"Rejoice, my fellow brethren!! A new source of experience points awaits you! GO FORTH!"

Tch, it's that ability again.

Sensing a stronger battlecry coming towards me this time, I prepared to use my sword skills to repel it.

"Shut... UPPP!!! BREAKMOON!!!"

I bounced the pressure from the amplified voice of the slime woman with the expulsion aftereffects of Breakmoon.

The sound wave split apart instantaneously and crashed into two trees, toppling them down instantly.

My eyes were still glued towards Master, who had been tied to the ground with a few tentacles that were detached from the slime woman like rope.

Master is suffering so much... while I was gone...

...He's always... playing with another woman besides me.

...Besides me...!!!

Unforgivable. Unforgivable. Unforgivable. Unforgivable. Unforgivable. Unforgivable. Unforgivable. Unforgivable. Unforgivable. Unforgivable. Unforgivable. Unforgivable.

-UNFORGIVABLE!!!

"Sword Lunge!"

I thrusted forward with my sword towards the incoming skeleton monsters while shouting out one of my sword skills. I didn't care to conceal my intentions anymore.

I needed to beat her quickly.

While you're still standing pridefully behind your summons, I'll let you have a taste.

"DIAMOND DUST!"

"What?! G-glitter?! Huh, I can't move them... anymore...?!"

The slime woman stepped back momentarily to stay away from the 'smokescreen'.

She could no longer see the battlefield in front of her.

Even if she could sense her summoned Elite Skeletons within the fog, she must have sensed that she could no longer control them...!

I couldn't sustain Diamond Dust for long enough to beat her the first time I fought her, but this time I have enough...!!!

Indeed, besides creating a mid-range field that dealt small amounts of damage accumulatively, Diamond Dust had another effect that could paralyze connections between summons and summoner, akin to the reaction of an electromagnetic pulse with electronic objects.

With this... I'll gain the edge while she doesn't understand what's going on!

I casted Sword Field silently, summoning 5 blades stabbed onto the ground within the Diamond Dust.

Following Sword Field, I activated Sword Dance under my breath in preparation for a powerful attack.

"...You're too obvious!"

The slime woman immediately retreated as fast as possible and picked up Master while she was at it, which took her some time. It wasn't as fast as I had thought, but she was slowly leaving the range of even my longest-ranged sword skill.

!!! MASTERRR-!!!

I scratched my hair in frustration.

Arghhh, annoying... SO ANNOYINGGG!!! How did she see through me?!!! Is that the instincts of a monster...?! Or can she see through the fog?! Why are you so annoying to deal with?! Just die already! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!

"What are you waiting for?! They won't get up unless she stops to revive them!"

"Master?!"

I turned to look at Master getting abducted away by the slime woman.

"-! You're not supposed to talk without permission!!!"

"Mmnfff!!!-"

The slime woman created a tentacle behind her back and covered Master's mouth with it.

"You-! How dare y-"

-Stop. Think calmly.

I returned to a calmer train of thought after invoking Clear Eyes of a Saint within my head.

Don't... Don't let your emotions control you... Master had risked silence just to tell me that...!!!

...That's right, I still have Master.

...Why was I so hung up about using only one strategy... If she needs to stop moving to reanimate them... Then I just need to overwhelm the summoned skeletons to buy me enough time to get closer to her!

Realizing the implications of that fact pointed out by Master, I cleared my thoughts and lashed out another set of sword skills.

"Dispel! Blade Whirlwind! Blade Current!"

I nullified the Diamond Dust to regain my vision to aim.

Then I sent the 5 summoned swords towards her retreating figure like spinning axes with a powerful momentum.

But at this time, the loss of Diamond Dust also lifted the stasis effect on the 6 Elite Skeletons.

"Return! Bone Shield!"

But I had expected this.

Utilizing Ignore Inertia LV3 and Spatial Awareness LV8, I roared out a skill.

"Bloodwell Expend! Lightspeed Thrust-!"

Clutching the handle of the Sword of Bloodwell, my agility was heightened by an amount in an instant.

The quick movement of the activated Sword of Bloodwell drew a red arc, and then turned a few more times gracefully like a dance, creating bright afterglows like an elegant lightshow; cutting apart all of the 6 Elite Skeletons in a single fluid movement of the Demonic Blade.

"Wh-?! Tha-that is... impos-"

And now... She's not going to have anything to fend herself with...!!!

Since the bones are not joined together mid-air when she's using them to form a Bone Shield, they become more vulnerable and breaks apart more easily. Even if she can revive them, it becomes more difficult to put them together as a result!

She's not going to be able to piece them together quickly enough!

Using the remainder of the buff duration to my agility while holding onto to a sword, Lightspeed Thrust pushed me within range of the slime woman for an attack.

