"Last night, kara ... you didn't see a knight in a white coat, right?"
"Yes. I'm sorry, hero-sama. Not being able to help..."
"No, please don't worry about it. I ask that you keep your doors tightly closed at night and do not go out for a while.."
Around noon that day.
Sparing no time for lunch, Mariabelle headed to the royal capital and came to the orphanage that Kara had checked out before she went missing.
It all started shortly before noon.
It was because Fenelieka, who had visited the royal castle, informed her that "Kara is missing".
She was convinced that something strange was going on in the royal capital of Fonteau, and was now worried about Kara's safety as she asked questions at the orphanage where she was last seen.
"From the looks of it, she really hasn't seen Kara."
"Yeah......, but she did say she was keeping an eye on the orphanage yesterday, didn't she?"
"Maybe she didn't go to the orphanage, but went somewhere else."
While talking with her, Mariabelle left the orphanage.
The woman she was talking with was an old woman with purple hair mixed with dull gray hair.
It seemed that the person with the highest status in the orphanage had responded to Mariabelle as she visited, but she didn't get any information.
She knew that Kara had visited during the day, but the night had been quiet and there had been no problems.
Ruminating the information in their minds, Mariabelle and Fenelieka stopped at a place away from the orphanage.
"Is there any other information, Fenel-san?"
"I'm not sure what else to say. At that time, I felt a presence of a monster, and Kara was concerned, and said that she would rent a room in the inn in front of the orphanage and watch it overnight."
Fenelieka recalled yesterday's exchange and said what she talked about with Kara.
As she listened, Mariabelle looked at the orphanage, then at the inn.
"I'll rent a room in the inn later―― um, do you still feel the presence of monsters?"
"Yeah, but not much more than yesterday..."
"I see."
To begin with, when it came to intuition, Mariabelle was far superior to Fenelieka.
If there was a presence of monsters that Fenelieka could sense, Mariabelle would have noticed it first.
The presence of monsters was to the extent that Mariabelle did not see it as dangerous, and it was like the monsters boasting of their strength to carry food to the orphanage.
There was no sense of murderous intent or hostility, and Mariabelle tilted her head.
"But Kara was looking into something and went missing......."
Saying those words, she sighed briefly.
(Kara, stay safe.)
She didn't know what happened, but she did know that something disturbing was happening in the royal capital of Fonteau.
If it were true, she would like to mobilize the knights to search the city, but moving the knights and soldiers would delay the goddess Fasalina's rescue, who was being held captive by the slime in Grabalt.
Kara was her best friend, but the goddess Fasalina was the most important person in the land.
......Torn between the two, Mariabelle decided to search for Kara on her own.
Meltia was helping their mother with her work, so it was really just Mariabelle and Fenelieka.
Even with a female hero with excellent intuition and a succubus who could fly, the scope of their search was limited.
As a result, although they had asked around the royal capital, they had gathered very little information about Kara.
"However, hero-sama. Isn't it time to have lunch? If you don't eat something, even something light, you won't be able to move when the time comes."
"I'm fine, Fenel-san. More importantly, I have to find Kara as soon as possible."
Anxiety grew in Mariabelle's heart.
If the slime was involved, what was being done to the missing "woman"―― and if it was her best friend, Mariabelle couldn't afford to rest for a second.
Fenelieka knew that the hero possessed a power that was clearly different from that of ordinary people―― she knew as she had seen it many times in her battles with the Black Ooze.
She had a physical strength that was out of the norm and an intuition that was close to foreseeing the future.
It was said that monsters grew fast, and only a few years ago that she was an amateur in the sword, but now no one in the country...... including monsters, could beat Mariabelle.
Fenelieka thought that such a Mariabelle would never be defeated by an "enemy" even if she was a little fatigued.
"I understand―― but let's at least have something to drink. I'm already thirsty."
Not knowing where Kara was, that was all Mariabelle could think about.
When Fenelieka gave up on the idea that anything she said would stop her now, she at least said something about drinking.
No matter how sturdy Mariabelle was, if she didn't drink water, she would not be able to move―― that was a natural weakness for a living person, regardless of her special power as a hero.
