Finally, after what felt like an eternity, I'm back!

What's sort of funny though is that even though I said I'd be taking care of schoolwork first, I kind of… didn't, ha ha. Now granted, I did complete everything else for the course, but the final assessment, consisting of doing adjusted and unadjusted trial balances and shit in Excel got me to rage quit for the time being and focus on my other classes instead. Seriously, to any of you who deal with shit like that, I bow in respect because accounting is tough. Infuriatingly enough, I understand this shit just well enough to pass the quizzes but actually applying it like how the assessment demands is beyond me, especially since I'd never used Excel before in my life.

Additionally, aside from my class being a bitch, I'd also been investing a lot of time into Lies of P. And now that I'm roughly 50 hours into it, I can say that I'm quite loving it! Took me a fair while to really start getting hang of the combat… and the bosses have been pretty damn brutal too, but once I got a groove going and got a fair number of upgrades, I'd found my pacing and am just taking my time having a blast with it. And just like I'd thought, there's a fair bit of lore that I think could work to connect it with Elden Ring or Devil May Cry should I do a crossover fic in the future… and I very well might do that whenever this fic is done, heh.

But for real though, even with all the ways you could improve your abilities in that game, it's still an uphill battle. When I'd first heard of all the ways to increase my stats and skills in the game such as through the P-Organ, amulets and more, I'd thought the game wouldn't be that hard, but nope it's been making me work to overcome 90% of all encounters in the game. While I'd never claim it to be the hardest game I've ever played, it's certainly among the harder games I've played in more recent years. Makes me shudder to imagine how much more difficult it can be in subsequent playthroughs one I get to that point.

Now enough of my rambling. Time to actually get down to business – this fic! With the Formless Mother still sort of around by way of the blood goblins and Shabriri on the prowl, there still exists threats to the Four Cornered World that need to be dealt with before I can say this fic shall come to an end.

As for how that will happen, well… you'll see!

Onto the chapter!

P.S. My laptop, which has stayed alive and relatively well for at least 5 to 8 years (can't quite remember when exactly I got it) is finally showing signs of giving up the ghost, so don't be too surprised if the next chapter takes even longer to be finished as I prepare looking for a replacement in addition to taking care of some more schoolwork.

Chapter 25

As the adventuring party entered the water town and headed to Sword Maiden's temple to report on their quest's completion, it was with a relatively high sense of morale. Even Goblin Slayer walked with his head held a bit higher than usual.

The socially awkward adventurer supposed his party's good cheer made sense, given how their last quest had gone… that is to say, that they hadn't even made it to the location of the quest in the first place. As such, with this quest now completed in the face of a truly fearsome force, it only made sense that their confidence in their own abilities would be restored.

Personally, of course, Goblin Slayer was just more at peace to know that goblins had yet again be vanquished.

However, despite his pride – him, taking pride for what felt like the first time in his life – he knew that he couldn't allow himself to breathe easy yet.

He knew and ultimately cared little for what dark gods and the like that the forces of Chaos tended to worship. But this most recent quest saw the second time these strange blood goblins had been raising hell – possibly literally – and seemingly in the name of the same entity that the first ones presumably worshipped.

Once was happenstance, twice was coincidence… and the third time would establish a pattern.

But… will there be a third time?

If given enough time and Chance, will he and his friends encounter yet again these strange and frightening blood goblins?

He didn't know at all. But if there was one thing Goblin Slayer knew, it was that he should perhaps take some kind of preparation for the future. It was how he'd managed to survive this long against the seemingly never-ending goblin threat and it was something he'd continue to do.

"Milady will see you now," spoke the attendant.

That roused Goblin Slayer from his thoughts. So deep in contemplation had he been that he hadn't noticed when they'd all reached the temple much less when Sword Maiden's attendant had come to greet and guide them to the former gold ranked adventurer's current location.

Grunting in acknowledgement of the attendant's words, the goblin slaying adventurer took the lead amongst his party.

A few moments later, they came not to the usual vast and open meeting chamber where Sword Maiden was typically at and instead to somewhere significantly smaller – a study room, Goblin Slayer supposed.

The attendant called out after knocking twice and once Sword Maiden's voice rang out to grant entry, the attendant opened the door and ushered them all inside.

There behind a large and ornate looking table, Sword Maiden looked up at them. A dainty hand had been running along some parchment – presumably, it helped her 'read' whatever was written there – and as said hand was lifted, the young woman beamed upon sensing their presence.

"You've returned! I'm glad the five of you are back!" Sword Maiden said softly yet with audible joy.

Goblin Slayer grunted yet again. "Mm. The goblins have been slain."

He could see the way Sword Maiden's body sagged ever so lightly. The tension she must have felt at the mere mention of goblins just melted away upon hearing of their demise.

"I'm most glad to hear of it," she replied, maintaining a professional air. "Please, please, sit down. I'd like to hear of what exactly transpired."

There were only two chairs across from Sword Maiden's desk, but a quick gesture to the still present attendant rectified that as the older woman took off to fetch additional chairs for the rest of the party.

As this was accomplished swiftly, the five adventurers took their seats…

…And once they'd gotten comfortable, they all took turns regaling Sword Maiden of what had transpired.

Approximately twenty minutes passed from when her dear Goblin Slayer and his friends began to speak of their quest. Sword Maiden liked to think she did a splendid job at maintaining her air of dignity and refinement throughout the entirety of the tale.

