Hello people and welcome back to Goblin Slayer: The Team Year 2. Like I said in the previous chapter: Shit is going down. But luckily we have more than a handful of pros on the job. Let the ass-whopping commence...
Review Response: You have a good point about Rhea Fighter and Wizard's bro having a golden opportunity (no pun intended) to get to Bronze, or even Gold Ranked; here's hoping whatever they were working on off-screen pays off well-enough...
Yeah, Elder Revenant is just tearing up the place isn't he? Also...that spider quest was inspired by Cronvangr Cave in Skyrim, and the Locust trench level in Gears of War 3...jeez, shout-outs galore in this saga. You do have a point about A.C.'s fears, and the threat giant spiders have compared to goblins, although if I had to pick which one to fight...well, I hate both options, but if I had to pick one, I'd...probably pick goblins, because...well, look how GS handles them: simple, to-the-point, sometimes creatively, sometimes straightforward...it's not exactly laser science. Same reason I'd pick living in the GS universe over the Berserk universe, because...I never saw an episode of Berserk, but I do know about it, and it's a freaking MESS. The GS universe is nothing to laugh at either, but at least there's opportunity to make a difference. Yes Guts makes a difference like the boss that he is but...he's Guts; speaks for himself...
Although I do apologize to any arachnophobes reading this, but I hope you had a chance to skip as much as you could; I'm trying to heal people's hearts, not put them in mental asylums here.
Technically Fighter was simply expressing her fears and Ranger had to reassure her. You have to admit Fighter is pretty much THE person who can talk to Ranger about something personal; I'm pretty sure their love speaks for itself. Plus Ranger is like Guts in at least a couple of ways, especially when it comes to how they handle anger. Besides...not only has Ranger dealt with enough darkness to know blind rampages are a bad idea, he's the "I keep promises I make" type through and through. As for past experiences? Well...any angle can help, and these people have been through enough to not take chances.
The hell rifts in the kingdom will be addressed later, and Cow Girl technically told the High King, not Sword Maiden, although...they were in the same room, so what's the difference. How funny would it be for SM to clap for the goblins to get alittle revenge?
"A giant..." Ranger whispered as he eyed the giant as it walked through a pair of mountains on the way to the outer wall. It was about half the size of the mountain, which must have been twice as tall as the ogre they fought, and it even had scale/leather armor and light blue skin, which meant it was a frost giant.
"Here's hoping the others can handle-" Fighter stopped talking the moment it get hit by a barrage of blue fireballs. "What the hell?"
"Son of a bitch...Wizard pulled another power out of her ass." Ranger said with a smile before a gleeful chuckle came from the goblin high priest as an entourage of shamans came out of the hole in the manor with him.
"Look at this. The same adventurers who were with the revenant who killed me a year ago show up here, of all places. How fortunate can one be?" the high priest said.
"You know you're not the only one who's gotten stronger since then right?" Fighter asked.
"Oh...I'm counting on it...!" The high priest said as some hobs came out and charged them.
"Holy Smite!" Priestess yelled as the hobs all got their chests blasted out...only for the high priest to reform them, and they charged again, then Ranger drank some holy water, pulled his guns and shot them all in the faces, then they were reformed yet again. Rinse and repeat a few more times.
"Oh come on!" Ranger yelled as he shot them down for the sixth time, then shot at the high priest...only for his shots to be reflected back at him, damaging his armor and staggering him but the message was clear: guns are off-the-table when fighting the high priest.
"There's no way that was hell energy repelling those shots..." Fighter said as she watched the exchange.
"No kidding. The holy water I drank would've cancelled it out." Ranger growled as he recovered from the stagger.
"I've got an idea..." Fighter said as she opened her chakras one-by-one, then charged at the hobs who all tried to grab, hit, or ram her, but failed miserably. She then hit each one in multiple critical points, which not only paralyzed them, but left them vulnerable; when she jammed her arm blades into their heads..the high priest couldn't revive them.
"So...you have a way to stop my revival spell eh?" The high priest said while Fighter stared him done while looking over her shoulder.
"Any more tricks you'd like to play?" Fighter asked before the shamans all tried to zap her, but she dodged them by moving to the sides before they could cast their spells...then launched blades at them en masse until they died.
"That is enough..." The high priest said before more hell rifts opened which he was surprised by, then goblins poured out and stumbled towards her. "Back away!" the goblins heard the high priest and did what he said before he came out
"What? A goblin with balls? Who'd have thought?" Fighter said and several goblins snarled as the high priest jumped out and took a stance
"Woman...I will enjoy this fight." The high priest said...then his opponent laughed at him,
"No you won't..." Fighter said while still laughing then popped her arm and leg blades.
Wizard kept shooting fireballs at the giant which only kept it staggered and away from the wall it was nearing, while Warrior shot lightning into the clouds, had it build up a bit, then brought down a stroke of lightning down on the giant's head...but it only got a few scorch marks on it's face from both their assaults.
"Who are the dead bugs who hurled those little sparks at me?" The giant grumbled.
"You've got to be kidding me..." Warrior said under his breath before Wizard put her glaive's macehead on his armor.
"Alright...plan B." She said before his armor was given a surge of power and he tensed up as the power surged through him...then he laughed with glee.
"I don't know what you did, but I love it!" Warrior exclaimed.
"I improved your armor's enhancements; getting up-close is probably going to be the way this ends." Wizard said seriously before giving herself the same treatment...then tensing up the same way, but with more restraint. Just in time too; the giant was getting close to the wall and eventually spotted them.
"There you are!" He roared before sucking in a breath, spewing frost at them, only for Wizard to counter it with Firestream, then Warrior charged up his hammer and threw it forward and had it slam into the giant's chin from underneath, making it spew frost into the sky instead of at them. Warrior then rushed to the wall, actually climbed the wall like a spider, called his hammer back to him, then discharged a burst of lightning at a fist coming down at him, which stunned the giant long enough for Warrior to draw his sword, climb on it's back, and just as he was on the brink of slicing it's spine...the giant grabbed him and threw him into the city, tearing up the street, several stands, and into a stone house.
