Howdy, howdy! This chapter is going to be an anthology of the story, depicting the seven day journey that Goblin Slayer and Hero take, in order to reach the Eastern Mountains where the Ancient Wyvern was reported to have been last seen by those who were returning to the Frontier.
The author's notes will be at the bottom, feel free to leave any suggestions or whatever lol. Without further adieu, please enjoy this longer than usual chapter!
DAY ONE:
The first day of traveling had been particularly easy for Goblin Slayer, in comparison to how rough his journeys had been in the past. With Kaguya relaying their surroundings to him, along with gifting him with her precognition abilities that her Rinne-Sharingan bestowed to her, any threat of there being an ambush or trap laid out for them was nullified by the rabbit goddess' foresight.
And the few times that Goblin Slayer had no other choice but to fight, the battles he participated in were made extremely easily thanks to the combined help of Kaguya and his platinum-ranked companion: Hero. Gifted with knowledge and enhanced reflexes thanks to the passive ability Kaguya was bestowing upon him, Goblin Slayer was able to win every battle flawlessly without needing to use a single potion to heal himself, while Hero with her naturally gifted with the power, reflexes, and agility that made the battles they got into with monsters that much easier.
When the sun had finally begun to set while they were still traveling along the grassy plains of the Eastern Frontier, the three of them decided to finally set up camp underneath the purple skies of dusk. Finding a nice spot out in the middle of the open fields, Kaguya had Goblin Slayer carry her around as they walked in a complete circle around the perimeter of their campgrounds. Having instructed Hero to begin unpacking his leather bag in the center of their campground, Goblin Slayer used the ebony staff he had purchased to sketch kanji symbols into the ground; a language that he nor anyone from his world was familiar with.
With each symbol that she had Goblin Slayer make, Kaguya was able to use her small pools of chakra to perform Fūinjutsu: creating an impenetrable barrier that was connected from symbol to symbol, until they had built an entire shield around their campgrounds. Being carried back to the center of their camp, Kaguya was assuring Goblin Slayer that she would keep watch for the entire night when they stumbled upon Hero, who was hopelessly trying to set up the large tent house that Goblin Slayer had purchased earlier.
"I shall take responsibility for this one, Goblin Slayer: I forget how long it takes for you humans to learn how to do… Well, to learn how to do anything for that matter," Kaguya said, after having been the one to tell Goblin Slayer to have Hero set up the tent in the first place. "Set me down by the stack of rocks and kindling, I shall prepare the campfire while you assist her."
Doing as he was instructed, Goblin Slayer carefully used his gloved hands to pick Kaguya up from his shoulder and sat her down by the stack of logs and stones that they had set up earlier. Allowing for Kaguya to build the campfire with just her small rabbit paws, Goblin Slayer stabbed his spear upright into the dirt before turning around to make his way over to where Hero was struggling to feed pieces of tent rod through the appropriate openings of the beige dyneema-fabric.
"I-I don't even think I connected these stupid rods the right way… ! Ugh…! How does Sage even know how to set these damn things up so quickly… ?!" Hero muttered frustratingly under her breath, with her narrowed eyes glaring down at the metal rod in her hand that simply refused to stay inside the opening connected to the edges of the tent fabric.
Kneeling down beside her, Goblin Slayer gently took the rod and heavy tent material from her hands with his helmet still on. "Would you like me to show you how to set up a tent? It can be complicated at first, but once you do it a few times, it gets easier," Goblin Slayer offered, while Hero stared back at him with a still heated look on her face.
"Ugh, y-yes please, sure… S-Sorry, I, uh… I don't usually get this upset," Hero said before apologizing for her behavior. And while Goblin Slayer began to properly set up the large tent that was as large as a small house, Hero stood behind him while observing what he was doing to feed the connected rods into the tent's fabric. When she asked how Goblin Slayer managed to fit all the oil lanterns and other luxury outdoor appliances and pieces of furniture into his leather backpack in the first place, Hero was mystified when he explained to her about how Kaguya was able to seal items and anything else into scrolls; segwaying into him telling her about the invisible barrier surrounding them, as well as the space above their campground as well.
Excited to interact with Kaguya after hearing what she was capable of, who Hero also saw as Goblin Slayer's magical pet rabbit, the young girl was beginning to lose interest in knowing how to set up the large tent by the end of his demonstration. By the time Goblin Slayer and Hero had finished unsealing all the other pieces of furniture and goods from the rest of the scrolls, Kaguya had finally finished setting up the campfire by herself; using her affinity over all natural chakra to ignite the kindling with a small bit of fire from her chakra-infused breath.
