Been replaying God of War Ragnarok recently now that it has a New Game+ mode… and wow, Santa Monica did great with this particular update! Even though I'm replaying it on normal difficulty, the fact that the enemies start out at tier 7 just goes to show how much the game ramps things up to accommodate your previous endgame stats. That Nornir chests now give out droplets of Yggdrasil too only makes thing more nuts this time around since you can now really increase Kratos' stats to stupid heights with enough time and investment. Just about the only downside is that you can't check out certain areas that require the Draupnir Spear early on though this isn't that big a downside since it is meant to prevent any crazy sequence breaking early on. Still, just mildly a bummer.

But damn, replaying it again and reliving the story just makes me marvel yet again at how well down the whole game in general is. Could definitely see why it and Elden Ring were competing for Game of the Year last year and each one with their own tastes for people. Yet again, it's enough to get me all worked up with fanfic ideas, ha ha.

Now, speaking of fanfics… not going to lie, I had things somewhat planned out – more like had a general outline – of events up to the last chapter with our favorite Elden Ring power couple making contact with the Dark Moon. After that… yeah, at that point, my little outline sort of fizzled out beyond the most generic and vaguest clue of what to do. This is why this chapter took a little longer to get done – I had to reimagine how exactly I wanted the plot to go from here on out. Even now, I'm still feeling a bit iffy about how to do things but I know that once I find my pace, things will smooth out for me. Until then, I hope you all will be understanding if the story gets just a little lackluster, though I will be doing my best to avoid that happening.

So with all that now said, let's get onto the chapter!

P.S. As usual, please consider purchasing any of my books! Universal links can be found on my profile page, just remove the spaces! Available on a variety of platforms such as Apple, Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble, and more!

P.P.S. Anyone here know anything about Punishing Gray Raven? Been reading up on its plot here and there and the setting is giving me some fanfic ideas for the distant future.

Chapter 18

With a barely suppressed frown, Sword Maiden watched as Ranni the witch and her companion – lover? Partner? The relationship between them was never really made clear in this brief time – entered the same room they'd first met in before.

The young woman frowned not in displeasure or anything of the like, but rather out of some vague sense of confusion and even vertigo.

Just yesterday, the two foreigners had perused her personal library and had evidently found whatever they'd been looking for, according to the brief oral reports from both Female Merchant and her attendant. Then sometime later that day, something had happened that had washed over Sword Maiden's acute extrasensory perceptions and ever since then had felt off-balanced.

She'd hoped it'd merely been the result of fatigue or some other issue that could be resolved with just some rest but it wasn't to be; this morning, she'd woken up still feeling that same unearthly feeling and it remained even now.

If anything, the sensation became somewhat more noticeable upon Ranni and the still unnamed warrior entering the meeting chamber, the former seemingly being the source of it all.

…No, not the source per say, Sword Maiden realized an instant later, but certainly involved in whatever was going on now.

…Just about the only consolation the blonde could think of was that at least this sensation didn't seem sinister or malevolent, not like the other things that currently plagued the Four Cornered World. She was perceptive enough to realize that the new force she felt was… oddly and eerily calming, like staring at the reflection of a moon upon a gentle lake.

"Good morning, you two," Sword Maiden began. "What brings you here so early in the day?"

"Nothing of particular note, young holy one," spoke Ranni as she inclined her head slightly. "Merely that it is time for my companion and I to be setting out. We simply wished to thank thee for thy hospitality before setting out."

"It is as she says," the warrior now spoke, nodding in full agreement. He was wearing the same armor he'd worn upon first coming here. "If not for your personal library, we may well have been wandering about feeling rather lost. But it was through your generosity that we can now move on with purpose."

Sword Maiden blinked beneath her black cloth, somewhat surprised. "Oh? Why, that is good to hear – that my collection has been of such use to you, that is. Still, you truly are going to leave already?"

"I'm afraid so. While you truly have been most kind to us, said kindness is not something we'd wish to accidentally take advantage of," spoke the warrior. "But now that we've made considerable progress in our personal venture, it is time to move on. It is a case of… how does one say it… striking while the iron is still hot?"

"I… see." She was feeling rather nonplussed for some reason. Though she dreaded all the formalities and politicking that came with her position, it would seem she's perhaps gotten a bit too used to them in some respects. This had to be the second most direct sort of meeting she's ever had.

There were still numerous questions that she had, but if these two really were going to leave, then there wasn't much she could do about it, especially not when the overall situation of the world still needed to be properly assessed.

