Well, everyone, here we are at the final chapter.
Man, what a time it's been for me during the writing of this whole fic. A lot went down in my personal life that, to be honest, kind of tanked my motivation for writing quite a bit, only to persist out of habit and a sense of normalcy. And to continue being honest… perhaps that influenced my writing. Not necessarily in terms of the content within the fic, no that stuff I had generally figured out well before even starting, but in terms of when I felt it necessary to end it.
Put it bluntly – I'm kind of burned out.
But that isn't to say I'll be quitting fic writing forever or anything. As mentioned in the last few chapters (I think), after this I intend to just relax for a good long while, plus spend some time playing the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC when it releases later in this month. I will also be writing some original content off site and strictly for myself as a palette cleanser of sorts that is likely to take up a few months depending on how things go for me.
And only once that is done will I finally get around to my next fanfic.
On that particular note… well, as is usually the case for me, I'm rather torn between several ideas that I have. I've a DMC/Lies of P crossover idea in mind that will actually serve as a sequel to my Village of Darkness fic, a DMC/RE crossover that would also serve the same purpose but just with a different plot of course, a Punishing Gray Raven crossover with another series, or perhaps I will return to the RWBY fandom with a fic featuring Ozpin as the protagonist.. and a surprisingly hefty number of OCs, a risky as hell move on my part. Maybe I will make it a poll like I did last time if I can't decide by then.
In any case, to those of you who have been following this fic from the beginning, thank you all for sticking with me this long. I won't pretend that each chapter was a blast to read or anything, but as long as you all ultimately enjoyed the fic overall, then that's a genuine relief and compliment to me.
And of course, for anyone else who just happened to pop in on this fic well after it started or even after it's fully done, thank you as well for your time. I well and truly didn't expect this fic to get as many favs/follows as it has, regardless of the reason why.
So without further ado, allow me to introduce the final chapter of Age of Adventure.
Epilogue
A week passes by in what seemed like the blink of an eye. It was enough to make the King's head swirl, what with all that's happened.
…It'd been a rather somber week, understandably.
Numerous bodies had been strewn not just outside the capital itself, but all throughout the land where the followers of that terrible Frenzied Flame had passed through. Although the capital itself had survived with ultimately minimal loss of life amongst the civilians, the same couldn't be said of his military, the adventurers that had answered his call and certainly not of the various towns and villages that had existed between the very edge of the kingdom up until here.
The young King could only guess at the number of lives lost, tens of lives easily, likely even hundreds depending on whether or not the more populated towns had been struck by these… these thralls. Only time will tell, once his reconnaissance forces can fully scour the land and take note of the damage.
…He supposed he could try to make use of that underground guild, the Rogues' Guild. He may have never really had contact with it during his time as an adventurer himself, but it wasn't as if he had been unaware of it, preferring to steer clear of anyone associated with the damned group as much as possible. Alas, with all the lives lost and a relatively small but still noticeable portion of a district within the capital ruined, he couldn't be picky about where he got his help from.
He'd just have to make sure nothing can be traced back to him, of course. As the monarch of this land, he had to maintain a relatively clean image, much to his perpetual consternation.
"Your majesty," spoke his attendant as she entered his office, reports in hand.
The King heaved a sigh before silently motioning for the papers. "Please tell me this is the end of it for now."
"You know I don't make promises so easily," she quipped dryly, though no less tired than him.
He grimaced as he was handed the reports and he briefly skimmed through them for a scant few seconds.
With the death toll reports seemingly over and done with for the time being, he was now being handed reports on the amount of property damage done, including not just the buildings and streets ruined by the thralls that had gotten in the capital but also the amount of equipment that had been destroyed or at least damaged during all the fighting as well.
Combined with the rewards promised to all the adventurers that had answered his missive, money would be rather tight for a while in order to not only pay the adventurers but to also begin rebuilding.
And all this still wasn't even getting into the need to maintain diligent border patrols in order to ensure outside forces, be they from other and more ambitious nations or simply the forces of Chaos themselves. With what's happened here in his kingdom, if news of this leaked – which it was bound to – then it wouldn't be long before the vultures came circling, hungry for a quick meal.
It's a wonder his hair wasn't stark white by now from all the stress. Just how did his parents used to deal with all this?
"Truly, Fate can be a cruel mistress," he muttered.
"Should you really be tempting it with such words?" his attendant asked, possibly jokingly, possibly seriously.
Her words got the King to snort in amusement, albeit briefly. She always did have a knack for doing that. "I suppose you're right… indeed, perhaps in a way, I should be thanking Fate instead."
The turnaround of his words actually surprised the attendant, who blinked. "Oh? How so?"
