Hello people, and welcome to the finale of Goblin Slayer: The Team Year 2. Thank goodness...it's taken me 10 long months of headaches, hardships, and sacrifices, but I have finally done it. I have created the ultimate Goblin Slayer story devoted to Warrior, Wizard, and especially Fighter, and I would be genuinely surprised if anyone surpassed it in the future. So you three, this one's for you. I know you don't exist, but your impact on the story was the best impact...no one ever had. So here I am to pick up the pieces, and give you the credit you deserve, in YOUR series. In fact, it should be called "Goblin Slayers" in my mind, because this story being made should NEVER have been necessary.
Alright GLG...calm down, quit foaming at the mouth and pull yourself together. Your fans are waiting for you to wrap this up...so let's wrap it up.
Review Response: Technically Ranger made the last goblin suffer first so he gets some of the credit, but yes GS took the last goblin's head...as a trophy no less. This chapter of course is to let people know what's what in the next decade, so...
Given how close Ranger is to Sword Maiden, I wouldn't be surprised if he wanted nothing to do with His Majesty, and given how passionate he can be...that's probably a good thing. But then again, since the goblins are now wiped out, it probably doesn't matter; Ranger has something in common with Sword Maiden above all: neither of them are idiots.
Over the course of the next decade, everyone was busier than ever before. Even without the goblins, problems brewed in every corner of the country, one of which being monsters of all kinds having their populations explode in uncivilized parts of the country, and adventurers fighting them to a stand-still, even with Silver and Gold Ranks aplenty on the front lines. Despite how effective the adventurer training system was, and how many people it helped, casualties on the people's sides, and the monsters' sides were almost equal in proportion.
For all the damage received, it was ultimately worth it; the frontier pushed far beyond it's original boundaries, and more land was claimed for mining, farming, lumberjacking, quarrying, treasure hunting, smithing, and other desirable professions. Before long the county's population and wealth grew at accelerated rates as more was available to go around to the families raising more children per family, and producing more food. Some adventurers even formed ties to people on the new frontier, either regular friendships, their sense of honor being powerful enough to keep them tied to the frontier itself to help out if need be, or even romantic bonds; several families spawned from such encounters as well, many of which were genuinely touching to those outside the families. These families in turn produced children who would grow up to become workers, adventurers, or merchants when their time came.
The fields of magic were also put to use; alchemists created special tools for the people, including fertilizer from farms, machines that generate or reduce heat for smiths, or even machines that harness the power of storms to tell when another storm will happen. Potions were brewed by countless mages throughout the country, which aided the people's hardest jobs in more ways than one. Animal tamers and summoners both veteran and rookie went around using elementals to bend the land itself to suit the people's needs. Healers and priests were sent to heal and protect the people, and the adventurers supporting them every day as well.
However, this newfound prosperity bred corruption as well; landowners, crime lords, bandit armies all flocked to take bites out of the people in every way they could. Ironically, this made the number of bounty hunting quests explode, and hundreds of adventurers were specifically trained to snuff out criminals, and they were never out of a job. Some quests even included people kidnapped for ransom or...entertainment, and more often than not, the adventurers who defeated the outlaws and saved the people were given promotions to the next rank right after one quest, minor or major. The higher-ranked quests actually involved capturing or killing crime lords...which was far easier said than done.
They were the lords for a reason; in the criminal world, no where is truly safe, and they had to be as cautious as they could, even paranoid. The most infamous case of a lord being brought down was when one of his own henchmen betrayed him and led a small army of adventurers right to his front door. Although, others cases were no where near as extreme; some quests involved a landowner being shown the price of their actions, sometimes with a simple beating, but other times their corruption pushed them to either commit murder, or even sexual violence, and they were executed on the spot, sometimes without ever seeing the face of their assassin.
Even the dark arts were a menace to society;despite the forces of Hell being quelled, demons were summoned and tamed by countless mages who turned to the darkness when their arrogance, greed, desire for revenge, or power corrupted them. A Female Revenant was also tamed by a dark mage who was obsessed with death as a concept, and as such lusted after her. He got what he wished for in the end however; after the frontier was devastated and temporarily pushed back to where it used to be...the Female Revenant kissed the dark mage before extracting his soul from his rapidly-decaying body.
Fortunately, there were neither sightings, nor rumors, or encounters with goblins or demons aside from the latter being summoned and tamed by warlocks. Cambion was clearly keeping his word when he promised to rule in Hell for the betterment of the world. Ironically, demon hunters were still needed both in their craft, and outside of it because of how many warlocks were on the loose. Entire covens were discovered with imps and possessed ghouls serving them, and countless people went missing as a result. Some covens were so unimaginably treacherous and far-expanding, that Gold Ranks were awarded to those who could deal with them, even when those involved were in numbers.
