Chapter Volume 3 18: Vol3 Final - Place of Rest

She wondered how long she had been unconscious.

When Kara woke up, she found that the flames were avoiding her, as though they were alive and had a will of their own.

"Wh, at... koho."

The reason it was so hard to breathe was because the smoke that was burning everything inside was burning her throat.

She quickly covered her mouth with her right hand, but there was no way she could block the smoke with that. Kara hurriedly put her white coat, which was wet with slime mucus, over her mouth, but she frowned at the peculiar smell.

"Are you awake, Kara?"

"Ah, yeah. No... I've got a hell of a lot to say."

Jenna's voice reminded her vividly of what had happened, and Kara muttered to herself as she looked at the disaster in her room.

It was not just the desk or the tools for the experiments, but the wood that supported the stone walls of the research tower―― the flames have spread to the pillars, and even now oil covered with flames was dripping from the upper...... fifth floor.

It looked just like lava. If there was such a thing as hell, it might be a scene similar to it, a scene of flames and smoke, destruction and explosion.

(Was she knocked unconscious by the impact of the explosion......)

When Kara looked up at the ceiling, she saw a huge hole in it.

A number of wooden barrels, probably filled with oil, had burst open from the inside, and debris was peeking out of the hole.

The liquid flames flowed down from all of them and pooled on the floor of Kara's room, forming a pool of flames that dripped through a small gap in the stone floor and spread to the floor below.

"It's a terrible situation......"

"I said it myself, but―― look, can you stand? I'm protecting us with a barrier."

As Jenna said...... not only Kara, but also Alp, who was being attacked by the slime in her room, and her colleague, a female researcher, were protected by Jenna's barrier.

However, even though it prevented the flames, it didn't prevent the smoke, making it hard to breathe.

In addition, Alp and the other female staff member were unconscious. Kara slapped Alp on the cheek several times to wake her up, but she showed no signs of waking up.

On the contrary, if one looked closely, one could see her body twitching repeatedly while unconscious. Even in this situation, she was shaking with the lingering sensation of pleasure.

(I must have made an amazing potion.)

Kara was also aware that there was still heat in her body's core.

She stood up, but her legs were trembling slightly and her hands were weak. She looked at the floor and saw that her favorite sword had fallen at a distance, but thought that it would be difficult to pick it up now.

(Kuh...... unh.)

Kara hid her body with her lab coat or what was left of it and rubbed her thighs together underneath it.

Unconsciously.

However, the mere brushing of her skin against each other was enough to make her hair stand on end, and she sat up with an indescribable sensation.

If the room hadn't been on fire and she hadn't been suffocating from the smoke, she might have reached for her crotch as soon as she regained consciousness.

That was how much the back of her waist felt "insufficient" once she become aware of it.

"Haah... so, that slime...?"

It was right after Kara said that, intentionally ignoring the sensation.

At the back of the room. The blast blew away a corner where furniture had collapsed, and a blonde mage protected by slime tentacles emerged beneath it.

Her expression was full of surprise rather than anger as she looked at Kara and Jenna.

"Normally, we would be blown together in the room......?"

"Normally, you wouldn't be able to defend that. Besides."

It wasn't the beautiful mage with soot staining her cheeks and flames burning part of her long hair that Kara was looking at.

Behind, it was a humanoid slime that protected the mage.

That slime, which should not have been there before the shock of the explosion knocked her unconscious, was standing there unconcerned about the heat of the burning oil.

Its hands reached out like tentacles―― protecting the blonde mage, Frederica.

Ordinary slimes were afraid of fire and heat. They hated it.

It was because the mucus that formed them―― the liquid would evaporate. For the slimes, mucus was both their weapon and their body. It was the main component that made up the slime.

Its loss would be the same as losing its limbs, but the humanoid slime was not afraid of fire or heat and was there to protect Frederica.

As Kara said, it was not "normal."

"Slime protecting humans, huh."

"How can you stay calm in a sea of flames?......"

As for Jenna, she looked at the door of the room that was her escape route and directed her disgusted voice at Kara.

Kara was determined that it was the only moment she had.

She took off her large glasses, which were stained with mucus, wiped them with the hem of her lab coat, and put them back on.

In the meantime, the slime did not try to harm Kara and the others.

