I looked down at Keith… of gods… no, no, no, no, no. It was clear that the right side of his body had taken the brunt of the blast. The right side of his face was… missing… his tongue was hanging out where his cheek should have been… several of the ribs on his right side were visible… his arm was barely attached… he was covered in blood and blackened flesh. I vomited into my mouth.

  Agaroth: “No time for that shite. Focus!”

  He's right… we need to repel this attack or we all die. I spat the vomit onto the floor and took aim with my bow once more. Kiyui was doing a good job taking out the goblins that managed to get past Damecus, so I looked up to the raised tunnel to see if I could eliminate the bomb thrower.

  I heard Agaroth start attempting to healing Phoenix when I saw two flasks fly out from the tunnel. They know my angle… they are keeping too far in the tunnel for me to see them from where I am. Shit. These flasks are a different colour to the one that was thrown before… these ones are purple… I don’t know what these ones are… shit.

  Dwynfel: “Damecus, Kiyui, incoming.”

  Without looking Damecus went to block the flasks with his shield. He knew where they were likely to be thrown from, so knew where he would need to block if another flask came. I took aim at one of the flasks and hit it with my arrow. It erupted in a burst of pink smoke. Oh gods… I know what that is… I don’t have time to get the second one.

  Dwynfel: “Confusion gas!”

  Damecus raised his shield and jumped towards Kiyui. The flask exploded and they both were engulfed in the pink cloud… as were the goblins that were attacking them. The Grim truly do not value each other… they will destroy their allies as long as it kills us in the process.

  Damecus burst from the smoke with Kiyui over his shoulder. He had abandoned his club and shield within the smoke. He dropped Kiyui to the ground a few metres from the cloud and let out a horrifying roar. He then proceeded to run… I could see his eyes were bloodshot… his mouth foaming. He launched himself up the wall towards the raised tunnel and then he was gone. I heard the screams of several goblins as he disappeared.

  Damecus must have known… he knew that holding his breath wasn’t enough to stop the confusion taking hold… he knew it would seep in through his eyes, ears, and skin… well… scales. Holding your breath simply delays it slightly. He elected to get as far away from us as he could before it fully took hold.

  I looked back at the entrance tunnel. The pink smoke cloud was dissipating and the goblins that had been there were all violently attacking each other. A combination of rage and fear in their eyes. Stabbing, kicking, and biting each other. They were acting as though they were each surrounded by an entire army of assailants and their only chance was to fight with everything they had.

  That was when I noticed Kiyui. He was on his knees his fingernails digging into the ground… his breath heavy… rocking back and forwards and almost… vibrating.

  Dwynfel: “Agaroth…”

  Agaroth: “No’ now, I’m busy…”

  Dwynfel: “Agaroth… you need to get Kiyui now!”

  Agaroth: “He’s just confused. I’ll sort him once Red’s conscious.”

  He turned his head slightly and started to address Kiyui.

  Agaroth: “Just stay calm, twinky… it’s the gas making you think things. Breathe through it…”

  Kiyui didn’t respond.

  Dwynfel: “Agaroth… you don’t understand… if he panics, he’ll…”

  Agaroth: “He’ll what? He does nae have any offensive spells and I can overpower him easy. Calm the fuck down!”

  Smutisha: “What’s going on through there?”

  Dietrich: “You guys don’t sound too good.”

  Dwynfel: “They attacked with bombs and confusion gas.”

  Agaroth: “The Bracken’s dead, Red’s injured, Damecus is confused, fuck knows where he is and the wee poof’s panicking on the floor. I’d say we’ve been better.”

  Feiffer bounded out from the mass of warring goblins towards Kiyui. Kiyui raised his arm and placed his left hand on the elbow.

  Dwynfel: “Agaroth…”

  Farrow: “Can we assist?”

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  Agaroth: “Not from outside this room ya can’t. So, hurry the fuck up and find a way back here!”

  Kiyui clawed his arm open from the elbow to the hand. The blood dripped to the floor and Feiffer started to lap it up.

  Kiyui: “Gevaudan.”

  Agaroth: “Fuckin’ what?”

  Smutisha: “We are trying to find out way to you. These tunnels are like…”

  Smutisha’s voice cut out mid-sentence.

  Agaroth: “The fuck? Speak up ya posh bint!”

  Agaroth turned to me with a look of bewilderment.

  Agaroth: “Connected voice has gone…”

  He then turned to look at Kiyui.

  Agaroth: “…and where the fuck have I heard that word before?”