Outside of the country however, other nations discovered how much the country was growing, and feared their power would rival or eclipse their own, and before long, the four great races had to join together against invading armies, just like they did against the goblins. Thousands of troops of every type poured into the front lines, many of whom were seasoned from the cataclysmic battle with the goblins. Their familiarity with brutality as a concept, in addition to the training their adventurer comrades had with GS and everyone else for that matter paid off in the end. Sometimes, in the middle of battle, some heroes emerged when one or more adventurers used the goblins' tactics by fighting unfairly, usually with traps or attacking from an unorthodox angle. War isn't fair after all...
Not all countries desired war of course, some even tried to remain neutral, got strong-armed into participating by other nations, and when Priestess got wind of it, she personally beseeched the King and other high-ranking individuals to aid them. Some of her pleas were refused, but others, like Abbot, called for crusades to aid their fellow nations. Forcing other nations into a war they wanted nothing to do with, especially when the nations responsible for the duress was just cowardly, and none of them were going to stand for it.
Priestess and Abbot actually attended some crusades personally, and despite their combined and extreme power, they were only two people; they could only do so much by themselves, they had limits that demanded to be considered, and most of all...they couldn't be everywhere at once. When they were present, not only did the crusaders benefit from the pair's miracles, but their presence itself made them feel they couldn't lose. Unsurprisingly, the crusades had results, and even led the nations they opposed to their downfalls...but at a staggering cost. Hundreds of thousands dead, countless relics were lost or destroyed with their power being required to have weeks if not months of repair done to restore their usefulness and value, and years required to fully repair the damage done to the land, even with miracles and magic utilized to their fullest.
In her personal life, Priestess grew quite well over the years, in both physical and psychological stature. She wasn't was well-endowed as the Sword Maiden was, but regardless, she was no less beautiful. Her presence alone was enough to brighten a dull atmosphere, and rumors that weren't entire false circulated that her presence itself was divine. Some men even approached her with the hope of becoming enforcers for her, but not only were they not cut out for it, it was a secret to no one that they were simply looking to win her heart. Unsurprisingly, Priestess never lost her virginity during the entire decade, and while she did accept some people to become crusaders for her, she had to respectfully turn down more than she accepted.
As archbishop, Priestess was no worse than the Sword Maiden; everyone worshiped her just as much, she was just as fair, and her power spoke for itself. The memory of the Demon Lord's defeat was as fresh in everyone's mind as it was a decade prior. With Sword Mage and other people in her inner circle keeping her informed about the on-goings in the country, and even the rest of the world, making the best decisions possible wasn't too much trouble. At first however...Priestess struggled with making decisions based on principle rather than passion; she wanted everyone to benefit, but had to accept that wasn't always possible, and she relied on Ranger's input more often than she had any right to.
Sword Mage eventually set her straight with constant reminders of how there is nothing wrong with doing something unfair in one moment as long as you truthfully intend to make up for it in another, as well as sticking to his role as her enforcer and even getting enforcing her will on herself whenever she loses her nerve. Aside from his place at her side, he had his own role in the temple, which along other things, was to oversee the crusaders. Priestess' role was to oversee the cultural, political, and religious aspects of Water Town, just as Sword Maiden had before her, it was Sword Mage's job to oversee the rest of the city's matters, especially it's military.
In his personal life, he eventually became a Gold Rank himself, and took Noble Fencer as a wife and mother of his son, Noble Mage. Their little boy trained with the sword with both his parents, if he wasn't learning to control lightning like his mother could. He even learned the same lightning magic Storm Mage used to wield by following the Sky, Sea, and Fertility gods, and eventually the War God and Love Goddess, but never obtained any miracles beyond Smith, even though he could use it up to five times a day. The chance of him growing up fully to become like Ranger was unthinkable; Ranger was in a class by himself, and Noble Mage wasn't just too young, he was too kind and innocent to learn the War God's more brutal miracles.
Noble Fencer herself was as devoted to Priestess' cause as her husband was. She was as good a treasurer for her as ever, and even joined Sword Mage on a few quests, just for kicks. She started from Porcelain Rank of course, but she rose through the ranks reasonably quickly thanks to her new sword which went from being aluminum, which puzzled everyone who knew that fact, to being aluminum, steel, and silver thanks to some local alchemists. She also obtained a suit of light armor, and even an unfoldable shield like the one Warrior had. Sword Mage had an unfoldable shield of his own as well, and Noble Fencer even taught him her lightning spell. He wasn't as good with it as his wife was, but his space-enchanted sword let him be a master of close combat anyway, and Noble Fencer's sword wasn't given the same enchantment for safety reasons, so him being the close combat one of their pairing was a shoo-in.
