The cave was silent — so silent Satou could hear his own breathing echoing off the damp walls.
Then came the sound.
Footsteps. Ten sets. Heavy, uneven, scraping against stone as they drew closer.
Satou pressed his small goblin frame against a jagged wall and went still. His pointed ears twitched as he counted their rhythm. Ten enemies. Maybe more. The scent of sweat, steel, and unwashed skin hung thick in the air.
And Satou was smiling.
'Ten goblins. Normally I'd be a snack. But tonight I've got two new skills burning a hole in my throat and the perfect targets just walked in.'
The voices carried through the cavern, bouncing off the walls.
"Did he pass through here?" one muttered.
"Yeah, we all saw him come this way," another replied.
"Good. We thin the numbers one by one," growled a deeper voice — the leader. Satou could tell by the weight behind it.
'So they want to hunt me. Cute. Let's see who the real predator is.'
One goblin drifted too far from the group, glowing eyes darting nervously at the shadows. Satou moved without sound, slipping through the dark like he was part of it.
He struck.
His fangs pierced the goblin's throat.
"Ghhk—!" The victim gagged, arms flailing weakly before stiffening as the poison spread. Dark veins crawled across his skin. His body went limp.
Satou dragged the corpse behind a boulder and whispered, "Ugh. Tastes like spoiled mushrooms. I will never get used to this."
One down.
The others slowed, sniffing the air.
"Oi... you smell that?" one asked.
"No," came the reply.
"Exactly. Goblin ten always stank. Now it's gone."
Before suspicion could fully take hold, Satou pulled mana into his throat. He felt it immediately — a thin, burning scrape at the back of his mind, like squeezing water from a dry cloth. 'Low. Already low. I need to make every shot count.'
CRACK!
A stone shard shot out like a bullet and smashed into another goblin's skull. The body dropped instantly.
"Over there!"
The group rushed toward the sound.
Satou had already melted back into the dark. 'Running toward loud noises in a cave. And they call me the dumb goblin.'
The goblins shouted, slashing blindly at shadows.
Satou slipped close behind one and whispered, "Boo."
"GRAHH!" The goblin swung wildly and cut straight into his own comrade. Both shrieked and went down in a tangled heap.
Satou snickered — then spat again. The burning scrape came back sharper this time, a warning flicker behind his eyes. 'Two shots. My mana's already scraping bottom. Stop wasting it on easy kills.'
CRACK!
A shard buried itself into a chest. Blood sprayed across the stone floor.
"What's happening?! Where is he?!"
"He's everywhere!"
"No — he's behind you!"
The chaos spread like fire. Goblins fought shadows. Some stabbed each other in blind panic. Satou switched back to his fangs — closing in fast, sinking teeth into a leg, letting the poison do the work instead. The victim convulsed and dropped.
Four down. Mana nearly gone. Stamina burning in his small lungs.
The leader finally roared.
"You think the darkness is protecting you?!"
A massive goblin stepped forward. His glowing red eyes burned through the black, his jagged axe scraping sparks against the floor. He was taller, broader, and his presence carried the heaviness of something that had killed its own kind more than once.
Satou smirked, though his chest was already heaving. 'Protect me? Nah. The dark's just making this fun.'
The leader swung. His axe carved a wide arc through the air. Satou dropped low, the blade whistling past his ear and shattering the wall behind him. Pebbles rained from the ceiling.
"Almost gave me a free haircut!" Satou hissed, darting sideways. He spat a stone shard on instinct — and instantly regretted it. The scraping burn hit so hard his vision flickered for half a second. 'Idiot. That was your last clean shot.'
CRACK!
It bounced clean off the leader's armor.
Satou grimaced, sucking in air. 'Armor too thick. Frontal shots are useless. There has to be a gap somewhere.' His wolf senses kicked in — nose pulling apart the layered scent of iron, leather, dried blood, and beneath it all, the faint warm smell of exposed skin. His ears caught the subtle difference in sound when the leader shifted his weight. Left knee. The armor there was thinner — the leather strap creaked differently every time he moved. 'There. That's the weak point. But I'm nearly out of mana. I get one shot at that knee, maybe two at best. Have to earn it first.'
The remaining goblins tried to regroup. Five left besides the leader. Their glowing eyes swept the tunnel nervously.
Satou dragged his claws slowly along the cave wall. The screech tore through the cavern.
"There!" one yelled, rushing toward the sound.
Satou came from the opposite direction — no mana left to spare, running purely on fumes and instinct — fangs sinking into the back of another goblin's neck. The victim screamed and clawed blindly at the ally beside him before dropping. The poison did the rest.
"Idiots!" someone cursed.
He had just enough mana left for one clean shot. He saved it.
CRACK!
A stone shard buried itself in a throat. Another body hit the floor.
Three left — two warriors and the leader.
"ENOUGH!" The leader's roar shook loose dust from the ceiling. "KILL HIM!"
Both warriors lunged at once. Satou rolled, sprang onto the back of the nearest one despite every muscle screaming in protest, and sank his teeth into its shoulder. Poison flooded the wound. The goblin collapsed mid-stride, twitching against the stone.
The last warrior swung wild. Satou had nothing left for Stone Spit — so he ducked under the swing and drove his fangs into the warrior's wrist instead. The paralytic poison moved fast. The goblin's grip failed, its weapon clattering to the ground, and it followed a second later.
Only the leader remained.
Satou straightened slowly. His mana was completely dry. His stamina was running on fumes. His legs trembled under him and his lungs burned with every breath.
But the grin stayed.
"Looks like it's just you and me now, boss." His eyes dropped for just a moment to the leader's left knee — the creak of thin leather, the smell of exposed skin beneath. 'I've got one last shot in me. Maybe. Just need to get close enough.'