It did not try breaking the barrier, nor did it run away.

The slime was staying there to protect not only Frederica but also Jenna, Kara, and the others...... As she realized that, Kara frowned.

"What the heck is that? Why does that slime protect humans...... and its enemies?"

"Because you're a woman. Isn't that reason enough for you to understand?"

Kara was pleased to hear Frederica's words. Her feelings certainly understood the slime as an enemy, but at the same time understood a little.......

She understood.

So she sighed, inhaled the smoke, and coughed.

"Koho...... Totally. You've got to be kidding me."

"See you later."

At the same time, the humanoid slime took Frederica in its arms and jumped out of the window.

Immediately afterward, Meltia, who was outside the research tower, blew off a part of its body with a bullet condensed with mana, but by the time it fell to the ground, it had already finished regenerating.

"I won't let you go."

When Meltia held up her staff and poured mana into it, a wall of flames formed in an instant, surrounding the slime.

There was no place to escape.

It was obvious to everyone that the slime was also an entity that had taken in numerous mages.

As it formed a magic circle in the void and fired magic bullets at the ground.

The mana amplified by the magic circle generated more power than Meltia's magic, which was enhanced by her mother's staff, and blew the entire ground to create an escape route.

(What a powerful skill.)

If it blew up the wall of flames, she could send more mana to create the wall again.

However, if the entire ground was blown up, the base of the flame wall would be lost and she would not be able to maintain her magic.

Before Meltia could hurriedly form the wall of flames again, it shot the same magic bullet at Meltia and the others' feet.

The ground blew up, dirt flew and stones rain down on them.

Meltia, who was concentrating on releasing her magic, and the inexperienced warrior priests who were protecting her, shielded their faces to prevent the dirt from getting into their eyes, and their movements slowed down.

The slime then stretched out its hands like tentacles and struck the legs of the two warrior priests who had stopped moving with great force.

The tentacles flexed like a whip and shattered their knees, causing them to scream in pain.

"Then―― we shall meet again, Meltia-sama."

As Frederica said so, the humanoid slime looked closely at Meltia and then ran away in the darkness of the night.

Its speed was something that no human could ever achieve―― faster than a mage whose body had been strengthened with mana.

Kara pretended that she did not see Meltia's reaction.

They were both attacked by the slime.

If it was the princess of a country, she would not dare to inquire if something had happened to her.

"The slime was probably simply confirming to see if it's safe inside the barrier."

"......Confirm?"

"Humanity is safe within the barrier of the goddess Fasalina. No other monsters will attack us."

Not only Meltia but also Jenna, who was concentrating on healing, listened as she guessed the meaning of her words.

When the healing process stopped and looked up, Kara also looked at Jenna.

"Maybe turn the holy city into a ranch... How to secure food efficiently? It's easy. That's what humanity has been doing."

――Raising livestock.

Those in the pasture will have their fangs broken, their hair picked back, and trained to be harmless.

That ranch was here―― inside the Goddess' barrier. It was what Kara thought was the "reason for the attack".

"...Why did you think so?"

Jenna felt a chill run down her spine at Kara's words.

She was horrified. Goosebumps appeared all over her body.

To hide her fear, she asked the question.

"The slimes were able to get in but they just surrounded the barrier of the goddess Fasalina. Just a thought, but if they were sharing their wisdom, the Goddess's barrier should not be an obstacle once it has already been breached. But they haven't―― doesn't that prove that they don't have the will to eliminate humanity's last safe zone?"

At those words, everyone in the place fell silent.

In short.

"You think that the slimes are going to keep us......?"

"That's just a thought. It's just that they reproduce so fast. But with the rate at which they're reproducing, they'll eventually cover the entire continent, and when that happens, what will they have to eat? It's not just a mere slime anymore when it has the wisdom to try to preserve it."

Kara muttered as she looked up at the burning research tower and listened to the sound of the slimes' desperate destruction.

"Well, I mean, maybe it was just a preview―― this time."

The next morning.

Meltia, who had hurriedly prepared herself, got on the back of the carriage that had been prepared for her, and slowly adjusted her breathing.

In addition to Meltia, there were several elven mages from Fonteau, Jenna, and Kara on the back of the carriage.