The rest of Water Town's adventurers weren't much worse off; Rookie Warrior and Apprentice Cleric became Silver Ranks in no time, with their crusader comrades even following their lead when Sword Mage wasn't around. Heavy Warrior and Female Knight remained part of Priestess' crusaders, and their major role was of course, training them. Both pairs had their own children as well, with A.C. having two daughters, and Female Knight having a firstborn son and a daughter. Every now and then, both pairs had the same quest together to face the legion of warlocks and outlaws plaguing the country, and the women had moments where they simply used Empower on their husbands and watched the former master and student fight side by side as equals, which was as glorious as one would think.
Summoner and Female Summoner had their own band of demon hunters to lead with Summoner as the official leader, and his sister as his right hand. Despite her superior experience and power, her little brother was still the more compassionate one, and filling his sister's shoes heavily motivated him to improve his station. Everything worked out as well; Summoner occasionally asked for his sister's input, and definitely respected her superior prowess, but he was never lacking as a leader. Whenever his team encounters an issue, they all looked at it critically, put their heads together, and Summoner personally gave them a go-ahead on the best option.
However, the best option either turned out to not be a good option at all, or they were wrong; worst case scenario, someone lost their life in an accident, multiple crusaders were killed or crippled, or their foe got away. Summoner himself lost an arm that had to be artificially grown back by an alchemist and his sister was pierced through the intestine by an outlaw's pike. She claims she suffered from worse, but her blood poisoning spoke for itself and if it wasn't for Priestess herself healing her...she would have died.
Surprisingly, Assassin and Werewolf returned to Water Town, with their five children, and returned to their demon-hunting. Even their children were involved; according to Werewolf, hunting for outlaws, warlocks, and the like was good training for them, and there was no room for weakness in the pack. As fortune would have it, the pups were natural-born killers; even on their first quest, the pups managed to corner not one, but multiple outlaws and make meals out of them. Somehow, their parents kept their children from making a scene within Water Town's population, whether is was because they were just that good a parenting, or an inborn tendency for werewolves to listen to their superiors without question, no one knew, and anyone who managed to find out their secret didn't ask.
Guild Girl and Inspector both gave Summoner children as well, with Guild Girl turning out to have been pregnant with twin girls, and Inspector giving Summoner a single son a year later. With Female Summoner bringing her own children to Water Town to live with her brother, their children could play together like true cousins should. When word got out his three children had two mothers, most people gave Summoner a pass because he was a priest of the Love Goddess, but when he made it clear he married both his wives because he loved them both...it was decently controversial. Some people believed his teachings that love wasn't supposed to have limits, others looked down on him for supposedly dividing his love between two women, and others just left them be. No one was stupid enough to attack them verbally or non-verbally however, either out of fear, respect, or both.
All three of Summoner's children were interested in the art of summoning, but it didn't go further than that, mostly because Summoner never encouraged them to take it up. For the most part, Summoner just had the elementals make them things to play with, or alter their backyard to fit their mood, from using ice elementals to make snow and slides, to using earth elementals to make things to climb on, to using fire elementals to create explosions to amaze them, to using water elementals to clean and occasionally heal them when they hurt themselves. Ironically, Guild Girl's daughters weren't interested in her line of work, but Inspector's son was.
As for the two women themselves, Guild Girl remained a worker for the guild, as did Inspector, with the latter escalating her role in the church by healing people's bodies and minds more frequently, sometimes out on quests. She never became an official adventurer, but Summoner wasn't above summoning her to a battlefield to help out, not without her input of course. Her miracles became more powerful, and she could use them more frequently of course, to the point where Priestess considered making her a crusader, but Inspector's place wasn't on the front lines of battle under any circumstances. Guild Girl actually rose through the ranks of the guild and became one of the guild hall's managers, with her own staff to supervise, with her still being as hands-on as ever.
In the new frontier, Spearman and Witch gained significant wealth and prestige as the ones who led a large number of the expeditions to expand the country's territory. The pair actually took a page out of Heavy Warrior and Female Knight's books and trained a good number of adventurers, many of whom came with them on quests, and revered their leaders as the Silver Ranks they were. Spearman even returned Witch's interest and she had no less than three of his children, a twin girl and boy, and a single boy.
The three children grew up surrounded by the adventurer's life, from watching the training, trying to take part themselves and being held back by Witch, to asking her to train them in the spells she knew. Before long, they were all using staffs that let them use magic and melee attacks without too much trouble. Logically, none of them were allowed to go on major quests, or even minors ones until they were in their mid-teens, the age most people were considered adults.
