Goblin Slayer went about setting the arrows in the dirt, each of them lined up in a single row so he could easy access to them when the horde was present. While this was going on, Burglar went about marking spots with stones where pits would be dug and sharpening branches to use for the goblins to fall upon. Goblin Slayer once again collapsed to a knee as he clutched at his left shoulder, a hiss of pain escaping from within his helmet.

"Worthless pupil, you need to focus! I've trained you to endure more pain than this and I have no intention of digging these pits myself!" Burglar glared at the Goblin Slayer before throwing another rock at his helmet. "If you need to focus, then answer this riddle you fool! Voiceless it cries, Wingless flutters, toothless bites, mouthless mutters. What is the answer?"

Goblin Slayer's breathing was ragged as he struggled through the pain, even with all of this, his mind was focused on the riddle. Slowly he got back to his feet, his breathing slowing down once again, as he gave his head a quick shake to clear his mind.

"Wind…the answer is wind."

"Good." Burglar smirked as he dropped the next rock in his hand and continued to sharpen the stakes. "I've marked the spots where to start digging, get it done quickly before those little bastards get the drop on us."

"Yes sir." Goblin Slayer went to retrieve a shovel from the nearby wall of one of the houses.

"If you find yourself losing control again, I'll keep asking you with riddles and for everyone you get wrong, I'll be taking one of your children as my servants. You do have children don't you?"

"No."

"What? You damn fool, you're what 20…22 and you have no little monsters of your own? What do you plan to do if you fall and there are goblins left to kill?"

"My goal now, is to focus on the curse and the goblins. Everything else can wait." Goblin Slayer in his dispassionate tone began to tear at the ground with his shovel.

Burglar frowned as he stared at his former student before returning to sharpening the stakes for the pits.

"Do not lose sight of what you're fighting for boy…those back home you wish to protect. Remember, it is the little things that matter the most."

xxxx

In the time Goblin Slayer spent on the road and preparing for the impending goblin horde, his allies continued their work continuing up the tower within the mountain. They managed to deal with the Dreadnought but had to go through quite a number of spells to do so even using a couple healing spells for those who rushed in to close. For the party of adventurers, the task they had undertaken was proving to be a very arduous one. Three days had passed for the party and they had only cleared 18 of the 30 supposed floors. Each day they would rest their spell casters and the others could catch their breath, but they had not planned for a long stay in the Astral Plane. The food and water they carried, their normal travel rations, was all they brought with them and even after using them sparingly they would be out of food before they even reached the top.

"I think we have enough to go at least one more day but after that…it will become much more difficult." Priestess frowned as she looked over the few provision that remained.

"We unfortunately did not plan this excursion very well. If this was to be my last meal, I would much have preferred to have some cheese." Lizard Priest mused as a way to break the tension.

"We're it me…I think a big steak and strong beer would be just fine." Female Swordmaster smiled as she happily rested against the wall.

"That's why I always bring my fire wine with me lass…unfortunately I'm about to run out." Dwarf Shaman sighed as he gave his jug a shake to barely hear any of the fire win in it.

"Then when this is over…we should treat ourselves to a feast." High Elf Archer smiled as she imagined the food waiting for them back at the Guild.

"I'm sure even Goblin Slayer will be happy to join us." Half-Demon Thief smiled before she finally pushed herself up ready to continue the fight.

"We must steady ourselves." Sword Maiden walked toward the group of adventurers with sword and scales in hand. "Though the task ahead of us is difficult enough, we must push through the next twelve floors within a day."

"That is a lot of fighting to do, and no way of knowing what other monstrosities Slayer has planned for us. If we have to deal with any more of those Dreadnoughts, we might exhaust the last of our spells before we reach Slayer." Sage frowned as she thought about their actual chances ahead of them. "We beat the Demon Lord, traveled and fought in hell, and defeated the beast that fell from the stars and that was just when there were three of us. Why have these latest tasks become so difficult? Is the will of the gods or…is something else manipulating the field?"