  Phoenix coughed, but neither Agaroth nor I reacted to her… we were too busy staring at Kiyui and Feiffer… well… Kiyui and Gevaudan now. It was like that time at the farm all over again… Kiyui didn’t look like Kiyui anymore… he looked… wrong… deranged… evil.

  Kiyui and Gevaudan had descended upon the confused goblins at the entrance. The goblins didn’t stand a chance. They wouldn’t have survived even if they themselves weren’t confused. They were torn to shreds… lumps of flesh flew across the cavern.

  Gevaudan’s tentacles flailed in an oddly precise manner, tearing off extremities left, right and centre. Kiyui swept through them with his double glaive… taking the occasional bite from them as he went… his tail slicing up any stragglers that he had missed.

  Agaroth: “What the absolute fuck am I looking at?”

  Dwynfel: “He isn’t half human… he’s half demon.”

  Agaroth: “And you fuckin’ well knew aboot this?”

  Dwynfel: “Since that mob attacked the farm.”

  Agaroth: “And ya didnae think it would be good for us tae know aboot? Are you for fuckin’ real?”

  Dwynfel: “He didn’t want people to be scared of him.”

  Agaroth: “Cause randomly flipping out and going on a blood-soaked rampage isnae gonnae scare anyone is it? Fuckin’ morons!”

  There isn’t a single goblin left alive in the cavern entrance now. Just a mass of blood and flesh. Gevaudan is happily tearing the flesh from the bones of the corpses and eating it.

  Kiyui turned and looked straight at us. His focus then zoned in on me with a look of absolute rage. He darted across the room at a speed that I would have previously thought impossible. He leapt into the air towards me… I could see the blood dripping from his teeth. This is it… I’m pinned… I can’t move… I can’t defend myself… I’m going to die.

  Suddenly Agaroth tackled Kiyui in mid-air. They landed hard on the ground… with Agaroth on top of Kiyui. Agaroth swiftly placed his hand on Kiyui’s head.

  Agaroth: “Clear-mind!”

  Agaroth’s hand glowed and the look of rage disappeared from Kiyui’s eyes. Kiyui kicked Agaroth off and Agaroth rolled away. He climbed to his feet and looked back at Kiyui. Kiyui had not returned to his normal form. The rage was gone… but his eyes… they were not Kiyui’s soft, beautiful, peaceful eyes… they were cold, calculating, and soulless.

  Agaroth: “The fuck? Why’s he no’ back tae normal?”

  Dwynfel: “You removed the confusion, but the demon side is still in control.”

  Agaroth: “For fuck’s sake, this is why we communicate and talk tae people! If ya gonnae flip out and go all serial killer, then people need tae be warned.”

  Kiyui was moving around the floor like a predator, circling his prey. Agaroth didn’t take his eyes of Kiyui for a second. He matched his gaze and followed it around the room.

  Dwynfel: “I’m sorry!”

  Agaroth: “No time for that shite now. How do we snap him the fuck out of it?!”

  Dwynfel: “I don’t know… last time it just kind of ended.”

  Agaroth: “Well you’re really fuckin’ helpful aren’t you.”

  Dwynfel: “I’m sorry.”

  Kiyui lunged forward and brought down his glaive on Agaroth with tremendous force. Agaroth however, is no goblin, nor is he a farm hand. Agaroth is a hefty beast of a man, who has been adventuring for a long time. He was not so easily put down.

  He blocked the Glaive with his sword. The tail came at him from the side and he swung the flail at it. The flail wrapped around the tail and Agaroth held it tight… stopping its movements. Agaroth looked Kiyui dead in the eyes.

  Agaroth: “You need tae calm the fuck down!”

  Kiyui smirked back at him. He jumped up, placing his feet on Agaroth’s chest. His now razor like toe nails piercing through Agaroth’s armour, right into his chest. Agaroth didn’t react… he just continued to stare into Kiyui’s eyes with a look of determination. Eventually he thrusted his sword forwards, pushing Kiyui back. Kiyui straightened his legs… propelling himself backwards from Agaroth with significant force. Kiyui landed on the ground a few metres from Agaroth… the flail on the ground by his feet… Agaroth must have dropped it as he thrust his sword forwards.

  The blood was flowing from Agaroth’s chest. The cuts must be deep. Kiyui snapped his Glaive in two in order to wield it like two swords. He smirked and licked the blood off his lips. Agaroth swapped his sword to his dominant hand and turned sideways, bent his knees slightly and held his sword forwards.

  Agaroth: “Oh, now ya get serious?”