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Part 3
A cold breeze carrying the stench of blood blew in, and made the torch flicker.
Although it was noon, sunlight was unable to enter the cave, making itās interior pitch black.
The bulky shadows of the boulders danced in sync with the flames, projecting a writhing dark monster onto the cave paintings.
Four people stood in a row, a crudely equipped young man and likewise poorly equipped three women fumbled through the darkness.
The one leading at the front was the swordsman who was bearing the torch, with the female martial artist behind him and the female magician in the rear.
At the third position was the trembling young girl in a priest uniform, clutching her mace tightly.
The one who suggested this formation was the female mage herself.
With this, as long as there werenāt any forked roads along the way, they didnāt need to worry about being ambushed from the back.
As long as the vanguard didnāt mess up, the rearguard was safe and only needed to focus on supporting him.
[ā¦ā¦It should be fineā¦.rightā¦ā¦?]
Still, the whispers of the priestess was filled with uneasiness.
Ever since they had entered the cave, her anxiety had only became worse and worse.
[We still rushed in even though we know next to nothing about our opponentsā¦ā¦]
[Geez, you worry too much. Though that personality of yours does match a priestās.]
The swordsmanās jovial voice didnāt match the atmosphere of the cave as it slowly disappeared in echoes.
[Even children know something like goblins, right? I even helped to chase some who came to the village away before!]
The female martial artist teased the swordsman in a low voice, yet the swordsman retorted with a [I didnāt say anything wrong].
The female martial artist sighed as if she was helpless, yet she seemed to be enjoying it.
[Heh, even if they cut this loser up into minced meat, Iāll still send them flying! So donāt worry!]
[Hey, saying Iām a loser is too much isnāt itā¦ā¦]
The torch shone on the swordsmanās dispirited face, but then immediately cheered up and raised the sword in his hands.
[Itās fine. Even if a dragon shows up, weāll figure a way out even if itās just the four of us!]
[ā¦ā¦How impatient.]
The female mage mumbled softly, making the female martial artist chuckle. The sound of their voice overlapped with each other in the cave.
Worried if their voice would lure out some unknown thing from the depths of the cave, the priestess didnāt dare to make a sound.
[Still, we would go slay a dragon one day. Right?]
In order to go along with the nodding swordsman and mage, the priestess could only smile silently.
The smile was as ambiguous as the female receptionistās, hidden in the darkness without anyone finding it out.
āāWould it really be like that.
No matter how uneasy her heart was, the priestess would never voice her question.
He saidāā[Even if itās just the four of us]
Yet, they have only met recently. How can he have that much confidence?
The priestess knew that they werenāt bad people. She understood that.
Butā¦ā¦
[Still, we should have prepared before coming hereā¦ā¦we didnāt even bring some medicine with usā¦ā¦]
[Even if you say it like that, we donāt have the time nor the money to go shopping.]
The swordsman didnāt mind the priestess trembling voice, showing that his courage was exceptional.
[And I am more worried about the kidnapped girlsā¦ā¦if theyāre wounded, you would treat them too, right?]
[I was taught [Minor Heal] andĀ [Holy Light] , butā¦ā¦]
[Then it wonāt be a problem!]
I can only use it three timesā¦ā¦
No one seemed to hear the priestess unclear mumbling.
[Itās good that youāre so confident, but you wouldnāt get lost now, right?]
[Come on, weāve been walking a road straight as an arrow until now. How could we get lost?]
[I wouldnāt say so. After all, you get carried away so easily, so I have no choice but to watch over you strictly.]
[Arenāt you the sameā¦ā¦]
The swordsman and the female martial artist came from the same village.
It had been an uncountable number of times where they quarreled on the journey.
The priestess followed behind the two of them, clutching her mace tightly as she chanted the Earth Motherās name repeatedly.
āāPlease let this adventurer end peacefully.
This prayer of hers had not echoed in the cave, but assimilated and disappeared into the pitch black darkness.
Maybe it was because her prayers has been heard by the Earth Mother. Or it could be that she was immersed in listening the sound of the prayers.
