423 – Poison User’s Pursuit Battle (side: Thermal)

“Now then, what to do here? Personally, I prefer not to fight in confined areas like this, but… That’s also the case for you, is it not, Irushia?”

Standing next to me, Rogueheil’s solemn wiseman expression crumbles as he laughs.
Irushia’s two heads stare at Rogueheil bitterly.

The injured woman – Miria – is being carried on the back of a masked spider monster.
Protecting the spider, and emanating a strange atmosphere, is a girl with deep crimson eyes.
That masked spider and red-eyed girl are probably both monsters of about C+ rank.
They’re Irushia’s subordinates, no doubt.

I was successfully able to join up with Rogueheil, who was stationed by Demon Lord-sama’s side.
The bottleneck to the plan was how fast Rogueheil would be able to grasp the situation and move, but he was able to just barely make it in time.

It’s regrettable, but Rogueheil’s abilities are a step above mine and Mephisto’s.
I have received Demon Lord-sama’s divine protection, and yet I have still stopped at B+ rank [Poison Ruler]… In the end, I couldn’t break through the A-rank wall.
I have a clear memory of Demon Lord-sama once saying that , unless a slime is a truly unique specimen, the evolution limit is reached quickly.

Demon Lord-sama is someone who can swiftly cut off those who become unneeded.
As one who has had a lot of contact with humans even among the slime soldiers, I understand that all too well.
Though it’s not at all as though Demon Lord-sama has nothing that they are attached to.
Witnessing their enthusiasm towards God’s Voice, makes that clear.
But, on top of that passion being awfully twisted and focused, Demon Lord-sama hasn’t noticed that, from an outside perspective, that obsessiveness is clearly bound for failure.
I have been secretly terrified that the day that those who are unlikely to evolve will be abandoned is soon approaching.

The gigant slime and Rogueheil are the only two of Demon Lord-sama’s thousands of slime subordinates that were able to climb to A rank.
And that gigiant slime is currently in the possession of Rogueheil.

Should Rogueheil judge that he’s not able to kill Irushia by himself, then there’s no doubt he’ll use the gigant slime.
If we bring out that card while the Saint still has yet to appear, it’s a loss for us, but… With how much of an uncertain element Irushia is, capturing him and presenting him to Demon Lord-sama takes precedence.
Irushia is a candidate for the Six Great Sages’ divine skills… As long as that can be transferred to Demon Lord-sama, then even if we lose the social position of the princess, it will be worth it.

If so, then my role is to dispose of those left in the castle, including Irushia’s subordinates, and to secure Miria, who is a part of Demon Lord-sama’s obsession.
It won’t serve as much more than as harassment for Irushia, so it’s unclear to what extent it’ll please Demon Lord-sama, but I might as well capture her as I deal with Irushia’s subordinates.
Also, if I can catch Miria, then even if Rogueheil somehow fails against Irushia, we will still have an insurance against him, and I’ll be able to use her to lure out the rest of his subordinates.

One of Irushia’s heads looks at the masked spider and red-eyed girl, and cries in a low voice.
Taking Miria with then, they turn away from us and begin to run.

“Are you Irushia-san!? You are Irushia-san, aren’t you!?”

“Is your farce over, Irushia?”

Rogueheil holds up a hand.
On either side of him, a blue light appears.

“[Holy Pillar].”

The lights become metal pillars, which thrust towards Irushia.
Inside this narrow passageway, he can’t dodge to the side with his massive body.
He steps back, sweeping the pillars down with his claws.

Next, Rogueheil creates four more metal pillars and sends them flying.
Now.
This is a opportunity to slip past Irushia and attack Miria and his subordinates…!

I run with my body low to the ground.
As the four pillars assail Irushia, I try to blend into the confusion.
One of Irushia’s two heads notices me, and he swings a vicious claw towards me.

Having such a wide field of view is troublesome.
If I were to be hit by that monstrous claw, even I wouldn’t be able to get away safely.

I transform, causing my outline to momentarily break middair.
Irushia’s claws pass though my droplets.
I then continue to run, chasing the red-eyed girl and masked spider.

From that choice just now, I know.
These two aren’t a match for me.
Even though it’s possible one of them could have stayed behind to buy time, both of them are fleeing together.

I have an abundance of combat experience, and I’m the type to think each move through carefully.
To the point of even annoying Demon Lord-sama, I asked countless questions about the status of one who rules the world.
By combining my experience and knowledge, the more I fight an opponent, the more I can gauge their abilities.

Those two… Their legs aren’t very fast.
Since I’m not even specialised in speed, I can’t imagine the rest of their stats are comparable to mine.
Provided that slow speed isn’t a bluff, that is.
But I can’t imagine they could have that much leeway.

(If that’s the limit of their speed, then I’ll be able to catch up in no time if I just run normally…)

As I think that, from around a corner, the red-eyed girl who should have been running away jumps out.
In her hand is a mass of black magic power.

“Wha…”

The sphere of black light attacks me from point-blank range.
Probably, it’s the [Dark Sphere] magic.

I stick both my arms out to avoid a direct hit to my torso.
I have no weak points, but the more mass I lose, the more damage I’ll take.

It seems she hid around the corner and prepared her magic.
A built-up magic attack can easily decide a battle between opponents of equal rank.
Even if her rank is significantly below mine, it’s still not an attack I want to take.

Intense pain assaults my arms.
The next instant, an powerful shock blows through my body.

“Gaah! Y-you…”

I’m thrown backwards, and my back slams into the wall.
My left arm hit is directly by the [Dark Sphere], and together with the damage from impacting with the wall, has snapped off from the elbow down, the cross-section reverting to liquid form.
The red-eyed girl glances at me, then quickly begins to run again.

―She’s really done it now.
It seems I was underestimating her.
I didn’t think she would be able to pull of such a dangerous last-minute strategy like that.

From that attack… I know for sure now that the red-eyed girl’s stats don’t reach mine.
Even if I take a hit with my whole body, it won’t be fatal to me.
With her speed being so slow, and the magic she used in a surprise attack being only that strong, she can’t be more than a high level B-, or a low level B+.
There would be no point in using a bluff at this point.
From the lack of an attack from the masked spider, I can presume that the masked spider is even weaker than her.

But, from here on, I can’t let my guard down.
I need to bring them down for certain.