. We peeked out from the boulder, the Orb of Wishes had been scattered into trillions of shattered glasses, Kano’s sword, however, had survived the blow. Kano picked it up and slowly slid it down his scabbard. “Oleander…” I spoke softly, “I-is he… g-gone?” I asked, Kano turned to me, “Yes, Young Highness, the goblin has been exterminated, but unfortunately, or rather fortunately the Orb of Wishes is destroyed as well in the explosion.”

“I-I tried to warn him…” I collapsed, and the General came to my aid. “Young Majesty, you’re injured, let’s get you to the infirmary, and believe me. Your Brother isn’t pleased about your attempts to catch the goblin yourself.” But, how exactly do we do that?  I wanted to ask him that. “Friends!” I heard a familiar voice echo above us, Chris the Indian Quarterback crashed down from the ceiling. “Friends! Chris, here help, friends!” The dragon spoke.

I wanted to say his name, or at least hug the dragon. But I passed out before I can do any of that.