A secret passage, unused for many years, led from a deteriorating and blocked up old well on the outskirts of the royal capital to the first floor of the royal castle, to a bathhouse that only royalty was allowed to use.

There were several other escape routes and hidden passages in case of emergency, but it was the only one that Mariabelle and Meltia know about.

There was nothing around the old well, which was marked by a large tree that was probably over a hundred years old, was blocked by a thick stone cover, and was stained green with moss and vines.

They didn’t think anyone would come near it, and it was hard to imagine that it was an escape route for royalty, as the area was overgrown with weeds.

“Here it is.”

A battle cry rang out in the distance, and the sound of magic explosions reached Mariabelle and the others’ ears.

The battle had begun.

The wind was blowing, and the lustrous black hair that was the only one in the world was swaying as though it were expressing her true feelings.

Mariabelle looked anxiously in the direction of the sound, and Kara put her right hand on her shoulder.

“Everyone rallied knowing the risk. So let’s move forward… Mariabelle-sama.”

“――Yes.”

Mariabelle was too kind.

Kara sometimes felt that way.

The female hero was afraid of sacrificing anyone, even in a situation where most of the continent was dominated by the slimes.

――If the hero fought, the monsters would fall and the world would be saved.

In reality, a lot of blood would be spilled and a lot of people would die―― it had been the case since the time when the Demon King existed.

Even though the hero from the other world stood in front and fought, humans, beastmen, demi-humans, fairies, and elves…… many lives were taken and disappeared.

It was twenty years ago―― or should they say, it had only been twenty years since then?

Mariabelle, who had never fought the demon king, was kind-hearted and would make an excellent ruler in peaceful times.

However, when it came to battle, that kindness became a shackle and slowed her down. She would not be able to leave her friends behind, and would not be able to reach her true goal.

That was the kind of person Mariabelle was.

She could try reaching out to those small lives and her important mission, but she couldn’t accomplish both of them…… Such a danger was fatal for the hero, but she thought it was typical of Mariabelle.

So Kara pushed Mariabelle’s back, implying that it was “the responsibility of the person who participated in the battle”.

“Let’s go. Are you ready?”

“Yes, I’m ready. Mariabelle.”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“We’re not going to walk into it…… and suddenly find a slime, right?”

Meltia, the silver-haired mage who had inherited her mother’s beauty.

Kara, the chestnut-haired female swordswoman and scientist who created Valhari’s blessed water.

Then, Fenelieka, the red-haired succubus who reminded her of a burning red lotus, replied to Mariabelle’s voice.

The two of them made up their minds, and then the succubus spoke up with an important question that seemed to put a damper on their resolve.

Mariabelle gave a small chuckle.

“No signs of monsters…. I don’t have a bad feeling about it.”

“I see. Let’s trusts the hero’s intuition.”

“See, Fenelieka. Get rid of the rock blocking the well.”

“…Me, alone?”

“Mou, Kara-sama… I’ll help you, Fenelieka.”

Fenelieka complained about the way she was treated, and Mariabelle smiled and helped remove the stone lid.

The stone lid was quite heavy, but the two of them…… no, Mariabelle lifted the lid without difficulty.

Hero…… those who received the blessing of the goddess and save the world.

When the world was on the verge of a crisis, the person’s power increased, as though it represented the will of the world itself.

――It was as though the world was trying to survive.

“Fuu, fuu… that’s some serious strength, hero-sama.”

“That’s――.”

Mariabelle turned her face down in embarrassment at Fenelieka’s words.

“No, I know it’s a compliment……. But it’s not something you’d direct at a woman, that’s for sure.”

“Truly, you really are a succubus with a bad mouth.”

“That’s terrible! It’s important to tell people what you really think. If you are going to fight against the origin slime, it might be dangerous even if you are the hero.”

Kara was carrying a leather bag with all her belongings, and Meltia was directing her harassing words to Fenelieka in her usual tone.

Her sister―― The hero allowed her to accompany her because she trusted her, but Meltia herself didn’t want a monster to be near the hero… still, Fenelieka helped Meltia many times before. So―― it was a complicated feeling.

That was why when she heard Fenelieka’s words about “danger”, she was rebutting her.

“…Ah, that…”

“Fufu―― you’re being a bit of a tease, aren’t you? You know what I always say? You care too much, about your sister.”

Was that an encouragement in Fenelieka’s own way, or was it a warning?

Maybe some feel the same way about slime as her as the same monster―― but the strange feeling she felt in the abandoned mithril mine where she was captured and violated along with Meltia.

The same monster.

