"Is everyone okay!?"
Fornelis shouted after about thirty minutes had passed since the appearance of a more powerful slime―― a special slime born from Leticia and Fiana.
The slime, with its powerful magic and skillful tentacle manipulation, was a formidable foe even for the strongest of beastmen, Fornelis, and she was wearing a black military uniform, half of which was already soaked with mucus.
Attacked by tentacles that mainly targeted her lower body, but there were no lacerations and only minor bruises.
It didn't hinder her from fighting, but the feeling of her wet clothes sticking to her skin was uncomfortable.
What distracted her more than anything was the smell.
Her clothes, once clean, now smelled as though they had been smeared with filth, and a beastmen with an excellent sense of smell would lose their concentration just from that.
It was not only Fornelis but the other beastmen as well.
The slime had adjusted its bodily fluids to emit a strong odor, distracting the beastmen and making them easier to catch.
"Cough* ――are you guys, okay......?"
Her voice, while coughing, was filled with fatigue.
It's not a problem in terms of stamina.
But the foul odor of the slime made breathing difficult and even caused headaches.
What would be the most effective way to deprive a beastmen's strength?
The answer was to use their five senses against them and drive them crazy. Sight, sound, touch, taste...... and smell.
The slimes emitted the simplest of those, the stench, and hit the powerful individuals, slowly but surely reducing the strength of the beastmen, the key to their strength.
――Still, Fornelis and the others were putting up a good fight.
Even though they were in a poor state, the beastmen followed her instructions and continued to fight as warriors regardless of gender.
What the slime miscalculated was that Fornelis and the others were not disorganized, did not run away, and were in control even though they were so cornered and that no individual was isolated.
If they fought in groups, they would attack the other warriors while kidnapping the other, but none of the warriors had been kidnapped yet.
They tried to attack the whole group at the same time to take advantage of the chaos, but that didn't work either―― but it was only a matter of time.
For the slimes, no matter how many of their own kind were defeated, their numbers were still far greater than the humans.
Even if they continue to rely on their numbers, they would be able to exhaust Fornelis and her men and capture them all before the sun goes down.
Even the best warrior, Fornelis, began to breathe unevenly, and the beastmen, who had superior physical strength, was already breathing heavily as their shoulders moved up and down.
"Fornelis!"
The slimes that had been observing Fornelis and the other frontline troops caught the voice of another woman.
It was Jenna and her team of warrior priests who were securing the entrance to the royal capital of Fonteau.
She, too, had lost her way when the entrance was blocked by a giant slime, forcing her to move forward.
"Jenna, why are you here!?"
"The slime that was mimicking the door closed the east gate, and...... we managed to clear a way out."
"No, it's okay―― it seems the slimes were one step ahead of us after all."
Once the wave of slimes had died down, Fornelis honestly admitted defeat.
Using her beloved oversized sword as a support, she tried to regulate her erratic breathing, but it was difficult.
However, Fornelis herself was surprised that the attacks were not as strong as she thought...... it was because once defeated, captured, and violated, she understood the strength of her opponent.
They couldn't afford to look down on them because they were monsters or because they were slime.
If they wanted to win, they have to sacrifice themselves and even their companions in desperation―― that determination was made when she fought with the hero against the demon king.
It was the same for Jenna.
With her retreat blocked, Jenna had joined up with Fornelis, prioritizing those who could fight.
Once freed, the slime captives were taken again but gave up on them...... because they would not be killed.
Even Jenna resisted.
The warrior priests tried to fight off the monsters with the help of the power of goddess Fasalina and her miracles, but there were too many of them. Too many.
The proof of their battle showed in her braided, lustrous blond hair, which was in disarray, and the sweat that flowed on her cheeks and forehead, clouding her good looks.
Her hands that held a large cane were strained that her skin had turned white, and there were tears in her eyes......
"It's okay, Jenna. We'll win in the end―― think about it."
"Y-yeah... that's right."
In the back of Jenna's mind, she could see the women of Fonteau...... who were happy at the miracle of being saved and twisting their faces in despair at being captured again.