For the remainder of the night, Goblin Slayer sat down at the fireplace to cook up some of the nearby vegetation into a soup, while Hero sat down on an outdoor chair; telling Goblin Slayer all about Sage and Saint Sword, while petting Kaguya who was laying on top of her petite thighs.
DAY TWO:
After deconstructing the large tent house they had slept soundly in with Hero's assistance, Goblin Slayer laid out all the furniture out for Kaguya to reseal back into the parchment paper they had been originally sealed into, with the exception of small items like an oil lantern and water termest that Goblin Slayer had secured to his leather backpack.
In order to have the local wildlife be able to frolic in the area they had occupied once again, Goblin Slayer had to carry Kaguya around the perimeter of the campground, so she could break seals that had been keeping the barrier up. When they were all set and ready to go, Goblin Slayer took the Atlas book out from his small leather pouch that he had clipped to the back of his belt; keeping Kaguya on his shoulder so she could help him navigate as well.
During their travels and in between the random encounters they had with the local animals and monsters of the Eastern Plaines, Goblin Slayer and Kaguya couldn't help but to notice that everytime Hero spoke about her previous adventures with her party, she would only speak about Sage and Sword Saint; never really about herself, unless it had something to do with either of her two party members.
With how many lesser monsters that had been slayed by Kaguya beforehand, the journey for the most part had been relatively uneventful during the second day of their expedition. Later that night, Goblin Slayer had to demonstrate to Hero again on how to set up the tent, before showing her how to hunt. Or at least, he would have shown her how to hunt, had Kaguya not decided to show off to Hero by using herself as bait.
With Goblin Slayer and Hero watching in the distance, Kaguya pretended to be a simple rabbit who was scratching at the ground; attracting a coyote who had tried ambushing her from the tall grass she was near. Using her affinity over wood to summon a massive wooden tendril from the Earth, Kaguya impaled the coyote through its head, and killed it instantly by stabbing it through its brain. With the coyote's blood and carcass there to attract an even bigger animal, Kaguya continued to play the role of a clueless rabbit until finally a massive brown bear came over to investigate the source of the freshly spilt blood.
Using the same tactic as before, Kaguya instantly decapitated the brown bear; leaving behind a massive carcass for Goblin Slayer to begin butchering, before cooking up some gamey stakes that night. And while Kaguya feasted on the measly lifeforce of the two dead animals, Hero found herself wanting to contribute, after realizing that she hadn't done much except for occasionally lending a hand in battle. Not wanting to eat just bear meat that night, Hero asked Goblin Slayer to show her how to forage for vegetables.
Knowing that the kind of domesticated vegetables Hero was wanting to have with her cooked bear meat didn't grow outside of a farm, Goblin Slayer was going to break the news to her that they were only going to find wild roots in the ground again, like how they did the night prior. However, Kaguya didn't want to disappoint the young adventurer, who had begun obsessing over her since the moment she laid eyes on her white fuzzy body, so she instead devised a way to give Hero the opportunity to learn how to forage from Goblin Slayer, all while guaranteeing her to have the food she wanted.
Using the chakra she had created from the souls she took from the bear and the coyote, Kaguya found a place in the tall grass to instantly grow a small mixed crop composed of corn, tomatoes, and potatoes. Returning back to the campfire, Kaguya laid back down on Hero's lap before telling Goblin Slayer to teach her about foraging; stressing for him to play dumb whenever the young girl would inevitably find the bountiful harvest.
Going along with Kaguya's plan, Goblin Slayer taught Hero about how to safely forage for food from the land around them; gathering starchy roots as his example, before allowing Hero to apply the lessons he taught her. Even though Goblin Slayer had to act surprised when she eventually found the vegetables that Kaguya had grown specifically for Hero to find, he was still genuinely proud of her for putting in the time and effort of learning how to forage in the first place; plus, he found her sheer excitement to be extremely cute and endearing.
Wanting to repay Goblin Slayer for showing her how to set up a tent and how to forage for food, Hero expressed how badly she wanted to cook the vegetables Kaguya grew for her for him. Unfortunately, Hero didn't know exactly how to even go about cooking the raw vegetables, but luckily for her, Goblin Slayer had no problems showing her how to boil potatoes and carrots, while teaching her how to rotisserie-cook tomatoes over an open flame as well.
Apologizing for not knowing how to cook in the first place, stating that again, that was something that Sage usually did on her behalf, Hero was reassured by Goblin Slayer that he wasn't upset over her lack of outdoorsy skills, but instead he was rather proud of her for showing such a willingness to learn them from him. That night, the two adventurers ate very well, and slept soundly in their large tent until dawn came.