"It can't be helped and I will need to limit myself to one remaining spell so that we are able to return to the Physical World." Sword Maiden sighed as she looked toward the group.

"What if I used Sun Burst…that should be enough to bring the whole mountain down." Hero was quick to give the suggestion that might lead to a faster resolution to their battle.

"That and bring down several tons of rock upon us. Even with Protection or my Stone Wall, there's no way we'd survive. No, there doesn't seem to be any short cut for us, we have to push through."

The group rushed for the next stairwell but upon reaching the next room, they found a lone figure standing in the center of the room. A humanoid being shrouded in dark red robes, his head like that of an octopus with four moving tentacles near its mouth.

"What in the world…his head is moving?" High Elf Archer looked on with disgust at the creature before her.

"Even the beasts of hell were not so…disgusting." Female Swordmaster cringed as she watched the four tentacles moving about its face.

"A Mind Flayer." Lich Queen hissed as she readied to attack all in hopes of aiding her Beloved.

"My Master bids thee welcome." The Mind Flayer's eyes began to glow as its slowly began to chant in a strange language. "Daggog avheuke worduk agh bi avo ukleep ukee avhe nighavmareuk avhaav reg lat dancfor alnej mausan puppeavuk."

"Black Speech…do not lock eyes with him!"

The Lich Queen tried to warn them, but it was too late, all who had locked eyes with him had fallen under his spell. For those caught in the spell, it was much like the Fear Lich Queen had used against them before but far more powerful. The adventurers were not simply experiencing their own personal fears but something far worse.

Female Swordmaster dropped her sword as she felt a terrible pain in her chest, she looked down to see a bulge under her skin moving as something was pushing to get out. The pain and fear overwhelmed her as she held her hands at her sides not sure of what she could do as she watched the object moving until she screamed as the object within exploded out of her body. The creature was unknown, but what she could see was a long green tentacle covered in her blood whipping around like a severed lizard's tail before wrapping around her neck to strangle her.

Sage felt a terrible pain in her eyes as blood ran down her face in the form of tears; she then collapsed to her hands and knees and began to cough violently. She felt as if she was on the verge of vomiting when she gave one final cough and out came bloody spit. She continued to cough as she felt something forcing itself out of her body and continued to vomit but to her horror what she was vomiting was her internal organs.

Hero found herself within the center of the room with a shackle around her wrists and ankles. She could not see any of the others only the Mind Flayer before her. The Mind Flayer gave a simple wave of his clawed hands and the shackles began to pull in different directions. Hero grunted from the initial pain but soon her grunts turned to cries then to screams as the chains continued to pull. She could feel the muscles straining and could feel them beings torn apart until finally her left arm was torn of it its socket. She cried out as tears ran down her face then felt her right leg being ripped off her body as well. It was only a matter of time before the next limb would be ripped off her body.

High Elf Archer dropped to her hands and knees, and using her right hand, reached for her dagger then brought the blade to her left arm. She found she could not control her body as she plunged her blade into the left hand and began to twist the blade. She grunted from the pain then saw her right arm tear out the blade and bring it towards her left arm and drug the blade across her skin, flaying the flesh off her body. Half-Demon Thief found she could not control her body as well as she took her daggers and pointed them inward and rammed them into her stomach and forced them in different directions. She gritted her teeth, blood running down the side of her face, as she then dropped her blades and reached into the bloody hole in her stomach and took hold of her innards and began to pull them out, a look of terror as she heard them splatter to the ground with a sickening sound.

Lizard Priest look down as his with horror as he saw the scales on his body fall like leaves on a tree. His body was beginning to rot and soon enough it wasn't just the scales that were falling but now large clumps of flesh dropping to the ground. He tried to take a step but then stumbled forward, he looked down and found his legs hand completely fallen apart, nothing remained but large clumps of flesh and bone. Dwarf Shaman watched as his right arm burst into flames, in a panic he shook his arm to try and douse the flames, then watched as his left arm also caught fire. He cried out as his entire body was consumed by the fire, the pain excruciating and no matter what he did he could not stop the flames. Priestess looked down to her right hand in horror as she watched it painfully swell until it finally exploded. She cried out as she looked down at the bloody stump but soon her eyes grew as wide as saucers as she saw the same thing happen to the rest of her right arm. Soon enough the same was happening to her entire body, little by little parts of body continue to swell up before exploding in a gory mess.