A monster made from the Demon King and instinctively fight people.

And yet, the fear she felt from the slime…… It was hard to resist the feeling that the demon king was there, even though it was the lowest level monster.

It was a feeling that only Fenelieka and the other female succubus who worked with humans could understand, and there was no other way to explain it.

Either way, her cheerful mood may have been an encouragement to the heroes.

“Let’s go, shall we?”

Fenelieka, without needing to be told by Kara, first went into the old well.

It was not that she didn’t trust the hero’s intuition, but if the slime reached that part of the old well, the hero would be in danger―― she would need her to fight the slime, which was giving off strange presence like that of the demon king.

To defeat the monster.

Feeling something that made her feel that it was of the same kind, but she had to defeat it, Fenelieka walked down the old well.

The well was unnaturally equipped with a ladder, which would certainly look strange if it were not hidden by a stone cover.

“It’s all right down here! There’s no slime!”

“Alright!!”

Next, Kara, Meltia, and finally Mariabelle went down the well.

It was pitch black inside, but Meltia used her magic to create lights instead of torches, and four lights danced around the four of them like fireflies.

“Uwaa… this is amazing.”

The one who raised her voice was Kara.

She didn’t usually pay much attention to the surroundings, but even Kara was surprised to see that the bottom of the old well, with passages reinforced with sturdy stone and wood.

She touched the wall.

The neatly lined, square stones were cold and slippery.

It wasn’t the mucus of a slime.

Kara guessed that it was a mycelium that had grown in the humidity and darkness. There was no numbness in her fingertips as she touched it, no discomfort in the air.

“Mariabelle-sama, do you feel something?”

“No. There is no sign of slimes… maybe.”

“That maybe, she was a little worried, but she thought it’s okayー we have to move on.”

Outside, the battle with the slime had already begun.

Mariabelle and the others have a mission to reach the royal castle as soon as possible and defeat the origin―― the Black Ooze.

Thinking that many people would be saved by acting quickly and defeating the Black Ooze, Mariabelle had no time to stop.

She began to lead the way down the underground passage, determined that the conversation she had outside the well would not be the last peaceful conversation she would have.

The air was cold, probably because the sun didn’t reach them, and their breathing was white under the magic of light, even though it was daytime.

After a while, Meltia, who was on the rear, stopped.

“Up ahead, we will now enter the castle.”

“Fuun. Nothing really hapened. It’s a bit of a letdown.”

“That won’t be the case from here on out.”

Smiling bitterly at Fenerieka’s words, Kara took out several small vials―― test tubes from the bag she was carrying.

There were five of them.

She put four of them in her pocket or in the pocket of her shorts, and for the last one, she pulled out the sword at her waist and dripped the contents onto its blade.

It was Valhari’s Blessed Water―― a deadly poison that killed slimes.

Seeing that, Fenelieka visibly frowned. She even made a deliberate gesture of enduring it.

“It smells bad.”

“I have no idea, but…”

“Really, that’s just a loss.”

It was a joke to relieve the tension, but it didn’t last long. Mariabelle, walking came to a dead end―― a plain stone wall.

There she fumbled with some stones in the proper sequence, opening a hidden passage.

The cool air from the underground passage flew and light filled her vision. ――As her vision adjusted to the light, what she saw was the horrifying furnishings, floors, ceilings, walls…… the familiar floor, and the incredibly dirty bathroom in the royal castle.

……Mariabelle slowly stepped into the bathroom, wary of the surroundings.

It must have been used recently. As only the bathtub was clean.

“We arrived……”

“Hot water? I wonder if the slimes also takes a bath?”

“They’ll absorb water, they couldn’t possibly be bathing.”

“I’m just kidding. I’m trying to lighten the mood.”

Fenelieka’s angry and slightly embarrassed voice echoed in the bathroom.

Her appearance was far from fearful or tense and showed the carefree attitude typical of succubus. Meltia let out a loud sigh as she heard Fenelieka.

“This is a slime den…… Please be a little quiet.”

“Yes, yes―― so where do you think the origin slime is?”

“If I had to guess, I’d say beside Queen Leticia…… in her bedroom, or in the throne room.”

“The throne room.”

Mariabelle muttered as she looked at the ceiling of the bathroom.

There was a certainty in her voice, and she stared at it with a fierce gaze that was unlike her normally gentle and calm expression.

“Up there… I have a feeling.”

“…………”

The three of them looked at each other at those words.

Then they looked up at the ceiling, but there was no evidence to convince them that the Black Ooze was there.

However, Mariabelle sensed that, and she headed for the bathroom exit with a steady gait.

