Baka's notes: I must apologize! I completely forgot that VEGA wasn't save in a cloud but in a Datachip! So yeah! Doom Slayer do have VEGA on him! So he'll appear in this chapter!

Chapter 3: Objective

The owner of the farm, Cow Girl's Uncle, was working on the fields again that day just as usual.

He'd be taking care of the animals while his niece (adopted daughter now) was waiting for him for a couple hours before getting to work too. No matter how many times he told her that she didn't need to do that everyday when he was on a goblin slaying quest.

Oh?

Well, seems like that day was an exception. He could hear the perfect rhythmed, almost mechanical footsteps that only he could make from the road.

"Back early, are w-" the farmer started as he looked up but froze at the scene in front of him.

There he was, Goblin Slayer, in his dirty armor with cheap steel helmet; but what was behind him was another man, taller, in a complete green armor and helmet in a strange metal.

The two were so different but also so similar. The tall man had a presence almost identical as the other, their steps in complete sync!

No wonder the farmer couldn't tell that there was two people on the road!

"Hello, sir. Work was quick this time." Goblin Slayer greeted the man with a nod.

The tall green man nodded to the farmer too.

And just as they appeared, they kept walking towards the house. And the Uncle, who didn't move an inch, could only think:

'Oh my Gods, he multiplied.'

She heard footsteps outside her house and recognized it immediately. She ran to the door and made sure to welcome him with a smile. Once she was ready, she opened the door.

"Welcome ba- eh?"

Her friend wasn't alone this time. He was accompanied by someone else… Someone extremely similar to him… kind of a family resemblance.

"Waaaaah?! You never told me you had a big brother!" she exclaimed, bringing her left hand to her wide open mouth and pointing at the green man with her right.

Doom Slayer turned his head to his 'brother' and pointed at the girl.

"...Will this… happen… every time?" he sighed.

"Hrm. I hope not." Goblin Slayer answered with a grunt, "We're not related. I met him on my last quest."

"...I am...Doom Slayer… miss…" The marine nodded to the girl.

"Oh! N-nice to meet you." she bowed.

She took a good look at the man in green, she might not know much about the world of adventurers but she knew that whoever that Doom Slayer was, he was no normal adventurer. Scratch that, he might not even be an adventurer at all!

But there was something else she was curious about.

'Why is he here?'

Goblin Slayer seemed to have guessed what she was thinking as he quickly answered for her in a dispassionate voice:

"He's here to see if we had bunnies."

"Bunnies?"

Doom Slayer nodded.

"I-I'm afraid we don't. We have cows, sheeps, chicken and even some pigs. Oh and also Canary!" she smiled and winked at her childhood friend but there was absolutely no reaction, "But no bunnies I'm afraid…"

The Marine sighed loudly and despite not showing it, he looked rather down.

"B-but! There's some wild bunnies that comes nearby every once in a while! I feed them when they are here, they come from the forest." she smiled brightly as she pointed at the forest at the limit of the property.

"You must be careful when going-"

"-there by myself. I know, I know, don't worry." Cow Girl cut her friend with a teasing smirk.

He answered with a grunt.

Doom Slayer looked at the couple of friends before letting a small chuckle.

" But I can't tell when they come. Maybe try next week. " Cow Girl smiled.

The marine didn't say a word and stood still for afew seconds before nodding.

" I see… thank you… I'll go… to the Guild now... " he said.

" Did you memorize the path? " Goblin Slayer asked.

" Yes… and... I have… the Auto-map... " the taller man answered.

" Auto-map? "

Doom Slayer pressed the red button on his chest plate and a blue light emerged from it. It was a hologram -not that either Goblin Slayer or Cow Girl knew that- and it was showing the farm in precise details.

" That's the farm! " the girl exclaimed.

The Marine nodded then passed his green armored finger through the hologram as it changed shape. Now it was showing the farm and a single path connecting it with the Frontier Town.

Goblin Slayer leaned closer to take a better look.

