Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Underground Sewer (5)
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A few minutes before the Yormungand assassins were completely wiped out by Sion's Dust Explosion spell.
["Do you want me to stick by Cloe's side instead of yours?"]
To prepare for any possible danger, Sion had placed Lily—not by her own side, but next to Cloe.
The reason was simple. She figured that if Cloe ever found herself in peril, Lily could protect her.
["Cloe, run."]
But the current situation was something neither Sion nor Lily, who was with Cloe, had anticipated.
-Buooo... Urk...
A slime-like monster that seemed formed from forcibly mixing various living creatures together—Cloe didn't even dream of killing it with her dagger.
-Tadadadada!
Her judgment was swift. Cloe wasn't foolish enough to charge blindly without gauging the gap between herself and her opponent.
The monster before her eyes wasn't something she could handle.
With that judgment, Cloe immediately turned toward the passage she'd entered through and fled at full speed.
-...Buek!-
However, the monster's next action rendered Cloe's sound judgment meaningless.
The mucus it vomited out like spit completely sealed off the only passage out of this space.
"This is..."
["Unbelievable...! Does it have the intelligence to block our escape route too?"]
Normal slime-type monsters lacked intelligence.
They might possess instincts close to those of wild animals, but they couldn't engage in rational thinking like "block the opponent's retreat," as an intelligent being like a human would.
["No choice—we'll have to hold out until Rion arrives. Cloe."]
In the end, the best option Cloe had was to endure until Sion came to help.
Fortunately, holding out itself didn't seem all that difficult.
'The terrain's spacious, and there are plenty of places to hide.'
The depths of the sewer where the slime(?) had taken position were a tangled mess of massive pipes—an ideal terrain for hiding, striking, and retreating.
For an assassin like Cloe, it was literally home ground. Killing the monster was impossible, but dragging out time seemed entirely feasible.
'The problem is how fast that thing can move...'
After blocking the passage with mucus, the slime hadn't made any particular moves yet.
It simply kept expanding and contracting its body repeatedly, letting out incomprehensible roars as it wandered the surroundings.
If not for those enormous arms that looked like they belonged to some giant beast, it wouldn't even seem capable of proper movement.
No matter how many times she thought about it, Cloe couldn't imagine such a creature moving nimbly.
'Might be easier than I thought...'
Unthinkingly, that thought crossed Cloe's mind.
Her goal wasn't to defeat the monster, but to hold out until Rion arrived.
But given the current situation, it felt like far too easy a condition.
If not for the monster's next action.
-Boo... Woooorgh!-
With an unpleasant roar, the slime began contracting its body again.
This much was no different from when she'd first seen it, but as time passed without it showing any sign of expanding again, Cloe's instincts rang alarm bells.
'Something... feels off?'
["Wait, Cloe—that thing's acting strange!"]
The slime started compressing its body even more intensely than before—so much so that it could almost be called compression.
Having compressed itself to its limit, the slime came to a halt.
Now nearly half its original size, the monster turned toward Cloe.
-Kiiiiik.... Shwaaak!
It rapidly expanded its body again, launching itself straight at Cloe.
"Wait—"
-Kwaaaang!
["Cloe!"]
["Cloe! Are you okay?!"]
"Urgh..."
It was an attack that could easily have been fatal, but by some miracle, Cloe had survived.
Because the artificial spirit Lily had cast a protective spell at the last possible moment.
However, even that hadn't mitigated all the damage, leaving Cloe in a near-death state.
"My leg... Ugh, what the hell... how did it do that..?"
["We got completely played. Who would've thought it could move like that."]
The slime's attack had utterly defied the pair's common sense.
They couldn't consider the monster before them a normal slime, but they'd wrongly assumed its traits would at least be similar.
A slime that compressed its body to the limit before expanding and using the recoil to attack—it was something that had never existed within the pair's common knowledge.
["Be careful. It could attack again anytime."]
Fortunately, the sewer depths had become an environment perfect for hiding, thanks to the dust storm.
It was already a deep underground place untouched by human hands, and the hulking monster's rampage had kicked up even more cover.
["It doesn't seem to have eyes or anything like that, so I'm not sure how it's tracking us."]
But since the monster didn't appear to rely on vision, it wasn't all that significant.
["Careful—it's moving again."]
-Kwachijik!
-Rumble!
The monster's movements hadn't stopped.
The slime began swinging its awkwardly attached massive arms around, turning the surroundings into a total mess.
As if trying to locate Cloe's position.
["From the way it's thrashing around, it thankfully doesn't know exactly where we are."]
Even if their position hadn't been exposed, the state of the battle wasn't good.
Their only advantage—mobility—had been completely lost with her injured leg, and she didn't have the stamina left for a prolonged fight.
There was no guarantee Sion would arrive before the monster found them while hiding it out.
["Don't worry—Rion will be here soon. Just hold on until then."]
'Haa...'
-Kwachijik!
["Damn, it's found us!"]
Contrary to Lily's hopes, the slime spotted Cloe before Sion could arrive.