"Because perhaps it was Fate that I was able to meet those two – Ranni and her great warrior. If not for them, who's to say how things could have gone?" Though the King said that rather lightly, he knew otherwise.
Ranni's immense magical prowess had proven invaluable in striking down scores of the thralls in short order, keeping casualties among the soldiers and adventurers very low, all things considered. And he's been told numerous times over by the young Hero and her friends of how the veteran warrior had combated a possessed adventurer that had commanded strength greater than any individual Chaotic being, great enough to battle the Hero's party and likely kill them if things had gone wrong. That wasn't even getting into the fact that it was they who had informed him of this Frenzied Flame in the first place.
His military had fought bravely. So had the adventurers. But it was those two that had been vital to their preparations and victory. Whether it was due to Fate or Chance or some other force entirely, the King knew not, but he was grateful nonetheless for how things had turned out, if only because the alternative outcome was the entire world being burned to ash.
He sighed. "A pity they couldn't remain any longer. Their help would have been just as invaluable in rebuilding."
Alas, the two had stuck around for only about half of this past week assisting where needed before ultimately taking their leave. Not to go back to their homeland, but rather to continue traveling these lands instead. To paraphrase Ranni, it was to make sure nothing else from their homeland had come here to raise their own horrifying brand of Chaos.
An understandable action to take, though one the King could only reluctantly accept. But it was a childish wish on his part and he knew that, so he had no real choice other than to roll with it.
"You think they may return here once they're done?" he asked his attendant, interested in her opinion.
"…No. I don't believe so," she answered after a few seconds of consideration. "Those two… to me, they always felt like ephemeral existences somehow – here one moment, then gone the next. I could see why you'd want them to be here longer, but they never felt to me like they would remain here for too long… nor do I think they should be here for too long."
The King hummed, unsure of what to make that last part of her reply. Nonetheless, it was yet another thing he'd just have to accept.
With a sigh packed full of conflicting emotions, he leaned back in his chair and gazed out of the nearest window, staring out to the land beyond.
Out there, he can see the capital itself, the civilians still getting back into their usual routines even as his forces worked hard to clean things up and begin rebuilding. Some adventurers could be seen here and there as well, having opted to stick around the capital for one reason or another.
They all looked so… afraid. Worried, if nothing else and he couldn't fault them at all for feeling that way. He was especially concerned with all the potential threats that were still out there somewhere.
But despite that fear, he could see people beginning to smile again, knights and adventurers having a friendly row with each other as they worked.
Life can be a frightening thing at times, filled with horrors that would defied description at times… but it could also be just filled with times of joy and peace, with the harder experiences eventually helping people to harden themselves and grow… and in so doing, learn to value those times of peace all the more.
The King couldn't help but chuckle. "Truly, the rolls of the dice can be fickle… though we always learn how to deal with it each time."
His attendant hummed in quiet agreement, the two sharing this moment of peace together.
But only for a moment.
"…You should get back to work, your majesty," she said in a hard tone.
The King outright laughed. "What a harsh attendant I have… and to be honest, I'd have no other way."
"Are you sure you're alright?"
"Yes."
"Are you absolutely sure, Orcbolg?"
"Of course."
"B-But-!"
Dwarf Shaman groaned. "Aw, calm down you two! Yer likely to talk his ears off with all these repeatin' questions!"
"Psh, like you're not worried either, you stupid dwarf!" retorted High Elf Archer.
Her retort began another brief argument between the dwarf and high elf. It was something that Goblin Slayer had long since accepted… but this time around, it was an everyday occurrence that he found himself actually appreciating. Not that it was obvious given his helmet.
One whole week has passed since that terrible day, him possessed by a being that could only be described as a spirit from another world. Even for him, it was a type of horror that could scarcely be described with words, such was the intensity of his time in that burning world and under the watchful eye of that eldritch god.
But weirdly enough, it was something he was kind of thankful for. That possession, which had granted him immense power, had helped ensure he remain in one piece even after the possession had ended. If not for the vastly increased toughness, he would have died very early on into the battle against the foreign warrior.
Alas, that level of power was no longer within him, the strange toughness he'd possessed during the battle now gone. He was back to how he was before, though he'd been sore all over and with plenty of bruising under his armor.
Indeed, he'd been confined to a medical bed almost this entire time, such was both his exhaustion and intensity of his soreness and bruising. Even now, despite Priestess' liberal usages of miracles to heal him, the silver ranked adventurer was still not back up to snuff. It was this that had triggered both Priestess' and High Elf Archer's pestering of him over his condition just now, something that had amused Lizard Priest and irked Dwarf Shaman.
Which led to now.