"Ah... you're right. I'm sorry, Fenel-san."
"I know you're worried about that scientist, but maybe it's not as bad as you think. She doesn't talk much and I don't know what she's thinking, but she's got a strong mind."
Even though she knew those words were only meant to reassure Mariabelle, Fenelieka's concern made her happy, and for the first time today, Mariabelle smiled.
Her shoulders droop slightly, and the strength drained from her knees as she remembered how tired she had been.
"A-are?"
"It can't be helped. In Grabalt we wandered through the woods, came back to Fonteau, and today we're running around the capital."
Mariabelle herself did not realized it, but her physical strength had been considerably depleted over the past dozen days.
……Still standing, Fenelieka again thought that she had tremendous stamina.
Then, if she tightened her mind firmly, she could straighten her body, which was tall for a woman, as usual, and dignity and strength would return to her expression.
Her strength drained, but not so much that she could not move.
A normal person would feel so tired that they would spend several days in bed, but Mariabelle, a hero, was able to ignore that level of fatigue and move around.
"Anyway, eat something first. Look for her afterward―― If you go missing too, Meltia will be the next one to go looking for you."
"Fufu. You're worried about onee-sama."
Mariabelle laughed at the thought that she wouldn't have said such a thing if Meltia and Kara were with her.
Fenelieka, seeing that, shrugged her shoulders and smiled.
"Because she's so serious, but she makes mistakes in the strangest places. How much trouble did I go through because of that?"
"...That's right. I am so grateful to you, Fenel-san. You saved onee-sama many times."
"............You're kidding, right? Don't take it seriously. I helped Meltia because it's more fun that way. She feels indebted to me, she complains about it with her mouth, but in her heart she is grateful―― that kind of weird stubbornness is what's amusing."
At her sincere words, Mariabelle felt the strange relationship between her sister and Fenelieka and laughed in a cute voice like the sound of a bell.
For the first time since she pulled out the hero's sword―― a heartful laugh.
She was sought after as a hero, people looked at her, and she had no time to rest her mind.
But the relationship between her sister and the succubus was very interesting...... she thought from the bottom of her heart.
Thinking of that, a smile naturally broke out on her face, and her shoulders relaxed.
Even though she felt bad for Kara, she relaxed a little, and then she heard a cute little rumbling from under her blue armor.
"Ah."
"You're hungry after all."
"No, this is... um..."
It didn't matter even if one was the hero or not, she would get hungry if she moved around without eating.
Fenelieka smiled wickedly when she saw Mariabelle holding her stomach with her cheeks like white porcelain as well as her ears turned bright red.
"It's fine. I'll make sure to tell Kara that you skipped lunch and were desperately looking for her with a growling stomach."
"P-please don't!!"
When Mariabelle let out a loud voice, people walking on the street looked at her to see what was going on.
Embarrassed by their stares, Mariabelle looked down, she blushed even more.
"Hurry up and eat lunch, we're going to look for Kara, Fenel-san!!"
"Yes, yes."
(You're so strong, but you're so caring and brave.)
Despite that, Fenelieka did not dislike the current relationship.
It's fun―― if she had to put it into words.
That was why.
(Be safe, Kara)
Unusually, the succubus thought so from the bottom of her heart.
She was sure that if anything happened to Kara, this succubus would cry from the bottom of her heart......
During the interviews, they learned one thing.
"It seems that Kara was looking into that orphanage after all."
The orphanage said they knew nothing about Kara, but a number of people had seen her inquiring about the orphanage during the day yesterday.
Even if she tried to hide it, she couldn't stop people's eyes, even their memories.
It was a steady achievement, but Mariabelle and Fenelieka thought that there was no doubt that Kara had investigated the orphanage and then disappeared.
The location was a room in an inn.
They also interviewed the innkeepers and found that it was the same room that Kara had rented last night.
"You can see the orphanage clearly from here."
"Yes."
Mariabelle and Fenelieka were facing each other across a table placed by the window, looking out the window to the orphanage in front of them.
The time was midnight.
The moon was already high in the sky and people were asleep.
At midnight, the knight's nightly patrols become less frequent, and there was hardly any sign of life in the vicinity of the orphanage.
