I’m being eaten.
I’m being torn apart.
I’m being consumed.
I’m being devoured.
My life is ending.
I’m dying.
But surprisingly, death was not fast.
Something inside me is being chewed away and disappearing.
Is it the soul that humans call?
No, something darker and blacker has been consumed instead.
As evil was devoured, I had no thoughts afterwards.
The pain was only in the first moment, but after that, it was surprisingly comfortable.
Like falling into a deep slumber, or lying down in a thick swamp, it was slow and warm.
The mother of slimes and dungeon boss of Blood Swamp died like that.
And…
I woke up in Green City.
It regained consciousness in the sewers of Green City, full of cold rain and a chokingly thick smell of rusted metal.
…Where am I? Where is this?
…Why am I here?
The massive body of the mother that covered the ground is no longer there.
There is no blood to protect and swell my body, nor is there any condition to give birth to offspring like limbs.
Here, only the intellect and core of the slime [mother] exists.
[This place called Green City resurrects living beings when they die.]
What my mother lacks is human emotions and sensitivity, and empathy, yet my intellect was sharp enough to be called the representative of a species, so even just a day in Green City was enough to understand the resurrection gimmick.
But the mother realized the gimmick’s flaw by parasitizing a werewolf that approached her defenselessly to satisfy her hunger.
[But the beings I have devoured do not resurrect. When we parasitize, they do not come back. Everything becomes me. It becomes us.]
“…Huh?”
[I will eat your desirable body. I will eat other monsters’ bodies too. I will spread myself, us, and offspring all over this Green City. I will start again.]
“…….”*
[My child. Quickly offer your body. We can fill this Green City with ourselves.]
Yes, definitely being parasitized by this mutated slime is far from an ordinary death.
The body is definitely alive, but the initiative of that life has been seized by Blood Slime.
It’s no wonder this Blood Slime’s official name is ‘Brain-Eating Slime.’
The resurrection gimmick in Green City allows beings that meet death to come back in complete form when they greet the green sun.
Simply getting injured or sick does not activate the gimmick. Especially parasitizing a slime is merely a kind of disease or abnormal condition; dying does not count as actually dying.
If the green sun rises and the resurrection gimmick doesn’t work, the mother could sufficiently threaten the ecology of this Green City.
If given enough time, the mother would continuously occupy the bodies of monsters and beings, increasing the number of parasites, and ultimately, it would be possible to completely cover this Green City with a world of slimes.
“……Mother…please, stop…”
[My child. What are you hesitating about? Who gave you life?]
“….Uh, b-but…it’s you, Mother…”
The mother’s tentacles kept poking around one of my carotid arteries trying to penetrate it.
Hana wanted to share the blood ties like a human and rejoice in the happiness of reuniting with family, but now the touch of her mother’s tentacles was not for emotional reasons.
It was solely to seize one body, probing the carotid artery, attempting to take control of a single human form; that was what the mother was.
[Who gave you life? Who provided you with a reason for existing? Who gave you blood and a core?]
“That, that’s you, Mother…”
[I gave you everything. I made you born. Why aren’t you listening to me? Are you defying me? Are you refusing to follow my words?]
“No! That’s not it! How could I…! Ugh! Please, stop…!”
[Then what is it? Is there a malfunction?]
Grrgghh…
The only reason the mother couldn’t eat Hana was simple.
Currently, Hana had existed as a high-ranked entity known as Slime Empress, increasing her biological standing far above that of the mother.
Back in the Blood Swamp days, the mother had gorged on her children without needing to consult anyone simply because she was hungry, but now, without Hana’s consent, the mother could not seize the body of the Slime Empress.
[This place is large. And wide. Complicated. It is much easier to avoid the eyes of humans and threatening beings.]
Even just the area of Green City was much wider than a considerable metropolitan area. According to the information provided by Grakshar, the city itself seemed to expand or recover its territory as if it were alive.
If Blood Slime tried to increase parasites and expand its power in this dungeon, while also disrupting the resurrection gimmick, it would only be a matter of time before the mother occupied this place.
[We will occupy the city. We will turn flesh and meat into our own. Then you will become my food, but I can bear more children. This city can also feed more offspring, creating a massive and endless Blood Abyss.]
…
Indeed, the purpose of Hana’s existence was to be useful to the mother.
But there was an inexplicable sense of rejection.
Even though it was her purpose of existence, was it perhaps wrong to have to fulfill that purpose now?
Of course, Kim Hana was not completely satisfied with her current predicament.
She had caught the wrong end of the unfortunate stick with the fallen saint Isia and had evolved into a thoroughly unknown entity known as Slime Empress.
Even now, she trembled in fear every night thinking about how Isia would use her next.
“But it wasn’t all bad…”
Isia’s mother, Yoonjeong, was kind.
She fed her well and, unlike Isia, treated her harmlessly and kindly.
Yane seemed like a child similar to her, but based on the knowledge and emotions Hana had acquired through her brain, Yane appeared to be quite a fun and cute child.
The Mermaid Princess, likewise, seemed to be in a position closer to equal with Shia than anything else, which instilled some level of trust.
As for Elder Mandragora… well, I’m not quite sure.
She was a little cute, crying ‘Bweeeh- it’s all over now!’ while sleeping all the time.
It’s fun. It’s cute. It’s enjoyable. It’s kind.
…These feelings were emotions that Hana would not have felt or empathized with if they weren’t human.
Surely, it was more enjoyable now than when Hana lived as the biological terminal and child of the mother.
“But to give up all this now and devote my body to the mother…?!”
[We will take over. We will take over. Give me your body. Then it will be possible.]
However, just as these thoughts were shaping in Hana’s mind, the mother’s brainwaves reached out.