They paid visits to Water Town on occasion, and ironically, the youngest of their sons was sweet on one of Guild Girl's twin daughters, so much so he could tell one twin apart from another when the other children struggled sometimes. Priestess herself had quests to give to the veterans, most of which involved something to do alongside Heavy Warrior and Female Knight for old time's sake. Together, the four were undefeatable; they were sometimes rivals in the past, but now they were expanding the country's horizon side by side. Working alongside Summoner's team was just unfair; he and Spearman buried the hatchet ages ago, but even with sparks flying between them on occasion, they pushed through it and completed even their most grueling quests within hours for the sake of expanding the country's borders.
Sage wandered the country as a lone agent, and occasional guide to other adventurers, both fresh and veteran alike. She even though some magic-users some of her tricks, which included how to focus magic as effectively as possible, but never taught her more high-end spells, especially Fusion. Her Gold Rank continued to be well-deserved over the course of her travels as well, since she was responsible for single-handedly wiping out some of the strongest and most remote warlock covens. When she could, she went to the Sage's Academy to share her input with the masters there, and advised them in matters that concerned the frontlines, as well as the rest of the country she explored, and even their political agenda to a degree.
Sword Saint never left the adventurer's life, although she did take quite a bit of time off, she still kept her taste for the thrill of battle, pride in her skills, the typical wanderlust, and especially the salvation of those she could help. Sometimes she encountered, or was directly visited by Elder Revenant, who had completely turned his back on the Death God and embraced his new life...as an official adventurer. He started from Porcelain Rank, and despite his incredible power, he never used it unless he absolutely had to; he never even harvested any souls despite the temptation to do so, and the siege of the goblins' citadel proved his powers were limited anyway. As a direct consequence, he rose through the ranks just like everyone else did, and became Silver Rank within a year. His immortality was also waned as his age showed like everyone else's would as the years went by. However...when he embraced his life fully, he settled down with Sword Saint and even married and had a child with her.
As for the Hero herself, she retired from the life of an adventurer after she returned to the capital. As much as she loved being the tip of the people's spear, being among them and smelling the roses was something she desperately needed, and wasn't even aware of it. She even locked her sword in her house's basement under lock and key so no thief could find it. The whole time, she had hoped she had done enough to keep the country and the rest of the world peaceful...she was dead wrong; within a year, she had heard of the terrible doings on the front lines, and took it upon herself to go there and stop as much of the bleeding as she could while ironically spilling gallons of their enemies' blood, with and without her friends.
The rest of the team had their own lives to live; GS actually became a landlord of the farms his and Cow Girl's fortress oversaw, and she bared him a single son: Cow Boy. He was the spitting image of his mother, with the same childlike face and hair color, but his father's blood-red eyes. Along with his parents, he gave the farmers a hand with their produce at first, but after GS took the initiative and solved problems for the farmer that went above and beyond the call of duty, such as figuring out ways to improve the livestock's quality of life, how to upgrade the buildings' hygiene, structure, and even storage space, and even pulling some strings with the mages of the oceanic city, he was deemed fit to be a landlord.
None of that changed a thing aside from the family having to keep some officials happy with paperwork, and the occasional visitor however. They were just as hands-on with the farmers' homes and businesses as ever when they needed to be. Cow Girl in particular used her clone spell to great effect either by managing their home, getting their paperwork in order faster with more hands, and...behind closed doors with GS when night fell.
Through it all, Ranger's horse continued to live with GS' family, with frequent visits from Ranger's own family, or when he was alone. One time he came back to find that his horse had made herself a stallion to have a family with. Cow Boy always stuck to Ranger's side when he visited so he could teach the boy a thing or two about how to treat a horse; maybe he could ride the young horse someday like Ranger rode it's mother. The horse's armor was stored away, not never sold or forgotten; it wasn't needed except for very rare occasions when outlaws threatened the place in one way or another, and GS rode the horse into battle to take care of them with Cow Girl on foot sniping or using her armor to keep up with him.
Ranger's plan to have contact with every person in power he knew of was effective, but far easier said than done. Not only were there too many fronts to cover, but keeping everyone in the loop was a chore, even for them. The elf queen had her own people to look after since their own military tried to stage a coup d'etat and was only stopped thanks to the team, the lizard people actually had more children per family to replenish their numbers since their outcast uprising, and that was only their population problem. The dwarves were more concerned with amassing wealth and military power than repairing damage...which the elves in particular found pretty suspect to say the least. It was no secret the two peoples were at odds, and it was greatly feared that a civil war would add to the carnage , but thankfully, no one was foolish enough to provoke one side into taking actions, and those who...somehow, thought it was a good idea were dealt with before any real harm could be done.
Abbot, the new pope, fit into his role with a decent amount of friction based on how he became pope so quickly, but with Priestess and even Sword Maiden pulling strings whenever possible, no one was able to challenge him too seriously. As for his role itself, he did everything he could to ease the political pressure the team had to deal with, from insisting that certain elements be used in certain ways, to commanding certain people to aid the team's agenda, to doing so in person, to letting them know what they could do. The miracle of Vision was especially beneficial, considering how much ground there was to cover.
