Venomous Goblin Slayer

Author Note: This has Story potential; I already have an arc to take it to even after the movie/OVA. Love some feedback from it.

Shink!

A tip of a spear went through the heart of a dead goblin, as Goblin Slayer brought it back up, as he began to search for other corpses.

The battle against the Goblin Lord was only just a few hours ago. The fight was quick but intense for all parties involved; from rookies and veterans alike. Even the Goblin Lord was a rough match for the Slayer but not impossible even if he also fought the goblins from the Lord's base before confronting him. If it wasn't for Priestess he would had died.

After returning from the celebration, and with a promise from the guild that they would dispatch a group to come tomorrow to collect the corpses, something which Uncle was grateful for. After returning to the farm, Goblin Slayer told his childhood friend Cowgirl he would stay out for a while longer. She insisted the he should rest, but he countered by saying some of the goblins could still be clinging to life out there and waiting for an opportunity to escape.

Knowing how he acts and his stubbornness, Cowgirl relented. "Alright but, promise if there is any danger, you won't push yourself to far, you still have a broken arm. Okay?"

"Alright." He promised. When she was safely inside, he went to get his homemade spear from his shed and began his long search and destroy through the grassland where the battle took place. He remembered everyone's battle and where they said to have fought, he went around and stabbed all he found thought the heart, counting along the way and remembering their placement.

While he was doing this, he was recounting the luck he had for having many adventurers from the guild willing to help him, even if was for a profit of one gold coin per goblin. Especially with the party he had formed a team with. He would uphold his own promise to go on, what High Elf Archer would say: 'A real adventure'.

FWOOSH!

"Hmm?" Goblin Slayer paused in his work; from a sound he has never heard before. It didn't come from around him or in the forest, but above him?

He looked up to the dark cloudy sky, trying to find the source. Everything looked fine until he spotted a difference, there was something from his first sweep he mistaken as a star was getting bigger by the moment, its color becoming brighter, as he could just make out a trail of smoke trailing after it.

BOOM!

Just as quick as it came, the meteoroid flew above his head and crashed somewhere into the forest.

From where Goblin Slayer was, if anyone from town had saw it, they probably mistaken it with a shooting star, and nobody would know of its whereabouts. He decided to investigate. If he was anyone else, they would rush back to the guild and get a small party to help search. However, the fallen rock could had came from green moon, the goblin's home world; it could be something that can revive goblins, or maybe another portal to help bring in reinforcement.

It was highly unlikely, but still a probability, and that is what Goblin Slayer despises. Goblins are incompetent, not stupid.

Armed with only his spear and his shield, Goblin Slayer slowly made his way into the woods, trying to pin-point exactly where the rock would have ended landing. He knew he was getting closer when he started smelling smoke and the sound of crackling fire. As he got closer, he found burnt and uprooted trees, and a trail of uphill dirt that had been dragged b the rock's landing. He began to inspect the small crater and object inside.

It was still glowing red from the heat it encounter, its size was roughly the same as a wheel of cheese, but the most worrying thing is that it had two puncture openings, not from the outside, but in.

Rustle

"!?"

Goblin Slayer whirled around his eye blazing red, trying to pin-point the source of that sound. He started to think. "The rock itself is small, which means whatever was inside was either even smaller or compacted itself to be that size for easier travel."

Could've goblins found a way to travel to fit into even smaller places and are traveling from the green moon to here?

If it is that small, it should be somewhere on the ground. It wasn't easy; being that it was in the middle of the night, and he had no torch to light his way, until he spotted something. He wouldn't have seen it if it wasn't for the help of the moonlight. It looked like a black sludge, no bigger then his hand, he almost mistaken it for goblin blood. But, after his 2 years of slaying them and his training from his mentor, he developed a sixth sense for being spied on. At being looked at like easy prey.

The black sludge shivered slightly.

Goblin Slayer raised his guard, his spear ready. "Are you a goblin?"

It lunged.

oOoOoOo

It was a new day for the adventures in the guild. Everyone was paid one gold coin per goblin for a job well down last night when they defeated the Goblin Lord's army. Many had a new appreciation for the work Goblin Slayer has committed himself too, and a heathy fear of goblins and no longer underestimated them.

There were fewer people then usual, due to the binge of ale many of them had consumed in celebration.