It was impossible to forget the faces of the people desperately calling for help.
Swallowing hard, Jenna took a slow, deep breath and calmed herself down.
"So what's next?"
"There's nothing we can do―― the only way left is to go forward."
Fornelis looked up at the royal castle of Fonteau with a wry smile on her face that hinted fatigue.
As though to lure them in, the path leading to the royal castle had a small number of slimes, and it was the only place they could break through as they were in a state of exhaustion.
"It's a trap, but we have to go. The longer we fight, the fewer slimes will be heading towards Mariabelle and the others."
"......Yeah. But still, we fought against the demon king and a dragon, and now we're being hunted down by the slimes."
"It's a bad dream, indeed."
It was not an insult, but a joke to cheer up their feeling that was sinking into despair.
With those words, they brought a slight smile to both of their faces and lightened their hearts.
However, the warriors fighting in the area did not have time for that.
All of them were desperate to survive, and they just kept on slicing the mucus monster in front of them, using weapons blessed by Valhari's water.
"Everyone, listen up! We're heading in the royal castle in Fonteau! Jenna and I will lead the way, so follow us!!"
In terms of strength, not much had changed from the time they entered the royal capital.
Although they were tired, their strength was still sufficient.
The warriors who thought that they were going to head out of the royal capital with a single breakthrough were about to object, but the beastmen followed the words of their princess, who had fought and survived the Demon King and her survival instincts, and changed into a charging formation towards the royal castle.
"I know you're all tired, but please do your best! Even now, our hero Mariabelle is fighting! If we retreat here, the burden on her will increase―― good luck!!"
Jenna also raised her voice and appealed to those who were raising their confused faces.
Yes, they were there to fight for Mariabelle and to protect her.
She put it into words and reminded the people who were confused by the attack of their goal by reason.
――For the "hero".
She had no choice to cling to that now.
If it was the hero. Mariabelle would be able to take care of it.
"……Terrible."
The words came out unconsciously from Jenna's mouth as they reached the entrance of the royal castle.
The country of her best friend, whom she visited several times a year as a messenger of the country.
The land of the elves, once considered the most beautiful in the land, built by her best friend and her first love, had been cruelly invaded and changed.
The beautiful flowers had withered, the furnishings had been vandalized, and a strange smell was coming from everywhere.
It was not the case outside the royal castle. As the beastmen, who have excellent senses, unconsciously cover their mouths, and their eyes unconsciously weep from the foul odor that they feel pain directly in their brains.
"Fornelis, are you okay?"
"Uu, kuh... yeah, I can still manage."
No matter how good a warrior they were, they would never be able to completely endure pain from their five senses.
No, for the pain of having excellent senses, Fornelis was even sweating as she walked.
She, like the rest of the beastmen, had tears in their eyes, and their movements had visibly slowed down.
"Everyone, lend a shoulder to the beastmen―― we're going inside the royal castle."
The ones who moved were the old soldiers, who were weak as a fighting force.
The child soldiers carry their equipment, and the warrior priests enter the royal castle first.
......Inside the castle was even worse.
The carpet that extended from the wide stairwell to the door leading outside was decomposing, absorbing mucus, and when they step on it, they felt uncomfortable through their leather boots.
The smell of decay was unparalleled compared to the outside, and just being in the place was enough to make Fornelis and the other beastmen collapse.
"Are you okay, Fornelis? We can't open the windows because if we do, the slimes will come in from there......"
The hall at the entrance of the castle was not enough to hold three thousand people.
The area was quickly filled with people coming in, and the warrior priests took the lead by moving to another area to make sure it was safe.
After seeing them off, Jenna also started to take action.
She confirmed the safety of the surrounding area by using the "Talisman of Light", which the slime hated, and took a breath.
"Cough*..."
(...The smell is terrible.)
Even though they secured the safety of the surrounding area, there was nothing she could do about the smell.
Unable to open the window to ventilate the area for fear of slimes coming inside, Jenna looked around, covering her mouth.
The walls, the floor, and everything else in the area that could be described as hell itself were completely different from the royal castle of Fonteau in her memory, and it seemed like a ruin.
