The fighting sounded like it was far away for Balto. He still tried to hold onto the little life he could feel in him. His eyelids felt so heavy, like two big goblins were trying to force them down with all of their might.

He moved his head weakly towards where he thought the ogre was fighting Ibas and Duke.

Ibas has once again managed to get on the ogres arm, but would let go whenever he saw the other arm start to move. Whenever the ogre tried to swipe at Ibas, Duke would try to dash towards its neck. But the ogres reflexes were too quick. The ogre almost always managed to push back the two direwolfs, but wounds started to slowly stack up on its skin. Even if none of the wounds were lethal, they still stinging its skin. The ogre took in a deep breath and grabbed the sword with both hands in the *Nebenhut* pose. It held the sword down to the side, its gaze switching between Ibas and Duke. The two noticed the sudden change in behaviour and took a short breathing breath.

"Duke, try to check on Balto. If he is still alive, we could get Ulva to check on him. And also you are quicker than me." Ibas said to Duke, keeping his eyes on the ogre. Duke quickly moved towards Balto while Ibas tried to get the ogres attention. But to his suprise, the ogre ignored him completely. It swung the sword with incredible speed, creating a massive blade of wind that flew towards Duke and Balto!

With the little time left until impact, Duke held Balto in his mouth and dashed away. The windblade landed in the puddle of blood created by Balto, sending it everywhere. Balto yelped in pain from the sudden movement caused.

Duke quickly put down Balto and looked him over. The massive wound made the spine and even some of Baltos guts visible, but he was still keeping eyecontact with Duke.

"Balto! Your alive, thank the Allfather! Quick now, get out of here!" Duke didnt have time to speak any further, as he saw Ibas being send througth the air once more. Ibas did still land on his paws, but it was clear that he needed help. Dukes fur flashed with power as he dashed once more towards the ogres neck. The ogre still held the pose with the sword down to its side and when it saw the silver light, swung its sword one more time. Duke managed to somehow dodge to the side at the last second, but was disoriented by the wind made by the ogre. When he landed, his entire side was shaved down. Ibas saw his chance and bit right at the ogres achilles. It roared in both pain and anger. It swung the sword from up high to down low where Ibas stood. The ogre barerly missed once again.

Back to the surface.

The pained roar from the ogre halted the goblins push. The weaker goblins panicking once more, but now even some of the stronger goblins didnt look to be as willing to fight. It should be obvious, but Ogres arent considered goblins at that level. Goblins evolve to hobgoblin and then ogre. However, when a hobgoblin becomes an ogre, they tend to treat their previous families as food and pets. Even hobgoblins show some level of respect to lesser goblins. And now that the tyrant was letting out such noises, some of the goblins even wished to leave!

The direwolfs also heard the ogres roar, the fire in their eyes burning even stronger than before. Talking about fire, a tiny goblin child managed to push its way to the front and throw a torch at the direwolfs. The torch didnt go far, but one of the stronger goblins suddenly had an idea. It smiled a wicked grin and left with a small group of goblins. The direwolfs that stood there couldnt exactly see every goblin that came to and fro.

Back down to the ogre and three direwolfs

The ogre roared in frustration, swinging the sword wildly. Ibas and Duke backed off. If the ogre kept wasting its energy like this, it wouldnt take long for them to kill it. But this ogre managed to kill Tyr, so they had to remain cautious to some degree. It was at this moment that it happened.

The ogres eyes flashed to a different color. Duke and Ibas felt the change in the ogre. A shadow-like fire startet to spread from where its heart would be to other parts of its body. From its chest, down its arms and legs. The shadows even covered the massive sword and the loincloth covering its junk. The last part of its body that was covered was its head. The shadowfire covered the head with a much thinner layer compared to the rest of its body, but it covered its eyes much more densely. Its once bulging stomach disappaered and the ogre now actually touched the roof of the cave.

Its now pitch black eyes stared straight into Ibas and Dukes souls. How did they know? Because they could feel it, as if they were standing infront of the grim reaper. It stopped at Balto, confused. There was something else there together with Baltos soul. No, it wasnt that something was there. It was more like wax covering a apple or soot covering a black pot. Whatever it was, it didnt look right in the ogres eyes. Therefore, it had to be removed together with these pesky direwolfs. It took slow and heavy steps towards Balto with its head held high. Ibas and Duke wanted to move and stop the ogre, but they knew that the flame covering it would probably hurt them a lot. If only the ogre could pay attention to the details, it might have known something was off. Balto wasnt bleeding anymore and the wound wasnt visible either. Hell, it didnt even notice the odd looking web covering the area where the wound shouldve been. The ogre only knew something was wrong at the last minute.

Phfffompt!

Out from Baltos body, a sharp needle shot out! The ogre grimaced, opening its mouth by mistake and letting the needle get into its throat. It choked and grabbed at its throat, trying to cough it out. The shadowfire consentrated around its throat, but nothing it did worked. It started to stagger before falling forwards, landing right next to Balto. Duke and Ibas stood there dumbfounded and wide eyed as they saw the

They were even more suprised to see that Balto actually got up! His body was still shaking and his movements were weak.

"Balto, how are you still moving! Didnt you have a massive hole in your back?!" Ibas ran to Balto and looked him all over. Other than the shaved fur and the bloodloss, he seemed fine. It was a miracle from the Allfather!