He yanked his axe free and swung again, this time in a pattern—left, right, overhead, sweep low. Each strike came faster than the last, forcing Satou to dodge desperately.
The crowd was on their feet now, shouting encouragement to their chieftain.
Satou gave ground, retreating toward the edge of the arena. He was faster than Urgak, more agile, but every time he tried to get close enough to counterattack, the axe was there, driving him back.
I need an opening. Something he won't expect.
Urgak pressed his advantage, sensing victory. His attacks grew more aggressive, less cautious. The axe whistled through the air in deadly arcs, each one coming closer to connecting.
Then Satou saw it—the pattern in Urgak's attacks. The chieftain favored his right side, compensating for his missing left arm. After three strikes in quick succession, there was a brief moment where he had to reset his stance.
Half a second. Maybe less.
But it was enough.
Satou dodged three more strikes—left, overhead, right—and then, in that brief reset moment, he activated Flame Spark and threw the small fireball directly at Urgak's eyes.
The flame wasn't powerful enough to cause serious damage, but it was bright. Blinding.
Urgak flinched, his vision momentarily obscured.
Satou used Earth Manipulation to create a small rise in the ground directly behind Urgak's heel. When the chieftain stepped back to create distance, his foot caught on the rise and he stumbled.
Not much. Just a momentary loss of balance.
But in combat, moments were everything.
Satou lunged forward with his sword, aiming for the gap between Urgak's ribs. The blade bit deep, sinking several inches into flesh.
Everyone gasped.
Urgak roared—not in pain, but in fury. His remaining hand shot out with shocking speed, catching Satou by the throat and lifting him off the ground.
"Clever," Urgak wheezed, blood seeping from his side. "But not clever enough."
He squeezed.
Satou's vision started to darken as his air supply was cut off. His legs kicked uselessly in the air. The sword fell from his grip, clattering to the ground.
This is it. I'm going to die.
The crowd was chanting now, demanding the final blow.
But through the darkness closing in on his vision, Satou saw Urgak's face. Saw the respect there, beneath the fury. This wasn't a monster killing prey—this was a warrior acknowledging a worthy opponent.
And in that moment, Satou remembered what he'd told himself back in that cave " i aint going to die until i get my revenge on the goddess that brought me into this world as a goblin".
With the last of his strength, Satou opened his mouth and activated his Devouring skill—not to consume Urgak, but to create the spatial void.
A sphere of absolute darkness materialized between them—small, no larger than a fist, but dense with impossible gravitational pull.
The void wasn't aimed at Urgak directly. It was aimed at the wound Satou had inflicted, at the blood flowing from the chieftain's side.
The void drank in the blood. And kept drinking. Pulling more and more from the wound, preventing it from clotting, accelerating the bleeding.
Urgak's eyes widened as he realized what was happening. His grip on Satou's throat loosened slightly.
"You..." he started to say.
Then his legs buckled.
The blood loss was finally catching up. Urgak had lost more blood than he'd initially realized, and the void had accelerated the process beyond what even his considerable endurance could handle.
He fell to one knee, his remaining hand releasing Satou entirely to press against his bleeding side.
Satou collapsed to the ground, gasping for air. His throat felt crushed, his vision still spotty. But he forced himself to move.
He grabbed his fallen sword and stood on shaking legs.
Urgak looked up at him, blood streaming between his fingers. The mighty chieftain, brought down not by overwhelming strength but by strategy and unconventional use of abilities.
"Finish it," Urgak said quietly, his voice barely audible over the shocked silence of the crowd. "You've won fairly. End this with honor."
Satou raised his sword—
And drove it into the ground beside Urgak's head.
"No," Satou said, his voice raspy from the damage to his throat. "You're more valuable alive."
He turned to address the assembled orcs, his Predator's Gaze skill fully active, making his presence as imposing as possible despite his small, battered form.
"I defeated your chieftain!" Satou called out, his voice carrying across the silent arena. "By your laws of combat, I have proven my strength! But I didn't come here to conquer. I came here for my tribe member and to propose something different."
He gestured to Urgak, who was staring at him with an expression somewhere between confusion and grudging respect.
"Your chieftain is strong. Skilled. A warrior worthy of leading. But his tribe is isolated, vulnerable to larger forces. My tribe is small but growing, with abilities you've never seen. Alone, we're both targets. Together..." He paused, letting the implication sink in. "Together, we could be something greater."
The crowd murmured, uncertain how to respond to this unprecedented situation.
An elderly orc—the same one who'd announced the trial—stepped forward. "You suggest alliance? Between goblins and orcs?"
"I suggest mutual benefit," Satou corrected. "I can make your warriors stronger through naming magic. Your tribe provides protection and numbers. We share resources, defend common territory, and neither side bows to the other. Equals working toward survival."
"This is..." the elder started, then trailed off, apparently at a loss for words.
"Madness," Urgak finished, but there was something like amusement in his voice despite his weakened state. "Complete madness. Orcs and goblins have never allied. We're natural enemies."
"So were humans and goblins," Satou replied. "Until humans decided goblins were better off extinct. The world is changing, Urgak. Either we change with it, or we get left behind. Dead. Forgotten."
For a long moment, nobody spoke.
Then Urgak started to laugh—a weak, pained sound, but genuine.
"You're either insane or brilliant," the chieftain said. "I honestly can't tell which." He looked up at Satou with something approaching respect. "But you beat me fairly. By our laws, that gives you the right to make demands. And this demand..." He shook