As the last Mother Slime finally fell, her huge body burst apart with a loud pop! Slimy goo flew everywhere, splashing across the ground. Big drops of sticky goo landed all over my arms and face.
"Ughh, nasty!" I groaned, shaking my hands. The slime stretched like glue and dripped down. No matter how much I wiped, it only made things worse.
"I could help you with that," Dahlia said.
She stepped closer, holding her trident. Its tip glowed faintly as she pointed it right at me.
"Eh… no, no, it's fine!" I yelped, quickly raising both hands.
Dahlia tilted her head, then gave a little shrug. "Okay," she answered kindly.
Before I could say another word, the ground shook beneath us. Then a loud, angry roar ripped through the forest.
We froze and turned toward the sound.
It was the Slime Queen.
Efren and Freya were already there, fighting bravely in front of her. They had also defeated their Mother Slimes already.
"We need to back them up!" I shouted.
Dahlia gave a sharp nod. Together, we broke into a sprint.
Ahead of us, Claude was already running toward the fight. His whip was coiled in his hand, ready to strike.
A gravitational force was released again by the Slime Queen, aimed straight at Freya and Efren. The ground trembled, and the air seemed to pull around them.
Before it could hit, Efren lifted his staff high into the air.
"Chroma Shroud!" he shouted.
In an instant, both he and Freya vanished from sight.
"They vanished!" I muttered, eyes wide as I and my companions rushed toward where they were.
The Slime Queen's gravitational force slammed into the empty space where they had stood. Nothing happened—the skill completely missed them.
But before we could stop running, the Slime Queen spat a thick, pink goo. New Mother Slimes began to form. Soon, these enormous slimes were crawling toward our side, squelching across the ground with each movement.
We froze for a moment, startled at their sudden arrival.
Then, as if on cue, both Freya and Efren reappeared in front of us, stepping out of the skill.
"Yo! Friends!" Efren called cheerfully, raising a hand in greeting.
The Mother Slimes weren't done yet. From their gooey bodies, they began releasing dozens of tiny slime offspring, bouncing and hopping toward us. The small slimes wobbled and jiggled, forming a growing horde.
"Leave this to me!" Efren proclaimed, gripping his staff tightly.
He raised it high again and pointed it toward the small slimes.
"Leaf Barrage!" he shouted.
At the tip of Efren's chameleon staff, many glowing leaves suddenly appeared. One by one, the leaves spun toward each other and fused together, forming a single, sharp projectile made of many spinning green leaves. With a flick of his staff, the whirling leaf sphere shot forward, spinning fiercely as it aimed straight at the small slimes.
The leaf bounced from slime to slime, slicing through each one with precision. One after another, the tiny enemies were struck, wobbling and jiggling before disappearing into goo. The leaf continued to ricochet until all the small slimes were finally gone.
With the path cleared, Freya charged straight at the three massive Mother Slimes. She held her sword tightly, ready to strike.
She swung at one of the Mother Slimes, aiming for a clean, powerful hit.
But the Mother Slime reared back, preparing to spit a thick stream of acid. Freya gripped her sword even tighter, bracing to use a skill.
"Be careful!" I shouted, my heart racing as I charged alongside her. My three companions ran with me, ready to face the massive slimes together.
"Plume Mirage!" Freya shouted, her sword glowing bright green.
The Mother Slime lunged, spewing a thick acid toward her. In an instant, a green blur of afterimages streaked behind Freya.
She didn't even bother dodging. The acid could hit her.
In a flash, Freya slid across the ground. As she sprang to her feet, her body twisted in a graceful arc, rising again and narrowly escaping the acid spray. For a heartbeat, I was mesmerized—the scene moved so fast that the shimmering afterimages vanished into nothing.
Then, just as quickly, she was sprinting forward, ready to strike. It was as if she hadn't slid along the ground at all. I realized I had been deceived—the speed was unreal. Freya was a blur of motion, so fast that she was already poised for another attack before I could even blink.
The first Mother Slime wobbled, struggling to keep up. Freya landed a strong hit, cutting deep into its gooey body. Without pausing, she twisted and swung her sword again, moving so fast it was hard to follow.
The other two Mother Slimes spat acid at her, but Freya didn't falter. She tumbled backward three times, avoiding every corrosive stream. Then, with a sudden burst of speed, she leapt high into the air and brought her sword down.
Every movement was smooth, quick, and dazzling, like she was dancing instead of fighting.
We arrived at her side, ready to help, but Freya didn't need any help at all. She was skillfully taking on the other Mother Slime, her sword flashing with every strike.
With Freya handling that one, we turned our attention to the two remaining Mother Slimes.
"We only need these two Mother Slimes to complete our quest," Claude said, glancing at Efren. "Hey, Lizard Boy, is it okay if we land the last hit so we can finish our quest?"
"Okay," Efren replied with a nod.
Claude grinned. "Then let's end this in an instant!"
He swung his whip with incredible force, the tip slamming into the body of one Mother Slime. The massive creature wobbled violently, its gooey form shaking with the impact.
I raised my spear and, alongside Dahlia, slashed toward the other Mother Slime, driving it back a few steps.
"Hey! Both of you, deal with the Slime Queen before she can release more minions. We got this," Claude called to us.
We nodded in agreement, ready to move.
Before we could run forward, Efren swung his staff toward me. Its chameleon tail extended, wrapping securely around my body.
"You good at landing, right?" he asked with a grin.
"Eh?" I asked, confused. He's not throwing me, right?
With a swift motion, Efren swung his staff high into the air, sending me soaring above the battlefield, ready to strike from above and take the fight to the Slime Queen herself.
The Slime Queen detected me soaring high above her, spear ready and aimed straight at her. She tried to react quickly, activating her skill—she prepared her body as if absorbing the air, a force aimed directly at me.
"Not a chance!" I shouted, refusing to let her stop me.
"Phoenix Flare!" I called, unleashing my skill. My spear ignited in a blazing fire, glowing so brightly.
I dove toward her, moving faster, my spear aimed with precision. The heat from my weapon scorched the air as I landed directly above the Slime Queen.
Blop!
The towering slime wobbled violently, groaning in pain as my spear struck deep into her gooey body.
[-90 Critical Hit!]
The impact shook the ground around her, and I could see the shock in her movements as she struggled to maintain her form.