Slime Girl

- Shari -

I find myself in a rather awkward, yet not any less serious situation, given that I'm incapacitated, right in front of the man I sought to kill.

"Fascinating. Hearing the stories is one thing, but to think that wench truly managed to train slimes into doing her dirty work. Fitting, but more than I would've anticipated from that woman." (Eras)

His voice is dulled by the glass in the way, but I can still clearly hear his contempt and a serious sense of mockery as well.

"BRZZZZZ"

Lightning doesn't hurt me.

Not in the traditional sense.

Instead, it completely disrupts my control, rendering me incapable of doing anything the way I want.

Worse than for a human, as this control is everything I am.

Senses, motion, the mere awareness of where I am, it all depends on it.

And the lightning reminds me of this fact.

Damnit, I messed up.

In hindsight, it shouldn't surprise me that he would take countermeasures, specifically against the very beings that pose the greatest threat towards him and his plans.

The very beings who got the Marquis of the South before.

"BRZZZZZ"

I need to give it my all, not to lower myself to the ground.

Every bit of sense I've got goes into the purpose of maintaining a barrier of density towards my lower half, to separate the lightning-affected part of mine from the rest.

Liqu taught me this trick.

But against what I'm fighting here, this might be a losing battle.

Still, I certainly won't give in.

Because if I do, the lightning is only going to stream worse through the parts I can barely hold together as is.

And then he has won.

And I certainly won't grant him that.

"You may ask yourself why you can't dissolve through the glass. That is, if you're even capable of having these kinds of thoughts. You see, it's quite simple. It is made of mana crystal. The very material your cores consist of. Additionally, the ground was prepared in a way that anyone who doesn't disable the trap from the inside would be fried by concentrated lightning energy. You might consider yourself lucky, as an ordinary human wouldn't have survived that charge, which is quite a risk to get used to when going to sleep, I assure you. Yet it's not only an appropriate measure to deal with common assassins, but evidently your kind as well. At least, it will keep you contained until my already alarmed guards arrive to quell the threat you pose for good." (Eras)

Goddamn, this guy loves monologuing.

Yet I need to concur that he's right.

I cannot act in any way, and don't even have Liqu around to save me.

Shit, that I'm even thinking like that shows how reliant I became on her.

One time I do something of my own, and it turns out like this.

Think, Shari!

Think!

What can you do?

My goal to get the Marquis doesn't seem possible anymore.

Vexatious enough, with an 'impact' I should be able to crack that dome.

However, this isn't feasible, as the technique requires sending a wave through my whole body, while I concentrate the force with extreme precision.

I can't even feel the lower half of my body!

The opening door behind me tells me I'm running out of time.

"Marquis! The alarm!" (guard)

"As you see, it activated for a reason. I presume you brought the voidstone weaponry? The ranged ones, I propose. Entering the grounds isn't recommended." (Eras)

Of-fucking-course!

Why not bring the only thing I'm truly troubled by!

And even a ranged version.

Voidstone is even quite expensive, but I probably shouldn't be all that surprised about this man having the funds for that.

"Brzzzzzt"

Urgh, the lightning makes thinking difficult.

However, it could be just me getting used to it, but the sensation grew the tiniest bit weaker.

Or maybe the power that already courses through me is slowly discharging its origin.

Yes, that sounds about right.

Yet this still doesn't help me out of this mess!

I could maybe manage one or two steps, but not much else.

If I could just do anything at all.

But 'impact' doesn't work.

Hah!

Right!

This isn't the only technique I'm capable of.

There's another I trained just as much, if not more.

My bullet!

But shooting at the glass container isn't going to punch through, and taking out a guard may at most stall the others for half a second.

Also, it works best with a denser center, and I didn't bring any tools with me.

But there is an option.

A desperate one.

Although, given that the guards with the supposed voidstone weapons are approaching right about now, I wouldn't know what else this situation is.

So I focus.

I focus to fire a single bullet with all I've got.

Careful to maintain the barrier that allows for that bit of control in my upper half.

I concentrate the greatest slime bullet I ever created.

Any moment now...

"There it is! Prepare!" (guard officer)

My enemies.

No idea what it is they carry.

Not crossbows, that much is clear.

They look more like slingers that throw whole stones.

Which would be devastating for me.

No time left.

No time at all.

I need to do this now!

And so I do.

Knowing I'll get crushed under the assault of voidstone, I aim and fire, straight at the hole in the upper left corner I entered through.

With this act, I feel movement.

I am moved!

Because the thing I shot was nothing else but my core.

This was simply the only projectile I had at hand.

It took me a lot of mental self-convincing to overcome the self-preservation instinct not to expel my core, but the sense of emergency was stronger.

And so I'm flying.

Not at the Marquis.

I might be on a warpath, but not insanely self-destructive.