“Let’s go, let’s fight.”

“Yes”

Meltia nodded vigorously at Kara’s words.

She held her mother’s large staff in both hands, and the jewel on the tip of the staff shone with a faint light.

It was as though to express Meltia’s determination.

When Meltia and Kara followed Mariabelle out of the bathroom, Fenelieka at the end of the line frowned again.

“I hate that light too”

“Uu… I’m sorry.”

“I like that you are so quick to apologize, and that you take a joke so seriously.”

“Auu… I wonder if I’ll do it agai――.”

It was the moment when Meltia looked back.

The bathroom’s exit, its ceiling.

The slime that had been mimicking there was now about to attack Fenelieka.

She couldn’t speak. Her open mouth stopped at the “A” shape, and Kara and Fenelieka stared at her with curious faces.

In the midst of that, Mariabelle ran.

The black-haired hero kicked the wall, stepped on the basket that held a change of clothes, jumped, and sliced through the center of the slime―― a lump of mucus that was falling from the ceiling without hesitation.

The sword’s blade, filled with light that monsters hate, purified the dirty mucus, made it disappear, and destroyed the nucleus without missing the target.

It was not a matter of being fast.

It was so fast that even Kara, who understood swordsmanship, reacted a bit later and looked up at the ceiling. By that time, Kara was already on the floor, about to sheath her sword.

“It’s dangerous. Once we’re inside, stay alert.”

“T-thank you…”

A cold…… calm voice, unlike the usual Mariabelle.

Her awareness was already on the Black Ooze in the throne room, and her instinct was implying to exterminate the monster.

Hero――.

A hero, summoned by the goddess Fasalina from another world to save the world.

The only one who could fight against the demon king, having been given the three sacred weapons, sword, armor, and shield.

Her instinct reacted to the monsters and change her personality to a belligerent one that wasn’t like her―― her sister Meltia was worried about her sister, who inherited the blood of the hero… But, she followed after her, unable to find the words to say.

“What’s the matter, Mariabelle-sama?”

“I’m angry… I think.”

Meltia was sad.

When they got out of the bathroom, they saw a familiar sight, the interior of the royal castle……. Even after a year, she still remembered which way to the throne room.

Their private quarters, their mother’s room, and the faces of the soldiers who worked at the castle…… all come to their minds vividly.

But there was nothing left of it anymore.

The walls, the ceiling, the furnishings, the floor…… everything was stained.

The near-black gray mucus was attached to everything. If it hadn’t been for the smell of Valhari’s blessed water that Kara had applied to her sword, it would have attacked them.

“The royal castle, our home had changed so much… I’m angry.”

Mariabelle looked straight ahead, sensing the slimes that resisted the scent of the blessed water and attacked her, slicing through them as she walked faster and faster.

Her feet were getting faster little by little.

She was walking normally, then started walking faster, and finally, she started running.

Meltia and the others could barely keep up with her. It wasn’t just the difference in physical ability, but also the fact that she was wary of her surroundings and defending against the slimes that were attacking them, slicing through them with minimal movement and destroying their nucleus with precision.

There was no hesitation, and her movements were so fluid that it was as though she knew exactly what was there and what was going to happen.

When her black hair tied in a ponytail swayed and her pure white nape was exposed, many slimes had disappeared…

“I won’t forgive you. I won’t forgive you, I won’t forgive you――.”

“Maria, wait! Calm down!”

Meltia looked out the window as she called out to her.

“Terrible… what number⁉”

Outside the window, it looked so bad that she wanted to cover her eyes.

The houses were destroyed, some were on fire because Fornelis and her men were fighting the slimes, and huge…… huge slimes that could easily swallow a two-story building were heading towards the royal castle.

It was more than one.

Not one or two. ――Slightly over ten.

The sight of the giant slime coming at them from all directions left Meltia speechless and she stopped.

“Why are they coming towards the royal castle… where are Jenna-sama and the others⁉”

“We’ve lost―― look, there’s no one fighting.”

Fenelieka was calm. No, she was trying to stay calm.

It was not only Meltia but even the usually calm and had a bad mouth Kara was speechless and stuck to the window.

“Onee-sama, are you okay!?”

“Maria⁉ Maria―― the city, our country…… everyone.”

Mariabelle, who had been running ahead, came back when she noticed that Meltia and the others were not following her.

She was not breathing hard, and her expression was strong.

Her anger had not yet subsided, but she had not lost her composure.

“――Yes. They were prepared that this might happen when they participated…… we need to do what we need to do. I think that’s the only thing we can do now, onee-sama.”

