I explained to Garrl what the great ancestor said and how to activate the magic seal, I explained everything I felt and the fear of losing him, not because I didn't believe in him, but because of how dangerous it was. I wanted to tell him to let me think of another solution, but I knew it didn't exist and we didn't have time; I thought he would get angry with you for thinking of hiding that information from him, for thinking of fleeing and putting his people's legacy at risk; but instead, he hugged me and said.

  - I'm glad you could feel the legacy of our lineage, it's not just anger and hatred, I'm glad you made the decision to honor it, thank you Breigon. I'll take care of activating the magic seal, you go and inform the great spider and everyone else to take advantage of that moment to fight.

  - Garrl, I have to tell you something, it's about me, I've been hiding it because ………..………..

  - You'll tell me when all this is over, brother, or do you think I'll die? We will be warriors, wise and leaders of our people, and this will start here, because we are going to fulfill our dream, so I'll see you later, to tell me everything, okay? "One step at a time," as you say.

  - Ah, I almost forgot, Breigon, I know you don't like killing and I know you hope that one day we can get along with humans, and although I don't think it's possible, I promised to help and support you, and I keep that promise for you. However, I don't think today is possible, brother, they sought to continue this confrontation, they keep hurting us, and while I wish to kill them out of hatred, I promise you that I will only do it to defend you, our allies and friends, the great caves, and our legacy. That's why I ask you to fight today and not blame yourself, they are the ones who seek this.

  - Come on, Breigon, Garrl knows what to do; he has already proven himself worthy of his lineage.

  I ran out, leaving the great burden I was placing on Garrl, unable to refute what he last said to me, wondering why we have to come to this, but I know that Garrl and the great ancestor Drazird are right; even if I don't want to, they are right.

  …………………………………………………….

  The plan we quickly devised required knowing if the moment was right to activate the magic seal, and we wouldn't know if we didn't see what was happening. I had the responsibility to assess if it was the right moment; we would only have one chance to surprise the humans, but I knew what that meant and that it would possibly cause the death of several of them. My human soul didn't want to do that. I didn't know those people, and even though I know they are here for the mana mineral and possibly out of greed, I would sentence them to death just for entering the caves. It didn't feel right. I know I promised the great ancestor Drazird that I wouldn't hesitate, but that doesn't make it feel right. I hoped there wouldn't be any humans when activating the magic seal, not that we would be at war. I know it was naive and optimistic of me, but is this my only option? Did I have to kill again?

  Doubts enveloped me and my indecision grew, but my kobold soul reminded me not only of Garrl's last words but also of all the pain they have caused us, Kirkarrg and the great serpent, the whole village, Tammat, trying to kill us, and now having to choose between my brother and his legacy. It wasn't fair, it wasn't fair to anyone; Was there another way? Can I justify this by being reborn as a kobold? I'm sorry, Mom and Dad, you taught me that what I'm going to be is terrible, but so many things have happened, and I think I'm involved in a war. I'm sorry, I imagine we will never see each other again, but maybe it's for the best; but I want to protect those who saved and protected me in this new life.

  So, I made my decision: I would protect the kobolds' legacy and these caves, even knowing what it would cause; I could no longer hesitate. I was approaching the spider lady's nest and my senses detected not only the smell of blood but also a great accumulation of mana; the battle had already begun.

  The first thing I notice upon arrival is how the spider lady is facing a group of what I assume are soldiers who are trying to surround her. Several of her offspring are already dead, as are some humans; others are fighting, while a larger group of humans is just waiting inside a magic barrier, and within that magic barrier, I perceive very faintly: the mana of the great serpent!

  - Breigon!, focus, it's residual mana left from the crystal, that's all.

  At that moment, I hear a roar from spider lady; I must help her, she must communicate with everyone in the caves, we must unite here and now, only she could.

  My hands tremble, my breath is still ragged, my mana, though diminished, flows with strength. Then I let my instincts take full control, harden the mana in my claws, and slide down the wall. Upon reaching the ground, I immediately head towards the spider lady, gather mana in my mouth, and unleash bursts at two unsuspecting humans. I take advantage of their confusion to climb immediately up the spider lady's abdomen while communicating with my mana that it is me, that I will attack all the humans with my fire, that she should take that moment to counterattack, and she understands. So, I gather my mana in my mouth again, "concentrate and release it," and with a roar, I unleash not only my fire but also my anger and sadness. "They were the ones who killed her," "they harm us," those were the thoughts that crossed my mind.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  My fire catches the humans off guard; and the lady spider immediately attacks them with an immense burst of mana, causing the humans to scatter. The lady spider roars, making her offspring gather with her and attack the humans; and at that moment, I take the opportunity to communicate the plan, that we need to gather everyone to fight, but she immediately responds with a warm burst of mana, and to my pleasant surprise, I realize that they are already on their way. It was the first thing she did upon realizing that the humans were coming this way; moreover, and above all, she trusted that we would activate the magic seal. Upon understanding what she told me, I felt I should apologize for still doubting when coming to this battle, and to partially rectify my mistake and doubts, I stand on top of her; while with a roar, I make it clear to the humans that I will not hesitate to protect these caverns and my new family.