How she managed to do so, however, was something she may never know.

Goblins in and of themselves were pests, but no less dangerous and frightening – she would know that particular fact quite… intimately.

So to hear of these blood goblins and the differences between them and the other types of goblins that had existed up until now was truly disturbing to her. That wasn't even getting into what dark arcane spells that these things had somehow come to learn of.

Blood that can burn and even force upon others wounds from a distance simply through contact… dark magic was always a versatile thing and dangerously so, but even for her this was something new.

"…And that's what happened!" finished High Elf Archer, the most animated of the party having been the last one to speak of the details of the battle prior to their departure from the area.

"I see. Such a unique situation you all had been in," Sword Maiden commented.

"…Mm." Goblin Slayer could only grunt in that endearing way of his in response.

As for his friends, however…

"That's one way of putting it," High Elf Archer huffed. "If I ever see one of those creepy things again, it'll be way too soon!"

"Indeed." It would seem even the likes of Lizard Priest, who typically enjoyed the thrill of battle and earning merits, wasn't too keen on encountering these blood goblins again. "To think even the likes of goblins could learn of such spells… I'd shudder to think what exactly would have become of us if not for our dear young one here."

He motioned to Priestess, who blushed under his praise. "I-I just did what I thought was best."

"And it saved our asses before it was too late, lass!" Dwarf Shaman proclaimed vigorously. "We woulda bled to death if not for yer Purify miracle!"

"As much as it hurts to agree with him, the stupid dwarf is right!" High Elf Archer said, slapping Priestess' back. "You're the reason we even had a fighting chance in the first place!"

"They're right. You did good," Goblin Slayer chipped in. And it was his terse but sincere words that got Priestess' blush to truly deepen. But Goblin Slayer appeared to ignore it in favor of looking back at Sword Maiden, who in turn felt her own cheeks redden ever so lightly as she felt his gaze on her. "…I don't know much about how things like this work, but if there's a way to craft some kind of counter spell, I recommend you look into it."

His words sobered her instantly.

With her hands clasped together upon her desk, the grip tightening a fair bit, she took just a few seconds to really soak in those words. "You believe there may be another case of these blood goblins appearing?"

"…Possibly. As this was the second time we've encountered them… and ones whose abilities seemed more advanced than the first group's…"

Goblin Slayer trailed off, either unsure of what to say or not wanting to actually complete that thought aloud.

Regardless of the reason, it still had an effect upon the room's atmosphere. His fellow adventurers now felt tense at such a possibility existing, a tension that Sword Maiden shared.

And given the sudden escalation of Chaos in the world…

"Rest assured, I will look into the matter," she declared, her voice still soft but the words themselves brokering no room for doubt.

Both as a leader and as herself, Sword Maiden vowed here and now to be prepared. With seemingly the entire kingdom or perhaps even the entirety of the Four Cornered World itself besieged by a slew of unusual events and threats, now wasn't the time to further leave things to Fate and Chance. Especially not when there appeared to be something akin to a lull, which they all should be using to prepare for the future.

"…" Goblin Slayer made a sound before the helmet he wore clinked audibly as he nodded his head. "…Good."

Sword Maiden allowed herself a smile at his attitude but dropped it soon after. As far as she could tell, this meeting was essentially over, sad as that fact may be. It would now be time for her dear Goblin Slayer and his friends to depart.

"…Please, speak to my attendant once you leave here – she will provide you with the reward for the completion of this quest in lieu of the guild," she uttered as she now stood up before bowing her head. "And thank you for your service. You've done the water town and myself a great favor in vanquishing such a threat."

"The pleasure is all ours, milady saint," Lizard Priest replied.

"What scaly said – always fun getting stuff done," Dwarf Shaman chipped in.

High Elf Archer huffed at the dwarf's words but otherwise made no comment.

As for Priestess, the young girl bowed in kind, her staff jingling in the process.

And then there was Goblin Slayer, who nodded yet again.

With their farewells now given, however abruptly it might have been, the party of adventurers took their leave from her room and Sword Maiden futilely stared with her faint vision as they walked out.

Once the adventurers were out of sight and earshot, Sword Maiden clasped the necklace she wore tightly, praying yet again to the Supreme God.

Yet again, she couldn't help but feel that this was the calm before the storm… a rather terrifying thought considering the threat these blood goblins had posed.

But with the goblins dealt with and her courage renewed, she knew now what must be done.

The fortification of the water town was still ongoing in light of that dragon attack, but now she knew it was time to try and hasten the process in whatever way was possible. Additionally, it would now be very wise to begin looking into new ways of using both miracles and magic, if not outright developing new ones if need be. Now that she was aware of the existence of such dangerous magics and the possibility – even likelihood – of even greater threats arising soon, Sword Maiden had to step up even more as a leader and ensure her city could endure the trials to come.

On her faith to the Supreme God, she swore this – no matter what may come next, she shall do her part to make sure the kingdom was ready to endure.

Steel struck against steel loudly, blades locking together for but an instant before reeling back. Then the blades clashed twice more with just as much force before one was finally forced back for good.

All the while Tarnished smiled lightly, appreciating the current situation.

"…Ha!" Sword Saint, sweaty yet still quite lively, had backed off for a brief moment before going on the offensive again. This time, rather than try another head on collision, the lithe swordswoman suddenly slid to the left after rushing directly at him.