Even H.E. Druid and D.R. were of use to the cause. As the princess and sister to the elf queen, H.E. Druid was finally able to take her focus away from wiping out the goblins, to carrying out her older sister's will, and enforcing her own of course, which was always for the sake of progress. D.R. himself became an ambassador for Her Majesty for the dwarven kingdom. They were not pleased that a fellow dwarf was an ambassador for the elves, especially since he was a demon hunter, and husband to the elven princess, but he made it clear that his intentions were for everyone's benefit, and...in his particular brand of wisdom, he simply stated that he knew both the elves' and the dwarves' secrets, and he alone held the key to their people's futures. He wasn't bluffing either; in confidence, he told his wife everything he felt comfortable with sharing when they were alone, and that's taking into account the elves' superior hearing.
Somehow, D.R. was able to kept up his demon hunting with H.E. Druid getting involved, and ironically, they discovered a way to give D.R. the same longevity that elves possess with the demons' tongue being used on the two of them. However...there was a great deal of alchemy and purification to be done; the demons' tongue was not a holy one, and without pacification, their problems will have multiplied severely. Luckily, all of the proper care was taken, so despite the fear and uncertainty, it was a success.
Eventually, even D.R. and H.E. Druid had a daughter...one of the only hybrids between elves and dwarves that ever existed. Both the dwarves and elves were torn between seeing her as the perfect sign that the elves and dwarves were or at least could be on good terms, and others saw her as an abomination that should not even exist. Ultimately, whenever their daughter faced any discrimination, her parents, and especially her aunt, the elf queen, stepped in and either condemned those who shunned her, or glorified her as the living symbol she was. As the elf-dwarf hybrid girl grew, she went from a sensitive child who hated the idea of being such an outcast, to someone who returned the hatred she received, to a preteen girl who picked up the same pose and composure of her millennia-old mother and aunt, as well as the attitude of her father that fell in line with those who believed that if others don't see your redeeming values and only focus on your negatives, it's their problem not yours.
Lizard Priest was always involved in his people's affairs as an actual priest, but his people could do little for the outside world. They were too busy rebuilding their own homes, and even changing their lifestyles. The cheese that Cow Girl gifted to his people inspired them to finally herd and raise cattle themselves, and even cease their hunter-gatherer lifestyle and generalize agriculture...to an extent. There were plenty of cases were farming was either not possible, or not entirely acceptable, which did make sense, not only because of the drastic change, but also because of how some foods and other goods could not be obtained via farming. Nevertheless, Lizard Priest was a key lifeline between the political ears of his people and that of the rest of the world.
Keeping things calm wasn't easy for the team; nevermind how politics took getting used to, nevermind how much ground they had to cover, nevermind how not everyone agreed with their agenda...but balancing everything with their family lives was insufferable. Family came first before everything, but the fear that the team's political agenda would clash with their family lives lingered longer than it had any right to, whether it was founded or not. It was cleaner and less heartbreaking than fighting goblins all the time, but that only went so far.
Thankfully things did get easier in their family lives, especially when their children became old enough to occupy each other, but at a minor but attention-grabbing price. Everyone neglected their plan altogether and lost precious time they could have spent on their plan, despite how well that time was spent, no one felt like there was no right decision to make. Everyone made due however; their loss was no worse than the country's, and they made up for lost time in every way they could, from taking advantage of the lulls in the war to spending time together and reliving the days they fought the goblins side by side, to celebrating anniversaries and birthdays, to simply training people, to having duels with each other, some of which were encompassed entire swaths of spare land with them throwing miracles and magic into their matches.
Warrior and Wizard in particular was focused on training people; since Warrior was eventually made an official officer in the royal army, his role was focused heavily on making sure the soldiers were as prepared as possible. Wizard's role as one of the leaders of the army's mage division wasn't much different either, and with countless graduates from the Sage's Academy benefiting from the new policies and standards, there was little to compete with outside of the battlefield. Warrior and Wizard both had enchanted weapons and armor became standard-issue for most of the troops...when they were deemed ready to receive them. In-turn, this inspired many troops to pull their weight, and possibly more; there was no one who did not wish to obtain equipment that pushed their physical and even mental limits.
Having the students go beyond their limits without equipment was decently easy and effective as well, especially considering how many dozens there were. Years ago, training this many people would have been unthinkable, but thanks to Wizard and her experience with spending over a year training people, the adjustments to the policies were obvious. The ways to explain higher-level spells and methods were better-know, the skill required to use each spell was slightly lowered, as was the level of advancement one needed to learn each spells. The methods of monitoring progress were more advanced, and the standards especially were raised. Wizard even hand-picked people to help her with creating the enchanted equipment, and the scrolls she discovered from the spire at the occupation of Water Town drastically helped the process of enchanting items en masse.
