- Shari -

 

Before we start our attack I make us wear our uniforms.
On one side it might help to show our alignment in the ongoing battle and the corresponding chaos.
On the other, the cloaks not only hide our identities but also cover our weak points.
They can't use those crossbows that well on us without knowing where to shoot.
Also, they might cover us a bit from the heat and reduce the loss of liquid.

After the preparations are finished it begins.
I rush out of the cellar.
Using all four blades of mine simultaneously I control each with two tendrils out of my sleeves.
The first one directly gets one slash with the shortsword and two stabs to finish him off.

I run as fast as my liquid legs allow me to, scanning the area for enemies and allies alike.
Liqu meanwhile from inside her cloak uses stupidly large tendrils to pin down and dissolve anyone who could pose a threat, smearing slime and blood on the ground.

There aren't as many opponents as I thought.
Just a troop of those assassins.
But something tells me there are more.
Especially the fact that the fight still goes on outside.

The first place we have to reach is up the stairs on the second floor, where the count should live.
Here I separate from Liqu who has to move up to the girl's room.
The flames haven't reached the second floor yet.
Probably because the mansion to a great degree consists of stone.
But it's only a matter of minutes.

I see another fight going on in front of me.
A soldier, already heavily bleeding, against one more killer.
I jump and tackle this one, plunging all the blades I can control at this into his body.

Not even waiting for a response from the one I just saved, I rush on to the count's office.
It's empty.
That asshole just left without me!

I might just jump out of the window and escape to the headquarter, but then I remember the ongoing fights and ask myself if I should help.
I walk quickly back to the guy I just saved.

 

"Would you have an idea about what is going on here?" (Shari)

"Wh-what?" (soldier)

"Please no "oh my god, a monster" reaction. I need to know what is happening here and what I should do." (Shari)

"We're under attack." (soldier)

"Oh really? And now in detail. What am I supposed to do now?" (Shari)

"We're covering the civilian's retreat. T-the lord sent us to get his son. We already had him along with some servants, but then we got separated due to an attack, and my whole team got killed, and I was injured in that last fight." (soldier)

 

I stare for a moment blankly at him.
During this time frame, he doesn't show any intention to move.

 

"Fine. I'm going. Get the hell out of here already." (Shari)

 

I move in the direction the man pointed me.
I have lived here for quite some time now, but the layout is still a bit tricky.
Suddenly, I hear something.

 

"Aaaahh" (Elara)

 

That screaming voice I would always recognize.

 

"Elara?" (Shari)

 

I follow the scream to the side rooms.
It's not a nice view.
Apparently, whoever these people are, they took it out on the defenseless servants.
And this makes me move as fast as I can, within my limits, to the commotion I heard.

Finally, I see Elara and, for some reason, also Lidan, squeezing against a wall.
In front of her, another assassin already has a dagger drawn to kill them, while she is trying to fend him off with a kitchen knife.
For a moment, he looks back and catches sight of me.
Suddenly, he jumps forward, past Elara, who was also startled at my approach.
He moves past her towards Lidan who he promptly takes hostage.
Tsk, that boy always has to get saved.

 

"Shari!?" (Elara)

"Hey!" (Shari)

 

I hide my face deeper within the hood while I advance, to show that I'm not afraid of him.

 

"One step closer and he's dead!" (assassin)

 

I don't like how he pushes his dagger at that boy's neck and comply, for now.

 

"Let your weapons fall! All of them!" (assassin)

"Sure. And after that, you'll kill us all. How stupid do you think I am? What I can promise to you is that without that boy as a shield you're as good as dead. You won't stand a chance against me. So I'd advise you to give up" (Shari)

 

I don't think that he has already figured out what I am.
Only that I'm a fighter and probably more than able to take him in a fair fight.

Yet the situation is pretty dire.
Elara is no fighter and like this of no use here, and Lidan can't do anything in this situation, while I wouldn't like to be responsible for the death of the count's son.
If I could just cross the distance before he can act.
If there would just be a way to reach them.

A way!
That's it!

There are countless ways in this mansion, they're just not visible.
Casually, I stride to the right wall.

