SIX months... this is getting tedious. Let's just say a lot of stuff has been going on, but now I have the right amount of confidence to bring you all another chapter!

But due note that – by the time I'm uploading this one – it's gonna be a TWO parter. But I'm DEFINITELY going to make sure not to leave it on another long gap!

And THANK YOU, so, so much for waiting patiently with me! It does me wonders to know that everyone is still viewing this story, and I'm gonna make good on rewarding you during all this time that's passed.

I promise!

Without further ado, let's get goin'!

~Matt3265

Disclaimer: Both series, Goblin Slayer and How Not to Summon a Demon Lord, belong to their respective owners, and all "openings/endings" mentioned apply as well.

A long time ago... there was a time where fewer stars shined amongst the sky...

The gods – the first being of light, order, and fate... the others of darkness, chaos, and coincidence – decided to play a little game:

Roll the dice to see which side would rule the world.

Over and over, the gods threw the dice... until they began to feel faint...

However...

From the sidelines, another worlds' god watched them... and began to feel... intrigued to say the least.

Seeing this world fruitlessly play such a silly game just to determine its' rightful ruler, while their world was ruled by one, dark entity...

It wanted to play too.

How Not to Summon a Goblin Slayer

Chapter 3: Unexpected Visitors

No... t-this isn't... this isn't right...!

Deep within a hollow cave, Priestess looked on in pure fear and terror at the one thing she wanted to avoid...

Shera...

Clothes torn apart, tears at the rim of her hollow eyes, a deep gash on her stomach, and her bow crushed to pieces – that is what remained of her once cheerful and busty self.

R-Rem...

Her tail cut clean off, multiple deep cuts across her body, and blood trailing down from her forehead – that is what remained of her calm but short tempered self.

No... you shouldn't be here...!

And the cause of all this despair...

Why...?

"hehehehehe~"

WHY...?!

"GYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA~!"

WHY GOBLINS?!

"*GASP! Hah... hah... hah... hah..."

Priestess continued to try calming herself down from the nightmare that she had just witnessed.

"... i-it's ok... it's fine... j-just a dream... phew..."

She took a couple more breathes before looking around to find herself in a small room. There were small cabinets – some filled with potions, a stool, and other miscellaneous objects.

"W-Where is this...? I don't recall coming here but... ah!"

With a sudden realization, she remembered the moment that she was injured by that arrow, and began to visibly sweat at the painful memory.

"R-Right... that happened..."

Priestess took a moment to lay herself down on the small bed she was in – contemplating on the previous events that had transpired.

N-N-N-No... t-this is all my fault...

"No... Shera... it was never your fault... it was mine."

YOU BASTARD! You're calling her a monster, ...no... you're the monster!

"Rem... they weren't monsters... none of us were."

"Knock, knock nya~!"

Her thoughts were abruptly interrupted when May stepped into the room.

"M-May? Why're you here?"

The cat girl blinked for a moment before smiling. "Oh, you're awake nya~! That healing spell must've done the trick!"

"W-Wait, what healing spell?" Priestess asked with widened eyes.

"Well, I called over a healer this morning to get that nasty wound all fixed up for yah, nya~!"

"Y-You did, but how-?!"

"That's because your friends came in last night. It was such a sorry sight, nya! You looked liked an injured lamb having escaped the jaws of a feisty pack of wolves! Just that sight alone was something I couldn't EVER bear to see, nya~!"

Priestess slightly sweat dropped at May's passionate explanation. "R-Right..., speaking of my friends, where are they right now?"

"Oh... unfortunately they left just a minute ago to stop by the guild, nya. Not to mention the guild master specifically asked for Goblin Slayer."

"I-I see..." Looking out one of the open windows, Priestess thought to herself with a sorrowful expression.

I'm sorry to have made you all worry... even you, ...Goblin Slayer-san...

~ TV Version – [ DeCIDE by SUMMONERS 2+]

"Come in~!"