(There were signs of people...)
Jenna was on the other side of the grand staircase that led to the upper floor. She could definitely feel the presence of people from the second floor.
Same as the city, there were many people in the castle, and she remembered that her best friend Leticia, who traveled with her to defeat the demon king, was also trapped in the castle.
"...Leticia?"
Jenna called out to the second floor.
There was no reply.
......But, zururi*. There was the sound of a heavy, sticky object stirring.
The sun's rays shining through the window were dim, indicating that the source of the sound was of considerable magnitude.
"Everyone, there's something here! Be on guard!"
"Tch."
Jenna's instincts alerted her that it was not just slime.
As everyone in the hall turned their gaze to the second floor, a wriggling thing peeked out slightly, its face.
A huge...... snake. No, the faceless thing looked more like a huge leech.
"Wha――"
Jenna was at a loss for words because the thing was so horrifying.
They have seen giant slimes in the city, but it was the first time they had seen one this big, in the shape of a different creature rather than the oval shape typical of slimes.
It was like the humanoid slime she saw in Lishlua―― a completely different kind of creature. No, it was a new kind of bizarre monster......
Numerous hands were growing out of its body.
Human hands. It had five fingers and an arm from the shoulder down.
It was a lot...... and its arms carry the giant body while the other half of the giant body peeked over the stairs.
"Everyone, prepare for battle!!"
Fornelis, who was using her oversized sword as support, raised her voice.
She took the Valhari's Blessed Water from her pocket and clicked her tongue.
（Damn it, that was the last one!?)
She threw the empty bottle away violently.
Now she had one fewer means of resistance. And then there was the magic sword, an oversized sword made of mithril that she could activate with her power. How effective was the blessed water on the deformed behemoth peeking out from the second floor?......
But still, they have to fight.
There was no escape route anymore.
Nowhere―― anywhere on the continent.
"Fight! This is a decisive moment!!"
――Maybe it wanted to be a human being.
If the Black Ooze had been thinking normally, maybe it would have thought so.
When it saw it for the first time, something grew in the Black Ooze's thoughts.
"He" couldn't understand what it was.
It was born in this world, ate insects and beasts, and then took in a human "male".
The Black Ooze became a "he", feeding on flesh and blood as its instincts dictated, growing, and violating women to increase the number of its kind.
That was all.
That was all there was.
But that was not the case.
A mutant, the Black Ooze, taking in the blood from the hero's deflowering.
A mutant that grew endlessly and took in mana.
It was not a slime, but a monster in a different shape.
Could it still be called a monster?
Goblins and Orcs, with their arms and two legs, were also called monsters, but they were different.
"Fight! This is a decisive moment!!"
It understood that the gray-haired beastwoman had raised her voice.
The beastwoman was full of life force and had a powerful glow.
She had no mana, but she could give birth to powerful children.
"Gather around, everyone! We must all fight together!!"
A priestess with beautiful blond hair in braids was leading a group of humans with the power of the goddess.
When it violated the priestesses, at first its mucus disintegrated at the mere touch.
However, it overcame that by letting many spawn pass.
Now, they give birth to powerful children.
......For the Black Ooze, a woman was a nursery.
They were only there to violate, impregnate, and increase the number of their own kind as their instincts dictate.
But that was not the case.
It violated women, changed its shape, and gradually becomes less and less...... slime.
It was no longer a Black Ooze.
The change―― if there had been a proper teacher and understood the language...... the Black Ooze might have been envious.
That was why it changed its appearance.
Instead of the slime's original oval shape, it became a simple snake.
And it grew hands. Like a human.
But it was different.
No matter how much the Black Ooze thought, it was a monster.
It could never be human.
Even now... it was not like the humanoid slime that came to the castle.
It could only act to capture a woman as a nursery.
"Alfred-sama."
The brown-skinned girl hiding behind the Black Ooze lovingly called out its name.
Alfred.
The man the Black Ooze had taken in. A mage.
Ever since then, the girl...... the slave, Satia, had been by the Black Ooze's side.