Unsurprisingly, they didn't have to enforce this on their own; Wizard's brother, and Rhea Fighter were directly involved themselves. Rhea Fighter in particular aided Warrior in training the troops and adventurers who to use weapons properly, and even some unarmed skills if anyone desired. Wizard's brother was involved in the political aspect of his sister's job, but he was mostly the one who kept her in the loop in regards to the training results themselves. As a consequence of those results, Rhea Fighter was unintentionally an advocate for rheas not being do devious afterall, a sharp contrast to the legacy left by the late Rhea Scout.
Wizard also classified certain spells to the highest-level mages, such as the clone spell, Fusion, the portal gems, the blessing part on Warrior's sword, and especially the power to morph armor and weapons with alchemy. That kind of power could be devastating if used in the wrong hands; the two even kept demonstrations to a minimum unless people were somehow proven to be trustworthy. These people were few and far between since that kind of power was what helped them become Platinum Ranks, and even the knowledge the power existed was kept a secret; there weren't even any records of it. Those who did know about it even accused them of being power-hoarders, and even though it was clarified that the power was too dangerous for most people, the results were mixed. Some believed the clarification, others just left it be, and others didn't believe them, or even demanded to be given the power, which in extreme cases, led to them being expelled or even beaten. Two Platinum Ranks made the perfect guards for the Sage Academy's secrets...
In their personal lives, Warrior and Wizard had a single daughter who grew into the spitting image of her father, but took after her mother in the arcane arts. Their little Warrior Girl took a page out of her parents' boss by training in both the martial and arcane arts since childhood, and even as she reached her preteens, she was outclassing most of the adventurers, who had just got started training in their mid-teens. At first, she was unfamiliar with the difficulties of her fellow students and even disrespected them because of their failures in areas she couldn't understand were hard for them. However, when she saw other people were impatient with their progress, or greedy with how far they wanted to go and tried stealing enchanted items before they were ready and were punished for it, she became downright sickened with them for stupidly wanting to go past their limits before they were ready. Her father actually challenged her personally...and didn't pull any punches either; if she was so great, then fighting a Platinum Rank should be easy for her.
The results were both explosive, painful, and necessary; Warrior never attacked his daughter full-force for every obvious reason in existence, but it was good for her to have been humbled. He even carefully picked the time and place so he wouldn't humiliate her in public, that wouldn't have been teaching her a lesson, let alone a simple punishment, that would have been cruelty. In the end, Warrior set the standard for what his daughter believed was greatness. From that point forward, she took the time to help her fellow students when she could get past their distaste for her. It filled both parents with pride to see their daughter try to atone for her arrogance towards her comrades
Wizard's brother and Rhea Fighter even married and had their own daughter, Half-Rhea Witch, who grew quite close to her cousin, and even warned her about the risk she was taking by looking down on her comrades. Her warnings fell on deaf ears however, but after being humbled by her father, Warrior Girl grew even closer to her cousin. People came from all over the capital to see H.R. Witch since rhea hybrids were pretty uncommon to say the least. She grew to be her mother's size when she reached her preteens, and it was estimated she'd grow even more in the years to come.
Ranger himself kept to the northern kingdom, with Fighter, their daughter, newly-born son, and even a second daughter born to the now-older parents. Thanks to the network Ranger and Priestess set up, the high king was kept informed about the on-goings of the country, and they were all informed about what was happening to the rest of the world. Fighter and especially Ranger, sometimes checked in with the others to see what he could do to aid their work. They were especially interested in Warrior and Wizard's set-up, and even received a decent amount of hero worship of their own, along with people practically begging to be trained by either of them.
Ranger was also torn about meeting with the King; he was mortally disgusted with him for essentially turning his back on the Sword Maiden, but at the same time, understood that there was little point making an enemy of him, especially since the goblins were extinct now, Cambion was keeping an eye on them in Hell, Sword Maiden was with Storm Mage in Heaven, happier than anyone could be on Earth, and they had a network of people to keep up with. Despite all of it, it took him almost a month before he got up the nerve to approach His Majesty.
When he did however, the first person he met with the Princess GS rescued from being sacrificed, and when she learned who Ranger was...she was beside herself with excitement. She heard of how he led his team to fight with GS against the very creatures she was nearly killed by, and how he killed the vampire queen after leading the siege of her fortress up north. She even asked to see his children when she could, and eventually her wish was fulfilled, but not until they grew up and got to see an actual princess in the flesh.
