Reborn as a side character with a system

changing plot.

Chapter 14

"This is ridiculous! I'm charging in!"

Elowen dashed forward without hesitation, his spear leveled at the nearest goblin's chest. His boots tore through the undergrowth, his face flushed with the heat of battle and the arrogance of someone who had never truly lost.

"Elowen, don't!!!" the Hero Knight shouted, hand raised, voice cracking with urgency.

Too late.

In the blink of an eye, the goblin stood before him, its massive axe raised high, blotting out the sun. Elowen's eyes widened, shock punching the breath from his lungs. "Ho... how can it be so fast?"

The axe swung.

Elowen squeezed his eyes shut, his spear falling from numb fingers. "It's over..." he muttered, his voice small and broken. He'd been so sure. So confident. And now he was going to die because of it.

Then a clash of steel on steel echoed through the clearing, sharp and ringing.

"Snap out of it!!!" a voice roared. "It's not over yet!"

Elowen slowly opened his eyes.

Balian — the shield hero — stood in front of him, his massive tower shield raised, trembling under the goblin's axe. Muscles bunched along his arms. Veins pulsed at his temples. He was holding back a monster with nothing but raw strength and will.

"Why won't you listen for once!" Balian shouted, his voice strained with effort and fury. "Now our formation is broken!"

Elowen said nothing. His body trembled like a leaf in wind, his legs barely holding him up. He couldn't speak. Couldn't think. The axe had nearly killed him, and the terror still gripped his throat like a fist.

Above them, ice shards screamed through the air, piercing the goblin's chest in a dozen places. The beast roared, stumbled, and crashed to the ground, dead before it hit the dirt.

"Get back into formation!" Milo — the mage — commanded, her staff still glowing with frost.

"It's no use," the Hero Knight said, already dashing toward another goblin. His sword trailed golden light. "You handle the rest. I will deal with this one and get back."

---

Nolan stared from behind his tree, his fingers digging into the bark.

"My... They killed one quicker than expected," he muttered, his eyes narrowing. "But it doesn't matter. That was the weakest of the goblins."

He watched the battle unfold, his heart beating a slow, steady rhythm. The heroes fought well, better than he'd expected. Two heroes against one goblin. The knight hero against two. They moved with training, with teamwork, with years of practice behind every strike.

But the goblins were stronger.

The battle raged on, neither side gaining ground. Steel clashed against steel. Magic exploded against flesh. The forest shook with the sounds of war.

"Damn... Those two are stronger than expected," the Hero Knight muttered between ragged breaths, his sword stabbed into the ground for balance. Blood ran from a cut above his eye.

Even as he complained, he inflicted more damage than he realized. If he'd been fighting one goblin alone, he would have won by now. But  two was too much. Two was death waiting to happen.

Nolan's lips curved into a grin.

"It's about to begin."

---

"Arghhh!!!"

Balian's scream tore through the battle. A goblin's fist thick as a tree trunk caught him square in the chest. The shield hero flew backward, his body spinning through the air, his beloved shield tumbling from his grip and landing in the dirt with a hollow clang.

"Balian!!!" the Hero Knight shouted, turning to help — only to be blocked by another goblin, its fist already swinging.

He raised his sword in desperation. The punch connected with the flat of the blade, sending vibrations up his arms, shaking his bones. He skidded backward, boots carving trenches in the earth.

"Get out of my way!!!" he roared, dashing forward again.

But the second goblin countered from the side, its axe screaming through the air. The knight reacted  barely blocking with his sword. But the force was triple the first blow. Triple. His arms went numb. His vision blurred.

He flew backward, his body a ragdoll in the air, until his back crashed against a tree trunk with a sickening crack. His eyes rolled white. His sword fell from limp fingers. He collapsed to the ground, unconscious, blood trickling from his nose.

"Leon!!!" the archer screamed, aiming at the two goblins closing in.

"Watch out!!!" Elowen cried, finally moving again, finally finding his legs. He sprinted toward the archer, spear raised to shield her from a goblin lunging from behind.

But he was too slow.

The goblin's claws reached for her throat.

And then

A flame arrow —no, a spear of pure fire pierced through the goblin's chest, burning through flesh and bone in an instant. The beast didn't even have time to scream. It simply turned to ash, crumbling into embers that drifted on the wind.

The entire battlefield froze.

Heroes and goblins alike turned toward the source, their eyes wide, their mouths open.

Footsteps echoed from behind the tree where Nolan hid. Slow. Deliberate. Unafraid.

A boy emerged, his face hidden behind a clay mask. His hand still burned with orange flame, licking at his fingers like a living thing. The air around him shimmered with heat.

"Head back home..." His voice was flat, cold, empty of emotion. "Or die by my own hands."

The hero party froze, staring at this stranger who had appeared from nowhere and killed a Level 30+ goblin with a single strike. None could speak. Questions swirled in their eyes... Who is he? Why is he here? Is he an enemy? A savior?

They stared at him from top to bottom, taking in the simple clothes, the clay mask, the burning hand. Until Milo finally broke the silence.

"Thank you..." she said, her voice soft and sincere. She took a slight bow, her mage's robes brushing the dirt. "Elowen, please help carry Leon and Balian."

"Bullshit!!!"

Elowen's scream shattered the moment. His face twisted with rage, with humiliation, with the desperate need to reclaim his pride. He pointed his spear at Nolan, his hands shaking.

"Who the heck do you think you are!!! To come up here and command us!!! We are the heroes of the great nation! We won't fall to low-life goblins!"

Spittle flew from his lips. His eyes were bloodshot, wild, unhinged.

"If you dare try to take our glory, then you will be dead... alongside those goblins."

The goblins stood there, watching the human quarrel with blank yellow eyes. They glanced at each other, shrugged, and waited. This was better than fighting.

Nolan didn't move. Didn't speak. His burning hand slowly lowered, the flames dimming to embers.

Then —

He shot.

A flame lance burst from his palm, piercing through Elowen's left leg. Elowen screamed, collapsing, clutching his thigh as smoke rose from the wound. Before he could even process the pain, another flame shot through his right leg. Then his left hand. Then his right. Finally, Nolan raised his finger, a pinpoint of white-hot fire aimed directly at Elowen's forehead.

"No!!!" Milo shrieked, throwing herself forward. "Please... You've done enough!"

She looked down, her body trembling, her green eyes filled with tears. "He won't cause you any more trouble. I promise."

Nolan stared at her, his finger still burning, still aimed. The mask hid his face, but his eyes visible through the slits, narrowed with something dark and heavy.

In the novel, Milo had been the one to keep Elowen alive. She'd healed him, protected him, sacrificed everything for him. And in the end, she'd given her life to save his.

And he never changed.

Never.

"This bastard survived all his troubles because of her..." Nolan thought, his chest tightening with anger. "She even sacrificed her life to save him... But he never changed. A greedy, prideful demon in human skin."

His finger trembled. The flame grew hotter, brighter, eager to burn.

"I have one shot at killing this guy right here and now..." he thought, his eyes narrowing behind the mask.

The flame pulsed. Elowen whimpered on the ground, tears streaming down his face, his arrogance finally shattered.

Nolan held the power of life and death in his hand. And for one long, terrible moment, he wasn't sure which one to choose.