"Uugghh."

Especially High Elf Archer.

"Oh, cheer up long ears." Chuckled Dwarf Shaman as he poured himself a drink. "You only have yourself to blame for drinking yourself into a stupor and forgetting what Breadcutter's face looked like."

"I agree. Not remembering the facial features of that of Sir Goblin Slayer; especially as it is a very rare occurrence, is indeed a tragedy." Explained Lizard Priest.

"Gimmie a break Dwarf. How was l suppose that Orcbolg was going to show his face to everyone in the guild? I doubt anybody did before they got plastered. I gather the only people that even do remember his face are the young ones, Guild Girl and Priestess." Giving a snide look to said girl, getting a meek smile back. Before, turning to the front desk to see Guild Girl, looking much more happy and relax, despite staying up late last night, helping other adventurers make sure they had rooms to sleep.

Looked like even Spearman still had some lingering effects of his drinking, if his head laying face-down on the table was any indication, while his partner seemed perfectly fine.

"Do you think Goblin Slayer will show up today?" Asked Priestess.

High Elf snorted. "Knowing that guy, the only way to stop him from coming here would be if he broke both his legs, besides, theirs no way Guild Girl will let him go anywhere with his arm in a sling." As soon as she finished her sentence, the guild' front door opened and soon after silence.

For the person who just showed up was Goblin Slayer, however he looked different.

His old silver beaten armor, one that he had used for years, now looked brand new and polished that it shined in the light. The color is what threw them off the most; was that his armor was all black that it would be unseen in the night, even his small round shield was the same. The fur lining around his neck was a darker grey, and the red cloth the color of blood. There was some minor new additions however; there were two symmetrical red lines, starting from his breastplate and going down to the lower part of his armor near his navel. The last new addition was a small red sword facing down, with two smaller swords on each side pointing slightly inwards.

For all who thought Goblin Slayer looked like living armor or an Undead before, this only shook them up even more.

He hardly made any noise as he made his way to the quest board, looking it before picking one up and making his way towards the reception desk and to Guild Girl.

"Any Goblins?"

The sound of his voice snap her out of her stupor. "O-oh, um no. It seems that the Goblin Lord from yesterday rounded up all the goblins within the area and drafted them into its army. No new goblins have tried to claim any places nearby."

"I see. Then I'll take this one" He declared, handing her the quest he had taken from the board.

Guild Girl, and the rest of the guild were quite curious about what kind a quest other then goblins would peak his interest. As Guild Girl looked over it, her eyes widen. "A-a Manticore ?!"

The guild was once again silent. A manticore was no joke; it had three different ways of attacking, using either its mighty jaw that can lock on command, sharpen claws that can pierce through shields, and a spiked tail then can feel like your being struck by galloping horses. Though large, its special tee is in stealth, a night predator by design with night vision, wings allowing it to fly for extra maneuverability.

"Yes. The quest states its been stealing livestock in one village, even going so far as killing and eating three villagers. I'll go there and kill it."

"I'm sorry Goblin Slayer, but there's no way I'm allowing you on a quest with only one-"

He interrupted her by raising his left arm, the arm that was supposed to be broken in a sling, slowly rotating it for her to see. "Its not broken."

That caught Guild girl off-guard, she could have sworn he broken it yesterday fighting the Goblin Lord. "A-are you sure?"

"Yes."

She looked at him curiously but relented. He must have gone to a healer before hand. "Alright." Stamping it for approval, before handing back to him.

It was at this moment that the rest of his party showed up behind him.

"I am very pleased to see you well Sir Goblin Slayer, and to have you grace us with such a set of polished armor." Remarked Lizard Priest.

"He right Breadcutter. I've never seen such armor this shade before, it almost looks like it could take an attack of an Ogre." Praised Dwarf Shaman.

"Is that so?"

"So, your really taking an manticore quest?" Asked the curious Priestess.

"Yes."

That got a smile from Elf Archer, finally a real adventure. "Then what are we waiting for. Give us a second to get our stuff and-"

"No, I'm doing this one alone." Goblin Slayer declared. Making the rest of his party freeze.

"What?" The quiet voice of Priestess asked, looking like she was about to cry, getting Goblin Slayer to turn his attention to her. Making him realized he had to give them more information or be haggled for answers.

"I'm not going on this quest to have an adventure." He said.