-Boo... Woooorgh!-
The slime began contracting its body once more.
Considering Cloe's already battered state, failing to dodge this attack meant death.
["Damn it, what do we..."]
"L-Lily..."
Cloe desperately clung to her fading consciousness and called out to Lily.
"How many... ugh... more protection spells can you cast...?"
["About two more times. But even with protection spells, we can't—"]
"Change it... to a different spell."
["What?"]
Protection spells only reduced damage—they held little meaning for Cloe, who was on the brink of death.
"Levitation... Can you do that?"
But what if it was a "flight" spell that could evade the attack entirely?
Under the assumption of a perfect dodge, it would hold plenty of meaning.
["Out of the question. That kind of spell consumes way too much mana. If I mess it up, I might fall asleep."]
Lily flatly refused.
Movement-type spells like Levitation demanded extreme mana consumption when cast on others.
For an artificial spirit like Lily, mana depletion meant hibernation. She might end up dozing off right in front of Cloe in danger.
["Besides, your leg's already messed up."]
Moreover, Cloe already had a severe injury on one leg.
If flight cut out midway, a proper landing would be impossible.
"Just once... Trust me just once."
But Cloe's eyes were resolute.
As if she'd thought of a surefire plan, her gaze burned with unyielding determination.
["Damn it, Sion..."]
Lily was always weak to eyes like these.
["Fine, I'll do as you wish."]
-Kiiiiik...!
The slime didn't wait for their conversation.
From the monster's perspective, Cloe and Lily were nothing more than prey ready to be digested on the spot.
-Shwaaak!
Just like before, the slime expanded its body and hurtled toward them.
"Levitation."
⟨ Levitation ⟩
Lily's spell activated just in time, allowing Cloe to evade the slime's attack—but the real problem came after.
["Damn... the power's..."]
Lily's mana was fully depleted, causing the Levitation spell to cut off midway.
With the spell broken, Cloe could no longer stay airborne, and she began slowly plummeting toward the floor.
'Good thing... the height isn't that high..!'
If she sacrificed her completely wrecked left foot, she could barely preserve her life.
But the issue lay elsewhere.
["Cloe! Watch the ground below!"]
Too focused on fall damage, she'd overlooked it.
-Buooooo...!-
"Ah."
The slime was already waiting on the floor below, mouth gaping wide.
Death.
That single word flashed clearly in Cloe's mind.
Come to think of it, Cloe had always lived close to death.
Every day, someone around her died—whether from starvation or by others' hands.
In Prifre's slums, even healthy adult men starved to death without immediate food.
The only reason Cloe had survived there until now was pure luck.
["Hmm... Kid, you've got half-demon blood, huh?"]
["Flowers bloom even in harsh winters—they say. Never thought a child like you would be born in a backwater like this..."]
["Come with me. I'll make sure you survive this place."]
Luck—and because she'd met that man.
'Mister...'
Why did you abandon me?
Why didn't you come back for me?
Why didn't you keep your promise?
She knew the man hadn't helped her out of purely selfless intentions.
But it was also true that she'd survived thanks to him.
So, if he wanted something, she planned to give it to him.
Because she wanted to repay him.
["What I want... Well..."]
But the man hadn't asked anything of her.
["Survive, Cloe."]
He'd left her with just that one request: to survive.
["No matter what happens, survive."]
Survive.
I will survive.
Before she knew it, that had become her sole goal—the reason she could fight so fiercely.
So she couldn't die in a place like this.
Someday, she wanted to meet him again and say thank you.
To voice her resentment about being abandoned.
["Hey, want to learn some magic?"]
And to repay him.
Someday, to formally become his disciple, grow strong.
To grow strong enough to stand shoulder to shoulder with him.
So she couldn't die yet.
Cloe had to survive to the end.
-Pooook!
"Grrrrgh!"
As she entered the slime's maw, a burning pain ignited throughout her body.
Its acidic mucus could melt a human effortlessly—holding out long was impossible.
And there was no way to escape.
Death—death was right before her.
'No...'
Survive.
Cloe struggled.
She thrashed with all her might to somehow break free.
"Grrrrraaaaaaargh!"
Ignoring the surging pain, ignoring the nerves fading from her limbs, she flailed.
In the sea of acidic mucus, she swam desperately for survival.
Just as Cloe's limbs began to lose strength...
'A rock...?'
A stone chunk gleaming with purple light caught Cloe's eye.
A stone with a shape similar to the mana stone Rion had jammed into the purification facility.
Cloe instinctively knew.
That was the core keeping this slime's body intact.
She reached for the stone to grab and smash it—but her limbs had no strength left.
-Karduk...
Cloe clamped her teeth around the stone without hesitation.
And bit down with all her might.
Even if her teeth cracked and shattered, she didn't let up.
Even as blood flowed between her gums, she didn't stop.
Survive.
Clutching that single thought, she held onto her dimming consciousness.
"Uuuuuuuuuuugh!!"
-Kwajik!
Finally, the stone shattered in Cloe's mouth.
-Puuuung!
The massive slime's body burst open like a popped balloon.