"All those who can fight, step forward! Mages, cover us!!"
"I-I understand――!?"
The deformed slime that appeared from the second floor targeted the mage first.
As its whole body reached the middle of the stairs, each arm that grew from its whole body―― dozens of them, as it opened their hands, it spread their fingers and constructed a magic circle, each woven with red, blue, yellow...... different kinds of magic.
As soon as they shone with mana so powerful like that of the strongest mage, Leticia, would use, the magic of fire, ice, and lightning would be spun according to their color.
"――You've got to be kidding me... Block it!!"
When Fornelis felt the overwhelming magic, she immediately shouted in disbelief.
Her instincts made her realize that she was going to die, and her loud voice drowned out the feeling that her body was about to collapse.
The mages behind the beastmen―― there weren't that many of them left as the others went to explore the other rooms, but there were still about thirty of them, weaving a magic circle, trying to cancel out the magic released by the giant slime.
However, the magic was garbage.
They tried to counteract the ice spear with a ball of fire, but the spear pierced through easily.
They tried to create a wall of water to deflect the lightning strike, but it was vaporized.
The wind that shot out to repel the ball of fire only increased its power―― every bit of magic that the mages unleashed was destroyed, swallowed up, and in an instant, the mages that were so troublesome to the Black Ooze's were blown away.
"Gather all those who can't fight there!!"
While saying that, Fornelis trusted her instincts and charged at the giant deformed slime.
(If we leave, we'll just be targeted by magic!!)
She knew how to fight monsters that used magic.
By approaching and blocking its high firepower by interfering with its chanting.
The only way to do it was to expose oneself to its high firepower, which naturally came with fear.
Overcoming that "fear" was the first step to survival.
It was the reason why Fornelis exposed herself to the frontline and swung her oversized sword at the huge monster.
"This is the origin! Kill it here!!"
Valhari's Blessed Water was indeed good for the Black Ooze.
The large, wide, over-decorated grand staircase that had been built to show visitors its prosperity was easy for the slime to fight and hard for Fornelis to fight.
While the slime, with its myriad of hands, could use any foothold to keep its torso balanced, Fornelis was forced to attack her enemy from a lower position and could not put all of her weight on it.
Se swung her oversized sword with only the strength from her arms, but the Valhari's water that soaked the blade disintegrated and vaporized its mucus.
However, the Black Ooze separated the mucus from the cut area and threw it downstairs without hesitation.
It then immediately regenerated the cut area.
"Damn it!!"
In a matter of seconds, countless arms stretched out to grab Fornelis, the precious mother, unharmed.
She jumped back to position herself.
She used the mucus as a foothold with the superior physical ability peculiar to beastmen and sliced the "arms" being extended by swinging the oversized sword, but there were too many of them.
The blade would certainly disintegrate the mucus of the Black Ooze, but even that liquid was not infinite.
The more she slashed, the more the liquid diminished.
(If it's so huge, I don't know where the "nucleus" is!?)
They still couldn't even see the full extent of it.
As the lower half of the Black Ooze was behind the stairs, on the second floor.
In the meantime, other beastmen joined the battle, but they had their hands full with just a few arms and could not get close to Fornelis.
In particular, It didn't hesitate to use its magic on the male beastmen, neutralizing them without holding back.
"Fornelis, I'll support you!!"
In the midst of that, the bodies of the female soldiers fighting on the front line were enveloped in white light.
The pale light was warm and permeated to the core of their bodies―― a miracle of physical enhancement used by warrior priests.
"The magicians who are on the other rooms――."
"Let them break the scaffolding as soon as they come!! Don't worry about us...... and get this monster down to the basement!!"
To buy time―― just for that. Fornelis decided to stall the oversized mutant as much as possible.
But even that was futile.
Its movement was slow, typical of slimes, but it was impossible to stop a mass that could swallow the royal castle of Fonteau for a moment.
Soon the huge body reached the first floor before long―― then, the Black Ooze's countless "arms" finally grabbed Fornelis' left arm.
"Shit―― Let go!!"