"I… am fine, all things considered," he finally said, his words getting his friends' attention and making the argument between dwarf and high elf stop. "Still stiff here and there, but time will make it go away."
He wasn't sure if said stiffness was some odd effect of the possession coming undone or something else, like pushing his body well beyond its usual limits a hundredfold at least, but so long as he gradually got back into his routine, he should recover just fine. In any case, he had gotten off far, far better than what could have been expected otherwise of his situation. By all rights, he should have been killed in order to prevent the destruction of the world, but through a combination of the foreign warrior's efforts and his own force of will, such a fate had been adverted.
…While he doubted even the gods' whimsical dice rolls could have somehow caused all this, Goblin Slayer knew better than to let anything be decided by Fate or Chance.
"Hmm, it is certainly a relief to hear you say so, milord Goblin Slayer," spoke Lizard Priest. "But do pardon us if we continue to ask. Your situation had been… hard for any of us to bear." Towards the end, the normally calm lizardman's tone grew rather troubled and saddened.
Said words also made the others pause at the inn they were staying at to share looks of self-resentment.
And Goblin Slayer could only stand there, awkward as he knows himself to normally be.
…During his time recovering this past week, he and his party had discussed what had occurred. He'd done his best to describe the events of that day to them, including how he'd felt trapped in a burning world and they in turn had informed him of how they'd tried to handle the situation in kind…
…Which is to say that they had taken things rather poorly, at least from their own collective perspective. From them having no choice but to flee rather than to attempt undoing his possession themselves to High Elf Archer's impromptu confrontation with the veteran warrior… they'd spared no detail, no matter how small.
It was clear that it was bothering them, to feel so utterly powerless for likely the very first time in their lives… well, except for Priestess, considering how her very first adventure had gone. It had left them all feeling ashamed.
But to Goblin Slayer, he personally felt they had nothing to be ashamed of. If anything, with the benefit of new perspective, he couldn't help but feel… feel touched by their actions and emotions instead.
For them to feel so strongly about it all just went to show that for as awkward and hopeless a man as he is, for as often as his 'quirks' may sometimes exasperate them – especially High Elf Archer – they did well and truly consider him a friend that they would have done anything to help if there'd been even the slightest opportunity.
And yet again from his perspective, he believes that is what they'd done. By ultimately trusting the foreign warrior to know how to save him from the possession of the one known as Shabriri, it was his friends who had very indirectly saved him in the end.
…And much more directly, it had been through the memories he had of them and their adventures – yes, their adventures – that he'd begun to regain the mental strength needed to fight back against Shabriri in the first place.
"You did nothing wrong," he declared.
The suddenness of his words took them all aback.
"B-But, Goblin Slayer sir…" Priestess began, clutching her staff tightly. "We… we had no choice but to leave you…!" She was on the verge of tears, always so eager to act on her emotions… it was a strength unique to her, Goblin Slayer finally realized.
"You did what you could," he began with just a hint of awkwardness. Once again, he wasn't quite used to speaking so much, even with all the time that had passed since he and them formed their party. "And ultimately your decision to rely on that man is what saved me in the end. You didn't leave me."
He spoke those last four words with as much finality as he could. Given that his friends remained rooted in place, shock upon their faces, it seems he succeeded.
Still, he chose to continue. "…It was the memories of you all that helped me begin fighting back against that wicked spirit. If it wasn't for you all, then I would have been slain… thank you."
"…Ha!" High Elf Archer suddenly let out a huge bark of laughter after a long moment. "Just when did you get so smooth?" Despite the question sounding like a typical retort, there was a genuine warmth to her tone.
"Got me all blushin' over here, Beard-Cutter," said Dwarf Shaman, scratching at the side of his nose sheepishly.
"To think you would speak so openly like that… it would seem you've grown, milord Goblin Slayer," spoke Lizard Priest before letting out a quiet chuckle. "…As have we, in our own ways."
"Is that so?"
His all too familiar response got his friends to lighten up in that moment. Even he ended up lightly shaking in that moment, if only out of mirth. He was self-aware enough to realize the sheer normalcy of his response, which was much needed in light of all that's happened in these past weeks.
More often than not, the adventures they'd gone on had taken all sorts of twists and turns, from goblins having served under that strange and huge not-goblin, to working for a Dark Elf, having a Goblin Paladin, and so much more… but in comparison to all that they've seen now and within such a short time frame, it all felt almost lackluster. But to be honest, Goblin Slayer wouldn't have it any other way.
Recent events may have certainly compelled him to begin viewing things just a bit more differently than before, but at the same time, none of these were things he'd much care for a repeat of. He was absolutely certain even High Elf Archer, for all her love of spectacular events at times, would much prefer to avoid experiencing anything like this again.