(TLN: Been wondering quite a while now. Japanese raw called Earth Mother as ???, which the manga translated it to Earth Mother. Since there is a God of the Earth called Gaia in Greek mythology, do you think I should stick with Earth Mother or change to Gaia?)
[Hey, youāre too slow! Keep up the line!]
[Ah, sorryā¦ā¦]
In the end, the one who first noticed something was off was none other than the priestess.
As she was reciting her prayer, the female mage that bumped into her and urged her on. Just as she was about to hurry up and keep up with the formation, suddenlyāā
Guruguru
A slight sound that sounded like rocks rolling entered the priestess ears.
[ā¦ā¦!]
[What is it again!?]
With a shudder, the priestess froze in her steps. Irritated, the female mage questioned her actions.
Graduating with flying colours from the Academy in the capital, the female mage who was proficient in incantations couldnāt understand the priestess in front of her.
She was jittery and cowardly. Her first impression of the priestess was horrible, and got even worse when they had entered the cave.
[I just heard the sound of something collapsingā¦ā¦]
[From where? In front?]
[Beā¦hindā¦ā¦]
āāAre you kidding me.
This wasnāt called being cautious, but being weak. She wasnāt suited to be an adventurer at all.
Due to the priestess that had stopped moving, their distance with the two others grew further.
Yet, the two of them who was still quarreling didnāt notice the situation behind them.
(TLN: Referring to the swordsman and the female martial artist)
The female mage sighed as their surroundings grew darker with their only source of light went further and further away from them.
[As I said, havenāt weāve been walking in a straight line ever since we entered? What could possibly be behind usāā]
The female mage turned her head back in frustration.
What happened next was her cold voice changing into one more of a surprised cry.
[Goblins?!]
The cave wall had collapsed. No, it was actually dug through.
From the tunnel emerged numbers of hideous monsters, who then proceeded to surround both of them who were unfortunately walking at the end of the line.
Monsters holding crude weapons, having disgusting faces, possessing a child-like body and hides in caves.
They were Goblins.
[EH!?]
The female mage made an unnatural sound. Raising the garnet staff that was the proof of her graduation from the Academy, she used her tongue that had turned stiff to recite an incantation.
The female mage concentrated on reciting the incantation that she had engraved in her heart. What came out of her mouth were powerful words that could even change the world.
Forming in front of the garnet that was as large as a fist, an arrow of flame emerged and flew towards the face of a goblin.
What came next was the disgusting smell and the crackling sound of meat burning.
āāThatās one down!
The female mage was smiling bravely due to her concrete victory as she felt high spirited.
To be able to cast this incantation successfully again gave her a massive boost in her confidence.
[Sajidaā¦ā¦influlamaeā¦..radiāāAH!]
Yet, there were just too many opponents.
Before the female mage could finish chanting, the slender arms of hers were grabbed by the goblins.
Unable to react in time, she was pushed hard against the rugged cave floor.
[AH!? EH!?]
Her spectacles fell and broke into pieces. With her vision blurry, her staff was taken away right in front of her.
[Ah, hrkā¦ā¦g-give that back! That staff is not allowed to be touched by goblins like youā¦ā¦]
The staffs or rings that could be used to invoke magic were a mageās entire life.
For her, it held the meaning of her pride.
Yet, right in front of the female mage that was screaming frantically, the staff was broken into two with a loud crack.
In an instant, the calm mask of the female mage disappeared as it contorted into one of rage.
[B-bastardsā¦ā¦YOU BASTARDS!!!!]
With her plump breasts shaking furiously, she struggled with her arms and kicked with her legs that she had never trained.
But what she had done was wrong. The enraged goblins immediately used a rusted dagger to stab her gut without a moment of hesitation.
[āāUWAAAAAAā¦ā¦!?]
The miserable cries of the female mage who had her organs torn echoed within the cave.
Of course, the rest of the companionsāāNo. The priestess naturally wonāt just sit and watch.
[You, you all! Get away from her! Stop!]
The priestess used her slender to swing her mace desperately in an attempt to chase the goblins away.
Of course, among the ranks of clerics, there were some who were skilled in combat.
Not to mention others that had trained their body over the course of going through many adventures.
