49: Chapter 49 Showdown

This stone chamber had many cracks too narrow for an adult to pass through, but perhaps a Goblin could. The Goblins squeezed into the room one after another like vermin, only to become lost souls under the blades of Goblin Slayer, Mia, and the others. By the main door, Ryan Nephalem leaned against his shield, crushing one with every swing of his hammer.

"This is never-ending..." Mia sidestepped to dodge a sneak attack, her toe piercing a Goblin's throat like a venomous snake. Her socks quickly absorbed the foul blood on her feet, returning to a pristine state.

A slight vibration came from the ground in the distance. "Something big is coming!" the Elf Archer warned her teammates.

At the end of the waterway they had come from, two massive shadows emerged. "Mia! It's Goblin Heroes, two of them!" Ryan Nephalem roared.

"Yeah, I see their positions. Get ready—detonate!!" Mia delivered another one-handed thrust, reaping the life of a Goblin. She flicked the blood off her gloves and responded to Ryan Nephalem.

"Waiting on you!" Ryan Nephalem raised [grief] to signal he was ready. A deafening explosion instantly tore through the darkness. The two Goblin Heroes didn't even have time to scream before they were ripped to shreds by the pre-planted explosives. Severed limbs and mangled flesh rained down across the waterway like a storm.

"Yay!! Now Mia won't have to sacrifice herself to this Goblin Slayer guy!" Tuaner jumped happily, then gave a shy, somewhat silly-looking smile to the others who were staring at her strangely...

"So, we were actually wandering on the edge of death just now, weren't we?"

In the silence, cold sweat dripped from the edge of Goblin Slayer's iron helmet. He realized clearly—without Mia's "Holy Light Barrier," without those seemingly redundant door jammers, without the pre-arranged explosives... they likely would have been wiped out.

"Indeed..." The Lizardman Monk didn't quite know what to say.

"Narrowly escaped with our lives? I used that phrase correctly, didn't I?" The Dwarf Taoist mused as he stroked the bow tied in his beard.

The Goblins in the waterway had long since broken ranks, their fighting spirit almost entirely lost to fear. As the last green figure fell, Ryan Nephalem wiped the blood splattered on his face with his bracer, feeling a desperate need to wash up. He turned to ask Goblin Slayer, "Are we continuing, Mr. Goblin Slayer?"

"Withdraw." Goblin Slayer's answer was unexpectedly brief. A red light flickered beneath his helmet (commonly known as the Goblin Slayer Red). "There are some things... I need to confirm."

"That's rare of you, Sir Goblin Slayer." The Lizardman Monk's comment, which was hard to distinguish as praise or otherwise, instantly chilled the atmosphere.

"Then let's head back. We can take a hot bath at the Temple of Law where the Sword Maiden who feels Adoration for you is. While we're at it, we can explain to her exactly who the 'devil' is." Mia looked up, brushing aside the hair covering her forehead, her eyes filled with a cold light.

—Water City, Temple of Law.

The seven of them stood once again in the magnificent reception hall, but the atmosphere was completely different from last time.

"So, Mia, you're saying our itinerary was leaked, and the person most likely responsible is...?" The Dwarf Taoist's eyes widened in surprise.

"The Sword Maiden herself," Mia finished calmly. "From start to finish, this mission was a trap."

"And the purpose was simply for one of the women among us to serve Goblin Slayer with her, just to perform a miracle like [Resurrection]?" The Elf Archer's ears twitched, blushing deep red.

"Hehe, it's definitely you, Miss Elf," Tuaner teased.

"Uh..." The Elf Girl had turned completely into a boiled lobster, with steam rising from the top of her head.

"Think back to the anomalies Mr. Goblin Slayer first discovered. There are no giant rat extermination quests in this city's sewers. The Water City guild Adventurers even called us country bumpkins," Mia spoke eloquently. "They must know something we don't. For example—that Swamp Dragon. Or call it—the Guardian of the Underground Waterway."

She looked around at everyone: "And the Swamp Dragon is likely the Sword Maiden's... familiar."

Everyone looked at Mia with doubt. "As for betrayal and ambush, the Sword Maiden probably wouldn't, nor would she deign to, ambush us. Although she and I don't get along, she likely just withheld some relevant information. The matter of serving Mr. Goblin Slayer isn't as sordid as Tuaner made it sound; it's just that things would likely have ended up that way."

Just as Mia finished speaking, applause rang out from nearby.

"Brilliant!" The Sword Maiden emerged gracefully from behind a pillar. Her holy robe, woven with azure magic threads, shimmered with a dangerous luster under the candlelight. "My dear 'arch-rival' is actually defending me?"

"So, you have an explanation, right?" Mia replied with a smile of her own.

"I don't," the Sword Maiden replied with a smile. "But I guarantee... the Swamp Dragon will cooperate perfectly with your 'performance'."

Her hand gently brushed over the blade of the Sword of Scales. Blood dripped from the edge, blooming on the white marble floor.

"Or, should you and I have a match?" The black silk blindfold fell to the floor, and those injured light-blue eyes revealed a powerful fighting intent. "Someone! I've been attacked by this demon! I'm bleeding..."

"Shameless!" Tuaner was wondering if she should suck the blood off the floor into her mouth. Although it was a bit disgusting, at least she could expose this wicked woman's lie.

"Hehe, just a joke. But if you just give up and leave, that joke might just come true!" The Sword Maiden still appeared as steady and holy as when she first arrived.

"So, is this the payback for Tuaner and me having no interest in the man you've set your sights on?" Mia teased the Sword Maiden without any reservation.

Hearing Mia's words, the Sword Maiden's departing steps paused for a moment before she continued out of the reception hall...

That night, Mia and Tuaner were washing away the blood and grime from today's adventure in the oversized bath of the Temple of Law. This wasn't the first time Mia had washed this body, and the feeling of shyness was gradually leaving her.

But opportunities to be so open with Tuaner were rare. "What's there to be shy about? Just think of it as looking in a mirror. You can wear my clothes; our sizes are about the same. As for our faces, I'm not much uglier than you." Tuaner splashed water at Mia twice, half-coaxing and half-complaining. Her impressive figure made Mia not dare to open her eyes...

Furthermore, Tuaner was tickling Mia with birch branches used for bathing, which was truly driving her crazy.

"So I won this round, didn't I? A 'demon' who controls lust but doesn't even dare to look at a woman—that's truly rare!" The Sword Maiden also joined the bath.

The four lion-shaped fountains at the corners of the pool continued to spit out misty hot spring water without pause.

"We're no threat to you, at least when it comes to finding a man!" Tuaner shouted loudly at the Sword Maiden through the mist.

"Yes, I admit that. But I will still seize every opportunity to kill you rightfully. Because the Earth Mother Goddess cannot stand above the God of Order, not even by a sliver of a chance." The Sword Maiden responded directly to Tuaner's questioning for the first time.

"As a mark of respect, once you complete the mission, I will find an opportunity to fight the three of you to the death. I'd almost be sad to see you die. I'll be going now. Please enjoy the hot spring here. If necessary, the two of you can be buried in this spring after you die..."

The sound of water splashing rose as a figure with an exquisite physique yet covered in faint scars left the bathroom...