DAY THREE:
The further away from civilization they went, the more bountiful the wildlife and more vast the monster variety became. Getting out of the grassy plains and into a forest that ran along the side of a massive river, Goblin Slayer got the opportunity to show Hero how to fish. Finding a nice shaded spot by the grassy shore of the freshwater river, Goblin Slayer showed Hero how to plant the handle of the fishing pole into the grainy sand, while explaining to her the fundamentals of the outdoor sport.
With Kaguya keeping an eye on their fishing pole, while using her chakra to silently speed up the process by calling fish over to their location, Goblin Slayer made sure to set up a pit fire to begin boiling a large pot of water; also teaching Hero about how to purify water without magic, while simultaneously making sure that Hero was paying attention to the fishing pole, just so she would grow accustomed to multitasking.
Having grown a soft spot for Hero, Kaguya made sure to use her genjutsu to hypothesize the surrounding fish into taking the bait whenever the young girl was beginning to grow impatient. Ensuring that each fish Hero caught felt like she had earned it, Kaguya made sure that each fish she commanded put up a fight; pulling on the line and trying to swim away, all without ever possibly having any chance of truly freeing itself.
Finally feeling as though she was pulling her weight outside of battling, Hero fess beginning to feel less guilty for needing to rely on Goblin Slayer when it came time for him to show her how to properly prepare a fish to be cooked; watching him flay and gut the fish, before taking out its small bones and chopping its head off with the knife he brought with him. With them having a fire already going from the pot of water they had boiled, Hero wanted to show off her newly acquired skills to Goblin Slayer, so she offered to forage for more vegetables to cook up by herself.
Not wanting the young girl to stray too far off from their fishing spot, Kaguya made sure to accompany Hero while she was walking through the nearby woods, and used the same method of the night prior to grow whatever vegetables she sensed that the adventurer was in the mood for. Proudly returning to Goblin Slayer with her arms full of corn, potatoes, broccoli, and carrots, Hero only needed minimal supervision from Goblin Slayer and Kaguya as she cooked both the fish and chopped vegetables to serve as their lunch.
Having eaten extremely well, even more so than when she was out on adventures with her original party, Hero made sure to compliment Goblin Slayer during the entire time they were packing up from the riverside; telling him that not even Sage or Sword Saint knew how to do all the outdoorsy stuff he was able to teach her within a short period of time.
Later that night, the trio had set up camp in a revine by the river; further East of where their fishing spot had been. With her chakra barrier up, Kaguya told Goblin Slayer to "accidentally" stumble upon the nearby hot spring that the celestial being had created, using her affinity of the Earth and of fire. Not wanting to have either Hero or Goblin Slayer catch a disease from how cold the river water was, Kaguya made sure to provide her two humans with a perfectly safe area to bathe in; feeling an odd sense of motherly joy when she saw how excited Hero was when Goblin Slayer show her the hot spring.
Illuminating the dark forested area around them with several tiki torches that he placed around the pool of steamy-hot water, Goblin Slayer told Hero that she would be perfectly safe to bathe; prompting her to take her armor or sword off, before setting them near the edge of the hot water. And just as Goblin Slayer was about to head back into the tent to give the young woman some privacy, he and Kaguya were both genuinely shocked at how panicked Hero got when she suddenly screamed at him not to leave her alone in the dark.
Shaken up and breathing fast, it took Hero a few moments to collect herself before apologizing for her sudden outburst. Not wanting to make the rest of the night unpleasant for her, Goblin Slayer reassured her that he and Kaguya would stay near the edge of the hot spring for however long she needed them there for, all without making her explain herself to them. Making sure to give her traveling companion her heartfelt gratitude, Hero admitted to Goblin Slayer out of her own volition about her phobia of being alone, and apologized once again before finishing up with her bath; stating that she had always been like that since she found her parents dead in their bedroom when she was eleven years old.
Drying off with one of the towels Goblin Slayer brought for the trip, Hero sat at the edge of the hot spring while Goblin Slayer took his turn taking a relaxing bath inside the hot spring. Chatting away with Goblin Slayer while doing her best to keep her wandering eyes from catching glimpses of his naked body, Hero was blissfully unaware of all the aquatic monsters that were floating face-down along the river just outside of their camp; all of them had been slayed by Kaguya, after she had sensed them trying to pass through her invisible barrier.
For the remainder of the night, Goblin Slayer and Hero slept soundly after drifting off to sleep by the relaxing sounds of the flowing water going down stream of the river where their camp was erected near. Not needing sleep, Kaguya was using her affinity of the elements around her to rip the heads off any monsters or creatures who got too near her barrier, while smiting any wisp or spirit who thought themselves above her power.
