A dull ringing filled Satou’s ears.
At first, he thought he was dead. His body felt heavy, as if the weight of the entire cave pressed against his chest. Then, little by little, warmth returned to his limbs. He twitched a finger. A breath escaped his lips.
Then came the sound—
Ding! Ding! Ding!
[Level Up!]
[Current Level: 5 → 7]
[Skill "Stone Spit" has leveled up → Lv. 3]
[Skill "Poison Fang" has leveled up → Lv. 2]
[Minor stat increase detected.]
A faint blue glow flickered before his eyes as a translucent window hovered above him. His blurry vision slowly focused.
"...Level up...?" he muttered weakly. His voice was hoarse, his throat dry as dust.
He blinked again, and the glow faded into the darkness around him. The ceiling of jagged rocks looked... familiar. Too familiar.
He pushed himself up slowly, his body still aching from the battle. The air smelled damp, mixed with moss and the faint metallic scent of blood.
His eyes widened.
He was back—
At the entrance of the cave.
The same rocky slope. The same trickle of underground water dripping from the ceiling. The faint draft of fresh air seeping in from the outside.
"What the hell...?" he murmured. "How did I get back here? I was—"
Then he stopped.
Something warm and soft pressed against his waist.
He froze. Slowly, Satou looked down.
Two small figures were curled up against him, breathing softly in their sleep. One had a messy tuft of green hair, drooling slightly on his chest. The other had her tiny hand gripping his arm tightly, as if afraid he’d vanish.
Jessica and Kelvin.
The two young goblins who always followed him around, calling him "big bro."
Satou’s lips curved into a tired but genuine smile.
"So... you two brought me back here, huh?" he whispered, his voice low enough not to wake them.
He stared at them for a while, warmth spreading in his chest. After everything he’d gone through—after the blood, the pain, the fear—seeing these two sleeping peacefully was... strangely comforting.
He chuckled softly, shaking his head. "You guys really are something..."
Then he reached out and gently rubbed their heads, his claws barely grazing their messy hair. Jessica stirred a little, mumbling incoherently before burying her face deeper against him. David let out a faint snore.
Satou laughed quietly. "Sleep well, you little rascals. You’ve earned it."
He leaned back against the cold rock wall, letting his eyes rest. His body still ached, but he could already feel the Regeneration skill working beneath his skin—wounds stitching, bruises fading, energy slowly returning.
"...So I really made it out alive," he murmured. "Barely."
Another soft ding echoed in his head.
[Body Recovery in Progress...]
[Estimated Time Until Full Recovery: 4 Hours.]
"Guess I’ll just... take it easy for now."
Satou’s eyes had barely begun to drift shut when the world shattered.
BOOOOOOM!
The explosion had caused a shockwave that hit like a physical wall, slamming through the cave with enough force to rattle Satou’s teeth. The ground bucked violently beneath him, throwing him forward. Jessica and Kelvin were torn from his arms as all three tumbled across the stone floor.
Dust exploded from the ceiling in thick clouds. Rocks—some the size of fists, others the size of heads—came crashing down. The cave groaned like a dying beast, the walls themselves seeming to scream.
"What the—?!" Satou’s words were drowned out by another deafening
BOOM!
This one was closer. Much closer.
The entire cave shuddered. Cracks spider-webbed across the walls, racing upward like jagged lightning. A massive chunk of ceiling collapsed twenty feet away, the impact sending a shockwave of dust and debris rolling through the chamber.
Jessica screamed, her tiny hands covering her ears. Kelvin scrambled on all fours, trying to reach her through the chaos. Other baby goblins throughout the cave began wailing, their high-pitched cries of terror echoing off the stone.
Satou’s enhanced senses kicked into overdrive. His ears rang from the explosions, but beneath the chaos, he could hear other things—sounds that made his blood run cold.
Screaming. Adult goblin screams. Not the panicked shrieks of the babies—these were the death cries of warriors.
The clash of steel against steel.
The crackle of fire.
And something else... chanting. Deep, rhythmic, in a language that felt wrong to his ears.
Magic.
"Get up!" Satou barked, grabbing Jessica with one hand and Kelvin with the other. He hauled them to their feet as another tremor shook the cave. "We need to—"
CRASH!
A section of the cave wall exploded inward, showering them with stone fragments. Through the settling dust, Satou caught a glimpse of the main chamber beyond—and his heart stopped.
The entrance. The massive stone archway that led to the outside world.
The two giant goblins who always stood guard there—the hulking brutes with arms like tree trunks and axes the size of a grown man—were gone.
Not just gone. Obliterated.
Where they had stood, there was nothing but a massive scorch mark burned deep into the stone. The rock itself had melted in places, cooling into twisted, glassy formations. Black smoke still rose from the spot, carrying the sickening stench of charred meat.
Satou’s enhanced smell picked up the scent immediately and he gagged, bile rising in his throat.
"Big brother, what’s happening?!" Jessica’s voice was shrill with panic, her yellow eyes wide and streaming with tears.
Kelvin clung to Satou’s arm, his whole body trembling. "Where are the guards? Where’s everyone?"
Satou didn’t answer. He couldn’t. His eyes were locked on the cave entrance—or what was left of it.
Through the archway, he could see fire. The forest beyond was burning, flames licking at the sky, turning the morning sun into a blood-red disc shrouded in smoke. Shadows moved through the haze—tall shadows, human-shaped, armored.
And advancing.
Another explosion rocked the cave. This time, Satou saw it—a massive ball of flame streaking through the air like a comet, slamming into the rocky outcropping above the entrance. The impact was catastrophic. Stone shattered, chunks the size of carts tumbling down, completely blocking half the archway.
"We’re under attack," Satou breathed, the realization hitting him like cold water. "The cave is under attack."
"By who?!" Kelvin shouted over the chaos.
"Does it matter?!" Satou snapped back. "We need to—"