Lilybet, who was caressing the sewer wall like porcelain, smiled with a completely restored face.
If you only looked at her smile, it could be called a celestial smile, but horrifically, within it resided a mechanical body made of metal, iron, electric wires, and mana circuits.
[It doesn’t matter.]
It doesn’t matter.
The Mother of Slime said so.
[The outcome is… already predetermined.]
In any case, the outcome is already predetermined.
At that moment, spikes of blood erupted throughout the sewers.
“Ugh!?”
“Hmm! Scary!”
It wasn’t for an offensive purpose.
But, from the walls, ceiling, floor, water-infused holes, and cracks of the sewers, the body of Blood Slime sprang out from all directions.
The Mother of Slime thought.
From the moment a human entered the narrow, dark sewers of Green City, the victory or defeat had already been determined.
The appearance of the Mother of Slime now was to minimize bleeding and losses since even a single fragment of her flesh was precious.
As much as possible without loss.
It would be good to occupy a body. Or it wouldn’t matter.
Moreover, now in Green City, not only Lilybet and Kim Hana but also many humans and hunters were present.
There was no need to stir up a commotion and attract attention.
However, if she realized that she couldn’t steal the body of that woman named Lilybet and that Lilybet possessed unusual power, stirring up a commotion would not be important.
That woman had to be killed here. She must absorb the broken offspring and hide underground to grow her power.
[You. It doesn’t matter if you’re not human. From the damage inflicted by my attack… it seems there’s no opportunity to reconstruct your body. I could just melt you down whole.]
“Wahahah! That’s true! But you’re small, so how will you devour this whole body? From now on, I won’t be kind and will hunt you!”
[Like this.]
—Kugugugugu…!
It was as intelligent as it was cunning. And as cunning as it was brutal.
[On my first day opening my eyes in Green City, I consumed over 200 living beings.]
Scavengers, orcs, minotaurs, goblins, kobolds, bladed centipedes, bat-humans, fairies crawling through the sewer, creatures I had never seen before.
I consumed countless life forms, nameless and otherwise.
Revived, the Mother of Slime devoured everything in sight as sustenance, intending to make this city her own paradise, like a Blood Swamp.
And the beginning was this dark underground sewer.
[It’s surprisingly easy to grow my body. The creatures of Green City, perhaps because they think they can resurrect even when they die, crawl in anywhere, whether it’s the sewers or anywhere else, if they can sleep.]
—Kugugugugu…!
“…!?”
With the Mother of Slime’s words, the entire sewer where Lilybet and Kim Hana were standing began to tremble.
It was not a simple earthquake or minor tremor.
A bizarre writhing sensation began to be felt throughout the concrete and metal-made sewers, as if entering the belly of a living creature.
“Is it possible that mother is… no, even so, that’s…!”
“Hmm? What is it? Don’t just say things only you know. Share with me!”
“This sewer…”
Hana looked around in disbelief.
The escape routes had been blocked with blood, and the entire sewer was moving, causing paths to disappear.
“It’s too late. The entire sewer has already become mother’s stomach! Mother is merged with this underground waterway!”
“Oh?”
[Yes.]
At that moment, a blood-red viscous liquid burst out from the walls of the sewer, like blood breaking through.
The Mother of Blood Slime had already restored her body to the level of engulfing the entire nearby sewer.
—Kkuh, Ah…
—Kyaah, Huck, Huck… Hyaah…
—Ah, Ugh…
—Ah…
To prove the mother’s words, numerous bodies sprang from the sewer walls.
Bat wings, beast legs, someone’s claws and teeth, and undigested heads and hearts.
The brutal Mother of Slime had intentionally kept the lives of the monsters she had devoured alive to prevent the revival gimmicks of the Green City’s creatures and monsters.
“Ugh…!”
Seeing this, Hana felt an unknown wave of nausea rising from within.
Even Hana, originally a monster and a Blood Slime, felt disgusted by the horrific and brutal acts of the Mother Slime.