In reality, none of these events had actually occurred, the adventurers were still in the room unharmed and perfectly motionless. It had only been a few moments since the spell had been cats, but for those caught by the spell it would have felt like agonizing hours. The victims of the Mind Flayer would relive their terrors over and over until their minds eventually broke down and were easy to dominate. Lich Queen and Sword Maiden were the only one not affected by the spell, and just as Lich Queen prepared to attack when she saw several of the Gith rush forward to serve their master.

"We must break his control!"

"Then allow me to be of service. I cannot fall under any illusions that require me to see them." Sword Maiden raised her sword and scales to begin her offensive. "By the will of the Supreme God, Holiest of all, bathe this land in your radiant glow…Holy Light!"

A bright light flooded the room, the Mind Flayer and the Gith forced to cover their eyes as the light blinded them. With the light at her back, the Lich Queen was free to attack these wretched creatures that would stop her from saving Goblin Slayer. With a howl of fury, the Lich Queen transformed her body back to the imposing figure shrouded in darkness with a skeletal face and golden crown atop her head. The other adventurers immediately snapped out of their trance and collapsed to the ground, their bodies still trembling from the trauma they were forced to endure. The Mind Flayer was the first to recover his vision and looked up to see the tower figure of the Lich Queen glaring down at him with her glowing red eyes and large swords in her hands.

"I teach you insects what true fear is!" The Lich Queen growled in anger as she raised her swords to attack.

The Mind Flayer was momentarily frozen with fear as it saw this figure and that moment was enough for the Lich Queen to split him in two with her blades. The Lich Queen was far from finished as she vented her rage and slaughtered the stunned Gith only stopping when she saw nothing but horrid chunks of meat left behind. The Lich Queen turned her attention towards the others and saw Sword Maiden tending to the others in hopes of calming them down. Her swords vanished as she quickly returned to her more human form and rushed back to aid them as well.

"It's okay…you're safe now." Sword Maiden took hold of the trembling Priestess's hand in hers. "The spell has been removed. Whatever you saw was not real, only an illusion."

Many of the adventurers found themselves still looking down at their bodies, not sure if what they were seeing now was reality or another part of the illusion used by the Mind Flayer. High Elf Archer and Half-Demon Thief found they still could not pick themselves up from the floor when a shadow appeared over them. They looked up to see the Lich Queen calmly kneel down and place a hand on their shoulders.

"I know the spell was difficult for you, but we must steel ourselves or our quest to stop the Slayer and save Beloved will be for naught. Please…lend me your strength."

Little by Little the adventurers finally regain their senses and stood ready to tackle the next floor. They themselves knew they had wasted far too much time with this one Mind Flayer and there was no way of knowing just how many more awaited them.

"You and Lady Sword Maiden have our thanks…I would not wish that type of torture on even my most hated of enemies." Lizard Priest carefully looked over his hand and body just to verify that his body have not started to rot.

"Thank you." Half-Demon Thief nodded her head towards Lich Queen. "Never thought I'd be thanking you."

"How rude, even I am capable of some good." The Lich Queen was quick to offer a small smile. "I will aid as much as possible, but we must be wary of other Mind Flayers, they are the ones who have broken the wills of the Gith and turned them into mindless slaves or for food. None of you can afford that fate."

"You are correct, we all have much to do before our time comes." Hero was calm as she sheathed her sword then calmly placed a hand on his left arm before turning back toward the Lich Queen. "Thank you."