…Nonetheless, she supposed she could send out a message to the king through Female Merchant to inform the man of these two. Not to cause anyone any trouble, oh no, but merely to apprise him of two persons of interest. At least he would probably take this much more seriously than all those times before when she'd informed him of goblins causing trouble…

With her thoughts hidden, Sword Maiden put on a gentle smile and inclined her head towards them. "Then may you both have a safe journey. And thank you once again for disposing of the dragon. The water town will always be open to you in the future."

Ranni and the warrior inclined their heads in thanks and took their leave without any fanfare, barring two attendants seeing them out of the room and eventually out of the temple entirely.

As for Sword Maiden, she stood there merely a moment longer before letting out a tired sigh. That eerily gentle presence just now… it may not have meant any harm from the feel of it, but it clearly wasn't something meant for this world.

…She could only pray that whatever it was, it wouldn't somehow add to the Four Cornered World's seemingly increasing woes.


Roughly half an hour goes by after the brief farewell given to Sword Maiden. In that time, Ranni and her consort had taken their leave of the water town and headed east for the time being, no longer seeing a point in heading north towards the capital now that they've reestablished a connection with the Dark Moon.

Speaking of which, Ranni had been in a particularly good mood ever since her spell had worked, the all too familiar presence of her god acting through her serving as a very calming presence.

That the Dark Moon's strength was enough to act a counter against the invasive influence of the other gods in this world was merely a very generous and beneficial bonus.

Now seated in front of the Tarnished atop Torrent, they traveled at a very leisurely pace for the time being, basking in the soft breeze and gentle sunrays that contrasted the Dark Moon's nightly presence.

"Though it was only a short while," the Tarnished began. "Having the Dark Moon back is certainly a great boon – both in terms of practicality and from an emotional standpoint as well, is it not?"

"Most agreed," Ranni said as a smile grew on her face.

Even Torrent seemed to let out a snort in agreement, an action that caused the Tarnished to chuckle.

"So, how shall we proceed from here? We hardly discussed our next move following the spell's success," he then commented.

Ranni hummed in agreement. Following the mending of the bond between her and the Dark Moon, the rest of yesterday had been spent in what could almost be considered an act of laziness, too satisfied with how things had turned out to do much more planning.

Not that much planning seemed all that required from her perspective – now that the Dark Moon's power was curbing the influence of the others, the state of the Four Cornered World should be settling down somewhat, at least enough for the two of them plus the forces of this world to launch a proper counteroffensive against the remaining forces of the gods.

In which case, it was simply a matter of focusing on the issues that were physically closer to their current location.

"The Flame of Frenzy has swiftly amassed a following in this country's lands," Ranni pointed out. "And given its method of spreading, if allowed to run rampant any longer, it will either kill everyone in the country down to the last man or convert a portion of the population to its side."

"Neither outcome is favorable," the Tarnished dryly stated before resuming in a more serious tone. "I take it there are already a few locations where those fallen to madness have taken up residence at?"

"Yes. Fairly spread out… and heading towards the border," Ranni explained. "However, they've yet to actually cross the country's border for whatever reason. I can only assume it is because there is nothing in the immediate vicinity to tempt them to spread out. In any case, this does serve us well – the border I just spoke of crosses over into the desert where the Scarlet Rot has taken root in."

"Mm, then so long as we maintain a consistent travel path, we can put an end to the Frenzied Flame's influence in this world just in time to deal with the Scarlet Rot immediately afterwards. Excellent." Having been looking ahead the whole time, the Tarnished now tilted his Crucible Axe Helm-covered head downwards at her. "Care to take the reins, beloved? Show me towards our first stop?"

He lowered Torrent's reins so that they were right in front of Ranni's face. She silently accepted them and gave the reins a somewhat awkward tug.

Torrent let out a whine even as he picked up the pace, turning right off the beaten path. With an awkward frown, Ranni adjusted her grip with all four hands and gave another tug, this time making Torrent turn a bit more to the right in order to course correct.

The Tarnished, who'd jerked slightly from the sudden turn, chuckled. "I never knew you to be a bad rider."

"…Tis been a long while since I'd last commanded any mount," she replied, head turned slightly so that her wide brim white hat hid her face. "Now quiet before I command Torrent to throw thee off for thy cheek."

Her consort wisely stayed quiet… though she could practically feel the amusement in his gaze.

With cheeks coloring ever so slightly, she gave another tug on Torrent's reins, the spirit mount speeding up in response.


The journey back to the frontier town had been a quick one all things considered, but to Priestess and the others, it had felt long and terribly sullen.