“That’s……”

It was what Kara said before entering the old well.

Her words to push back Mariabelle, who was shaking with anxiety, had become her “core” now.

The hero then turned those words to her companions.

Whether to stop or move forward.

“……So. Let’s move on―― let’s go and win. I’m sure that was what Fornelis-sama and the others are hoping for.”

“…Yeah, that’s right.”

First, Meltia walked after Mariabelle.

Kara looked at the window, hesitated for a moment, then started to walk away.

As usual, Fenelieka followed them as they started walking.

The throne room on the second floor was located at the top of the grand staircase in front of the gate that led to the courtyard.

It was just a short walk through the great hall, but when Mariabelle and the others reached the hall, they found a huge hole in it.

The muffled voices of the women could be heard from the dungeons below……

When Mariabelle looked at the bottom of the hole, she could not see very well because it was pitch black.

“Onee-sama, light…”

“No, don’t look. ――You shouldn’t look. Let’s move on, Mariabelle-sama.”

“Kara-sama?”

Kara couldn’t see the bottom of the hole either. But she had known her longer than Mariabelle, as she heard a familiar…… Jenna’s voice mixed in with the muffled screams.

There was no way she could have misheard it. It was the voice of the woman who had noticed her after she was recognized as a warrior for her skill in swordsmanship, but rather than the sword, she was immersed in the taboo of studying the power of the goddess and was considered a heretic.

She felt the urge to go down to the basement immediately and help.

But she swallowed her emotion, bit her lip so hard that it bled, stared at the darkness of the basement for a few moments, and then turned away.

“……Jenna-sama is in the basement. Perhaps even Fornelis-sama. You must prioritize defeating the slimes over saving them, hero-sama.”

“――Are you sure?”

“I’m just like you were a moment ago, Mariabelle-sama. I’m so angry I can’t even think straight.”

Kara’s petite body was tense and her every step was slow.

Still, the girls proceeded upstairs―― the throne room was just around the corner. The doors were thick, large, and majestic, as they were used to convey the prosperity of the country to visitors.

Normally, it took two strong soldiers to push open the door, but it opened by itself.

No, the Black Ooze in the back of the room opened the door as though to welcome the visitors―― as though to invite them into its embrace.

“Uu…”

The smell was awful.

The throne room emitted a foul odor that was even stronger than the passageways of the royal castle, and the four of them quickly covered their mouths.

The smell was so strong that it made the space look distorted and painful to the eyes, and tears spilled unconsciously.

“Kuh.”

Kara took out a test tube from her pocket and slammed it down at her feet.

Valhalla’s blessed water wet the floor and purified their surroundings like a barrier.

“Is everyone okay⁉”

“My eyes and nose hurt…”

“Endure it.”

Dismissing Fenelieka’s weak voice, Kara readied her sword. Mariabelle and Meltia followed suit.

The Black Ooze was by the throne.

It was as though it was sitting on the symbol of the royal family.

It was a strange shape.

From a distance, it looked like a giant snake, its huge body slumping. There were countless protrusions on its surface, and when they realized that they were shaped like human arms, Mariabelle and the others frowned in disgust.

“This is the origin slime…”

Meltia muttered in a voice filled with despair.

Her instinct knew. She understood.

They have to win.

……Only those who faced it could understand. Emotions that could only be understood by those who were hostile to it.

――She cowered in fear.

Her hands holding her mother’s staff were trembling, but she couldn’t stop them.

“――――”

The giant body made some kind of sound.

It made no sense. Only Mariabelle felt that it was a “voice”, and Meltia and the others thought it was the threatening sound of the Black Ooze.

“Who are you?”

Only Mariabelle was not overwhelmed by the Black Ooze’s sovereignty and called out to a small shadow beside the slime.

A petite girl.

She had brown skin and gray hair. The clothes she wore were luxurious, but the staff she carried was unevenly simple.

It was the first gift that Alfred bought for the girl, Satia. It was a large wooden staff, a sign that she was an adventurer.

Holding the large staff to her chest, Satia hid behind the Black Ooze and watched Mariabelle and the others.

“Why is there a person here?”

“…Alfred-sama.”

The girl’s voice was small, but it reached Mariabelle and the others’ ears.

It was a person’s name.

Alfred―― a name that Mariabelle and the others didn’t recognize, but the brown-skinned girl certainly perceived the Black Ooze and called it that.

“――It’s an enemy.”

“――――”

At the girl’s voice, the Black Ooze emitted a sound.

It was just a sound made by wriggling mucus in its body and flowing air. But it became a definite “voice” and Mariabelle became extremely alert.

