First off, I would like to apologize for the huge delayed update after months. Things went out of control this year due to so many occurrences that I had to deal between my personal life and other important matters. I tried to work in this chapter, but couldn't do much progress until now and became worse after my laptop began to malfunction and looking for a borrowed one in the meantime. I know that shouldn't be an excuse, but I must tell you all that you should take care of yourselves and your beloved ones in this chaotic times. I'll try my best to give some hope to all of you, even if that takes me longer. The only thing that remains is to stay strong. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

Moments before the group would take a separate route inside the castle, Goblins Slayer and Grimm Slayer headed upstairs to exterminate the enemy forces from inside. It would be a risky maneuver, but the foul creatures were busy at the front gates. It was the perfect opportunity to sneak by until reaching their nest leader—Goblin Slayer's first thoughts about where their leader would be, the throne room.

"Do you see any goblins or Grimm?" The armored guy asked.

"None, that creeps me out." The hooded girl said as she looked at her surroundings. "I guess they are busy outside for the moment."

"Even so, they wouldn't leave their nest unguarded. Keep eyes open for anything ahead of us."

"Got it."

As always, Goblin Slayer knew. They had to go cautiously, and understandably, to avoid fighting until they could locate the leader. Walls painted in blood, tapestry tainted with dirt and flesh, moss growing between the stones. The girl found it gross, but it wouldn't matter much for them. How long had the castle been abandoned? It seemed decades-old but didn't belong to royalty: The decorations and architecture reassembled one of the nobles living away from other civilizations, but heavily fortified for invasions.

What happened to the former residents? No one could tell.

"Are you ready?" Goblin Slayer whispered. He got one hand on the handle of a big door as Grimm Slayer nodded.

Behind the door, there was a long set of stairs heading towards an upper level. There was echoing across the area. Difficult to say how far they would go beyond that point. Goblin Slayer pulled his sword while Grimm Slayer drew her scythe. They were cautious if enemies would jump at them in such narrow space.

Step by step, they marched upwards with slow movements in the darkness. Their footsteps echoed between the walls and small breezes blowing at their faces. The closer they were approaching the upper floor, they heard unsettled whistlings further away. The hooded girl could feel a chill running down her spine; nothing that she got ready to face any danger could ever make her feel safe. Next to Goblin Slayer, she was still a child who couldn't fathom what a real loss means. Or to be more precise, she hasn't felt a loss, yet. Grimm Slayer always did her best to keep everyone in her party well and safe, but it never was enough. Like any excellent Huntress, one must put her life on the line. All times.

"Look at the ceiling," Goblin Slayer said as he and the hooded girl were next to the door.

"Ceiling?" Grimm Slayer asked.

"Aim your gun above us as soon as I open the door." The Adventurer's instructions were clear enough that the girl didn't object. She checked her ammo pouch, and much to her disappointment only had four pellets left.

"Are you sure of this? I don't think it will have good use without enough ammo."

"Don't matter. You know when to use it." Goblin Slayer said with his usual tone, Grimm Slayer nodded.

The armored guy slowly pushed the door, with the girl behind as she aimed upwards. Both held their breath, looking from left to right, up and down, all around.

The throne room, desolated as it seemed, had one light source: A small gap at the ceiling that the light coming from both moons could illuminate one specific point. The throne was empty. "Empty, huh? Should we go somewhere else?"

"Not at all," the armored guy pulled his torch. The flames began to brighten the place, enough to see a much horrible surprise: Goblins sleeping at the ceiling, hanging like bats as all of them used blankets, rugs, and curtains as hammocks. Already suspending higher, those creatures had a much advantages point. Goblins would fall upon both slayers like a tempest.

"What should we do, then?" Grimm Slayer asked as the leader from those foul creatures didn't seem to be anywhere at sight. "Do you think is he sleeping up there?"

"Doubt it. That would be too convenient. The leader must be somewhere," with his guard up, he advanced further in the room while the girl covered his back. Moving closer to the center of the room, they could hear only snoring, ones louder than the next.

"This will take us all night," Grimm Slayer said.

"Might be, but we still must hurry to find it," Goblin Slayer replied. As they finally reached the throne, Grimm Slayer saw small granites falling on her shoulder. Another second, and things would turn to late for them.

"Look out!" She pushed the armored guy out of the way as they saw something falling from the ceiling; a black being of muscular complex stomped on the ground to shake the whole floor and wake up the goblins in an instant. As the dust dispersed, revealing a creature of primitive appearance with a bone mask, bone chest plates, and spikes on its back.

"What kind of Grimm is that?" Goblin Slayer asked with the guard up.

"A Beringel!" Grimm Slayer changed stance with her scythe ready.

Even after all the goblins finally woke up, none of them chose to jump down. None of them seemed eager to fight as they acted more excited as they screamed. "What's the matter with them?"

"Can't tell, but their behavior isn't normal," the armored guy said before dodging the Beringel's first strike. The Grimm furiously roared as it rushed towards the slayers. It ground pounded with both arms that shaken the floor again. The hooded girl jumped and tried to retaliate by slashing at it, but the Berigel blocked the attack.