Yet, the priestessās attacks were superficial.
Moreover, due to her state of panic, she was swinging her mace wildly with no luck of hitting the goblins.
The sharp point of the mace hit the cave floor, making a light clang sound.
Fortunate or not, the goblins hesitated and stepped back a step.
They either thought that she was a monk or just hated to be hit by her. Either was just a coincidence.
Grabbing that window of opportunity, she quickly dragged the female mage out from the group of goblins.
[Hang in thereā¦ā¦Hang in there!ā¦..!?]
She didnāt get a reply.
The female priestess quickly called for her other comrades as her hands was dyed in a dark red color.
The female mage still had the rusted dagger stabbed into her gut.
Her stomach was cruelly cut open, with her insides clearly in a bloody mess.
With such a horrible sight in front of her, the priestess couldnāt help but gasp.
[haā¦ā¦haā¦ā¦]
Yet, the female mage was still alive. Although she was convulsing, she wasnāt dead yet.
Thereās still time. I have to save her.
The priestess bit her lip.
[O Earth Mother, abounding in mercy. Please use your holy hands, and heal this person of her woundsā¦ā¦.]
Holding the mace in front of her chest, the priestess used her hands to push the female mageās spilled guts back into the stomach and activated her [Miracle].
If magic was something that could change the truth of this world, then [Miracles] were no doubt the power of god.
The priestess prayed as if she had even focused her whole soul in it. At her palms, a faint light emerged and flew towards the female mage.
As the light slowly dispersed, the belly that was cut open slowly healed.
Of course, the goblins wouldnāt just wait for this long process to end. Butāā
As luck would have it, the swordsman had finally noticed something was wrong behind and immediately came flying to protect his comrades.
Throwing the torch aside, he held his longsword with both of his hands and pierced through a goblinās throat.
[GUIA!!]
[Next!!]
Pulling his sword out from the corpse, he turned around and killed another goblin. The sword came slashing down horizontally at the goblinās shoulder and instantly cut him in two.
[Whatās the matter huh!? COME ON!!]
There was a word called āBloodthirstyā.
The swordsman was the second son of a farmer. Since young, his dream had always been to become a knight.
He didnāt know how to become a knightā¦ā¦but he knew, that the weak could never be one.
Because the bedtime stories he heard before sleeping said that the knights were existences who defeated monsters, eliminated the evil and saved the world.
āāJust like this, one who chased away goblins, saved the women and his comrades was his vision of a knight.
As he thought about that, his lips curled into a smile.
He felt the sword in his hands were filled with power as a humming sound of bloodrush could be heard in his ears. Ā As he faced a goblin in front of him, he focused all of his senses on it.
[Wait, you canāt fight them all alone!]
Unfortunately, he hasnāt become a knight yet.
Before the female martial artist could say a word , a rusty dagger had already been stabbed into the swordsmanās thigh.
[Uh, AHH!? YOU BASTARD!!]
The one who wounded the swordsman was a goblin who had a serious wound in its chest. As the swordsmanās longsword had become dull from the blood, he didnāt manage to finish off the goblin completely.
As the swordsman lost his balance, his body turned awkwardly to the side. Still, he swung his sword desperately and finally manage to kill the goblin.
But in a moment, another goblin had jumped onto the back of the swordsmanā¦ā¦
[FUCK! OFF!]
The swordsman swung his longsword at the goblin, but only a dull CLANG sound could be heard as his sword hit the cave wall.
It was the end.
The torch that fell on the floor burned out, once again engulfing the surroundings with darkness.
In the pitch black darkness, hoarse cries could be heard clearly, making one worry with fear.
Because he forced himself to be brave, and even due to fact that he had no money, the swordsman neither had a shield nor a helmet.
The only protective gear he had was a single thin chestplate.
In the end, he couldnāt escape the fate of being pulled down, stabbed repeatedly in pieces and dying just like that.
[ā¦ā¦Ugh! How did this happenā¦ā¦]
The female martial artist who was too late to help stood frozen in place with a pale face as she watched the man who she couldnāt bear to hate die right in front of her.