By the end of the night, Kaguya had feasted on a considerable amount of life force from those who she had annihilated; refilling her chakra reserves, and getting slowly closer to achieving a tiny fraction of her original power.
DAY FOUR:
With the help of Kaguya's ability to manipulate beings through the power of her Rinne-Sharingan, Hero was able to fulfill a dream of hers that she never thought would be possible: riding a dinosaur. Having been used to only walking where she needed to be, Goblin Slayer had to teach Hero on how to safely mount and steer the one-hundred and fifty foot long Argentinosaurus that had fallen victim to Kaguya's genjutsu.
With how mighty and large their mount was, Goblin Slayer and Hero were able to cover an impressive length of distance through the dinosaur infested jungle that they would have otherwise had to spend a lengthy time fighting through. And with their Argentinosarus being more than enough to dissuade the carnivorous and smaller dinosaurs to keep away from them, Hero was having the time of her life as she rode the dinosaur until they reached the edge of the jungle.
Had Hero not grown fond of the Argentinosaurusby the end of their ride, Kaguya would have considered having them slay it, just so she could convert the massive terrestrial creature's life force into chakra for her to absorb. But alas, not only was the massive dinosaur naturally just a gentle giant that didn't pose any threat to them, killing it would have required Kaguya to break her promise to Goblin Slayer about her not eating the souls of the innocent. So begrudgingly, Kaguya sat on Goblin Slayer's shoulder and waited as Hero hugged the dinosaur's massive head and said her goodbyes to it, before the group departed to find another spot to safely camp at.
That night, Hero was able to impress Goblin Slayer by putting up the tent by herself, as well as cooking dinner for them, after he had gathered the vegetables and deer meat for them to eat that night. And for the remainder of the night, Kaguya vigilantly watched over the campground, cursing to herself each time a docile creature got too close to her barrier, in which she would have to resist the temptation to take their life force from them while shooing them away.
DAY FIVE:
The further East they journeyed, the less vegetation they saw as they began to tread into more rockier terrain. Still surrounded by miles and miles of evergreen trees and patches of malnourished grass, Goblin Slayer and Hero both had to be particularly careful of where they were stepping, as Kaguya told them which parts of the road to avoid, in order to prevent causing a rockslide that any other adventurer would have accidentally started.
With how far they had traveled, the last thing either Goblin Slayer or Hero expected to see were other traveling adventurers; which is what they saw when they came across an entire party composed of individuals named Spear Maiden, Shinobi Boy, and Woodland Elf Marksman. The three adventurers were all gold ranked, and recognized Hero and Goblin Slayer. After having agreed to travel together until it came time for them to part ways, Hero was boasting the entire time about how all the amazing feats that Goblin Slayer and Kaguya had displayed since the start of their journey; making the three adventurers somewhat skeptical of the authenticity of her stories by the end of her ramblings.
A few hours into traveling together, Woodland Elf Marksman had developed a sadistic plan in his head as they finished crossing a long-rickety bridge across a mountainous and deep trench; an abstract plan in the making that Kaguya had sensed early on. Once the group had crossed over a rocky gap between two tall cliffs, Woodland Elf Marksman made up a lie about him having accidentally left an important trinket behind where they had just crossed, and asked Goblin Slayer to go get it.
On high alert and anticipating for Woodland Elf Marksman to betray their trust, Kaguya told Goblin Slayer about her suspicions as they were walking back across the rickety wooden bridge. Just as they were in the middle of the gap, Kaguya suddenly realized what Woodland Elf Marksman was about to do, and sprung into action. Just as the sadistically curious elf was about to pull his hatchet from his belt, so he could cut both lines of rope attached to the wooden poles that were holding the bridge, Kaguya immediately used her Rinne-Sharigan to use "Ameratsu" upon Woodland Elf Marksman; igniting his whole body in a blanket of black flames.
Screaming out in agony while his companions and even Hero tried to put out the fire, Woodland Elf Marksman was rolling on the ground while feeling his skin boiling and melting off of his muscles, allowing for Goblin Slayer and Kaguya to safely make their way back across the bridge. Only when Goblin Slayer had safely returned to Hero's side did Kaguya finally chose to extinguish Ameratsu's flames, leaving behind a critically injured woodland elf who was covered from head to toe in third degree burns.