"So, why are you?" Asked the suspicious Archer, ears homing in on him.

"I'm going on this quest to…experiment." He decided on.

That brought a shiver down many of the adventures' spines. Most of heard stories of when Goblin Slayer was experimenting on how to kill goblins, mostly after killing them; gutting them open in broad daylight to find out how they function. The party that was with him at the time still had nightmares about it.

"Milord Goblin Slayer, does this experiment have anything to do with your fast recovery? Asked Lizard Priest.

"…Somewhat. I'm going to test myself and find some answer. When l do find them, I'll tell you. All of you."

"Do you promise?" Asked Priestess. She calmed down considerably now that he explained himself and wasn't leaving her behind, he was slowly getting better with interacting with people.

"I promise." He then made his way to the door to depart.

"Something wrong Elf." Dwarf Shaman asked, once Goblin Slayer was gone. She had been strangling quiet after asking her question.

"Just now, when l was checking if Orcbolg was lying just, I was listening to his heartbeat and…"

"And what?"

"…Instead of just one, I heard two."

"…"

"…"

"Oh, your age must be getting to you long ears, if your starting to hear things now." Laughed the Shaman.

"I know what a heard Dwarf!" Blushed the embarrass Elf.

An hour after Goblin Slayer left. The doors opened again to reveal the pale looking Young Warrior and his party: Martial Artist, Dwarf Scout, Elf Priest and Beast Mage.

Guild Girl looked at them in surprise; they were supposed to be cleaning up the goblin corpses over the farm. A job like that would take about half the day. "You're back already?"

"Y-yeah. You can say we were highly motivated." Replied Young Warrior. Getting nods from his party members and curious looks from others.

"What happened out there?" Asked Elf Archer.

"Well, we arrived there when Goblin Slayer was just leaving with his friend. We chatted for a bit, and then we got ready to work. We agreed to get the champions first since they would take the most time. But, when we got there, somethings were…missing."

"What!? You mean some were still alive? Me and Witch both earn our coin!" Exclaimed Spearman, getting agreements from others who also fought last night.

"Oh no, there bodies were there, but not their heads. We checked the other smaller ones as well, and they all were missing them." Young Warrior explained quietly.

Silence.

"Well, it wouldn't be the first time he took the skulls of goblins to use for stuff." Rationalize Heavy Warrior.

"I would agree with you, but the markings around the neck didn't come from sword strikes but looked more like teeth marks."

The silence got heavier. Everyone highly doubted Goblin Slayer ate all the Goblins heads in a single night. Right?

"And what of that of the Goblin Lord Goblin Slayer and Priestess vanquished?" Asked Lizard Priest.

That brought uncomfortable looks to the party as they avoided eye contact with everyone.

"The only proof we were able to find that he was there, was a large puddle of blood and its clothing."

That brought unease looks to even Goblin Slayer's party. Just what exactly did he do?

oOoOoOo

Goblin Slayer was walking to his quest location after saying his goodbyes to Cowgirl. Getting unease looks from the townspeople before they recognized him.

"Do you think they suspect anything?"

"After Young Warriors' party comes back from the farm, they will. There smart. They'll probably do their own investigation and come to a conclusion that makes the most sense to them."

"Judging from your memories, they might think you've actually lost your mind."

"Is that so."

"I know so." The voice replied. "You're actually considering telling them about me?"

"Yes. They have fought with me against goblins and trusted my plans. Mostly. They were also willing to fight yesterday even if there wasn't a reward. To me, they have a right to know."

"Hmm, you are changing. So, this quest is to help you figure how my abilities and your limit?

"Yes. I wanted to see the results on goblins, but since there are none, this was the next best choice."

"Hehehehe. Your master training was brutally effective, and your emotions are unstable, yet pure. You are an interesting host and being Goblin Slayer."

"And you are an unknown."

"…"

"The sun absorbs black material faster then anything of color. My armor is getting to hot."

"Allow me."

Goblin Slayers' armor quiver slightly, then starting from his boots, the black material was peeling off him, revealing his original armor underneath like a second skin. The black sludge continued to travel upwards, while the upper part of his arms and helmet shriveled off and headed to his back and going into the narrow openings in his armor. As Goblin Slayer continued to walk forward like nothing was happening.

"We'll talk more tonight."