Walls painted with blood, floors full of burned corpses, and smoke overtook the air.
The party's first impression of the temple's interior was unpleasant after seeing numerous dead goblins across the main hall. There was little light coming from the broken windows, but it got darker much further from the entrance. The first sign that nothing was ordinary was one goblin with a knife stuck on the back of its head. It fell on Wall Buster's feet after opening the massive door.
"Shit, now I got goblin's brains on my boots!" he complained before kicking the corpse away. "This wasn't like this last time!"
"What happened here?" Priestess stressed. She stood behind Goblin Slayer and quickly felt sick. She thought this wouldn't faze her, but this was different.
Dagger Scout looked at the dead goblin. "Whatever happened," he said with a more lighthearted mood, "I know this little green man didn't know what hit him."
"You wouldn't believe all these goblins tried to flee from here, do you?" Desert Marksman commented, staring at every goblin corpse that wasn't decimated in the hall.
"There's no mistake," Goblin Slayer said as he examined the ground and walls. "They tried to leave the temple. None of them made it in time."
"Is this really your leader's doing?" Grimm Slayer looked at the Huntsmen, who were as confused as her.
"We don't see his body," Marksman said in relief. "Thank the Maidens."
"Are you worried that something might happened?" Priestess asked.
"We're more worried about coming back to Remnant with his corpse," Wall Buster said.
"Why is that?" the armored guy asked.
"You don't really want to know..." Scout's smile faded in a second.
"If you want us to help, you should tell us," Grimm Slayer insisted.
None of the Huntsmen seemed comfortable to share any explanation, but at the end of the day, they needed to move along.
"Alright, let's just say there is something more terrifying than the Demon Lord," the man with glasses said.
"Who?" Priestess asked.
"My Bro's girlfriend," Scout said as if a chill went down his spine. "The Demon Lord's wrath is nothing compared to her! We care for my Bro, but I don't want to set foot at home if he is not back with us."
"It can't be that bad," the hooded girl commented, but the Huntsmen grimaced. "Well, I'm sure we will find him."
"Let's move on." Goblin Slayer was the first to venture further into the temple. The rest of the party followed him and got their weapons ready after stepping inside the desolated nest.
The long hall to the next door had that massive, foul stench from every dead goblin they found on their way. One shouldn't feel bad for those creatures of chaos. However, every three or four of them encountered their demise with elaborate means that made Goblin Slayer stop in place and gaze at them.
Some were hanged by ropes by chandeliers. Others were impaled by various improvised sharp objects. And, of course, some were burned alive until their skins became charred like charcoal. The last ones grabbed the armored guy's attention as he kneeled and had his face close to them. There were dismembered parts and splatted blood on every surface. Those parts weren't chopped off by any sharp weapons that existed.
"Peculiar," he said with unusual intrigue.
"What is it, Mr. Goblin Slayer?" the young clergy asked.
"I don't smell flour on those bodies."
"Dude, don't tell me you smelled those things!" Scout wanted to gag, so he pulled a bandana to cover his mouth and nose. "Wait, flour?"
"I use a special kind of flour to cause explosions. However, a small portion wouldn't be enough to cause this much damage."
"Really? Flour? I didn't know that was possible!" Wall Buster interjected. However, he seemed on the same wavelength as Goblin Slayer when sniffing the air. "But you are right. Those explosions weren't caused by flour."
"Don't you mean...?" Grimm Slayer raised an eyebrow.
"Yep. Gunpowder."
"Gunpowder?" the armored guy said.
"The same thing everyone in Remnant uses on their guns, and bombs," Marksman explained. He adjusted his glasses as if something left him unsatisfied with his answer. "However, I find it unlikely."
"So you don't believe your leader caused this?"
"As far as we know, Duelist was low on gunpowder, pellets, and used Wall Buster's last bomb before escaping. There was no chance he could cause all this alone without resources."
"I agree. It wouldn't be enough." Despite his dull tone, the armored guy spoke wisely from experience. It wouldn't be surprising if he had been in this situation before. "By the way, as far as how things look, I counted twenty dead goblins."
"Dude, you counted every corpse?" Dagger Scout scratched his head.