Ironically, the person Ranger came to see interrupted their fun after it was over...and Ranger's mood in particular was soured. Despite being of a higher rank than the Princess, whom Ranger showed respect to, if Fighter was not there to distract Ranger's fury, he probably would have spoke to the King through his teeth instead of with proper speech. Their meeting itself was surprisingly pleasant; the King agreed that keeping in-touch with everyone who was anyone in the country was the wisest action by far, and he practically ordered Ranger to go through with it. Ranger's loyalty to him was asked about, but Ranger simply made it clear his loyalty was to the entire world, not just a single person, or country.
Fighter herself actually shared her teachings with her children as they grew, if not the elements used for combat, then her katas and philosophy she picked up from both her father and her husband, both of whom she loved as much as her children. On occasion she traveled with Ranger to the oceanic city to help Master Fighter as an official assistance, and even took it over when he passed away. Eventually, her ambition and her opportunities grew and she had similar dojos opened wherever she could...although it was somewhat unnecessary considering the guild halls throughout the country had like-minded people like her who fought with their bodies themselves and trained on their own terms.
Her most successful place to run outside of the oceanic city was in the north, not far from where she and her family lived. At first, it was somewhat strange for the northern people to have a style so alien to their own be practiced in their land, but now was a time for adaptation, and some people added her teachings to flavor their own styles, with marvelous results. Ranger also took part in these lessons, sometimes as a teacher, sometimes as a so-called guest appearance.
Ranger and Fighter also occasionally fought each other...and they never lost their spark over the years. Multiple matches ended behind closed doors, and even though they never truly needed the skills themselves, it was better than letting them go to waste. Besides, those who master a weapon, and their bodies together are much better than those who only master one of either. Neither of them went by without training people with weapons either; despite magic not being either of their strong points, they did teach utility spells like Life Sight, or Repair. Fighter eventually taught people about their chakras...on occasion, and when people believed her. Granted she only taught her most loyal students, but still, the ability made quite a difference in people's lives, and on quests.
Ranger's parents kept in touch with their son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren as well, with both of them taking a more active role in the training system then ever. Ranger soon wasn't the only one who had his and GS' skillset either; scores of unconventional warfare specialists flooded the armies of the union between different peoples. Even GS trained some people every now and then when he could, and Cow Girl was also able to show people a thing or two. The two grandparents spent as much time as they could with their three grandchildren as well. Unfortunately, it didn't last for too long; Ranger's mother passed away, and his father died from a sickness months later. The sour irony is that Ranger's mother could have easily made a cure for his sickness was lost on no one.
Unsurprisingly, Ranger was devastated by the loss of his parents...but at least he and Fighter had something else in common, and he did wasn't surprised by the fact they lived lives as rich and long as theirs were. He even went to the Ether Gazer beneath the Temple of Law to see them on occasion, and swore right to their faces that he would not stop until he passed on what they gave him to as many people as he could. Knowing Ranger...he and Fighter would continue training people until they were even older.
Ranger and Fighter's children were never interested in the adventurer's life at first, aside from being on imaginary adventures in the forest with one or both parents. Both of their teachings never went past their three children either; both of them were far more analytical than most children, and more disciplined as well. They kept the same innocence one would expect from children, but nothing would stop their fresh, flexible minds from growing too attached to anything beyond hope of it being changed on a whim. Eventually, as predicted, both of Ranger and Fighter's oldest children wanted to get involved in their parents' work, with the youngest remaining too young for their work.
Their firstborn daughter, who spent her tempest of an infancy inspiring her parents to finish the war, grew up in her father's image, and even gravitated towards his skillset more than her mother's despite them having the same capacity for love as a concept. Their daughter, Ranger Girl, learned the trade as well as her father did despite having less time to grow into it. She hunted and fished with a crossbow, she learned to throw knives, and axes, she even learned various mixtures from what little Ranger picked up from potion-brewing.
Their secondborn son, Fighter Boy, picked up his mother's side of the spectrum. He learned the same unarmed skills his mother learned, and thanks to the passion and ambition he picked up from his father, he became stronger than either of his parents did at his age. He knew advanced moves and acrobatics by the time he was in his preteens, but the most advanced moves, like throwing multiple kicks while in mid-air was still above his paygrade.
Unfortunately, he also picked up his father's aggression, as well as his desire for power. Granted he had the same desire to use it for good, but lust and wrath were slippery slopes, and thanks to years of first-hand experience, both parents knew that keenly, and as such were well-prepared. Ranger made it clear that wrath itself was a weapon and did not care what it hit, including the user. He even tested his son's anger by challenging him to hit him, and making him fail miserably. Most of the time he succeeded in making his son lose his temper and charge at him, but eventually, Fighter Boy took his father's advise to heart and learned to accept that what he was angry about was something he couldn't change, and that it was wiser to take steps to prevent things from happening in the future rather than be needlessly displeased over something that already happened.
