Hello, everyone. It's been months since my last update. I know I kept you all waiting, but I had some priorities that couldn't let me finish this chapter. I hope the next one doesn't take too long. Enjoy.

Underneath the ground, a torch illuminated a dark moldy tunnel with small space that no sane adventurer would dare to crawl through there. However, that is precisely why someone, as Goblin Slayer and his Infiltration team, would try to go there despite the foreboding environment. The group saw it as a long walk from where they went when High Elf Archer mentioned the place. None of them were eager for the idea.

"Watch your step, ladies. I started to get the chills from this place." Dwarf Shaman said as he was behind the group. Goblin Slayer was in the middle holding the torch while Cat Ninja went in front of everyone with her sheathed sword at hand.

"Any goblin's noises yet?" The armored guy asked.

"Nothing, it doesn't sound that they are here." The Faunus replied while both ears twitched. The only sounds were drops echoing as they drop.

The group walked for 10 minutes without stopping, and they could feel the coldness between the concrete—all but one. Priestess felt uncomfortable on this tight tunnel, dark and humid brought bitter memories they further they went. Among the group, Grimm Slayer noticed her behavior.

"Are you alright?" The hooded girl asked as she touched Priestess' shoulder.

"Huh? Oh… I'm… I'm fine." The young Adventurer said while looking away.

"Are you? You seem pale when we got here."

"I… I started to dislike going through such places ever since I became an adventurer." Priestess took a deep breath while holding tears. "Sorry if that worries you. I can still go on." She tried to give an ensured smile. Grimm Slayer nodded while Cat Ninja stopped, making the whole group stay on their positions.

"Got something, lady?" Dwarf Shaman asked.

"I heard something ahead. Put that torch down." Goblin Slayer followed her instructions as all of them crouched and didn't move a single muscle. They were in darkness, which they decided to be not far from each other for good measure. The Faunus focused her eyes and begin to see the tunnel as day. There was nothing, but she could still hear noises. "I will check it out." Cat Ninja whispered.

"Be careful." Grimm Slayer whispered. Goblin Slayer pulled out an old bow and arrow in case. Despite not being able to see through the darkness, the armored guy could still perceive what was ahead and not cause friendly fire.

"I wonder how long this tunnel is." Priestess whispered. "It seems to no end."

"I assume whoever ordered to build this structure was either paranoid or simply likes labyrinths." Dwarf Shaman scoffed.

As they kept waiting for anything to happen, they heard a whistle from ahead. "Everyone come over here!" Cat Ninja called the group, which they advanced with enough security as they wouldn't need to be quiet fort eh moment.

"Did you discover anything?" Grimm Slayer asked until Cat Ninja moved a little while using a match to illuminate the area.

With the light, the group noticed they reached a dead-end.

"Well, that's not a good thing." Dwarf Shaman said as he scratched his beard. "I should've asked Long-Ears first before going down here."

"But that's odd… why this tunnel would exist if there's no other exit?" Priestess wondered while looking at the tunnel carefully until she focused at Goblin Slayer. "What do you think of this?"

The armored guy didn't reply as he stood still, slowly turning his head around from all directions. He started tapping on the stone between the walls, the ceiling, and the floor. The group looked at him and wondered if he found something, but he got nothing.

"Oh… I get." Grimm Slayer said as she began doing the same thing. She tapped with fast movement on her surroundings while moving forward as each block had nothing unusual.

The hooded girl reached the dead-end without any results.

"Nothing, eh? That would be too easy." Dwarf Shaman chuckled. "Don't worry. I think there's a better way." He took a small cup of his fire wine and poured it on the ground. The liquor spread between the blocks until leaving a red stain that reached far enough in the tunnel.

That is until they heard a drop echoing from behind.

The group went after the echo, and they could hear it getting louder the closer they got. "It pains me wasting such good wine, but other people's lives are more important right now."

"We will get you more when we are done." Grimm Slayer gave a pat on the Dwarf's back. Goblin Slayer pulled his dagger and pierced in-between the blocks. It got loose until it fell, leaving a huge gap.

"Is it safe to go down there?" Priestess asked as the group looked through the gap.

"There's no other way." Cat Ninja was the first to take a peek down the place by hanging upside down into the darkness. After a whole minute of carefully examining the area, she dropped and landed while bending her knees in such a calm manner. "All clear." Cat Ninja called the other as one by one, dropped inside the room.

