"Hey! Have you heard the news?"

  "Heard what?"

  "They say there's a strange creature around tely. It has golden hair, and even its skin is white!"

  "What!? White skin? That's bizarre!"

  The two creatures chatting were about half a meter tall, wore white hats, and donned clothes of various colors, mostly white. However, their most distinctive feature was their blue skin.

  "Isn't everyone here supposed to have blue, green, or red skin? Or be covered in fur? How did su oddity appear?"

  "Rumor has it the creature came from outside aly overthrew the goblins' territory."

  "What?"

  Goblins were known for their tenacity, a troublesome race despite their less impressive reprodu rate pared to ioids. Fact in their strategic prowess made them even more formidable.

  In this mountainion, goblins, ogres, and these blue-skinned creatures—the Smurfs—held sway. With the goblins' territory now upturhe bance of power was bound to colpse.

  "What’s the ogres’ response?"

  "No clue, but given their usual stahey won't let this opportunity slip by."

  Rustle, rustle.

  The sudden sound of rustling leaves shem back to their duties.

  "Hey! Over there! e out now!"

  One of them aimed their gun at the source of the disturbance, shouting.

  But the culprit didn't respond.

  "If you don't e out, I'll shoot."

  "Three... two..."

  "I’m ing out! Don’t shoot!"

  A small figure tumbled out.

  On closer iion, it was even shorter than the Smurfs, nothing but a rag. Its green skin revealed its gobliy.

  "What’s a goblin doing here? There’s a non-aggression pact between our races."

  The Smurf with the spear scrutihe tiny goblie being the shortest of the adult Smurfs, this goblin was even smaller, indig it was likely a juvenile.

  "Please, help us!"

  "What?"

  "One day, my brother and I were just eating fruit, when a sudden wind knocked us over. By the time we realized, our was a massacre."

  The goblin y on the ground, one hand supp it, the other c its mouth.

  "My brother... he charged forward to draw the disaster’s attention so I could escape. His fate is unknown. I struggled to get here. Please, you must help us."

  Tears streamed down the goblin’s face as it spoke.

  The two Smurfs couldn't help but be moved by the sight of the g girl.

  In terms of aesthetics, Smurfs and goblins were somewhat simir. As adults, they couldn’t stand idly by while a child wept.

  "Don’t worry, little girl. We’ll report this to the elders and seek support for you."

  "Thank you... big brother..."

  Boom!!

  A sudden explosion flung them away before they could react.

  The Smurfs shielded the little goblin, using their bodies to cushion the impact against the rocks.

  "What happened?"

  They looked toward the source of the explosion, where a figure emerged from the smoke.

  She had striking golden hair interwoven with strands of deep red, atuating her profile. Her figure was slender, yet emanated immense power. a tattered red outfit, her pale skin starkly trasted with the blue and greeures.

  But her right hand was missing.

  "It's her... what did you do to my brother, to our tribe!?"

  Her face remained icy, no response. Her cold, sharp eyes made them feel like prey before a ruthless predator, their bodies trembling untrolbly.

  "...Who... who are you?!"

  The Smurf holding the spear, trembling but determined, stepped forward to shield the little goblin and his panion. His voice shook as he frohe mysterious figure.

  "...That doesn't matter. You only o submit."

  With those words, the invisible pressure they felt intensified, f them to their knees.

  "Ugh...!"

  The lead Smurf punched his own leg.

  'No! You 't give in!'

  He recalled his childhood, watg the elders stand tall at the vilge entrance, bravely defending their kin from invading monsters. Inspired by their ce, he had vowed to bee a protector of his people.

  However, due to a mysterious decrease in motacks retly, he had never gotten the ce to fight, leading a mundaence.

  But now, this was his moment—to protect his people and the child in distress.

  "...Smurfs... never submit!"

  Fueled by his resolve, he broke through his limits, stood up, and thrust his spear towards the formidable enemy.

  Crack.

  The spear struck her, but a sharp sound echoed.

  "Ah..."

  He stared at the broken spear in his hand, finally uanding the vast disparity in their strength. No matter his effort, he couldn't harm her.

  "Enough, don't block my path."

  She raised her left hand and pced it in front of the Smurf.

  In that instant, he felt the icy grip of death, a torrent of emotions surging within him.

  Was it regret? Perhaps. He regretted not being able to protect what he cherished.

  '...So frustrating...'

  Suddenly, he felt his head being grabbed, and he was thrown aside.

  "What?"

  The Smurf got up and watched as she walked past him, heading deeper into the vilge without a sed gnce.

  'Why didn’t she kill me? What is her purpose?'

  It was on knowledge that when a powerful being demanded submission, it was either submit or die. Even if one submitted, they often faced exploitation or were treated like objects, stripped of all dignity.

  Yet, her as seemed to defy everything he knew.

  'Could it be that I'm overthinking?'

  He sat there, lost in thought, until his panion’s call brought him back to reality.

  ShoujoDirector