Episode 352: Incomprehensible
As Yuma slithered along the floor, he emerged beyond the rubble.
Yuma returned to his round Slime form and looked around. Then, his eyes fell upon two figures lying on the ground.
“Wilson-san! Olivia-san!!”
Yuma hopped over and rushed to their sides. He extended a tentacle and gently shook Wilson’s body.
“Ugh, ugh…”
There was a response; he was still alive. Yuma checked on Olivia, who also seemed unharmed. She didn’t appear to have any major injuries.
“Can I carry them in this form…? No, it’s better not to move them unnecessarily, right?”
He couldn’t use Recovery Magic while Metallized. He’d wait about three more minutes, revert to his original form, and then heal them.
Just as Yuma thought this, an explosion echoed from afar.
The Seekers were rampaging.
“I need to deal with them first, huh?”
Yuma left Wilson and Olivia behind, hopping down the passage. Hiding in the shadow of a pillar, he saw two Seekers attacking the residents of Brisbane.
They were pointing their Longswords at defenseless people.
“Those guys!”
Yuma extended two tentacles from his Slime head, aiming them at the Seekers.
The tentacles wriggled across the ground, entangling the Seekers’ feet.
“Huh? What’s this?”
One of the men looked down, but it was too late. The tentacles yanked hard, causing both Seekers to fall.
The two screamed, “Aaaaaah!?” but were helpless.
Yuma forcefully flung them, slamming them against the wall of a building. The Seekers slid down the wall and lost consciousness.
–As long as these guys are here, the number of victims will only increase. I guess I’ll take them all down for now.
Yuma decided to deal with the Seekers first and hopped towards the source of the explosions.
In front of the Food Court stood a trio of Seekers, two women and one man. Yuma hopped closer to them.
“Hey, there’s something over there.”
A burly man noticed Yuma. He carried a large axe on his shoulder and glared sharply.
The two women behind him also saw the round Monster.
“What? What is that thing? A Slime?”
“Ew, it’s black. Gross!”
Yuma didn’t understand what they were saying, but he was sure it was something nasty.
The man strode forward. He stopped in front of Yuma and raised his large axe.
“So Monsters have made their way this far. I’ll take care of you.”
Flames erupted from the axe, and he swung it down with all his might. Yuma extended two tentacles, transforming their tips into Daggers.
He blocked the axe with the crossed Daggers and deflected it.
“What!?”
The man stumbled back three steps in surprise.
“What is this thing!? It’s incredibly strong!!”
As the man gaped in astonishment, Yuma charged forward, hopping. The man hastily deployed a Flame Barrier.
Walls of flame erupted from the ground. But Yuma cut through the flames and headbutted the man.
“Gah!!”
The man clutched his face, writhing in agony. The female Seekers watching from behind paled and readied their weapons.
One nocked an arrow to her bow and fired it at Yuma.
The arrow flew, crackling with Lightning, but Yuma casually swatted it away with a tentacle. The other woman, who had rushed forward, tried to stab Yuma with a flame-lit Rapier.
However, it was useless against the steel Slime. The Rapier bent sharply and snapped, flying away.
Seeing the tip of the Longsword embedded in the wall, the two women turned pale.
“W-what is this!? What even is this Slime?!”
“Someone, someone needs to call for backup!”
While the women were panicking, Yuma transformed the tips of his tentacles into large “hands.”
The women were speechless at the sight of the hands. He raised the massive hand and lightly slapped the nearest female Seeker.
The woman let out a short scream, “Gyah!” and was sent flying to the wall.
She collapsed and didn’t move at all.
“Ah, I overdid it. It’s hard to control my strength.”
The last remaining woman screamed, “Uwaaaah!!” and charged. She ignited a Dagger she pulled from her waist, her eyes bloodshot.
Yuma recoiled slightly.
“I don’t really want to get close… I guess I’ll go with this.”
Facing the charging woman, Yuma raised both hands at the tips of his tentacles. The hands glowed pale blue, releasing a torrent of Frost.
It was the first time he’d used magic in Slime form. The female Seeker, hit by the Frost, froze in place and began to shake violently. Finally, her eyes rolled back, and she fainted.
It was a spur-of-the-moment decision, but it seemed to have worked.
“Phew, I managed to defeat them somehow. The Seekers came in two vehicles, an SUV and a van. There are probably about a dozen of them.”
Yuma looked around, sensing the fluctuations of Mana. Perhaps his ability to sense Mana increased in Slime form.
Hopping along, Yuma headed towards the direction where he felt the Mana.
◇◇◇
“Hey, what’s that? Haven’t you heard a strange noise for a while now?”
A man with a mohawk frowned and looked back. The long-haired man next to him spoke with a calm expression.
“They’re using magic to fight the soldiers. It’s only natural to hear explosions and crushing impacts.”
“Yeah, but…”
As the two were talking, the female Seeker walking in front turned around. She was still young, a blonde girl with blue eyes.
She looked at the mohawked man with a bored expression.
“More importantly, isn’t it going to be hard to find the mayor’s old lady? Having to go this far to find Magic Gems… it’s such a pain.”
The girl pouted, expressing her dissatisfaction. The mohawked man scratched his head roughly.
“It can’t be helped. We need a large number of Magic Gems to use that Magitech Device. We’re just following orders from above.”
The mohawked man spat out the words irritably. The three continued towards the north exit of the shopping mall.
Then, near the exit, they saw something hopping around.
The mohawked man frowned at the round, black object.
“What’s that? Did a Monster get in here?”
Just as the man was about to approach, a massive fist passed by the side of his face.
“What!?”
Turning around, he saw his companion sent flying far into the distance. Not understanding what had happened, the mohawked man hastily jumped back.
The blonde girl also readied her Dagger, crouching into a fighting stance.
In front of them was the black creature. It extended two tentacles, transforming their tips into large fists.
Unable to move rashly, as it was a Monster they had never seen before.
Moreover, the Black Monster was shouting something loudly.
“Hey, you guys! I’ve defeated all your other companions!! Just admit defeat!”
The mohawked man and the blonde girl, horrified by the Monster speaking in a completely incomprehensible language, backed away.