Satou's vision blurred with tears of frustration and rage. He'd led them here. He'd made the plan. And now they were dying because of it.
Then, through the chaos, Satou saw movement behind the goblin lines.
The elder goblin.
The old shaman who'd been left for dead, who'd been too wounded to fight, was slowly pushing himself to his feet. His body trembled with effort, blood soaking through his robes, but his eyes burned with fierce determination.
"Elder, no!" one of the wounded goblins cried out. "You're too injured! You'll die!"
The elder ignored him. Step by painful step, he walked forward, his staff clutched in shaking hands. He passed the wounded. Passed the fighters locked in combat.
And walked straight toward Satou.
As he passed, the elder's eyes met Satou's. His wrinkled hand reached out and briefly touched Satou's shoulder.
"Please..." the elder's voice was barely a whisper, hoarse and broken. "Save our people... child of prophecy..."
Then he continued walking—straight toward the human lines.
Satou's eyes widened. "Elder! What are you—"
But the old goblin didn't stop. His lips began moving, whispering words in an ancient, guttural language which was filled with power that made the air itself vibrate.
A chant.
The humans noticed him immediately.
"Old goblin approaching! He's casting something!"
"Don't let him finish! Archers!"
Three soldiers with crossbows raised their weapons and fired.
THUNK! THUNK! THUNK!
All three bolts struck the elder—one in his shoulder, one in his chest, one in his stomach. The old goblin stumbled, blood pouring from the wounds, but he didn't stop. He kept walking. Kept chanting.
His voice grew louder, more powerful, echoing through the cave with unnatural force.
"Stop him! NOW!" the knight roared.
Two soldiers broke formation and charged the elder, their swords raised.
The first soldier's blade plunged into the elder's side.
The second soldier's blade pierced his back.
The elder's chanting stuttered, blood bubbling from his lips. His legs gave out, and he collapsed to his knees.
But his eyes—those ancient, burning eyes—remained fixed on the humans.
And he spoke one final word.
A word that resonated with power so ancient and primal that the very stone beneath their feet trembled.
"...Sui explosio..."
Then his body went still.
For a heartbeat, nothing happened.
The humans stood frozen, confused.
"Is... is that it?" one soldier asked nervously.
"I think the goblin were just trying to imitate what he heard from someone but what do we expect from the most intelligent race —" laughed out one of the soldiers
Then suddenly Brilliant, blinding light erupted from within the elder's body. It started as a faint glow in his chest, then spread rapidly—racing through his veins, pouring from his eyes, his mouth, every wound.
The elder's corpse began to levitate, rising off the ground as the light grew brighter and brighter.
"EVERYONE BACK! GET BACK NOW!" the knight screamed.
But it was too late.
BOOOOOOOM!
The elder's body detonated like a star going supernova.
The explosion was catastrophic—a shockwave of pure magical energy that ripped through the tunnel with the force of a battering ram. The sound was deafening, a concussive blast that made Satou's ears ring and his vision white out.
Human soldiers were thrown backward like ragdolls—some slamming into walls with bone-shattering force, others sent flying down the tunnel, their screams cut short as they collided with stone.
The three mages who'd been standing closest simply disintegrated—their bodies unable to withstand the raw magical energy. One second they were there, the next they were gone, reduced to ash and scattered fragments.
The knight managed to brace himself, his heavy armor and superior strength keeping him grounded, but even he was forced to one knee by the shockwave, his greatsword embedded in the ground to anchor him.
But the true devastation came from above.
The explosion sent cracks racing across the cave ceiling—jagged fissures that spread like lightning through stone. For a moment, everything seemed to hang in suspension.
Then the ceiling collapsed.
Massive boulders—some the size of horses, others even larger—came crashing down with thunderous impacts. They fell between the humans and the goblins, creating a wall of stone and rubble that completely sealed the tunnel.
Dust exploded outward in thick clouds, choking and blinding. Smaller rocks continued to rain down, clattering against the newly-formed barrier.
On the goblin side of the collapse, Satou lay flat on his back, his ears ringing, his entire body aching. Dust filled his lungs, making him cough violently. His vision swam as he tried to push himself up.
Around him, the surviving goblins slowly began to move—groaning, coughing, struggling to their feet.
Through the settling dust, Satou could see the massive wall of rubble that now separated them from the humans. It was at least ten feet thick, an impenetrable barrier of collapsed stone.
From the other side, he could hear muffled shouts.
"—trapped! The tunnel's blocked!"
"Get digging! We need to clear this rubble!"
"It'll take hours to get through this much stone!"
The knight's voice cut through, cold and furious. "Then you have your orders! Start digging! And send word to command—we need earth mages immediately!"
But those voices were growing fainter, more distant, as if the humans were pulling back to regroup.
Satou collapsed back onto the ground, his chest heaving. Around him, the surviving goblins slowly gathered—some supporting wounded comrades, others simply standing in shocked silence.
Gob stumbled over, blood streaming from a cut on his forehead. "What... what the hell just happened?"
"The elder..." Satou's voice cracked. "He... sacrificed himself. Bought us time."
Behind them, the CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! had stopped. One of the big goblins called out, "Hole is big! Everyone can fit now!"
Satou forced himself to sit up, his eyes scanning the survivors.
Out of fifty goblins, only eighteen remained standing. Another seven were badly wounded but alive—barely.
Twenty-five total.
Half their number, gone.
Satou's gaze swept across the fallen—bodies scattered across the blood-soaked stone. Warriors who'd fought bravely. Scouts who'd never missed a shot. Shamans who'd given everything they had.
And somewhere in that pile of rubble, entombed in stone, was the elder goblin who'd called him the "child of prophecy" and given his life to save them all.
Satou's hands clenched into fists, his nails biting into his palms hard enough to draw blood.
I led them here. I made the plan. And they died following me.
"Big brother!"
Jessica's voice snapped him out of his spiral. She and Kelvin came running from the back of the group, tears streaming down their faces, throwing themselves at him.
"We thought you died!" Jessica sobbed into his chest.
Kelvin clung to his arm, his whole body shaking. "There was so much noise and fire and—"
"I'm okay," Satou said, his voice hollow. "I'm okay."
But he wasn't. None of them were.
Gob placed a heavy hand on Satou's shoulder. "The whelp's right. We need to move. Those humans will dig through eventually, and when they do, I don't want to be here."
Satou nodded numbly. He stood, Jessica and Kelvin still clinging to him, and addressed the survivors.
"Everyone who can walk, help the wounded. We're going through that crack and we're not stopping until we're far away from this cursed cave." His voice grew harder, sharper. "The elder bought us time with his life. We're not wasting it."
The goblins nodded silently and began moving toward the widened crack. The three big goblins who'd been pounding the stone were covered in rock dust and their weapons were badly damaged, but they'd done their job. The opening was now wide enough for even the largest goblins to squeeze through.
One by one, they filed through—some limping, some being carried, all of them bearing the physical and emotional scars of the battle.
As Satou waited his turn, he looked back one last time at the massive wall of rubble. Somewhere beyond it, the humans were regrouping. Preparing to pursue.
But for now, they had a head start.
And they had survivors.
I'll make this count, Satou thought, his jaw set with grim determination. Every life lost today... I'll make it mean something.
He turned and followed the others through the crack, Jessica and Kelvin at his side, leaving the blood-soaked cave behind.
Behind them, faintly, he could still hear the sounds of the humans digging.
]