With a light spin, the young woman unleashed her attack, the arc of her blade initially going for his midsection before than moving upwards to his neck. Alas, it was a feint he'd seen through thanks to the small shifts in Sword Saint's mid-attack posture, allowing him ample time to maneuver the Uchigatana to deflect the attack in time.

After the attack was knocked to the side, the Tarnished moved in by only a scant inch or so before bringing the butt of his blade's hilt down upon the surprised Sword Saint. Surprised or not, however, she was able raise an elbow in time to prevent the attack from impacting against the side of her face. The force behind the blow still sent her slamming into the ground, which the Tarnished then followed up with a twirl of his weapon before slashing upwards. Sword Saint was forced to roll back to avoid the move.

The Tarnished simply walked forward and kicked the woman in the stomach, eliciting quite the wheeze from her, but she was able to take the blow and use the momentum to roll further away and land in a crouching position.

"Hmm, very well done," the Tarnished complimented. "You're adapting remarkably fast."

Sword Saint massaged her stomach, managing a light smile even as she grunted in obvious pain. "…Your words somehow feel more painful than the hits so far."

The Tarnished chuckled in good humor, sensing no actual frustration on his sparring partner's behalf. "Think of this as another form of training – learning to take pain that goes beyond the physical."

From the sidelines, where Hero, Sage and Ranni were at, the three watched in with varying levels of interest and amusement.

"Darn, for a second there I thought you nearly had him!" cried out Hero.

As for Sage, the young woman merely huffed. "You sure are enjoying being smacked around today… care to share something with us?"

Ranni, for her part, remained more or less silent beyond a light chuckle at Sage's words.

"…Shut up," uttered an embarrassed looking Sword Saint.

The Tarnished approached Sword Saint and helped her up. "It's been a long while since I've last sparred with someone like this. It's as educational for me as it is for you, so you've my thanks."

Her reddened cheeks turned a slightly darker shade, Sword Saint looking away. "Glad to hear," she said after getting her emotions under control.

Hmm, he hadn't expected her to react in this way seeing him out of armor, he supposed.

It's been a few days now since they'd successfully destroyed the swamp of rot that had begun to form out in the desert. Though its destruction had – as expected – hardly made an impact on the changes already caused by the Scarlet Rot to the desert, both the Tarnished and his beloved had been able to sense its influence be completely curbed. Combined with all the flames that had thrown about in the interim to burn away at least a good sized portion of the mutated plant life, it should at least jumpstart the land's recovery process.

Of course, it also helped that Sage had used a spell to relay a message back to this land's king, who would hopefully see to it that forces are committed to the desert to speed things further along.

And on that note, it had been with that letter that the young Hero and her friends, in much better moods than before thanks to this accomplishment, had requested both the Tarnished and Ranni to accompany them back to the capital.

Initially, the inhabitants of the Lands Between had been hesitant to oblige the request. Not out of any sense of worry over their origins being discovered and whatnot, but rather a sense of priorities. With the Scarlet Rot now gone and the Formless Mother's foothold being haphazard at best for the time being, the couple had felt it best to begin posthaste in curbing the influence of the Frenzied Flame. However, after some thought into the matter, perhaps it would be best to see if it was possible to make use of any connections the Hero has in the capital to better locate certain hotspots of activity. For while Ranni's connection with the Dark Moon allowed her a great deal of insight into this world, it was far from truly all-encompassing. The idea is that this would fill in those potential gaps.

Thus, they had joined the trio of young women in their venture back to the capital. And over this time spent traveling, things had fallen into a certain type of routine. During their respites from all the walking, Sword Saint took to requesting spars with the Tarnished, having been taken by his strength and skill in the battles out in the desert. Ever the warrior, the Tarnished had readily accepted said requests and so he'd use the Uchigatana to battle it out with Sword Saint, taking great care not to actually cut her lest the blood-letting effect of the blade cause her grievous harm. It was a testament to his skill and confidence in said skill that he was able to battle with such an attention to detail.

And as Hero's words had hinted at, the talented but still relatively inexperienced Sword Saint had yet to land a clean hit on the man beyond attacks that he guarded against, their spars typically not lasting long and with the young woman being defeated in a handful of moves.

To be fair to Sword Saint, though, he has many, many more years of combat experience in addition to the usage of runes maximizing his body's inherent potential. That said, he'd become ever more certain that she was indeed a warrior that would go far if she continued to hone herself.

"So, I take it we're close now?" the Tarnished asked, switching topics as he looked in the direction they'd been traveling in. "I can hardly see anything from here."

According to Hero and her friends, they were close to the capital now, perhaps no more than several more hours of travel if that. Given the relative distance, he'd imagined by now they would have noticed the place from a distance but has yet to see any sign of it.

The Hero chuckled. "It's really not that far at all. It's just all this forestry and stuff that hides it up to a certain point. I swear we're close!"

Ranni hummed. "If so, then why have we not seen any signs of other travelers? Could all the recent events had stemmed commerce so badly?"

The path they were off relatively to the side of was an official path, so his beloved's words held true. In all this time, they've yet to see another living soul anywhere nearby, not even spot a patrol out anywhere.

