Hello people and welcome back to Goblin Slayer: The Team Year 2. This is going to be an episode where Fighter gets a time in the spotlight all to herself. How cool is that? Aside from that, this part required me to go back to the drawing board in more ways than one. I'll explain later, for for now...let the show commence.
Review Response: Why wouldn't I update this? I didn't call this a passion project because I like the way it sounds/looks.
Oh jeez, if Storm Mage kills the god of Wisdom, he would be a complete, absolute, 100%, SHOO-IN for a Platinum Rank...
I might as well give the Gentle Fist a shout-out while I was at it with some other things, especially since Fighter is right up that alley.
Those ruins and the festival will speak for themselves...
On a cliff overlooking a clearing in a tropical forest, a man wearing a black and purple cloak with a hood covering his silver hair was watching some enslaved people dig out a small stone structure.
"As he strolls through the forest, his feet make tracks deeper than the seas. And his voice throughout the heavens is thunder, set to bring pleas." The man said dramatically as a rhea approached him from behind. "What is it now?"
"I bring news from Water Town my liege, the Temple of Law still stands. Not only did the ogre fall to a servant of the War God, but a revenant was also seen. I have reason to believe this servant is also the one who brought down the vampire queen. There is no way he will not be glorified for this." The rhea said.
"He did not act alone." The man said firmly.
"No one could do this alone." The rhea said.
"Do not talk to me like I am an ill-educated child!" the man snapped.
"M-my sincerest apologies my liege! What are my new orders?" The rhea asked.
"How comes the djinn, the weaver of inch, and measure. With a breadth of substance, to guilt a fissure. Send the Warlock to the ruins beyond the forest. I will speak with him there." The man said.
"At once my lord." The rhea said before leaving.
After lunch, Ranger and GS' teams went back to the exploration quest Ranger pulled GS' team away from, and he had to ask them to remind him where they were so he can send them there, and they all decided to go together. When they got there, they saw the beach houses both on, and beyond the beach itself.
"Wow..." Wizard breathed out as she looked over the primitive, yet decorative houses. Even from a distance they had a pretty simple appeal. Her, and the team's interest grew even more with the environment itself. Tropical trees galore, and some mountains in the distance made the place a prime getaway spot.
"Thinking about setting up a gateway here?" Warrior asked.
"Absolutely." Wizard said.
"Well, while you do that, we're going to check in with the Sword Maiden." Ranger said as he opened a second portal to her main chamber, and even though she wasn't there, they could either wait or ask around.
"Oh, before you go, take this." Wizard said before giving Ranger an event recall gem.
"Thanks." Ranger said before he and Fighter went through the portal, only to be ambushed by Cherub.
"Surprise!" Cherub said and the two snapped their heads up to him.
"Cherub, don't do that." Fighter said dryly and Cherub chuckled at her.
"Lady, the last few days have been pretty grimdark for me, so..." Cherub trailed off.
"Where's Her Grace?" Ranger asked.
"Getting some pain squeezed out of her by her protector." Cherub said simply.
"You mean...?" Fighter asked and Cherub nodded. "Well, good for her."
"Is he treating her well?" Ranger asked seriously.
"Arguably better than you treated her." Cherub said knowingly.
"Cherub! That's private..." Fighter exclaimed.
"Please, we all know how love works, and what goes on in this temple is a secret to no one in Heaven." Cherub said.
"We don't know- I mean need to know...what do you want with us?" Fighter asked after getting a grip.
"We still have a demon problem, and you two each have to save the day again. Yes, the others have their own task to do; I'll let them know later with...an anonymous tip to the Abbot." Cherub said.
"Right...well, what's on the list?" Fighter asked and Cherub opened a portal that reveal an image of an archdemon.
"This archdemon is rampaging through a series of small towns in the country's heartland , and he's making the people destroy their own homes, each other and themselves." Cherub said.
"What?" Fighter asked in horror.
"You dear girl will handle him, you Ranger are to look into a disaster in the oceanic city to the far west, and when you find out what happened, I'll wrap you back here so you can let the Sword Maiden know, then go get your team and stop it from happening again." Cherub said.
"Alright, send us to our missions." Ranger said.
"Uhh, say good-bye first." Cherub said with a raised eyebrow, then Ranger huffed in amusement, hugged Fighter, then they looked each other in the face.