“It’s coming!!”

The huge snake wriggled.

However, it was a shock that made the entire castle tremble, and Mariabelle and the others could not stand still.

It pushed them to their knees and endured the impact, while the huge body of the Black Ooze crawled on the ground like a snake.

“Ahhhhh!!”

While kneeling on the floor, Mariabelle held the holy sword at a high level and put a lot of strength into her hands.

As though the will of the people―― their wish for victory had come together, the light grew stronger, but it enveloped Meltia and the others warmly, as though they were being held in the arms of their loved ones.

Their mind overwhelmed by the sovereignty of Black Ooze was released, and they jumped left and right to avoid the huge body of the Black Ooze that was about to run them over.

“This is it!!”

Mariabelle was on the right. Meltia was on the left.

As they jumped and avoided it, a holy sword slash and a large bombardment were released from both sides.

The Black Ooze’s head was sliced open, exploded, and vaporized.

However, new mucus quickly rose from the wound and regenerated its original shape.

“Even though it’s the light from the holy sword⁉”

“If it doesn’t reach the core, I’ll just slash it again and again.”

Without surprise, the second slash―― the countless arms on the surface of the Black Ooze, which was faster, extended and closed in on Mariabelle.

Ten, twenty―― fifty or more arms close in on Mariabelle alone like tentacles, completely ignoring Meltia, Kara, and Fenelieka.

“Kuh⁉”

Giving up on attacking the main body of the Black Ooze, Mariabelle was forced to deal with the approaching arms.

The armor of the hero prevented the paralyzing poison of the slime, but it was clear that even Mariabelle, who had increased power as a female hero, would not be able to move if she was captured by so many arms.

If Mariabelle surpassed the Black Ouse in quality, the Black Ooze would try to capture her in quantity.

Yes, to capture her.

The Black Ooze didn’t use magic like it did when it fought Fornelis and the others in the hall.

“He” was merely stretching out its arms to capture the female hero.

However, there were too many of them.

In the time she sliced one, three more were added, and the number already reached a hundred.

The humanoid that she fought in the abandoned mithril mine also controlled dozens of tentacles at once, but right now, there were too many.

“Maria!!”

The movements of the arm tentacles were monotonous to a spectator.

Even if they pursued Mariabelle alone and attacked her from all sides, their goal would be the same.

Meltia predicted where the arm tentacles would move and unleashed her fire magic, blowing away a dozen of them at once.

Although she was an elf who was not good at fire magic, she used her mother’s staff to forcefully create flames.

The power was lower than that of other attributes, but it had a certain effect on slime, which was not good at fire.

The tentacles blew off, the wound burned, and recovery slowed down for a moment.

In the meantime, Mariabelle jumped out of the arm tentacles surrounding her and ran around the throne room.

There was a considerable distance from the door to the throne, and it was also wide.

It was a meaningless space, but the throne room was made wide enough for the royal family to show their authority, and even if Mariabelle ran as fast as she could, it would take her a long time to get from one end to the other, while being followed by the arm tentacles.

The main body of the Black Ooze also showed what appeared to be its head and followed Mariabelle with its gaze.

“Meltia-sama.”

“Yes.”

Then, aiming at the point where the arm tentacles formed a single “flow”, Kara threw a test tube from her pocket.

The shockwave created by Meltia’s wind magic destroyed the test tube, and Valhari’s blessed water rained down on the arm tentacles.

Every single one of the arm tentacles that had been chasing Mariabelle boiled, evaporated, purified, and disappeared.

“With this!!”

Mariabelle held up the holy sword once more, hoping to cut through the nucleus of the Black Ooze, but this time a flaming bullet from a different direction got in the way and sent her flying backward.

“I won’t let you interfere with Alfred-sama……”

The quiet but sure voice of intention came from Satia, the silver-haired girl.

She pointed the tip of her staff at Mariabelle and conjured magic with obvious hostility to create a flaming bullet once more.

“What does this mean!? Who else would side with the slime besides that blonde woman?”

When Kara raised her voice in surprise, Satia turned her gaze to her.

“Blonde… Frederica?”

“Tch. Fenelieka, we’ll stop that girl! Meltia-sama’s support Mariabelle-sama!”

“Y-yes.”

“Just leave the humans alone⁉”

By the time Kara had finished giving her instructions, the Black Ooze had resumed its activities.

It tried to capture Mariabelle with its arm tentacles, and Mariabelle could only run away from the sheer number.

The Black Ooze was relentless.

It understood that it was the hero’s bodily fluids that caused the humanoid to change, and it was so fixated on it that it could think of nothing else.

