Re-written date: 7 / 13 / 2025
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Chapter 55: Filming in Progress
The world setting of Goblin Slayer was, when all was said and done, quite different from the reality of this world. So during filming, one of the biggest challenges Edward faced was reconciling those differences.
After finishing the second major scene—Goblin Slayer's flashback—Edward dove into a seemingly endless round of rewrites. A lot of elements had to be adjusted and "localized" to better fit the world they were working in, especially the parts involving religion and the adventurer guilds. Since the original source material diverged heavily from this world's norms, it took Edward a long time to fine-tune everything into something that made sense for the local audience.
In fact, he had originally considered cutting Goblin Slayer's flashback altogether. But after thinking it through in detail, he decided to keep it—enriching the protagonist's character with much-needed depth. And once the footage was shot and played back, it was obvious he'd made the right call.
With that part done, the production moved into its most challenging stage so far: the filming of the story's first major climax.
Edward stood with arms crossed, watching the goblin nest painstakingly built by Eliza and a team of workers—along with several northern adventurers—being destroyed piece by piece in the fight between the protagonist's party and an Ogre. He let out a long sigh, a pained look on his face.
"I was hoping we could turn this set into some kind of tourist attraction when we were done... but I guess that dream's dead now."
"Hm? Did you say something, Director Durin?" Eliza asked curiously from the side.
Edward just shook his head and replied coolly, "Anyway, the fight's just about done. Time for the Ogre to exit the stage."
Yes, the current scene being filmed was the final part of the party's first mission—where they unexpectedly encounter a fearsome Ogre in an underground chamber and end up in a desperate battle.
According to the script, the fight would end with the Ogre being taken out by Goblin Slayer's trump card: a Gate Scroll.
But unlike most gate scrolls used by adventurers to flee battle, Goblin Slayer's scroll didn't teleport him anywhere. Instead, it was a reverse gate—one that brought whatever was at the target location here.
And what location had he chosen?
The deep sea.
The moment the scroll activated, the immense water pressure of the ocean floor would force seawater to explode violently through the gate. It was a devastating force—more than enough to tear apart not just Ogres, but even heavily armored war machines.
This was Goblin Slayer's ace in the hole. Though in the story, he'd originally planned to use it to destroy a goblin nest.
The difficulty of filming this scene lay mostly in set design and prop work, which were both unusually complex. Fortunately, the Northern Territory Adventurer's Guild Master—rich and generous as always—was covering the entire budget. Her level of funding, with money flowing like water, was enough to rival even the "CEO-type villainesses" from other stories. And thanks to her, the shoot was progressing smoothly.
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On set, inside the camera setup Edward had arranged, every detail of the battle between the protagonist's party and the Ogre was being captured with crystal clarity.
Since Edward was aiming for realism, neither Headless Knight nor Viz were present to help stage the fight—the Ogre was acting purely on instinct, going all out in its attempt to rip the human intruders to pieces.
By contrast, the actors—especially the party—were having a rougher time. Though Saeki was a legitimate Sword Soul, and most of the other actors were also veteran high-rank adventurers (with the exception of Daphne, who was mostly there for appearances), they had to hold back their real strength during the battle. After all, if they went full power, they'd wipe the floor with the Ogre in seconds.
Instead, for the sake of dramatic effect, they had to fake being overwhelmed, struggling to fend off the monster. It was honestly a bit stifling for them.
And finally—just when Goblin Slayer was on the verge of death—he reached for a scroll at his waist.
A brilliant blue light burst through the underground chamber.
In the next instant, the massive Ogre that had been dominating the fight was torn apart like a slab of meat on a butcher's table, shredded into eight bloody chunks in a single breath.
"W-What just happened?!"
The Ogre's severed head still wore an expression of stunned disbelief as it rolled across the stone floor. Goblin Slayer's only response was calm and composed:
"Gate scroll. The other end connects to the ocean floor. When the portal opens, the sea's pressure turns the rushing water into an unstoppable blade."
"Wha..."
Even the team, watching from a distance, looked utterly stunned.
"A gate scroll can be used like that...?"
"I thought those things were just for running away in emergencies... Who even comes up with using them like that?"
"But... to use something that over-the-top just to kill goblins, that's honestly..."
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"That's a wrap! Great work today, everyone! Adventurers, please help with cleanup. Guild Master Eliza said she'll treat everyone afterward!"
As Edward's voice rang out, the already-excited adventurers became even more energetic. They got right to work packing up the set while chatting animatedly among themselves.
"Did you see that? That was a real gate scroll! I can't believe Director Durin's really a Grand Mage—and so young, too. That's insane."
"Right? I always thought those big-name mages just locked themselves in their towers to do weird research. Who knew one would turn out to be such a cheerful guy?"
"Hey, did you hear? The Guild Master is playing the Sword Maiden in the movie. I'm actually hyped for that."
"Wait, for real?! I'm definitely coming to watch that! By the way, does anyone know where they're filming the Water Town scenes? Doesn't seem like we have anything like that in the north..."
The adventurers were talking openly, not trying to hide anything, and of course, Eliza and Edward—both helping with clean-up—could hear every word.
Eliza gave a weary sigh while Edward turned to her and asked, "You didn't tell them the Water Town scenes were already filmed? No wonder there weren't many people around for that shoot. So you intentionally kept it under wraps, huh?"
Turning her face away in a slightly awkward motion, Eliza replied, "Can you blame me? I don't want those guys seeing me like that. How am I supposed to keep my dignity as the Guild Master afterward?"
Yes—while preparations were still underway for the goblin nest scenes, Edward had already taken Eliza and the main cast to a different city to film the Water Town arc in advance. Originally, Edward had planned to use that city for the second season of KonoSuba, but when he realized it would work well for Goblin Slayer too, he chose to repurpose it for the current shoot.
And it worked out perfectly. That segment's filming went incredibly smoothly. In fact, while the northern goblin nest set was still being built, the Water Town scenes had already been wrapped.
Which meant… all that was left now was the final battle against the Goblin Lord.