 

"Hey, stop that! What're you doing there?!" (assassin)

 

I lean against the wall with my arm, which is still hidden within the sleeve, placed on the wall and answer.

 

"Getting comfortable. You don't want to release the hostage and I can't come any closer, so it seems like we are stuck here." (Shari)

 

"Zsch"

 

I hope my talking obscures this sound a bit.
Yet apparently not enough.

 

"What is that?! Answer!" (assassin)

"What do you mean? I don't see a thing." (Shari)

 

It takes mere moments to burn through the thin stone.
After this, I crawl slowly with my arm through the hole.
I have to concentrate to maintain my shape while I guide more mass in there.
I move along the wall till I reach the point directly next to our assassin.

 

"Stop this shit! Answer! What is going on here?!" (assassin)

 

"Zsch"

 

"No! You'll listen now! If you don't let the boy go now and surrender, you're dead! You have one last chance and you'll wish you took it when I finish! Ten, nine, eight, seven..." (Shari)

"Fuck you! Drop your weapons! Are you deaf? I'll kill the hostage!" (assassin)

"Five, four... ah, forget it." (Shari)

 

At this moment I let my arm, which is still connected to all the rest, burst out of the wall.
I use the short timeframe where everyone's stunned to form a giant hand and grasp him.
Fortunately, this horror show is enough to make him forget about his hostage and he instead tries to free himself.
With rather limited success.
I use this opening and act.

 

• Slime dash!

 

I'm moving quickly but even quicker is the piercing dagger, which I let rush out in an elongating tendril.
The tip finds its target and plunges deep into his throat.
So much for that guy.

 

"Sh-Shari? You're here! You made it!" (Elara)

"Thank you." (Lidan)

 

Well, a better response than last time.

 

"Yep. Had some time to spare. Come. I'm gonna get you out of here." (Shari)

 

We move back to the main hall, where the exit to the courtyard is located.
Yet unfortunately, our way is blocked off.

 

"What happened to the first wave?"

"Killed. Won't work on us."

"We'll maintain this position! Shoot everyone who tries to escape!"

 

Several soldiers gathered at the only exit to the courtyard.
They have different uniforms than the assassins and again those wretched crossbows.
But what really disturbs me is that small visible vibration among the tips of the bolts.

Voidstone!

Why would they bring weapons coated in voidstone?
I can barely fathom how expensive this measure was.
Not only the material itself but also the processing of the coating.

 

"Stay alert! One of those things might come! If that happens, pepper them with the special bolts. Don't waste them!"

 

Shit.
With those weapons, they can be a real threat to me.
I squeeze against the wall to look for any alternative exits in the main hall.
But it doesn't seem so.

And while it might be possible to reach our quarters and leave through Liqu's escape holes I cannot leave them like this. 
As things are I'm left with no choice.

 

"Listen! Run as soon there's a gap. Understood?" (Shari)

 

Okay, they nodded, so now it's on me.
I rush directly towards the closest killer, using my slicing dagger to cut his throat.

 

"Hey! Here I am! Try and catch me." (Shari)

 

I can prevent the bolts from hitting my core at my speed, but that doesn't mean I'm fine.
One got me in the shoulder, another in the hip if I had those.
I dissolve them, but this small drain on my energy makes me uncomfortable.
Yet now that the enemy soldiers follow me there should be a gap at the exit, and it should distract them from Liqu, who hopefully is already on her way to the headquarters with the girl.

The single enemy trying to block my way can't do much against four blades at once and I don't even have to slow down for him.
There are everywhere corpses on the ground.
The servants, and soldiers, but I cannot afford to be distracted.
I have a somewhat good idea about the estate's layout on the ground floor and try to run in a circle back to the main hall.

But there they're already waiting.
Bolts rush in my direction and just in the nick of time I can dodge.
I cannot fight such numbers.
How many are there?

However, behind me, my pursuers are already catching up.
All I can do is dash into a side room before I get needled with bolts like a pincushion.
Yet it's a dead end.

I prepare myself to take down whoever comes inside.
Maybe if I play dead after they shoot me down they will let go.
Even more, with the fire, they shouldn't have much time to confirm my death, before the flames get too strong.