"Good luck my dear." Ranger said.
"Wish that demon luck." Fighter said with confidence before kissing Ranger then going through the portal.
When Fighter got to her destination, she looked over the carnage, and her boil blooded with the idea that these people killed each other over was essentially nothing. How cowardly could an entity be to turn friends and family into mortal enemies? She then took a moment to get a grip before tuning into the world's power and sense an overwhelming demonic presence in the far distance, then she activated her armor, and ran off in that direction, through even more destroyed towns, jumping, and climbing over obstacles of various types. From destroyed or damaged buildings, to rock formations and trees, to having to jump over entire fields of debris.
When she got to her destination, she found yet another destroyed town...and this one looked freshly destroyed; unlike some of the others, the dead weren't decomposed and the blood was still red. She did her best to contain her rage, especially since this demon apparently thrived on it, but seeing so much at once was horrifying, and downright stupid. She then remembered what her husband said about hope, de-morphed her gauntlet, stroked her ring, smiled a bit, then re-morphed her gauntlet before steeling herself to find and stop this archdemon. She tuned into the world's energy again, and found the same signature. She wasn't going to lose it again! She sprinted full speed in that direction, and heard enraged yelling, crashing, and pained screams as she got close, she then climbed a tree and watched.
It was a complete, town-wide rampage; it was like Ranger's rage spell he cast on the goblins all over again, but this time, it was humans. Men, women, and even children were killing each other with weapons, or their bare hands, and even savaging the dead bodies after they were already dead. She then heard a booming laugh, and there was the archdemon, taller than any of the buildings, with four horns protruding out of it's head, and four clawed hands with dark red skin and fangs watching the massacre with glee.
"Yes! More bloodlust! More hatred! More! Lose yourself in the fury! Give in to the thrill of victory! This is a moment of only glory and blood! Hatred is love! Death is life! Pain is joy! Joy is Pain!" The archdemon yelled as he took part in the rampage himself, smashing buildings, stomping and swatting people as they completely ignored him.
"There you are...!" Fighter said as she leaped from the tree, tackled the archdemon into a destroyed building, then some people turned to her, and she paralyzed each one by hitting a pressure point or two as she danced around them like the master she was, then turned to the archdemon who burst out of the building and laughed at her.
"Now there is a fury I can do something with..." He said as he walked towards her with glee, then he throw a fireball that she negate with a punch. She would've dodged it, but there were people to save around her. "You should have let those people kill you. It would have been far more merciful."
"Save it." Fighter snapped as she took a stance and morphed her mask. It was showtime.
Ranger meanwhile was sent to a beach with massive cliffs and rock piles on the sides, then he ran up and down the beach, found nothing, then he climbed up the cliff, with his harpoon and gauntlets, and when he got to the top...he saw what he was there to look into: not one, but multiple shipwrecks. He then jumped down to he ground, made a hole when he hit the ground, then ran to check out the wrecks, and saw cashes of treasure, clothing, and other goods, and when he used Life Sight...there were no survivors. When he inspected the hull, he noticed a piece of a tooth as he looked at a massive hole; this was destroyed by a sea monster!
"Cherub? I'm done here." Ranger said and Cherub poofed in and shook his head.
"No you're not. This is not the disaster, at least...not all of it." Cherub said.
"What? How?" Ranger asked.
"Do you really think this counts as a disaster? A tragedy yes, but not a disaster, and yes there's a difference; I've been around alot longer than you were." Cherub said.
"Then what is the disaster?" Ranger asked.
"Check the water..." Cherub said and Ranger looked at it, used Life Sight, and only a few schools of fish, and maybe some sharks were seen. "O.k...now will you actually go into the water?"
"This isn't funny. I know this is for me to do, but what are you getting at?" Ranger asked.
"Just get in the water, you'll see the problem." Cherub said, then Ranger reluctantly got into the water, and swam down to the bottom after morphing his mask and helmet to let him breathe. The fish of course swam away, and the sharks simply minded their own business. What did the ocean's apex predator have to fear, even if they were smaller than him? Eventually, he got out to open water, and noticed a series of wreckages floating in he distance, and some ships were sinking so deep he couldn't see where the ocean's bottom was, and just as he was about to swim down to look...a massive shadow loomed in the distance and he watched it pass until it wasn't there anymore. Whatever it was...it wasn't a natural creature. He then swam back to the beach as quickly as he could lest it come back; fighting in the ocean was a little much at this point.