Immediately, Shinobi Boy and Spear Maiden were quick to blame Kaguya for being the one responsible for their party member's condition. Defending Kaguya's decision, Goblin Slayer told the other party that what happened was merely self-defense: explaining in detail about how Kaguya was able to see the near future, and about how she predicted Woodland Elf Marksman wanting to use his hatchet to cut the bridge's ropes, just to see whether or not Hero had been over exaggerating or not when she told them about the celestial being's abilities.
Not wanting to believe that their party member was capable of such sadistic behavior, the two of them told Goblin Slayer and Hero to leave them; threatening to kill them if they ever crossed paths again. Although Hero was more than a match against the two vindictive adventurers just by herself, the young girl had never received negative attention before, and thus became devastated from how hateful Shinobi Boy and Spear Maiden sounded when they threatened their lives.
Even though she fully believed Goblin Slayer when he spoke on behalf of Kaguya, Hero's mood had dampened for the remainder of the day, as the two of them continued to traverse across the rocky forest, until setting up camp at the top of a grassy hill. That night when Kaguya created another hot spring for them to bathe in, Hero, who had been quiet ever since the incident had occurred earlier that day, suddenly broke her silence by asking Goblin Slayer to join her in the water.
Underneath the overcast sky, where the only light came from the oil lantern that Goblin Slayer had set out at the edge of the hot spring, Hero washed the sweat and dirt from her body without speaking until both she and her companion were finished bathing. Sitting down together at the edge of the hot and relaxing pool of bubbling water, Hero finally told Goblin Slayer about how upset she was about what happened on the bridge; stating that she had never received a death threat from another adventurer before in her life, and explaining with tears in her apricot-colored eyes how sad she was to have her reputation tarnished.
Comforting her by allowing her to scoot closer toward him, so she could rest her head on his shoulder, Goblin Slayer had his arm wrapped behind Hero, gently squeezing her shoulder reassuringly. Relating to the way she felt, Goblin Slayer told Hero about all the times that people had spoke poorly to him in the past; both to his face and behind his back, and even going as far as revealing to her that the only reason why he had learned to hunt goblins by himself was because he had given up on trying to make friends. That was, until Priestess came into his life and became his first party member.
Shocked and immediately getting heated up when she learned of Goblin Slayer's lonely past, Hero got worked up as she told him how foolish everyone was who had talked down to him so poorly; stating that if they only knew him, they would be able to see how amazing she knew he was. Touched by Hero's words, Goblin Slayer smiled at her and gave his gratitude to her, telling her how much he had come to respect her as well. Having river salmon that night for dinner, with a side of roasted corn and mashed potatoes, the two of them chatted more about their past adventures while warming up by the campfire.
When it finally came time for bed, Hero had once again grown quiet; which at first confused Goblin Slayer, since she didn't seem to have been sad by the end of dinner. However, unlike before, Goblin Slayer noticed that she was smiling nervously at him inside the privacy of the tent, and blushed when she finally asked him if it would be okay if they shared the sleeping bag that Goblin Slayer had given to her, ever since the beginning of their journey.
Agreeing to her request, Goblin Slayer chose to wear a shirt and underwear to bed, thinking that she would do the same. So needless to say, Goblin Slayer was immediately caught off guard the moment Hero suddenly stripped all of her clothes in front of him, until she was wearing nothing but her white panties and white athletic bra.
Appearing emotionally vulnerable and visibly nervous of rejection, Hero voiced to Goblin Slayer about how she wanted him to take his shirt off as well; explaining in detail about how she wanted to keep each other warm with their shared body heat. Goblin Slayer felt his heart racing as he nervously agreed to Hero's intimate request. Trying to tell himself that what she wanted was just to be close to him and nothing else, Goblin Slayer crawled into the sleeping bag first, before scooting over to allow for the petite young girl to join him underneath the covers.
With her pale cheeks the color of crimson once they were facing one another, Hero pushed her luck when she quietly begged for Goblin Slayer to wrap his arms around her, as she buried her face into his chest and straddled her legs around his hips. With their bodies so close against one another, their skin touching while Goblin Slayer's groin was pressing up against Hero's panties, both of them were able to sleep soundly that night without feeling the cold mountain air.
DAY SIX:
Rapists, murderers, sex traffickers, and raiders: all of these foul scum were all gathered at the stonewalled fortress that once harbored an entire population of mountain settlers who called it their home. Having taken over the mountain village years ago, the isolation and vantage point that the fortress gave to the criminals was one that allowed for them to flourish underneath the nearby city's nose, creating their own powerful empire that was built on the suffering of others.
And as they gathered that morning for their morning feast, what none of them knew while feasting at the wooden tables of the galley that once served as the town's previous dining hall, was that today would be their last day on Earth.