Though it was clear there was no emotional fluctuation in the communication, it felt like annoyance was somehow embedded in the mother’s brainwaves.
[So, hand over your flesh. You were made for this. You were born to aid this ‘mother.’ Hand it over. Hand it over. Hand it over. Hand it over.]
“What about the others?”
[….?]
At Hana’s words, the mother’s core stirred.
It seems she didn’t comprehend what Hana meant.
And after a long pause, the mother’s core vibrated slightly, and with her slime tentacles, slowly caressed Hana’s cheek.
“M-Mother..?”
A gentle, slow touch.
With just that, Hana could briefly feel what humans call a motherly warmth.
[…..I understand your words.]
“R-Really!?”
Hana’s face brightened at those words.
Of course, the mother had no human empathy or emotions. There was no pity, no parental affection, no maternal love.
Blood Slime was devoid of such things.
If Kim Hana had not become human, she would not have felt such emotions.
“So, my mother understands me…!”
But the mother understood her.
She helped her hesitation.
Just that made Hana almost jump with joy.
This is what it means to have a mother.
This tenderness—this warmth—that is the mother!
Crack!!
“Gah, Ugh!? Ugh!!?”
But just as Hana was delighted, the mother’s tentacle was shoved into her mouth.
“Cr, Oh, UGH…?!”
Mother. Mother. Why are you doing this?
Why suddenly?
[I see, I understand.]
“Wha, what do you mean…?”
[You are broken. I cannot absorb you. And you are speaking like a human. You are born from me, yet you speak like a human.]
“Ugh, Oh, Ugh…!”
[So I will infiltrate you. I will parasitize you. You are no longer my child.]
“…..!”
At the mother’s brainwaves, color drained from Hana’s face.
No. This can’t be.
Hana wanted to dismiss the unfavorable information, turning her head away from the unreal reality.
She wanted to run away immediately.
Mother is trying to…eat me?!
The mother who gave me life?!
Surely Hana understood in her head that she was born to serve the mother, but the newly formed heart and emotions and desires and instinct to survive crushed the instinct of being the mother’s child. Meanwhile, Hana found herself staring wide-eyed at the inexplicable dark emotions towards the mother.
This… this thing… is my mother?
Hana’s body went limp.
She didn’t even know why she was feeling this way, but the overwhelming sense of despair caused tears to flow down her face.
‘Huh, Ugh…..’
It’s not like dying by the hands of the fallen saint.
Nor is it being eaten by another monster.
It is her mother, who gave her birth, trying to consume her body for the sake of her offspring; that was an unbearably cruel fate for Hana now that she had human emotions.
If she had to die like this, dying as a meal for the saint, Isia, would surely be better.
Dying by the mother would just lead to becoming another body, striving for someone’s flesh once again…
‘Why am I having these thoughts…? It’s natural for Blood Slime to pillage and parasitize…’
Indeed, she had become too deeply entrenched.
In human emotions and the human soul…
Kim Hana released the tension in her body.
She wanted to live.
But, these emotions… surprisingly hurt a lot.
Dedicating herself to the mother and dying might not be such a bad thing now.
‘No.’
The moment she thought of giving up her life, Hana opened her eyes.
What if the mother consumes her here?
Yes, the mother could increase the number of parasites in Green City as she said, gradually expanding her power and could become a being who rules the entire city someday.
But before that?
What about the countless hunters?
Humans?
Even if the stay aboard the Hunter Train was spent holding their breath, could she really say for sure what the future held?
And would humans, knowing a slime capable of eating the entire city, really leave it be?
Surely the stay aboard the Hunter Train would increase, and they might even send separate special forces or extermination troops.
Would the fallen saint really allow Hana to quietly die…?
Though she hadn’t spent much time with them, Hana felt her master was not the type to be so cruel.
Above all, Hana…
‘I still want to live.’
Having finished her thoughts, Hana grasped the mother’s tentacle shoved into her mouth with her hands and pulled it out.
[What are you doing?]
“……”
[Refusal? Refusal? Are you rejecting your mother’s touch?]
The mother twisted the tentacle Hana had pulled off, as if not understanding.
Soon after, in a moment of rage, the mother spread her slime body bigger than Hana’s body.
[Stay still. Stay still. A child must be eaten. You must be consumed by me…!]
Boom!!!!
[….!!!]
But in the next instant, part of the mother’s body exploded with something.
With a noise that resonated strangely in the air and a flash of light that ignited the darkness of the sewers, something pierced through the mother’s body.
“Chomp, chomp, chomp.”
And from the depths of the filthy sewers swallowed by darkness, someone was walking towards her.
As if they had been munching on fried food, the crunching sound came closer as Kim Hana stood up.
“Hah! Did I interrupt something romantic? Crunch, crunch.”
“…You are…?”
ZZZZZING!!!
CLUNK!
Keying…!
“E, Elizaveta IV…? Why on earth are you here…?”
A woman with bright blonde hair and an active dress that didn’t suit the sewers.
Elizaveta Lilybet Rose held a mint chocolate chicken leg in one hand while a bizarre floating orb enchanted with green mana floated above her head.
Seeing the green mana spark and swoop through the air like a drone, Kim Hana realized that the bright ray of light piercing through the mother was indeed shot from that green orb of Lilybet’s.
“Ah, crunch. Why am I here, you ask?”
Wiping the mint chocolate sauce off her lips with her thumb and licking it, Lilybet declared with an innocent smile.
“Wahaha! I’ve been tailing you! Since the dining hall!”
ZTZZZZ….!
But in stark contrast to her bright smile, the orb hovering above her head bristled with deadly, aggressive mana, ready for action.