The slime woman turned to look at me desperately while running and holding on to Master.

Conclusion, checkmate.

"HAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

I thrust the sword into her lower abdomen.

She's a slime after all. A Queen Slime like her do not have the ability to move their cores around like their weaker pre-evolution forms!

And its core that holds its own life, is right... below their bellybutton...!!!

...

...

There... there isn't... one...?

The slime woman clutched the blade my sword forcefully as her hand began to melt.

!!!

"... ...To think you've cornered me this far just with the availability of mana... I have underestimated you... Sword Mage."

She... doesn't feel pain...? Did she even take damage from that...?!

I'm sure I landed a clean hit!

I quickly withdrew my blade stuck in its body. The body of the slime woman was beginning to melt again after being struck a heavy blow.

She raised her head and looked at me with a fierce glare.

! Is this... bloodlust?! But she's supposed to have nothing else to get back a combat advantage, what is she trying to threaten me w-...?!

Her hands formed the shape of 2 sharp sickles once more, as it edged close to Master's throat. His mouth was still being covered, but he didn't seem to fluster. But his deadpan expression had changed. He looked at me with a face of disapproval, as if telling me not to do anything.

"...This boy..., is important to you, no...?"

"-! Nngh, you coward...!!!"

I realized immediately that she had used Master as hostage.

...Sure... I had 'killed' Master before, but that was when I had misunderstood the situation... He had mysteriously revived for some reason... but I'm not taking any more chances...

I still... wanted Master to live his life with me...

To dote on me, just like a lover would... I want to go on dates... There is... so much I want... I don't want to lose him yet...!

Master is more important to me than I had initially thought... I-I don't want... I don't want him to lose his life over me...!

My killing urges were quickly doused by my desire to protect Master, as I arrived to a decision.

...I lowered my sword.

"...Can you... let Master go... now..."

"..."

"Let him... go? I've been hurt you know? And everything started with him. This boy. Something that I had just wanted to be friends with. And now it's gotten me hurt. No, I don't feel pain. But I feel humiliation. You, a mere human. Trying to kill me. I cannot fathom this. Just for this boy.

...Aahhh, aahhh... My mood has been ruined now. Now I really want something else.

There is nothing more than I want now..., than to see you. Suffer."

I had a terrible premonition from those words.

Focusing too hard on the sickles pressed against Master's neck, I did not notice before it was already all too late.

A tentacle with a sharp end pierced through the heart of Master from the back.

"!!!"

Master widened his eyes in shock, and spilled out blood from his covered mouth without making a sound.

After his body convulsed for a few more moments, his eyes slowly began to close.

Blood.

"...Eh...?"

I lost all sense of aggression at this moment.

"N-no... you're...

...you're joking right...? H-h-huh? What?"

My mouth stammered repeatedly, as my mind was unable to comprehend what had just happened.

The sword I was holding onto fell to the ground with my loosened grip.

Blood.

The slime woman observed my expression and quickly lost interest.

"...This isn't as satisfying as I had initially thought. ...This is leaving an unpleasant taste in my mouth instead... Peculiar... I must have gotten too attached to that boy for my own good..."

Blood.

"Y-you... you can revive him... right? You... he... I... ...

He... c-came back... after... ....ahh... ahhh..."

Blood.

I moved my feet with unsteady steps towards Master.

"... ...It was my initial motive to reanimate this human into my familiar, but I've lost sight of why I'd wanted to do that ever since he'd changed so suddenly. ...I've lost interest. Aahhh, aahhh, human emotions can be so weird and unsettling..."

The slime woman threw Master towards me.

I caught Master who slumped his motionless body in my arms. He no longer had a pulse, and his body temperature was turning colder and colder.

Blood.

"Take him, for all of your immoral desires. I don't care anymore. Haahhh, my chest feels tight all of a sudden... I must be feeling light-headed from being out in the sun for so long... This unpleasant and painful feeling..., ...I'm not delighted in the slightest to have experienced it."

Taking a final glance at us, the slime woman spoke.

"At least... I could commend you for clearing out those filthy elves. Farewell, Sword Mage."

Finishing those words, she turned away with a despondent look and headed towards the direction of the village. I did not bother stopping her at all, as I continued staring down at Master's unconscious figure with a blank expression.

Bloo-

I shook the creeping thoughts inside of me, and laid Master's body down, placing his head on my laps like a pillow as I caressed his face slowly.

There was no reaction. No reaction at all.

Tears began to fall from my cheeks.

"M...Master...? Say something... say... say something, Master... Master...? Say something..."

I repeated my words like a broken recorder, waiting for him to wake up again miraculously.

Under the silence of the forest, I was all alone again.