"In all likelihood, that is the case," Sage answered as she stood up and dusted herself off. "Though this is an official path, the capital rarely receives visitors at all from this particular direction. That fact, combined with the recent Chaos as you've pointed out would cause what little foot traffic this road normally gets to dry up."

The Tarnished, having now put away his primary weapon, folded his arms across his chest. As he did so, he became swiftly aware of Sword Saint by his side staring rather intensely at his arms and chest. Despite the intensity of her gaze, he continued without any sense of perturbness.

"But for there to not even be a patrol?" He tilted his head to the side, his high ponytail swaying as he did so. "Even if he's committing his forces to the areas deemed most likely to have potential enemies in, leaving this area completely barren is rather… short-sighted."

He'd initially thought to say 'foolish' but held his tongue. Insulting a monarch he'd yet to even meet wouldn't do, no matter his thoughts on the matter for now.

For her part, Sage merely smiled wryly. "His majesty… well, he's a good guy for lack of a better way to put it and a decent king so far, but he does has some faults. For what it's worth, the kingdom's forces as a whole are being stretched very thin."

"…I take it if Ranni and I are to meet him, he'd ask of us for aid?" the Tarnished asked.

Sage nodded.

The Tarnished and Ranni shared a brief glance. To be honest, they'd expected as much when Hero had asked them to come along, but having it confirmed did make things a tad bit more… well, perhaps 'complicated' is not the right word for it.

While he couldn't personally speak for his wife, the Tarnished wasn't adverse to helping out the kingdom when it was still clearly trying to properly reel from the recent events and begin a proper counter attack against any enemy forces at large, but of course they had their own matters to tend to first. And in all likelihood, the king would ask of them to aid his forces in areas that may very well be far and away from where they'd like to go.

And the further away they are from the areas the Flame of Frenzy may have spread its influence, the worse the damage could be by the time they can respond. As it is, journeying to the capital at all was a risk but one they took in the hopes they could make use of the resources there to perhaps expand their search much more quickly.

Any possible request on the king's part could tip this risk well past the point of no return. Not that this young king seemed the type to be forceful in recruiting people or throwing tantrums when he felt slighted, but any wasted time could be bad.

Alas, they did at the very least need to speak with the king about ways they could benefit from his various resources.

Quite the delicate balance here.

…Well, worse comes to worst, the capital did have another Adventurer's Guild there that could be utilized. He did, after all, make that deal not long after his arrival in this world with the guild center encountered in that town. It'd been something done as a precaution, a case of 'better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.' Depending on how things go between them and the king, it may very well turn out that his deal with the guild had been a premonition of sorts.

"Then perhaps it is time to continue?" Ranni said as she broke eye contact with the Tarnished. "If the situation is so dire that thy king would try to recruit foreigners so readily, then it is best to finish our journey swiftly. Any other matters can wait until we've taken stock of the circumstances in the capital."

Hero and Sage shared a look of their own with one another, the former staring questioningly at the latter until Sage simply shrugged though not without a bit of tension. Seems Ranni's words had an effect on the latter. Then again, Sage clearly held Ranni in great respect thanks to her magical prowess, so perhaps it was a case of bias.

"Fair point. Let's get a move on, then!" Hero declared, thrusting a fist into the air.

Ah, the Tarnished dearly hoped the young girl never fully loses that exuberance of hers. It was enough to put a smile on his face.

With the young Hero's declaration, the five of them began to quickly gather their things and resume their trek.

…And as they did so, he couldn't help but overhear some words spoken between Sage and Sword Saint, the former breaking away from Ranni's side to whisper to the latter.

"Seriously? I know your standards are ridiculous, but eyeing another woman's man? What's wrong with you?"

"I-It's not my fault he's stronger than me! And quite a sight to look upon too…"

This time, the Tarnished did feel a bit awkward. It wasn't as if there'd been much time for romance in the final days of his journey to becoming Elden Lord. Well, aside from pursuing Ranni, of course.

…

…Well, it should be fine if Sword Saint does nothing more than stare.

Some time goes by, the trek made towards the capital kept relatively lively thanks to the borderline endless chatter provided by Hero as well as a string of questions and comments courtesy of Sage. And Ranni more than welcomed the experience, finding this brief respite a refreshing take from the days of quiet and solitude she'd had back in the Lands Between.

Oh, dear Iji and Blaidd had been wonderful companions and she'd enjoyed their company immensely. Even Selivus, for all his arrogance and petty ambitions, had occasionally made for some interesting small talk thanks to his own unique perspective on sorcery. But even then, all three had been kept busy by the various tasks assigned to them, having lent to a great deal of isolation on her part. And though introverted by nature, even she had come to long for some measure of interaction.

And on that particular front, the merry trio of Hero, Sage, and Sword Saint were providing that in droves. Though they would eventually have to part ways for good, there would be memories she'd cherish forevermore, no matter what the outcome may be in the end of this current path.

And on that particular note…

"Oh…" Ranni couldn't help but let out a little sigh as the kingdom's capital finally came into view.

As expected of a capital, it was quite large, larger than even the water town by a very significant margin, with walls constructed from the finest materials to be found in this land and guards wearing armor of considerable luster and toughness standing at attention outside the massive gate ahead.

Though she's yet to even step foot into the capital and see what exactly lied behind the walls, the sprawling towers and other structures were painting a fairly vivid picture for her.

In some ways, it reminded her vaguely of Leyndell of all places.