  While I watch the humans retreat, I must decide whether to tell Garrl to activate the magic seal or wait for the others to arrive. He is waiting inside the magic barrier for my signal and, through the inheritance ritual stones that each of us has, we will be able to communicate immediately or at least that's what the great ancestor explained to us. The ritual technically sends information, so it could also send a signal; they are like walkie-talkies, although quite primitive. But then, what do I do? My hands start trembling again, no! I must trust Garrl, don't hesitate! Humans are more; we will not endure, I must tell him now, …………………. Don't hesitate! He can do it, ………………… don't doubt! In that moment, I felt the warm mana of the spider lady again, expressing to me: "calm down, you are not alone," "trust your brother," and just as I was about to send the signal, with my hands still trembling, I saw that more soldiers were coming out from the human magic barrier; one in particular caught my attention.

  It was the same armor; I remember that face. That man should be dead; Kirkarrg killed him. Did he survive his attack? In that, I feel a rage bubbling up inside me: "the killer who recognized us," "the one who protected and inherited us," No! Calm down, we are not here for revenge, we are here to protect, remember, Garrl is waiting for us. If we do everything right, he will pay here, we can't rush, not now!

  After exhaling and taking another breath, I manage to compose myself, I look at the human again and try to analyze him, and yes, he is the one who killed Kikarrg, the one who pierced him with a spear. His weapons are brimming with mana, they are very dangerous, his armor is too; that's surely why he survived Kikarrg's attack.

  At that, the human points towards us while speaking in their language, which I obviously don't understand. Does he want to talk to us? No, he's just talking to his soldiers. If I hadn't arrived, they might have already won. You should scold them for why they retreated. My fire was weak, I couldn't kill them, especially with those mana-infused armors, but the fear of fire is something instinctive.

  After scolding his soldiers, he turns towards us, holding a box in his hands and opening it while I think he is shouting at us, and even though he is somewhat far away, I manage to perceive the same natural mana that is around the magic seal, but inside that box.

  - They did it! …………….. Breigon, listen to me, in that box there is a mana crystal, and it is imbued, as you already felt, with the same mana that surrounds the magic seal; that's why they knew how to get here. You must take it from them at all costs; they do not deserve to have that crystal. They are not worthy of not possessing it!

  A mana crystal? But how? Where did they get that or can they create them? But if they can create it, what good will taking it away do?

  - It's hers, it has to be Tammat's crystal, it's the only possibility. You don't remember because Kirkarrg hadn't inherited you yet, but he mentioned something: that they had desecrated Tammat's body when she was fleeing with you in her arms, and that crystal in that box is the size of a kobold, and if we add the years she worked on the magic seal, it's possible that her crystal absorbed part of the natural mana. That must have been very painful for her when it happened; it's not natural for that to occur, but she was exposed too much to the mana within the magic barrier. Where else would they get a kobold crystal with the same mana where the magic seal is in less than a year?

  And then I understand it, when we last saw Tammat and we said goodbye and honored her body, her chest showed no damage. So, when we were sleeping, Kikarrg somehow noticed the humans and they must have seen him and chased him for that reason. Garrl couldn't explain to me what had happened that day either, but now it all makes more sense.

  I know that Tammat was not my biological mother, but she is Garrl's mother and even he always wanted me to consider her my mother too, because she gave her life to protect us both equally. Hearing about her sacrifices and who she was made me admire her, and although my human heart already fondly remembered my human mother, I thought I could open my kobold heart and honor her sacrifice and see her as my mother too; but here were these humans with their crystal. They had desecrated her body! And they are using it as if it were a mere trinket!

  He was furious. What's wrong with these humans? But then I remember, I can't lose my temper. Calm down! I tell myself; you know better than anyone how part of human nature is; to them, we are just a resource they can use. I felt the anger of my kobold soul, but also shame, both his and mine. I always tried to show myself and everyone the good side of humanity, and despite everything they had done to us, this bastard was rubbing the worst side of humanity in our faces.

  Shame? Am I ashamed of having been human? How will I defend humans and tell Garrl that we should get along with them after this? How will I tell him that I was human too and that part of my soul still is? And while I was debating internally with myself, humans bring something else while they speak to us; and upon seeing and feeling it, the only thing I can say is NO!