“Oh, we’ve become like rats caught in a trap! No, would it be better to say we’re in Buddha’s palm? Hahaha!”
“It’s not the time to be laughing!”
Boom!!
A wave of viscous liquid burst forth from Kim Hana’s hair, enveloping Lilybet and Hana.
Though it might seem absurd for a monster to try to protect an S-grade hunter, it didn’t matter.
“I can hold out for a while. Lilybet, you must make a high-energy breakthrough somehow and get out of here!”
“What about you?”
“Ugh. Seriously! It’ll work out somehow! It’s easier for me to hold out than for you! If luck is on our side, we might get out together! Quickly, shoot a beam or something!”
“Haha, that won’t do!”
As if to prove Lilybet’s words, the writhing blood-infused sewer was increasing its size.
The underground sewer itself, looking like a living organism, was not a pretty sight.
The fragments of blood resembled huge slabs of meat, and the massive mass was intimidating enough that Lilybet’s green beam had strong destructive power, but it would only take moments for the enormous mass closing in from all directions to fill any hole she created.
“From what I saw earlier, your brutal mother has quite high mana resistance! Back then, she was small and easy to handle, but now she’s showing her true form, so I guess piercing through with a simple beam won’t be easy! It seems we’re trapped in a tight spot! Haha!”
“Are you giving up then!? We must find a way out!”
“Haha! Unlike that mother, you trying to protect me is truly human-like!”
Unlike the calm Lilybet, Hana gritted her teeth.
Even on the Hunter Wiki with information about Elizaveta IV, it was written that she was seriously myopic and egocentric, but how could she stay so calm in a situation where they could be devoured whole?
Didn’t she just say that her mana resistance was high and beams wouldn’t work!?
What on earth was she depending on to be so carefree?
‘Still, if Lilybet unleashes full power, she could probably break through like a big bomb…’
An S-grade Hunter is a living nuclear bomb and an asymmetric power of a nation.
Based on the information in Hana’s mind, it was fundamental hunter knowledge that if Lilybet unleashed her full power, breaking through the Mother of Slime would be possible.
Though the entire sewer was clogged with fragments of Blood Slime, an enchanted S-grade hunter wouldn’t lack the firepower needed.
Still, the reason Lilybet might not be able to unleash her full power is either because the ground itself might collapse, causing many casualties, or she might be worried about Kim Hana being in danger next to her.
“Phew, I guess we have no choice.”
“Lilybet?”
And then Lilybet stepped forward with her hands raised.
As if surrendering, there was nothing in her hands.
She’s definitely an S-grade hunter.
She must have some trick up her sleeve!
“Haha, Mother of Slime, won’t you try to resolve this with words?”
“…What?”
[…What?]
It was already ridiculous that words could reach a monster, but was she really trying to appeal to a monster?
It was absurd enough that she had suddenly stepped out of her own barrier; now she wanted to solve this with words?
Hana’s face contorted in a way that made it hard for a human to imitate, as if she had just lost her marbles.
“No, are you crazy!? That’s a monster, not a human! You think you can talk like humans would…!”
“Oh, Kim Hana, listen to me! If we can resolve this without fighting, that would be best! So Mother of Slime! You can’t eat me! And Kim Hana here doesn’t want to be eaten by you! So, just let us go, and you can go on your way! Then everything will be resolved, right?”
[That’s funny. Is there a foolish human who would release captured prey?]
“Hmm, I think even I believe it’s a bit foolish to release captured prey! Then why not, just for once, be the fool!”
Lilybet’s words seemed so absurd that the Mother of Slime momentarily stopped moving.
[…I will not speak further. You will melt and die.]
But soon, the entire sewer began to writhe like an internal wall as it started to tighten around Lilybet and Hana.
[The broken offspring will be the mother’s meal!]
“…Heh.”
At that word, Lilybet twisted the hair she had adorned with a tiara with her fingers.
With a slight sigh, as if it was unfortunate.
“Mother of Slime, do you know something?”
[I have no intention of listening to your last words!]
