An Unexpected Divine Beast
Smoke from the explosion filled the room. The thick haze invaded my nose and mouth, triggering a coughing fit.
“Cough, cough.”
This is… something I didn’t see coming.
The principal muttered in astonishment from within the smoke.
I coughed and waved my hand to clear it away.
Silhouettes stood firm amid the haze. Unlike me, they didn’t seem rattled at all.
What the hell? Isn’t this all wrong?
Normally, people would be like,
“W-what happened?!”
“What kind of accident is this?!”
Or freaking out, right?
So why am I the one panicking most?
“Professor Nipella? What the heck is going on?”
“Ah, it’s nothing serious. Please calm down.”
Professor Nipella approached through the dissipating smoke, his voice as serene as a still lake.
“Huh? But there was an explosion…”
“This sort of thing happens all the time. No need to be alarmed.”
Ah, right—this isn’t Earth. Gods exist here, and the world runs on magic. A little explosion like this was probably par for the course.
Whoosh!
The principal swung his arm, and the smoke was sucked away, vanishing in its wake.
The flames flickering where his eyes should be rippled with awe.
No! This is astonishing! To succeed in divinization on the first try—no, not just temporary, but altering its very essence! Come here and look!
Where the principal pointed sat the slime.
But it wasn’t the same as before.
“...Huh? Why’s it white now?”
Its body, once black as shadow, had turned pure white.
That’s because you tampered with its very essence!
The principal spat with fervor, as if saliva might fly from his nonexistent mouth.
This slime’s essence was that of a magic beast! Even if I stripped away all its mana, without changing the ‘core’—its fundamental ‘essence’—it would only maintain its divine beast identity through the continuous supply of holy power from your contract! But now? It’s different! It no longer needs holy power—it is a divine beast!
I approached the slime. It still hadn’t stirred, as if unconscious.
When I tentatively placed my hand on it, the faint mana I’d sensed before was gone, replaced by the familiar warmth of holy power.
And something else besides.
And this…
The moment my hand touched it, I felt it. I was connected to the slime now.
A divine beast contract. Why?
I’d never summoned it or formed a contract. Yet instinctively, I knew.
Changing the slime’s essence didn’t matter. The key was that I’d replaced the mana the summoner should have borne with my holy power—and shouldered it myself.
In that process, I’d been recognized as the summoner, forging the contract.
“Looks like we’ve even got a contract now.”
Exactly! You probably didn’t mean to, but you’re this slime’s—no, this divine beast’s—master now. What should’ve taken a complex ritual…
“But is it useful? Looks pretty damn weak.”
That depends on how you raise it. Truly astonishing, though. Even cardinals or liches like me rarely succeed at this.
“Felt easy to me.”
I tilted my head.
“I just did it, and it worked. That supposed to be hard?”
I meant it sincerely. It hadn’t been difficult at all.
But the principal took it differently.
…Th-that’s just like Diel—argh!
“P-Principal!”
The principal clutched the back of his neck and collapsed. If he were human, he’d be foaming at the mouth.
‘Just like my predecessor?’
Had I said the same thing as my predecessor? No idea. He was someone I didn’t even remember anyway.
I was grateful he’d passed on this body’s stats, but that was that—this was this.
Hell, right now he was kinda pissing me off. I couldn’t understand why he kept acting scared of me—what the hell had that guy done?
Ugh…
“Calm down, Principal. This priest has nothing to do with it.”
I know! But ugh… fine, he probably didn’t mean it.
The principal hauled himself back up, still rubbing his neck as if his blood pressure wouldn’t settle.
‘Doesn’t he even have blood pressure?’
I idly pictured him clutching his neck again if he heard that, then poked the slime.
‘Why isn’t it waking up?’
Ugh… It’ll take time to adjust to the changed body.
“Why?”
It has to adapt. Since we’re waiting anyway, why not name your divine beast?
“Name?”
Yes. Every living being has a name. Not something childish like Fluffel or Squishy.
I tilted my head.
“People actually name them that crap?”
Astonishingly… yes.
I was appalled by their naming sense. That had to be deliberate, right?
Ahem! There is a fitting name for it originally.
“What?”
Holy Slime.
“Acidic?”
Holy!
Holy Slime? That its name?
I made a dissatisfied face.
“Sounds lame. Hell Slime’s cooler.”