Dwarf Shaman and Goblin Slayer followed after the Faunus, with Goblin Slayer catching Priestess from above while Grimm Slayer was appearing for last.

"What is exactly this place?" The hooded girl asked.

"Storage for wine, or at least, what used to be." Goblin Slayer commented as he reignited his torch.

"An absolute shame that there's nothing left here." Dwarf Shaman kicked some of the empty bottles out of the way. "So, how are we going to do this?"

"Well, since the Grimm pool could be further underground, then two of us need to accompany Priestess to seal it for good." Cat Ninja's explanation gave the blond girl a surprised look.

"How exactly should I do that?" She asked as her legs began to shake.

"We need someone proficient with white magic. Since Shield Paladin is busy at the moment, you are our only hope right now."

"B-But I don't have any spells for that."

"Don't worry. We got you covered." Grimm Slayer handed a magical scroll to Priestess. "This should do the work."

"What's this?" Priestess asked while holding the magical scroll with both hands.

"You could say it is a variation of the spell Purify, but rather than removing infections, it wipes out any demonic traces. Just don't open it until you are in front of it, this is a one-off use that requires praying to unlock the seal." Cat Ninja explained.

"Alright, so, how exactly this we do this? Going all together might be hard as we know those little green men could easily spot us." Dwarf Shaman gave a skeptical look before they started hearing footsteps from above the group. Sometimes faint, other times louder than could confuse for a tremor.

"Ummm, we might have to split up for this, though." Cat Ninja said.

"I will deal with the goblins." The armored guy said as he pulled his sword out of its shed. "You can take care of the Grimm pool."

"Are you sure of it, Beard-Cutter? You might need back up."

"I'll go." Grimm Slayer said as she got her weapon loaded and the blade sharped.

"I'll go too." Priestess said without second thoughts.

"Sorry, but you have to help us down here." The Faunus girl shook her head.

"B-But..!"

"It's alright..." The hooded girl gave a reassuring smile to Priestess. "We can handle this."

Priestess' worries were gone as she saw Grimm Slayer with such confidence that only replied with a nod. The group took their separate ways with Cat Ninja leading Dwarf Shaman and Priestess deeper below ground while Grimm Slayer and Goblin Slayer took the stair to reach the upper levels.

Priestess looked behind for a brief moment, but there was no time to waste.

They sneaked through the area to look for traces. The Creatures of Grimm weren't subtle as the claw marks those things left on their way. The group didn't need torches for the moment until they were sure of the place.

"Yuck… there's more mold in this place." Cat Ninja said with disgust.

"If you ask me, this reminds me of home." Dwarf Shaman said as he held Priestess's hand while guiding through the darkness. "I wonder what could've drawn those things and the goblins to fight together."

"That's something we hope to know too." They advanced further on the underground floor. Difficult to keep track of time when any source of light was naught. Ten minutes, twenty minutes, half an hour, or more probably passed as they went in circles. The only sound they could hear was water drops falling from the ceiling due to the humidity.

However, they felt an unnerving presence ahead, such a putrid stench that could kill any person after breathing it for a second. The group wasn't sure if to feel lucky or not as they found the place, but there were signs of life around.

The black pool was in a circular room with human bones lying nearby while a dark pillar was hanging from above. There were unusual big boulders and rocks scattered around.

"What the… Is this some sacrificial chamber of sorts?" Dwarf Shaman wasn't happy with the scenery.

"From all I can say, nothing good." Cat Ninja sighed. "Come on, let's finish this."

They slowly approached the room's center with their weapons already at hand. The solitude didn't inspire safety as they knew that they could appear from anywhere despite having only one exit. Priestess remembered such a familiar scenario.

"Something wrong, missy?" The old Adventurer asked.

"I would like both of you to look up, just in case." Priestess pulled the scroll while kneeling next to the black pool, praying to Earth Mother before reciting the paper.

They had their guard up, but nothing was coming up. Neither Grimm nor goblins were in the place.

"Tell me, my feline lass, do you believe in ghosts?" Dwarf Shaman whispered.

"I don't, why would I?" Cat Ninja looked at the older man with confusion.

"Well, in such creepy abandoned structures, you may expect hearing voices from dead people." He chuckled.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but the only thing that I could expect as ghosts are one type of Grimm."

