Asia was the daughter of the chief of a small Dark Elf clan.
However, at that moment, she was nowhere near possessing the dignified appearance that should have belonged to her.
Her body was covered in wounds, her clothes torn and stained. The disheveled state was not the result of neglect, but of violence.
The cause had a name… or rather, an uncertain origin.
Another group of Dark Elves.
No one knew where they had come from. They had simply appeared one day, like a silent plague. They brought with them disturbing stories: they claimed to pray to a god no one had ever heard of and wielded a strange, unnatural power.
They did not possess the traditional mana core.
Instead, they practiced something different.
Within their bodies, they formed what they called a Monstrous Crystal—an aberrant structure that granted them great power without the need for meditation or arcane discipline.
They presented themselves to several nearby villages as representatives of that unknown god, demanding submission.
At first, they only warned them. They recounted their feats, demonstrated their strength, and attempted to impress.
But when no one yielded… presumption gave way to violence.
They began imposing their will by force. If a clan refused to join them, it was attacked without mercy.
At first, the Dark Elf villages united and managed to repel them. It seemed the threat had been contained.
But everything changed when a Pigman clan joined that twisted group.
Their forces increased brutally.
The counterattack was ferocious. One by one, Dark Elf villages began to fall.
Rumors claimed that even some lycanthrope clans had been defeated.
Asia's village was one of those that fell.
Her father died fighting, buying with his life enough time for her to escape.
After days of constant pursuit, exhausted and on the verge of collapse, they finally managed to lose the enemy.
They thought it was over.
That was when the goblins appeared.
At first, they did not take them seriously.
That was their gravest mistake.
Suddenly, a strange pink mist began to spread through the area. It was thick, sweet, impossible to ignore.
The surprise lasted only seconds.
One by one, the Dark Elves began to fall… especially the women.
Their bodies trembled, their breathing grew erratic, and a dangerous gleam appeared in their eyes.
The symptoms were clear.
It was as if they had consumed a powerful aphrodisiac.
What was strange was that many of them possessed mana cores. Under normal conditions, expending a small amount of mana was enough to expel any poison or foreign substance.
But this time, it did not work.
Then they understood.
The mist was not a poison.
It was an ability.
Terror seized them as they remembered an ancient legend, a story told only in whispers.
A Goblin King.
The fear of all women.
The few men who remained—physically and mentally exhausted, without mana after the previous pursuit—attempted a counterattack. Their objective was clear: kill the goblin king first and break the ability.
But that king was cunning.
He remained protected, hidden behind his subordinates, observing from a safe position.
Every attempt was futile.
One by one, the men began to fall, overwhelmed by the sheer number of goblins.
The women, with the last trace of rationality they had left, made a desperate decision.
They began to take their own lives.
Seeing this, the goblins exploded in fury and tried to stop them.
But the last men, knowing they would not survive, gave everything they had to buy time.
'To die with dignity… rather than allow a lowly race to stain their honor.'
Asia was also about to do it.
The blade trembled in her hand when, at the final second, she hesitated.
That instant was enough.
The goblin king stopped her.
Before losing consciousness, Asia managed to land a direct blow. The impact wounded him.
The goblin king's fury was immediate.
Not only because of the injury… but because, after everything, he had only managed to capture one alive.
He wanted to humiliate her right there, to vent his rage at that very moment.
But he restrained himself.
He knew remaining exposed was dangerous.
He suppressed his anger and gave the order to retreat.
First, they would return to his lair.
There, he would be safe.
And there… he could humiliate the Dark Elf as much as he wished.