The elder goblin studied him, his yellow eyes surprisingly clear despite his condition. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth but he ignored it.
"Child of prophecy..." the elder whispered, his voice barely audible over the distant sounds of battle. "Do you... truly have a way... to help us escape this?"
Satou met his gaze without flinching. "Yes. I do."
Murmurs rippled through the group. Some goblins exchanged skeptical glances. Others scoffed under their breath.
The elder's eyes narrowed. "Speak plainly, child. What is your plan?"
Satou took a breath. "There's a narrow passage at the back of the cave. A crack in the rock wall — tight, but small enough that armored humans won't be able to follow. It leads outside into the forest."
'I can't tell them I already found that crack days ago while trying to escape before the selection. Better keep that to myself for now.'
"The forest?" one goblin interrupted, his voice rising. "That's suicide! Humans patrol those woods! We'll be picked off one by one!"
"Better than staying here and getting burned alive!" Satou snapped back.
Another goblin, this one missing an ear, shook his head hard. "Even if we make it outside — what then? We're wounded. Slow. They'll hunt us down like animals!"
"They're already hunting us!" Satou's voice rang off the stone. "The difference is, out there we have options. In here we have nothing."
The elder coughed again, blood splattering onto his chest. His breathing grew more labored but his eyes never left Satou's face.
"You speak... of a chance," the elder said slowly. "But I hear... something else in your voice. What aren't you telling us?"
Satou hesitated. The old goblin was sharper than he looked.
"It will require sacrifice," Satou said, quieter now. "Not everyone will make it out. Some of us will have to slow the humans down. Buy time for the others to reach the crack. Act as a rear guard."
The murmurs turned angry. Fearful.
"Rear guard? You mean bait!"
"He wants us to die for him!"
"This runt is just trying to save his own skin!"
The scarred goblin with the chipped tusk stepped forward, hand gripping a crude axe. "You've got some nerve, whelp. Why should we trust you? Why should any of us throw our lives away for your plan?"
Satou's yellow eyes burned. "Because the alternative is guaranteed death. My plan gives us a chance — however small. That's more than you have standing here."
The elder raised one trembling hand.
"Enough..."
The protests died instantly.
He locked eyes with Satou, and for a long moment neither spoke. The elder seemed to be weighing something — searching for something in Satou's gaze that went deeper than words.
Finally, his cracked lips curved into a faint and weary smile.
"You have... your mother's eyes, child," he whispered. "Eyes that refuse... to surrender..."
Satou blinked. 'My mother? What does he mean by that? Does he know something about how I was reincarnated — or is he talking about this body's goblin mother?'
He filed it away. No time now.
The elder turned his head toward the group, and when he spoke again his voice found a strength that had no business coming from a body that broken.
"Listen well." His tone carried the full weight of his authority. "From this moment... you will all follow the orders of this young one. His word... is my word."
The goblins stared.
"But Elder—!"
"He's just a newborn!"
"This is madness!"
The elder's eyes flashed with sudden fury, and he coughed hard before rasping, "Do you... dare... question me?!"
The protests stopped cold. Some clenched their fists. Others looked away, jaws tight. But not one dared speak.
The elder's gaze returned to Satou. His breathing was growing shallower, his skin paler by the minute.
"Go, child..." he whispered. "Lead them... to survival. Fulfill... the prophecy..."
Satou swallowed hard. He nodded once, slow and certain.
"I will."
The elder's eyes closed. That faint smile stayed on his lips.
Satou turned to face the group — twenty goblins, most wounded, all exhausted, nearly all hostile. Eyes that ranged from resentful to uncertain to hollow with despair. Not one of them looked hopeful.
'Great. Leading a group that hates my guts with humans closing in from every direction.'
But there was no time to dwell on it.
BOOM!
Another explosion shook the cave. Dust rained from the ceiling. The sounds of battle surged closer — boots on stone, shouted orders, the crackle of fire.
"Push forward! Clear every chamber!"
"No survivors!"
Satou's jaw tightened. He raised his voice and put everything he had into it.
"Alright — listen up. We don't have time for arguments. If you want to live, you follow my lead. That's the only rule. Understood?"
Silence.
Then, slowly, grudgingly — a few goblins nodded. Then a few more. Most said nothing but didn't look away either. Satou took that as enough.
The scarred goblin with the chipped tusk spat on the ground. Then he nodded. "Fine. But if this plan gets us all killed, whelp — I'll drag you to hell with me."
Satou smirked despite everything. "Deal."
He turned toward the back of the cave where Jessica, Kelvin, Goblin 1, and Goblin 2 were waiting.
"Now let's move."