" ...Impressive. A magic three dimensional map that fills itself from where you go. Something that a Goblin wouldn't even understand how to use it if they steal it. Where can I get one? " he asked.

" ...Err… I don't think… your world is… technology advanced enough… " Doom Slayer answered after a few seconds of silence, " ...I'll be going now... "

Goblin Slayer nodded in understanding, Cow Girl waved him goodbye. Doom Slayer nodded back and turned his back, walking down the path out of the farm grounds. He nodded once more to the owner who didn't seem to have moved since their first encounter.

" Hey. "

" What is it? "

Cow girl smiled at her friend, her smile as bright as the sun.

" Welcome home. "

Goblin Slayer stood still, staring at his friends then finally answered.

" I'm back. "

Doom Slayer was a bit disappointed that he couldn't see any bunnies that day. That farmer girl said they might come next week… but he didn't plan to stay in this world for that long.

He needed to go back in Hell as soon as possible. He already lost some time in wanting to see a rabbit again… he needed to focus and get information.

Before he even noticed, he was already in front of the Guild's door. He forgot how fast he walked when he was alone.

But nevermind that, he opened the door and walked in.

He was immediately called by the party he knew. They were at the tavern near the entrance and also accompanied by other adventurers like the Heavy Warrior from before.

" Hey Doom Slayer! You were fast! " the elf exclaimed.

The marine slightly tilted his head.

" She means that it takes half an hour to go to the farm. And you've been gone for less than an hour. " the small priestess explained.

" ...I'm fast... "

" These guys told me a bit about you. " the Heavy Warrior said, " so like that you fought in Hell? Heh, haven't we all? Am I right?! "

All other adventurers cheered loudly.

Doom Slayer didn't move an inch.

" … I fought in Hell… the real one… for eons… to the point demons fear me… " was all he said.

And yet the way he said it had so much rage and danger in the tone that was enough to silence everyone.

The silence was broken by a loud cheer that followed the doors opening. Spearman and Witch just arrived from a very short mission it seems, since they left only two days ago. Spearman immediately went to Guild Girl to tell his last adventure while Witch pouted behind him before getting a paper and a pen to write the report.

Heavy Warrior smiled then placed a hand on Doom Slayer's shoulder.

" You're certainly an interesting guy! And you look very strong. So let's spar! I want to test that strength, what do you say? "

Doom Slayer didn't move, thinking. He glanced around and everyone was seemingly looking forward for that fight.

But he knew oh so well that no matter how strong that Warrior was… he's nothing much compared to a second generation Baron of Hell… also the fact that he wouldn't survive a point blank shot of his super shotgun.

" Um… I don't think it's a good idea… We saw his weapons in action and they are no joke…" the Priestess said with her little voice.

"Really? Now I'm more eager for a sparring!" the Warrior laughed.

Doom Slayer sighed loudly. Then he saw Spearman handing to the Guild Girl two tags similar to the ones every adventurers had around their neck. He heard their conversation.

"Also… We found these during the quest… I'm afraid we were too late."

"Oh… Thank you for bringing them to us, we'll identify them by tomorrow."

"No problem."

That's right. He almost forgot he had adventurers tags he found in Hell. He raised a hand to the warrior, asking him to wait, and walked towards the Guild Girl. She looked at the Doom Slayer approaching with wide eyes. Seeing that she stopped paying attention to him, Spearman followed her line of sight and finally landed his eyes on Doom Slayer for the first time. He almost jumped one meter high from surprise.

"What the- Goblin Slayer?!"

Witch raised her head from the paper and stared at the marine with wide astonished eyes. The said marine was staring at the silver adventurer with blase through his visor. Meanwhile, not far away, High Elf Archer and Shaman Dwarf were letting out some chuckle.

"No wait… You're different… And yet similar… Are you his big brother?"

Doom Slayer sighed loudly then turned to the receptionist.

"Excuse me… Do you… Take care of tags…?" He asked.