How about Celestial Slime then?
“Acidic Slime’s better.”
No, it’s holy!
But it just didn’t sit right.
I’d once renamed a street dog Capsodia—too hard to say—to Capsaicin on a whim.
Perfect fit, right?
Even so, acidic’s too much!
“See? Holy power melts enemies like acid, yeah?”
…Like acid?
“Exactly! Perfect match!”
Then it’s no different from Fluffel! If it’s no good, it’s no good!
Tch. I clicked my tongue in disappointment.
I can hear everything.
“Kabi.”
“Gotta hear its opinion too. We’ll wait.”
…Really? Divine beasts are possessions now.
“Don’t think like that. Gotta respect its say. Hmm… call it a friend?”
Why would a divine beast be a friend…? No, people vary. War God’s priests in this era are weird.
Professor Nipella muttered softly behind me.
“…After tormenting him like that?”
I deliberately ignored it.
“You ever meet my great-great-grandpredecessor?”
How would I meet someone from 300 years ago? I’m not that old.
Huh. Not much overlap? Unexpected.
Ugh…
Right on cue, the unconscious slime began stirring.
Blink, blink—eyes formed where there were none, and it looked up at me.
Hiiik!
“Why freak out?”
You shoved your face in mine—how not to?!
“Ah, sorry.”
I backed off readily. The slime clutched its nonexistent heart, panting.
Th-thought I was done for… W-wait. Why’s my mana gone? Huh?
“Removed it.”
I-impossible! D-doctor! Something’s wrong with me! The mana that should be in my core—it’s all gone!
“Ah, about that…”
I trailed off.
“Your injuries were too severe, so I had no choice but to replace it with my holy power. You can’t use mana anymore, sir.”
Wh-what?! I-I’m impotent?! Impotent?! Waaah!
The slime burst into sobs.
Was it that bad? The sense of loss seemed overwhelming, so I held my tongue.
Hmm, how to console it?
Then the principal stepped up, principal-like.
Don’t think too badly of it.
Easy for you to say…!
If not, you’d be dead. It’s just a type change—not impotence.
Silence fell. The slime finally processed it, blurting dumbly.
…Huh?
Didn’t you know? You were fated to be reverse-summoned when your summoner died. But you weren’t. Know why?
The principal’s bony finger pressed firmly where the slime’s core sat.
The mana sustaining you—your life force—was being used up. The black mage who summoned a low-grade beast like you probably intended exactly that. Didn’t know it was a variant, of course.
S-such nonsense…
It despaired, but seemed to be calming down okay.
It’d sort itself out soon.
One surprise, though.
“You seriously didn’t know? I figured you were using it yourself.”
I didn’t… Waaah, I was on borrowed time…
“Then how’d you use it?”
The principal answered my curiosity.
Survival instinct. And this slime’s not intelligent enough to notice. If it were that smart, it’d have figured it out and found a fix ages ago.
Not smart?! I’m a variant…!
I’m right here?
…
I nodded, convinced.
“Anyway, changing your essence wasn’t the plan. You were gonna die otherwise—no choice. Sorry, whatever.”
Couldn’t be helped… Guess this is my fate… At least I’m alive…
A bit later, the slime fully regained its senses and asked me.
S-so… what happens to me now…?
“What happens?”
My situation, my role…
“Well, we’ve got a divine beast contract for starters.”
S-such…?
“Yeah.”
?
“?”
The slime shaped itself into a question mark.
No orders? No requests…?
“Nah, I didn’t do this on purpose. What’m I gonna order?”
Then why stare at me…? W-wait, experiment material?!
“…I’m a priest.”
Oh, right.
“…”
Oh, right? Oh yeeeah right?!
Should I smack it?
I seriously considered it, then let it slide once.
“Do that again. I’ll show you what a real priest is.”
I’m always loyal! So… what do I do now…?
“Gotta name you first.”
Again.
“Again? Why ‘again’?”
Divine beasts get summoned for endless work…
“I’m nice, so no.”
?
“You’re dead.”
That was just ‘why say the obvious’—of course!
The slime had adapted fully before I knew it.
“Alright, pick a name. Options: Celestial Slime, Holy Slime, Acidic Slime…”
The slime sobered up.
…I hate them all!
“Why? Acidic Slime’s cute.”
That’s just lab equipment!