It was, after all, the first time they'd ever had to outright abandon a quest. That said abandonment had happened before they could even reach the location in question only made things worse.

With hearts heavy, the party made their way to the guild and while Goblin Slayer went to report to Guild Girl about the circumstances, Priestess and the others decided to take seat at a nearby table, practically slumping over and making the normally sturdy table groan under the combined weight of their upper bodies. Though it was mainly Lizard Priest's weight responsible for this.

"What a terrible turn of events…" Lizard Priest said after a long minute of silence, which netted sounds of agreement out of the others.

Priestess was then rattled when High Elf Archer actually slammed a fist into the table, albeit somewhat half-heartedly. "That was… that wasn't an adventure," she whined in a lame tone.

"Whatever the hell was goin' on over there sure ain't something to joke about," Dwarf Shaman mumbled, too tired to even bother bringing out his usual fire whiskey yet. "…Do ya reckon it might spread?"

Priestess shuddered at such a thought.

The horrible feeling that had overwhelmed her back then returned somewhat as invasive thoughts now intruded. The mere idea of that terrifying force gaining more influence… it was enough to make her mentally recite a prayer to the Earth Mother for protection.

However, said mental prayer went unfinished as Priestess realized her friends were looking her way in the wake of Dwarf Shaman's question.

Oh, by the Earth Mother, they were actually looking to her for an answer!

"I…" She gulped, unsure of how to word it before just deciding to go with her gut feeling. "I can only hope it doesn't… but I fear it just might."

Despite wishing otherwise, whatever that unnatural thing was, it didn't abide by any logic in this world. It will come, not specifically for them per say, but come nonetheless because they happened to be living beings that must be eradicated from its perspective.

For what reason, though, Priestess couldn't fathom. She didn't want to fathom.

Her response got a shudder out of them. Lizard Priest flicked his tail about in genuine nervousness. "It has been a long while since I've ever felt like a greenhorn, untested and worried about the trials I was to face… but now I must admit to feeling similar to back then now." For the proud lizardman to utter such a thing said a lot about how much recent events had rattled even him.

Dwarf Shaman grunted. "Same, scaly, same… though I think our little Priestess here took it the hardest, didn't ya, lass?"

Priestess tensed up at being called out, but the lack of accusation in the dwarf's tone only caused her tension to last for just a split second. He was simply concerned for her.

"…Yes," she said eventually. "Whatever that force was, it wasn't from this world at all. And its influence will only spread if it's not stopped soon. And the more I think about that, the more…" She trailed off.

High Elf Archer let out a sigh and patted her shoulder. "Considering what I went through some odd days ago, I can't blame you for being all wound up. Just try and take it a bit easy. We're adventurers – wouldn't be worth the title if we just let this get us down completely."

"…Mm." Priestess tried to draw what strength she could from the high elf's words of encouragement. It wasn't much, but enough to put her somewhat at ease.

"Speaking of adventuring… wonder what has become of the village we were supposed to aid," Lizard Priest asked in worry. "Goblins aside, the idea of those people also being assaulted by those others is worrisome."

Priestess hands balled into tight little fists. Considering the proximity of their intended destination to that village they'd come across, perhaps their questgiver had already been…

She shut her eyes and finished that mental prayer of hers.

Dwarf Shaman finally found it in him to pull out the fire whiskey and take a swig, grunting all the while. "Pretty likely the guild is gonna put out quests to deal with those poor frenzied bastards. No way we all can just ignore what's goin' on forever. The only thing now is – how are they gonna do it?"

"Guess it all comes down to what exactly Orcbolg tells them of what happened…" High Elf Archer said with a huff at the end. "…Just hope he gets the point across well – he's been somewhat out of it since our encounter with those things."

Ah and there was the other worry they now had.

Ever since Goblin Slayer had taken a hit from one of those possessed people, he's been even quieter than before, more lost in his thoughts at times.

It was enough to make Priestess worry even more about the situation. She didn't think he'd been… infected… by whatever had happened, but through her senses, she knew better than most that even simple contact with that force of wrongness wasn't something that could be shaken off so easily.

…But… but just what if he really was affected by what had happened? What should they do? What should she do?

Her hands, still balled into fists, tightened even more from the uncertainty.


Normally, Guild Girl was happy to see the goblin obsessed adventurer… but this was one of the small handful of times where that wasn't the case.

Goblin Slayer had looked fine enough when he'd first approached her, but as he reported of something that must be discussed somewhere more privately, the guild worker had started to get nervous and quite concerned, feelings of which had only gotten stronger upon somehow being able to sense him being more reticent than normal.