She clenched her trembling fists as she got into a fighting stanceāāTo be able to do this in this kind of situation, she was quite composed.
[ā¦ā¦The two of you, run!]
[B-butā¦ā¦!]
Hearing her cold tone of voice, the priestess wanted to refute. But she understood, that with such a situation unraveling in front of her, she was powerless.
In her arms was the female mage who was gasping for air weakly as her conscious slowly disappeared little by little even though she had already received the [Minor Healing] Miracle.
The goblins closed in slowly at the remaining prey.
They initially looked like they were cautious of the female martial artist, but still rushed at them in the end.
The priestess looked repeatedly at the female martial artist, the female mage, and the body of the swordsman who was still getting mutilated by the goblins.
Seeing that both of them still didnāt move yet, she clicked her tongue softly.
[YARRRHHHHHH!]
As if she mentally decided on something, she gave stern shout and rushed into the midst of goblins.
Her limbs were flexible from intense training as her moves spoke of the essence of the martial art that her dead father had imparted upon her.
I canāt die here. Itās impossible for Fatherās martial art to be worse than these goblins!
āāI can never ever forgive them, especially for killing that guy!
She sent a straight blow that she had trained long and hard into a goblinās face, instantly piercing through it.
The goblin fell backwards as brain matter flew everywhere. She pushed the body back and turned to give another goblin a hand chop. [TLN: Think a karate chop?][EDN: Manga depicted some sweeping chop motion]
It was a fatal blow.
The goblinās neck had received a heavy blow as itās body turned in an unimaginable way while falling.
In the same moment, she took the opportunity to use her right leg to do a side sweep kick.
It was a roundhouse kick she was most proud of. Two goblins who were caught in it flew backwards into the cave wall with a heavy thud and never stood up againā¦ā¦
[AH!?]
Yet, the third goblin easily caught it as it grabbed her foot.
The strength of its grip made the female martial artist creak as her face went pale.
Ordinarily, goblins were only as tall as a human child. Yetāā
[HURGGGGGGGGā¦ā¦ā¦]
This moaning, horrible-smelling goblin was very large.
The female martial artist definitely wasnāt short, but even she had to raise her head to look at it.
Her grabbed foot made a crunching noise as the pain made her scream loudly.
[UGH! AH! IT HURTS!! STOP ITāāAH?!]
Suddenly, the large goblin grabbed her feet and threw her clumsily towards the cave wall.
What happened next was the dull sound of something dry cracking.
The female martial artist was in so much pain that she couldnāt even make a sound, but the goblin once again threw her towards the cave wall.
[TLN: Savage af] [EDN:Double tap]
[EIK, AGH!?]
She made sounds that humans would find hard to do as she spit a mixture of blood and vomit on the floor.
The leftover goblins Ā immediately swarmed her.
[HUK?! GU!? HAK!? ERG!? EIGH!? AGH!?]
The female martial artist cried out as the goblins whacked her with clubs and teared her clothes. [TLN: Rape time boys]
Towards humans who came to subjugate them, they had no mercy.
The girl who was faced with cruel treatment made a sharp cry.
But in the noisy environment the priestess heard what the the girl muttered clearly,
āāR,runā¦ā¦
[ā¦ā¦! Sorryā¦ā¦!]
The priestess shut out the sounds of the female martial artist getting defiled echoing throughout the dungeons from entering her ears as she stumbled while escaping with the female mage on her back.
Running, running, running. When she felt like she was falling, she stomped hard on the ground to regain her balance to keep running.
In the darkness, she couldnāt see the rugged rocks on the uneven cave floor, but on and on she forced her legs to move.
[ā¦ā¦rryā¦ā¦s,sorryā¦ā¦sorry,sorryā¦.Ugh!]
She desperately gasped for air as she opened her mouth painfully.
There was no light in front of her. Even though she knew that she was forcing herself to run deeper into the caveā¦ā¦
[Ugh, Ack, Haā¦ā¦]
What scared her the most was the sounds of footsteps coming from the chasing goblins coupled with the echoing cries nearing her.
She never stopped running, not even stopping to look back.
Even so, all she could see was darkness.
Now, she had completely understood the conflicted expression of the female receptionist.
