Gerald hadn't taken long to summon a large troll. It served as a meat shield against the approaching projectiles.
The young man jumped from his "improvised mount," which was melting on the ground.
"I must keep running. Soon my attack will finish off that bastard," the boy affirmed.
The frustration was obvious in his heart.
His whole life had been that, torture, constant humiliation.
Food, his only refuge, his only consolation, was also the cause of his constant humiliation.
And not even when he had gathered enough willpower to abandon his vice did the world punish him.
Why was the world against him?
Did fate hate fat people?
That combat had been like a metaphor for his life, a constant struggle where he was always at a disadvantage.
But still, he was about to win, right?
Then it happened. A large mass of tentacles covered the sky as if it were a tree of darkness.
Its immensity was comparable to or even exceeded that of the meteorite, which made Gerald nervous.
Would it be capable of blocking the meteorite?
Not even that spell was enough?
Gerald remembered his first great victory. When he managed to defeat a general of the demon king.
Even being the weakest general, Gerald had to use all the strategies he could to defeat him. He lured him to favorable terrain, with traps, while in conjunction with his summons he managed to defeat him with much effort.
Gerald had been exhausted and destroyed, however, the sensation of victory he had felt was more than just reward.
However, Gerald got overconfident in that moment. His first achievement in life had pushed him away from his usual prudence.
And he didn't react in time when the demon king general's corpse exploded.
His body was destroyed. He had never felt such intense pain. He was practically dead. He had failed.
In that instant he was summoned back with the goddess of that world, who mocked him while he agonized, reminding him how pathetic he was.
Gerald felt sick.
However, for some reason, when she gave him another chance, he decided to accept.
As if he couldn't accept that injustice, as if he had to prove something to himself.
That's how he had arrived at that trial, to face Aku, his nemesis in many ways.
The same thing had happened as that time. He had celebrated victory too soon, had gotten overconfident, and that had taken its toll.
An immense explosion then roared on the ground. Hundreds of rock and fire projectiles shot toward him.
"Maybe I should accept once and for all... that I'm worth nothing," the boy said as he fell to his knees on the ground.
Rock and fire projectiles tore through the air as Gerald accepted he had been very stubborn.
"Kreuk!" a voice then said.
Gerald raised his eyebrows as the shaman positioned himself in front of him.
The goblin looked at his master with a smile as he raised his staff and created several magical barriers.
The projectiles were deflected by the barriers, however, they kept falling.
The goblin kept conjuring barriers, trying to block each projectile, until it was too late.
The shaman extended his arms as he received the last projectiles, protecting his stupefied summoner with his body.
Gerald felt his stomach turn. For some reason, tears were falling from his eyes.
"W-why?" the boy asked with a broken voice as he watched the goblin's lifeless body fall to the ground.
Why had he defended him until the end?
Why had he saved him with his life?
Didn't he understand it was useless?
That he was going to die anyway?
Then Gerald noticed the goblin's face. There was a smile on it.
For some reason, the shaman had died happy while protecting him.
"Why? Why did you protect someone like me?" Gerald said in shock, but then he realized it.
All this time, his soldiers had obeyed all his orders without hesitation.
Gerald believed they had no emotions, that they were like creatures in a video game.
However now, that truth shattered.
All this time, none of his summons had hesitated to give their lives for him.
"And me lamenting because they rejected me... what an imbecile I was," the boy said as he wiped away his tears.
He had never been alone, at least since he became a hero.
His goblins had always been faithful companions, though he wasn't truly aware of it.
"Heh, this isn't over yet," he said firmly as he gripped his staff between his hands.
He knew he wasn't going to win, however, it didn't matter to him.
He wasn't going to give up.
He never had. It didn't matter that the world always turned its back on him. He wouldn't turn his back on the world.
He would prove he could be a hero until the end, because even if he was physically defeated, his spirit wouldn't break.
Never.
"Alright, let's see, what could I plan—"
However, Gerald couldn't continue the sentence.
A high-speed projectile crossed the air and broke his staff and cut part of his hand.
"Ouch!" the boy complained. Then an invisible force hit him full on and pushed him against a tree.
Gerald spat blood as he felt his ribs fracture.
While that was happening, he could hear footsteps approaching. It was Aku, who looked at his enemy with coldness.
"Last words?" Aku asked as he looked at him coldly.
Gerald smiled sarcastically as he looked at Aku through the broken glass of his glasses.
"Heh, fuck you," he responded as purple sparks pulsed in the air in front of him, illuminating his face.
In a blink, everything was darkness.