Goblin Slayer quickly acted by stabbing the Grimm in the back but did nothing except angering it. The Beringel grabbed Grimm Slayer's weapon alongside her and swung against Goblin Slayer, throwing both against the wall.

"Owww..." Grimm Slayer groaned while rubbing her back to alleviate some of the pain. The goblins at the ceiling began to cheer for the creature. Both slayers seemed confused about what they were witnessing. Almost as if the goblins were spectators in a combat arena. "What's the plan?"

"Keep it distracted. I will handle it from behind."

"Got it!" Grimm Slayer got back on her feer, ready to get serious. She focused on taking deep breaths before getting her eyes aimed at the Beringel. Carefully had a mental image of her path to move across the floor while distracting the creature.

It was time.

At unmeasurable speed, she left a trace of rose petals as she moved at zigzag. The Grimm tried to throw a vast number of punches at her, but the Huntress played defensively by avoiding all the attacks. Grimm Slayer's graceful agility was enough to buy time to Goblin Slayer as he pulled a chain with a hook from his satchel.

There was an opening. The armored guy ran and climbed on the back of the unaware Grimm and quickly wrapped the Beringel's neck with the chain. Things went smooth so far as Goblin Slayer had both feet on the Beringel's back as he kept tightening the chain while trying to be out of reach, making it difficult for the Grimm to grab him.

"Hang on! I will try to shoot it!" Grimm Slayer aimed at the opponent's head as he kneeled. It turned out difficult for her as they wouldn't stop moving. She didn't want to shoot at Goblin Slayer by accident. "Ugh, stop moving!" She shouted.

Of course, the goblins weren't pleased as to how things were going for the Beringel. They yelled, screeched, and rambled. Goblins wouldn't let things be as they started to throw rocks at the slayers. Not only they interrupted the hooded girl's concentration, but Goblin Slayer began to lose balance as the rocks kept hitting his helmet. One of his hands was losing grip, and more rocks kept coming at him. Grimm Slayer noticed that, so she went in his aid by deflecting the rocks back at the green imps. The hooded girl was able to hit the goblins, and even some fell of their hammocks. She kept spinning her scythe non-stop, but no matter how fast Grimm Slayer did, there was always a minor mistake. A single stone passed through the girl's defenses unnoticed.

While insignificant at a simple glance, that was enough to hit Goblin Slayer's struggling hand and lose the grip from the chain. "Shit..." The armored guy lost control. The Beringel finally reached the chain from its neck by yanking and sending the Goblin Slayer flying towards the throne. The hooded girl quickly turned her head with a concerned look. She focused on her ally by catching him, using herself to soften the impact as both landed on the throne.

The Beringel was loose once again.

The odds were against the slayers as not only the Grimm was ready to counter-attack, but some of the goblins that fell joined the battle, unwillingly. The Beringel grabbed two of the goblins by throwing at slayers with relentless fury. One of the goblins broke its neck after crashing against the armored guy's shield while the other got cut in two by the hooded girl.

That would be the appetizers as the rest of the goblins jumped down to join the fun. The slayers were at the bottom of the room while being cornered. Slowly, with hungry eyes and drooling, goblins were following the Beringel from behind. Their numbers were no small feat, but who can bet their lives against such a large group?

"This doesn't look good," said Goblin Slayer as he searched inside his satchel.

"Got another idea?" Grimm Slayer said without lowering her guard. She saw Goblin Slayer's chain lying on the ground. While it wasn't sufficient to strangle the Beringel, there was no doubt that the chain was still sturdy enough not to break easily. The hooded girl could see how to turn the tables after looking at her surroundings. "Alright, I have one, but this time, you distract the Grimm for me."

"What about the goblins?"

"I will lure them towards you. Let the Beringel do the rest."

"I see. Just be cautious," Goblin Slayer lit his torch while holding it on the same hand he had his shield. Grimm Slayer nodded as she embraced herself to rush towards the horde of goblins.

One had to wonder what was inside both slayers' minds, but it was for sure that they knew how to deal with them after their mistakes. Goblin Slayer began attracting the Grimm's attention by attacking it with both sword and torch at each hand. The Grimm's resilience was too much to cause any significant damage, but that wouldn't stop the creature from getting angered towards the armored guy, especially after how he treated the Beringel moments ago. It might act like any other animal, but Goblin Slayer could tell how much resentment felt towards him. Assumingly that sentiment such as the one of personal retaliation shouldn't exist among Creatures of Grimm. It wasn't difficult for him to think the contrary after hunting goblins for years. He decided to take it slow and play it safe after measuring Beringel's strength, which it was equally, if not more than to two Goblin Champions'. He knew it was more than he could handle by himself.

The Beringel swung its arms and threw the left hook faster than anticipated, but Goblin Slayer ducked and focused on striking the legs as he had the opening he wanted. The Grimm tried to counter once again, but only got hit in the face by the armored guy's torch. Back and forth, dodge, strike, jump, and roll.

He played too defensively, but it was a matter of patience because Grimm Slayer jumped on the goblins' heads on the other end of the room by using her speed. The area was getting covered with more rose petals on her way. Those petals had one advantage when being above enemies was how confused the vile green creatures were until it was too late as some heads and limbs began to fly in the air.