Though hardly a land she could claim to love, especially after her father had left her mother – his wife – so quickly to be at queen Marika's side, not even such antipathy could quell her admiration for the sheer amount of craftmanship put into Leyndell's grand structures.

A feeling similar to that level of admiration now filled her as they neared the gate in short order, Ranni only vaguely aware of their pace having increased once the capital had come into view.

A little while later, they were at the gate itself, the guards merely taking one look at Hero before relaxing their posture and motioning for them to head on in with only a scant few comments and questions to be made in the process.

Naturally, they had stared queerly at her and the Tarnished, more so her given her more unnatural appearance. Despite whatever reservations they may have had, Ranni and her beloved were still allowed entry alongside the Hero and her friends without issue once the trio had clarified they were allies of theirs. It really said something about how much trust the guards and by extension the capital as a whole must have in the trio of young women to take their words at face value so easily.

Ranni's more devious side wanted to call such a trust a weakness – a true flaw. However, such thoughts were pushed away once they entered through the gate and she actually got to see what the capital looked like in full.

As expected, there were people aplenty flitting about their business, with even the smallest of structures standing a story or so taller than the other buildings seen in the villages and towns so far. And of course, that went doubly so for what she assumed to immediately be the palace, the design of which was vaguely similar to that of Leyndell's capital albeit on a notably smaller scale and without any equivalent of the Erdtree around to obstruct people's field of view.

"Quite a sight, huh?" Hero said, her smile practically evident in her tone.

Roused from her thoughts, Ranni could only utter a single word. "Yes."

Her simple response elicited one in turn from Sword Saint. "Mm. Even now, it can sometimes get us to stand and stare for a minute… it's a sight that never really gets old."

Ranni could only nod numbly.

…Just how many years exactly has it been since she'd last seen any land filled with so many people? With so much liveliness to it? The Carian Manor had long since been abandoned save for her and her few allies, the rest of the inhabitants being creatures that had wandered in after the fact. The same could be said of Raya Lucaria, the relatively few sorcerers remaining there to fiercely guard their lives' work from any outsiders. Leyndell had long since lost any sense of its splendor even with most of its structures having remained more or less intact this whole time, even through all the ash that had coated it after the release of Destined Death.

This was the first time in a terribly long while she'd ever seen a place of this size have so many people about and not descending into violence and death.

It was… it was essentially a novel experience at this point, so long had it been since such a sight had been glimpsed. Even with recent events, the people still went about their lives as usual. Whether they did so to keep a sense of normalcy or if they had that much faith in the king and the kingdom's forces to get things under control again was unknown, but neither possibility diminished the impact for her.

"I already told the guards we need to meet the king so they should have already sent word ahead about us," chirped the Hero. "Come on! The path to the king is this way. Sooner we get this over and done with, the sooner we can relax for a while!"

As the young and exuberant girl all but literally tugged on their arms to get moving, Ranni smiled. Though she and her beloved had much to do still in this world, she could honestly say she shall miss these moments once they return home. Nevertheless, seeing the capital as they continued their trek to the palace felt rather inspiring.

Perhaps… yes, perhaps once they make it back to the Lands Between and get properly settled in with her Age of Stars, they too can know such prosperity again.

The King, upon being informed of the Hero's return alongside her accompaniment of the two foreigners, had all but skipped his way to his usual meeting chamber where he would welcome them all with open arms.

For now, things seemed to be settling down somewhat but there was still much to do. The forces of Chaos out on the northern frontiers still needed to be fully driven back, a few dragons that had seemingly been driven to the point of insane aggression from the events roughly a week or so ago were still out there somewhere. No longer burning the land to ashes, thankfully, but their continued presence in the kingdom's lands were points of concern.

And of course… there was the report made about what Hero, Sage, and Sword Saint had had to do days ago… the killing of his own subjects when they'd been driven to some sort of irreversible frenzy by an unknown source of power. Yes, that was by far the biggest concern, if only because this still had no apparent lead as to where and what the cause of the frenzy is.

As such, having two potential new warriors under his command to deal with these issues would be a gift of the gods themselves by this point. That, and his inner adventurer/warrior self really wanted to see what exactly these two could do.

It was all he could do to remain seated and keep his enthusiasm in check as the doors to his meeting chamber finally opened some minutes after his own arrival.

In walked the three young women he'd become so familiar with, Hero and Sage and Sword Saint looking somewhat weary after all that they've been through recently yet still with a sense of pride about them. Looks like things had improved somewhat following that soul-crushing experience with the frenzied people.

But it was the two at the back of the group that naturally held his attention the most right now.

The first of the two was a woman and a most unusual one at that. She was of average height and dressed primarily in white robes that were clearly of high quality despite the wear and tear that had resulted from her travels. However, it was her unusual blue skin that drew his attention, followed then by the fact that she has four arms rather than just two. One eye was closed, seemingly permanently so while the other eye – a very startling and captivating blue – remained open and calm.

…And was it just his eyes playing tricks on him but was there a strange white glow along the side of her face? It was hard to focus on it and thus he couldn't be sure if it was just a strange effect of the lighting or if it was in fact real.

Then there was the sole male among the women. Though dressed in a grey long sleeve shirt and black woolen pants and boots, there was not the slightest bit of doubt that he is indeed a warrior, made evident by his great height and immensely muscular build that his clothes failed to hide at all. Sharp and noble facial features framed by long dark brown hair done up in a high ponytail and blue eyes that appeared to be of a similar hue to the unknown woman's.