Fornelis tried to tear the tentacle arms off with her other arm, but her right arm was grabbed next, then both legs, then her waist.
The beautiful body of the beastmen princess was lifted into the air, and even so, her whole body flailed about desperately trying to escape.
"Fornelis!?"
"Don't worry about me, fight!!"
Even though she was a beastmen princess, she was only one of the forces here.
Even if it thought so, it couldn't divide them.
In addition, the Black Ooze―― as expected, it started to strip off Fornelis' clothes in the midst of many eyes.
Even though she was wearing a plain black military uniform, her ample hips, breasts, and perky waist―― the beautiful limbs that attract men's eyes were gradually revealed.
The Black ooze was kind.
It carefully removed each of her clothes and slowly peeled off the blouse underneath the military uniform as well......
Immediately, it exposed her healthy colored skin, mature black underwear, and a sweaty belly button...... Once that much was exposed, it was time to look at her lower body.
A large, rugged belt and even the buttons on her pants were undone.
When her bra and mature black panties were exposed, even Fornelis bit her lip, her cheeks flushed with shame.
"Fight!! Fight!!"
In response to Fornelis' voice, the battle resumed.
Many soldiers rushed into the slime, shouting and trying to destroy the arms that restrained Fornelis.
But they couldn't get close enough.
The slime skillfully used its tentacle arms and magic to keep the soldiers at bay―― its experience in battle that it had gained from the men it had absorbed so far, and it naturally possessed knowledge on group battles and the thoughts of a person when a comrade was captured.......
The soldiers were eager to help Fornelis, which was why their movements were straightforward and their minds and thoughts were readable.
Taking advantage of their thinking, the Black Ooze easily captured the women, as though the battle earlier in the city was just a lie.
"Stop, stop it――!?"
Among them, the best foods were Fornelis and Jenna.
Two heroes who traveled with the hero and fought alongside Leticia.
The Black Ooze didn't even look at the other women, and it next extended its arms to Jenna.
She, too, stopped her concentration to help her companion that was captured and it disrupted their formation.
The Black Ooze thought.
It's too easy.
It had captured Fornelis, and now its tentacles would soon reach Jenna.
The blond-haired "saint" had fear on her face, but she gritted her teeth and tried to overcome it.
The countless wills within it recognize the enemies coming from all directions, and despite its overwhelming size, there were no blind spots.
A few of the beastmen went around the second floor, but their surprise attack was unsuccessful and they were knocked down to the first floor by a single swing of its arm.
"Are you okay!?"
Jenna is a kind-hearted woman.
She could smile kindly at anyone, even the elderly and children.
That was why she suffered and gets dismayed when someone was injured as though it were her own.
Jenna, who was trying to run to the beastmen who was knocked down from the second floor, was easily caught by the tentacle arm―― but the light emitted from the staff, which was large enough to be held with both hands, purified the tentacle of the Black Ooze.
The Talisman of Light, which was as effective as or more effective than the Valhari's Blessed Water, was still effective for the Black Ooze, who violated the sisters all over the country and took in new power.
"It's oka――."
But no matter how much she disintegrated the mucus, it was meaningless to its infinite mass.
It quickly regenerated, and the filthy mucus monster caught the saint wearing her holy vestments―― now that it caught both of them, it destroyed the floor, and dove underground with a speed that was unimaginable for its huge body.
"No way!? Fornelis-sama, Jenna-sama!?"
Everyone shouted.
Only the wounded remained in the hall on the first floor.
The Black Ooze, dove underground and separated from its massive body, leaving only the lower half of its body on the first floor.
"Shit!? We have to go and help them!!"
But even though it was cut in half, it was still the origin of the slimes―― the Black Ooze.
Now that it had what it really wanted, It didn't need to hold anything back.
A magic circle that was different from the previous one was conjured from its innumerable arms, as though wrapped in colorful, bright armor... An overwhelming amount of magic and mass was released.
It completely destroyed the first floor of the royal castle, shattering windows and walls and blowing away the people inside.
But it didn't kill any of them.