Goblin Slayer – as well Shera and Rem – entered the guild masters' office once more and took their seats, with the girl in question perking up at seeing them.

"Nice, you guys made it! But then again, sorry for dragging you guys out here with such a short notice. Especially after the last quest you guys tackled." She then raised an eyebrow when she noticed something off. "Hold up, why isn't Priestess with you guys today?"

"Resting," Goblin Slayer blankly responded.

"Yeah," Rem further clarified before continuing. "Aside from that, why'd you call for Goblin Slayer specifically?"

"It's not another trap, right?" Shera asked with slight suspicion.

"Pfft, hahaha~! You're funny, but not this time around. This – in fact – is a quest from the Mages Association; straight from Celestine Baudelaire herself." With a sly smile, Sylvie held up the quest form. "She even handed this to me personally."

"Oh, that's good," Rem said.

"Well it should be, because the reward is insane despite how easy this quest is. Guess it's some kind of compensation after what Galeck put you guys through."

"C-Could we please not talk about that...?" Shera nervously asked. "I'd really not like to think about it anymore if that's okay..."

"Uhmm... okay?" Sylvie said with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, you guys can take this one without me," Rem said with a small frown.

Sylvie turned to Rem, eyebrow still raised. "Your excuse being...?"

"I don't want to owe Celes any favors if I can, so just count me in for any normal quests."

"Why would you be owing her any favors?" Shera asked. "More importantly, why skip out on an easy quest like this? You do know that we're kinda broke at the moment, right?"

"Urgh... t-that's..." Rem nervously mouthed while Goblin Slayer continued to sit; still without having moved as much as a muscle.

"Y'know, three people for this quest sounds a bit much for an easy quest like this," Sylvie stated. "In my mind, Goblin Slayer and Shera should be enough for the job as it is."

"Sure, I'm down," Shera said before looking toward the slayer. "What do you think?"

With only but a simple nod from Goblin Slayer, the guild master clasped her hands together. "Alright, the both you on one of the easiest quests ever, and Rem's night off! Don't let me down, alright?"

A minute later...

Stopping at the last bit of stairs that led up towards the guild office, Shera read the contents of the quest...

"It says here that we need to deliver refreshments at the Bridge of Oolog... wow that's it?!"

"It's simple," Goblin Slayer blankly stated.

"How on earth does she not know that'd I'd never accept a reward for this crap?!" Rem asked with slight anger. "It's painfully obvious at how easy this is, gosh has she even met me?! Bleh!"

As Rem made her way down the last bit of stairs, Shera tried to think of the positive side of things. "Aww..., don't be like that Rem... m-maybe she's trying to be nice?"

"If that's her way of being nice, then she should be considerate of my own level!"

Shera couldn't argue with Rem's logic there. "P-Point taken..., oh well."

Soon enough, Shera, Rem, and Goblin Slayer made their way down-

"Oh, hello slayer."

Just as they made their way down, however, someone had greeted Goblin Slayer in a not-so welcoming manor.

Taking only a small glance, he saw that it was blonde, golden knight who was leaning on the side of the stairs.

"It's you right? The one that's on everyone's minds, the goblin slayer?" He asked.

"Yes," Goblin Slayer blankly responded.

"Guess the rumors were true then..."Flicking his hair back, he spoke with a confident demeanor. "Well they must've been, because you look like the trash that needs to be taken out!"

"Bwah~?!" "No way!" Both Shera and Rem spattered out in disbelief, respectively.

Walking right up to the slayer, he continued. "When they told me about a plain looking knight wandering around with not just two, but THREE young ladies under his will, I laughed. But low and behold – here you are!"

"You are?" Goblin Slayer blankly asked before Rem intercepted.

"That guy's Emile, who's supposedly said to be the strongest adventurer in the Adventurer's Guild."

"That's correct!" Emile answered before he went to make his flashy introduction. "My name is Emile Bichel Berger! You, my friend, are standing in the presence of the guilds' greatest, level fifty Superhuman Warrior!" Finally, the warrior struck a pose before drawing his sword at the slayer! "I hope your ready to be on the slaying side of things this time around, because I-!"

