5 Chapter 5

*Beep* *Beep* *Beep*

Begrudgingly opening my eyes, a groan escapes my lips as I reach for my ringing phone, caused by the alarm I created before going to sleep last night. Clicking the unlock button, the alarm stops, and the bright screen illuminates my face, causing me to squint from the overstimulation.

Waiting until my eyes are somewhat adjusted to the new light, I let out another groan when I read 5:00am on the screen.

"Fuck, why couldn't they have made this a night mission."

Locking my phone again, I close my eyes just to rest them as I mentally prepare myself to actually leave my bed.

It was one thing to wake up when your alarm went off, but it was an entirely different thing to actually 'wake up'.

"Siri, play my Ultimate Harvey Specter Playlist." I call out, every apple device I own momentarily flashing before the Homepod on my nightstand accepts the command and begins playing a playlist consisting of classic Blues and Jazz songs.

Having enough forethought, I had already packed all the gear that I was going to need for today's little expedition, so the only thing I had to do was shower and get some food in me before heading out. By the time 5:55am rolls around, I'm already in the car and burning rubber towards my destination.

-:][:-

"Good morning… Alicia… right?" I question the pretty orc lady behind the counter of one of the reception desks in the guild hall, sure I remembered her name but wanting to open up easy conversation.

"Oh, Good Morning Darrian! I thought you were supposed to be on the goblin raid? The other's left about an hour ago." She answers.

"What?" I smartly reply, her words causing a falter in my steps as I walk the rest of the way towards her desk.

"Yea, they told me that they were going to meet you and… well him, there." She adds on, pointing behind me to the guild entrance where a newcomer just walked in.

"Shit. I knew they weren't all too happy with me joining the expedition, but I didn't expect them to troll me like this." I grumble to myself, as the man dressed head to toe in knight's armor walks over to us.

"I was told to be here at 7am for the goblin raid." The distinctly male voice, being slightly muffled by the helmet he has on, plainly states as he reaches Alicia's desk.

"We were trolled buddy. Bastards gave us the wrong time and ditched us." I concisely explain, letting the annoyance leak into my answer.

"I see. That is unfortunate." He replies. His voice devoid of any emotion. "Do you know where the mine is? I would still like to go."

Instead of answering, I turn to look at the guild employee who was content with letting me handle the situation.

"Oh! Ah, yes. Here, let me pull it up and I'll send it to you both through Avalon." She helpfully replies. "The drive is approximately 1.5 hours away, so If you hurry you might be able to catch up to them before they go to far into the mine."

The dude who had yet to introduce himself, simply nods his head before turning around and walking out the guild hall, not even waiting to see if I had anything to add.

"Well I guess I'll be going now, don't want to get ditched twice in one day. It was a pleasure seeing you again Miss Alicia." I wave over my shoulder as I turn to follow the man.

"You too! Please be carful and happy hunting!"

-:][:-

"Yo, wait up man!" I yell out, while rushing over to the guy in head to toe armor.

"Yes?" He questions as soon as I catch up to him.

Not breaking his stride but instead just turning his head to acknowledge me.

"I was suppose to be on the raid too, just wanted to check in and see if you wanted to ride together. I'm new in town so I'de rather tag along with someone who knows the area." I quickly respond, only slightly annoyed that his helmet doesn't allow me to see his reaction to my statement. "You do know the area right?"

"Yes. I was born here. We can take my car. It's equipped for off-road and has all my equipment." He promptly accepts, not even thinking the decision over.

"Sounds good man. By the way, my names Darrian, Darrian Quetzal." I introduce myself, extending a handout for him to shake.

The man takes my hand and shakes it once but unlike I would expect, he doesn't offer a name of his own.

"Umm, usually this is the part where you tell me your name too." I awkwardly reply after a moment of silence.

"My Guild recognized code name is Goblin Slayer." The Knight replies after a moment of what I believe is deliberation.