Goblin Slayer nodded. "It's important to know how many goblins we're dealing with in this temple," he explained methodically. "How many goblins do you remember fighting?"
"As if we could remember that!" Wall Buster berated the Adventurer, but he fell into silence momentarily before looking back at him. "I'm sure as hell we fought more than twenty."
"I see."
The armored guy didn't say anything else for a minute or so. Everyone, especially Grimm Slayer and Priestess, wondered what was happening in his mind. He only grunted until turning to the Huntsmen trio.
"How many did you kill before escaping?" he asked. They began recalling as they murmured with each other before starting to get their facts straight.
Wall Buster looked at his massive club before turning to Goblin Slayer. "I crushed two of those little shits," he recalled.
"I remember shooting three goblins," Desert Marksman said while checking his remaining ammo. "All of them in the head."
"Show-off..." Wall Buster scoffed at his ally's remark.
"Guys, guys! This isn't a competition!" Dagger Scout grinned despite trying to act as a moderator for his party. "But since we're on who killed the most goblins, I have to sadly inform you that I wasted four goblins!" the short guy said triumphantly, which the girls thought to be childish and inopportune for the moment.
"That makes them twenty-nine in total," Goblin Slayer said, who either ignored or didn't care about the Huntsmen's off-hand comments. "With this large number of goblins in the nest, it could be approximately fifty. That includes the ones that might be in charge."
"That means we should look for the remaining twenty-one," Desert Marksman theorized. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the dust off his glasses. One could ask how calm he or any of his allies were, except for Grimm Slayer or Priestess.
Goblin Slayer nodded. "Correct," he replied with the same monotone voice. "Let's keep going."
Everyone followed the armored guy's lead. They kept their position by having the heavy fighters at the front, the sharpshooters covering everyone from behind, and support in the middle. Death made a home in this temple, and the stench could never disappear, no matter how much they tried to cover their noses. The once-marvelous tapestry was stained by the innards of those vile creatures. Priestess assumed the temple worshipped the Supreme God due to the imagery and symbols many artisans crafted to decorate this place. A place that once was neat and uptight was covered in filth and destruction. The young clergy wished to see this place in its former glory, but she felt nothing but dread.
She wasn't the only one. Grimm Slayer was a little unnerved by her surroundings. She had her scythe ready and sharp, but she got tense as her breathing was a little agitated. She deals with Grimm often and, as recently, goblins. The hooded girl had never been afraid of any fight, but the place haunted her nonetheless.
"Anxious?" Desert Marksman asked both girls.
"Um...a little," Priestess said, tightly holding her staff. "But I can still manage it."
"Same," Grimm Slayer said. "We're not afraid, though."
The man with glasses said nothing momentarily as he reached for his left pocket and pulled out a metallic flask. He offered it to the girls.
"Ah, no thanks. I don't drink," the hooded girl said.
"It's tea," he said. "It will help you with your concentration and calm the mind."
"Is this okay to share with us?" the young clergy said hesitantly.
"Hey, better accept my partner's kind offer," Dagger Scout commented with a sly smile. "He doesn't share his tea with anyone."
"Because that stuff tastes awful," Wall Buster snorted.
"It is made of dandelion leaves, mint, and grounded cinnamon." The ingredients Desert Marksman listed weren't something that could sound like a tasty tea. Still, it would be rude to not accept the beverage.
Each girl took a sip from the flask, and naturally, their initial reaction was akin to tasting freshly ripened lemons. It had a sour flavor, maybe almost making them cough with the aftertaste.
"Told ya," Wall Buster commented.
And despite the odd flavor, the tea alone made them forget about the glum ambient in the temple. It worked, but not in the intended way.
"You can drink some, Goblin Slayer," the man with glasses offered.
"Another time, we must finish the task at hand first." Speaking like a true professional, the armored guy's sight remained focused on what was ahead of him and the party. They continued exploring the main hall until they encountered another door. It wasn't as massive as the entrance, but they didn't want to leave it to chance if there was another hideous surprise behind that door. With simple hand signals, Goblin Slayer decided to open the door while the rest of the party had their weapons ready. Grimm Slayer thought of only using her gun, but she only had three pellets left, one of which was the sample Blacksmith gave her yesterday. Desert Marksman had five, but he shared two with her. The hooded girl couldn't ask for more since ammo was hard to come by on the side of the world. None of the stores could sell them since Adventurers didn't use guns like Huntsmen. She needed to make every shot count.