"Let's go you two," Goblin Slayer ordered, having since then been standing by the door leading back outside.

Both adventurers nodded before joining him, leaving the golden adventurer annoyed at the fact that'd he'd try to walk out on him while he was in the middle of his 'cinematic intro'!

"Hey, wait a second! I'm not done with you!"

Having stopped just before he could exit, Goblin Slayer eyed the adventurer and spoke up with a much louder tone. "I have a quest that needs to be done. I don't have time to deal with an Emerald like you."

Emile then blinked in confusion at being called a type of stone. "E-Emerald?"

"He's talking about your level, Emile," Rem annoyingly stated. "Ah, and by the way – Goblin Slayer here is a level eighty adventurer, so you might wanna reconsider who you're challenging."

"EIGHTY?!" Emile yelled out in pure disbelief before nervously smiling. "W-Well, that shouldn't matter, because in the name of a women I'll-!"

"SHUT UP!" Both Shera and Rem annoyingly yelled out before Rem continued. "Look Emile, you're not helping what-so-ever, and it's getting tedious at this point."

"Yeah, Goblin Slayer is our friend and a great ally too!" Shera exclaimed. "He'd never order us to do something against our will!"

"So, what we're saying is this: quit tryin' to play the hero," Rem stated. "It's super cheesy, y'know..."

The golden knight simply looked down before putting on a hearty smile. "Hahaha~, it appears to be that today's my lucky day! A day without women being forced against they're will is a day for all heroes to celebrate! Hahahahaha~!"

"Makes you wonder if this guy's medicated...," Rem silently muttered to herself.

"I do apologize for my slight misunderstanding slayer, but what was your name again?"

"Goblin Slayer," the slayer in question answered, as he has always done.

"O-Of course, I knew that! So, once again, I am Emile Bichel Berger! Protector of all women and strikingly handsome!"

"Can you just let us go now?" Shera said with a raised eyebrow."We're kinda in the middle of an important quest."

"A-Ah, my apologies fair maiden! But don't forget that if you ever need my assistance – not to mention my devilish smile – I'm only a whistle away! Until our paths cross again, fair Goblin Slayer! Ha ha~!"

The moment the golden knight was out of sight, Rem breathed a sigh of relief. "Glad that's over..."

"Y-Yeah, no kidding," Shera muttered with a small frown. "I'd thought he'd never leave..."

"I mean, I know he means well and all, but he comes off more of a strong moron than anything else."

Shera nodded. "No argument on that logic..., he has something of a weird hero complex."

"That said, I think I'm going to go pay Priestess a visit back at the inn. What about you guys?"

"I wanna see Priestess too!" Shera happily exclaimed before turning to the slayer. "How about you Goblin Slayer?"

"The quest," Goblin Slayer blankly answered before taking the refreshments from Shera – the elf too shocked to have noticed – and began to walk away.

"H-Hey, wait just a darn minute!" Shera exclaimed with widened eyes. "I thought we were going together; isn't that what we agreed on back at the guild?"

"It was... but this quest seems simple enough."

"W-Well I can't say that it isn't, but-!"

"Shera," Rem interrupted while putting a hand on her shoulder. "He'll be fine, trust me. I've known Goblin Slayer enough now that I know for a fact that he can handle being on his own. Like with your so-called goblins, am I right?"

"Yes." With that final word, Goblin Slayer departed... leaving a surprised Shera as she watched him go.

"Goblin Slayer..."

"Hey, quit being down in the dumps about your so-called summons," Rem sarcastically spoke while giving her small pats on the back. "As long as he doesn't get himself killed – which is very unlikely considering how easy that quest is – he shouldn't have any problems."

"I-I-I know! But still... w-wait; what did you just say?!"

"I-It's nothing," Rem nervously muttered before walking toward the other direction. "Now come one, don't want to keep her waiting."

"R-Right!" Shera nervously exclaimed before following closely behind.