There was hardly any sound of wind from the window, and only the sound of an owl could be heard in the distance.
It was a quiet night.
Fenelieka's lips open slightly in a sigh as she thought she would sleep comfortably on a night like this.
"Would you like to get some sleep?"
"I'm fine, don't worry about me, I mean, why don't you get some sleep."
"I'm fine―― I'm wide awake."
True to her word, there was no sign of sleepiness in Mariabelle's expression.
The two of them continued to observe the orphanage in the darkness of the night, just as Kara had done last night, relying only on the moonlight without using a lamp.
After a long time, when Fenelieka, who could no longer stand the boredom, began to rest her elbows on the table and show her sleepy face to Mariabelle―― finally, there was a movement.
"...Fenel-san."
Mariabelle called out Fenelieka in a whisper, as she was in a daze.
The tension in her voice caused Fenelieka to erase her usual careless mood and with a serious face, she turned her gaze to Mariabelle―― and then followed her gaze out the window.
"Geh... it really came."
"I would be in trouble if nothing came."
Saying that, Mariabelle jumped over the window with a lightness that felt nothing but silence, and landed directly outside the inn.
"...I bet you will upset the thieves with that."
Fenelieka used the wings on her back to fly out the window.
Mariabelle moved from the ground, Fenelieka from the sky―― they saw a figure from the window.
Small, they both thought.
A child...... or a monster as small as a child.
The one that came to mind was a goblin, but also that it was very good at breaking and entering for a goblin.
It went to the orphanage while they were wondering about that.
(They said there was nothing unusual.)
Mariabelle thought so, but she did not feel that the old woman was lying.
Then, that something...... maybe the true nature of the "bad feeling" she was feeling.
The gesture of the figure was, oddly enough, the same as Kara's visit to the place last night. As she confirmed the presence of the holy sword hanging at her waist.
Then Marieabelle entered the orphanage's grounds unnoticed by the figures, and went straight into the building.
Fenelieka checked inside through a window and found the orphans sleeping in the attic.
(Hmm... it is normal.)
Fenelieka was sickened by the wooden statue of the goddess on the roof, but she still investigated earnestly, which showed that she was also worried about Kara.
Then, from another window, she checked the first floor.
"Geh."
She uttered a voice.
Fenelieka covered her mouth in a panic, and saw through the window...... there was a large number of slimes in the room, probably a bedroom, where the sisters and young children were sleeping.
They took the form of goblins and orcs, which were at least two times larger than goblins.
More than a dozen slimes were standing by the bedside, neither waking the sleeping women nor violating them, but doing something to them.
(I must inform Mariabelle now.)
And by the time Fenelieka thought about it, Mariabelle, fearing for Kara's safety, had invaded the orphanage alone.
Sensing a disturbing presence with the hero's intuition, she had already drawn the holy sword and was ready to react to anything.
Using the tip of the sword, she opened the doors one after another and moved to the bedroom quickly.
"――I found it."
The moment Fenelieka descended to the ground and followed Mariabelle into the orphanage―― a piece of mucus, cut off by the holy sword, slammed into the wall right next to the door.
By the feel of the mucus hitting her cheek, she understood that a battle had already begun, even though she was not a race that was good at fighting.
...Mariabelle's actions were swift and fierce.
"Kara! Where are you, Kara!!"
Calling out the name of her best friend with her mouth, but her hand didn't stop swinging the holy sword, slashing at the slimes that stand at the bedsides of those who continue to sleep.
One goblin was sliced from head to toe in a single vertical line.
One orc was stabbed with a mere thrust, aiming at the "nucleus" hidden in its body.
With minimum effort, Mariabelle headed to the back of the room, reducing the number of slimes.
"Nothing in the upstairs bedroom!"
"Thank you, Fenel-san! Please stay back, it's not safe!!"
Fenelieka could see why Mariabelle had tried to run off on her own and why Kara went missing.
It was too overwhelming.
Normally, the mere touch of its bodily fluids would cause a woman to go into heat and a man to become immobilized by paralyzing poison.
The slime was a natural enemy of mankind in all its forms, yet Mariabelle's armor canceled out the poison, and the holy sword annihilated the mucus that protected the slime's only weak point, its "nucleus".