"Oh yeah? What exactly are they?"

"They…" Cat Ninja's ears began to twitch around until spot her left, as one of the rocks started moving. "Watch out!" The Faunus reacted in the nick of time by using her unique skills to move Priestess out of the way.

The rock went flying across the room at such speed that it could seem that a catapult-launched it. Everyone was disturbed by the sudden attack, but they were still alone in the place.

"Are you two, alright?" Dwarf Shaman asked both girls.

"I'm fine. What about you?" Cat Ninja looked to Priestess.

"For now, what did attack us!?"

"I might have an idea of what." They stood their ground as they began to cover each other's backs while focusing on everywhere. "Stay away from rocks."

"Care to explain!? I don't see anything here." Dwarf Shaman said while carrying a few pebbles on his hand while holding his sling with the other. Another rock went flying right in front of him. "Stone Barrier!" A wall emerged from the ground, blocking the large projectile without issue. "Come out of there! You, invisible shmuck!"

"No use, it could be everywhere." The Faunus couldn't stop her eyes from zigzagging in an insane manner that seemed paranoiac. "Priestess, how many Miracles left for you?"

"Two, I couldn't finish my prays. Why?"

"I need you to use Holy Light at the count of three." The specific instructions were clear. Cat Ninja gave the signal with her hand while covering her eyes. Dwarf Shaman did the same.

1…2…3!

"Holy Light!" Priestess shouted, unleashing a blinding radiance in the room. They heard something screeching nearby, which Dwarf Shaman opened his eyes while throwing a rock with his sling towards the screamer.

"Gotcha!" The old Adventurer said triumphantly. The group finally saw a specter whose body was emitting a black smoke with bones sticking out and a one-eyed mask. It seemed physically weak, but they knew better when judging physical appearances.

"What is that thing!?" Priestess asked.

"That's a Geist Grimm! Don't let it escape!" Cat Ninja threw a barrage of knives at the creature, but it flew fast with evasive maneuver until it hid underneath them. "Shot, it's gone."

"This little scoundrel been waiting for us, huh? I guess we have no choice." Dwarf Shaman started looking at his bag for anything useful. More pebbles and pieces of metal for his spells but wondered if those could work against such creature.

It didn't take too much time for them to figure out that things were going from bad to worse when every single rock started to move towards one specific point. One began to pile after another, forming a golem-like creature made of stone. On the center, the Geist's mask was sticking out, visible for the group.

It was a Petra Gigas, and it seemed furious.

"We need to kill it, or we won't let us destroy the black pool!" Cat Ninja attached a long ribbon on one of her knives. "I will distract it while you are doing applying the spell!"

"Understood!" Priestess took cover, hoping that the Grimm wouldn't see her getting close to the pool.

"I suppose that leaves me to be both the bodyguard and bait, aye? Count on it!" Dwarf Shaman began giving support to the Faunus by attacking from a farther distance with his Stone Blast spell. He knew that wouldn't do much damage, but it attracted the Grimm's attention.

Cat Ninja used the ribbons on her weapon to swing across the place while dodging the Petra Gigas' attacks. No matter how fast she was, the monster's size couldn't allow her to aim at its face. Despite distracting it by both sides, they couldn't reach the weak point.

"Tough fellow, ain't it?" Dwarf Shaman sighed as he was feeling exhausted. The chances to deal good damage were thin, he needed to make slower down. "Bind!" He used the second to last of his spells to make the Grimm stop, but only the legs. "That should buy us time."

"Got it!" From the shadows, Cat Ninja finally got close enough to slash the creature's face with an upper strike.

Or so she hoped, as the Geist jumped to another rock without breaking its Petra Gigas form. It swung the arm against the Faunus from behind, landing her a hit by surprise. A painful sensation on her back when she went literally in a place between a rock and a hard place.

"There should be a way to stop it…" Cat Ninja said still beaten on the ground. It's been probably an hour or so. They lost the notion of time by fighting a single Grimm. Only three of them against that thing could be considered a suicide.

Priestess went through the fight without letting be noticed by the Grimm. Lucky girl, her small stature gave her the advantage in mobility. She recalled some of the tips Goblin Slayer gave to her some time ago. Never thought would work as those tips which originally meant for goblins.

It was short-lived.

