For a few seconds, I stood frozen, unable to move. Was it indecision or fear? He was clearly injured, his red skin now streaked and smeared with the unmistakable crimson of blood, covering at least a third of his body.


    I turned to Alira, and she looked even more apprehensive. She had every right to be. We were exhausted and freezing, and my magic was only just beginning to return, so I was far from at my best.


    On the other hand, he looked badly injured, and still there could be more than one red orc in this whole world, right? I could hardly start hurling Lightning Bolts at an injured random orc that had the misfortune of having red skin.


    As I finally started moving towards him, I struggled to make less noise, even though Alira basically screamed not a minute ago. The broken bricks and splintered wood littering the ground made it hard in that respect.


    His head was to the side, making it impossible to recognize him only by his body. As I got closer, I noticed that his chest was moving, so my pulse increased accordingly. Pivoting to the right to get a better view of his face, a splintered board cracked beneath my foot.


    He became alert in that exact moment, and as I locked up from my foot, I saw a fireball in front of me. With me being so close and caught somewhat by surprise by his reaction time, it hit me straight in the chest.


    The impact only staggered me for a moment, forcing me to take a small step back. Adrenaline surged through my veins, sharpening my focus. Without hesitation, I hurled a lightning bolt straight at him.


    He let out a scream as the bolt scorched his shoulder, leaving a small charred mark. While he clutched at the injury, I finally had a moment to get a good look at his face… and, of course, it was the evil orc.


    Perhaps, for the first time in my life, the goddess Fortuna was smiling on me. He was injured, with no defensive spells in place, vulnerable right in front of me. All I had to do was overcome the minor detail of striking down a wounded and essentially defenseless opponent.


    Eh... a little possible PTSD wouldn’t be so bad. As I raised my hand to make it count, he spoke before I got a chance to finish the cast.


    “If you kill me, you won’t survive more than a few hours,” he said


    I hesitated. He could have been here for god knows how long; he could actually have some useful information.


    “It better be good,” I said, while keeping my hand pointed at him.


    He squirmed and sat with his back a little straighter before speaking. “I’m using a spell to keep us hidden from the monster that protects this place. And if you don’t mind, your companion should come closer; she is right at the edge of it.”


    Well, I might as well gather some intel if I wasn’t going to finish him off. While I figured out if he was lying, that is.


    “So, how did you get here?”


    He smirked. “You mean before you? I admit I was not expecting that; at the most, I hoped to scavenge whatever relics your god left for you.”


    He liked to bluff, so bringing my best poker face forward, “Gods leaving relics for me to find? If only...”


    “You can try to deny it all you want; no one goes traveling to the middle of nowhere without a very good reason. Especially since the legends say a place of great power is hidden around these parts.” he tried to make a theatrical gesture with his hand to the surrounding place, but his pain stopped it fast.


    “You still didn’t answer the first question.” Alira spoke while she closed to our location.


    He hesitated for a moment, maybe searching for alternatives. “No point in lying, since it seems I am at your mercy. I convinced the god who brought me to this world that you were not to be underestimated and find places that seemed touched by other gods.”


    “And then left you here to rot?” she replied.


    “I was told he wouldn’t be able to see into this place, only grant access. That only made it more intriguing, and all the more likely it was the right spot. And now, seeing you here, I know I was right.” The realization seemed to brighten his mood, a small but noticeable victory.


    “And you came here all alone? Surely you must have suspected traps; another god wouldn’t leave this unguarded. And here I thought you were smarter than me.”


    He gritted his teeth, but recovered quickly. Finally a way to get under his skin. "The traps would have to be overcome by you, so it was a calculated risk, and I did not come alone, but the beast proved to be formidable."


    “Let me guess, the black dragon from the legends,” I smiled.


    He winced. “Yes, usually the legends hold a grain of truth. I did not expect them to be so accurate.”


    “So, is it really immune to magic and physical attacks?” Alira asked.


    He scoffed. “Yes, and if you need proof, just look at me.”Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    I smiled again. “You know we have a saying. My plan was calculated, but boy, am I bad at math.”


    Anger flickered in his eyes for a moment, but once again, his self-control prevailed. “Yes, that was my mistake. I assumed he’d simply be highly resistant to magic since you had to defeat it as well, and let’s face it, I’m stronger, so I thought I could overcome it.”


    “So it seems you can’t help us with the dragon, and your usefulness is the mysterious way you keep the dragon of us,” Alira said while advancing on him with her sword. “Maybe we should take our chances with the dragon.”


    He lifted up his hands in a... wait.. gesture. “Your mate here doesn’t look that confident facing the dragon, meaning you don’t have a way to destroy it either. But if I’m wrong, go ahead and kill it, then come back to finish me off. It’s not like I’m going anywhere. I’ll be here with my spell, giving you a second chance.”


    “Then teach him the spell or else,” she said while waving the sword around.


    “That’s the only thing keeping me alive at this point, so you might as well kill me now.” It seemed he didn’t fall for the bluff or, judging by the look she was giving me, it probably wasn’t a bluff at all.