And as Goblin Slayer had begun to explain the events of what had happened recently, Guild Girl knew that her immediate feelings of worry for him and the others had been fully justified now.

Over the course of roughly twenty long minutes in which Goblin Slayer had slowly and in a rather clipped tone explained what had happened, Guild Girl could only take notes in as composed a manner as possible.

What Goblin Slayer was speaking of… it was of great concern, both on a personal level to her and on a much greater level to the whole guild if not the whole kingdom.

People out there infected by an unknown something, going around and attacking all that they saw… yes, worrying didn't quite sum up her feelings on the matter.

Nonetheless, she managed to remain professional the whole time, assuring Goblin Slayer that she would inform all appropriate parties of what was going on and make sure measures were taken to minimize risks for everyone.

Alas, that was about all she could say as a guild employee, which she could tell didn't put Goblin Slayer at ease.

But now that the official business was conducted…

"Um…" Guild Girl wet her lips, hesitant. "…How are you and your party feeling?"

Goblin Slayer hadn't made mention of any injuries suffered on their part, but his decidedly terse description of the whole affair made it seem like he was leaving out some personal details.

"…No, we're all fine," he replied after a long several seconds.

Guild Girl narrowed her eyes. She didn't like that delay.

"Are you absolutely certain?" Her voice was stern. She knew just as well as his party members did that Goblin Slayer wasn't someone prone to discussing how he felt. He was doing much better now than he had prior to partying with the others, but he still had a long way to go. The fact that it seemed like he was regressing was greatly alarming, hence her insistence.

"…" Goblin Slayer made a sound. He tilted his head back somewhat, as if reliving what had happened.

For a moment, Guild Girl thought he wasn't going to reply, which saddened and concerned her.

Then…

"…The others are fine," he began. "But I… I took a hit during all the fighting and…" He trailed off.

"A-Are you…?" Guild Girl startled at this fact, so much so that she got up off the sofa within the private meeting room they were in.

"I'd blocked the attack with my shield, but it still… it still affected me somehow," Goblin Slayer continued, seemingly ignorant to her slight outburst just now. "I saw… visions, I think. Of the future… or at least, visions of what it wanted."

It? So there was something behind all this?

"What… what did you see?" Guild Girl asked.

"…" Goblin Slayer didn't answer at first. "…Something that shouldn't be."

Well, that wasn't worrisome at all, Guild Girl thought with just a smidge of annoyance and sarcasm. But even so, she knew better than to keep pushing him right now. He was clearly still affected by what had happened.

Unfortunately, while she could get him to comply with certain demands on her part by threatening to withhold goblin slaying quests, she as a guild employee didn't legally have any power over him as an adventurer. Even if she strongly recommended him to get looked out by healers and rest up, she had no way of actually making him do so despite him clearly needing help.

Even if she did have that kind of authority, she honestly wasn't sure what could possibly help him with something that went beyond any physical harm he may have actually suffered. This was… this was something else entirely.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" she asked in the wake of his ominous (and cryptic) statement. Her professional tone was all gone and now her concern was plain for even one such as Goblin Slayer to surely see and hear.

He grunted. "I… I don't think so, no."

Hearing him say that hurt to hear, but sadly Guild Girl could only agree with his words. Comfort in and of itself, no matter the form, wasn't going to help him shake off whatever effect those visions had had on him.

And it hurt even more to acknowledge that now blatant fact.

With a tightened throat, all Guild Girl could do was utter a simple, "I… see."

It took several seconds to compose herself and continue. "I will make sure this report gets all due attention. As for you and your party… perhaps some time to rest and make sure you're all ready to adventure again will do you some good."

In the end, all she could really do for her favorite adventurer was lamely recommend him to take some time off.

But to her surprise, he actually seemed to hum in agreement. "I will… consider that… thank you."

She nodded slowly as a ghost of a smile found its way onto her face. If nothing else, Goblin Slayer is fighting back against whatever plagued him and was trying to trudge on in his own way. Ultimately, all she and others can do is just support him the best they can.

It honestly didn't sound like much, but if that was the only way to help him, then she'll do just that.


Following his meeting with Guild Girl, Goblin Slayer took his leave.

Now heading back to his party, he was still in the process of organizing all his thoughts following what had happened.

Though only marginally(?), what he'd seen back then still lingered in his mind. For whatever reason, the visions back then, all those images, felt distant and vague. It was as though this was a phenomenon he had encountered long ago instead of just recently.