…But as much as he could only hope nothing else would happen, Goblin Slayer knew better by now than to just expect it to remain that way. For example, how could he or anyone else be sure that those strange and dangerous blood goblins were fully gone now? Goblins, for all their pettiness and idiocy and self-destructive cruelty, are a dangerously resilient species that have plagued even the non-goblin adventures that he's gone on in recent months. What's to say that these blood goblins wouldn't find a way to persist as well?
"…There's still much to do," he commented, looking off to the side. Said gaze was aimed at nothing in particular, at least not physically… no, he was somehow looking off into the future, wondering in that moment just what else it could hold for him.
"Indeed," muttered Lizard Priest, ever the articulate and verbose lizardman. "We've done our best to aid in the recovery efforts here while waiting for you to heal this past week… but there is still so much to do."
"Scaly's damn right – no telling what other punks out there could be schemin' now that the capital is all roughed up," added Dwarf Shaman before he took a swig of his fire wine. "Bet there is gonna be plenty of quests for us and other adventurers to have while the kingdom here takes care of its own."
"Hey, as long as it means stretching our legs properly and staying well away from here, I say that sounds fine with me!" High Elf Archer, even now, was as eager for a 'proper' adventure as always.
"…As long as we're all together," Priestess began quietly, clenching her staff yet again but in a more reassuring manner than anything else. "As long as that remains the case, then I think continuing to adventure would be wonderful, no matter what comes our way."
Goblin Slayer stared at her as did the others. It was enough to make the young girl blush and begin stammering incoherently.
Then Dwarf Shaman guffawed. "Look at that! Our dear little one has really started to come into her own!"
Lizard Priest shared in the dwarf's laughter. "Tis good to see your confidence improving, our little Priestess. The growth of the young is always a delight to see."
"Just make sure you don't take any more cues from these guys – they're all bad influences!" proclaimed a cheeky High Elf Archer.
As Priestess continued to flounder under their comments, Goblin Slayer had a quiet laugh to himself.
He felt lighter now than he ever has before. For quite some time now, he'd pondered about what would happen to himself if he kept trying to go on non-goblin slaying adventures. Would he eventually stop being Goblin Slayer? Become a 'normal' adventurer and live a normal life from then on? Would accomplishing that result in goblins growing into a larger problem?
It was series of questions that he'd had no answer for.
Until that stranger had affirmed his very existence. It was perfectly okay for him to be who he is – to be Goblin Slayer. It was perfectly fine to learn new things and grow in new ways… but that didn't mean he had to give up anything else, be it his current identity or something else entirely. So long as he was true to himself, nothing else would really matter.
…There was still much to do out there. Confirming whether or not the blood goblins were fully gone, whether or not the Rogues' Guild could be further utilized to aid his information gathering, continuing to explore and improve upon himself…
…But as long as he had his friends by his side, Goblin Slayer could now earnestly believe that a happy ending could be achieved.
"How are things looking?" asked the Tarnished as Ranni quietly communed with the Dark Moon.
It was night, but soon dawn would break. He and his beloved had made a stop for the night to reassess the situation and further prepare before continuing on with their journey.
It's been a week now since Shabriri's death and the subsequent stopping of the attack on the capital. And it's only been a handful of days since they'd departed from said location, having quickly and awkwardly bided the King and a handful of others goodbye in the process.
During the few days they'd remained in the capital, the duo had done their level best to aid the King and his forces in the cleanup but had ultimately opted to leave as soon as they'd planted the seeds of proper reconstruction… though the King would likely not see it that way for a while, having made it rather clear he'd love to have them remain by his side for a while longer.
And to be honest, the Tarnished would not have minded such a thing. However, while there wasn't necessarily a time constraint, he and Ranni had both felt it best to move on.
"…Mm." As Ranni finished up her commune with the Dark Moon, she smiled beautifully. "Rejoice, my dear Tarnished, for I bring thee some pleasant news – the gods of this world had finally managed to drive back the other gods."
The Tarnished, having been in the middle of cleaning some of his equipment, paused in surprise. "Truly?"
"Yes… well, perhaps it'd be more accurate to say the gods of our world had finally lost whatever interest they'd gained in this one," Ranni explained. "Mayhaps, the loss of the foothold established in this world proved to them it wasn't worth the effort to continue. Who can truly tell how they think and why?"
The veteran warrior chuckled. "Whatever the reason, that is good news indeed. And with the Dark Moon having established the Age of Stars properly back in our world, there should be no chance of them being able to interfere anytime soon, yes?"