Indeed, goblins were extremely weak. Even rookie adventurers like the swordsman, female martial artist and the female mage could kill them alone.
The rumor of goblins having the body, intelligence, and strength of a normal human child was correct.
But, what if 10 or more children armed with weapons rushed towards you with the intent to kill, what would you do?
The priestess hadnāt even considered these details.
They were weak, childish, inexperienced, poor and unlucky. Not to mention the number of goblins were just too many.
These kind of thingsā¦ā¦always happen.
[Ahā¦ā¦]
The priestess stepped on the edge of her robe and fell clumsily.
Her face and hands were scratched painfully by the gravel, but she was more worried about the female mage she had let go from her back.
The priestess hurriedly scuttled to the side of the female mage and grabbed the comrade she had got together by chance.
[S,sorry! Are you alright?]
[ugh,ackā¦ā¦]
The female mage didnāt reply, but only spit out foamy blood from her mouth.
Because she had been running this whole time, she didnāt notice that the female mageās whole body was convulsing and was having a high fever. Her sweat had already soaked her cape through.
[H,howā¦ā¦!?]
The priestess initially suspected that her prayer didnāt reach the goddess.
Thinking about that, she used her precious time for escaping to open the female mageās clothes to inspect the wound.
But the Healing indeed had an effect. Although it was slightly stained with blood, the belly skin was smooth and didnāt look like it was even wounded in the first.
[ā¦W-why? What should I do in this situation? What should Iā¦ā¦]
The priestess totally had no idea what she was supposed to do next.
She had some knowledge about emergency treatment, and she could cast her Miracle once again.
But then, even if she used a Miracle again, would the female mage be healed? Or should she find some other way to this?
Not to mention, she was in the state of panic. Could the prayer she recite even reach the goddess?
[Erh, AHHHā¦ā¦!?]
Unfortunately, a moment of hesitation could be fatal. An immense pain overwhelmed the priestess as she fell to the floor before she could even scream.
She had sensed something coming from the darkness, and then she felt a burning pain in her left shoulder next.
Turning her head backwards, she saw an arrow embedded deep into her shoulder, with blood already soaking through her robe.
She didnāt wear any protective gear, so the arrow easily went through her robe and embedded itself mercilessly into the priestessās slim shoulder.
It was forbidden for a priest to be heavily-equipped or wearing too much protective gear.
But again, the primary reason was because she didnāt have the money.
Whenever she moved her body even by a little, the arrow dug deeper into her flesh. It felt as if she was being clamped with a pair of hot pliers.
[hrkkā¦erghā¦]
All the priestess could do was to clench her teeth as she looked at the goblins with tears flowing down her face.
There were only two armed goblins who were approaching her.
Saliva flowed down from their wide grinning mouths.
Maybe suicide by biting her own tongue was better now.
But the goddess she served didnāt allow suicide, so she was bound to face the same fate of her comrades.
Will she be torn in pieces, or will she be defiled, or was she going to face both?
[eikā¦haaā¦ā¦]
The priestess teeth began chattering uncontrollably.
As if she wanted to protect the female mage, the priestess hugged her tightly. Suddenly, she felt her lower body becoming a little warm.
As the goblins smelled the stench, their faces contorted with disgust.
The priestess turned her gaze away from them as she chanted the Earth Motherās name.
Yet, salvation didnāt arrive.
Butāā
[ā¦ā¦Ehā¦ā¦?]
In the darkness, a ray of light could be seen.
It was like a star shining proudly in a evening sky engulfed in darkness.
That small, weak but clear light slowly approached her.
At the same time, she could hear casual yet firm steps.
The goblins turned their heads in curiosity. Did their comrades let a prey go?
And then, looking over the goblinās head, she saw him.
The manās apparel was quite unsightly.
He wore a dirty armor and a helmet, his left hand holding a torch with a small shield tied firmly onto the arm.
On his right hand held an average sword.
The priestess thought, that compared to him, we rookies could be said to have better equipment than him.
āāNoā¦ā¦! Donāt come hereā¦ā¦!
She wanted to scream out loud. But her tongue had frozen with fear, causing her to be unable to mutter out a single sound.