As if intending not to listen to Lilybet anymore, the Mother of Blood Slime began closing in around Lilybet and Hana like a gigantic stomach. Hana tried to spread her body as much as possible to protect Lilybet.
“Lilybet! Get behind the barrier! Quickly!”
“To the agents of the Hunter Association, my ability is called machine infection. When I enchant or introduce something to delicate machinery, it usually breaks down. Yet I am one of the few enchanters capable of enchanting machinery, and thus I have a somewhat terrifying ability name: ‘Machine Infection.’ Hah!”
But at the core, my ability is enchanting.
Giving.
The meaning of the word is ‘to cast a spell.’
And another meaning is, [to enthrall or beguile.]
“So, Mother of Slime, I don’t ask you.”
At that moment, the blood around the Mother Slime’s belly. The body that had merged with the sewer completely stopped moving.
“Can I enchant you or not?”
[…What?]
[Enchant – Fixed Form]*
It stopped?
Why?
Stop.
Stop.
Stop.
Move.
Move.
Stop.
[My body won’t move. What is going on?]
It was her own body, and the Blood Slime never reacted to poisons either.
But in an instant, the Mother of Blood Slime had completely stiffened, unable to budge.
Could it be that that girl named Lilybet…!?
[My mana resistance cannot be affected by human control spells or abilities! How is this possible!!!]
“Wahahah! Don’t shout too much! It’s loud enough for my ears! Hahah!”
Lilybet, with arms crossed, delicately poked the body of the merged Blood Slime with her finger.
“Oh, are you asking why such high mana resistance was pierced? Indeed, completely controlling a monster’s body is usually impossible. Even S-grade necromancers in that country can only manipulate dead corpses.”
[But my limbs… no! I still want to attack you. I want to eat you! But I can’t move! No one is physically restraining me, yet I can’t attack you! What have you done!?]
“That’s simple! I didn’t use a curse or attack spell on you, but rather a very beneficial [Enchant]!”
Recognizing the beneficial effects and enhancements, the Mother of Slime was indulging as if she had overeaten! Hahaha!
[Enhancement? Enhancement…?]
“A monster with intelligence can distinguish between debuffs and buffs that can be cast on itself, so this kind of application is quite convenient! Since I’ve enhanced you, you’re quite enjoying it as you absorb it! Hahah!”
[Bestow, bestow…? Enhancement? When…!]
“Haha! If you ask, I will answer! It was when you melted my face earlier while searching for substitutes and fiddling around with the pipes! The basis of enchantment is enhancement, but before enhancing, the structure must be analyzed! With the wall all squishy, you had no choice but to understand! Now that the enhancement has been given, it can activate whenever I want. Hahaha!”
[This rotten goblin, an annoying girl…!]
“Haha! Is that the Mother of Slime’s curse? Goblin? Hahaha! Goblin! How nostalgic! I used to hang around with goblins quite a bit back in the day!”
[This enhancement. I don’t need it!]
“Oh, how petty of you to give and take back! Isn’t that a bit unfair? Isn’t it? Keep it forever! It’s my parting gift! Wahahah!”
Lilybet’s attitude, as if saying she had already won from the start, made the Mother of Slime furious.
But no matter how much she raged and trembled, the sewer did not budge.
With just that enchantment and command…?
“Hahaha! Don’t feel so aggrieved! Even though I applied the enchantment as a beneficial effect, honestly, there was no need for tricks! Why…? Because…”
And Lilybet’s eyes were tinged with her mana color, a vibrant green.
“Did you think I wouldn’t be able to penetrate that pitiful mana resistance of yours?”
[…!]
“I will return your words to you. Mother of Slime.”
In any case, the outcome was predetermined.
From the beginning.
Mockingly whispering to the Mother of Slime, Lilybet turned away with a smirk on her face.
“I’ll let you in on another fun thing.”
Once more, the green light shone in Lilybet’s eyes.
A signal to initiate the enhancement and provision of beneficial effects.
“The creatures of Green City may be a bit simple-minded, but those who can think a little tend not to kill their hostile entities recklessly. After all, in this city, when you die, you resurrect!”