She used her superior intuition to locate the weak point and precisely target only the "nucleus", shattering it.
The natural enemy of slime, the natural enemy of mankind.
Fenelieka sighed as Mariabelle overwhelmed more than a dozen slimes, albeit with little resistance, and she wiped the slime mucus from her cheek with her left hand.
"……It stinks……"
No matter how much it evolved, the foul odor rising from the mucus remained the same.
Fenelieka's expression twisted at the smell so much that she went out of the bedroom where the sisters were sleeping after making sure they were safe.
(How could they not wake up even after all this rampage?......)
Fenelieka walked up to one of the sisters with a question.
It was the peach-haired sister Freia whom Kara had talked to yesterday.
Fenelieka brought her face close to her sleeping face as she heard the sound of slashes and fragments of the furniture being destroyed in the bedroom.
It seemed that the slime was touching Freia's forehead.
At the exact center of her forehead, there was a thin mucus on her white skin.
She felt a hint of magic there and understood that the slime had done something to put the peach-haired sister to sleep with magic.
"Looks like the slimes were putting the people here to sleep with their magic!"
"I see――."
Before long, the slimes in the bedroom had reduced to three.
One goblin and two orcs.
Mariabelle was unaffected by them. As she destroyed the three "nucleus" almost without a pause with her precise swordsmanship, as though she knew where the "nucleus" was.
"――Do you know what they were doing?"
"For that... but why would they put them to sleep using magic?"
Silence fell over the bedroom, and Mariabelle sank into a sea of thoughts.
There was something she felt in the word "sleep".
After a dozen seconds of thought, she remembered that she had heard that the number of people having "nightmares" in Fonteau was increasing.
Sleeping magic and nightmares.
It was hard to believe that they were unrelated.
"That's――."
When Mariabelle said that, the succubus, who could also manipulate dreams, came up with the cause of the nightmares.
"The slimes, while people are sleeping, put them into a deeper sleep so that they cannot wake up and then give them nightmares."
"Is that possible?"
"That's right. If I wanted to, I could put a man to sleep for three days and three nights and dry him out in his dreams."
"...That's scary."
"Incubus―― a male one, on the other hand, can also use dreams...... I wonder if these slimes learned how to use an ability like an incubus."
Fenelieka left Freia's side, imagining the worst.
She also checked the condition of the other women, but understood that they were all put to sleep using magic.
"I see―― yesterday and today. Of course, they don't know."
"You mean the interviews?"
"Yes. They really don't know, because the people in the orphanage are...... sleeping and having nightmares."
Indeed, Mariabelle nodded, putting the holy sword in the scabbard.
But at the same time, she felt that the sleeping faces of Freia and other young women were somewhat...... ecstatic to be called nightmares.
......Mariabelle, who was not sexually knowledgeable, feel her cheeks heat up just from that sleeping face.
It was a sleeping face that felt sexy.
"I-If your nightmares are about being attacked by the slime...... you don't have to think about what they're doing to you."
Smiling bitterly at Mariabelle's initial reaction, Fenelieka looked around again.
"Now, where's Kara?"
"Yeah――."
It was at that moment.
Small...... really, a sound that even a beastman with excellent senses would miss reached Mariabelle's ears.
It was just a moment, a moment of concentration to find Kara.
The small sound that even Mariabelle might have missed if not for that―― basement.
"――Basement."
"Eh?"
Fenelieka's ears heard a voice so low that it was surprisingly frightening...... even for an ally.
Mariabelle looked around, but couldn't find what she was looking for―― a staircase leading to the basement and clicked her tongue.
Without hesitation, she pulled out the holy sword and pointed the tip at the floor.
Light flooded from the blade of the sword, and Fenelieka, the monster, felt terrible and hurried away from Mariabelle.
"Wai――."
"Please stay away, Fenel-san."
(It's too late!! Mou, when it comes to Kara, you're eyes change!!)
Without words, Fenelieka's heart beat fast deep in her chest, and rushed out of the room.
The brilliance of the holy sword caused a burning sensation just by being exposed to its light.