"Have a nice day~!"

…

…

"Ugh!"

With that and a deep sigh, Guild Girl plopped into her seat and rested her hands onto her arms. The reason that she felt tired?

"More goblin-slaying requests, huh?" Her long-brown haired co-worker that sat just to her left questioned. "How many has it been since then?"

"Too many to count," she said with a sad sigh.

Her co-worker blinked before putting raising a finger. "What ever happened to those bronze-ranked adventurers that were accepting them at one point?"

"That's the thing..." Picking her head up, Guild Girl put a hand on her check and frowned. "They never came back..."

"Oh..., so I guess all these goblin quests have been left to newbies once again, huh?"

"Yes..." Guild Girl looked down before ushering a single name. "Goblin Slayer..."

"Goblin Slayer...? Ah, the one you told me about before, right? Why hasn't he been around?"

"That's another thing... nobody knows, ...yet no one cares."

"What about that Priestess? Isn't she almost always by his side?"

Looking back up, Guild Girl looked all around. "She was here a couple days ago, but I haven't seen her stop by since then."

"I see... well cheer up! I'm sure they'll be back at some point, right?"

Looking toward her co-worker, Guild Girl gave her a – almost forced – smile. "Y-Yes, I hope so..."

Before Guild Girl could a chance to think, the doors opened with a chime and she began to greet whoever entered.

"W-Welcome adventure-, w-wait... is that-?"

Cutting her words short, Guild Girl blinked at seeing – once again – High Elf Archer and her other two companions, Dwarf Shaman and Lizard Priest, make there way toward the reception desk.

"A-Archer-san? What brings you all here today?"

"Orcbolg." She said, lightly slamming a hand on the desk in front of her.

"Oak... w-wait, you mean Goblin Slayer, right?"

"No! It's Orcbolg! O-R-C-B-O-L-G!"

"You moron." Dwarf Shaman muttered. "I've already said that we're among the land of the humans. Names like, Orcbolg, don't fit with their language, long-ears."

"Like Beard-cutter is any better you narrow-minded dwarf," the elf countered with a smirk.

"Hmph. Some talk comin' from an elf with a chest as flat as a board."

"Wha-!" With a small blush, High Elf Archer looked at the dwarf with fiery eyes. "Do you really need me to keep reminding me of that?! Like I've told that thick skull of yours, I'm STILL growing damn it!"

"That's what you've always said... yet they remain the same."

"Pardon the intrusion you two, but I think we should get back to the matter at hand," Lizard Priest spoke with a calm tone before leaning toward Guild Girl. "I do again apologize for all the ruckus those two cause."

"N-No, no, it's fine! I've seen worse..." She said with a sweat drop before blinking. "So you're asking about Goblin Slayer...?"

"Indeed. It appears that Sir Goblin Slayer's whereabouts have been slim for some time now, and we've grown worried."

Having broken out of her musings, High Elf Archer nodded. "That's right. Not to mention, we just recently were having Priestess join up on goblin slaying quests with us, but now we haven't seen her since then."

The dwarf nodded as well while stroking his beard. "So, that's why we decided to come here and see if you know of anything."

"W-Well... I'm sorry... b-but I'm about as unaware as you all are in all this," Guild Girl answered before frowning. "Since Goblin Slayer's absence, more and more newcomers have been accepting goblin quests, ...and more and more of them not coming back in one piece..."

"Are you taking this seriously?!"

Guild Girl looked up to see the elf woman look back at her with fierce eyes. More fierce then her and the dwarves' argument that they just had.

"U-Umm... wha-"

*SLAM!

"A-Ah!"

With more force, High Elf Archer slammed her hands on the desk once again, the noise bringing the attention of other adventurers as well.

"Are you hearing yourself?! Do you have ANY idea what's at stake here?!"

"W-W-What are you-?!"

Before she could even mutter a full sentence, High Elf Archer leaned in closer and was just about almost up to her face!

"Without Orcbolg, do you have ANY fucking clue as to what the goblins will do?!"