"No..." Wizard whispered in horror, then the giant smashed the wall in, making the debris scatter throughout he city, then, in a fit of rage, Wizard used Levitation to gather about three quarters of the debris, condense it into a ball, then launched it into the giant' chest, knocking it down and heavily damaging it's armor, then she rushed to see Warrior...and he looked terrible. He was motionless, one leg and arm was bent the wrong way, his armor was smashed to hell, and when she removed his helmet...she saw a gash on his cheek, and several bruises.
She then checked his pulse with dread...he was still alive, but barely. She then used a heal spell on his chest, and Repair on his armor, but all that did was get him out of serious danger. She then screamed as she got yanked away from him...by hell goblins. The damned things took one punch after another from Wizard, only to get clawed across the face, one swipe damaging her eye making her scream again. They then dragged her to a hell rift and she struggled to get away from them...and got some of her armored robe removed in the process, and just when she was on the brink of being dragged to Hell...some phantom wolves showed up, mauled the goblins, and freed her.
"No one takes my sister to Hell." Her brother growled as he showed up.
"I've never been happier to see you..." Wizard said shaking as she used Repair on her outfit, and downed half a life potion, which dulled the pain in her eye, and she knew it was a matter of time before she could see with it again. She then rushed back to Warrior. "Warrior? I have a life potion, drink it!" He didn't move, so she opened his mouth...and he had a few broken teeth, but she poured some down his throat, and prayed. A few seconds later, he coughed up a bit, then coughed much more. "Warrior?"
"Dammit!" Warrior exclaimed before he coughed some more.
"How do you feel?" Wizard asked cautiously.
"I...barely feel anything, other than the burning oil you poured down my windpipe..." Warrior said before trying to get up, and failing.
"Don't move! You took a serious beating when that giant threw you." Wizard said seriously
"Alright, but what's up with it-" Warrior stopped talking when the giant took another step, only to fall to the side, catch itself, then it's head popped off...like it was severed.
"Way to go Rhea Fighter..." Wizard's brother said impressed.
"She did that?" Wizard asked.
"Yep. I actually enhanced a short sword she used to use back in the day with the same method you used on your fiance's sword. I even took one of those mana gems for myself and tried more than a handful of spells with it." Wizard's brother said before pointing to his wolves who were mauling goblins by the dozens. "My wolves there are a prime example."
"Yes yes, very impressive, bravo, good job, hip hip hooray..." Wizard said dryly and Warrior burst out laughing despite how much pain he was in, and when he got a grip and groaned in pain, he drank more potion. "O.k...maybe I should cool it with the sarcasm..."
"Right..." Wizard's brother said.
"Anyway, she did that chakra-opening thingie didn't she?" Wizard asked.
"Most likely, and now she's most likely going to get on the rest of the goblins coming from those rifts, right alongside Goblin Slayer's ilk, who should be on-the-scene, right...about...now." Wizard's brother said dramatically before GS fired his shotgun into a crowd of goblins before his team charged into the rest.
"I have to say...I missed watching the master at work." Warrior said.
"I also gave that Storm Mage fellow a mana gem of his own. Wonder how he's handling it?" Wizard's brother said.
Storm Mage was charging his mana gem with lightning, and it eventually went from light blue...to medium purple which wowed everyone in the area as he held out the lightning orb in his hand.
"This thing works just like it's supposed to; my lightning isn't just fully charged, it's super charged!" Storm Mage said with excitement.
"All the better to defend this castle." High King said with relief.
"Speaking of which, change of plans. These storm elementals should help patrol the halls, and your court mage-" He cuts Storm Mage off.
"All I know is some ice magic...o.k. granted I've mastered it, but that's the only offensive magic I know, and I know a couple of illusion spells, like visibility or muffling." He said.
"Then make ice barriers or something if we get into too much trouble." Storm Mage said.
"We can make due good Storm Mage." High King said.
"In that case...both of you! Get going." Storm Mage said to his elementals as they flew around the castle looking for hell rifts.
GS took a sickle sword from Lizard Priest after throwing his sword at a hob, and hit it right in the throat. Lizard Priest used his partial dragon miracle to get significantly stronger as he barreled down a street and tore through every goblin in sight. H.E. Archer and Dwarf Shaman shot down the goblins as well, and prioritized the goblins kidnapping people.
"It's not enough they invade the north's capitol, they have to kidnap the people too?" H.E. Archer said with disgust as she kept shooting down the hell goblins.
"Despicable or not, these things will die like the rest!" Dwarf Shaman said before launching a barrage of rocks at a small swarm of goblins, and shredded them, then GS threw a freeze bomb at another swarm, and Dwarf Shaman smashed them with a large rock.
"Well, at least he's not using explosives in the middle of this city." H.E. Archer said with pride, before plunging a silver knife into a goblin's face as it tried to jump on her from behind. Then she watched GS carve through one goblin after another after another after another at a dizzying pace, even by his standards. "Did he take a life potion or something?"
"He must have Long Ears...he must have." Dwarf Shaman said, then saw Rhea Fighter join the fun with her sword and buckler, and she carved through the goblins as well, adding flips, jumps, kicks, and even some grapples into the mix.
"Damn! Someone wanted a piece of these things badly." H.E. Archer exclaimed, then Lizard pounced down from above onto a goblin champion that came through a rift, then Rhea Fighter yelled as she charged it, slipped under it's legs, stabbed it in the spine, then Lizard Priest tore off it's head.
"Nicely done Lady Fighter." He said.
"That's the other one remember?" Rhea Fighter asked.
"I will take notice. Sir Goblin Slayer? Do you need a hand?" Lizard Priest asked as he watched GS do what he does best without paying any mind to the question, then unloads a shell from his super shotgun into a pair of hobs' faces, reloaded, then did it again, reloaded again, then loaded two shells into a fifth hob's head.
"I'm going with...no." H.E. Archer said dryly.
Fighter went after the goblin high priest who was flipping, rolling and spinning around her like she was a slowpoke, despite her moving so fast it was a bitch to keep up with her movements for a naked eye. Fighter eventually adapted and threw strikes at where he was going to be, landed a blade on her knee to his diaphragm, then leaned back as the high priest swiped upwards with his claws, tried to swipe her face, she blocked it, stab/punched him in the face, the lower gut, jammed the blade on her heel into his temple with a spin-kick...and each wound healed as fast as it was opened.