"Well, I don't have a code name so uhh, just call me Darrian I guess." I shrug off his curtness and continue to follow along until we get to the elevator that will take us top side.

"Holy shit dude. My car is beautiful but your's is just fucking bad ass." I compliment the so-called Goblin Slayer, truly meaning my words as I ogle the Conquest Knight XV parked beside my rari.

"It's the perfect vehicle for getting to the terrain that Goblin often reside in." He simply expresses.

"If you say so man. With a name like your's, I'll have to differ to your expertise."

-:][:-

I tried to get the Knight named Goblin Slayer to open up, but the 1.5 hour drive was mostly filled with silence.

What little talking we did do was mostly about what to expect once we got to the mines. Luckily, the Knight had come prepared with a myriad of ways to kill goblins. His monicker, well earned.

"Damn, it looks like we missed them. Reckon they've made decent enough progress. You drove like a maniac but it still took us an hour to get here." I lament, while the Goblin Slayer wastes no time and instead goes to his trunk to load up on weapons.

In the trunk of the behemoth, we just rode in was a sight I could only ever see in America, or a war ridden country. Shotguns, Fully Automatic Rifles, Pistols, Sniper Rifles, grenades, knives, and enough ammo to out fit a small battalion. It boggled my mind that the man basically had a fully stocked armory just chilling in his trunk.

"Dude, you should protect all that with some wards at least." I idly comment, only for him to point at a small stone hidden away in one of the many cubbies of the trunk. "Fair enough."

Shaking away my shocked state, I go about preparing myself for what will undoubtedly be at least a half decent fight. That is, if the group ahead of us hadn't cleared the mines by now.

Although my outfit isn't as practical as the full set of armor the Knight beside me is wearing, it still offers me enough protection and range of movement for the upcoming battle.

If anything, I look like a modern-day samurai. And, although I usually prefer a spear, the katanas strapped to my hip and the two desert eagles I holster in my cross-body holster, give me the confidence to follow the Goblin Slayer as we head to the entrance of the mine.

But It's as we take our first steps into the opening of the mine, that I hear the feint panic yells of battle.

Screams of terror and whispered prayers that only reach my ear because of my unique physiology.

"Shit. We need to hurry, they're in trouble!" I urgently relay to my companion only for him to extend an arm out and stop me from rushing in.

"This is a hive." He says, no doubt thinking that his words are enough explanation.

"Dude, this could be their race's seat of power for all I care! There are people in trouble!" I protest, only to be stopped by the sound of hurried footsteps coming our way. "There's someone coming."

The footsteps eventually get loud enough for the Goblin Slayer to hear, and when he does, he takes out a short sword that he had strapped to his hip while I ready one of my katanas.

Only a couple moments pass before we see the outline of a humanoid shape running full tilt towards us. By this point I'm sure that it's one of the party members that took this mission but the screeches and growls following the heavy pants of the person running for their life give me enough pause to wait and see what comes out.

*GRAHHHHH*

"Goblins." The Knight simply states, before breaking out into a sprint.

"What the fuck happened to a cautious approach?" I grumble out loud but rush to cover the man's back.

"HELP!"

We hear a familiar voice as we get deeper into the labyrinth of tunnels. Said voice sounding hoarse but no doubt having finally seen us. In the back of my mind I briefly wonder how a group of nearly 8 adventurers managed to get their asses handed to them by mere goblins, but when I see the small horde of 8 goblins chasing Blake Summers, my question is answered.

Numbers.

Even an ant can hurt an elephant.

"You take left, I got the right!" I quickly voice out as we get less than a couple of feet from the running group.

I was half expecting the Goblin Slayer to not listen, our interactions so far lending to the idea that the man's more of a solo dolo type of player, but as we make contact with the hoard, he smoothly takes on the four goblins to the left, leaving four others just for me on the right.

Minding the space I have within the tunnels of the mine, I keep my arms tucked and swing my katana in an arc, easily cutting through the torsos of the first two goblins I meet.