    “She’s right, you just don’t let the bad guy live and hope it works out later.” I said.


    He visibly switched to disgust. “Humans, monsters since times memorial, and I’m the bad guy.”


    “Hey,” I screamed because for the first time, I was pissed off. “I seem to remember you threatening some torture upon me if I was captured. You see us torturing you for information? So tell me again, Who’s the bad guy?”


    “Oh yes. Talk or I get executed; it seems psychological torture is so normal upon humans it doesn’t even register anymore, and you call us monsters.”


    Damn, he had a point. Mock executions were kind of against the Geneva convention.


    Alira appeared equally furious at his self-righteousness, cutting in as I paused to gather my thoughts. “We had a war hundred of years ago, and the gods made a pact there would be peace; we stay on our continents and you on yours. Who is now marching armies on human continents?”


    This time, he didn’t hold back the anger. “We had something like that on my world until the humans broke it and brought us to the brink of extinction. There is no place to hide anymore. We are not even slaves but cattle. So tell me who is the bad guy?” He practically screamed at the end.


    Even Alira seemed taken aback. The passion of his words left little doubt of his story; sure, he could be the winner of the orc’s version of the Oscars, but I didn’t see it. He was still breathing hard, and his face had lost its calm, like old memories had been brought to the surface.


    “So that’s why you came to this world?” I finally broke the silence.


    “A god finally answered my prayers and promised me power here that I could use to free my people back home.”


    “And you believed him?” I questioned.


    “Says the human who’s blindly following his god’s orders, heading to the middle of nowhere and battling whatever obstacles were put in place to keep others away.”


    Damn, he had a point again. Maybe I was being a bit hypocritical, but at least I was owning up to it. ‘That did make it better, right?’


    Alira came near me and whispered, “Don’t tell me you''re considering his sob story. He’s just trying to manipulate you.”


    Maybe she was right, and I was like the bad guy in movies who was trying to justify his world-view upon the other guy. But in that moment, I understood why they did it. I was right, and he was wrong. It was that simple. Well, maybe he had a point, but still...


    Turning back to the orc, “Look, I get it. You had a shitty life, and your people have suffered more than I can even imagine, but condemning the humans of this world for the sins of the humans in your world doesn’t make it better. It makes it worse.”


    That seemed to give him pause, and confusion appeared on his face.


    I continued, “It’s like I enter a city, get beat up by the guards, and since I can’t take my revenge on them, I go into a random house and torture and kill the occupants, all the while telling them all the people in this city deserve it. I may even believe that, but that certainly doesn’t make me the good guy.”


    Fire sprang back into his eyes. “That isn’t even the same idea; you have no clue what you are talking about.” but for once his argument was hollow.


    “Or maybe you are too emotionally invested to have an objective look.” I responded.


    He scoffed, “And what would you do if orcs wiped out your entire race, and you suddenly had a chance to start over here?”


    It was a loaded question, and I found myself wondering why I was even engaged in this hypothetical debate. Was I really that desperate to prove a point? Or maybe it was because he was the first fellow off-worlder I had met, and I felt an unexpected sense of connection. Or perhaps it was simply the pull of a tragic story that made me keep talking.


    I would make a terrible villain since apparently I couldn’t stop explaining myself even to objectively terrible ‘people’.


    “Fine, you want the truth? I would have no qualms killing orcs that got in my way, but my main objective would be getting more power and getting back to my world since every second spent here means more of my people are heading towards extinction.”


    “And can you take me back to my world?” he asked.


    “No,” I conceded.


    “Guess that means I’m stuck being his lackey,” he said, sounding genuinely frustrated.


    “Oh no, being the leader of all the orc clans conquering human lands. He must have really tried to convince you of that,” Alira said derisively.


    Confusion was again upon his face. “Wait, why would you think I’m the leader of the orcs?”


    “Do not even try to lie; the elf we saved told us everything,” she argued back.


    He started to laugh, but his pain stopped him from going all out. “Do you think I would have come on this dangerous mission if I were the leader? I’m more of an enforcer of the god than anything. I guess that’s why your elf friend assumed as much as I arrived there to discipline the commander on his failures.”


    It was Alira’s turn to become speechless.


    He continued, “Even if I tried to take the control, they would never follow me despite my power because of me being from another world and, more importantly, of my skin color.”


    “Well, it’s good to know humans are not the only ones that discriminate based on skin color.” I quipped.


    “So if you thought killing me would break the orc empire,” he said, looking at Alira. “Then you are mistaken.”


    “He could still be lying,” Alira said, looking at me.


    “The part where he came here doesn’t sound like a logical step for his god to take if he was so integral to the larger plan. Even if he’s lying, he must have a clear successor in place.” I responded.


    “I still say we kill...”


    Alira’s voice was cut by the distant roar of the dragon. After a few seconds of silence, a new roar, this time much closer, was heard.


    “It looks like the dragon is on his daily patrol; you better stay close to me if you want to live,” the orc said with a smile.