"Ready?" the armored guy said before pulling the handle and opening the door. Everyone got tense, but all their worries dissipated after looking at the next room.
There were no corpses or even signs of a fight, just goblin footprints imprinted on the messy floor. They could see the tracks heading in opposite directions among the scramble in the middle. They looked around but only found dirt. There wasn't much else to see.
"Odd," Goblin Slayer said while grunting. He sounded discontent. "This is different from the main hall."
"Tell me about." Wall Buster also seemed confused about the contrast between rooms. "Aside from this damn mess, there is no way that this place is already empty."
"Obviously, there could be more hidden here," Desert Marksman said. "The question is: Which way did Duelist go?"
"Should we split up and investigate?" Grimm Slayer suggested, which made Goblin Slayer quiet before deciding what to do with that idea.
"Let's," he broke the silence. "We are making two groups. One goes to the left and the other to the right."
"I will take the left," Desert Marksman volunteered.
"I will go right, then," Grimm Slayer said.
"We must keep our groups balanced," Goblin Slayer affirmed to everyone with that impassionate tone. "It's essential to make sure that we can do things equally before splitting."
"Oh, we're choosing?" Dagger Scout said. He looked indecisive about which side he should go. There wasn't much time, so he had to choose fast. "Okay, I go right."
"Oh, um...I, I will go left if I must," Priestess said hesitantly, but she knew the importance of keeping everyone alive. She couldn't know if Dagger Scout had any first-aid skills, but he carried potions and medicinal herbs, so he was at least covered.
"That leaves me and Wall Buster." The armored guy looked at both groups and had to think about who he should go with. He also had to compare himself with the big Huntsman. Goblin Slayer still hasn't seen what he could do in a fight, but he could hold it on his own like any other fighter with a heavy weapon. Nonetheless, even the strongest Adventurers fell victim to goblins if they weren't careful. "I will go right."
"Seriously, I'm stuck with Four-Eyes? Tch, fine..." Wall Buster sighed with reluctance. He could easily not listen, but it wasn't the time to act bratty. They had to move on.
"Do you remember what I taught you when exploring goblin nests?"
"I took notes," Desert Marksman responded to Goblin Slayer. He pulled out a notepad and began reciting everything he had written down. "If we find totems, there might be a Goblin Shaman or other type of spell caster; don't swing large weapons on narrow spaces; they can see in the dark, so always keep some light at hand, and torches can be used as weapons, too; watch for Hobgoblins or Goblin Champions since they can be as strong as Silver-rank adventurers; there is always a leader on the group; and more importantly, goblins are stupid, but not fools."
"Was it necessary to add that last one?" Wall Buster remarked.
"Those are the basics you must know," The armored guy prepared one torch for each group. He handed one to Priestess while carrying the other for himself. "Also, even if chances are slim, check for other survivors who might be locked up here. I don't believe they are alive, but we can't leave anyone here."
"That sounds awfully considerate of you," Dagger Scout said with a smile.
"Is that so?"
It seemed like a surprise for the trio of Huntsmen that Goblin Slayer would have that sense of empathy despite his one-mind track about killing all those vile creatures. For Priestess and Grimm Slayer, it wasn't much of a shock.
With everything coordinated, the groups went on their separate ways and began exploring the different areas of the temple. The young clergy, who, despite having the confidence to go into this dark lair, always worried for everyone's wellbeing, especially since Priestess' rank was the lowest in the party. Grimm Slayer gave her the thumbs-up before splitting. That was enough to ease Priestess. With her sounding staff in one hand and the bright torch in the other, she walked between Desert Marksman and Wall Buster down the dark, glum corridor.
With the torch as their only light source, the group had little to see in a small radius. The dusty, bloody floor echoed their footsteps as they cautiously marched through the place. They could see traces of an endless struggle the more they looked around.