The high priest then grabbed a punch aimed at his face, slammed her into the ground, stomped on her back making her grunt as the ground split beneath her from the force...then the high priest tried tearing her arm off as she screamed in pain. Ranger was on the brink of pulled her guns, when Fighter's pained scream turned into an angry yell as she reversed the hold, and wrapped her legs around the high priest's neck and pulled him down.
"Holy Light!" Priestess yelled as the goblins were getting ready to pounce on Fighter, while she was distracted, and each one suffered serious burns and shied away form the light, and Ranger shot them down with his guns, but left the high priest be as his wife tried to strangle him between her thighs...what a way to go...or it would be, if the high priest didn't find a weak spot in her leg armor and jam his claws into them several times and the pain and damage made her release him. While she was vulnerable and screaming, the high priest tore off chunks of her armor and Ranger ran towards him while putting one bullet after another into the high priest's torso until he got knocked back, then Priestess took her back as more goblins came out of the rifts the high priest opened.
"You're going to pay for that..." Ranger said coldly as he morphed his twin greatswords before the high priest laughed at him.
"That female couldn't match me, even with no one helping me; what chance do you have when I have help?" the high priest taunted as the other goblins laughed as well.
"You clearly don't know me." Ranger said seriously.
"I'm well-aware of your divine powers, but mine far surpass yours; you can ruin an entire fortress, I can build ones greater than the vampire queen's, and this one...combined, as well as tear open Hell itself with the help of the God of Wisdom on my side." the high priest said which alarmed Ranger.
"So you opened those rifts?" Ranger asked.
"Not all of them, but a good portion of my dead brothers were staunchly in favor of joining the Demon Lord's legions, and how can we say no to such an offer?" The high priest said.
"By the time I'm done, you'll wish you had." Ranger said simply.
"Brothers? Show this non-believer what I mean!" The high priest yelled as they charged at Ranger, only for scores of them to be cleaved in half as the new Platinum Rank swung his swords around with ease and even grace as he weaved through the space he makes in their numbers. Dozens of goblins were bisects horizontally, vertically, diagonally, or any combination of the three. Some had their heads busted open, severed, or both. Others lost their legs and/or head as Ranger swung both swords at once at them.
Some went down one by one, or several at once. Even those who treated to sneak up on him had the pommel of his swords jammed into their faces, which caved in their frontal bones and shoved the bone fragments into their mid-brains. Some goblins were even splattered all over the place when Ranger bashed them with the wide part of his swords. The goblins eventually back up in fear of the hulking, armored, blood-drenched, abomination who made at least a hundred of them look like wet paper being, not that it saved them; Ranger chuckled a bit, then jumped a dozen feet into the air, morphed his guns, and spun around while spewing bullets into the crowd around him, killing dozens more with similar damage done to them by his greatswords. All the while his blades and armor were absorbing the blood they were covered in, giving him more matter to work with for the future.
Dozens of the goblins broke away from the massacre to attack Priestess, who was healing Fighter, then she took a break once the bleeding stopped, put some holy water on her staff before throwing up a Protection barrier, then Fighter shot blades and spikes at them out of her gauntlets until they all dropped dead, then she groaned and put her injured arm down.
"Ow, that's hurts..." Fighter said as Priestess got back to healing her.
"I'm not going anywhere until you're better." Priestess said with her usual concern, then Fighter smiled at her...then Ranger backflipped to the space between the girls and the manor when a squad of goblin champions showed up, and some regular goblins appeared from the house.
"What will you do now...?" The high priest asked before laughing.
"Priestess...I'm going to clear a path for you. When I do, take her somewhere safe, and help the others." Ranger said softly yet seriously.
"Can you handle this alone?" Priestess asked.
"Of course I can." Ranger said with no fear in his voice before the champions summoned bows, Ranger raised his greatswords and deflected the arrows at the goblin horde behind him. The champions then growl at him and fire with more force and frequency...only to doom even more of their brethren. Both Fighter and Priestess watched their leader risk his safety by using the champions own fire to aid them.
It became clear once again that his concern for them had no bottom; if he has to risk injury or death to make the job easier, which in-turn made their escape more likely...so be it. One of the champions charged him in a fit of rage, Ranger put a few bullets in his face, which bounce off it's helmet, but stagger it enough so he can morph his gaunlet, cave in it's chest with one punch, and hurl it into the crowd of goblins, who try to flee from it, but the dozen that doesn't gets flattened, and the survivors charge them in a fit of rage.
"Holy Light!" Priestess yelled and the goblins all get burned and blinded, which included the champions. Ranger meanwhile morphed his anti-light visor charged into the crowd and smashed and splattered them with the same brutality as he did before with his greatswords. He then rushed back to between them and the champions and blocked a blast of hell energy from the high priest, and even though he succeeded, he was staggered heavily.
"Run dammit! Take her and run!" Ranger yelled and Priestess sat there still hesitating. "I said run!" She then looked at Fighter who held out her hand, and Priestess took it and slung the larger woman onto her back and walked off.
"He'll be fine..." Fighter whispered and Priestess sucked in a breath despite the blood around her.
"Don't let them get away! They're going to get help!" The high priest yelled as the champions rushed forward and Ranger stomped on the ground, upturning it a bit, then hurled some debris at the champions who stopped and put up their guards.
"You might want to handle the threat first. Ever heard of business before pleasure?" Ranger asked coldly before shattered a champion's sword with one punch as the sword came down, then he absorbed the metal as he morphed a greatsword of his own, deflected a blow from a second champion, impaled the first, dodged a blow from the third and backed up a bit, before jumping over them, harpooning the second in the top of the head before slamming it into the ground, before blocking another blast from the high priest, cleaving through the third champion's legs with one sword then busting it's head open with the other sword, then blocking yet another blast...but this one sends his rolling across the ground and he lays there completely exhausted and even having trouble focusing...so he shut his eyes for a bit, and even focused on his own chakras; everyone has them afterall.
