“Hehehe, omnomnomnom.”
“Is it delicious?”
The slimes happily watched Isia munching on canned food.
Although the slimes had yet to gain complete knowledge of human eating habits, even from their perspective, Isia was consuming an extraordinary amount of food.
She was already on her 28th can of that gigantic can.
Isia, it seemed, was not picky about what she ate, as the variety of canned goods she had devoured was quite diverse.
Mackerel, snail, quail eggs, peaches, peanuts, tomatoes, and even smoked orc pork belly canned food, preserved lizardman tails, and dried pufferfish…
Considering the labels on the cans claimed that each provided enough calories for a day, Isia had consumed over 28 portions of food by herself.
[If there were kin like her, she would surely be purged by Mother…]
[Surely, excessive gluttony would not be pleasing to Mother.]
[How scary… Is this really a human…?]
“Ommnomnom… Ah…!”
Shia, while happily eating canned food, finally noticed the other hunters’ gazes and showed a slightly embarrassed expression.
“What should I do? I seem to be eating all this canned food by myself…”
“No worries. We can restock supplies inside the Hunter Train.”
“Besides, they’ll soon realize that either you or us got stranded in the dungeon.”
Yes, eat up, human.
That will be your last supper.
“Then is that it for the food, Isia?”
“U-um…! Yeah. I’m sorry for eating all the canned food, but I’ll definitely make it up to you.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“Well then, shall we prepare to leave? We came to the Hunter Train to hunt, but at this rate, we might get everything taken from us by other hunters.”
“Yeah, let’s do that!”
Thus, the brain-eating slimes, taking over the bodies of hunters, began heading toward the depths of the -Blood Swamp- dungeon with the aim to trap Isia.
The depths were, of course, the deepest part of this Blood Swamp. The place where [Mother] resided.
The location of the hunter party and the Hunter Train was about 50 kilometers west from here, but the depths lay completely opposite in the east.
And the slimes were aware of the gap between their abilities and those of the hunters.
‘If humans gather, we cannot withstand them.’
At this very moment, the hunters stationed near the train would be busy dealing with the slimes crashing in like a tidal wave.
Unless they had separated from their group like this hunter party did for money or dungeon spoils, they could not withstand the many hunters or S-grade hunters gathered together.
Understanding this, the slimes continuously sent slime waves toward the Hunter Train.
From the perspective of the slimes, it was indeed unfortunate and sad that fellow kin were being sacrificed, but this was a diversionary tactic.
They would keep flooding the stronghold of the hunters with waves of slimes, drawing attention away while delaying rescuers from groups like this party or Isia.
For the few slimes taking over the hunter’s body, and for Isia, who was to become [Mother]’s host, tens of thousands, perhaps millions of slimes, were being sacrificed even at this moment.
[Mother said…]
[What did she say?]
[That even if all kin in this swamp were to die, if we could at least mix in among those humans, we would ultimately survive, not humans. We will be the ones to win.]
From the slimes’ perspective, [Mother]’s judgment was correct.
This hunter party might be deficient in physical power, but if they made Isia, a strong one, their host, they could eat the humans inside the Hunter Train one by one and increase their hosts.
The current mindless sacrifices of kin crashing into the Hunter Train were also as intended by Mother.
[We have been chosen by Mother.]
[We cannot fail.]
[Many kin are sacrificing themselves to divert attention.]
[Most importantly, it is the body that Mother covets.]
[Indeed. We must make that human, Isia, a host.]
Fighting! Fighting!
The slimes cheerfully clasped their hands and yelled.
The Blood Swamp was essentially a place that was neither day nor night, resembling dark twilight where the sun was no longer visible.
All around, a red swamp reached up to their ankles.
Damp and eerie forests grew tall from absorbing blood, and even though drones emitted powerful light, visibility was limited to just about 10 meters.
In this dark, treacherous environment, even seasoned A-grade hunters could not afford to let their guard down.
[First, let’s wear them down.]
“I think I’ll take the lead since I’m the strongest!”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I have to earn my keep after all the canned food, right? Don’t worry, I’m really strong!”
Fortunately, Isia volunteered to take the lead.
Even an S-grade hunter, confident in their power, could risk having their body taken over by slimes if they let their guard down.
The characteristics of the mutants were unknown to hunters, and given that the crimson liquid was everywhere in the swamp, it wouldn’t be strange for slimes to ambush at any moment.
Even the strongest S-grade hunter, in the end, was still ‘human.’