"Uh? I-I mean, yes. I do. What can I help you with?" Guild Girl recomposed herself and smiled professionally at him.

Doom Slayer reached into his pocket and pulled out four tags: two gold, one silver and one copper. They were all extremely old, even fossilized.

"...I found these…" He said as he put the tags on the counter.

Everyone stared at the tags with silence. Guild Girl took one in her hand and examined it, when she finally recognized it, she checked another one, giving one of them to her coworker so she also could analyse it. They shared a nod then turned to the marine.

"Those are adventurers tags! They look extremely old! Where did you find them?"

"Hell." was all he said for an answer.

Guild Girl froze at the answer and slowly turned to her coworker who was starting seriously at the man.

"He's not lying."

"So he really do come from Hell…" Doom Slayer heard some adventurers mutter.

"A-Anyway, thank you very much for bringing them back. A reward will be given once the identity of these tags owner is discovered." Guild Girl smiled brightly.

Doom Slayer nodded then turned to Heavy Warrior.

"So… you wanted… to spar...?"

High Elf Archer, Shaman Dwarf, Lizard Priest, Priestess, Heavy Warrior, Female Knight, and some novice adventurers were at the training ground, ready to watch Doom Slayer show the usage of his weapons on some training dummies.

The Hell Walker wanted to show them what Heavy Warrior was about to face. He didn't want to scare them much with his armory, so he decided to just use his beloved shotgun to give them a taste of what his weapons do.

At seeing the weapon, Goblin Slayer's party quickly covered their ears.

He aimed at the dummy far from him and shot. The thundering sound made everyone jump. Then they looked at the dummy and were surprised to see the little damage on it. Before any could make some comment, Doom Slayer dashed towards it and shot again, this time the distance was short enough for the dummy to be torn apart from the load of lead.

He turned to the Heavy Warrior.

"Still want… to spar?"

Heavy Warrior closed his eyes in deep thought, he wasn't dumb enough to think he can just fight that weapon. The dummy didn't have any armor on it, but monsters and especially demons are known to have armor almost more resistant than his own. And if this weapon could kill demons easily, it would be the same for him. And yet, a smirk appeared in his face.

"I don't want to fight that weapon. But how about a fight of strength?" he suggested.

Doom SLayer let out a sigh then a very low chuckle barely audible.

"...You sure… are stubborn… Why not?..." Doom Slayer shrugged and readied his fists but when he saw Heavy Warrior about to put his large sword on the ground he added, "You… can keep your sword…"

"Uh? I may be stubborn, but aren't you a bit overconfident?"

Doom Slayer responded with just by signing him to 'come on' with his right hand, making the silver ranked adventurer chuckle.

"Don't blame me for broken bones." he said as he lifted his sword.

As the two opponents faced each other in silent for a few seconds, High Elf Archer raised her arm then dropped it while shouting 'start'.

Heavy Warrior was the one to do the first move. He dashed towards the Slayer and raised his sword high before swinging it down on him. He expected him to dodge to the side as anyone would, to gauge his agility. But what happened surprised him, instead of moving, Doom Slayer just backhanded the sword away and answered with a punch to the chest.

The punch was actually hard enough to send the warrior a few feets away. He looked up and froze: the aura surrounding Doom Slayer changed into a threatening one. He smirked once more, excited to fight an opponent like him.

He went forward again, this time he'll go all in. His professionalism to the sword fight was pretty present as he fought with the back of his blade to not cut through the armor of the Slayer. It was a sparring after all.

This time the marine was dodging the blows as he could, he sometimes got hit by the sword but he kept moving. He got much worse. What annoyed the warrior a bit was that the slayer wasn't counter attacking, and what was surprising him immensely was how fast he was while running backwards and how agile he was despite the heavy looking armor.

Doom Slayer then ran forward and started his assault, startling Heavy Warrior for a second when he saw that he was actually running as fast as he ran backwards! He managed to dodge with difficulty some of the slayer's blows and counter attacked with a swing with the back of his large sword to his side.