The Petra Gigas felt someone getting near the black pool. It started throwing rocks at the young Adventurer. With her cover already been blown, she started running away from its field of vision. The Grimm took the opportunity by disengaging its legs from the rest of its body. The torso and arms started spinning that covered a broader area that wouldn't give enough space for Priestess to dodge such a dangerous attack.

At least, not by herself.

"Stone Wall!" Dwarf Shaman rushed in her aid by positioning himself in front of his fellow Adventurer, but at higher risk: By putting the wall in between himself and Priestess, taking the strikes for her, and thus, breaking his right arm. The Petra Gigas bounced out away after hitting the wall. One of the arms crumbled into pieces, too small that wouldn't be able to reattach itself.

"Mr. Shaman!" Priestess yelled in horror after seeing him doing such rash action. He could've died, but it wasn't his time yet. "Are you alright?"

"Don't worry about me, just a fractured elbow." He groaned despite keeping his smile. "I guess age is finally catching me up."

"Let me heal you…"

"No."

"Huh? Why not?" Priestess asked in confusion.

"Better save the remaining miracle for something bigger. This is your chance to get rid of that pool now!" The old Adventurer pointed out as both saw the Grimm leaving the objective vulnerable. It was the opening they waited for.

She kneeled in front of the black pool, praying to Earth Mother while holding the magic scroll with both hands.

However, the Grimm wasn't done yet. It started crawling with its remaining arm towards the healer who couldn't interrupt the prayer once again. It looked desperate, almost not thinking well other than kill her before it's too late. But the creature was narrow-minded, as it forgot one crucial detail.

"Not so fast!" Cat Ninja took the Grimm by surprise as she used her ribbon to wrap it around the arm. It lost balance of its movement, forcing the Geist to stop possessing the boulder. Nothing could prevent it from catching Priestess, and it was getting close as neither Dwarf Shaman nor Cat Ninja could reach the Geist and protect the blond girl in time.

Unfortunately, the magic scroll's seal shattered.

The artifact opened by itself, liberating an intense flash that not only was brighter than Holy Light spell but started to turn the Geist's body into stone in midair, inch by inch. The Grimm's scream was slowly becoming silent as the light was engulfing it until nothing remained.

Not only the black pool vanished, but the creature became a statue that fell to the ground until it broke into tiny pieces. Nothing but dust remained from it.

"That was a close one." Cat Ninja said as she put her weapons away and went to help Dwarf Shaman to stand up.

"Phew, I guess my age is finally catching me up. Don't tell Long-Ears I said that, or she won't stop mocking about my appearance."

"I'm glad it's over. The only thing left is to wait for everyone done with the fight." Priestess sighed in relief. "I wonder how Goblin Slayer and Grimm Slayer are doing."

The place abruptly began to shake violently above them. They hurried of reaching the upper levels while both girls were helping Dwarf Shaman to move around. "What's with the ruckus!?" He asked.

"We must see it for ourselves." Cat Ninja said as they reached to castle's hall. On their way, they looked surprised that there weren't enemies around. It was silent, not so different from where they fought moments ago.

They went even further towards where the throne room was. Every step the group made, they looked behind in case something was following them. There was nothing.

"By the gods, what's exactly going on there!" The old Adventurer impatiently asked.

"I guess we are going to find out soon." Priestess said as she started to see some light at the end of the stairs.

The door for the throne room was slightly open, but they could see glimpses of it, including the sky. They finally reached the place, but something wasn't right. Not only there were corpses of goblins lying everywhere on the floor, but the ceiling was open, utterly destroyed as they could see the two moons up in the sky.

"Okay, now this doesn't look good. Where's Beard-Cutter and Miss Red?" Dwarf Shaman said, confused as the rest looked around the room.

"You are right… Where could they be?" As Priestess seemed worried for her companions, they heard a cry up in the sky. It was loud that could shake the land and scare the critters away. As the group looked at the sky, they saw a dark figure flying passing above the castle. Its appearance was one of a giant bird with long chains hanging on the neck.

It was a monstrous size.

"You gotta be kidding me! What is that thing!?" The older man exclaimed as Priestess was almost out of words after seeing such a creature.

"T-That's a…?" She stuttered while paralyzed with fear.

"A Nevermore." Cat Ninja looked up with solemn eyes, as she quickly recognized it in an instant.