Their third child was of course too young to be an an adventurer, and never even cared too much for becoming one. He never had become one however; her parents and siblings loved him with all their hearts. Her innocence even kept her older brother's temper in check; he actually made her cry because of an outburst...and he was so guilty he insisted on comforting her himself. At first, she wanted nothing to do with him, but overtime, she accepted his apology. Even though her desire to become an adventurer never came, the decade they spent together was brightened all the more by her presence alone; she was a constant reminder of how much their family grew.
After the decade was over however...Fighter became pregnant with their fourth child...
Everyone's children grew up miles upon miles apart, but thanks to the gateway network Wizard set up, the children could meet up and play or train together. Ranger Girl and Warrior Girl had so many matches together their fathers lost count, Fighter Boy had an equal amount of spats with her, and even a somewhat-friendly rivalry, and Cow Boy even developed a crush on Ranger Girl. Ranger and Fighter both noticed this, and when they were alone, she noted how GS and Cow Girl had the same dynamic as kids, and if they grew up to become parents, then Ranger and GS' bloodlines will have mixed. Ranger also noted that their son and Warrior Girl warmed up overtime despite hating each other at first, and if they have their own children Fighter and Warrior's bloodlines will have mixed, along with Wizard's as well.
Sword Maiden and Storm Mage occasionally visited the team, and especially the Summoner siblings, but for obvious reasons, it was never once public. When their children got older, they got to meet the Sword Maiden in person...and were completely awe-struck by the angelic woman. For the most part, Sword Maiden never did anything aside from see the family she was pleased beyond words to see grow and mature as much as it did. Outside of that, she gave bits and pieces of advice to Priestess on how to be an archbishop under uncertain times, which for the most part was to remind her of how she was surrounded by people she could trust, which was without question the best position she could be it.
Even Cambion was of direct use; Storm Mage told Summoner that it was safe to use Hell Rifts for transportation now that Hell was under Cambion's iron-fisted rule, and although it was understandably awkward for Summoner to accept help from his brother's killer, he could see the use such an ability could give...and he was right. There were many times Summoner or Female Summoner used a Hell Rift to enter Hell and come out in their destination, saving countless hours in travel time.
Eventually, both summoners met Cambion himself...and he was neither pleased nor displeased to see his human visitors. They could not say the same however; Summoner was still tense from how the murderer of his brother got off the hook, even if Sword Maiden herself forgave him and even encouraged him to rise to power like this, and Female Summoner was awe-struck to be in the presence of someone who was now even stronger than the Demon Lord. Be that as it may however, neither could deny that Cambion has proven his honesty and desire to aid the world for years at this point, and even if their desire for revenge was justified, neither of them were strong enough to defeat him, even if they summoned a legion of World Spawns and drained every ounce of their power.
After the decade was over, there was a time of relative peace and quiet, but there was no way things would not become turbulent again. Until that time however, the family composed of multiple different teams would have to watch over their homes, and continue to be the heart and soul of the country. No rest was too long, no corner was cut, no danger was too great, no coin wasn't spent, every person received what they were owed.
Only time and fate could tell what was in store for everyone...
And with that I-can't-believe-it's-not-dramatic ending...I think I'm done. I've covered virtually everything I planned to, or think deserves to be covered. If there's anything I can do to extend this two-parter, I legitimately cannot think of it, like I said before, I cannot think of a single thing that could be done in a 3rd part, because without the goblins, this isn't even Goblin Slayer anymore. Besides...not that many people are invested in this story (at the time I'm writing this) and I know some people probably think it was probably too much, but...for those of you who think that, please keep in mind why I'm writing this...online novel so to speak.
Well...there is one thing, but it basically has the kids get ambitions about fighting in rings around the country for glory rather than for the sake of the world, and of course bonding and socializing along the way...but I have SERIOUSLY mixed feelings about that, so...it's not an official part of the story. Another thing I could do as a possible sequel to this is have Ranger raise his children on a make-believe quest that turns into a real one, but then things pick up to the point where the apocalypse itself threatens the world...but that's insane; the team already has a ridiculous amount of claims to fame as it is.
As for Ranger himself...even though he's the main focus, I only focused on him so much because as a wise man said: he's the missing piece, and I agree with that sentiment. Not as his creator, but as a human being, I must thank him for leading the Team to the glory they richly deserve, and I do not care that he's not real; his impact is VERY real.
Anyway, thank you all for following the Team on this, the journey that should have been, and hopefully in the hearts of quite a few people is, the actual thing. Let this be the final nail in the goblins' coffin, and a cautionary tale to anyone who wants to do no better than they did...for the eyes of the Ranger are upon you.
Also...I'd like to dedicate the song "Immortalized" by Disturbed to the team, because I cannot think of a better one to fit the bill, and I've tried.
So...with that last bit of tribute, I've got other stories to cover. This has been GLG-3883, and I wish you all well. Over, out, and away...