But what happened next ended the fight, and he still couldn't believe it.

Doom Slayer jumped high enough to dodge the hit, but he decided to also stomp on the sword. But how could he if the edge of the blade was upwards, you say? Well, he slightly kicked the sword with his boot to rotate it so his soles was now over the back of the blade. He then put all his weight down on the sword, bringing it down with enough force that Heavy Warrior was forced on one knee as his upper body was dragged down with the blade.

"Bang."

Heavy Warrior looked up to see that the Slayer had his left hand pointed at him. His index pointed at him and his thumb up.

"Haha… You got me there." Heavy Warrior sighed.

Doom Slayer got off his sword so he could stand up. The slayer was about to walk back in the guild when he heard the man he just fought getting back in a fighting stance.

"Lets go at it again! The fight ended too quickly to be satisfying." he grinned.

"Leave some for me too." a female voice joined in, Female Knight walked besides her friend and raised her large shield and sword, "After such a display of skills it's only natural for a future Paladin to see how to defend such strength." she smiled.

"Alright. That's two on one-"

"Make it three." Spearman suddenly appeared with a smirk plastered on his face.

"Where do you come from?" Heavy Warrior raised an eyebrow.

"I've been watching since those explosions sounds earlier. And I must say, I'm impressed! I was wrong to compare you with Goblin Slayer, you're much more interesting." the adventurer with the lance laughed.

"Anyway, three on one then… Are you okay with that?" Heavy Warrior asked Doom Slayer.

The Marine sighed loudly and shrugged before getting in a battle stance, making the other adventurers smile and also get ready to fight.

"Wowowow! Three on one?! Isn't that a bit unfair?!" the elf exclaimed.

"Well… If what he said before about him in Hell and demons was the truth, I think it won't be a problem." the dwarf said while stroking his beard.

"But I wonder… Who will win this fight?" the lizardman wondered.

"I think Doom Slayer is going to win…" Priestess murmured.

"What? No way! Our Silvers got this easily! Earlier was just a stroke of luck!" Rookie Warrior said.

"Do you. Want to. Bet?" Witch smiled, extending her hat upside down.

"Uh… I don't think I can afford such a bet."

"Oh I can! Two silver coins on the Goblin Slayer-like!"

"Ha! Prepare to cry your eyes out, idiot! Here's five on the silver trio!"

The four fighters sighed before starting the fight.

Doom Slayer was once again showing his amazing agility. Even when three veterans were attacking at once, he didn't show any sign of having trouble. He just kept running around, dodging and punching when he could. He never once stopped moving for more than one second.

And the silver ranked adventurers weren't bad either! Especially the warrior and knight who worked perfectly together with the knight protecting and the warrior attacking all while the spearman was attacking as soon as he saw an opening.

But it's not like it was a flawless fight for the Doom Slayer: he did get hit many times, and that's what stupefied the adventurers: his sturdiness. No matter how many times he got hit, he kept moving as if the hit didn't land!

This guy was a monster!

These guys were pretty good!

It's not like he had much trouble dodging them, but they were very strong! Their hits was actually damaging his armor! When he noticed that, he decided to just finish the training when it goes under a certain level. Which would be pretty soon.

During another dodge from the Spearman's attacks, he noticed how the sky was already turning orange… They arrived around early afternoon though… That much time has already passed? What was he doing?!

He needed to ask questions about this world! Not spar with the residents, no matter how entertaining that was!

Screw it, he'll finish this now.

He took a deep breath and his aura changed from threatening to murdering which actually made everyone froze for a good second or two, clearly showing how different they are from Demons from Hell.

First, he should take care of the fast one: Spearman. He turned towards him.

"Watch out! He's coming!" the adventurer exclaimed and got in a serious stance.

What he didn't expect was the slayer to quickly get in front of him. He quickly attacked with a thrust of his spear but the Slayer dodged and grabbed it. Spearman immediately guessed what was going to happen: Doom Slayer would pull to bring him closer for a punch or push to make him stumble. He prepared himself… But not for the right action.