*GRAHHH*

*KREEEHH*

The monsters don't die a clean death, their animalistic wails of pain proof of that. Usually, I would try to got for the instant kill, but the moment I had dispatched the first two, the others had tried to pounce on me without missing a beat.

It's only my quick reflexes and limber body that allow me to maneuver away from the first grasp. The second, I can't dodge and instead opt out to spartan kick the little beast in the chest, sending It sailing towards one of the cave walls.

Not wasting any of my momentum, I quickly pivot on the foot that's still on the ground and bring down kick, with the other leg, on the head of the goblin that I had previously dodged, before driving my katana through its eye.

"And that's 4." I tell myself before catching the last of my opponents with my blade as it jumps at me thinking I was distracted. Said blade easily cutting it in half.

Having dispatched with my assigned lot, my head swivels in search of the guy that had led them to us and the companion I had travelled here with. I only find one of the two, and gladly it's the only one I have any positive feelings towards.

"Where'd the douchebag go?" I ask the stoic Knight who, by the looks of it, had just as easy of a time with his goblins than I did with mine.

"Out of the cave, I would presume." The man answers, wiping the blood from his blade with a rag he pulled out of one of his pockets. "We should hurry. Those were scouts, and when they don't come back, they'll send more."

"You don't have to tell me twice." I reply, no more words needing to be said as we both take off in a light jog.

The further we get, the louder the screams are and the more prominent the stench of death is.

"Here. We need to cover our scents with theirs." The Goblin Slayer states, handing me the bloody rag he had just used to wipe off what I presume is goblin blood off his sword, only to rub it on his armor.

"Nah, I'm good. That's what I got magic for." I reply, wrinkling my nose at the proffered rag and instead incant a spell that would hide my scent until I'm right on top of my prey.

{Merodo Sneled}

The Knight of few words doesn't comment further, instead just nodding in acceptance. It doesn't take us long to get to the next group of goblins. This one distracted by the body of another party member. The disgusting creatures have a feast with his body.

We make quick work of the group. Our blades meeting little resistance and the fight lasting much less than the previous one, even though they're numbers had been more.

With the latest body found, in my mind I mentally took note that they're were only 6 party members remaining. Three of which we found in a worse state than the others. Their corpses being used in a much more horrible way than just for sustenance.

This group had been much much larger than the previous two combined. Ensuring the use of the guns we brought. The sound no doubt extinguishing whatever surprise advantage we had.

Only three-party members remained, and by the sounds we were hearing death would have probably been preferable than the alternative.

And that held true for one. What had no doubt once been a beautiful young woman, now was only a lifeless husk that could still breathe.

I had lost count of how many goblins I had slayed by this point. So lost in their revelry that, for the most part, each one of them had been too distracted to put up much of a fight.

*huff* *huff* *huff*

I had completely lost track of time. For all I knew we could have been down here anywhere from a couple of minutes to a couple of hours. The only thought on my mind was finding the last two of the eight that we had yet to run into.

"Father, yours is the grace that protects. Please lend me your strength so that I may continue to do your will!" I hear from a nearby alcove, where a brilliant golden light shimmers, attracting a small horde of the little cunts to it.

"Goblin Slayer! There's a survivor!" I yell out to the man who had kept up to me stride for stride and kill for kill.

Trusting that he'll be alright to fight off the goblins he's currently engaged with, I slice through the head of the last one I was fighting and barrel into the horde pawing at a dome structure made out a flickering golden light.

Just as I reach the group, the light flickers out of existence, the caster of the magic slumping down on the ground, sweat pooling around her brow and fear etched on her face as the horde decends on her.

{Dracarys}

I intone in my mind, my eyes turning to their draconic state as I deeply inhale, before releasing a blistering blue stream of fire from my mouth and using it to burn the goblins who were reaching for the young woman, into nothing but ash.