But despite the murkiness of what he'd seen, he could still recall all too well the feeling it had tried to instill in him.

"…"

Goblin Slayer paused in his steps just as he was about to enter the lobby area of the guild. The harder he tried to shake off the sensation, the more stubbornly it resisted. Was this perhaps what it felt like to be addicted to something? He'd heard of people who'd grown extremely dependent on something, be it an actual drug or something else entirely, of how withdrawal felt akin to torture and like something was missing from within themselves, yet surely this was something that couldn't possibly apply to him, could it?

Yet somehow, it was perhaps the most appropriate thing to think of in this case. He may not recall the visions, but the feelings lingered and gnawed at him constantly, to the point of causing a minor ache within his own mind.

Thankfully, the ache in question was somewhat dull right now… but the fact it remained at all was… concerning.

…He… he wanted to know more. He wanted to know more about just what was going on out there. But at the same time, that same overwhelming sense of childish fear that that had once plagued him in his youth reared its ugly head, demanding he stay rooted in place lest the ground open up and swallow him whole.

What a dilemma he found himself in.

Even so, all he could ever do was just move forward, just keep thinking and try to figure a way out of his predicament. Just like his mentor, Burglar, taught him to do, only this time he was trying to apply the harsh rhea's lessons to dealing with his own emotions rather than a physical situation he was in. The time he'd been spending with his party had been helping him learn to do more than just take things literally all the time.

And speaking of them…

"There ya are, Beard-cutter!" Dwarf Shaman called out as Goblin Slayer finally resumed walking. The dwarf flagged him down and Goblin Slayer walked on over, shoving aside his thoughts as best as he could right now.

His situation can wait just a little longer to be sorted out.

"How did the meeting go, milord Goblin Slayer?" Lizard Priest asked as he moved aside for the goblin obsessed adventurer to take a seat by his side. "Productively, I would hope?"

"Somewhat," he replied as he sat.

"Come on, Orcbolg, you gotta give us more than just a one word response again!" High Elf Archer's tone was a bit harsher than usual. Given the circumstances, it made sense. And if anything… Goblin Slayer felt it was good to see that some of her usual energy had returned, even if only to berate him.

"Long ears here finally has a point," Dwarf Shaman said. "What did our favorite guild employee have to say about what's happened?"

Goblin Slayer took a few seconds to mull over a response before proceeding to give his friends a quick rundown of how the meeting had gone.

It'd been a relatively short meeting, all things considered, and so it made for an equally short retelling. Even then, the speed with which his party members' expression changed was rather startling.

"Do… do you think the guild will do anything about it then?" asked Priestess quietly, the young girl easily the most nervous of them all.

Lizard Priest hummed, rubbing a sharp claw under his chin in thought. "I would presume the best the best they'll be able to do is simply put out a notice for others to avoid the area… other than that, I'm hardpressed to imagine what more can be done other than to mount an actual offensive to… purge… the threat."

At those words, the mood plummeted at the table yet again.

"…" Goblin Slayer was rankled by the lizardman's words, genuinely perturbed. He often found it difficult to consider certain topics and concepts, either because they were simply too much for him to wrap his head around or because he just didn't care. In this case, it was less of those two things and more along the lines of him being actually unnerved by what those words implied.

Purge… in other words, the slaughter of all those… well, he wasn't even sure if he could call those things people anymore. Regardless, it wasn't something he's ever really considered. Perhaps it was because the only time he's ever seen such a 'purge' was when the goblins had invaded his village and tore everyone there apart. Hardly the same as what Lizard Priest was suggesting – he found it hard to believe, for one thing, that anyone tasked with killing those frenzied beings would take such sadistic joy in the act – but in the general ways of complete slaughter… it was a little too much for him.

"No way adventurers would agree to something like that," murmured their resident high elf. "Not even the worst among us all would join up if the guild asked of them to take care of the issue. There's a difference between going out on an adventure and… well, possibly doing something like that!"

Her voice got a bit louder towards the end there, attracting some attention from other adventurers nearby. When there was no immediate follow up, however, these adventurers shrugged and turned away, going back to their own business.

Goblin Slayer was silently grateful for that.

Dwarf Shaman grunted. "Scaly is just talkin' about a possibility here, long ears. Not like it's actually gonna happen… even if it does, though, I reckon the kingdom itself would be the one to tackle the problem. Probably send in some soldiers or call on that young hero girl I've heard about." He paused as he considered something. "…On second thought, probably not gonna call on the girl – wouldn't be right to have her deal with somethin' like that."