Uh, but they know about Liqu and me.
I made sure that I was fully covered, so my identity as a monster might still be hidden but they're certainly going to check.
I can already hear them coming closer.

The problem is that those assassins aren't quite bad.
I've got my kills by ambushing and overwhelming them yet in a fight one-on-one my chances grow worse.

While I stand in the middle of the room the first one enters.

Crossbows!
They're going to shoot me.

I need to get my core out of the line.
If I store it where my feet would be it's extremely unlikely that they would aim for this place, as they certainly want to kill me and will shoot at lethal points.
But what if the coming barrage hits it there at random?
Not to speak of the effects of the voidstone.

Wait, what if I hide my core even deeper?
I... could dissolve the ground.
This room is even approximately above the cellar.
So I should be able to get there and then use Liqu's escape tunnels.

 

"Zsch"

 

It will need a bit of time, but I should be safe as long as my core is inside the freshly created hole.
The downside is I cannot move away now.
Pulling my hood deeper over my face I wait.

 

"Seems like that's the end of the line for you" (assassin)

"Whatever. Let's just get this over with." (Shari)

 

I activate high-speed processing and take a stance that hides my body.
The first bolt comes flying.
I can barely see it, but can narrowly deflect it with the slicing dagger and the knife.

 

"Oh, quite skillful, aren't ya?" (assassin)

"You bet." (Shari)

 

At this, I throw my knife fast in a memorized motion at him.
It's just a small wound but satisfying.

 

"Dammed wench!" (assassin)

 

 

Now three of them shoot simultaneously.
I can dodge one, and deflect the second, but the third gets stuck.

 

"Got ya!" (assassin)

"Urgh!" (Shari)

 

I try to make an impression as if I would be bothered by this, not pulling the bolt out of my waist.
To my surprise, it's only a normal metal bolt.
It seems my disguise works and they think I'm a normal human.
Their mistake.

They reload and two more bolts come flying my way.
Once again I'm hit by one and lower myself a bit to the ground.
Mostly because of my dissolving progress further into the ground.

 

"You're quite the stubborn one. Time to finish you off." (assassin)

 

The one who was so snarky takes a shortsword and comes close.
He probably thinks he has a chance now that I'm "injured".
One more bolt hits my torso, but I don't fall down.
Naturally.

The cloak is now in a worrisome state, but shouldn't give anything away yet.
I make sure to appear as miserable as possible.
Then I feel a blade entering my body.
At this moment, I use my mass to hold it tight, rush up and hold him in check with a dagger to the neck while grabbing him with the other arm.

 

"H-how?" (assassin)

"Never underestimate your opponent." (Shari)

"Release me! You, you won't get out of here alive!" (Assassin)

"Oh, you know, that's just the thing. I'm already gone." (Shari)

 

With this, I slice his throat before all of them and even more reinforcements shoot me down with their crossbows.
This time also with the voidstone bolts.
But that doesn't matter.
The hole is already finished and I lower down directly into the cellar.
I may lose some energy but no concerning amounts as fortunately most of the projectiles hit my meat shield.
All that's left of mine is the cloak, which flattens on the ground.

I enter somewhere in Liqu's room.
It's not much.
Still only a dungeon cell.
The walls are all completely covered in slime, showing what it means to have a slime as a tenant.

The first thing I do is rush to my room grabbing one of the three slime potions I still have stored for bad times.
And if these times aren't bad.

I pour it down and feel a rush of energy.
It even slightly surpasses my usual max but I hold tightly to the excess since I can need every little advantage.
After this, I take the rest of my stuff.

 

"There! This way!"

 

Damn, how fast are they?

 

"Are you sure about this?"

"The hole can just have led to this place."

"But this woman was weird. How is this possible? How could she survive getting shot like this?"

"Are you stupid? They briefed us about this! The count made a pact with monsters!"

 

They're quite fast, I'll give them that.
Seems like I have no other choice but to take them out.
Considering the fire, they shouldn't have the time or resources to send many people down here.
First, I need to get out of the way.

 

• Slime dash!