"What was that?" Ranger asked with fear in his voice.
"That was the disaster..." Cherub said simply.
"Can the supplies at least be saved?" Ranger asked.
"These supplies? Yes. The supplies out there? Not with normal means." Cherub said.
"Dammit! Those lives were lost for nothing?" Ranger asked.
"Until further notice, yes they were." Cherub said.
"Take me back to the Temple of Law." Ranger said.
"Don't look at me, you're the one with the portal gem." Cherub said dryly, then Ranger groaned, and opened a portal himself.
Meanwhile, Storm Mage used the event recall gem left by Ranger to watch the battle with the vampire queen, then Sword Maiden walked in.
"I could watch this a hundred times, and probably will. If I knew he was going to pull a stunt like this, I would've looked for him sooner and dragged him along to fight the queen." Storm Mage said proudly.
"I remember you saying you introduced him to the War God." Sword Maiden said as she sat next to him on the bed.
"You're not wrong." Storm Mage as he wrapped an arm around her waist and she leaned on him. "Apparently the vampire queen badmouthed you at one point, and...get this, she tried to tempt him to come work for her, and heh, look at how well that worked out."
"He is quite a devoted warrior, not unlike yourself." Sword Maiden said softly.
"Sword Maiden...if she tempted me before I met you, I probably would've accepted, but...she only didn't because she never got a chance to; we had to retreat before things got too nasty." Storm Mage said.
"What exactly did Ranger say to the queen?" Sword Maiden asked.
"How about we watch the whole thing and find out?" Storm Mage said as the laid down, and watched the entire fight from start to finish. The vampire queen beating Ranger, Hero, and her team to the ground, her temptation, him nearly accepting, then stabbing, chastising, and threatening her for trying to get between him and his family, then saw her transform, tear the place apart with her scream, before Sword Maiden's miracle kicked in, then Ranger pulled the Army of One miracle and he and Hero tore the place apart before Ranger cut off the queen's head as she praised his looks.
"Dear Supreme..." Sword Maiden whispered in awe.
"And we have that kind of power on our side..." Storm Mage said with relief and joy in his voice.
"And it's thanks to you." Sword Maiden said with a smile.
"I suppose it is." Storm Mage said proudly.
"Yet another act redeeming you. I'd give you a Gold Rank myself if I could." Sword Maiden said.
"I actually thought about that, but...I think I'll stay Silver." Storm Mage said.
"But Gold Ranks are viewed as national servants; that kind of prestige could carry you a long way." Sword Maiden said.
"All the more reason to stay Silver. Look, I'm a demon hunter by trade, but that requires freedom. Look at Goblin Slayer, he could easily be Gold Ranked, but he chose to remain Silver so he could do things his way rather than be "tied down" by the government. Besides, it's quite poetic that I remain Silver while you have a Gold Rank; like silver and gold being together." Storm Mage said.
"That is quite poetic." Sword Maiden said before kissing him sweetly, then got on top of him, deepened the kiss, and he wrapped his arms around her frame. "Although...I see myself as superior to you in title and rank only, you know this?"
"I figured as much, although...I do take pride in being your servant, especially in regards to intimacy." Storm Mage said.
"I will never forget your touch..." Sword Maiden whispered before kissing him again. "When will you go out on patrol?"
"In less than an hour, but I'm yours until then." Storm Mage said.
"You can touch me again if you wish." Sword Maiden said.
"I would, but I don't want you to feel like touching you is what you owe me." Storm Mage said.
"Perish the thought. I used to feel like my beauty was a curse, but now...I see why the Love Goddess sees beauty as a gift, to oneself and they one they love." Sword Maiden said as she shifted against him then approached his ear, making her voice as soft as possible, and feeling him ease up.
"I love you as well..." Storm Mage whispered before kissing her slowly and deeply, then she stuck her tongue into his mouth and they lashed together. She was no longer the archbishop at this point; she was just a woman. Storm Mage then reached into the slit in the side of her dress, groped her buttocks, and heard her giggle into their kiss in response as he kneaded her warm, plump flesh. She then tried to remove her dress but Storm Mage stopped her. "Stop...I'm sorry, but if we go at this for too long, I won't be able to stop myself, even if I had to leave."