Even though it was out of their way according to what the Atlas map showed, Kaguya made it a priority for them to raid the heavily fortified fortress with just the three of them. With her x-ray vision, Kaguya was able to navigate Goblin Slayer and Hero to an underwater cavern at the base of the tall cliff where the fortress had been built on.
Leaving their backpack in a safe and secure spot, Kaguya put a security seal around Goblin Slayer's belongings, before the three of them swam underneath the waters of the lake that surrounded the base of the mountainous cliff. Unlike Goblin Slayer, who was able to use Kaguya's byakugan to his advantage, Hero was unable to see in the pitch-black subterranean cave, and thus had to rely solely on him to guide her. Feeling comfortable with being carried by him, Hero wrapped her arms around Goblin Slayer's neck as he carried her bridal style, while quietly ascending up the cavernous insides of the cliff.
Once they reached the long-forgotten back entrance of where the stone-brick basement of the fortress began and where the rocky formation of the cavern ended, Goblin Slayer gently placed Hero back on the floor before picking the lock of the wooden door that led into an underground storage area. Quietly sneaking behind barrels of stolen vegetables and cheese from all the farms that the large gang had raided the night prior, Goblin Slayer and Hero were able to see the dim light of a distant wall-mounted torch from the other side of the storage area to make out the silhouette of a large man.
Standing guard with his back facing toward them was a raider who had been put in charge of maintaining access control in and out of their storage area; an awfully boring assignment that made the criminal scum lower his guard enough to not notice Goblin Slayer sneaking up from behind him. In one quick and articulate movement, Goblin Slayer rose up to his feet and covered his hand over the poorly armored raider's mouth, muffing his gurgled screams as he sliced the man's neck open with a sharpened dagger.
With Hero quietly following behind him, Goblin Slayer was unknowingly teaching her the fundamentals of espionage and stealth, as he navigated through the entire sector of the large basement undetected. Despite the iron armor he had on, Goblin Slayer was quiet as a mouse, and was able to kill every single raider inside the fortress' repurposed prison, all without alerting the barracks of criminals above, who were going about their vile day without a care in the world.
It broke the trio's hearts when they saw just how many adolescent girls had been locked up in the underground jail cells, and even though Hero had seen her fair share of horrors from all the times she had wiped out demon lairs, nothing could have prepared her when she saw Spear Maiden laying naked, beaten, and covered in bodily fluids in the corner of one particular prison cell. Having reached the a limit to how much she could take of seeing the suffering of others, Hero's patience immediately dissipated the moment she saw Goblin Slayer discovering that Spear Maiden had been the one of the many women who were brutally killed in the midst of trying to resist their attackers.
Despite Goblin Slayer trying to hold her back, Hero had lost her composure and no longer felt like taking the time to use stealth. Whipping out her light sword, Hero left Goblin Slayer to free the rest of the prisoners while she went top-side. Kicking open the door that led from the underground prison and up to the inside of the fortress itself, Hero was merciless as she chopped down and burned every single raider who she crossed paths with. Cursing them all for their evil acts, Hero was emotionally unstable as she slayed every criminal scum who she pursued; unknowingly being led into a trap by the leader of the raiders.
Upon following the large brute of a man out of the inner workings of the fortress and out into the grassy courtyard where the village homes once were, Hero was immediately bombarded with a rain of crossbow fire and a numerous amount of different projectile spells from all the scum who had been anticipating the young girl's fool-hearted arrival. Through her heightened reflexes and agile abilities however, Hero was able to leap forward high above the courtyard; dodging the enemy projectiles while using her light sword to block whatever she couldn't dodge.
Using her weapon to cast her explosive "Sun Burst" spell onto the center of the courtyard, the volatile light magic of her spell was enough to instantly vaporize the raider boss, along with his goons who had been perched up on top of the defensive walls around them. With her most powerful spelling having always been her go-to solution that had worked so well in the past, Hero had expected there to be no more bandits left after having casted it.
However, with how bright her "Sun Burst" spell was, Hero had been temporarily blinded and thus wasn't able to see the ballista that was being set up by the bandits, who had been hiding inside the stone tower on the corner of the defensive walls. Air bound and having just used up her entire magicka on her powerful spell, all Hero could do at the last minute upon seeing the large ballista taking aim at her was raise her sword up to try and block the two meter-long javelin that had been fired from it.
Upon the sharpened tip of the steel javelin making contact with her light sword, the bones in of Hero's dominant wrist immediately broke along with several tendons. With her powerful weapon getting shot out of her mangled hand, the trajectory of the javelin was interrupted just enough to miss her chest, but unfortunately it had pierced through her bare shoulder and out through the other side, skewering her body in the process.