The countless wills in its body were also obsessed with violating the hero, and no one was thinking about Satia.

The only female hero in the world who had inherited the black hair, and a slave mage who could be found anywhere.

Anyone could tell which was more important.

Still, was it the Black Ooze’s instincts that made it do it, or did “Alfred” want it to?

In addition to chasing after Mariabelle, a few arm tentacles were also directed at Kara and Fenelieka.

“Wait⁉”

“Don’t move!!”

The arm tentacles targeted Fenelieka first, with her voluptuous limbs and mana.

Anticipating that, Kara, who accompanied her, slashed the tentacles with a sword rinsed by the blessed water just as it slowed slightly to capture the woman.

The blessed water prevented the tentacles from regenerating, but the Black Ooze separated the slashed tentacles, allowing them to regenerate after a short pause.

It was something it learned from it fought with Fornelis in the hall.

However, it took a little longer than usual for it to fully regenerate. As the monster’s instinct prioritized capturing the female hero, its pursuit of Kara and Fenelieka slowed down.

“Let’s keep going and capture that female mage!”

“Hey, did you just use me as bait!?”

“I saved you properly!!”

There was not a trace of tension in their argument, but it made them forget the desperation they felt from the Black Ooze’s huge body, and they were able to move their feet to capture Satia.

Satia was bewildered as the two of them ran as fast as they could, preventing the arm tentacles from capturing them.

Always protected by the Black Ooze, she didn’t have much experience in combat, and her movements slowed down as she worried about whether she should intercept Mariabelle, who the Black Ooze wanted, or Kara and Fenelieka, who was closing in on her.

“Fenelieka, to the right.”

“Mou, you’re such a handful!”

Kara instructed her to split up.

Immediately afterward, arm tentacles rained down from right above them, piercing the floor like spears. Kara managed to avoid the attack and jumped at Satia.

With no combat training, Fenelieka couldn’t avoid the tentacles, and she breathed a sigh of relief that she survived unharmed.

“I got you.”

“Let me go, please!”

She jumped on Satia and tried to launch her magic at close range towards Kara, who pushed her petite body down.

The wind magic that was released tried to blow Kara away, but she grabbed Satia’s clothes tightly, and the small Satia slid across the floor as Kara was blown away.

“Wait⁉”

Then, Fenelieka grabbed Satia, and Kara, who was holding Satia’s clothes, also stopped.

“Who is this girl⁉”

“I don’t know―― but I don’t think Mariabelle-sama can fight with this girl.”

Mariabelle had a gentle personality.

She didn’t think she could wield the holy sword against a human, which was why Kara decided to give priority to catching Satia.

Even though she was certainly not that strong, it was not a bad move since magic support from another direction would hinder the fight against the Black Ooze.

But as the two of them caught Satia, the Black Ooze’s awareness―― some of it turned toward Kara and the others, and the arm tentacles tried to catch them.

“It’s coming over here⁉”

“It seems that this mage is very important to you.”

Kara took out a test tube from her pocket, opened it with her mouth, rinsed her sword with the contents, and prepared to intercept.

“Are you going to fight⁉”

“The more tentacles come here, the easier it will be for Mariabelle-sama to move.”

“You’re kidding……”

Nearly 20 arm tentacles were coming.

Fenelieka shouted in disbelief at the force of the wall of tentacles, but she could see from her back that she was not going to back down.

“I can’t do it⁉”

“I don’t have any expectations from the start. After you put that mage to sleep, go support Mariabelle-sama or Meltia-sama.”

“I really hate you. You give too many orders―― Hey, look at my eyes, little girl.”

“No, no―― Alfred, sama…”

Fenelieka used her ability to hypnotize Satia, who looked right into her eyes.

Normally, she would go into the dream and do something obscene to take away her life force, but the situation didn’t allow her to do that right now.

After putting Satia to sleep and blocking her movements, Fenelieka quickly moved away from Kara.

Although she was not as good as Mariabelle, she was able to slash and dodge the arm tentacles that were coming at her with swordsmanship that would be considered top-notch, and she began to protect Satia by standing around so that she was only attacked from the front using her skillful footwork.

It was the same as before.

The target had just changed from Mariabelle to Satia, and the tentacles were moving, trying to get their hands on the target, making their movements inevitably monotonous.

If she could have exploited that, she could have managed to buy some time by herself.

“O, i――!”

(No matter how many times I slashed it, it will regenerate a few seconds. Dealing with the tentacles, I’ll never be able to defend longer, Mariabelle-sama.)