"I'm sorry..." Sword Maiden said.
"Don't be. I love touching your body." Storm Mage said seriously.
"My body will be available to you when you return..." Sword Maiden said before Storm Mage got up.
"Should I get a sterility potion?" He asked and Sword Maiden looked thoughtful at the point where he got back on the bed and stroked her face. "Just remember whom you're with; you saw me kill a horde of goblins with your own eyes, including the ones who had the nerve to tear into you."
"I will never stopping being grateful for that good Storm Mage, but...it might be some time before I can handle that kind of intimacy." Sword Maiden said honestly.
"Well, when that time comes, I will be there solely to give you pleasure; to hell with my own." Storm Mage said firmly.
"Thank you..." Sword Maiden whispered as she put a hand on her chest.
"Do you remember how I stroked you between your legs?" Storm Mage said and her breathing became shakier. "That's how it's supposed to feel..."
"I will treasure the feeling always..." Sword Maiden said as her protector left he chamber, and when he did...she dropped her composure and started weeping...
Meanwhile, Fighter engaged the archdemon as he charged her, and she rolled to the side several times, then grabbed a piece of debris the archdemon easily deflected as she threw it, then punched away every hand that tried to grab her, but eventually, one succeeded, then it threw her across town into a gang of enraged people that attacked her, then she stunned each with one strike. Then caught a piece of rubble the archdemon threw at her, and threw it back only for the archdemon to punch it to pieces and Fighter came through the mess and kicked him in the lower chest, then the archdemon grabbed her, slammed her into the ground and she rolled away before it could stomp her to a paste. She then had to deflect and dodge a series of punches from the archdemon and this time, she grabbed it's arm, only for it to pick her up and flick her across town yet again.
"Pathetic! Who taught you how to fight?" The archdemon asked.
"None of your business." Fighter said sharply.
"Touched a nerve did I? Good, let's see where that aggravation leads you." The archdemon said before barraging her to fireballs she flatout dodged, and she noticed her anger was making it more difficult, so she took cover, and took a moment to calm down...only for the archdemon to surprise by crashing down from above in front of her; it must have jumped. She then ran between it's legs, pulled one out from underneath it, but it caught itself on the other leg, then turned around a backhanded her across the floor. "Whoever taught you must be so proud. If only they could see you now."
"He'd be proud to see me face an archdemon." Fighter snapped.
"More like he'd be aghast..." The archdemon said smugly, before Fighter yelled, charged the demon and got kicked into a house as the archdemon laughed at her. "And rightfully so, anger really suits you well."
"My...anger...is my enemy." Fighter said as she recovered.
"Nonsense, anger is why you're fighting me now, don't bother denying it! What would the people you saw die think? Surely a great and mighty adventurer can handle one demon?" The archdemon said before laughing at her as she yelled and charged at him again only to dodge a kick, then punch it right in the side of it's knee making the archdemon yell in pain, before Fighter climbed up it's back, stabbing it several times with her blades, then tried to break it's neck by grabbing it's horns, only for it to violently shake her off. "You're going to pay for that!" It then looked around for her as she wisely hid from it under a small pile of debris and she listened to it walk around in one place after another she wasn't even near. "I will find you, sooner or later. I know your feelings little girl. You hate me. You want to kill me. You...want to protect these people...and...your daughter? Ah, your fear proves me right. It's a shame she will grow up without her mother. But don't fret, after I'm done with you, she will join you...in my belly!" Fighter then yelled, burst out of her hiding place, the archdemon snapped it's head to her and she charged right at it, activating her force enchantment and traded punches with it, not even caring if she got hit or not.
"No one threatens my daughter!" Fighter screamed as she kept trying to hit the archdemon, as it did the same while laughing.
"I wonder why you even had a daughter? You must be quite a whore to sleep with her father." the archdemon said.
"SHUT UP!" Fighter screamed as she got grabbed, kicked the arm that grabbed her, only to get grabbed with another arm, and finally restrained by all four of it's arms and tried to keep herself from getting pulled apart as her rage turned into pain.