The Lich Queen was slightly surprised to hear the Hero thank her but calmly smiled and nodded back toward her. The adventurers knew what needed to be done and charged forward, they have to go much farther before they could take another breather, The Slayer was awaiting them atop this tower as well as the fate of Goblin Slayer.

xxxx

"One last one…A box without hinges, key or lid, yet golden treasure inside is hid…What is the answer?"

A bolt of lightning shot across the sky just as the rain began to fall, Goblin Slayer and Burglar looked toward the dark forest as the wind howled around them.

"An egg."

"Very good. Then again that was an easy one, I was feeling a bit sorry for you." Burglar sneered as examined Goblin Slayer then looked back at the forest. "Will you be able to manage?"

"There is great pain throughout my body, but I will find a way."

"Remember to focus, otherwise those who have gone to help you will have fought for nothing." Burglar then looked down towards his short sword and noticed the blue glow about the blade. "They're coming."

Goblin Slayer looked down towards his master and saw the blue glow about the blade, his master had told him long ago that it glowed whenever orcs or goblins were near.

"What is in my pocket?" Goblin Slayer murmured to himself as he waited for the first sight of the goblins.

"What's that boy?"

"The final riddle…it was not a riddle but a question. What have I got in my pocket? You never did tell me."

"Do you want to know?" Burglar smirked as he looked towards his pupil.

Goblin Slayer silently looked toward the forest, his eyes finally catching sight of something moving through the tall grass and even larger shapes within the tree line.

"No." Goblin Slayer was dispassionate in his replay as he took hold of his bow and the first arrow.

Burglar chuckled before turning his attention back to the tree line where he too could see movement even through the rain. Little by little the small creatures emerged, within their hands were clubs, axes and short swords, they wore no armor. Behind them were five hobgoblins, they too wore no armor, and each held a large weapon such as a club or stone ax. What was most troublesome was the final figure that followed behind them, he was a goblin like the others but was as tall as the hobgoblins and rather lean in his build. A strange red cloth covered his eyes and upon the cloth was an odd design of an eye drawn in the center.

"Shaman…and he's a wanderer." Goblin Slayer carefully examined the goblin shaman with staff in hand.

"He's an experienced one, survived enough battles to lead this horde…no telling what kind of magic he's capable of."

"He will need to be dealt with first." Goblin Slayer raised his bow and nocked an arrow to take down the shaman.

The goblin shaman frowned as it looked around the village, there was no sign of smoke from the houses or lights within, no visible sign of guards, it appeared as if the village had been deserted. Their previous attack was meant to test the defenses with just a handful of his horde and he had planned for them to act in an agitated state, but this scene before him was not right. Suddenly an arrow flew forward, it was on a direct path to pierce his head when the arrow suddenly arched and flew back toward the source. There was a metallic ping and a grunt from the one who fired the arrow, but this only brought a smile to the shaman's face.

"There are humans still here." The shaman raised his staff and gave a roar. "Slay the humans, take only the finest women for our stock, raise this village to the ground!"

The goblins roared as they charge through the field towards the nearby fence, completely unaware of the traps that were prepared for them.

"Missile Deflect…then he can't be taken down from afar. You alright boy?"

"Fine." Goblin Slayer had been struck in the right shoulder by the arrow, thankfully his armor had prevented him from taking any damage. "I'll slay him up close then."

"Don't get to cocky, I doubt he'll simply allow you to run up to him and slay him. Here they come, let's see if that Missile Deflect works on the small ones too."

The first few goblins leapt over the fence and immediately fell into the traps prepared for them. Six of the goblins screeched as the sharpened poles pierced through their bodies, their brothers were shocked by the sight and were easy prey for Goblin Slayer's arrows. Six more goblins fell as the thunder rolled in, arrows pierced through their skulls or chests, their small bodies splatting against the mud. The small goblins were in a state of confusion as they saw two figure charge forward from the village, those not fast enough were quickly dealt with as both figure went to work with their blades.