Though he appeared to carry no weapons on his immediate person, his posture made it clear that he was alert and if need be more than ready to fight… and the King didn't doubt for an instant that even if he is truly unarmed that he was harmless.

The young king had to suppress a shudder as he locked eyes with the unknown warrior for a brief second. Standing across the room from him was a veteran who has lived through more battles than the King ever has and probably ever will. His instincts told him so and he wasn't about to doubt them now.

"Welcome back!" the King finally said as his attendant – who accompanied him as she always did – discreetly pinched his back, rousing him from his slight haze. "And you must be the two our resident magic user had mentioned in her message. It's finally nice to meet you. On behalf of the kingdom, you've my thanks for slaying the dragon that had threatened the water town and for aiding our popular young hero in ridding the source of the trouble in the desert."

Hero, Sage, and Sword Saint greeted him and stepped aside as the unknown blue-skinned woman moved forward. Her movements were minimal and the very definition of graceful. The King had an inkling that this woman was more than just a mage, possibly a noble from whatever land she hailed from.

"Ye honor us with thy words. We merely did as any other would have done in such a situation," spoke the woman with a courteous bow. It wasn't a deep bow, however, not like how others would bow before a monarch but rather a light one, as though greeting an equal… or someone of slightly lower status.

His interest, already so great, grew even more.

Normally, he loathed formalities and simply went through the motions, but this time he was quite invested, if only to find out more about these two foreigners.

"Even so, relative few have what it takes to slay a dragon or aid these three so effectively in a situation that even they admitted to having struggles with," he replied, smirking all the while. "May I have the honor of knowing who exactly I'm thanking?"

"My name is Ranni," spoke the woman – Ranni. "As for my beloved here…"

She motioned to the man, who now stepped forward as well. Her beloved, huh? That wasn't something the King had expected – not that it was something he'd take issue with.

"I've no name to give, I'm afraid," spoke the warrior with a light smile, apologetic. "I'm simply a warrior. Please refer to me as you wish, your majesty."

The King's eyes narrowed at those words. Not in suspicion or annoyance but in intrigue. In his days as an adventurer, he's encountered a handful of people who've discarded their pasts in favor of their aspirations. They had always been the most interesting individuals he's ever met, so surely that must hold true for this man as well.

"Then Ranni and great warrior, I say again, thank you for your help," he sincerely said as he inclined his head. "But enough formalities, hm? Please, all of you, take a seat. Let's talk more in depth."

With the thanks out of the way, it was time to get done to the real business – discussing more in detail what had transpired out in the desert and what should be done going forward.

Sage's message to the capital had provided a concise summary of what's happened, but there were obviously plenty of details left out. This meeting was to address that…

…As well as give him a shot at talking these two in officially joining the kingdom under his command. A simple glance made it clear that such a thing would be truly impossible to do so, or at the very least insanely difficult, but if Fate and Chance were in his favor today, then it wouldn't hurt to at least try. After all, he'd initially been under the assumption he'd never get to meet them yet here they all were.

If such a meeting could come to be then what is to say winning them over was truly impossible?

At the massive table, the trio of Hero, Sage, and Sword Saint took their seats to his left while Ranni and the great warrior sat to his right.

With a light nod, he dismissed the few guards that had quietly been in the room this whole time. "Now then, anyone care to explain the situation more in detail? Your message left just as many questions as it did answers." That last sentence was aimed at Sage.

"Mm. Then perhaps I should be the one to clear thy… confusion," spoke Ranni. "After all, the source of thy land's troubles are in part due to forces from my land."

At that, the King's eyebrows shot up almost into his hairline. That definitely hadn't been something he'd expected to hear. Nonetheless, he maintained his cool expression and motioned for Ranni to continue.

And with nary a missed beat, she spoke of a grand tale.

Of a magical mishap that had transported her from her homeland all the way out to here. Of how her lover, the great warrior, had then hastily ventured out this way in search of her and the few confrontations they've had with the local forces of Chaos along the way.

…Then Ranni spoke at length of the strange and dangerous things that now preyed upon the lands, of forces from her homeland that had somehow found their way here and now sought to wreak havoc just as they've done before in her land of origin.

The drastic and disturbing changes that had occurred in the desert were explained in full, painting a very terrifying image for him of this Scarlet Rot which had been the cause of it. However, Ranni also stressed their success in vanquishing the source of the… infection… and how eventually the land can heal, though not without a good deal of help from his own forces to thoroughly purge the land.

Yet another headache to add to the ever growing plate he had. At least the problem in and of itself had been dealt with, though, so all that was really left was to clean up the remaining mess. That much was doable.

Minutes passed by quickly, so captivated was the King in the tale Ranni weaved, with some very occasional input from the other women in the room to confirm certain details.

By the end of it, the King subconsciously massaged his temple, a very light sweat having been broken as he realized only now just how close things had been to a complete disaster.

If this Scarlet Rot had been allowed to go unchecked for even a while longer…

He shuddered at how things could have gone.

"A close call, to put it lightly," he grumbled. "Not to sound too paranoid, but you're sure this is the end of it?"

"Of the Scarlet Rot? Yes." Ranni nodded with absolute certainty.