"Hey, hey, long-ears!" Dwarf Shaman nervously exclaimed while trying to calm her down. "This is no time to start making a scene!"

"Hrgh~!" The elf muttered before slowly letting herself settle down.

"I-I'm not sure..."

High Elf Archer and the others suddenly blinked at hearing to response from Guild Girl before looking to see that she been starting to cry.

Unknown to them, however, the Guild Girl had her own thoughts on everything and looked down in sorrow.

Goblin Slayer... Priestess... just where in gods name are you?!

"Achoo!"

Priestess briefly wiped her nose with a small napkin before laying her head back on her pillow.

It had been roughly a couple hours since she had awoken and there wasn't much to do except rest and recover. Truly, if felt odd that SHE'D be resting while Goblin Slayer could be out doing quests without her, and made her feel extremely worried.

O merciful Earth Mother, please watch over Goblin Slayer-san with your watchful eyes...

"Priestess!"

"Huh?" Blinking, the priest in question turned to see both Shera and Rem walk in. "Ah! Shera! Rem! W-What are you two doi-?!"

"I'm SO sorry Priestess~!"

"UMPH!" Just before she could question her concerns, Shera gave her an almost bone crushing hug. She might've appreciated the gesture if it wasn't for face being buried in Shera's assets.

"Damn it, Shera!" Rem annoyingly exclaimed while pointing a finger at the elf. "You're gonna suffocate her you keep doing that, so get off of her now!"

"Eh?" Shera blinked before letting go and taking a few steps back. "S-Sorry! I was just so happy to see you well again that I couldn't help myself!"

"That doesn't mean you have to go and do that!"

Taking a few deep breaths, Priestess composed herself before smiling. "It's alright you two; I know you only mean well."

"You see, Rem?" Shera asked with a smirk. "She liked my friendly gesture!"

"L-Liked?" Priestess muttered with a sweat drop before blinking. "W-Wait a moment. Where's Goblin Slayer-san?"

"He's out on probably one of the easiest quests that one could take right now," Rem answered with closed eyes.

"And that would be...?"

"Delivering refreshments," Shera blankly answered.

"..." Priestess could only blink at how utterly simple that sounded. "R-Really? I had thought he'd be out on a slaying quest by now."

"I know, right?" Rem agreed with a smirk. "That's SO unlike of him, but hey – he took it anyway."

"I-I see...," Priestess muttered before she saw that Rem was about leave. "Where are you going, Rem?"

"It's Celes'," Rem answered with a pout. "I think she's waiting for me at the dining hall, so I'll leave go see what she wants. Keep an eye on her, okay Shera?"

"You can count on me!" Shera exclaimed with a small salute.

Once the cat girl was gone and out of sight, Priestess had a sudden realization and looked toward the elf. "E-Excuse me, Shera-san?"

"Yes, Priestess?"

Priestess took a deep breath before asking an important question:

"Do you have an extra summoning crystal by chance?"

"…"

Goblin Slayer's journey was... silent for almost the entire time that he kept walking down the dirt road. If he was one to think about anything other than goblins, then he'd probably think that a quest like this would be refreshing.

In reality, though, this was the only optional quest that he could do for right now. So, it only made sense to just DO IT, even if it deviated from his usual routine of slaying (goblins).

Goes to show how much being transported to another world can change someone, but in Goblin Slayer's case – not much.

In any case, it wasn't much long now until he'd arrive – seeing that there was a small stone castle ahead of him.

A few minutes later, Goblin Slayer was about to step near the stone tiles when suddenly-

"HALT!"

Assuming them to be the stationed guards, Goblin Slayer saw that they began to surround right in front of him – all of them wielding large metal axes and who were battle ready.

"Are you a fallen?!"

"You gotta be!"

"We won't let you pass!"

Goblin Slayer mentally face palmed at how utterly stupid these guards were being.

Not before long, however, one of the more smarter guards realized who he was.

