My Goblin System : Levelling up with my SSS Class Devouring skill Chapter 98

The demon lords began departing, opening portals to their various domains. So looked at Satou with pity. Others with curiosity. Seraphine blew him a kiss as she left, her expression suggesting she’d be very interested in visiting before the fight.

Soon, only Satou, Loki, and Malakor remained in the great hall.

"That was well played by Chronus," Malakor observed. "Ruthless, but well played. He’s managed to put you in a position where you must fight or lose all credibility, and he’s chosen a champion specifically designed to counter most conventional combat strategies."

"Can I win?" Satou asked directly.

Malakor was silent for a long mont. "Richard Clay is powerful. His Decay ability makes him nearly untouchable in close combat. Most who’ve fought him have died within minutes. But..."

"But?" Satou prompted.

"But you’ve already achieved the impossible once by killing a hero," Malakor said. "Perhaps you can do it again. Or perhaps you’ll die trying. Either way, we’ll know definitively whether your vision of building a civilization has any rit, or if it’s just naive idealism that crumbles when faced with real power."

With that, Malakor opened his own portal and departed, leaving Satou and Loki alone in the obsidian hall.

"One week," Satou said quietly. "One week to figure out how to defeat soone who kills everything he touches."

"Then we better get started," Loki replied. "Because if Chronus has his way, you’ll be dead and I’ll be damned if I let that happen."

They walked toward the portal that would take them ho.

—--------

The portal deposited them back at the settlent just as the sun was beginning to set, painting the sky in shades of orange and purple. The familiar sight of his village, modest structures of earth and wood, goblins and orcs moving about their evening routines, should have been comforting. Instead, it filled Satou with a sense of desperate urgency.

"Go check on your people," Loki said, sensing Satou’s turmoil. "Make sure everything is stable here. I’ll return in two hours with training materials and information about Richard Clay. We’ll need to use every second of the week we have."

"Will two hours make a difference?" Satou asked. "Against soone with an ability like Decay?"

"Every second makes a difference," Loki replied. "And yes, there are strategies we can employ. Richard Clay is powerful, but he’s not invincible. If he were, Chronus would have used him to challenge for a higher seat on the council. There are limitations to his power, weaknesses we can exploit. We just need to find them."

Loki opened another portal, this one leading to his own domain. "Two hours, Satou. Settle your affairs, talk to your people, and prepare yourself ntally. The physical training cos after."

He stepped through and was gone, leaving Satou alone at the edge of his settlent.

Satou took a deep breath and started walking toward the village center. As he moved through the streets, goblins and orcs who saw him imdiately bowed or waved respectfully. Word had apparently spread that he’d gone to et with the demon lords, though they probably didn’t know the results yet.

He needed to find Lyra first, to update her on what had happened and what was coming. But as he approached the administrative building, he saw Jessica sitting on the steps outside, her head in her hands.

She looked up as he approached, and Satou was struck by how miserable she appeared. Her eyes were red, as if she’d been crying, and her normally cheerful deanor was completely absent.

"Jessica?" Satou said gently, sitting down beside her. "What’s wrong? Did sothing happen while I was gone?"

"I don’t know," Jessica said, her voice small and confused. "That’s the problem. I don’t know what’s wrong with ."

"What do you an?" said Satou.

Jessica was quiet for a mont, seeming to struggle with how to explain. "When I saw you and Lyra this morning, when I realized you two had spent the night together, I felt sothing. Here." She placed a hand over her heart. "Sothing uncomfortable. Like sothing was squeezing inside my chest. And it hasn’t gone away all day."

Satou’s stomach sank as he began to understand. "Jessica—"

"I thought maybe I was sick," Jessica continued, not seeming to hear him. "So I used my healing magic on myself, but nothing was physically wrong. Then I thought maybe I was just tired or stressed. But that didn’t explain why I felt worse every ti I thought about you and Lyra together."

She looked at him, her eyes desperate and confused. "What’s wrong with , big brother? Why does thinking about you being with soone else make feel like this? You’re my big brother. I should be happy for you. But I’m not. And I don’t understand why."

Satou felt his heart break a little. He’d been so focused on survival, on building the settlent, on facing the constant threats, that he’d completely missed what was developing right in front of him.

Jessica had feelings for him. Real feelings that went beyond the sibling bond they’d ford and he’d been completely oblivious.

"Jessica," Satou said gently, taking her hand. "I think what you’re feeling isn’t sickness or stress. I think it’s jealousy."

"Jealousy?" Jessica repeated, as if the word was foreign. "But why would I be jealous?"

"Because you have feelings for that go beyond seeing as just your big brother," Satou said carefully. "Romantic feelings. And seeing with Lyra made you realize that."

Jessica stared at him, her expression shifting from confusion to dawning horror. "No. No, that can’t be right. You’re my big brother. I can’t have feelings like that for you. That’s wrong, isn’t it?"

"We’re not actually related," Satou pointed out gently. "We just call each other siblings because we’re close. But there’s no blood relationship between us. So technically, there’s nothing wrong with you having those feelings."

"But you don’t feel the sa way," Jessica said, and it wasn’t a question. "You feel that way about Lyra."

Satou wanted to lie, to soften the blow sohow, but Jessica deserved honesty. "Yes. I do. I care about you deeply, Jessica. You’re one of the most important people in my life. But the feelings I have for you are brotherly, protective. What I feel for Lyra is different."