Goblin Slayer grunted in full agreement.

"If that does happen, how long would it take?" It was Priestess who spoke again, some life seemingly returning to her as she joined this morbid conversation in full. The subject matter was visibly weighing on her, but it was clear to Goblin Slayer that the mere possibility of those frenzied people venturing further out across the lands disturbed her far more than the seeming inevitability that someone would have to put them down. "I-I mean, even with the fastest ways to send messages, wouldn't it still take time to assemble a group for something like that?"

"Mm, hard to say exactly, young one," Lizard Priest answered. "I know little of how this kingdom's military operates, but the basics likely apply all the same – whenever my tribe and I had to mobilize to combat invaders into our territory, it could take an entire day or longer for us to prepare the more immediately available supplies for us, particularly if we were required to travel far to encounter the enemy. And my tribe, while certainly boasting an impressive number of people, is hardly comparable in size to an entire military, which would take even longer to prepare."

His words may have answered Priestess' question, but it also made her more worked up. "So then those people will…"

Goblin Slayer's hands balled into fists as they rested upon his knees. It was good that said fists were out of sight of his companion; they would be overly concerned with him when there were other things to be considering here.

In any case, the idea of those afflicted people spreading said affliction… it didn't sit well with him at all, especially after having gotten a firsthand taste of what the frenzied state they had felt like.

For once, he was actually considering doing something other than goblin slaying. If he voiced such a thought aloud, it would surely shock his friends and anyone else nearby who could overhear them. Rather sad that it took the appearance of something that could scorch the entirety of the Four Cornered World to make him genuinely think things over as opposed to the threat the forces of Chaos posed.

Something had to be done… but what though? This was beyond his ability to think through. While he and his party had been at a disadvantage primarily due to their initial unwillingness to do grievous harm to the frenzied people, even if they had been willing to kill from the outset, the frenzied people still had them outnumbered significantly in addition to possessing the sort of strength, speed, and resiliency that comes with not having the slightest care for their own physical safety.

And that wasn't even getting into those strange yellow-tinted blasts of something that they could use too…

…Perhaps… he should try making use of the Rogue Guild. Though he had no compunctions in making use of the connections he had to them thanks to his mentorship under Burglar, they were something of a last resort to him, something to be utilized only when it was truly the most ideal option possible at the time. He's gone to them a few times in more recent months when out on a journey, but it had usually been for small yet still relevant bits of information or tasks whose consequences would significantly impact his own quests.

However, should he commit to this idea, it would be for something much more significant than ever before… and working with the Rogue Guild was never free. He'd been lucky that simple coin payment had sufficed so far, even when his requests had evolved into matters a bit more difficult than expected for the members of the shadowy guild but given the sheer danger of any involvement with this new issue, especially in these increasingly chaotic times, there was a strong likelihood that he'll owe them a favor or two. And he couldn't imagine said favors being easy to fulfill.

And yet, he found himself thinking this was the best route possible for now. The Adventurers' Guild, while reliable overall, would take time making an effective move on its own and if the matter was handed off to the kingdom's military to deal with, it would likely take even longer for something to be done. In contrast, the Rogue Guild was almost always quicker to act even in larger scaled matters, if only thanks to 'don't ask' policy when it came to irrelevant details. All that mattered was the members had a job to do and they had the info needed to do just that.

There was, however, just one downside to this idea and it was a very simple one:

The Rogue Guild had no 'offices' out this way.

While the frontier town was certainly large, the amount of space the guild took up meant that any attempt on the Rogue Guild's part to establish a proper foothold here would be noticed pretty quickly. At best, they may have some runners flitting through the area on occasion, but an actual way of getting into contact with the proper parties wouldn't be possible.

In which case, the best way to go about this would be…

"…The Water Town," Goblin Slayer murmured.

His friends, who'd all been in the middle of a conversation that he'd paid no attention to, stopped what they were doing to look his way.

"What's this about the Water Town?" High Elf Archer asked, squinting her eyes in confusion and perhaps annoyance – she'd been speaking just now, after all, and it seems that his sudden mumbling had cut her off.

Goblin Slayer gazed at each member of his party individually, feeling hesitant to speak. Of them all, only Priestess was aware of him having any connection to the Rogue Guild, having even gone with him once to one of their hidden establishments. The realization that the others may find out about this fact only now struck him… and the idea that their opinion of him may change suddenly made him irrationally anxious despite knowing them well by now.