Getting flung back and pinned twenty-five feet above the opened entrance of the fortress, where she originally came storming out of, Hero was clenching her jaw and stifling in a scream of agony as she felt her muscles and fragmented bones getting torn up with the javelin that was still inside of her mutilated shoulder. Even though she was squirming and fighting through the white hot pain that was shooting down her bloodied arm, no matter how much Hero struggled to pull herself free from the javelin, nothing she did was working.
Watching with teary and trembling eyes as the bandits on top of the stone tower were beginning to load another javelin into their ballista, Hero was finding herself thinking back to her lonely childhood; back before she met Sage and Sword Saint at the Frontier's Adventurer's Guild branch, after having spent three years in an orphanage. It was then that it finally dawned on Hero that she was about to die alone, with the only thing keeping her company being the hateful glares from the surviving raiders, who had just watched their gang die at her hands.
Horrified not at the thought of dying, but at the surreal realization that she was about to die without saying goodbye to those who she cherished, Hero let out a defiant and panicked cry as she grabbed a hold of the javelin in her shoulder. In one swift jerking movement, she tore her entire shoulder apart as she pulled down on as hard as she could; destroying her entire collar bone, and momentarily blacked out from the trauma during her twenty-five foot fall.
Hitting the grassy dirt underneath her like a rag doll, Hero was dazed and left breathless as she used her one good arm to push her upper body up. It was then to her horror that she realized that the bandits who had been observing her the entire time had been waiting for her to fall before readjusting their aim. Attempting to pick herself up so she could make a break for it, Hero immediately let out a gasp of sheer agony after feeling the broken bones inside of her legs tearing through her internally damaged muscles causing her body to seize up.
Getting tunnel visioned as she flopped face-first into the dirt beneath her, Hero tightened her body up and shut her eyes tightly; hyperventilating and letting out shaky breaths, as she braced herself to get impaled through the top of her head by the wrath of the bandits' ballista. When that gruesome moment never came however, it was then that Hero finally noticed the sounds of distant screaming coming from over where the elevated stone tower was. Using her one good arm to push her upper body up so she could keep herself steady by just her forearm, Hero saw the bodies of the bandits who had been manning the ballista slumped over the stone edges of the tower's roof; each of them bleeding out of the incisions made along their foreheads, from when they were stabbed in the back of the head.
Seeing large magical roots breaking through various parts of the stone tower from the inside-out, along with blasts of burning black flames exfoliating out of the compromised walls of the tower, it didn't take long for Hero to realize that Goblin Slayer and Kaguya had come to her rescue. Not wanting to be left out in the open or be useless, Hero did her part in making their rescue mission easier by dragging her broken body toward where her light sword had been shot out of her broken wrist; a task that wasn't easy by any means.
Crying hot tears that were running down her cheeks burning, Hero fought with her own body to stay conscious as she propped herself up with her back against a stone wall, after finally retrieving her light sword. Taking rapid and shaky breaths in and out of her gaped mouth, Hero took aim with her light sword using her good hand, while making use of her broken arm by having it support the weight of the sword's heavy handle from underneath her good wrist. Using the silver edge of her sword as a makeshift crosshair, Hero waited patiently as she took aim at the closed wooden door located at the bottom of the stone tower.
Timing her fire bolt just right, Hero was able to take out the remaining raiders who were trying to flee from Goblin Slayer and Kaguya; setting the swarming mass on fire, and watching as they writhed in agony. Unable to escape their deserved fates, the burning raiders who didn't immediately succumb to her spell were either put out of their misery by Goblin Slayer's ebony spear, or had fallen to their deaths off of the forty-foot drop from the top of the defensive walls.
Once all was said and done, the entire crime syndicate of two hundred villainous scum had been wiped off the face of the Earth. Skidding off the sides of the wall to get to her faster, Goblin Slayer carried Kaguya over to where Hero was still sitting up right, with her back pressed against the wall while in a pool of her own blood. With how much chakra she had created from converting the life force from the deceased raiders, Kaguya was able to use the "Mystical Palm Technique" with her bunny paws to fully heal Hero's debilitating and life-threatening injuries.
When gathering up all the young abused-girls who they had rescued, Goblin Slayer noticed just how traumatized each and every girl was as he took count of them in the cleared courtyard. When he looked into the hazy and distant eyes of all the tortured victims, Goblin Slayer couldn't help but to be reminded of all the times he had rescued all of the mentally-destroyed girls in the past from the disgusting clutches of the goblin caves he wiped out, and about all the times he had wished of a way that he could have done more to help them recover from their trauma.