The impact easily blasted the wooden floor, and with the sound of the explosion, opened a large hole in the floor that could have accommodated several people.
The sisters who were still asleep in their beds must have been greatly shaken by it, but they still did not wake up.
"Kara!!"
At the moment Mariabelle shouted her name, a large slime in the shape of a minotaur, which had been hiding in the basement and trying to escape as the other slimes were defeated, looked up.
The cow-headed slime was much larger than the other slimes, and could be seen curled up in the narrow space of the basement, holding something carefully in its log-thick arms.
"Is Kara there!?"
After the light subsided, Fenelieka returned and looked into the large hole.
......Her beauty which should have abundant sexual experience twitched.
"Uu, ah... no, everyone... Maria, don't look ..."
Kara was there.
In the arms of the Minotaur.
Two arms, thick as logs, were holding the human in an embrace that encompassed something precious.
The girl-like limbs, which usually felt were petite, were so different in size from the being she was embracing that she looked like a doll.
When hugged by a large body and thick arms, she was unable to move on her own.
But her condition was miserable.
Her whole body was stained with an unbelievably large amount of white fluid, something filthy dripped from her head, the breast part of her blouse was ripped open violently, and her black stockings and panties were completely exposing the lower part of her body.
The sight of her wearing only a white coat with such tattered clothes left that even the word "raped" was not enough to describe it.
As if she had been bathed in water, a large amount of white liquid was dripping from her body, not only her hair, and showed no sign of her wiping it off.
Her eyes, which usually sparkled with an intelligent light, were vacant, but she still had her will firmly in her heart, and when she noticed Mariabelle's presence, she sadly looked away.
The reason for that was Kara's abdomen.
The female scientist's abdomen was distorted and swollen, pushed up by the insertion of almost half of the male genitalia, which was extremely thick and appropriate for the Minotaur's huge body.
The stimulation, pressure, and pain were so great that normally the vaginal hole would have ruptured and bled, but after a day of caressing, her vagina was loosen up and even the pain turned into pleasure due to the effect of the aphrodisiac, and she had accepted the minotaur's male genitalia using even her womb.
Kara's consciousness may have faded from the shock of having a huge penis inside her and she repeated to her best friend in a weak tone that she would never normally say, "Don't look at me," but her body, which had been stained by the aphrodisiac, climaxed and twitched slightly from the stimulation of the huge penis and the shame of being exposed to the eyes of her best friend.
How violently she was subjected to the humiliation―― one of her leather boots came off, and even her toes, wrapped in the exposed black stockings, curled up as she climaxed.
...And right in front of Mariabelle's eyes, Kara squirted without any vigor from the pubic area where she was sucking the minotaur's oversized male genitalia into its entrance.
"Ma, ria..."
"Kara!!"
Kara shook her head with tears of shame and humiliation, with the intention of worrying about Mariabelle and not worrying about herself.
But without hesitation, Mariabelle jumped into the large hole she had made and headed into the basement.
She was unprotected, worried only about Kara.
――The minotaur, who saw it, raised its left arm toward Mariabelle, who was in midair and could not avoid the attack.
The fist clenched powerfully, but the tip of the sword flew in the air faster than it could reach Mariabelle.
With a slash of the holy sword, Mariabelle sliced off the Minotaur's thick wrist, so fast that it was impossible for Fenelieka's eyes to follow.
The right arm holding the holy sword blurred in the darkness, and in the next instant, Kara's body, which had lost the restraints of one arm, swayed limply.
Beyond the limits of shame and relief at the same time at the appearance of the hero, Kara completely fell unconscious――
"You――."
Her usual calm expression disappeared, and she looked at the minotaur with a sharpness that could take its life just by looking.
But the minotaur pushed Kara to the front and used her as a shield while its huge penis was stabbing her...... and from behind, countless slimes came up from the hole that leads to the sewers, as she confirmed the location of the hole with only her awareness.
Mariabelle stopped her foot as she was about to step in.
It was because Kara was used as a shield, and the minotaur guessed that the hero could not attack them as long as its using the female scientist.
――That was the weakness of a being who had come to know the essence of being a person, not as a hero, and the connection between people.