"You don't look so good..." The high priest said smugly before more goblins appeared from the rifts, and slowly approached him as if savoring the kill, then Ranger pushed himself off the ground and stared at the little bastards with piercing eyes.
Back at the castle, the two storm elementals were actually stationed in front of one hell rift for each of them vaporizing goblins by the dozen, the guards were holding them back with shield walls, and stabbing them as they got close, Storm Mage and the court mage were shredding and freezing goblins that came out of a series of hell rifts in the throne room with an ice wall with spike covering it protecting the High King on his throne. The court mage even hardened it so that it's tougher than steel. When they they done...the place was littered with dead and frozen goblins. Storm Mage even laughed at one of the frozen goblins and tapped it with his retracted sword-whip.
"It's a gob-cicle..." He said as the court mage went to the throne.
"Your Majesty?" Court Mage asked.
"I'm alright." High King said.
"Very good. If you get too cold-" High King cuts him off.
"It is better than being butchered by these monsters." He said and Court Mage nodded, before Storm Mage peered down the hall to Sword Maiden and Cow Girl's room, and saw nothing suspicious, and just as he left to return to the throne room...he heard Sword Maiden scream, and rushed into the room...only to see a hell rift opening and Sword Maiden shaking in terror as Cow Girl was there consoling her.
"Look. Your protector is here..." Cow Girl said and Sword Maiden's face brightened the moment Storm Mage arrived and his hands sparked with a storm waiting to be unleashed on her nightmares. Ones that came through the rift a few seconds later and when they did...Storm Mage unleashed his own kind of hell upon them. Sword Maiden intently watched her lover and savior fry them alive as their dying screams and the scent of their cooking flesh filled the air. The two girls covered their noses, but even still...the sight of Storm Mage once again showing the goblins what true pain and fear was made her own look pathetic.
For a moment, she recalled the pain they wrecked upon her, then the memory of his touch swooped in and snuffed it out, just like his lightning was snuffing out the goblins in the present. The intensity of the moment made her eyes water and her heart and lungs work harder. More goblins came out only to meet the same fate as their kin with what was left of his first discharge.
A handful of goblins recovered from the shock only to scream in fear and try to rush back into the portal only to be struck down again until they all succumbed to the storm. He then cracked his knuckles, his neck and walked over to his lady who watched him with pleading eyes, as she looked over his hands that stopped sparking once he got close to her, and he reached them out to her face and she cringed away.
"My dear Sword Maiden...I would no sooner harm you than myself." Storm Mage said softly before she let him touch her face and caress her ample cheeks with his thumb. "I swore I would protect you, and my storms do only what I say, and I say they are your ally." She then pulled him into a tight embrace.
"I love you so much..." Sword Maiden whispered before he returned the embrace.
"And I love you." Storm Mage whispered and she shifted against him as he stroked her hair and inhaled her enchanting scent before kissing her temple as softly as he could, and she did the same to him before smiling brightly at him. Neither cared that they were being watched. Just when their moment ended, the rift acted up and more goblins appeared...then Cow Girl started clapping, which made the goblins cover their ears, and Storm Mage watched them suffer, and to his surprise...Sword Maiden joined the fun and Storm Mage laughed at them as they went crazy and even bumped into each other.
Sword Maiden even started laughing herself, even more so when Storm Mage let out a minor discharge after another making them spasm out and the two ladies laughed as hard as they could at them...but the fun ended when Storm Mage charged up his hands and grabbed each one, and kicked the ones he missed. Several goblins landed hits, but his armor held fast, even though it was a bad time to make fun of them. He then whispered a chant in a strange tongue and the rift closed up.
"What...did you do?" Cow Girl asked with concern, and Storm Mage sighed before walking back to the ladies.
"I'm not supposed to reveal this, but...I know the Demon Lord's tongue." He said.
"What?!" Cow Girl asked.
"We demon hunters study the Demon Lord's tongue so we can decipher secret messages, writings, or even give some secret messages to each other, and now...this. Although, I typically use it to enter the Limbo dimension to fight demons on common ground, if you can call it that." Storm Mage said.
"Ironic that the Demon Lord's very language is used against him." Sword Maiden said thoughtfully.
"True, a pretty delicious irony if you ask me." Storm Mage said with pride.
"Wait, you never did that with the rifts before?" Cow Girl asked.
"I'm charged with protecting Water Town, and especially the Sword Maiden, not closing the rifts; I'm certain my brother and the other demons hunters did plenty of that themselves." Storm Mage said before Cow Girl sighed.
"Is the king alright?" She asked.
"He's fine, although...they might still need me out there." Storm Mage said and Sword Maiden deflated. "But I will not stop checking on you." He then turned to leave before Sword Maiden grabbed his hand and gave him probably the sweetest kiss he ever got from her.
"Destroy these monsters...!" She breathed out with the most serious look he ever saw on her face; she probably felt a burst of courage running through her from finally striking a blow against her fears herself by clapping.
"Yes Your Grace." Storm Mage said firmly as he walked away, and just before he left, he stopped and turned to Cow Girl. "By the way...we're even now; you treated my ribs at the farm, I save you from Hell." He then walked out.
"Your Grace...?" Cow Girl said as Sword Maiden eyeballed the charred bodies of the goblins.
"Holy shit...what happened to you?" Wizard asked.
"The goblin high priest is back..." Fighter said grimly as Priestess sat her down.
"What happened to that giant?" Priestess asked.
"Rhea Fighter happened." Warrior said as the two ladies looked at him. "I'm not o.k. by the way." Priestess then went to him, put more holy water on her staff, used Heal on him, and he breathed a little easier as his body was put back together, his gash healed, his joints were relocated, and the blood covering his face was absorbed into his skin.
"What happened to you?" Fighter asked.
"That damn giant threw me." Warrior said.
"He threw you?!" Fighter asked in awe.
"Yeah, and just when I was about to kill it too. So much for being a giant slayer..." Warrior said.
"Relax, there will be plenty of giants to kill later, plus you know how it's done now...and what not to do." Wizard said seriously.
"Right..." Warrior said before sucking in a breathe and standing up slowly and didn't complain about the pain and showed no signs of discomfort in the face.