Having spent a total of six days harvesting enough souls to have been able to defend herself without Goblin Slayer's help, Kaguya was conflicted with herself when she told him that she could help the eighty-nine young survivors by wiping their memories clear of all the horrors they had been put through; requiring a powerful genjutsu that would force her to use a large fraction of the chakra she had been planning on saving for their battle against the Ancient Wyvern.
The entire process of mass cleaning the minds of the young girls took an hour for Kaguya to successfully accomplish, giving Hero and Goblin Slayer plenty of time to loot the inside of the cleared-out fortress for anything useful. By the time the young girls had completely forgotten having ever been taken in the first place, Goblin Slayer and Hero had managed to accumulate a fortune of coins and supplies that they decided to distribute out to the recovered survivors.
Making camp at the fortress once Kaguya had probably disposed the bodies of the raiders by burning them to ash, Hero made use of all the collective knowledge that Goblin Slayer had passed down to her by helping him with cooking up a grand meal using all the looted vegetables, cheese wheels, and livestock that the bandits had taken from their recent raids. Making enough food to feed an army, Goblin Slayer and Hero were both proud of Kaguya and themselves as they watched all the young girls laughing and talking happily with one another; their mental and mortal wounds having been healed by the rabbit goddess herself, as they talked about how excited they were to be reunited with their loved ones.
Waiting for all the young girls to go to bed, so that they would be well rested for the morning journey toward the large town at the edge of the eastern mountains, Goblin Slayer and Kaguya made sure that Hero was asleep first, before the two of them made their way down to the dungeon to honor the ones who they weren't able to save; burying each one deep inside the cave that they had used to sneak into the fortress to begin with.
DAY SEVEN:
Eating everything that was left over from the prior feast, once the young girls were all fed and properly clothed, Goblin Slayer and Hero led them out of the abandoned fortress and onto the road they needed to take. Luckily for them, now that the raiders had all perished by their hands, the only encounters they had were with the rocky-forest's natural wildlife; all of which never gave them any trouble.
During the five hours it took for them to finally reach the high-walls of the city that served as a trade hub for merchants coming in and out of the Eastern Mountains, Hero had apologized several times over about having ran off during what was supposed to be a stealthy operation; trauma dumping onto Goblin Slayer about how afraid she was of dying alone when she was about to be shot, and about how grateful she was to have him with her.
Reassuring Hero each time she brought the subject up that he was never upset at her, Goblin Slayer explained to her that what she felt in the heat of the moment was justified, and that sometimes "things happen".
After being greeted by the confused gate guards who stood outside the fortified city, Goblin Slayer and Hero were both interviewed by the city's law enforcement about where all the girls had come from. Explaining to them that they were traveling adventurers who freed all the eighty-nine survivors from the hidden raider hub deep in the wild, Goblin Slayer and Hero were immediately showered with gratitude by the Jarl of the city, who had them sent to his palace upon hearing of their exploits.
Wanting to personally reward Goblin Slayer and Hero for having done such an amazing feat, the Jarl did everything in his power to assist with their investigation. Providing Goblin Slayer the detailed report that his guards wrote up several days ago when the Ancient Wyvern had been spotted flying over the city. On top of merely providing them with their next lead, Jarl had his court wizard draft up an official letter to the coastal city, where Goblin Slayer and Hero had to travel next.
Wanting to prevent the Ancient Wyvern from ever possibly flying back over the Eastern Seas that it was last seen flying over, the Jarl made it an official decree to grant Goblin Slayer with a ship from his naval guard. And instead of having them take the two day long trip on foot to the coastal city through the windy roads of the Eastern Mountains, the Jarl paid out of pocket to have the two adventurers to be driven there by a hired horse-pulled carriage.
Gifting them one last time by sending them off with a warm meal for the road, Jarl thanked them from the bottom of his heart one last time, and saw them off with his thirteen year-old daughter by his side, who had been one of the many young girls that were reunited with their mourning families; all of which had thought it to be a miracle that their missing children had returned without an ounce of trauma inside of them.
This is hands down probably my favorite chapter I've written for this fic so far. The next chapter will depict Goblin Slayer, Hero, and Kaguya sailing across the Eastern Sea, before reaching their next destination.
Next chapter definitely won't be as long as this one, which was long for the purpose of showing Goblin Slayer and Hero bonding over the seven day journey. I could have just written a small paragraph saying that their trip took seven days, but where's the entertainment in that? That doesn't justify relationship bonding.
Until then, that's all folks.