"…There's more, isn't there?" The King already knew the answer but had to ask anyways.

"Correct. And it has to do with the frenzy ye have surely been informed of," replied Ranni, all four of her hands interlocking with one another atop the table.

He sat up straighter in his seat. "Another thing from your homeland?"

Ranni sighed. "Sadly, that is exactly the case."

"It's due to something called the Frenzied Flame, your majesty," Sage suddenly chipped in. "Ranni and her companion here have already filled us three in on the whole thing and I've asked a series of questions about this… thing… during our travel back here. I can back her up on this. Just like how the Scarlet Rot was able to spread its influence and have it manifest as a swamp out in the desert, the Frenzied Flame is able to spread its influence by directly targeting the minds of living beings, just as I'd mentioned in my report. The burned out eyes, replaced by yellow flames… it's a telltale sign of its influence over people."

The King leaned forward, resting his chin upon his raised and interlocked hands. "I see. Is there… is there anyways to purify it?"

It was the great warrior who answered, somewhat to the king's surprise. "As one who has spent more than a little time fighting those afflicted by its madness… I'm afraid to say the answer is no. Or rather not anymore. There once existed a method of excising such an entity's influence, but the method was lost to time. Additionally, in order to even use it in the first place, one would have to be capable of resisting its influence long enough to be subject to the method or else they'd die in the process."

The great warrior heaved a great sigh. "The only thing that can be done is to purge those afflicted by it before the madness can spread further."

Though his voice was calm and even light, the words were terribly heavy, enough to make the whole room fall dead silent with only the ambiance to keep them company for the time being.

With a heavy grimace, the King broke the silence a full minute later. "That's… not exactly comforting in the slightest."

"Very little is when dealing with gods," the great warrior retorted, not unkindly.

That earned another grimace from the King. "Noted." His voice was dryer than any desert. "In any case, it's good to finally have some information to properly work with. It's been a ridiculous, stressful time just trying to deal with all the incidents' aftermath so far, to say nothing of the new incidents still popping up. At least with this new knowledge, we can better address matters. And on that note…"

This was it, the King felt, his one and likely only chance to try and recruit Ranni and her lover into the kingdom's services. They may have been very light on their own personal information so far, most likely for a damn good reason, but to hell with it – it was now or never.

"…Would it be possible to request your aid in these matters?" he asked as naturally as possible.

Hero, Sage, and Sword Saint shared a look amongst themselves. Meanwhile, Ranni and the great warrior remained silent for a few seconds, their expressions completely unreadable even to the King.

The great warrior leaned forward in his seat, arms upon the table, vaguely mimicking the King's own pose from a minute ago. "…I shall be completely honest with you, young majesty." His eyes closed for a brief second before opening again and staring at the King. "We're not against lending our aid to you and your kingdom. However, we cannot say for certain that we'll help. Our primary concern is simply getting back to our home. But to that end, Ranni and I must first eliminate the sources of the gods' influence in these lands. While we don't know for certain how or why they came to spread their power out into this land, leaving them be simply will not sit well with us and as such, we consider it our duty to at least eliminate the threat they pose here before they return. Consider it a case of cleaning up our own mess, so to speak."

"He speaks true," Ranni confirmed. "Should we come across any conflicts in our travels that we can address, then we shall put an end to them before continuing onwards… but that is the best we shall be able to do. If ye are intending to ask us to outright go out of our way to drive back the chaos in other regions of this land, then our answer is – respectfully – no."

In the face of such words, just as honest as the great warrior had said they would be, the King couldn't help but flinch. They left very little room for negotiation, it seemed like. Nonetheless…

"Is that truly the case?" he asked. "Is there no way we can rely upon you both to take care of one matter or so?"

"It is as we just said," spoke the veteran warrior, his tone noticeably firmer yet still understanding. "As just stated, we'll be more than happy to slay any monsters and other threats we come across as we go in search of all sources of the Frenzied Flame's influence, but that will be the extent of it. At the very least, by ridding your kingdom of the Frenzied Flame's threat, we shall be eliminating a very major threat to your people."

"For whatever it is worth, however," Ranni suddenly chipped, motioning with a single hand. "If our counsel will suffice for thee, we shall be more than happy to provide it. Would ye find some comfort in that?"

That gave him some pause. They were already providing him new bastions of knowledge here as is. Any other information they can provide would surely be worth its weight in gold. Nonetheless, his desire to have them join the kingdom burned ever more fiercely. Though the citizens at large felt secure thanks to his efforts and especially the efforts of those under his command, the true fact of the matter is that it was a constant struggle to maintain even the status quo. With recent events stirring the forces of Chaos into action, it was wonder the kingdom was even still standing.

Unfortunately, it didn't seem like the two would budge on this matter at all and he wasn't so desperate as to try outright coercing them into serving the kingdom. As one who'd become an adventurer to explore the world around him, he knew all too well how stifling it can be to be forced into a role he didn't care for.

"That will have to do," he eventually admitted. "I hope you can't blame me for trying."

Ranni smiled. "Not at all."

The great warrior smiled as well and nodded.

If nothing else, these two were quite the amicable pair.

In any case, with his attempt to win them over put to a swift end, the King could only press on and now ask for at least a little advice on what to do next.