If they didn’t sleep, fatigue would accumulate. Long periods of walking would drain their stamina.
Once fatigue piled up, and they broke down into sleep, that moment would be when fellow kin would slip into Isia’s ears, and she would no longer be able to think.
Splosh.
Splosh.
Thus, the slimes slowly advanced through the swamp, aiming for Shia’s blind spot.
Since she was a strong human, attacking before depleting her stamina was a big no-no.
A mistaken attack could reveal their true identity and lead to their demise right there by Isia.
“Shia! It’s an attack!”
“Be careful.”
[Mother] began stirring the slimes lying in the swamp awake, focusing their attacks on Shia.
To avoid drawing suspicion, some slimes pretended to be harmless, but all effective attacks centered on Shia.
“Hey, get away from me.”
“Yes!”
Fortunately, hearing that she wanted them away, the slimes commanded by Mother began to ambush Shia without restraint.
In the swamp, from among the trees and darkness, Isia appeared to be prey walking right towards a great maw.
Kyaaa!
Kwaak!
Shhaaa!
The mutated slimes of the Blood Swamp, blessed by [Mother], were on a whole different level than ordinary slimes.
Their physical attacks were nearly nullified, and they had bodies that were both firm and elastic, capable of absorbing impacts.
If we assume that any physical attacks below the strength of 100 were negated by the mutant slime, only top-tier A-grade hunters could hit over 100.
Among S-grade hunters, those who could exert over 100 physical power depending on their field were exceedingly rare.
Thus, the optimal attacks against mutated slimes were elemental attacks from awakened beings—lightning, fire, ice, magic, etc.
On the surface, Isia seemed not to possess any elemental capabilities like fire or ice, so the slimes secretly plotted with sinister smiles, agreeing to lead Shia on.
[Good. If things go as planned… ]
[Perhaps before we reach Mother, we might end up surrendering ourselves to kin’s assault.]
[That body looks quite voluptuous and solid; it could serve well for both battle and our kin’s reproduction.]
[As Mother possesses her directly, she will surely give birth to countless kin. She might even bear new kin stronger than us…]
Kaboom!!!
Then, as Shia began to kick at the slimes ambushing her, the slimes possessing the hunter’s body witnessed their kin explode like tofu before their eyes.
What’s going on?
What is happening…?
From the outside, Shia’s kicking seemed casual at best.
It wasn’t skilled martial arts or proper kicking; it looked like an untrained person kicking a ball.
Bam!!!
However, even from the slimes’ perspective, the destructiveness was beyond comprehension.
Thud!
Kaboom!
[…..]
[What is that…?]
[That’s insane, scary bro…]
[Don’t call me bro…]
Just once.
Just a single time kick.
Yet, as the air split apart and something erupted, about a dozen red slimes attempting to engulf Shia lost their forms in an instant, vaporized to nothing.
The physical force didn’t just exceed 100; it was likely over 1000 or even 10,000.
[…Our physical attacks are effective, right? Bro?]
[…Yes.]
[……]
[But, bro… She’s incredibly strong, isn’t she?]
[I know…]
These Hunter Slimes knew nothing of Isia’s power.
But at the very least, they began to strongly desire that Isia was a ‘body adept.’
A body adept could unleash such outrageous physical strength while being an elemental ability wielder; it made no sense.
Meanwhile, Shia’s punches began slaughtering more slimes.
“That’s 78 of them now… Ah! Are you guys okay?”
“Ah, um! Yes!”
“Yes, we’re fine!”
“Isia, you’re really strong~”
“Hehehe, that’s a relief. You must not get hurt! I’ll protect you!”
Even though she feigned calmness, the slimes were far from okay.
With each punch and kick, dozens of fellow kin burst apart; if they were truly okay, that would be strange.
[Your sacrifice… I won’t forget…!]
[Oh no, there are others born at the same time as me over there…]
[Bro, please hold a funeral for them later…]
[They’ve gotten too attached to humans. Funerals are unnecessary.]
[You’re so heartless, bro.]
[What does ‘heart’ even mean?]
And so, with their kin’s sacrifices, the group surrounding Shia advanced further and further.
Thanks to Shia’s unexpectedly overwhelming strength, they were entering depths that originally would have taken at least 5 hours.
“It’s getting darker.”
Shia realized the drone’s light was diminishing.
Despite the drone’s battery still being full, strangely, as they approached the depths, visibility kept decreasing.
What used to be illuminated up to 10 meters had dropped to less than 5 meters.