"Hold on everyone!" He exclaimed with widened eyes. "This man isn't a fallen! He's an adventurer!"

"Are you sure?" One of the idiotic guards asked with a raised eyebrow. "I think he's trying burn my very soul..."

"No, Kevin!" The more reasonable guard facepalmed before continuing. "He's that 'goblin' slayer that everyone's been talking about! Y'know, him and that priestess!"

Not caring for simple idle talk, Goblin Slayer merely placed down the basket in front of them – the guards looking down at it in confusion.

"Huh? What's this-?" The smart guard asked before he looked up to see that the slayer was walking away. "W-Wait! Don't leave!"

"What?" Goblin Slayer blankly asked while turning back toward the guard.

The guard breathed a sigh of relief before explaining with a serious face. "A-About that... y'see... we're pretty much confused about your sudden arrival, and that's because our patrols had informed us that they're over a hundred fallen coming here."

"Fallen?"

"Yes, powerful monsters that have fallen to darkness... i-it's pretty hard to believe that THAT many are approaching..."

"They're coming!" One of the guards stationed on the castles' roof called out – the announcement putting some of the guards in panic.

"Get into positions!"

"Hey, move your ass!"

"There's a storm a brewin'!"

The sensible guard could only sweat drop at Kevin's amount of stupidity before looking back toward Goblin Slayer. "W-Well, thanks for the refreshments... u-umm-?

"Goblin Slayer."

"R-Right, Goblin Slayer... ah! Before I forget... here."

Taking the rolled up piece of paper, Goblin Slayer could only look back up toward the guard.

"What is this?"

"It's our letter of gratitude... a sign of proof... for the wine you've delivered to us."

Goblin Slayer simply nodded before turning and making his way back to the city...

…

Before he suddenly stopped.

Fallen... a hundred... the city...

He soon imagined what it'd be like if a hundred goblins were try and invade a village...

Goblins... a hundred... the village...!

Putting the pieces together, Goblin Slayers hands formed into fists.

I... I won't let it happen again!

Immediately taking a quick one eighty back around, Goblin Slayer walked and spoke toward the guards – the smart one in particular – in a serious tone.

"Tell your men to stand down."

"H-Huh? Why would we do tha-!"

"This is going to be my battle; not yours."

Having gone past him, the guards' eyes widened in shock.

"W-Wait, you can't face them alone! You'll get killed!"

Goblin Slayer didn't listen; continuing to mindlessly walk toward the front gate that would lead toward the bridge.

"Hold it right there scum-!"

*BASH!

"GAH!" Muttered the guard named Kevin – having just got smacked him the face by Goblin Slayer!

"I don't have time to deal with idiots when there's a hoard of 'goblins' approaching. So it's best that you don't get in my way."

With most of the guards having witnessed this, the reasonable guard simply sighed before yelling. "Alright men, stand back! The slayer will take point!"

Without any further objection, the guards retreated back – some of them dropping their axes on the bridge – while Goblin Slayer had just taken a step past the front gate and onto the bridge...

…

Many question why Goblin Slayer thinks the way he does, but it seemed that the man himself doesn't even know why.

A life full of suffering by the hands of goblins can DEFINITELY do something to a man.

It can possibly even turn you into a cold blooded killer in which the ultimate desire someone could have is to see every goblin burn into the deepest depths of hell!

Or, in this case, delude you into thinking that others can be – in some twisted sense – a 'goblin' too.

…

With the front gate having closed up, Goblin Slayer finally arrived near the end of the bridge and can now see the impending wave about to arrive – that is if the amazonian elf girl that wielded a long spear who was riding a reptilian like creature was any indication.

Soon, large monsters of varying degrees – be it lion, tiger, boar, ogre, or whatever else it be – who were wielding different types of weapons rise over the hill on two feet and moved their way to the bridge.

With an almost intimidating army drawing near, Goblin Slayer drew his blade out and spoke out with hoarse tone that was mixed with anger and a small bit of determination:

"Time to die... 'goblins'!"

…

To be continued …