It was okay to kill the man, but it did not when the important mothers were mixed in, and everyone on the first floor was blown outside, knocked unconscious by the impact, or unable to move due to the intense pain.
And so, one by one, they were captured and absorbed by the mucus that had stuck to the walls of the castle......
Next, the other soldiers in the other rooms.
"Uu..."
When Fornelis groaned from a severe headache, what she saw in her eyes was a pitch-black world.
Where the sunlight had not reached.
She realized that it was chilly because she was not wearing any clothes.
"Shit……"
"Fornelis, are you awake?"
"Jenna? ......are you okay!?"
"Don't shout......"
The voice was very close, but perhaps the dark place had dulled her senses, and Fornelis could not immediately locate Jenna.
After a while, her eyes adjusted to the darkness and she realized that she was in a...... dungeon, surrounded by stone walls.
At the same time, she realized that she, Jenna, and many other women were pinned to the wall.
"Is this...... a dungeon?"
"Yes, it looks like it."
"Damn, it's cold."
Fornelis, in her underwear, stripped of her jacket and pants.
Next to her, Jenna smiled, her neat white coat still intact and her wet clothes stuck to her skin.
"We've been caught again."
"Yeah, I know."
".......What's going to happen now?"
"......It has been decided."
As Fornelis said that, the mucus on the wall―― probably waiting for the women to regain consciousness, began to extend its tentacles towards the two beauties.
It was a thin tentacle, about the size of a pinky finger.
It was innumerable... A slow movement like a snake that warned people that they were approaching, from their feet.
"Kuh..."
"It's unpleasant... but the problem is that it doesn't work."
Fornelis said jokingly, trying not to make her feelings as dark as possible, but it did not make her feel better.
After all, they were now going to be violated by these tentacles......
"Did we bought enough time?"
"For those of us who are not a hero, this is the limit."
The rest is up to Mariabelle.
The daughter of the hero, the child of their best friend.
"Wha......"
"No way――."
Fornelis and... a woman brought from the depths of the darkness spoked at the same time.
Her beautiful silver hair was stained with mucus, and her once well-proportioned limbs were weak, as though her muscles had been weakened by being violated for a long time.
"Leticia, are you alright!?"
"Fornelis, Jenna!? Why are you both here... the shaking from earlier, was it you guys!?"
"Thank god, ah, thank god... Thank you, Goddess Fasalina-sama..."
Fornelis and Leticia shouted in surprise at the sudden reunion, and Jenna thanked the goddess for her best friend's safety.
Leticia, on the other hand, was in a terrible state.
The queen of the country was bound by a collar made of mucus and was being dragged along by it.
And then she was moved directly in front of Fornelis and the others.
If the black-haired hero were here, it would be as though they were reunited―― a faint hope would boil in her heart.
However, Leticia was completely naked and Fornelis was in her underwear.
Even Jenna's entire body was covered in mucus, and her clothes stuck to her limbs.
And they were in the dungeon below Fonteau...
"Both of you, if you're okay, get out of here."
"Does this look okay to you?"
Fornelis's voice brightened slightly at the reunion with her best friend, but the situation was hopeless.
Fornelis and Jenna were stuck to the wall, and Leticia couldn't feel the surge of mana.
No matter how good a mage she was on the continent, without magic, she was just a normal person.
"Leticia, listen carefully. Mariabelle is here too."
"That's!? Jenna, why is that girl..."
"Mariabelle inherited the holy sword and armor from that man. Now she's a much better fighter than I ever was."
"......I didn't want her to fight."
"I know. Once this matter is settled, you can be mad at me until you feel better."
......While conversing, thin tentacles wrapped around Fornelis and Jenna's legs and were slowly making their way up.
"Just hang in there, both of you―― someday we'll be saved."
"Yeah. We'll be fine."
"Yeah...... Leticia, are you okay? You've been trapped in here for a long time, haven't you?"
At the same time, dirty tentacles entangled Leticia's plump limbs, defiling her hips, waist, and breasts.
"This is the dungeon where the slime punishes the bad women who don't listen. So be careful......."
And then Fornelis and Jenna were reminded of what that "be careful" meant.