"Only two adventurers? These humans are more idiotic than I originally thought. Even if they slayed more than a dozen of my underlings, I have more to replace them." The goblin shaman smiled before once again roaring to the others. "Kill them, there are only two! Do not let them stop us!"

Bolstered by their leader, the goblins rushed in to avenge their fallen brothers and were cut down by the two adventurers. Goblin Slayer focused his sword and mace on the goblins who were foolish enough to charge him directly. Burglar was not far behind as he used his shirt sword to attack the goblins around him though there wasn't as much a difference in size between the two.

"Foolish goblins! I shall be the one to do the Stinging here!"

With blade in hand he cut through one goblin then turned and slashed through the next, but then there was a third goblin with a short sword. This goblin howled as he rushed in and plunged his sword into the rhea stomach pushing with all his might. The goblin's blade however could not pierce through Burglar's stomach, no matter how hard the goblin pushed the blade would not move any further. Burglar gasped at the initial sensation of the blade hitting his stomach, the growled as he used his own blade to decapitate his wound be assassin.

"Stupid goblin, no blade can pierce this mithril shirt!" Burglar sneered as he gave his chest a pat for beneath his clothing was a shirt of mithril given to him by a friend long ago.

Between the two of them and their traps, twenty of the goblins had been dealt with, but Goblin Slayer could see at least another dozen plus the five hobgoblins and the shaman to deal with. One of the hobgoblins rushed with club in hand, but Goblin Slayer easily sliced through his fingers forcing the hobgoblin to drop its weapon where he then swung his mace and connected with the Hob's head. With a sickening crunch, the hob fell over like a falling tree, and Goblin Slayer stood ready to face the next goblin.

"I don't think so boy."

A sudden flare of pain shot through Goblin Slayer's body as he dropped to a knee, his left shoulder was throbbing once again and before he could properly react, a bolt of lightning struck him. The shaman had been watching the battle with a sneer, if the goblins fell he could always replace them with captured females, he was bidding his time for the appropriate moment to attack the two adventurers and saw it the moment the armored figure dropped to the ground. He was not sure of the cause, but would not waste the opportunity given to him, with staff in hand he chanted the spell and cast a lightning bolt. The bolt of light struck Goblin Slayer's left shoulder and with a small explosion destroyed the armor plating, leather coating and chainmail in an instant. Blood freely spilled from his injured shoulder, Goblin Slayer threw his head back wanting to scream but gritted his teeth as he tried to deal with the pain, but soon a new pain overtook him. One of the hobgoblins rushed in while he was down and struck with his club hard enough to send the injured Goblin Slayer back a few feet. Goblin Slayer lay sprawled out in the mud as the rain beat down upon his body and blood ran from his injured left shoulder and from within his helmet.

xxxx

Slayer looked out from within his stronghold at the desolate land before him and the dark thunderous skies overhead. He could feel the time was close as hand that he would be free of this dreaded hellhole and would be free to conquer the physical realm. He looked down toward his left hand and saw it slowly phase in and out, the more it phased away the closer he was to taking control of the Goblin Slayer's physical body. He had not heard anything from the other Mindflayers, he could only speculate that they were still keeping the adventurers busy.

"It would be far better if they've already been dealt with, but I know this group far too well. The biggest concern is the Hero and that attack of hers."

Slayer's connection to Goblin Slayer meant he had access to all of the memories the adventurer had created over the past twenty years. He was well aware of the Hero's Sun Burst spell, one that had been reflected by the living Lich Queen and the destructive nature of the attack. The pool of resources also meant Slayer would have access to special knowledge that only Goblin Slayer would know.

"I have my own variations of his own attacks and items." Slayer chuckled as he looked toward his sides to see the mace and sword ready for his use. "Assuming they do make it this far, I'm prepared for them."

His eyes wandered to the dome like structure that covered his strong hold and then looked below upon the mountains with a fiendish smile beneath his helmet.

"Slayer!"

Slayer turned his head to see Lich Queen in her human guise followed by the other adventurers. The entire party looked exhausted, blood from the Gith and Mindflayers covered their clothing and for many their own weapons weighed heavily in their shaky hands.