 

I rush upward to the ceiling.
Together with the extra weight, this is quite a feat.
Even more, as I have to deal with the vertigo of abruptly clinging upside-down from the ceiling.
The disgusting feeling of my whole body mashing against it makes me almost lose the required traction.
A short time later they enter.

"What kind of room is this?"

"Huh, no idea. Looks like one of these high-class cells."

 

Time to make a mess!

Incredibly risky, bold, and in general just stupid.
That's me!

Before anyone can react I gather a blob of slime in their direction.
Some of them look up at the last moment, but it's already too late.

 

• Slime fog!

 

At once, the pressure I gathered in there is released, evaporating into a mist of blue.
Since I saw and, more importantly, felt Liqu do the same while mimicking a dragon, I thought that there could be a real-life application.
And after my fight with Zeon, I improved the technique a bit for a greater effect.
And this is the result.

Naturally, it costs quite a bit of energy, but the slime which impedes their sight is enough to occupy them for the shortest moment.
And that's a good enough trade-off.

I let myself fall into their midst and unleash a flurry of blades, randomly slicing at everything in my reach.
Blood splatters, bolts fly, and frantic people try stabbing me with their side weapons, but to no avail, as they don't even target my core.
I even take the blades of the dead ones and slash with those at their comrades.

Seven, eight, more!
And no mercy for these assholes!
I pay special attention that not one of them escapes out of the room.
The few who get out of the fray are too injured to move quickly.

 

"What are you doing down there? It's just one!"

 

More are coming?
How many are attacking us?!
Damnit, I can't fight them all day.
My energy is already depleting.
And I'm not going to touch the corpses to replenish myself.
The blood that soaked inside me is already difficult enough to handle.
Instead, I use the remaining potions.

With the additional energy, I gain enough sense to think straight again.
Just one way out of here.
I need to take one of Liqu's escape routes.
Preferably, one that leads me directly to the headquarters.
Since I don't have a choice, I collapse into a blob and crawl into the hole behind the chest.
At the entrance, I realize that nothing but my daggers fits through it.
I have to leave everything else behind.

Inside the hole, I first have to orientate myself.
She said there's one route leading to each of the four directions.
And I want to go to the headquarters.

Then I realize something.
The best-aligned way to the headquarters is below me.
It should be clear that they wouldn't build the same system twice.
Especially if it reduces the necessary maintenance.
The same system.
The same sewer system!

Damnit.
Why did it have to be this?

No, no, no.
I need to meet back up with Liqu as soon as I can.
Who knows what she's going to do if I don't make it in time?

I really have no choice if I want to make it in time.
The other ways would also have the risk that I might meet further enemies while running from the exit point to the intended location.
No choice but to delve in there.
Seconds later the most unpleasant experience in my life begins.

 

“No! No, no, no, no, no!!!” (Shari)

“Don’t think about what is on you. Or entering you!”

 

I naturally try to cling to the walls and avoid the current below me but notice that there is some kind of grime on them.
Sure, after all this time of usage.
God, this must stop!
Please, let me get out of here!

 

“Zsch”

 

I'm so disgusted that my dissolving starts.
But then I remember something.

Oh no, my blades I need to stop this!
But this means I cannot clean myself!
Shit, shit, shit, shit!
Just SHIT!

When I finally make it far enough, a part of the drainage now carries slime puke.
It's hard, but I can crawl up a straight pit which I just know too well what its purpose is.

Finally, I get up.
There's something blocking the exit, but I push it away.
And crawl out of the toilet.
In front of me, I find a crying soldier, staring wide-eyed at me.
Quickly, I place all of my weapons outside my body.

 

"Zsch"

 

It was so desperately necessary to cleanse my system.

 

"And you thought you had a bad day?" (Shari)

 

I don't wait for an answer and leave him to his panic attack.

 

"Aaahhh! Toilet monster!" (soldier)

 

That doesn't mean I can ignore it.
Yep, that blow hurt.

As fast as possible I head for the hall, trying to find someone who may know what to do.
And I find someone.

 

"Shari!!!" (Liqu)

 

Yep, that's Liqu!