As their talk swiftly took the form of an informal strategy session, time continued to fly by all the while. And the King's spirits, which had been in somewhat dire straits before, lifted ever so lightly in the process.

Following the lengthy meeting with the King, the Tarnished and Ranni had bid him farewell for the time being. Afterwards, the two had gone out to have a meal with the trio of Hero, Sage, and Sword Saint before finally parting ways for the day.

Now it was at an inn that the young women had recommended to them that the vassal of the Dark Moon and her consort found themselves in for the night.

Currently, Ranni sat upon the room's sole large bed while the Tarnished sat at the desk, numerous boluses spread out upon it in addition to a handful of other miscellaneous items.

"Tis been quite some time since I've experienced a day like this," Ranni commented.

Her words elicited a chuckle from the Tarnished. "I feel quite the same. It was… novel."

Just how long had it been since either of them had experienced something akin to a day before the Shattering? Too long, he'd dare to say. It was enough to make them feel as though they were air itself right now.

However, such a feeling did little to prevent them from still focusing on the matters at hand.

"It was good as well to know just how productive the meeting was," the veteran warrior then said, earning a hum of agreement from the Lunar Princess.

To their combined surprise, the King hadn't pressed them as hard as they'd been expecting them to when he'd requested their help. Perhaps they'd been too cautious in the matter. Then again, they had offered whatever counsel they could provide and judging by the way his eyes had widened and all but lit up when they'd spoken about certain security measures, it would seem their offer was holding quite a lot of weight so far. Looks like all those decades of study that Ranni had under her belt and his many years of battle alongside lord Godfrey and his own experiences made for good references.

But this meeting, due to how late it had run on, was simply the first of potentially several. The King had all but pleaded without actually pleading for them to return to continue offering their opinions on several affairs regarding defense against these various other factions that aimed to trample the kingdom. While the couple doubted these meetings would drag out too long, it was still a new point of concern to have.

Thankfully, towards the end of the meeting, they had been able to ask the King about potential services they in turn could receive if and when necessary, primarily any and all other information he may now have about peculiarities that belonged to the gods they were familiar with. In other words, just simply making sure that there were no other loose ends they'd otherwise had not noticed.

Given that the King naturally wanted these threats snuffed out for the good of his kingdom, he'd been more than happy to look into the matter and get back to them soon.

Still, it would likely take until some time tomorrow for him to procure all that information, necessitating their stay in the capital for at least tonight.

In the meantime, they intended to use this time to make some additional preparations.

Ranni would soon be communicating with the Dark Moon again to see what else could be gleamed from its insight, however limited it may be, into this world. As for the Tarnished, he was intending to capitalize on the deal he'd struck with the guild, with Hero having offered to guide him to the Adventurer's Guild located here in the capital tomorrow after breakfast. With that in mind, he was looking through the items he felt would procure him the most amount of coin without giving away too much.

To be perfectly honest, if all went well, whatever money he obtained from selling his wares would likely be unneeded in the long-term, but it was a precaution he felt was worth taking. And if nothing else, he could take the currency back with him to the Lands Between and use it as a basis for a new currency in his home world now that runes likely wouldn't serve as such anymore.

"Agreed. Yet we cannot afford to rest on our laurels too readily." Ranni's tone grew serious as she finally removed her hat, having kept it on the whole time. "The Frenzied Flame's focus on absolute destruction may very well make it the most malevolent of the gods we know. And if it has gained even a small yet proper foothold in this Four Cornered World, there can be no telling how rapidly its rank of thralls may bloat."

The Tarnished could only nod, his movements as he mentally took stock of his items slowing in the process.

The Lands Between had thankfully seen only small and relatively isolated outbreaks of the Flame of Frenzy's influence, though even then those outbreaks had contributed significantly to its overall state of disarray and decay. Here in this world, where certain aspects of life and the divine were considerably different, there was no telling what could happen.

"Once we have the information the King has promised us, we'll have to be swift and decisive in our actions afterwards," the Tarnished said as he finished up his counting. "Depending on the severity of the situation, chances are we will be having no further breaks until our task is done."

"Then let us be sure to do our task thoroughly, my dear consort," Ranni replied sternly. "And then… finally, we shall be able to return home."

The Tarnished nodded yet again in full agreement.

With the Scarlet Rot's influence seemingly curbed for good and the Formless Mother's attempts at spreading throughout this world in a very odd state of fluctuation, it appeared that only the Frenzied Flame was the last major challenge to overcome before they can finally focus on figuring out a way home.

But as he's long since learned from experience, it was always the final challenge that was the most difficult, even more so than could ever have been expected otherwise.

He just hoped such wouldn't be quite the case this time around.

All in all, a fairly uneventful character-driven chapter, but one that nonetheless sets up what can be considered the final… arc? Section?... of this fic, crazy and sudden as that may sound.

This is where things begin to converge, shall we say, with the Tarnished and Ranni eventually going out to curb the Frenzied Flame's influence… all the while unaware of Shabriri's presence in this world, to say nothing of Goblin Slayer's own contact, brief as it was, with the Flame of Frenzy itself. This is where things all start to collide and while it will hardly be the enormous epic that certain final events were in some of my other fics like Slave of Light or Don't Fear the Dark, you can expect shit to get wild pretty soon as a fair few major parties get involved.

Until such a point, however, I hope you all will continue to stick with me, ha ha.

Until next time, everyone. Take care!