"I may have a contact out there that could be relied on to look into this matter," he explained, deciding to keep things vague for now. Whether or not they'll find out… that was going to be a bridge to cross later. What mattered now was taking action. "While the guild takes its own measures, we should try doing something as well."

"Hmm, then you mean for this contact of yours to assess the full scope of this situation… an excellent idea, milord Goblin Slayer." Lizard Priest smirked in approval. "If all goes well, then whatever information they can gather could prove of great use to others!"

…More like the idea was to have the Rogue Guild deal with the issue itself if possible. After all, their reputation, to those that knew of them, was that they did the jobs few others would ever be willing to do for any reason as long as the price was right.

…In hindsight, perhaps it'd be best to describe the Rogue Guild as the type of sell swords that the strange but powerful foreigner had thought adventurers to be like…

"…Heh, now we're talking!" High Elf Archer's frown turned into an increasingly vibrant smile. "Was starting to get tired of moping around anyways!"

Dwarf Shaman harrumphed. "Yeah, yeah, as if you hadn't been moping the hardest out of us all, you twiggy elf…" Despite the seeming harshness of his words, he was smirking as he took a swig from his jar, clearly sharing the same sense of reinvigoration that the high elf was having.

But even as the three of them made comments about licking their wounds for a little while longer before getting a move on, it was Priestess that Goblin Slayer focused on in this moment.

The two of them shared a look in which the young girl seemed to eventually understand what his idea was in all this, her eyes widening slightly in the process.

Then she narrowed her eyes, a quiet look of determination replacing her nervousness.

She may still be a rather awkward one – not as much as him, though – and still feared what may lie ahead, but even then she was readying herself for whatever came next.

And that thought brought considerable relief to Goblin Slayer.


It's been a handful of days since they were tasked with looking into the situation nearing the border… and even now, Hero and her friends, Sage and Sword Saint, looked unwell.

Physically, the three were more or less fine beyond a small but still noticeable lack of self-care for their appearances, but it was emotionally speaking that they were still doing somewhat poorly in.

And how could they not, after having to slay subjects of the crown, people that had once been living their simple, happy lives not so long ago?

Hero, recalling for the thousandth time the way they had no choice but to resort to killing when the frenzied villagers and travelers had proven incapable of simply being knocked out, shuddered as the memories threatened to overwhelm her.

Alongside her two friends, she's faced all kinds of foes in the fairly short time she's been the chosen hero.

Huge trolls, the astral forms of ancient monsters, sentient body parts of the demon lord himself, demons in a hell-like dimension, arrogant necromancers, spirits born from the world itself and more… she's just about faced all the types of beings that were worthy of be immortalized in legends. And while even she'd felt fear and panic in some of those situations, she'd always pulled through and had a smile on her face by the end of each battle.

But not this time, no. Not even close.

She hadn't been fighting trolls or astral bodies or the demon lord's severed limbs. She hadn't fought a frantic duel to the death with spirits or anything else of the sort.

No, she and her friends had been attacked by people under some type of… honestly, she wasn't sure if it can be called a curse or something else entirely, but the point is, the trio had gone up against normal people for all intents and purposes… and for the good of the kingdom, had been left with no choice but to kill them all before they could head deeper into the lands and attack others.

They may have stopped the threat and had already sent back a message to the capital about it… but it sure didn't feel as if they were genuinely victorious.

Now here they were, sort of aimlessly heading further towards the border.

Following the battle, they'd managed to come across an outpost of sorts that had proven to be just far enough away from all the Chaos to avoid being dragged into it – had even come across two adventurers, a spear wielding man and a very buxom, purple haired sorceress… and those two had informed them of something bad going down in the desert that was just a bit past the kingdom's border.

Great.

Alas, despite the news being less than stellar after what had happened, Hero and her friends had decided to just go and see what exactly was going on now. If nothing else, the fact that whatever crazy changes were going on in the desert were pretty dang close to the kingdom's border was noteworthy.

"…Think there's a chance whatever happened to those people originated from the desert?" asked Sword Saint suddenly, the older girl attempting to start a conversation, no doubt to rid herself of some dark and saddening thoughts too.

Sage let out a moan of pure emotional fatigue, as if the very act of speaking drained whatever life she seemed to have left in her. "Unlikely, if not flat out wrong entirely – what those two had to say about the desert doesn't match up with what we… what we had to face. To say nothing of the sequence of events making it impossible for the desert's dilemma to have any relation to the strange frenzy those poor souls had."

"Great, so we're gonna have to deal with something new," Hero said with an exaggerated huff, a desperate move on her part to try and renew her usual sense of energy. She looked over to Sage, who looked the most worn down out of them.