Taking in the consciousness of thousands of men, accumulating wisdom, and understanding the few weaknesses of the "hero".
That survival instinct was not in the slime until now.
No, it did not exist in the minotaur until yesterday.
But not now.
The hero was angry.
She wanted to save the woman, even at the risk of her own life.
And she stopped and hesitated just by using one woman as a shield.
Slimes were a single organism, a monster that also gained knowledge by absorbing the mucus of other slimes.
In that way, the slimes spread throughout the continent sharing their knowledge and abilities, and now they could even use some of the goddess Fasalina's power―― conversely, if they did not share, that knowledge would disappear.
They had to avoid that.
The humanoid's long-cherished wish.
To obtain the hero Mariabelle.
That wish, which took precedence over the monster's instincts inherited from the Black Ooze, became more and more difficult as the hero Mariabelle grew.
With each passing day, she grew, became stronger, and evolved.
The growth of the humanoid was tremendous, but Mariabelle's abilities increase in proportion to the world's crises.
Perhaps because she was born from a hero of another world and the strongest mage in the world...... there was no limit to her growth.
The slimes that have abandoned the usual form of the slime and taken on the form of monsters were comparable to the Black Ooze that Mariabelle and her friends fought at the royal castle in Fonteau.
The Black Ooze, which strengthened itself by turning its mucus into "something", and the current slimes, which turn themselves into a variant that was only required to kill the human race created by the previous demon king, a monster.
The shape was different, but the change to the form of a "creature" rather than an oval-shaped slime―― even with such evolution, it was still far from the female hero, Mariabelle.
The minotaur realized that.
It was as though a fearful emptiness―― despair, floated in its mind, where only reproduction and instincts as a monster existed.
At the same time, there was a ray of light. Hope.
Just as the human race hoped for the hero.
Would the slimes have hope in the humanoid's wish?
That possibility.
The slimes, unable to defeat the hero, have found what may be her only weakness.
A companion.
The female hero puts herself in danger for the sake of those whom the minotaur used as a shield.
If the minotaur had been the humanoid, it would have struck with all its might the moment she was midair, where Mariabelle could not escape, and neutralized her.
As it was now, she hesitated to attack, creating an opening for a one-sided attack.
A shield that would create that opening.
It must be told. It must spread.
――The moment that thought came to its mind, countless goblins and orcs, which had escaped from the hole leading to the sewer behind the minotaur, which was a blind spot from Mariabelle, and which had been violating Kara with the minotaur all day, came crawling out.
They were like ants attacking a foreign enemy, crawling out of their nest.
And they were much bigger than ants.
The food storage was filled with these mucus monsters.
"The big bastard is trying to escape, Mariabelle!?"
Fenelieka, who was not good at fighting, did not go down into the basement, but shouted about the situation from above.
Mariabelle also noticed.
The slime in the form of a minotaur grabbed Kara's slender waist with its right hand and roughly pulled her out of its huge penis, then turned its back and ran away.
......Taking Kara, the hero's weakness.
"Hogyuu!?"
Kara, who had fainted, let out a strange scream as its huge penis was roughly pulled out, and her whole body convulsed.
Her legs wrapped in black stockings flailed wildly, and she was carried away by the minotaur, spilling a large amount of white fluid from her pubic area where the huge penis had been penetrating earlier.
She was no longer treated as a person but as a thing, but since Kara was unconscious, she did not utter a single word of complaint.
Mariabelle was confronted with countless slimes in the form of monsters, and for a moment she was taken aback by her appearance.
She was older than her but had a small body.
She had lovely limbs that would surely make her beautiful if she polished them.
But now, she was unconscious, covered in a filthy white fluid, with only a small portion of skin hidden by her tattered clothes.
Above all, the pubic area, which was painfully opened by the minotaur's huge penis, was distorted in a way that was humiliating to her as a woman.
Mariabelle, who had excellent five senses and eyesight as a hero, was so upset by the sight of her best friend in such a state of disarray that she stopped dead in her tracks. The tip of her sword dulled.
The minotaur used her as a shield, making it impossible to attack.
"You!!!!"
Mariabelle's hand hesitated and stopped.