Wall Buster and Desert Marksman were quiet. Not a single utter or sigh. They seemed relatively unfazed by the horrors, but how much had they seen since the last time they were here? The guy with glasses grabbed a short, thin blade from his hip. It was a knife with a ring on the guard. He attached the blade at the end of his rifle's barrel. Priestess remembered seeing that before but wondered why he would remove it from his weapon. She thought he was carrying a spear the first time she saw it yesterday. It wasn't much the case after taking a look inspection. People of Remnant had unique equipment unavailable anywhere on this continent. Still, it didn't matter much for Priestess since she couldn't use any of that since it went against her teachings and beliefs. At least, for the most part, when goblins weren't involved.
"This is annoying..." Wall Buster broke the silence when he muttered. "How come we haven't encountered as single goblin so far?"
"We're finding it out ourselves," Desert Marksman replied to his companion's nagging. "They should been be hiding somewhere."
"Hiding? Those freaks were chasing us through this corridor days ago! How can they possibly be hiding? I don't like one bit of anything here."
"Uh...I, I'm sure it won't take long," Priestess said, illuminating their pathway. "How much did you explore this temple?"
"We checked this side and the next," Wall Buster said. "There should be a dining room, or what used to be. It is not exactly a home, but I assumed they gathered social events there before everything went to shit."
"You shouldn't swear inside a temple."
"Shove it, Four-Eyes!" the big guy hissed at his ally's response. "This ain't a temple anymore. It's a hellhole, and I doubt the Gods would care now that this place no longer serves its purpose."
While Priestess disagreed with Wall Buster, she couldn't comment since this site was far from salvageable. At best, she could only pray to Earth Mother for everyone's safety.
Of course, nobody was safe when exploring a goblin nest. Something she learned the hard way.
Walking further into this forsaken place, the group noticed the filth and the chaos decorating what appeared to be the living quarters. The blood splattered, and the odor of rotten meat could only indicate that they were on the right track. Still, the door that could have led them to the rest of the temple was barricaded with old furniture and wooden crates. Was this the goblins' doing? Because the Huntsmen were as confused as Priestess. Could their lost leader be the one who tried to obstruct those foul creatures from chasing him? It seemed logical. However, if that were the case, he should be here and not behind that door.
"You think we are at a dead-end?" Desert Marksman asked.
"What? Do you think all that trash will stop us from proceeding?" Wall Buster argued. "We just pushed all that out of the way.
"Shouldn't we go with the others and let them know?" Priestess suggested, leaning the torch forward to get better illumination of the obstruction. She couldn't stop wondering what Duelist did while being chased by goblins. It was concerning that nobody had seen clues about his whereabouts, or that was what she thought before finding something peculiar on that pile.
"Huh?" She inspected it closer by crouching and pushing a little the table that was upside down. Priestess got scared when the torch's light revealed a right-hand gauntlet underneath the furniture. "Please, don't tell me..." she muttered.
"What you found?" the big guy asked until he redirected his attention at the gauntlet. "Huh, would you look at that?" He didn't seem as worried as the girl. He began pulling it with ease until it showed the rest of it.
It was a piece of armor. From the fingers to the shoulder, it was the only thing buried among the obstruction. What the young Adventurer noticed on the piece of armor were strange symbols painted in red from the inside. There was relief that there were no actual body parts in it.
"That's Duelist's," Desert Marksman pointed out. "I guess we aren't on the wrong track after all."
"Really? Does he usually wear armor?" she asked. The piece of armor seemed bulky. It was not something that Goblin Slayer would wear since he preferred something more mobile, like his usual leather armor.
"Nah, just that thing," Wall Buster explained. "He doesn't need armor."
"Then, why does he use it?" she asked again.
Before either Huntsman could answer her, they heard some rumble from behind. The noise, the growls, and the ruckus were accompanied by heavy footsteps that only got louder and closer. Everyone quickly got their guard up when facing who or whatever was coming their way.
Wall Buster drew his massive iron club with his right hand. Desert Marksman got his rifle aiming at the darkness, with his eye vigilant at the first sign of movement. Priestess, who remained behind her companions, firmly holding both torch and staff in each hand, got ready to cast miracles whenever they needed them.