She knew that said depression the older girl felt was easily the worst out of the trio and not entirely without reason; as their resident magic user, Sage truly lived up to her title by being an extremely powerful magic user in addition to possessing an immense level of knowledge on all things related to magic and non-physical phenomena in general. Even when faced with something she's had little to no experience with, the older girl had always been able to analyze the new situation and develop a hypothesis on how it worked and then on how to counter it once her initial thoughts were proven true.

What had happened with those villagers… it was maybe one of the very few times Sage had ever been faced with something that she hadn't been able to do anything about. In fact, Hero was pretty sure that the number of times Sage had ever failed to figure out something like that could be counted on just one hand and with a finger or two left to spare.

So to have no idea at all of how this strange and terrifying state of frenzy worked, much less of a way on how to purge it… it left a deep scar in Sage's heart, that much even Hero could tell.

"Well… whatever happens, I'm sure we'll figure it out," Hero then said awkwardly, complete with an uncertain smile that she did her best to hide from the other two. "And as for what happened… at least we put them all to rest. That has to count for something, right?"

Not the most motivational or peppy of words, but it was the best the young girl could do at the moment.

"…Ha, I suppose there is at least that much," Sword Saint mumbled. "And if nothing else, whatever's happening in the desert is hopefully an isolated event so we shouldn't have to worry about any repeats of what had happened."

Sage still looked understandably sullen, even letting out a heavy sigh that made it clear what she really thought of their forced optimism. Nonetheless, as she pushed up her falling glasses and tried to mat down her now unruly hair, she spoke quietly. "Fair points," she admitted, a small smile on her face as she seemed to allow their awkward enthusiasm work over her. But the smile didn't last at all, the magic user looking dead serious. "But if it proves to be something on the same scale as what we encountered, we will be retreating. Am I clear?"

Hero was the leader of their little trio, but as Sage had a better idea of the true danger here despite her lack of exact understanding of the mechanics behind it all, the young girl easily deferred to her. "Yeah, you got it. Even I'm not that eager to be experiencing new things."

Sword Saint huffed, this time looking to have a bit more energy back in her. "That's rich coming from you, considering that one time you ate that one inn owner's sludgy grey soup." The sheer level of mirth in her tone had to be heard to be believed.

Hero grimaced in great indignation. "Hey, when you're hungry, you gotta eat whatever you can get!"

This time it was Sage who spoke up. "Oh? I don't recall you saying anything like that after spending nearly half a day in the washroom afterwards." Though still quiet in tone, a bit of her usual energy seemed to be back.

Hero let out a loud harrumph, getting split second long chuckles from her companions. This in time got her to laugh just a bit as well for a very short while.

Though even one as young as her still knew that the three of them would be taking a while to fully come to terms with their most recent actions, Hero found it good to know that they were already making some progress.

It only reaffirmed her desire to see this through to the end.

She had no idea of how all this recent Chaos got started… but one way or another, she silently vowed to make sure it all went away in the end.

Some of her former pep now back in her step, Hero and her friends picked up the pace as they continued their trek towards the desert.

It was time for a new adventure. Hopefully the dice rolls this time around will be more in their favor.


Once again, this chapter is a bit of an aftermath sort of chapter following the events of the Frenzied Flame's appearance and the summoning of the Dark Moon… while also setting up what's to come next. While I wouldn't quite call the next 'arc' the Scarlet Rot arc or anything like that, you all can expect the Scarlet Rot infected lands and creatures to become more prominent now alongside some additional appearances of those afflicted with madness.

But more than setting up that, it was to also show that some of our resident adventurers, while obviously still reeling from the things they've recently been through, aren't down and out just yet. They all may not be their usual cheery selves (sans Goblin Slayer, of course) from now on, but their spirits remain fairly unbroken. But of course, only time will tell whether or not their mettle remains after what I've planned for them...

That said, it will be a fair while for the next chapter to come out – in order to complete yet another class I have, I must once more do another essay for my final… and it seems like more of a doozy than the previous one I did. Odd thing to say since the instructions for it provide sources for me so I don't need to worry about that, but the content makes it seem like it might be more difficult to formulate a good essay at least not right off the bat.

In other words, it's going to take me some time to write this essay and make it as good as possible and my goal is to focus on it before starting to work on the next chapter.

Oh well, at least now I remember how to properly do APA style formatting and all that other fun, redundant shit, ha ha.

Anyways, thanks once again for reading and hope you all will continue to look forward to what's coming next.

Until next time, everyone. Take care!