"Feel anything off?" Wizard's brother asked before Warrior moved his body around in various ways.
"Not really." Warrior said in disbelief. "Shouldn't we do something?" Priestess' eyes then widened.
"Oh! We have to get back to Ranger! He's fighting all by himself!" She exclaimed.
"I'm staying here to supervise my familiars-" Wizard's brother stopped talking when two more giants showed up.
"Priestess...give me an empowerment please." Warrior said.
"Hear me Lord of the Scale. Grant this man your divine might in this our battle. Empower!" Priestess prayed and Warrior started glowing and prepared to charge at the giants.
"Are you nuts?!" Fighter exclaimed.
"Probably..." Warrior said casually, then dashed off to face the giants at an inhuman speed, dashed from side to side as he got close to the giants, sliced off one of each of their feet, and when they hit the ground, he sliced one of their throats open, and jammed his charged-up sword into the top of the other one's heads. He then dashed back to the others while mowing down some hobs that ambushed him. "The bigger they are, the better the kill..."
"It's "the bigger they are-" Warrior cuts Wizard's brother off.
"The harder they fall...not in this case, now let's go help the boss." Warrior said dryly.
"What about the city, or the castle?" Wizard asked.
"Priestess...heal me as much as you can, and we will get back to my husband. The rest of you take the castle." Fighter said firmly.
"Alright." Wizard said as she helped Warrior back to the castle.
"I can walk on my own..." Warrior said then stumbled and caught himself.
"You were saying...?" Wizard teased before holding him close to her as they went.
"Oh shut up..." Warrior said before Wizard giggled.
"Those two have such good timing..." Her brother said before some goblins showed up. Wizard then removed a mana gem, and sprung a trap that ensnared them in a triangle around them...and any that touched the rim, got disintegrated. They then got into the center shaking in fear...then the triangle enclosed on them, killing all of them and the gem reabsorbed the energy used to make the trap.
"Traps are a real bitch aren't they?" Wizard said.
"That...was a little scary..." Priestess said while healing Fighter.
"At least we're on the same side." Wizard's brother said.
"Just keep healing me." Fighter said.
"O.k..." Priestess whispered.
Ranger spent a good minute chopping, smashing, and shooting down goblins, both on the ground and in the air. He's done so while standing still, dashing, jumping, and even used his portal gem to get the drop on some hobs. He even jammed a greatsword into a champion's heart, through it's collarbone, while standing on it's shoulders. The high priest kept on reviving them as fast as they fell, but it still made no difference. Ranger switched between having one greatsword or two to save stamina; there was no point having two out when one will do just fine.
"I don't believe this...you've beaten more than half of my legion..." The high priest said.
"What? What was that you said? These are the same goblins we massacred a year ago? Interesting...if this keeps up the sun will go down before I can tear all of you to shreds...!" Ranger said coldly.
Eventually...a band of goblin archers showed up on top of the house, pelted him with arrows, but not before he made his armor bulkier...only to be picked up by a goblin paladin from behind, and slammed into the ground over and over and over as the high priest laughed at him along with the others. Ranger understandably got fed up with it and morphed a greatsword, stabbed the paladin through the face...only to be thrown across the yard into a tree, and it fell on top of him.
"One down...two to go..." The high priest said before Ranger pushed the tree off of him with one arm; the other was snapped. "Still alive after all that? No matter. Everyone! He's badly injured. Now's the time to get an even sweeter victory." The goblins then surrounded him as he stood up slowly and started laughing. "Not even a servant of the War God laughs at his own funeral..."
"I'm laughing...at yours..." Ranger said before de-morphing his helmet and smiling at the high priest. "Lord of the Sword...Master of the Mace...strike down my foes...with the invisible grip of your will...Implosion!" He then aimed his open hand at the sky, and a swirling vortex opens up overhead and sucks in all the goblins and the high priest clung onto the ground with his claws with a terrified look in the face.
Fighter and Priestess meanwhile were approaching, then Ranger turned up the power on the portal and Fighter and Priestess were getting pulled into it as well, and Fighter shoved Priestess to the ground before she got sucked in as well. Ranger's heart sank as he saw his wife getting pulled into his miracle, and launched a chain for her to grab onto, and pulled her towards him with his good arm as he weakened the portal. Once she was close enough, he strengthened the portal again, and the high priest got sucked into it...then the goblins all got launched into the sky, into the horizon, or into the ground as Ranger collapsed from fatigue.
"Ranger!" Fighter exclaimed as she removed his mask and helmet...and he was breathing quite shallowly. "Heal him...!"
"I'm out of miracles! Wait...there is one." Priestess said before pouring the last bit of holy water on Ranger's face. "Great Chief of Justice. Lord of the Scale. Grant this, your servant and soldier the power and life to continue this battle. Let your justice be known in this land and let the wicked tremble before the power you express here. Restoration!" A beam of light from the sky shined down on Ranger and his body was completely restored: his breathing became normal, his arms was relocated, his armor was repaired, and he got up with no trouble and he flexed a bit and showed no signs of discomfort.
"The Supreme even restored my stamina..." Ranger said in disbelief.
"That was the only time I can use that miracle today. I hope we don't need it again." Priestess said before Ranger put his hand on her shoulder.
"You've done enough..." Ranger said with a small smile.
"Sir...about what I said before..." Priestess said softly.
"Priestess...you're a gentle spirit, I am not. You give hope and healing to the innocent, I destroy and terrorize the wicked. That's just the way it is." Ranger said seriously.
"I know...but like you said, I give hope and healing to the innocent, and you qualify, as far as I'm concerned." Priestess said.
"You succeed at every turn; knowing that you are here to do what you do, is why I will do this a hundred times over if I must." Ranger said as Fighter watched her husband shine his own light, then the ground shattered behind them and the high priest was there laying down in a small crater as several other goblins fell down to the ground screaming before splattering all over the place, and Ranger shielded Priestess from the blood flying at them with his still-armored body as Fighter got behind Priestess. Ranger then looked at the high priest, was about to get up, then Fighter stopped him.