[What, do, you, want, to, do?]
“Well, since you have that clever intelligence, how about a little guess? What happens if you don’t kill?”
[Enchant – Tracking]
[Enchant – Capturing]*
[Enchant – Resistance to Mounts Enhanced]*
[Enchant – Increased Density]*
[Enchant – Enhanced Durability]*
[Enchant – Permanent Durability Enhancement]*
[Enchant – Stitching Enhancement]*
[Enchant – Permanent Compression]*
[Enchant – Collapse Bestowal]*
“Haha, people flush dirty things down the toilet. They don’t care what happens underneath, nor how the purification process works.”
[…!]
“Of course, I don’t care! Dirty things aren’t to my taste!”
The moment she heard that, the Mother of Slime realized what Lilybet intended to do to her.
“But I’m quite curious about what’ll happen if a squishy liquid monster is washed away into the sewer and purification tanks. The purification tanks of such a large place like Green City… they’re probably wide and complicated enough to be unlike anything I can imagine, making it impossible to escape forever, like a maze?”
[What are you trying to do…!?]
[Enchant – Imbuing Sealing]
As the final enchantment was completed, the Mother of Blood Slime felt her once swollen body shrinking.
What had merged with the entire sewer had shrunk down to only about the size of a small soccer ball.
As all the enchantments activated at once, the connections to the creatures she had been delicately keeping alive for sustenance were severed, and the slight nutrients she had been giving to those corpses were all cut off.
“Oh, I should probably enchant the sewers too! Just in case you manage to get out!”
[Don’t, Don’t, Don’t, Don’t!]
“Don’t worry! I won’t kill you! And I won’t leave you to die! It’s not common for a monster to commit suicide, but such things happen occasionally. You’ll simply be unable to move and will remain trapped, drifting through the sewers of Green City forever!”
Forever, indeed.
[!!!!!!]
The Mother of Slime realized.
To be unable to move, eternally trapped in the deep, maze-like sewers of Green City?
Moreover, the Mother of Slime had a strong life force, so if there were no external threats and she did not engage in combat, she could survive without consuming anything.
She could last semi-permanently.
If so, then she would be eternally trapped in the sewer.
Forever.
“Ah~ let the clogged toilet be cleared away! Wahahah!”
[Stop. Stop! Stop…!]
Thud!
“Have a fun sewer trip!”
And at the signal of Lilybet snapping her fingers, the enchanted pipes and sewers, now alive, began writhing like tentacles and approached the Mother of Slime.
[No, no, no, no. No, no, no.]
“If we meet again, I hope you’ll share your sewer travel log with me! It may be a bit dirty, but I fundamentally love travel and adventure stories!”
[You, you, you! I will, kill, you…!!!]
—Kwahahahaha!
Before the Mother of Slime could finish her words, the enchanted pipes and sewers neatly devoured Lilybet.
The sound of water draining resonated beautifully throughout the sewer.
“Haha! What a refreshing gulp!”
“…….”
“Don’t worry, Slime’s child! I didn’t kill her!”
“Looks like you’ve made me suffer something worse than death.”
“If you die, you’ll just resurrect in this city. Hah, you won’t be able to commit suicide anymore!”
Hana no longer recognized her mother as her mother.
Instead of feeling sad about losing her mother, she felt more satisfaction at the sight.
“Oh, then Kim Hana, since I helped you, will you help me a bit?”
“Help you? Me, help you?”
“Just follow me! I’ll tell you as we go!”
“…Fine. Are we going to serve in the Isia dining hall or something? Do you need a slime maid?”
“Oooh! A slime maid would be nice! But unfortunately, that’s not what I intend to do! And it’s better if Saint Shia stays there. There’s no need to go there to mess around!”
“Then where are we going?”
Lilybet pointed beneath the sewers with her still-glowing green eyes.
“To the Heart of the City.”
For some reason, Hana felt that Lilybet’s eyes shone with the same light as the green sun of Green City.