"How impressive, you managed to deal with the Dreadnoughts and the Mindflayers, I have thought that surely one among you would have died. Goblin Slayer would have been so proud of all the struggle you went through."

"You…you are dying this day, you will not have Goblin Slayer!" Hero was confident as she raised her sword to attack. "Sun Burst!"

"You're a fool."

A bright light flooded the room as the stone around the adventurers began to crumble, this one attack would surely destroy the Slayer. As the light illuminated the room, the party could see three of the disgusting dreadnoughts clinging to the ceiling. The monstrous creatures released their claws and dropped to the floor, cracking the stone and attacking as a meat shield for Slayer. There was a thunderous explosion as the top of the mountain stronghold was blown apart, smoke chocked the scene leaving everyone unable to see.

"Did…did you get him?" Half-Demon Thief lowered her daggers as she struggled to look through the smoke.

The Hero had seen it right before the blast destroyed the room, the horrendous creatures that appeared before Slayer. As the smoke began to clear the party could make out the outline of a long figure, a final gust of wind blew away the remaining smoke and there stood Slayer unharmed, around him lay the remains of the Dreadnoughts.

"Damn it…those beasts…he used them as shields." Hero hissed as her final spell which had been meant for Slayer, was now wasted on those wretched monsters.

"My that was quite impressive, but you should know that I was prepared for your spells…he and I do share the same memory." Slayer chuckled as he tapped the right side of his helmet with his right index finger. "That also means I can recreate some of his more…unique thinking."

Slayer reached within his pouch and withdrew a rolled up paper scroll, for many of the adventurers this brought on confusion but for those who had been with Goblin Slayer this was cause for worry.

"Priestess hurry!" High Elf Archer looked toward Slayer with wide eyes.

"O Earth Mother, abounding in mercy, by the power of the land grant safety to we who are weak…Protection!"

Priestess cast protection just as Slayer unrolled the scroll, pointing it directly at the group of adventurers. A stream of black fluid flew forward striking the barrier with such force that it began to crack, many of the adventurers behind Priestess took a step back as they heard and saw the cracks forming in the barrier but Priestess stood her ground. The torrent of black liquid soon stopped and the exhausted Priestess finished her spell and collapsed to her knees within the black fluid.

"What…what was that?" Hero was completely surprised by the spell cast by Slayer.

"That was a gate scroll…Goblin Slayer would use them in dire emergencies." Priestess struggled to catch her breath as she used her sounding staff to get back to her feet. "That only leaves me with two spells left."

"Keen eyes young one, though I put my own variation as there isn't much water her for me to use, but there is plenty of darkness." Slayer tossed aside the smoldering scroll away then drew out both weapons.

"So you finally mean to fight us then you foul fiend." Lizard Priest tightened his grip on his blade within his right hand and the dragontooth catalysts in the other.

"Remember…I'm just buying time until he dies, shouldn't be long now that he's fighting the goblins." Slayer then pointed towards the sky with sword in hand. "Even I am not foolish enough to fight you all at once, so they'll keep you busy."

The group of adventurers looked upward to see a multitude of winged creatures flying overhead. Five of them were large dragons with Gith riding them, the other creatures were large bipedal with large bat-like wings attached to their backs. Dwarf Shaman then heard the sounds of something below them on the mountain and as he peered over the side the sight worried him. Climbing up the sides of the mountain were more of the gith and three more of the monstrous dreadnoughts, further below were the Mindflayers commanding the monsters.

"There's more of the ugly bastards climbing up the side!"

"I wanted to make sure that you all had plenty of playmates now…who feels like they can defeat me and save Goblin Slayer?" Slayer openly mocked the adventurers as he extended his arms outward daring them to attack.

"I'll take that challenge!" High Elf Archer let loose an arrow towards Slayer.