"If he's still alive...I will kill him." Fighter said and Ranger relented as he kept an eye on the high priest...and occasionally stare at her armored but still shapely rear as he walked up to the high priest's still-intact body, but he kept a gun at the ready in case anything happened, and at first, nothing did. "If you're still alive, I'm back to finish our fight." At this...the high priest jumped at her and she grabs him slams him back into the ground, then she clawed her face...after she morphed a metal mask, so she just got staggered. Then she jammed a blade into his side over and over, and the high priest yelled in pain as his side was shredded by the she-devil gripping him, then she raised him up and slammed him back into the ground repeatedly...then he laughed at her. "What's so funny?"
"You...you think you can kill a high priest of the God of Wisdom? I know things your puny minds cannot even dream of. When we are done here, all of you will learn the meaning of true suffering, and I? Well...I get to butcher the foolish woman who tried to kill me, while her mate is tortured and forced to watch..." The high priest said with glee while the team just stares at him.
"You're not going to do anything to us..." Fighter said coldly before tearing out his throat, which healed, broke his leg, which healed, and stabbed him through the face...which healed. She then growled in frustration and cut off his head...which did not heal, but the body still came after her, until Ranger shot the head and it collapsed...but the head regenerated and the body got up to attack her again. "Oh give us a fucking break!" Fighter then threw the head away and stomped on the chest, severed both arms and legs, then chopped them at each joint and gathered all the pieces into a pile with the head. "Care to do the honors my love?"
"Gladly, my love." Ranger said before focusing. "Lord of the Sword, Master of the Mace. Raze my foes with the destructive power of chaos. Immolation!" With that, the high priest's body parts went up in flames and the three watched the small bonfire. "That...has got to hurt..."
"You're scary sometimes you know that?" Fighter asked and Ranger chuckled.
"I do what I can..." He said before he turned to the city, and used Life Sight. "Looks like the others are doing well..."
"Then we should get back to the archbishop." Priestess said.
"You two go to the others, I will go to the castle." Ranger said before opening a portal to the castle...to find a big surprise.
"157...164...173...189...203..." GS counted as he shot, sliced, bashed, stomped, stabbed, and froze goblins like they were just targets, with his teammates doing the same. GS even tried his light sword to seal some hell rifts in addition to mowing down goblins that they weren't even there.
"That all of them?" H.E. Archer asked after shooting down a group with one volley of arrows.
"I believe so Lady Ranger." Lizard Priest said.
"It's a shame we couldn't save everyone..." Dwarf Shaman said somberly.
"Maybe the Sword Maiden can open a portal herself, or let us get a way to save the people?" H.E. Archer said.
"At least the goblins are all dead; we saved as many as we could, and no more will be captured." GS said.
"Way to look at the bright side Beard-Cutter." Dwarf Shaman said.
"There is still a chance to save them from the horrors they are no doubt facing in Hell. The denizens of that place are as undesirable as the world they inhabit." Lizard Priest said.
"We should get back and find out how to save them!" H.E. Archer exclaimed as she rushed back to the place.
"We're right behind you Long Ears!" Dwarf Shaman said then they spotted Rhea Fighter slicing down goblins, and even stabbing hell rifts and slowly closing them.
"What in...?" H.E. Archer said as she stopped and observed. "How did she do that?"
"Angelic blood...it's the only way to improve blades." Wizard's brother said with pride as his wolf familiars circled him and he petted them one by one.
When Storm Mage returned to the court mage, and High King, the latter was out of the ice cap he was protected by and court mage was chopping off goblin heads with an ice axe, then freezing the heads, then rolling them to some guards who stuffed them into a large bag.
"May I ask what you're doing?" Storm Mage asked.
"These heads will be a reminder of this day; I want every goblin head I can get so the number of goblins killed isn't forgotten." High King said.
"I see...well, the Sword Maiden and that farm girl are safe now." Storm Mage said.
"You make an excellent protector you do." High King said..
"Thank you Your Majesty." Storm Mage said before a hell rift develops in the middle of the throne room. "Your Majesty, you must leave now!"
"That's a large hell rift..." High King said nervously.
"That's why we must leave Your Majesty." Court Mage said as he urged the king out as the guards followed with the bag. Storm Mage then drew his sword-whips and charged them up, to prepare for whatever came through the rift. Little did he know...the Sword Maiden herself was watching from around the corner, with Cow Girl. Eventually...the goblin lord appeared with two paladins at his sides.
"So...this is a human castle? I've destroyed worse..." the lord said.
"You've got alot of nerve insulting a castle considering the holes your kind live in." Storm Mage said coldly.
"Hold your tongue before I tear it out!" the lord snapped.
"This castle and the city outside are still intact, despite your kind's best efforts. Also...I helped massacre one of your legions a year ago." Storm Mage boasted and the goblin lord laughed.
"You speak of that farm I tried to take? It's better destroyed than taken regardless, plus they got to shed some blood on the way..." The goblin lord said which made Cow Girl tense with anger and Storm Mage discharge lightning between his blades.
"So you're the bastard who led that legion?" Storm Mage asked.
"Indeed...and now I'm going take this city from you, with that same legion!" The goblin lord said as he and the paladin's readied their weapons.
"You should know that's not true..." Storm Mage said coldly as he crossed his blades in front of him and let loose the lightning on the trio in front of him and they were only staggered. Then Storm Mage lashed their legs...only for each swing to bounce off their greaves, then he lashed at them all which did no damage, but still kept them at bay; the blades themselves did no damage, but the lightning could cause pain, despite their magic-resistant armor. Some smaller rifts opened and dozens of smaller goblins poured out, and Storm Mage lashed from one side with one sword-whip, then the other with both blades, lashed upwards several times, used spin moves, slammed the tips of his blades into the ground to cause small explosions, and twirled them in front of them like windmills. Only the lord and paladins survived the onslaught.
"Can you empower him?" Cow Girl asked.
"I don't know...I don't think my powers are fully restored yet. Besides...I still dread the idea of him falling to them, and then they come for me...!" Sword Maiden said.
"Then empower him." Cow Girl said firmly.
"I don't know if I can." Sword Maiden said while shaking then Cow Girl gripped her shoulders.