Doom Slayer never pulled or pushed. Instead he raised his arm, with the spear, with the owner.

Everyone stood quiet.

"Wh-Wha-?!"

And before Spearman could even react, Doom Slayer slammed him down on his feet again, actually stumbling him. The shock was hard enough for Spearman to let go of his weapon, which made the slayer now his own.

If the adventurer was a demon, he would have use the spear to skewer him. So instead he used it a baseball bat and slammed the adventurer in the chest with his own weapon, sending him flying out of the ring and crash into a wall. He then stabbed the spear on the ground.

One down. He was glad that the effects around him during his 'Glory Kills' were still working: with demons, they don't even dare get closer and they get back in their hostile state immediately after the execution was done. He couldn't say the same for humans. Even if it wasn't specifically a 'kill', it was surprising enough for everyone to stay frozen at the display.

Heavy Warrior was the first to react again at charging at him, the Female Knight shortly following him. Which meant he'd be next.

He ran towards them, Female Knight got in front of the warrior to protect him, But that didn't stop Doom Slayer to grab the shield, spin and throw it away, along with the owner. He then charged at Heavy Warrior for his fist to meet his blade.

The shockwave was powerful enough to send Heavy Warrior backwards, but Doom SLayer barely even moved from it. He reached forwards, grabbed the adventurer's head and slammed it down to the ground, he did that two more times. Then punched his guts with enough strength to make him faint.

Two down, he looked back to see that Female Knight was up again, ready to charge.

But he moved first, grabbed her shield once more. Her reflexes were impressive, he must admit. She let her arm go from her protection the moment he touched her shield, expecting him to throw it away like before. But this time he just kept charging at her with it. He pushed forward then downward, pinning her on the ground quickly under her own shield.

He put his boot on the surface of the protective tool to keep her down.

And three.

Doom Slayer didn't know what was more exhausting: people who cheered for him for winning the fight and thus making them win the bet; people who wanted to spar with him because it would be 'an honor' or people who wanted him to become an adventurer and join his party since 'with him they'll become Platinum in no time!'.

But at least he got some important informations he was looking for.

He learned that there was demons here, that a large army was slowly growing under the order of an awakening Demon Lord. Just that made his skin crawl with disgust and anger, but when he asked a description of some of the demons witnessed none of them matched the demons he knew.

They weren't demons from Hell, at least not 'his' Hell.

But a portal is connected to Hell here, and this world is way too appetizing for the demons of Hell, they wouldn't let this opportunity pass. And there was also those three imps who made him fall from the bridge between worlds. They were certainly here and probably warned their comrades about this world just ready to be burnt to ashes.

And by the time he was done asking questions and getting informations it was late evening. Some adventurers were leaving for the night.

"Hey Doom Slayer, you don't have a place to sleep right?" High Elf Archer asked.

Doom Slayer shook his head, "I don't... need… to sleep…"

"Well we can't let you spend the night outside like a beast! Why don't you get a room here at the inn?" Lizard Priest suggested.

"But… I don't… have money…"

"Don't worry about that! We'll pay you the night this time." Dwarf Shaman laughed.

Looks like he won't have a say on the matter.

"Oh! Doom Slayer!" he heard a small voice exclaim next to him.

He turned around and saw the Priestess.

"Is this your designated room?" she pointed at the door he was in front, he was holding the key in his hand.

He nodded but added that it might only be for one night.

"Why… Are you here…? Do you… sleep… In the inn... too?..." He asked.

"Oh, y-yes. Sometimes, normally I sleep at the Temple of the Earth Mother. But I sleep here when I'm planning to go to work."

"Why… is that?" Doom Slayer asked, tilting his head.

"Because if none of us are there in the morning before him, he might leave on a quest without waiting. It happened once." she sighed.

"By 'him'... You mean… Goblin Slayer…?"

"That's right. It seems we're neighbors too! I hope we'll get along." the young girl smiled and bowed.

