Momo was caught by the slime.
Just as I thought that the worst wouldn’t happen because of her clone, she yelled that she couldn’t undo the clone. “Momo, calm down!” Inuuke’s voice echoed from above.
But the fact that she was shouting loudly despite her mysterious demeanor conveyed that she was also somewhat shaken.
“I don’t get it! Why!?”
The unharmed clone of Momo is confused.
”…What would happen if the clone gets defeated?”
Deepo whispered to herself. She also looked worried.
That’s right, that’s the biggest problem.
Would it just be the clone getting defeated? While I’m worried about Momo experiencing a near-death experience through memory sharing, I can also imagine a worse scenario.
Namely, if the clone’s death affects the main body.
No one knows what kind of effect it would have if the clone, which should be able to be undone, is forced to remain.
Therefore, the only option is clear.
Rescue them without letting the duplicates die.
“Seirina! Change the conditions of the barrier! Make sure the slime can’t get out!” “Okay…”
Now there’s no need to worry about the other Momo duplicates being taken away.
If that is the ‘Resonant Acidic Slime’, it should be able to break through the barrier, but I can just have it set up again each time.
The giant slime took the captured Momo inside its body.
The remaining Momo duplicates all knelt down, pressing their throats as if trying to get oxygen.
――Does the effect on the captured duplicate affect all the others as well!?
If so, the main body at the base should be taking damage too. “Momo!” Inugai’s cry.
Smoke rose from Momo’s skin, and her clothes and skin melted as if being burned.
“Thousand Heal! Keep healing! Pain relief too!”
“Intermediate Healing! Pain relief!”
Her wounds healed, but Momo continued to suffer new injuries as soon as they healed.
The copy that’s trapped is drowning in the slime, so it’s not screaming, but it looks like it’s in agony.
“Seirin! Can you generate a barrier inside the slime’s body and rescue Momo?!”
”…! Sorry! The acid inside the slime would destroy the barrier immediately!”
Seirin’s ability allows her to move the barrier after it’s generated.
I thought it would make the rescue easier if it worked, but it doesn’t seem to be going that smoothly.
“Shikai! Put the remaining copies on the phantoms! I’ll take down that big slime with me, Shinpo, and Yinsen! The rest of you take out the other slime!” Everyone agrees.
“Both of you! Just keep chipping away at that slime from the outside!” “Yeah!” “Leave it to me!”
The shadow puppet turned its arms into blades and leaped at the giant slime, while Shinpo’s ‘Wind Blades’ carved into the enemy’s body.
I kept putting it into my ‘Inventory’.
When the giant slime shook with irritation, it fired something off.
Something? It’s acidic liquid. “Store!”
If I can recognize it and it’s within range, I can put it into my ‘Inventory’.
As the enemy’s counterattack fizzled out, their body gradually shrank due to the two’s attacks. I briefly glanced around. “Out of the way.”
The wind kick blew a normal individual away, nucleus and all.
“I’ll make you pay for attacking Momo.”
The slimes under Inugai’s control attacked in groups, forcing them to cannibalize each other.
“I won’t let Kono get near them!”
Fenrir Illusion cut through the enemies one after another, stomping on them. “Kono! Please, save Momo!”
Kite was accurately shooting the nuclei of the slimes with her enhanced archery skills.
“Mr. Sōsuke! The enemy’s movements are strange!”
Suddenly, their bodies turned red as if they were angry, and the movements of the surrounding slime minions stopped dead in their tracks. A chill ran down my spine.
“Everyone, stay away from the slimes!”
Fortunately, everyone immediately responded to the command.
Right after, the bodies of the slime minions burst, and the ground and grass that had been drenched in their mucus melted with a squelching sound.
I probably couldn’t have prevented damage to my storage even if I’d lived until the moment of the explosion, given the sheer number of them.
It was fortunate that everyone managed to dodge in time.
So, the ‘Ko Acid Slime’ is capable of turning other slimes into acid bombs, huh? “But it didn’t go off.”
The relentless carving by Yin and Shenfa continued, and the giant slime kept shrinking, unable to recover the parts it had lost to my storage.
But in a cruel twist, it had placed Momoyo’s body in the center, as if to protect its core. ——It’s about time.
“Sen-yuu! Heal and strengthen me!” “S-Sou-kun…!?” “Please!”
“… ‘Strength Enhancement’! ‘Pain Relief’! ‘Intermediate Healing’!”
She’s my childhood friend after all. She suppressed her hesitation and listened to my plea. My body is enveloped in a faint light. “Sou-suke!?” “Sou-kun!?” “Shenfa! I’m counting on you for the finishing blow!”
Leaving behind the shocked Shenfa and Yin, I dashed forward.
The enemy’s body had shrunk considerably, but that made it impossible to rely on their attacks any longer.
There was a risk of hurting Momoyo’s clone.
And while the enemy was still holding her, my friends’ attacks might also damage the core.
The enemy desperately fires acid spheres, but I store them all.
Momoyo, whose body is submerged in the enemy’s body, reaches out as if seeking help.
I thrust half my body in and reach out to her.
Instantly, my uniform and arm start melting, but thanks to the ‘Pain Relief,’ the pain isn’t too severe. “Got you, Momoyo!”
Grabbing Momoyo’s arm, I pull her with all my strength.
Her body comes out of the slime’s body like she’s being pulled up from the bottom of the sea.
I catch her and immediately back away. “Please!” “Arajin!”
Countless blades of wind attack the giant slime, reaching its core and cutting it to pieces.
It lets out a scream-like sound, stops for a moment, and then explodes and vanishes.
‘Resonant Acid Slime’—defeated.
But now, Momoyo is the priority. “Momoyo! Are you okay?”
“Hok… keho, keho…”
I kneeled down where I was and assumed a position to help Momoe get up. “Momoe!” ”……Sousuke-kun?”
“Oh, oh, I’m glad. Are you okay?”
Momoe nodded absentmindedly. “Yeah…”
“I’m sorry… I held you back… This is terrible.”
Tears welled up in her eyes.
“What are you talking about? I’m just glad you’re safe.”
I relaxed, and a smile slipped out. ”…You’re not mad?”
“You tried your best to help us. There was no way you could have known that your clones would be unable to disperse when captured. I’m not mad.” I continued. “You did well.”
I meant it in the sense that she had endured a lot, but… “――――h. ~~~~~~h?”
Looking down, I saw Momoe’s face was burning red.
“Are you okay!? Did you get hurt somewhere!? Chi-iyuu!”
”………This is bad. I don’t get it. What emotion…?”
Momo is saying something while holding her chest in my arms, but I need to get her seen by Senyu as soon as possible.
Afterward, I received a mix of bewildered and warm gazes from the girls, but apparently Momo won’t have any lasting injuries. That’s a relief.
”…Sousuke. I know you can do something like that without batting an eye. It’s annoying, but I understand how Momo feels.”
“Mm. Soku is the type to jump in when someone in front of him is in trouble.”
The gazes from Seirin and Senyu are painful.
While I do feel bad for putting myself in danger, I couldn’t let anyone else in my group take the risk. At any rate, everyone’s safe.
We had successfully defeated the second unique monster. As I mentioned in my activity report, the second volume of the book is coming out!
Scheduled for release on May 23rd! There’s about 20,000 words added,
and the illustrations are absolutely amazing, so please check it out!
The cover is also available in the activity report!!!!! The next update is scheduled for 4/20!
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