"Your Grace! With all due respect...you're not a little girl, you're a grown woman just like me. You defeated the Demon Lord once, the most vile being in existence! Those are just glorified rats. I know, they wronged you horribly...but right now, you have a golden opportunity to save alot of people, including the man who loves you, and get some payback for what happened to you in the process." Cow Girl said as they looked to see Storm Mage struggling to keep the trio contained. "Please, he's running out of time." Sword Maiden took a moment to steel herself...then the unthinkable happened: Storm Mage...her lover and protector...had his legs severed from beneath him by the goblin lord's axe when he dared to get close, and his scream shattered both the ladies' hearts. They didn't know where the others were and Storm Mage was doomed at this point, as the lord laughed at the man who was bleeding to death.
"Now, you fall, later...the city falls." the goblin lord said as he walked to the throne and sat down on it with the paladins standing at either side of him.
"Sword Maiden...I tried..." Storm Mage whispered as the two locked eyes and he reached for her, and went slack as Sword Maiden sank to her knees and wept, not even hearing Wizard and Warrior come in and their hearts sank at the sight.
"No..." Warrior said as he rushed to his body and checked his pulse. "He's dead..." The lord then laughed at them.
"Reinforcements? Good, this will actually be a challenge." He said before the two paladins walked towards them, and Warrior pulled his hammer and sword and yelled at them.
"You idiots just made the biggest mistake of your lives...!" Warrior growled before charging at them, throwing his hammer at a paladin who was charging an ice spell, and the hammer's lightning was conducted by the ice and the paladin fell down spasming, as the other charged at Warrior and they clashed blades over and over. Warrior even pulled a new trick out of his sleeve: phantom blades made of holy energy.
Meanwhile, Wizard checked Storm Mage's body, and...against her better judgement, seared the flesh on the stumps of his legs so the bleeding would stop, then she took a magicka-restore potion and poured every ounce of power into a heal spell to use on his heart itself. She then watched her fiance exchange blows with the paladin at a stalemate, then snapped her attention back to her patient. She even used alchemy to gather the blood that poured out of his legs and store it in the spent potion bottle. Then she pulled the body to the other two ladies.
"Is he...?" Sword Maiden asked with a broken voice.
"He's in cardiac arrest; I only have a few minutes to get him fully healed before it's too late." Wizard said before mixing a life potion with the blood she gathered.
"What are you doing?" Cow Girl asked.
"Giving him his blood back, only better. Would you mind removing his armor?" Wizard said before the two carried out her order, before she poured the blood on his face and chest, then had the blood be absorbed into his skin. She then called the two severed legs to her and magically reattached them. "Now we wait, and pray..."
"I will do more than pray...farm girl? Are you a virgin?" Sword Maiden asked seriously.
"Y...yes?" Cow Girl said.
"Then come with me...I know how to save him." Sword Maiden said.
"But Warrior needs a miracle himself." Cow Girl said and Sword Maiden looked at Storm Mage then sighed.
"Great Chief of Justice. Your archbishop asks you give these warriors the power to conquer the evil they face. Empower!" Sword Maiden prayed and both Warrior and Wizard got power boosts, then Warrior overwhelmed the paladin a few seconds later with raw speed, much to Wizard's amazement. "Make that goblin pay."
"We will..." Wizard said before walking out to join Warrior as the two ladies carried Storm Mage to bed.
"You two were given divine power? Well...you will still fair no better than that mage did." The goblin lord said.
"He's still alive." Wizard said dryly.
"What?" Warrior asked.
"I used every trick I can think of, but he'll be fine." Wizard said.
"Wizard...I owe you alot of sex for this..." Warrior said.
"Down boy..." Wizard teased then the goblin lord snarled and got up.
"I will give you more than you can possibly handle, after I devour your mate...!" He said.
"I have no faith in that." Wizard said simply as the lord grabbed his axe and slammed it into the space between them, sending the two flying to each side, charged himself up with demonic power, and the two exchanged blows with the lord on equal footing for about a minute with neither side getting an edge. The pair attacked from different angles one by one, or at the same time, the same angle in the same place, but either got their attacks blocked, interrupted, were staggered, or had to dodge an axe swing.
Warrior even leap-froged with Wizard by attacking after she jumped off his back and tried to stab the lord from above, while Warrior stabbed from underneath, but the lord simply back up, and the pair nearly stabbed each other and only didn't because of their synergy, then the goblin lord swung with enough force to blow them away despite the fact that they dodged the swing itself.
"Do you know now where faith lands you? You're being toyed with like the playthings you are, and soon...I'll keep my promise." The goblin lord said before a portal opened and Ranger stepped through.
"Boss!" Wizard exclaimed with a smile as Ranger walked forward like he was the War God himself.
"Oh ho ho ho, you are screwed now..." Warrior said.
"Who dares?!" The goblin lord snarled.
"Who dares indeed!" Ranger snapped before stopping between the lord and his teammates. "I don't appreciate my teammates being kicked around." The lord then growled as he saw Priestess through the portal.
"I know that girl...that's the one who helped the Goblin Slayer kill me! When I'm done with you, I'll think of something especially dire for her...!" The lord said and Ranger snarled and tensed up.
"O.k...you are very screwed now!" Warrior said as he and Wizard stood up and Ranger held his arms out.
"No, I will handle him alone." Ranger said and the goblin lord laughed at him.
"You must be insane! The high priest nearly killed you, and your two companions almost died just now. What makes you think you can handle me?" The lord goblin asked.
"Do you know who I am?" Ranger asked simply.
"I know you. You're the one who aided the Goblin Slayer against my people a year ago! It's odd really...I thought you would be larger..." The goblin lord said.
"I will look larger before I kill you." Ranger said...and Sword Maiden heard him as she came back down the hall.
"Wait...I know that voice...!" Sword Maiden whispered before rushing to see Ranger and her breath caught in her throat. "We're saved...!"
"Boss...he nearly killed Storm Mage before you showed up, by cutting off his legs and letting him bleed to death." Wizard said seriously and Ranger snapped his head to her.
"Tell me you saved him!" He said.