"Come on, stupid goblins...we're waiting for you." The big guy had that grimace when looking impatiently at the unavoidable battle. He tapped the ground with his weapon like a horse counting with its hoof.
The man with glasses seemed annoyed by his ally's doing. He decided to ignore it anyway. Desert Marksman kneeled while aiming through his iron sights. There was that undivided focus that any expert ranger with a bow could have when waiting for his target for hours.
The waiting finally paid off as the Huntsman with the rifle pulled the trigger, and the first goblin to step into the light got its head exploded like someone smashing a watermelon.
One went down, but it was far from over as more of those vile green creatures approached with their crude weapons. Two regular goblins held spears, two held daggers, and one, larger than the rest that seemed the same height as Wall Buster, carried a shield and an axe.
It was a smaller group than what they had imagined, but hopefully, the only ones they needed to deal with before looking for the rest of the party.
Wall Buster took one step forward and swiftly swung his club with a long reach that could hit most of those horrid imps, but none went down yet. They went flying like sacks of potatoes, disrupting their attack formation. The large goblin was unaffected as its bulky body allowed it to stand its ground and only got pushed as best.
"Tough fella, eh? You're going down all the same!" he boasted.
"B-Be careful!" Priestess warned, standing behind Desert Marksman. "That's a Goblin Champion!"
"Champion?" Wall Buster raised an eyebrow. He held his weapon with the reverse grip and never departed his eyes away from the opponent. "That's what they're called? Let's see if this sucker deserves that name!"
Overconfidence. That was what Priestess only saw in the Huntsman, who was ready to clash with the large goblin alone. She didn't like it, but she needed to play her part now that the rest of the pack of goblins shifted their focus on her and the man with glasses, who was quickly reloading his rifle.
The goblins were back on their feet and snarled at the group. The temper of those creatures got worse after the beginning of the encounter. They weren't pleased that a human bested them with a single move, and of course, they were more than content to let the Goblin Champion handle their tormentor while they dealt with the other two.
They jumped at Desert Marksman and Priestess. They rushed and wildly flung their weapons. The humans quickly backed off and avoided the attacks. The man with glasses always had to ensure the young cleric when standing behind him. He defended himself by blocking the attacks with his rifle. He didn't seem proficient in close combat like other Huntsmen. Still, he knew how to defend himself by patiently waiting for the goblins to attack first before he could counter by hitting them with the butt of his rifle and slashing them with the knife attached at the end of the barrel like a spear.
Priestess still struggled to fend them off as they tried to grab her staff. However, what she lacked in physical prowess, she did everything within her capabilities to support her allies. Priestess could always do with or without her miracles. As the goblin tried to snatch her staff, she stirred the creature to her left, close to Desert Marksman.
He took notice of his ally as he quickly detached the knife from his rifle and stabbed the goblin in the throat. Desert Marksman never turned around to see the goblin he killed seconds ago. Nonetheless, such precision wasn't a simple lucky guess as he knew where to strike.
Like any good party, even when one goblin tried to jump on him, Priestess covered Desert Marksman's back by hitting the creature's head and stunning it for a few seconds. He took notice and reacted appropriately by stabbing on top of its skull. That should be the last of the small goblins, but not the last of the pack.
Wall Buster and the Champion, already engaging in combat, continued trading blows. The big guy not only swung his club, but he also threw left hooks whenever he wanted to attack faster. The large goblin blocked with its shield and quickly retaliated with the axe. Wall Buster should have been defenseless without armor or a shield to protect him from that strike, but that wasn't the case. He instead used his club to block the attack, but what became unusual was his change of stance. Rather than swinging his weapon as intended, he thrust it to the ground and kicked it toward the Goblin Champion. From a certain angle, and with the weapon being upside down, the kick allowed it to make an unexpected motion that hit the large goblin in the groin.
The impact on the Goblin Champion's lower parts made it drop its weapons. It tried to hold them while groaning in pain and almost spitting blood.
"Got enough yet?" Wall Buster exclaimed before preparing to swing at his opponent's head. But as he was about to deliver the final blow, the Goblin Champion brushed off the attack with one arm. The brute snatched the big guy's weapon and tossed it away from him.
Wall Buster was unarmed. But far from defenseless.