Even though the light from the holy sword and the Valhari’s blessed water were purifying the slime’s mucus, the amount of mucus that seemed to be inexhaustible―― the speed of recovery, made her feel tired.

She managed to swallow the words, but perhaps it was because she had been holed up in the research tower, she couldn’t keep up.

Immediately she was out of breath.

(Do your best, my body)

While Kara was desperately trying to deal with about 20 tentacles, Mariabelle was being chased by nearly 80 tentacles and was running around the throne room.

(The number has decreased――)

It was a slight change. From the perspective of a normal person, a change from a hundred to eighty would be no different, and they would still be crushed by the overwhelming difference in quantity…… Nevertheless, Mariabelle saw hope in the change and looked around for something she could use while running around the throne room.

“Maria!!”

“It’s still fine!”

The surrounding decorations like vases and paintings, the chandelier on the ceiling, and the carpet on the floor, there was nothing that could directly attack the Black Ooze.

The chandeliers would not be enough to crush the giant snake, and it was a lump of mucus. It was resistant to impact.

The same was true for vases and paintings, which would be useless if she hit it with those.

(Then.)

In the midst of all that, Mariabelle saw Fenelieka, who couldn’t get close to her and was standing still with concern.

She thought of what she could do immediately and acted.

As the tentacles chased her and she ran away, she moved to the top of the carpet and cleaved the floor in a single swing, severing the carpet.

“Take it and fly, Fenelieka-san.”

“Is this okay⁉”

As she was told, Fenelieka took the carpet and flew up.

The succubus with small wings on her back could fly for a short time―― at the same time, the carpet extended upward, momentarily hiding Mariabelle’s figure from the Black Ooze.

Creating a momentary gap, the Black Ooze’s main body and tentacles charged in a straight line.

Finally creating a moment where she could attack, Mariabelle held the holy sword upward and concentrated.

“With this――.”

She then swung the sword down with all her strength and energy.

The light emitted was the strongest, brightest, and hottest that it had ever released.

The light sliced diagonally across the carpet and sliced through the huge body of the Black Ooze at the end of the carpet. The slash of light continued on to the walls of the royal castle behind it, as well as the outer walls and the sky.

Even the clouds in the distance were torn apart and the light disappeared far beyond what human eyes could see.

“Did you get it!?”

“Not yet! Onee-sama, blow its head off!”

Immediately after Kara, who was watching, raised her voice, Mariabelle instructed her sister.

As she was told, she used magic to blow off the head of the Black Ooze, and at the same time, the body that had been sliced open by the light from the holy sword began to boil.

The light purified it and disappeared―― the body of the Black Ooze shifted diagonally while emitting white smoke, but it didn’t collapse completely.

At the same time as the mucus dissipated, bodily fluids were poured into the body to seal the wound.

“Flame!”

The fireball that was released was the biggest one―― it hit the head of the Black Ooze while emitting heat as though the sun was born on the ceiling, vaporizing the mucus and causing white smoke to rise.

The huge snake-like body flailed and made a screeching “sound” as it rampaged in pain.

The rampaging tail violently destroyed the walls, windows, and floors, and the chandelier fell from the impact.

Kara held Satia in her arms to avoid the falling chandelier, then grabbed the bag on her back with both hands and spun around.

Using the force, she threw it high up towards the head of the Black Ooze, which was blown off by the large fireball, into the wound that was in the process of regeneration.

“Meltia-sama, another shot!”

“Please help me, Okaa-sama, Fasalina-sama―― Wind!!”

With the last of her strength, Meltia released a blade of wind.

It tore open the bag and sprayed a large amount of Valhari’s blessed water into the nucleus of the Black Ooze.

The Black Ooze had no way to counter it.

It was not the tentacles that were sprayed, not the body, but the weak point “nucleus”, with deadly poison.

The huge body, which almost reached the ceiling, flailed even more vigorously, and countless―― more than thirty magic circles were created on the surface of its body.

“Onee-sama⁉”

Kara lay down on the floor, protecting Satia, while Fenelieka, sensing the danger, flew away from the window.

However, Meltia, who had run out of mana, could not react immediately and could only look up at the colorful―― multiple magic circles conjured with countless attributes.

The last struggle―― evolution, hero, and human shape were no longer relevant.

Its instincts as a monster prioritize defeating the enemy, and it unleashed countless spells at Mariabelle and Meltia.

Balls of flame, spears of ice, and arrows of lightning scattered around the throne room, blowing away the walls and ceilings without a trace.

“Kyaaaa⁉”

“Onee-sama, onee-sama⁉”

Mariabelle tried to get to Meltia, cutting down all the magic that was coming at her.

