When Seidon finally returned, more than half the village was missing. The debris burnt with black smoke, torn apart soldiers lay on the ground and violent trembles shook the earth as the spider brought yet another house to the ground.

“Damn monster! Do you know how hard they worked to build one of those?”

Suddenly the monster stomped on Seidon!

“Guhh, weird feeling!” He said with the large leg sticking out of his body. “Is this what people call a massage?”

Thump! Thump!

The spider kicked him repeatedly, but her legs went through the slime with little to no resistance.

“Strong. Yes. Durable.”

“Why are you speaking like that?”

“Needs more damage.” The spider grabbed a burning house with her beaks. “Perish.”

SLAM!

She hit him with an entire house! Crumbling into pieces, the burning debris covered where the slime stood.

“Dead. Yes. Goodbye.”

The spider turned back towards the remaining houses. Her attention was set on finding the remaining samurais, when suddenly…

Fwoosh!

A cloud of flames burst between her legs, burning her stomach! She jumped away to see her attacker was non-other than Seidon. His gooey body was now orange and flames burned on his head.

“Please stop hurting my Gonyos!” His insides glowed brightly as he spoke. “They are very nice! Very good builders! And very skilled at hide-and-seek!”

“Fire. Burning. Yes. Needs water.”

The spider crawled away to the bar. She dug between the remains and returned with a large barrel between her beaks.

“Why are you holding that?”

“Water. Yes. Die.”

She slammed the large barrel on Seidon’s head! As water touched his skin, it extinguished the flames and evaporated in a white cloud of steam.

“Kuhh! So cold!” Seidon trembled.

His body shrunk in size. Though the spider couldn’t check his status, she knew her attack was effective. A reduction in size meant a loss of health. Just like with every living creature.

“Weak. Small. Insignificant.” She raised her leg above the slime.

“Uha? I feel so… light!”

The spider stomped on the slime! But her leg went through him with less resistance than before.

“Woah! I don’t feel weird at all! I feel thirsty!” He said as his skin turned light blue.

The water from the broken barrel began moving. Seidon sucked up the liquid like a sponge would suck up bathwater. He grew back to his previous size, if not even bigger than before!

“Uhoh! I feel so sick!”

“Slime. Powerful.”

The spider stepped away, but it was too late. A splash of water came out from the slime, flying like a speeding bullet and piercing her skull!

As water left his body, Seidon’s skin returned to green.

“Buru-rururu! Oh, excuse me! Miss Spider, are you alright?”

Through it went through her head, luck was on her side. The attack was powerful, but not precise. It caused massive damage, but not enough to be lethal.

“Y-You… Slime...”

Less and less blood leaked out of her holes. Through the many small wounds made by arrows and other kinds of attacks weren’t too deep, blood flowed through them. Blood loss could’ve been just as lethal as a bullet to the head.

And with yet another large hole for blood to escape, her left side became number with every passing second.

“Sl-Slime… Yes… Po-Power…”

“Why are you talking so slow?”

“I… Kill… Y-You…”

“Kill? What does killing mean, Spider-gonyo?”

She was just about to continue threatening him when an idea crossed her mind. No, it was even better!

A revelation!

As she observed the slime’s reaction, his passive voice and posture… yes… there was another way to defeat this opponent! A way so risky, yet so effective! Her only way of survival!

“C-Can you… go… into that building?” She pointed towards a burning house. “There is… someone playing… hide-and-seek. Can you find her?”

“What? Hide and seek? I love playing hide and seek! But… someone is hiding in a burning house? Isn’t that dangerous?”

“Y-Yes… Very smart hiding place… Isn’t it?”

“I see how it is!” He turned towards the flames. “They are trying to outsmart me by choosing an impossible hiding spot! Well, too bad for you, Gonyos! Seidon is a master seeker!”

“Yes. G-Good slime. Go.”

Without giving it much thought, he entered the building. Flames whipped him left and right, burning him violently. This made his skin turn orange and burn once more.

“Spider-gonyo! I don’t see anyone in here!”

“Look more. Go deeper.”

Heat rose around the little slime, fueling his fire affinity. The flames on his head grew stronger and stronger. Eventually, he burnt brighter than the house, melting it from inside.

“I don’t see anyone!” He shouted before one of the beams gave up above him and fell on his head.

Though it wasn’t enough to kill the slime and he didn’t really take any damage (even from such a big hit), it made him dizzy. This wasn’t a sensation slimes are familiar with. Thus, it made him confused. It averted his mind.

This was exactly what the spider wanted.

“Child moved. Yes. It hid near the barn. In one of the water barrels. Yes.”

“Child-gonyo hid in a barrel? But… didn’t it--”

“Child quick. Very swift. Yes. Follow! Fast!”

“A-Alright! Thanks for the help, Spider-gonyo!”

Smokeless flames on a little ball of ooze. The spider followed him with trembling feet as Seidon crawled behind the burning house. This was her only hope to defeat such a sturdy opponent. This was her only chance to turn the tides of this battle.

But there was just one thing, one thing she didn’t expect: Lady Luck.

Such a chaotic goddess with no comprehensible goal. Her eternal dice spinning in a crazed play with innocent mortals. Laughing, as humans fall below her gaze. And just now, just in that chaotic moment, she chose a side. A side whose despair she enjoyed the most: the spider’s side.

Just behind the house was a well. Next to that well stood a small bucket of water. Though small, it was filled to the brim.

The spider’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“YES! Child is in there! There! There!”

“Huh? What is this?” Seidon looked down the long hole.

“Secret entrance! Yes. Children love it. Good for hide-and-seek.”

“Guhh, it’s so deep! So scary! Are you sure there are children down there?”

“Yes! Jump!”

Limbs about to fall apart. Eyes bulging from pain and blinded by blood. A large hole gaping through her skull. Yet finally, she was about to win!

But even if she survives this monstrous slime, there was someone she needed to outrun. Someone she needed to escape. And that someone appeared on a large cloud of spores, repeating the same excited chant with his fluffy moth friend:

“Po-wer of bull-shit! Po-wer of bull-shit!”