“Eh? Are you, Yuma-kun!?”
Anzai stared at the Slime while crouching, blinking her eyes.
“Yeah, that’s right. My body isn’t moving well, so I transformed to come and help.”
“But, Seekers use magic, but they don’t transform, right? Or is that normal in Japan?”
Yuma, realizing he was giving her a strange misunderstanding, denied it with a “No, no.”
“I’m a bit special… I don’t think there are many Seekers who transform like this.”
“I see.”
Anzai squinted, staring intently at Yuma. She probably still couldn’t believe it.
“I’ll return to human form in about a minute, so please wait a moment.”
Since the surroundings were full of enemies, he waited for the Metallization to wear off while moving. After about a minute, the surface of the Slime rippled, and Liquid Metal welled out.
The metal stretched vertically into the shape of a person, and Yuma returned to his original form.
“Wow~ You really are Yuma-kun! To be able to turn into a Monster like that… you’re amazing. Aren’t you one of the most excellent Seekers?”
“Well, I wonder about that. More importantly, let’s get out of here quickly. It looks like pursuers are coming.”
Yuma and Anzai slipped through the buildings, trying to escape the city somehow. However, there were no cars abandoned in the city, and there were many Seekers on the main street.
To get Anzai to safety, it seemed they had no choice but to go to the car parked at the city entrance.
“Anzai-san, this way.”
Yuma took Anzai’s hand and went from the alley to the back of the building. Because his body wasn’t fully recovered, he couldn’t run fast.
“Are you okay? Your injuries are severe, right?”
“Well, I’m fine. I’m much better than before. I think I’ll be able to run normally soon, but…”
In reality, thanks to his [Self-Regeneration] and the Recovery Magic he regularly cast, his injuries were gradually healing.
He would be fully recovered in a few days. Still, at this stage, he couldn’t move his body freely. Could he escape in this condition?
Just as Yuma was feeling uneasy, a voice could be heard from afar.
It was the Seekers who had been chasing them.
“Damn it! They found us.”
Yuma ran with Anzai, but at this speed, they would be caught up to immediately.
“I have no choice!”
Yuma activated ‘Metallization’ once again, turning into a Metal Slime. He extended two tentacles and lifted Anzai up.
“Whoa!?”
“Sorry, Anzai-san! Please bear with me for a bit. I’ll escape with you like this!!”
He hopped at high speed, dodging the bullets fired by the enemies. It was okay if they hit him, but it would be terrible if they hit Anzai.
Yuma further extended a tentacle from his head, stabbing the tentacle into the wall of a distant building.
If he contracted the tentacle, his body would be pulled, and he could move in an instant. Leaving the Seekers who were chasing on foot behind, Yuma fled with all his might.
–Somehow, it seems like we can shake them off.
Just as Yuma was thinking that, two jeeps came speeding down the road ahead.
They were carrying Seekers.
“Damn!”
Even as he hopped around with Anzai in his arms, they would definitely be caught up to at this rate.
Yuma extended his tentacle all at once to the upper floors of a building, stabbing it into the wall. When he contracted the tentacle, the Metal Slime’s body floated in the air, advancing through the sky and landing on the wall of the upper floors.
From there, he shot out another tentacle like an arrow, stabbing it into another building.
Once again, he contracted the tentacle and moved through the sky.
“How’s that! You can’t follow me like this!!”
The Seekers in the cars glared up at him with frustration. Yuma stabbed his tentacles into the buildings one after another, moving through the air between the buildings.
Because he was flying through the sky at an incredible speed, Anzai continued to scream.
He landed on the ground at the edge of the city where there were no more buildings, and slowly lowered Anzai.
“Ugh, ugh… I feel like I’m going to throw up…”
“Are you alright?”
Anzai was staggering and about to fall, so Yuma supported her with a tentacle. Then, a change occurred in Yuma’s body.
The shape of the Metal Slime collapsed, and Liquid Metal surged up.
The black metal receded, and Yuma returned to his human form.
“Ah~ The ‘Metallization’ time ran out, huh… I was running away quite a bit.”
Yuma clenched and unclenched his hands, confirming the sensation in his body. Seeing this, Anzai let out an anxious voice.
“You can’t transform into a Monster anymore?”
“Eh? Yeah, but we should be fine if we’ve come this far. I think we’ve completely shaken off the Seekers.”
As Yuma and the others were about to head towards the city entrance, a faint sound rang out from behind. When Yuma turned around, several cars turned onto the road from the public road.
“Ah, that’s bad! Let’s run, Anzai-san!”
“U-um.”
Although they started running with Anzai, they still couldn’t run fast. He wanted to get to the car they had come in somehow, but it didn’t seem like they would make it in time.
“Damn it!”
Five cars surrounded Yuma and the others, coming to a sudden stop. Yuma glared at his surroundings while protecting Anzai.
Men and women wearing military-like uniforms got out of the cars. Some had rifles, while others had swords and spears.
Everyone was probably a Seeker.
Furthermore, several cars and Seekers who had been running from behind joined them.
There were probably thirty people in total. A middle-aged man who got out of the car called out to them.
“Hey, hey, why did you run away, you two? We’re strict about desertion. Didn’t you know?”
Yuma didn’t understand what he was saying and asked Anzai, “What are they saying?”
“It seems like these people are angry about why we ran away… What should we do, Yuma-kun?”
Yuma pondered. He couldn’t use ‘Metallization’ anymore. His body wasn’t moving well, so escaping any further was hopeless.
He lowered his eyes to his right hand. He clenched and unclenched it, confirming the sensation.
–Even if my body doesn’t move, if it’s just using magic…
Yuma once again looked around at the Seekers. The middle-aged man at the front pointed at Yuma with a slightly irritated look.
“Why are you silent? Depending on the circumstances, we’re allowed to kill you, so follow our instructions. And you!”
This time, he pointed at Anzai.
“I saw you with a Monster earlier. What was that? Where did it go!?”
Yuma didn’t understand what the Seekers were saying, but he could sense the desperate atmosphere. There was no avoiding a fight anymore.
“…I don’t know if it will work… but I have no choice but to use magic.”
Yuma held his right hand in front of his chest and concentrated his mind.