The minotaur must survive and tell the other slimes that they have a chance to win if they target Kara and the hero's companions.
More slimes emerge from the hole leading to the sewers, and at that time the minotaur held out its left arm, which was missing from the wrist down, and pressed them against its body.
There was no scream.
But the slimes flailed their bodies and were absorbed by the minotaur, which was much larger and more powerful than they were.
Its body, originally so huge that even Mariabelle could look up at it, swelled even more.
It absorbed the slime, preyed on it, and increased its power.
The slime's weak point, its "nucleus," also increased by two or three.
Still, it was not enough.
Stronger. More.
The slime was like a beast itself, devouring its companions in order not to die.
It grew huge, its stride became wider, and in proportion to that, it became unable to maintain its form as a "minotaur".
Just as the black ooze did, it was no longer able to maintain its form as a "monster" that killed people, and its cow-head collapsed, bloating from the shoulders up as though it had exploded. It was like a poisonous mushroom that had acquired a will and a body.
The mushroom ran away.
A few more steps.
The "minotaur" that had eaten its comrades and grown to a giant size jumped into the hole leading to the sewers and ran away.
Dozens of slimes in the form of monsters were blocking Mariabelle's path, so closely together that she could not wield her weapon properly.
Yet, when the hero raised the holy sword above her head―― the blade glowed more fiercely and divinely than when it made a huge hole in the floor of the orphanage and Mariabelle swung it down.
It was literally devastation.
The light illuminated the entire basement so brightly that for a moment, even their shadows were not visible.
The slime that came into contact with the light dissolved and evaporated, unable to retain its form.
A moment later, it loses its greatest weapon, its mucus, and its weak point, its "nucleus," was lying in the ground of the food storage.
Overwhelming.
No, it was not even a contest...... there was such a huge difference in power between the slime and the current Mariabelle.
"Haa, haa!!"
However, using that much power was quite a burden on Mariabelle, and when the light subsided, her body shook in fatigue, opened her legs shoulder-width apart, somehow enduring falling down, and breathe erratically.
She also found it difficult to maintain the position in which she held up the holy sword, so she thrust it, which she usually waved lightly like a feather, to the ground and used it as a support.
"Ka, ra..."
Kara was released from the Minotaur, which had been annihilated along with the other slimes by the light and was lying on the muddy floor stained with mucus.
Her unprotected back repeatedly twitches, her pubic region, which could no longer be closed, continued to spill the semen that had accumulated, and through the white fluid, the reddened flesh of her vagina, which has been violated all night, was faintly visible.
At the sight of her, Mariabelle burst into tears and sat down beside her.
"Kara, Kara..."
Even when she called out her name, Kara did not regain consciousness.
She was badly violated and so tired.
Still, Mariabelle picked Kara up and held her small body, not caring about getting dirty.
"I'm sorry―― I'm sorry I'm late..."
At that moment, the effect of the holy sword's light finally faded and Fenelieka also came down to the basement.
Her expression was one of astonishment and concern, and she was not sure if she should call out.
(That number in an instant... it's still absurd as ever.)
In fact, with dozens of slimes in the form of monsters, it would be impossible for an ordinary knight to defeat without preparing more than three times that number.
Their bodily fluids were poisonous, and depending on the race in which they take form, they use weapons and magic.
Fenelieka was stunned and felt pity for the demon king who created her, wondering how he could have thought of fighting such a monster.
But she let those feelings go with her sigh and sat down beside Mariabelle, who was sitting down and picked up Kara in her arms.
"Are you okay, Mariabelle?"
"Uu... Kara, I couldn't protect Kara..."
"It's fine. She's not dead. She's alive."
But her breathing was very weak.
It looked like it was going to stop any minute.
"Let's take her to a priest who can heal, okay? The people at the orphanage...... I also need to find out what the slime did to them."
"Y-yes..."
At Fenelieka's words, Mariabelle, who had been crying, stood up while holding Kara.
The painful sight of her brought tears to her eyes again.
(Even though she's so strong, when it comes to her friends, she's so weak... a strange creature, the hero.)
With that in mind, and with a dark expression of worry on her own face, Kara was brought to the orphanage room with Mariabelle leading the way.