And the deep blue armor that was one of her objectives―― the "Armor of the Hero," which was blessed by the goddess Fasalina, who was used by Meltia's father, the hero of salvation.

Jenna explained that even if there was no one to wear it, its divinity would not be lost in the slightest, and just having it by one's side would make one feel at ease―― in addition to being an armor that would protect against all kinds of poisons when equipped by those who were approved by the armor.......

The sword of the hero that could destroy all things.

The armor of the hero would prevent all poison.

And the shield of the hero that prevented all attacks.

It was said that if one had all of these, one could fight even the Demon King.

In order to deliver the armor as soon as possible to Mariabelle, who was chosen as the hero, she asked them to prepare a carriage without recovering from last night's fatigue.

"Aren't Jenna-sama and Kara-sama tired......?"

"I'm fine. Kara is..."

"I'm going through a lot, but I don't have to worry about it. I think I have a better chance of seeing that slime if I stay with the half-elf princess than if I stay in this country."

She was unpacking the lab equipment she had gathered from her colleagues overnight and repacking it into bags for different purposes.

She was more curious about the completely unknown evolution of the being than about being raped by a slime―― her curiosity was palpable, and the other elves' emotions were sharpened without them saying it was inappropriate.

However, Kara, who was disturbed by the people around her for violating the taboo of studying the divine power of the goddess, felt the emotions of the elves, but completely ignored them.

"Then, let's go. Mariabelle must have grown a lot."

"Yes. I'm sure she's still practicing the sword with Fornelis-sama at Grabalt."

The carriage carrying the two who were talking started running.

The destination was Grabalt. A land of beastmen and demi-humans surrounded by deep forests on all sides.

At that time, the blonde mage, Frederica, with her cheeks stained with soot, was still staying in the holy kingdom of Lishlua.

Rather, she got hungry at dawn and was enjoying the food with the refugees from Fonteau.

"It tastes very light. I prefer a slightly stronger taste."

She must have a brazen personality to complain about free food.

Next to Frederica, there was another person in a thick cloak holding a bowl of soup.

Dressed in a thick cloak, clothes, leather gloves, and boots, the humanoid slime looked almost the same as a normal adult male if one didn't peek behind the cloak.

As it ate its meal away from the group of refugees, it looked more like a mage and a traveler.

"Did you get anything out of it?"

The humanoid slime shook its head at Frederica's question.

It was much more intelligent than the original slime and understood Frederica's words perfectly...... Frederica felt that the humanoid slime was "special".

The Black Ooze that captured her, violated her and even absorbed her mana was also special, but a more different existence.

A completely different kind of slime, evolved by taking in Mariabelle's deflowered blood, who inherited the blood of the hero at Grabalt.

The human slime did not eat like a human, but rather "imitated" eating and watched the food being prepared.

"If you can speak, it's completely the same as a human being."

The humanoid slime did not respond to Frederica's light-hearted remark.

It had a human form, an appetite, and a sex drive.

If it had a voice, it may indeed be the same as a human being.

Even Frederica, who was accustomed to the slime that violated women, was a little horrified by her own words...... Intent on not thinking any deeper, she hurriedly finished eating the cooked food.

"Shall we go back to Grabalt? Satia is waiting."

And that was when Frederica stood up.

The humanoid slime grabbed her hand. It was the first time. It was not that slime showed its will... but Frederica's actions were stopped.

"You've got somewhere else you want to go, right?―― it's okay. I'll follow you."

As she said that, the humanoid slime also stood up.

It was like she was about to embark on a journey, and Frederica's steps were light. It was hard to believe that it was the same pair that attacked the two most important people in the country last night.

No one noticed that Frederica and the humanoid slime had left.

It was only natural that the refugees and the priests who were preparing the meals cared about two people.

That was why.

Near the place where they were earlier. In the grass.

They didn't even notice that there was a richly decorated vestment discarded there.

It was when Kara and the others were attacked in the research tower and most of the attention turned to them. It was a vestment worn by one of the old bishops, who was older and in poor health.

The body had already left in this world.

From its knowledge, the humanoid slime decided on its next destination.

Just as the Black Ooze repeatedly strengthened and bred in order to preserve the species.

The humanoid slime also acted according to its own instincts.