Hero and Lich Queen also charged forward with weapons drawn while the others went to fight against the winged creatures who swooped in for the kill. Slayer effortlessly struck the arrow out of the air with his sword then prepared to face the Hero and the Lich Queen. With a laugh he used his two weapons to keep the tired Hero and the Lich Queen busy as he could feel the Goblin Slayer was already in combat.

"Just need to keep them busy, my only real concern is the Lich. Like me she doesn't get tired in this realm, but….if I can kill her then I'm that much closer to claiming that physical body."

"The dragons are coming in!" Female Swordmaster tightened her grip on her sword as she watched the dragons and the winged creatures dive down towards them.

"O Earth Mother, abounding in mercy, grant your sacred light to we who are lost in darkness…Holy Light!"

The area was bathed in lights blinding the monsters above. Two of the dragons turned and crashed into each other as they tumbled towards the ground. High Elf Archer took aim to target the other dragons while they were distracted and fired arrow after arrow into their heads. Dwarf Shaman used one of his two remaining spells to fire a stone blast towards the other winged creatures overhead. While this was happening, the others attacked the Gith who climbed over the edge of the ruined mountain.

"By the will of the Supreme God, holiest of all, grant to us the speed and accuracy of your light…Arrow of Light!" Sword Maiden finished her evocation as she raised her sword and scales and slammed in upon the ground.

The moment Sword Maiden struck the ground, dozens of arrows made of light erupted from her swords and rained over the sides of the mountain easily piercing the bodies of the Gith and managed to knock one of the Dreadnoughts off the side.

"I'm…I'm down to my last spell, may the Supreme God see us through this task."

Slayer continued to battle the Hero and the Lich and laughed as he managed to knock back the Lich with a strike of his mace against her blades. He then turned his full attention towards the Hero and pressed the attack, the exhausted warrior having to stay on the defensive as she did her best to counter the strikes from Slayer. Slayer gave a mighty swing of his mace and knocked the Hero's sword back then slammed his shoulder into the young girl and knocked her to the ground.

"Time to finish you, my first step towards becoming a true God of Destruction!"

Slayer swung his sword but something stepped in front of the fallen Hero taking the blow. Lich Queen jumped in time to protect the Hero, taking a deep cut along her back. Slayer was shocked by this which allowed the Lich Queen to fire a few icicles from her hand at him, forcing him back a few steps.

"Damn you." Slayer grunted as he pulled the shards of ice out of his damaged body.

"You…you saved me." Hero was shocked by the Lich Queen's sudden actions.

"Indeed." Lich Queen hissed as she could feel the blood running down her back then smiled. "All the time I've spent with Beloved has made me soft…I even went and aided a former enemy."

"Thank you." Hero nodded as she slowly stood using her sword to support her.

Slayer looked at the bloody icicles he pulled from his body, he was still vulnerable until Goblin Slayer was dead or near dying. He then sensed Goblin Slayer in combat against the goblins in the Physical Realm and knew this was his chance.

"I don't think so boy." Slayer raised his hand towards the sky and clenched his fist.

A bolt of lightning shot across the sky and with it, Slayer began to laugh like a madman. The others all looked towards him as if he was mad, all but Lich Queen whose wound suddenly felt much worse and forced her to her knees. Even though Hero did not fully understand this she would not hesitate to strike the distracted Slayer. She charged forward and swung her sword, but watched as it passed through Slayer as though he were a plume of smoke. The others all saw this and watched as Hero tried twice more to cut the Slayer only for him to turn and strike her sword with his.

"What…I don't understand."

"Isn't it obvious fools…my consciousness is leaving this place because Goblin Slayer is dying!" Slayer continued to laugh as he looked toward his arms and watched as they began to fade in and out. "You've lost! Goblin Slayer will soon be dead and then…I will unleash hell upon the world!"

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay there, but I finally got out of my funk to finish this chapter.

Thus we come to the end of Howl of Vengeance and the legacy of Goblin Slayer for now…we begin the bloody reign of the Slayer!

Or is this the end?