“Isia, be careful. We can’t see ahead, so we don’t know when attacks can occur.”
“Thank you for worrying… huh?”
Thud!
In that moment, Shia stopped as if she sensed something.
Her bare foot, stepping on the swamp, swept the area like a brush, and then, something like a thorn pierced through her foot.
Thwack!
“Ugh…!?”
[Gotcha…!]
[Good job!]
[Nice, Mother!]
“Isia!!!”
“Don’t come over!!!”
The moment a red thorn burst from seemingly nowhere in the swamp, Shia stopped the other hunters.
The slimes possessed by the hunter desperately acted, preparing for battle with weapons raised, while trying to stave off the possibility that Isia would escape.
Isia appeared determined to get away, but it seemed as if her leg was trapped deep in the mud, preventing her from moving at all.
Grrrrr!
Grrrrrrr!
Moments later, the swamp of the depths began to move.
As if the ground itself were rising, the red liquid in the swamp gradually surged, reaching beyond Shia’s eye level.
It was simple.
[The depths are not where [Mother] is located…]
[The depths themselves are Mother.]
A vast area exceeding 1 km in diameter was Mother, and the Mother of these mind-eating mutant slimes was a gigantic slime over a kilometer in size.
The moment they reached the depths, the humans were effectively sitting in Mother’s palm, and Mother likely kept still till Shia arrived in the center of the depths, hoping to block any slight chance of escape.
[Well done, my children.]
The hunter slimes inwardly rejoiced at Mother’s commendation.
An incredibly powerful and robust human had made it this far, and once Mother took over Isia’s body, it would all be over.
Feeling that there was no longer any reason to hesitate, Mother’s liquid tentacles and sticky flesh began slowly constricting Shia’s body.
“Uh, ahh…!”
Isia tried to exert her strength, but [Mother]’s bodily strength far surpassed that of the mutant slimes and was far tougher; moreover, how could she overcome the mass and density of a gigantic slime exceeding 1 km?
The moment she moved, [Mother]’s thorns pierced into Isia’s body, immobilizing her, and Mother began to seep into her body through those wounds, starting the process of control.
“Isia…!”
[Hahaha! Serves you right!]
[How lovely!]
[It’s poetic justice!!]
Inwardly suppressing their laughter, the hunter slimes screamed.
“Ugh… Urgh…!”
Isia, seemingly trying to resist, tightly shut her mouth against [Mother]’s flesh pushing into her mouth.
But, in the meantime, her body was completely engulfed by Mother, cutting off her breath, ultimately forcing Isia to open her mouth.
“Glub, glub… urgh…!”
The moment her mouth opened, Mother’s flesh began crudely shoving its way into Isia’s mouth and ears, and Isia shuddered as she began to accept Mother.
Through her esophagus, Mother began to take root into Shia, and through her ears, Mother set out to possess Isia’s brain.
“Glub, glub… gulp… urgh…”
Once Isia’s mouth confirmed gulping down Mother’s core, the hunter slimes felt Mother’s process nearing completion.
Fwoosh…!
As a sign of this, the gigantic Mother, now over 1 km, deflated like a balloon losing air, and Isia’s body stood upright in the swamp as if fully liberated.
“…….”
“Isia…?”
To ensure they were cautious till the end, the hunter slimes called out to Isia with slightly trembling voices.
Yet when they called Isia, it was obvious that they expected the response to come from [Mother].
“Phew! Hiccup…”
“?”
“?”
“Uh?”
“Delicious!”
“Excuse me?!”
Delicious?
[Mother?]
[Has Mother become too attached to that human, Isia?]
[Of course!]
[Mother! Please give us the next command!]
“Oh, you guys were worried! I’m fine! Just ate so much, I think I’m going to get fat, though….”
“………”
“Hmph, Teresa is going to call me a pig Saint again…”
At that moment, the hunter slimes understood.
They had no idea what exactly had happened or how this had occurred, but…
[Mother] did not respond.
[Mother] had returned to them.
[Mother] was gone…!
[Ah……..]
[Mother….]
[Waaah…!]
○○○○
“Since we’ve taken down the dungeon boss monster, they’ll surely come to rescue us shortly!”
Even though they had hunted the dungeon boss, the dungeon did not collapse, and it seemed other slimes hadn’t died.
This meant the main base of the Hunter Train was likely still being assaulted by slimes.
“Still, now that the dungeon boss capable of commanding monsters is dead, I’m sure others will come to save us.”