She felt very embarrassed, because she didnāt have the courage like the female artist.
The goblins probably thought the same too. That a powerless prey like her could wait until later.
Both of them turned to face the man. One of them nocked an arrow to its bow and shot it at the man.
The arrow was made crudely, with its tip carved out of stone. Not to mention the goblinās marksmanship was also subpar.
But in the pitch black darkness, the goblins had an absolute advantage over them.
With a normal personās eyes, it would be impossible to dodge the oncoming arrow āā
[Hmph.]
Yet, the man gave a cold grunt and at the same time, swung his sword to deflect the arrow to the ground.
The other goblin who didnāt notice this abnormality jumped towards the man.
Aiming for the slit at the shoulder in the armor, it stabbed with the dagger hard.
[Ahā¦ā¦!]
The priestess gave a sharp cry. After the cry, all she heard was the light sound of metal hitting each other.
The chainmail under the armor had stopped the dagger.
The goblin felt confused, but swung its dagger again.
[GYAOU?!]
That moment of hesitation was fatal.
With a heavy thud, the man pushed the goblin hard against the cave wall.
[Thatās one.]
The man said simply. The priestess also immediately understood his meaning.
He then shoved the torch hard at the goblinās face.
The sound of itās cry along with the disgusting smell of burning flesh filled the cave.
The goblin struggled desperately. But because it was being pushed hard against the wall with a shield, he couldnāt even reach for his face.
In the end, the goblin could no longer move as its limbs limped towards the ground. Confirming the goblin was dead, only did the man released the pressure he put with his shield.
The goblin with a burnt face fell to the ground with a thud.
Kicking itās body aside, he continued walking.
[Next.]
This situation was completely baffling. The one who felt fear towards the situation in front of her wasnāt the priestess herself.
The goblin that was holding the bow stepped back unconsciously. Even if he abandoned his comrade here, it would have been understandable.
Because the word āCourageousā, was the one word that didnāt fit the description of a goblin most.
But then, the obstacle behind the goblin was no other than the priestess.
[ā¦ā¦!]
The priestess finally made a move.
Even if she was shot with an arrow, wet herself, scared till she was unable to stand and kept relying on her dying comrades.
She still used her arms that was still movable to stab at the goblin with her mace.
Her movement was an instinct without any further thoughts. Her resistance were also actually futile.
But this futile resistance was enough to make the goblin hesitate for a moment.
At that moment, it became its first time to be confused of what to do.
But before it could make a decision, it was struck by the sword of the armored warrior. Its final answer of its life splattered onto the cave wall.
In an instant, the goblinās skull was crushed, killing it on the spot.
[Thatās two.]
As he ended the fight capable of making people feel nauseous, the man stepped on the corpse of a goblin.
His slightly dirty black helmet, armor, and chainmail were all stained red with the monsterās blood.
His left hand held a torch, while tied to his left arm was a small, weathered shield that looked like it had gone through many battles.
With his empty right hand, he stepped on the corpse underneath him and effortlessly pulled his sword out of itās head.
The sword, which was covered in the monsterās brain matter, was neither short nor long, and looked like it was both a cheap and a rough handicraft.
Meanwhile, a girl lay paralyzed on the ground, shivering in both pain and fear, her elbow pierced by an arrow.
She had bright golden hair and a cute oval-shaped face. Yet now, her face had twisted unbearably from her sweat and tears.
The beautiful girl was slim, and wore what seemed to be priestās attire.
Her hand that was currently holding her mace trembled slightly.
āāThe man in front of me, who is he?
The girl felt that he was different from the goblins.
No, it was more like he was a monster that had a totally different origin than them.
The manās apparel, aura, and actions were just too abnormal.
[ā¦ā¦ā¦whoā¦are you?]
While the girl endured her fear and pain, she asked him.
At last, the man opened his mouth and answered her.
[Goblin slayer.]
āāHe was a slayer. He preyed not on dragons or vampires, but instead on goblins, the weakest in the hierarchy of the monsters.
If it had been a normal situation, she wouldāve felt that this name was silly the moment that she heard it.