Although, I'm currently flying at high speed towards a wall!

"Blomp"

"blomp"

"blomp"

Ugh, just good I have this shell.

"Shoot!" (guard officer)

At once, over a dozen voidstones hit my former mass.

"You morons! It's escaping!" (Eras)

Damn, that guy had too good a view.

I'm crawling as fast as I can.

Having lost the majority of my mass, I am at a desperate disadvantage, with how my capabilities are reduced.

Yet escape is my only option.

So I intensify my crawling as much as I can.

Even if I were to form into human shape, I might at most have enough mass for a child form. It wouldn't be much faster than merely crawling as I am, which is so frustratingly slow.

But I don't have a choice.

"Wham"

The door bursts open, just when I manage to reach the hole on the other side and enter the next room.

Again the room with the boy... I don't quite want to take that option, but desperate times...

I crawl into the bed, right onto him, taking on the aforementioned kid form, a slight dissolving being enough to startle him awake.

"Zsch"

Of course, he immediately starts to struggle, but his lack of ability to grasp anything meaningful and the fact that I may have removed a good chunk of his shirt and irritated his skin a little proves enough to make him aware of his situation.

Now it's time to provide a few short instructions.

"Listen, boy, I won't harm you if you do as I say. You will now stand up and rush through the guards. Then you will proceed running. I will point you the right way. If you do that, you'll come out of this unharmed." (Shari)

With this, I disintegrate again and cling to his chest.

I'm not all that proud of how I have to take him hostage, but a supposed son of the Marquis is hopefully not going to get shot on sight by the guards.

Unfortunately, he still doesn't seem to understand his assignment, so I have to startle him awake with some more dissolving prickling.

Nothing serious, at most as much skin as one would lose when scrubbed by a very rough piece of cloth.

A process that completely by chance also happens to fill my desperately low reserves.

But I'm definitely, absolutely, certainly not starved from a severe lack of mass.

With this incentive, he starts moving, right when the door to his room opens.

"Young Master, are you..." (guard)

Before the man can finish, the boy is past him.

"I'm sorry! I need to!" (boy)

He squeezes past the next man, who actually tries to take hold of him.

Something I prohibit.

With the guards, I'm far less considerate than with the teenager, as I dissolve what part of his hand I touch.

Probably a bad wound, but still, nothing incurable if I'm right.

With direct evidence of what I can actually do to him, the boy now got far more vigor in his sprint.

Something that's very welcome for me.

As I got high-speed processing on, my heated core might motivate him as well.

Yet more importantly, I got enough time to think to come to the conclusion that I have to return to my quarters.

The point is simply that my shed skin still lies there, which would tip the guys off to Liqu next door, if they were to realize our trick.

So back there!

What follows is a terribly awkward manhunt.

They cannot outright shoot the boy, but they can't let me escape either.

I, meanwhile, instruct the boy with light tugs in the direction I want him.

Something that works surprisingly well.

Yet, as we are already on the right floor, not too far away from my destination, something changes behind me.

"Order from the Marquis!" (guard)

What?

The next thing I know is that a voidstone impacts the back of the boy and he stumbles.

That freak of a Marquis actually lets them shoot his son!

Yet we’ve almost made it!

"Whom"

An impact!

And the drain.

Not good!

There!

"Whomp"

Just a bit further!

"Whomp"

The last impact did it, and the boy falls.

So I separate and throw myself forward.

"Whomp"

Shit, that hit!

The drain instantly claims my control from me, and forces me to let go of a lot of matter.

But I'm almost there!

Past some startled guards, I manage to throw myself the last bit of distance to my door.

I need a hole!

"Zsch"

"Whomp"

Urgh, this needs to stop!

Squeeze through there!

And there is my skin!

Yet I lack mass to fill it properly, and would never make it in time.

So instead, I do the best I can do to destroy evidence.

"Zsch"

"Wham"

The door bursts open, and a bunch of guards sees how I'm dissolving my former body, winning some bitterly needed mass.

"There it is! Shoot!" (guard)

"Whom"

Urgh, far too much voidstone!

I need to leave!

"Whomp"

Another hit, and all the regained mass is gone again.

I move to the only place that promises safety.

Yes...the drainage that connects the rooms.

As bad as it is, there they won't be able to reach me anymore.

I dive in, with barely any mass to move left.

Ignore the undesirables I'm confronted with, focus just on moving forward.

Yet I don't escape the building.

No, I follow the line to the side, into the neighboring room.

Where my salvation already waits.

"Shari?" (Liqu)

God, Liqu, am I happy to see you.

She notices that I don't have the mass to speak and instead extends a small tendril from her mouth.

• "Swallow me!" (Shari)
• "Okay!" (Liqu)

Down her gullet I go.

Or, well, that guy's she wears.

Urgh, finally safe.