"Yes! Come on girl! Give in to your anger! Let it all out! You know you cannot win otherwise..." The archdemon said, and she started weeping at the thought of dying to this creature...then as she let it go, her seven chakras opened for her and she freed herself by crushing the hands holding her own as the archdemon yelled in pain, then slammed her into the ground, and stomped on her...only for her to punch it's foot hard enough to crack the bones inside, and knocked it down. "WHAT?!"
"You...have insulted my father's teachings...my personal honor...hurt countless people...and threatened my child...I hope the rampage you went on is worth it, because you're not going to enjoy this..." Fighter growled, and the archdemon charged at her, only for her to weave around it's punches without trouble, then she climbed up, down, and around it's body as it spun around and tried to grab her, and slam her into buildings, only to impale itself on broken supports. Meanwhile, she was purging more and more of her anger every second as her Mushin was kicking in until it was gone completely, then he archdemon roared as it freed itself from the support it was impaled on.
"Where is your anger? How can you fight me without anger?" The archdemon yelled as it charged a fireball in each hand, combined them, and launched it at Fighter, who stood her ground, stopped it, then pushed it back as it exploded in the archdemon's face.
"A better question is how can you fight with anger?" Fighter asked as she walked up to it's broken body, then she broke one of it's horns, making it roar in pain, then she shut it up by jamming the horn into it's throat and watched it drown in it's own blood and dissolve. "Reap what you sow, demonic asshole..."
The man who oversaw the digging in the ruins watched the entire fight from a floating platform in the Limbo dimension and the archdemon's soul joined him there.
"This woman is as stubborn as her father, and even more powerful. If she and the rest continue, my plans will fall flat on their faces." The man said before turning to some goblin paladins with the same taint as the other goblins. "All of you, make sure their touching little crusade grinds to a halt."
"Yes..." one of the paladins breathed out as they walked off.
Ranger and Fighter each took a portal back to the Temple, and when Ranger saw how beaten Fighter was, he was at her side right away.
"Fighter! Oh Fighter...what happened to you?" He asked with concern as he held her up.
"That archdemon, it was tougher than I thought it would be." Fighter said.
"Did you win?" Ranger asked.
"Yes. It was attacking a town, but I stopped it and saved at least half the people there." Fighter said.
"Oh my love, that's wonderful news." Ranger said as he hugged her close but not tightly; he didn't want to hurt her more.
"Ranger...he actually stirred my own rage..." Fighter said with shame in her voice and Ranger looked at her. "He didn't just frustrate me, he got personal; he insulted my father's teachings, he called me a whore, simply for having a daughter-" Ranger cut her off.
"What?! How did it know that?" He asked with alarm.
"I don't know, but please listen to me!" Fighter snapped before getting a grip. "I don't believe a word he said, but..."
"The heat of the moment is a bitch sometimes, especially if you're exposed to what you never really trained for." Ranger said.
"I'm just glad it's over..." Fighter said softly before Ranger kept hugging her. "Ranger..."
"Shhh...just let me hold my wife..." Ranger whispered and Fighter stood there before hugging him back and the two stood there for the better part of a minute shifting every now and then. "Now, the disaster I looked into was a series of ships being destroyed."
"No..." Fighter whispered in horror.
"Yes and...I don't know what it was, but a creature destroyed them. A big one." Ranger said.
"What do we do?" Fighter asked.
"We'll need more information about it, and get the team of course." Ranger said before opening a portal to the frontier.
Meanwhile, Wizard was working of replicating the effect of mixing angel, demon, and dragon blood together like Cherub did with Warrior's sword...after paying out the ass for an alchemy lab. She tried placing the effect on a blade...before the thing melts and explodes, spraying cool liquid metal everywhere.
"Damn, stupid, motherfucking piece of shit!" Wizard yelled in frustration before pounding a table.
"What the hell happened here?" Fighter asked looking over the room.
"What do you think happened here?! That's the sixth time in a row that happened to me!" Wizard snapped.
"What did you do?" Ranger asked.
"Oh, how about try to replicate the effect on Warrior's sword, so the average person can protect themselves in case of a demonic goblin attack! Now, unless this is important, please get out." Wizard said impatiently.
"How about a sea monster sinking ships left and right?" Ranger said seriously and Wizard went pale.
"Please tell me you're joking..." She said while shaking.
"I wish." Ranger said and Wizard sat down.
"Fuck me...any game plan?" Wizard asked.
