"The females are treated well," a third elder added, though his voice was less certain. "Fed regularly, kept safe from predators. It's not as bad as you're making it sound."

Satou's laugh was harsh, devoid of humor. "Fed regularly? Kept safe? I saw women so malnourished their ribs were showing. I saw women with eyes so dead they didn't even react to my presence. I saw women who were begging to be killed rather than continue existing in that hell. That's your idea of treating them well?"

"They're alive," Grik said stubbornly. "That's more than they'd be if we'd killed them during the raids. We show mercy by keeping them. By giving them purpose in producing our young."

The bloodlust emanating from Satou intensified dramatically. Small cracks appeared in the cave floor. The air itself seemed to vibrate with barely controlled rage.

"I'm going to give you one chance," Satou said, each word carefully measured. "One opportunity to do the right thing. You will release all those women immediately. You will never again take captives for breeding. You will find another way to sustain your population, through natural means or by actually forming relationships with other species rather than slavery. And you will spend the rest of your lives trying to atone for what you've done."

He paused, letting the weight of his words sink in. "If you agree to this, I'll spare your lives. You'll become part of my settlement, under my rules and my laws. You'll have a chance to change, to become something better than what you are now."

Elder Grik and the other elders exchanged glances. Some of the younger goblins in the chamber looked hopeful, as if they wanted their elders to agree. But Grik's expression hardened.

"No," the old goblin said flatly. "This is our way. Our tradition. We will not abandon centuries of practice because some upstart chieftain from the south says so. You may have killed Dire Wolves, you may have defeated a hero, but you don't have the right to tell us how to live our lives."

"This is goblin culture," another elder agreed. "Every settlement operates this way. If we stop, we become weak. We become prey for other species who already see us as nothing more than monsters to be exterminated."

"Better to die as goblins following our traditions," a third elder said, "than to live as something else under foreign rules."

Satou stood perfectly still for a long moment. The bloodlust that had been radiating from him suddenly vanished completely. The temperature in the cave normalized. The pressure on the air lifted.

It was somehow more terrifying than the rage had been.

"So you're refusing," Satou said, his voice now completely emotionless. "You're choosing to continue practices that involve kidnapping, slavery, rape, and torture. And you're justifying it as tradition."

"We're choosing to survive as goblins," Grik said with what he probably thought was dignity. "Not as pets of some idealistic fool who thinks monsters can be civilized."

"I see," Satou said. He gently transferred Kelvin's weight fully to Cassius. "Hold him for a moment."

"Satou," Cassius said carefully, "what are you planning?"

"Justice," Satou replied simply.

He walked forward slowly, his hands empty, his posture relaxed. But every goblin in the chamber felt instinctive terror as he approached.

"How many elders are there?" Satou asked, his voice still empty of emotion.

"Five," Grik said, some of his confidence wavering as Satou drew closer. "Why do you ask?"

"Because I want to make sure I don't miss anyone," Satou replied.

Then he moved.

His speed was impossible to track for the regular goblins watching. One moment he was five feet from Elder Grik. The next, his hand had closed around the old goblin's throat.

"Wait!" Grik choked out, his earlier defiance crumbling into panic. "You can't! We're protected by goblin law! Elders are sacred!"

"Your laws," Satou said, his grip tightening slowly, methodically, "ended the moment you chose slavery over freedom. The moment you chose torture over mercy. The moment you chose tradition over basic decency."

He squeezed.

There was a sickening crack as Grik's neck snapped. The old goblin's eyes went wide with shock, then empty. Satou released him, and the body crumpled to the floor.

The chamber erupted into chaos. Goblins screamed, some tried to run, others cowered against the walls. The remaining four elders attempted to flee, but they were old, slow, weakened by days of siege conditions.

They didn't make it ten steps.

Satou caught the second elder, the one who'd spoken about "supplementing their population." His hand closed around the back of the goblin's skull, and he slammed the elder's face into the cave wall with enough force to shatter both bone and stone.