“Th, th, that… Is that so?”
“Y-yeah, that’s a relief…”
“Waaah…! I must have been very scared!”
Shia embraced the crying female hunter.
Like a compassionate holy mother, like a warm-hearted mother.
“It’s okay! It can be scary in the dark! Even hunters can be scared!”
“Waaahhh!”
As Shia comforted the female hunter who had been taken over by slimes, in the background, other hunter slimes also felt like crying.
What on earth was happening?
Why had Mother died?
Was it possible that that Isia woman had physically consumed her?
How could that make sense?
What had happened to Mother’s core?
Could a human’s body handle it…?
“So, how about we camp and enjoy some food until our rescue team arrives?”
“…..Waaah… Food…?”
“Yeah!”
[Miracle – Purification]
Shia lifted [Mother]’s remnants, using the purification miracle to make it transparent and pulled out a cold noodle set from inside the transport drone.
“Well, the pot might be a bit small, but it can’t be helped.”
With that statement, Shia gathered holy power to ignite a flame far stronger than a regular fire.
Given the swamp’s characteristics, lighting a campfire was tricky, but with a flame much stronger than usual, wet wood would catch fire easily.
[…]
[… She’s even using fire…!]
[Our chances of winning… are zero now…]
[Surprise attacks have no chance of success…]
[Waaah… Mother!!]
And then, Shia added the cold noodle broth pouch to the pot she pulled from the transport drone.
She poured in water, using the exact same ratio…
Splash!
[…!!]
[O, Mother!!!]
[Mother!!]
[Mother]’s remnants were placed into the pot and began to boil, looking as if bright red blood was bubbling up.
“Okay, now to start with the broth like this… Oh, can you guys watch over this broth for me?”
“Broth…?!”
That crazy girl…!
How dare she use Mother’s body for broth?!
However, no matter how furious they were, they could do nothing.
If they made a rash move, their limbs would be shattered like other kin who were kicked away by Shia.
“Yeah! I’m going to grab some noodles in the meantime.”
“Noodles? Using slimes?”
“It’s okay. It’s okay. I’ll make it delicious!”
They had no idea how she intended to extract broth from her jelly-like slime body, but given that she had put in the broth pouch, somehow it would work.
Of course, the faces of these hunter slimes were turning from tension to absolute horror.
Yet for them, there was no choice.
They could only nod in agreement and gather quietly in front of the broth.
Strength?
Isia had killed nearly 100 kin on her way here with her kicks, and no one knew how Mother had died, but it was certain that Isia had been the one to kill her.
They couldn’t resist.
If they resisted, they would surely die…
[Wait…]
At that moment, one slime raised its head as if realizing something.
[That human Isia. She never asked for our names…]
[Huh?]
[She never asked for our names…!]
[What’s that supposed to mean, bro…?]
One slime’s declaration triggered a ripple of confusion among the others.
A name? What on earth could that mean?
[If she asks for our names, all we have to do is answer! We’ve already absorbed all knowledge of the human brain!]
[Don’t you get it?! The reason Isia never asked for our names from the start!]
[Huh?]
[Ah….]
[If it’s just passing by, that’s one thing, but at least as fellow ‘stranded’ companions, it’s natural to ask the names of those traveling with you! Yet Isia hasn’t asked us once since meeting us!]
In that instant, the hunter slimes realized.
Having seized control over the humans’ brains and absorbed their knowledge and experiences, only now did they comprehend how significant it was that Isia did not question their names.
[That woman… always knew! Whatever trick she used, she must have known from the start that we’re not ‘humans’!]
[…………….!]
[She believed that a name from something not human was unnecessary!]
[What the hell…!]
[Isia did this knowing full well…She willingly became bait to find our [Mother] as soon as possible!]
The slimes began shaking with escalating fear.
As they stared at the broth boiling in the pot, reminding them that it formerly belonged to [Mother], they could visualize a fate awaiting them even worse than death.
[How frightening…!]
[An evil and cunning…terrifying human…!]
[Oh, mama… I miss you… sniff…]
[What is going to happen to us now…?]
[I’m scared. I’m scared….]
[Mother. Mother. Mother. Mother. Mother. Mother….]
Sniffle sniffle…
As the cries of the slimes echoed in their heads…
“Hehehe, slime cold noodles… will probably be the best ever… Hehehe… slurp…”
Whether they liked it or not, Shia was busy preparing to make cold noodles from slimes in one corner.