*huff* *huff* *huff*

Although dragon fire may be one of the most powerful elements in existence, at my age, the use of it is still quite draining. For comparison, my great grandfather, who is a couple of centuries old, could easily burn down an entire city and still have enough left in the tank for a celebratory fuck.

Me on the other hand, can do nothing but try to catch my breath as I walk over to check on the blonde-haired young woman who had no doubt passed out from magical exhaustion.

"Is she dead?" The Goblin Slayer asks, slightly startling me as I reach to check for a pulse.

"No, just drained of mana. Her friend on the other hand, not so lucky." I reply, while checking on the other person in the alcove.

She had not been as fortunate. I could see signs of magical healing, but the missing leg would have needed a lot more than the slumped blonde priestess could have provided while trying to heal her and simultaneously hold off the mass of goblins trying to get to them.

As powerful as the arcane arts are, the human body still had its limits.

"We should continue forward. I have yet to see the hobgoblin that should be acting as their leader or the shaman who had set up the alert wards around the area." The Goblin slayer comments, turning around to start heading down one of the paths we had yet to travel down.

"What about the girl?" I ask.

Letting a little bit of incredulity fill my voice since he didn't give her more than a brief glance.

"We can either return for her when we're done, bring her with us, or if you know any protective magic then you can use that." He replies.

"I'm too drained for magic right now, and I'd rather not leave her to her own luck." I retort, sheathing my katana while throwing her over my shoulder and unholstering one of the desert eagles I had on me.

Reaching the Knight, who's armor is now a crimson color instead of the grayish silver it once was, we silently skulk through the tunnels, our senses strained to the max and on the lookout for anything suspicious.

The woman on my shoulder, only a mild annoyance as we make the trek.

Our journey, eventually leading us to a large hole overlooking an amphitheater like area, where a congregation of goblins seem to be in the middle of some kind of ritual.

"So, what's the plan?" I ask my fellow adventurer, carefully placing the still unconscious girl over my shoulder on the ground and crouching next to where the knight is.

"Magical scrolls." The knight answers, taking out a set of rolled up scrolls from one of the pouches lining his waist.

"Okay?"

"Take this one and throw it when I give you the signal, try not to gather their aggression. We need them corralled for this to work." He then concisely explains, handing me a scroll before taking off to a new spot around the large hole.

Raising a hand, he begins counting down from five, which I take as my signal to prepare myself to throw the rolled-up scroll.

As the scarlet knight's pinky joined the rest of his fingers into a fist both of us cocked our arms back at the same time and threw the rolled-up parchment.

*FWOOOSHHHH*

The moment the scrolls begin to unfurl, the dimly lit amphitheater lights up like the fourth of July. Instead of the light show being thanks to some Black Cat fireworks, the red hue that illuminates the area is thanks to the inferno released by each scroll.

In seconds the whole amphitheater is made to look like the pits of Dante's inferno itself. The screams of the creatures below, who's bodies are being cooked asunder, giving further credence to the comparison.

"Holy fuck dude. Not at all what I was expecting. That's some heavy shit." I can't help but comment, as the fire rages. "You definitely play for keeps."

Any other time and I would have felt pity for the howling cries of pain that was filling the cave. The stench of burning flesh was enough to make my eyes water and by stomach churn, but the mutilated and abused bodies that we saw on our way inside the cave makes the experience tolerable.

"The only good goblin is a dead goblin."

If I've learned anything in the past couple of hours, it's that the name Goblin Slayer is certainly an earned moniker.

"Do you think any of them survived?"

"I'll go down and check. You stay here and act as an arial view lookout."

And so, I do.

I first check on the cleric, that was still knocked out, and then I just sit back and watch him work. The way the crimson Knight goes about his work inspires a certain type of respect. He doesn't gloat or boast as he pierces the moaning goblins with his sword. He doesn't prolong their suffering or add onto it.

He simply does what needs to be done.