She danced on a path of roses and blood, and the goblins became wary of her movements. As all of them were numerous against her, they were unarmed with except a few rocks. The goblins desired to leave the room, but the hooded girl never gave them a chance with her speed, forcing them to run towards the dead-end where Goblin Slayer was fighting.

The moment they were getting closer, Goblin Slayer moved towards one of the pillars. He was in front of it while waiting for the Beringel to attack. The Grimm was about to tackle him and struck without realizing the object from behind the armored guy. A painful mistake made the creature dizzy, but also the pillar crumbled into large pieces that fell and crushed an outstanding amount of the goblins nearby.

Goblin Slayer saw the chance as he hit the Beringel in the eyes with the torch, causing it to enter in an agitated state which its blurred vision wouldn't allow it to differentiate anything ahead for the Grimm. The frenzy was enough to start massacring goblins from left to right without knowing.

Broken necks and spines, split heads, torn arms, and spilled blood all over the room in a matter of minutes that could be a new personal record for the armored guy. With the area clean and one opponent standing, it was the time to end it.

Grimm Slayer picked the chain from the ground without slowing her speed. At the end of the chain, the hook was sharp that she used it to pierce the Beringel's right shoulder and wrap the creature's arms as bondage. Immobilized, at last, Goblin Slayer held his sword in a reverse grip with the blade right at the Beringel's nape. He hadn't much time before it would break loose again. Grimm Slayer had the chance as her scythe was on point as she leaped toward them. Another burst of petals on her path from behind, she boosted herself with the throne to reach a higher momentum. She flew like the wind and deadly as a storm when her blade sliced its neck from ahead. Combining the maneuver alongside Goblin Slayer's weight and steady grip, both slayers applied a synchronized finisher. The Beringel's head raised and reached the ceiling until it dispersed alongside the body into black smoke before touching the ground.

It was finally over.

"That was close..." Grimm Slayer said, wiping her forehead off. Goblin Slayer began checking the corpses in the room by kicking them out of the way. "Do you think the others finally destroyed the Grimm Pool?" She asked, stretching her arms after taking a deep breath. However, there was no response from the Adventurer. "Hey, did you listen to what I said? Hello?"

"Something is not right."

"What?"

"None of those goblins are the leader."

"Then, where is it?" Grimm Slayer asked. Before she could get an answer, the ground has shaken. It wouldn't stop moving. For one second, the gap that was the only source of light from outside went dark. What caused it? It was for sure that no cloud was in the sky that night. Something more massive, much more than an albatross, would cover be capable of doing that. Of course, for Grimm Slayer, she knew there was one creature of that size in the air.

They heard a screech.

The room trembled, and the bodies scattered farther. Stone by stone, the ceiling began to fall apart while both slayers moved out of danger. Between crumbles and smoke, they started to see with clarity the juxtaposition between black and white. An unusual large beak was inside the room following the white bone face, red marks, and yellow eyes.

The Nevermore, one of the largest flying Grimm, destroyed the place open.

"Where did that come from!?" Grimm Slayer asked as she took cover. She looked up, and at a further inspection, there was something on the Nevermore's head. "What the...!?"

"A Goblin Shaman!?" That monotone voice broke into a more concerned one as the Goblin Slayer saw who was riding the gigantic creature. The goblin began to cast lightning spells at both of them before reacting appropriately against the flying beast. Grimm Slayer instinctively used her weapon by shooting at the Nevermore's left eye, but only caused it to destroy more of the ceiling violently. The hooded girl got trapped under more crumble, but she didn't get hurt, luckily.

Goblin Slayer got in more trouble as the Goblin Shaman ordered the Grimm to attack him by pecking him by the leg. He tried to fight back, but the beak was too strong that his emergency dagger did nothing. The creature began to ascend, higher away from the castle while still carrying the armored guy from the leg. He would almost lose it if he didn't stop the pressure by using his sword at the nick of time. From that point on, he became a hostage by the goblin leader and its mount.

Minutes later, Dwarf Shaman, Cat Ninja, and Priestess arrived at the destroyed room with horrified eyes towards the gruesome scene before looking up at the Nevermore. They didn't notice Grimm Slayer was near them until she began calling for help.

"Miss Red!?" Dwarf Shaman was the first to react until he pointed out where the hooded girl was. The girls gently put the older man next to the broken pillar to rest before they could help their ally. They moved the stones carefully until Cat Ninja pulled her out.

"Are you alright, Grimm Slayer!?" Priestess said, scared and wanting to hold tears.

"I'm fine, barely..." Grimm Slayer groaned.

"What happened here!?" Cat Ninja asked as she helped her friend to stand up again.

"Long story, but we need to leave now!"

"What about Beard-Cutter!? Where is he!?"

"That's the problem! We have to save him before he becomes Nevermore food!" After hearing the Huntress words, they couldn't help themselves from feeling horrified. However, it was not time to lose courage as it wasn't too late yet. Priestess did her best to change her attitude if she wanted to save Goblin Slayer. The best thing they could do at the moment was to leave the castle and gather their allies to make another plan.