"Get information about it, find it's weak point, and hit it hard." Ranger said.
"Subtle." Wizard said with a chuckle. "Wait, I've got an idea. Fighter, can you do that...world energy tapping trick you do?"
"Yeah. Why?" Fighter asked.
"What if it were possible to combine it with the Life Sight spell in some way? Then we could find the creature wherever it may be!" Wizard said.
"Isn't that alittle...extreme? The country, nevermind the ocean, is enormous." Fighter asked.
"We don't have to use it on the whole country, just a piece at a time, starting with this town, well...an area as big as this town." Wizard said.
"Still...that kind of strain could kill either of you, and that risk is out of the question." Ranger said seriously.
"Of course, it's just food for thought." Wizard said.
"If you know a way for whomever uses this tactic to be able to bare the strain, then it could be considerable, but until then...it's off the table." Ranger said.
"Right, so...how are we going to find this beast anyhow?" Wizard asked.
"Well...it's in bad taste, but we'll have to look for ships and wait for something to happen." Ranger said and both ladies looked at him funny. "Look,the place I investigated is close to an oceanic city, a place famous for importing and exporting goods, and this creature was likely put there to stop it, unless it simply woke up and developed a taste for ships, which I doubt, so unless someone wants to search the entire ocean for a creature so big it's shadow can bloat out the horizon, we're waiting at the cliffs."
"Before we do...I've been putting on a brave face, but that archdemon I fought really did a number on me." Fighter said.
"Say no more..." Ranger said as he helped his wife sit down and left to find Priestess.
"You beat an archdemon?" Wizard asked with her eyes popping out of their sockets.
"Yes, physically and mentally; the damned bastard tried to make me lose my temper, and lose to my temper." Fighter said.
"Holy shit..." Wizard said and Priestess showed up a few seconds later.
"How bad is it?" Priestess asked.
"Pretty bad..." Fighter said before Priestess sprinkled holy water on her staff.
"Hear me O merciful Earth Mother. Place your hand on this your child, and heal her." Priestess prayed and Fighter started glowing and sucked in a breath as her bones stopped aching, her joints became less stiff, and her back became more cooperative.
"Thank you." Fighter said and Priestess smiled and nodded, then Fighter stood and hugged her husband tightly. "Now I can hug you for real..."
"Now that's one to grow on." Ranger said before the two kissed briefly but sweetly.
Ranger then opened a portal to the top of the cliff he saw the wreckages and the team starred at them in awe and concern. Priestess even collapsed to her knees in shock and horror; she always was a sensitive soul, except towards her foes. Ranger didn't even pay attention to the team speaking to themselves as he saw some sort of phantom image in the corner of his eye. It was a strange man in a cloak staring at the horizon. There was a series of ships...then the man raised his arms and spoke in a strange tongue that according to the team's lack of a reaction, only Ranger could hear.
"Everyone! Heads up!" Ranger yelled and the team snapped to attention, then...the ships were all smashed all at once by a massive fish that popped up out of the water and it dived back underwater with it's length becoming more and more apparent every second.
"Ho...ly..shit..." Warrior said shaking in terror as the fish kept surfacing and diving the length of it's body for about 30 seconds. How long was this thing?! When it eventually showed it's tail before going back underwater, the ships were in pieces, if they were even present. "Holy shit...ho..ly...SHIT!"
"Sword Maiden!? Are you seeing this?" Ranger said after opening a portal to her chamber.
"Yes Ranger. I also just sensed a- No...a series of ships just went down, just off the coast from where it happened last-" Ranger barely let her finish.
"Your Grace...it's a giant fish! The Evil Sect is destroying ships with a giant fish!" Ranger exclaimed before looking back at the ocean.
Holy shit indeed Warrior. Anyway, that was actually a Gears of War reference. For those of you that don't know, in Gears of War 2, you kill a worm that's several miles long from the inside out, and a giant fish later on by throwing bombs down it's throat, well...this is both those cases in one. As for why I went back to the drawing board...that man who summoned that fish is one I had scenes in mind for, but I forgot them until a few hours from when I got started on this chapter. But that's enough for now. Who is the man? Why is he doing these things? How will he fit into the story? Rate, Review, and Share and stay tuned to find out.
P.S. thumbs up to Fighter for kicking demon ass...