"So far as I can determine, yes." Ranni's smile grew. "Still, it always helps to be diligent. And there is no way to determine what the other gods such as the Scarlet Rot or Formless Mother will do once we depart from this world."
At that, the Tarnished hummed. It was a very fair point. The gods were typically inscrutable beings, with only their most devout followers being able to really tell what the will of these greater beings are. Either that or are simply making use of these gods' blessings to achieve their own goals. Still, it was good to know that for at least the time being, the gods of the Lands Between would no longer directly threaten the Four Cornered World.
That said…
"But whatever scars they'd left on this land still remain, do they not?" he asked as he fully finished cleaning his helm and now set it aside.
He liked to think all of those blood goblins had been dealt with, but there was no way to truly know without scouring the land fully. He knew all too well how stubborn life can be in all its forms, goblins in particular being a shockingly resilient species. And the ones in this world seemed quite adept in persisting well past the point where they should be stopped.
Then there was the infliction of rot that had occurred out in the desert. Although the source of it had been eliminated, the desert would take a long time to fully heal from the damage it had suffered. And now with the capital having suffered considerable losses, the possibility of the kingdom's forces leaving the desert unattended for such a long period of time meant there was a possibility now, however small, that something else could occur to renew the rot.
Finally, there was the Frenzied Flame's mark. All the thralls that had attacked the capital were now dead, Shabriri fully vanquished… but he couldn't be sure all the thralls he'd encountered along the way had been slain. He'd done his best to detect them wherever they were and put them down as he'd journeyed to the capital and Ranni in turn had divined the greatest concentrations of the Frenzied Flame's influence to determine if any thralls had been gathering elsewhere, so they'd clearly killed plenty of thralls. However, that wasn't quite the same as saying with certainty that they'd taken care of all the poor souls afflicted with frenzy. There too was a chance that it could persist somehow.
…Having seen what the adventurers and knights of these lands can do now, the Tarnished could confidently say they could handle almost anything thrown at them… especially the young Goblin Slayer, whose strength of will was truly worthy of praise. Still, that didn't mean it'd be right to just up and leave them to deal with any future messes like this, not when he and Ranni were inadvertently responsible for the gods to have taken note of the Four Cornered World in the first place.
Put another way…
"It would appear our time in this world isn't quite over yet," the Tarnished murmured.
"Agreed." Ranni then let out a quiet yet no less dramatic sigh. "And here I was, so missing my manor. To think thou would force me to stay away from it any longer like this… I expect thee to do thy best in making it up to me."
The Tarnished chuckled. "Even if it takes me the rest of my life, I shall do just that."
The two of them shared some quiet laughter and continued to trade lighthearted quips like this for several more precious minutes. Eventually, the talking came to a comfortable stop as they finally readied to continue their journey again.
As they finished putting away what little they'd taken out and called upon Torrent, dawn began to break, the sun slowly peeking out over the horizon.
Their adventure in the Four Cornered World was not yet over. The time to return home was still some time away.
Nonetheless, neither of them despaired over this fact. If anything, with the most immediate threats now dealt with and only the cleanup to focus on, the duo couldn't help but feel lighter than ever, a burden having been lifted from their collective shoulders.
And so, with a light tug on Torrent's reins, the Tarnished and Lunar Princess took off, ready to tackle what their remaining days ahead would bring them.
A nice little epilogue to finish things up, if I do say so myself.
As what should have been expected of a fic based on the likes of Goblin Slayer and Elden Ring, the adventure isn't over even when the story is over – there's always more that the characters can find themselves doing. Honestly, the same could be said of just about any other series/franchise out there, even if in most cases, it'd be slice of life stuff about certain characters. So with that said, hope you all liked how I chose to write the epilogue here.
Moreover, it is yet again my hope that you all enjoyed this fic in general. Again, this was something that had gotten kind of hard to write towards the end due to burnout, but that doesn't mean I was just going to put minimal effort into writing the remainder of this fic. Of course, whether or not I succeeded at this is up to you, the readers, but I do like to think I still managed to give it my best shot.
Anyways, here marks the end of Age of Adventure… or perhaps the beginning, given that both the Tarnished and Ranni now properly have the time to explore the Four Cornered World without any time constraints, heh. As to what exactly they get up to outside of making sure no further 'messes' remain, I'll leave that up to your imaginations. And who knows? Maybe later down the line, they'll get to meet with Goblin Slayer and his party once more, or perhaps with some of the other notable characters from Goblin Slayer. Plenty more fun and intrigue to be had imagining that, I'd say.
Thank you all once again for reading this fic and hope you will look forward to my next one, whenever I get around to it.
Until next time, everyone. Take care of yourselves.