But the momentum of the magic didn’t stop.

Even though the mucus was dissolving and disappearing, most of its mana was still there.

The violent magic attacks that seemed to blow away the entire royal capital, with the royal castle at its center, did not weaken its momentum, and while being exposed to a storm that seemed to last forever, Mariabelle still worried about her sister.

They were a family that had worked hard together until today.

However, as though to interfere with her attempt to move in the shortest distance, pieces of the ceiling destroyed by the magic fell and blocked the way.

In the meantime, the floor could no longer withstand the magic, and the floor of the throne room gradually cracked and collapsed.

With the Black Ooze on the loose, Mariabelle could tell that it was not going to last very long.

“Onee-sama, respond to me, please respond to me!!”

There was no reply.

She cut through some magic and arrived at the place where her sister had been, but there was no one there.

In a panic, Mariabelle looked around.

Her long black hair, which was tied into a ponytail, spread out to the side as she moved, conveying the extent of Mariabelle’s impatience.

“Onee-sama.”

“Mariabelle-sama, come here!!”

“Kara-sama⁉”

When she turned toward the voice, she found Kara carrying the sleeping Satia on her back.

When she looked down, she saw a deep crack running under her feet as well, as they were about to fall apart.

……Above all, Kara’s situation.

Kara’s left leg was bleeding badly as a result of the magic attack from her actions to save Satia.

She stopped the bleeding by wrapping it from a piece of white clothing, but the bright red blood flowing out indicated that it was painful.

And strangely enough, no magic was raining down on her.

“It seems that this female mage is special to the slime, even keeping her closer to it than the queen in the throne room.”

“I-i see… Anyway, did you see onee-sama!?”

“Meltia-sama⁉ No… did she fall?”

Kara’s gaze landed on the few cracks in the floor and a small hole.

Mariabelle was horrified. She trembled in fear that she hadn’t felt even after being chased by a storm of magic and countless tentacles, and a cold sweat ran down her spine.

A mage who had run out of mana was no different than an ordinary human being.

She was strangely calm enough to understand that if her sister had fallen to the first floor while debris was falling, she would not have been able to get away with it.

“No way―― onee-sama, onee-sama⁉”

“――――”

The moment Mariabelle became unsettled, the Black Ooze cried out.

Seventy percent of its entire body had already disintegrated, shrinking to the size of an ordinary slime, and the amount of mana it could release decreased as the area decreased.

Death was just around the corner.

The Black Ooze crawled desperately to the window and jumped out.

“No!? If we don’t destroy its “nucleus”, it will revive⁉”

“Onee-sama⁉ No way, no… don’t leave me alone…”

“Mariabelle-sama, pull yourself together.”

“Uu, uuu…”

“――――”

Finally, Mariabelle started to cry, and Kara gritted her teeth―― slapping the hero’s cheek as hard as she could.

A loud sound echoed in the throne room as it began to collapse.

“Get a grip! You’re going to let the efforts of the people who have fought with you to this point go to waste.”

“Ah, uu… uu, uuu…”

“Don’t give up. You are the hero, aren’t you? That sword, that armor, what is it for?”

“But, but… onee-sama is――.”

“She’s alive. She’s not dead―― You can hate me if you want. But fight, hero-sama…”

It was a lie, anyone could see that.

They haven’t searched for her. She was not even looking for her. Still, Kara told Mariabelle to fight. As she called her the hero.

……She understood that if they passed this moment, they wouldn’t be able to subdue the origin slime, that was why she told it to Mariabelle.

She didn’t even give her time to grieve the death of her sister.

Because she understood that it was cruel, Kara told her to hate her, and Mariabelle wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her dress, understanding her intention.

They have to win. This battle, in which many people sacrificed their lives, must be won. In order to end the battle today with a victory.

“I… I’m going.”

“Yeah, please…”

Kara couldn’t chase the Black Ooze that escaped from the window. There was also the matter of the female mage on her back, but jumping from the second floor could result in injury or even death.

There was no way she could jump off the building, as the ground below was littered with collapsed debris and shattered glasses.

However, Mariabelle, with her superior physical abilities, could chase after it. She could kill the weakened Black Ooze.

It was all they could do now.

“Go on.”

“…Kara-sama. I’ll be right back.”

“Kara is fine. Go on, hero-sama.”

A word she heard some time ago.

She thought they talked about the same thing when they first met.

Mariabelle smiled and nodded.

“…Yes, Kara.”

Without looking back, she jumped out of the shattered window and followed the Black Ooze.