Doom Slayer chuckled and nodded to her.

"Good night!" she said before leaving him alone.

He looked at the key in his hand a bit then opened his own door.

The room was exactly what he expected coming from an inn in a medieval fantasy world: plain. One bed, one wardrobe that he wouldn't use.

He sighed, there was also a mirror there. He hadn't looked at himself in a while. He walked towards it and took off his helmet… yep… Nothing changed. He really was immortal now. Thousands of years since death, no changes. He still looked in his mid-thirties, now with more scars.

He sat on the bed and sighed. Today wasn't a bad day.

He had fun sparring, learned about this world but no information about the demons from Hell… What to do…?

He was lost, he was never good at strategizing like that. His moto was always 'shoot it till it dies' but here… his targets where nowhere in sight. He reached into his pocket and retrieved a datachip.

VEGA.

The hyper-intelligent AI he saved on Mars… He'd know what to do.

But unfortunately, it took a power quasi equal to the Sun to make VEGA function as he should. And his Praetor suit was not that powerful… He'll have to do this ordeal himself. He should think of updating his suit one of these days...

Dammit…

He put the chip back in his pocket. He needed to concentrate and think.

First things first: list the objectives of this mission.

The main one was obviously getting back in Hell.

So there's the rest: he needed to locate the portal… And for that… He needed demons. So he needed to locate demons… And for that…

He should think like one. And there was one thing demons do first when invading a world.

Goblin Slayer opened the doors to the guild and as always, he sat on a table alone at the side, waiting for the quest board to clear up so he could get the goblin slaying ones without disturbance. Guild Girl noticed him and when they crossed eyes she waved at him as he nodded.

"Hey Orcbolg! Over here!" he heard a certain member of his party call out, she was waving at him from her table with the lizard and the dwarf, eating breakfast.

He stood up and walked to the trio.

"Good morning!"

"Hello!"

"Good morning, milord Goblin Slayer."

"...hi." the adventurer greeted his friends.

"Boy! You missed some amazing stuff yesterday!"

"Really?"

"Yes indeed! Milord Doom Slayer accepted a sparring challenge with our three silver ranked adventurers here." Lizard Priest pointed at the three in question who were together at the table.

He heard somehow that they were talking about a strategy.

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, and Green Man destroyed them in no time! It was incredible!"

"Is that so?"

"Goblin Slayer! Good morning!" Priestess smiled at him before bowing slightly to her party members, "I'm glad you're still here."

"Hrk. It was… only one time…" he sighed.

"Yes maybe, but you'll do it again if I was late or the others weren't here, right?" she scolded.

"Hrm…" he grunted under the amused grins of his friends.

Heavy footsteps were then heard from the stairs. Everyone looked at the marine coming down the stairs.

"Hey, Doom Slayer! Good morning!"

"...Good morning…" he nodded to the people.

"How was your night? Slept well?"

"I… don't sleep…" he answered then walked to the party of adventurer he knew, "I have… Some questions… If you… don't mind…"

The party exchanged looks then nodded for him to continue.

"What… creature here… are best… at following… the strong?... At obeying… anything superior to them…?"

"Hmmm… Well there are many. But the most obvious is certainly-"

"Goblins." Goblin Slayer cut, "What you described is one definition of a goblin. They'll follow anyone stronger than them or in exchange of anything to satisfy their lust."

"...Goblins… huh…?" Doom Slayer muttered, "...And you're… about to…"

"Going on a goblin slaying quest. Yes."

Doom Slayer stood straight then took a good look of the adventurers in front of him. He took a breath then asked.

"Can I… Come too?"

Baka's notes: And yep, VEGA appeared as a cameo! I mean seriously people, do you remember all the crap you had to do just to disconnect him and destroy him? He needs tremendous power! That I really don't think Doom Slayer have on his suit since he can die from lava.

So here you go! A new chapter for Christmas! I really hope you enjoyed it. Next one: Goblins and Gods trial!

See you soon!