"Wanna settle with fisticuffs? Heh, I guess you speak my language." He smiled and began punching the Goblin Champion with jabs, hooks, and uppercuts. Despite what one would imagine of the big guy's appearance, his fighting form was clean and well-taught. It wasn't anything fancy like martial artists, but it was polished and could beat anyone in a tavern brawl.
The large goblin got pummeled in the face and stomach multiple times until its nose was broken, its teeth were crooked, and it lost the right eye. Wall Buster got exhausted but remained on top after the encounter. He looked for his club and prepared to execute the Goblin Champion. By aiming at the head, the big guy winded up his weapon. He was ready to finally finish the brute.
But its misery ended somewhat prematurely.
Wall Buster witnessed the Goblin Champion's skull being pierced on the side by Desert Marksman's pellets. The gunshot was unexpected, and the big guy wasn't very pleased by that outcome when turning to his companion.
"What the hell, Four-Eyes? I was just about to kill it!" he complained as he stomped his foot on the goblin's corpse.
"You were taking too long," Desert Marksman dully replied, lowering his rifle. Priestess was also caught by surprise by that approach.
"Yeah, but why too close to my face?"
"My apologies. I almost confused you with the goblin."
"You always say the same shit whenever we fight Grimm!" Wall Buster yelled to the point of spitting.
Those two Huntsmen began arguing again. Priestess was more relieved that they survived, but hearing them was draining. And yet, that brought her some comfort as that wasn't much different from High Elf Archer and Dwarf Shaman bickering at each other. People bond in strange ways.
As the argument was about to be heated, Desert Marksman stopped talking and noticed movement at his right. His eyes weren't lying as he saw one of the goblins not dead, but what worried him the most was what it carried. It wasn't the dagger it used before, but rather something more dangerous and familiar.
The man with glasses quickly leaped toward Priestess, and everyone heard a bang. In the nick of time, he could shield the young cleric, but he got wounded on the right shoulder and fell to the ground.
Wall Buster didn't waste time smashing the goblin with his club until it was a headless mess. "Dammit, and you criticize me for not killing them properly!" he chided, but he sounded more concerned and upset.
"A-Are you alright!" Priestess quickly looked for the man in glasses. He was still breathing, thankfully, but his shoulder was bleeding non-stop. She could smell something burning near her.
"I'm...alright," Desert Marksman mumbled. He tried to withstand the pain without success. "However, this is worse than what we thought."
Things became more confusing when Wall Buster crouched and snatched from the dead goblin's hand to show what hurt his companion. The Huntsmen knew what it was, but Priestess took a few seconds to recognize the device until she finally got the idea.
"Is that...?"
"Yes. That's a gun," Wall Buster interrupted the young cleric, confirming their fears. "How those little shits got in their hands one in the first place?"
"D-Does it belong to your leader?" Priestess asked, still disturbed.
"That...not possible..." Desert Marksman tried gathering the strength to talk. "Duelist's...is costume-made. That one...is a regular model...that you could get at any weapon shop...in Remnant."
"That still doesn't answer how a goblin got one!"
"This is bad. Let me heal you!" Priestess held her staff and was preparing her prayer, but the man with glasses shook his head.
"Don't...waste your miracles," he explained. "We need to extract...the pellet first."
"B-But!"
"Trust me. It won't work."
Before he could explain the procedure, their time was running short. They began hearing more gunshots behind the barricaded door. It was evident that another fight within the temple was on, and the group couldn't stay in the area for much longer. Priestess helped Desert Marksman to be on his feet while Wall Buster started destroying the barricade.
More questions emerged while trying to return to the other group, and they had little time to think things over. Nobody could say exactly what might happen from now on, but they hoped that it wasn't too late if the worst had yet to come.
Hello everyone. Sorry for taking too long with the chapter. I'm not like who I used to be when I could publish chapters on a weekly basis. Now it takes me longer since I have to look at everything for mistakes or corrections, and I still find errors after finishing it. It never ends because I'm having a harder time reading my older chapters because how awful my writing is/was, and I barely got the time to make corrections.
In any case, I can only thank everyone for their patience, and hope that you enjoyed the chapter.