The third elder, the one who'd claimed the women were "treated well," tried to hide behind younger goblins. Satou simply reached past them, grabbed the elder by the throat, and lifted him off the ground.

"Please!" the elder begged, his earlier conviction completely gone. "I was just following tradition! Everyone does it! It's not my fault!"

"You had a choice," Satou said. "You chose wrong."

He threw the elder against the cave ceiling with tremendous force. The goblin's body hit the stone with a wet crunch, then fell back to the ground, broken and lifeless.

The fourth elder tried to attack, grabbing a crude spear and charging at Satou with desperate courage. Satou simply caught the spear mid-thrust, snapped it in half, and drove the broken end through the elder's chest.

The fifth and final elder, the youngest of the group, fell to his knees and began begging.

"I didn't want to do it!" he cried, tears streaming down his face. "I argued against keeping the women! I tried to convince the others to let them go! But Grik said I was being weak, that I'd be exiled if I didn't participate! Please, I'm not like them!"

Satou stopped, studying the sobbing elder. He reached out with his enhanced senses, trying to determine if this was genuine remorse or desperate lies.

"Zik," Satou called out. "Is he telling the truth?"

Zik, who'd been watching the slaughter with wide, terrified eyes, nodded quickly. "Yes! Elder Mok always seemed uncomfortable when the others talked about the captives. He's the one who made sure they got fed when the others forgot. He's the one who would sneak them extra water and blankets."

Satou stood over the cowering elder for a long moment. Then he extended his hand.

"Stand up," Satou said.

Elder Mok looked up in confusion and fear but took the offered hand. Satou pulled him to his feet.

"You're the elder now," Satou said. "The only one. And you're going to help me fix this settlement. Understood?"

"Y-yes," Mok stammered. "Yes, Chieftain Satou. Whatever you command."

Satou turned to address the remaining goblins, all of whom were staring at him with absolute terror. Four elder corpses lay scattered around the chamber, their blood staining the stone floor.

"Let me make this very clear," Satou said, his voice carrying to every corner of the cave. "The old ways are dead. The traditions that included slavery, kidnapping, and rape are finished. If any goblin in this settlement even thinks about continuing those practices, they will die. Quickly and without mercy. Do you understand?"

The goblins nodded frantically, too terrified to do anything else.

"Good. Now, here's what's going to happen. Elder Mok is in charge of this settlement under my oversight. You will help the healers who are coming to rescue the women you've imprisoned. You will provide whatever assistance they need. And then, you will join my settlement in the south. You'll learn new ways of living, ways that don't involve victimizing the innocent."

He paused, his bloodlust flaring one more time. "Or you can refuse, and join the other elders in death. Your choice."

"We'll join!" several goblins called out immediately.

"We'll follow your rules, Chieftain!"

"Please don't kill us!"

Satou's bloodlust receded. "Then we understand each other. Cassius, how long until the rescue team arrives?"

"They should be here within a few hours," the vampire replied, still supporting Kelvin. "I'll remain here to coordinate their efforts. You and Kelvin should return to the settlement. He needs proper medical attention, and you need to report this situation to Urgak and the others."

"Agreed," Satou said. He walked back over to Kelvin, taking the young Hobgoblin's weight back from Cassius. "Can you walk back on your own, or do you need me to carry you?"

"I can walk," Kelvin said, though his voice was strained. "But big brother, those elders, you killed them without hesitation. Without trial or judgment beyond your own decision."

"Yes," Satou said simply. "I did."

"Wasn't that wrong? Shouldn't we have brought them back to the settlement, let Urgak and the others help decide their fate?"

Satou was quiet for a moment as they made their way toward the cave exit. "Maybe. But I couldn't let them live knowing what they'd done and refused to change. Some actions are so heinous that immediate justice is the only option. They had a chance to do the right thing. They chose to defend evil instead. So they died."

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