"Yes, and apparently Her Grace is using Resurrection to finish the job, with that farm girl as a candidate." Wizard said.
"Good on all three of you." Ranger said.
"Hey! I killed two paladins alone." Warrior said.
"And I will avenge both of them!" The goblin lord growled before charging at Ranger only for him to punch the axe out of the goblin lord's hand with an enlarged gauntlet, then jump up and punch the lord into the ground with the other gauntlet.
"The armor I wear gives me the strength of an entire goblin legion, and I absorbed the blood of just about everything I've killed since I got this armor. Goblins, demons, vampires, even an archdemon, and of course the vampire queen. You are just a bug to crush compared to me." Ranger said seriously then the goblin lord tried to grab him, only for Ranger to grab the lord's hand, crush it, and listen to him roar in pain and try to free his hand. "What did I just tell you?" Ranger then picked the goblin lord up, threw him into the air, morphed his right gauntlet into a greatsword then sliced off his legs before climbing onto his chest and standing on it. "What did I tell you before when I said I'd look larger before killing you? And what did you say about Priestess?"
"Oh...he said he'd think of something dire to do to her." Wizard said smugly.
"Well...as a wise and lovely woman I know once said: You're not going to do anything to her." Ranger said before tapping his shoulders, which signaled Warrior to shatter both the lord's shoulders with his hammer, then Ranger glided his thumb across his gut, signalling Wizard to stab the lord in the gut, and rip it out from the other side, and Ranger jammed his hand into the lord's gut, and pulled out his heart, and held it out on display. "Funny...you never know goblins have these, unless you see it for yourself." He then saw that the goblin lord's eyes were locked on his own heart before Ranger crushes it as the goblin lord expired...before Sword Maiden walked forward and looked at Ranger in awe as he stood there watching her.
"If I lost my senses completely, I would say I was standing before the War God himself...and kneel before you." Sword Maiden said with a trembling voice.
"Wow...you know you're awesome if the Sword Maiden tells you something like that." Wizard said tensely.
"Do I effect you that much Your Grace?" Ranger asked and his two teammates exclaimed.
"Boss...you're standing on top of the goblin lord's dead body, you have...the biggest sword I've ever seen in one hand, you're holding his crushed heart in the other hand, which has a goblin-sized gauntlet coating it, and you're wearing a blood-red cloak over a solid steel case that somehow works like armor, plus you have hair that goes down to your shoulders, like some people think the War God has. You should get a Platinum Rank for the look you're pulling off right now alone. In fact...you don't just deserve a second Platinum Rank, we should make up another one that's even better." Warrior said seriously.
"Diamond Rank?" Wizard asked and the three others looked thoughtful.
"Why in the name of all that is holy is that not a thing?" Warrior asked.
"Well, should it actually become a new rank, I wish you all luck in achieving it." Sword Maiden said before Ranger knelt down to her level.
"Sword Maiden...I'm sorry about Storm Mage." He said somberly.
"He will survive, and...if it wasn't for him, we wouldn't have had the time we needed for the three of you to do what you did, and...I hope the trauma I suffered will give rise to a greater fortune, as will the trauma this kingdom suffered." Sword Maiden said before H.E. Archer rushed in.
"Your Grace! Your Gra-" She stopped when she saw Ranger, Warrior and Wizard. "Where have all of you been? And why are there three big, dead goblins in here?"
"In order: we had our own missions to fulfill, and these are-" GS cuts Warrior off.
"A Goblin Lord, and two paladins." He said as he walked over to the lord's corpse, then Ranger's hand that still held the lord's heart. "You ripped his heart out..."
"Yes, and the high priest is also in ashes." Ranger said.
"Good. The fewer leaders the goblins have, the less organized they'll be." GS said.
"We know; we're Gold and Platinum Rank for a reason." Wizard said.
"Right." GS said.
"Lady Archbishop. We are the bearers of terrible news. The goblin horde has abducted an untold number of people and taken them to Hell. How can we save them?" Lizard Priest asked and the team's hearts sank.
"Storm Mage...he can open and close portals himself; when he recovers he can help them. But for now...we should prepare ourselves; I sense another invasion coming, and it's focused on this castle!" Sword Maiden said as Fighter and Priestess arrived and gasped outside the room.
"You two go find the king, and if you can't get to him, make sure the goblins can't either." Ranger said to his two teammates who nodded and went out to find him. "I will stay with you Your Grace, until Storm Mage recovers."
"Alright. Goblin Slayer? Your farm girl friend helped me use the miracle of Resurrection; if you wish to protect her while they sleep..." Sword Maiden trailed off.
"Yes. I know the goblins can be dealt with by the others, but I promised I'd look after her." GS said.
"And neither of us break our promises, right Goblin Slayer?" Ranger said as he stood back up on top of the dead goblin lord.
"Right." GS said before Fighter and Priestess walked in, watched their teammates leave to go look for goblins, and stared at Ranger...who locked eyes with them, as Fighter walked up to her husband who smiled down at her.
"You should see yourself..." Fighter said dreamily.
"So I've been told." Ranger said simply despite the atmosphere.
Damn, I cannot recall the last time there were this many goblins getting bodied, and there's more on the way? Good grief. Anyway, Warrior got to kill two giants, and Rhea Fighter showed how it was done, Storm Mage got his ass saved by Wizard, and a whole bunch of other insane shit. Honestly, that Diamond Rank thing? It's a last-second question I wondered about; I'm not really taking it seriously, but am taking it very seriously at the same time. Also...that time Ranger fought the goblin horde alone is inspired by the time Guts from Berserk fought 100 soldiers alone, only...while I do like Guts and respect him as much as he deserves, I don't think he'd stand much of a chance against Ranger; if Ranger was in the Berserk universe, he'd probably clear the place's shit out with no problem, team or no team. Back to the Resurrection miracle...I'll bet you didn't expect Cow Girl to be used for it eh? I sure didn't expect it to go that way. I do plan things out, but half the time I'm just throwing ideas around and seeing where things go, and it turns out better than I hoped ironically. Anyway, be sure to Rate, Review, and Share, and stay tuned for more carnage in the next chapter.