A giant golem covered Griscent and Slade, threatening the troglodytes with its fist.

“This is impossible... It should not move without the will of its summoners!”

She contributed to the spirit summoning and left it alone, yet the golem moved on its own.

The gnoll cheered, relieved that the stone giant nipped in the bud the imminent bloodshed. “It can move with no command! Back then, the slime fought the beholders with the golem!”

 “Woaaaah… Being on the wrong side hits differently.” Milia looked up, admiring the formidable opponent. “Didn’t Slade need to ride the golem, though?”

The troglodyte pawns still pointed their spear at Crown despite the unfavorable odds.

 “At rest. All of you, return to your work.” Shaki dismissed her pawns, acknowledging her defeat. They lowered their spears and relaxed as if nothing had happened.

 “Crown, everything is fine now… Thank you so much, you saved my friend”

Gimme mana, ‘kay? Crown asked.

 “Sure, I’ll give you some later.”

BOOM! The golem sat on a pile of bridge rubbles.

It didn’t move like a puppet under symbiosis or a spellcaster’s control. Instead, it had answered the distress of its fellow earth elemental spirit and moved accordingly to Slade’s will to stop the troglodytes.

 Was it because of Verdant Mercy?

 Griscent lay on the side with her eye closed. She stroked Slade with her tentacle. “(Slade… I’m alright. Thank you.)”

He stopped his symbiosis, as there was nothing more he could do.

 “Why aren’t you getting up? Your voice is so lethargic! Don’t tell me you’re dying!?”

The heavy silence weighed on his heart.

 “No… Griscent!” he cried, rubbing his face against her eyelid.

She was jolted awake.

“I beg you! Don’t die!”

 “(Ah. I’m about to doze off. Prison of Illusion actually puts a heavy burden on my brain. I forced myself to stay conscious to make sure you were okay when you woke up...)”

 “Gosh, I’m so sorry. I almost let you die.”

 “(Why are you apologizing? Your tainted memories were my fault.)”

 “No, I almost blamed you for my instincts… My pervertedness. I was a worthless hypocrite. I could only accept myself because you overcame your pain with the Pillars of Eye.”

Griscent pat the slime. From her perspective, he had enough reasons to let her die. Messing with his memories caused him a lot of distress, yet he saved her.

 “(Oh. I didn’t notice. Why do you take it for granted? Anyone else would have blamed me. You aren’t worthless. Isn’t your inner insight a great quality?)”

 “Griscent…”

Griscent felt fuzzy inside. He cared for her, unlike her cold progenitors, who birthed her for the purpose of working until she broke. His pain was her pain, endowing her with the irrational impulse of alleviating it.

 “(I love you.)”

The Evil Eye’s declaration struck Slade and the crowd of beholders like a bolt out of the blue. Chatters broke out like a wildfire.

The gnolls and the rooks looked at the beholders’ surprised reactions.

 “(Everything I saw in the Prison of Illusion. The things you liked about yourself, and the things you’re ashamed of… I love them all. Because you loved me first, and let me love myself. I love you, Slade.)”

 Slade was speechless. Her love was more precious than anything that happened to him in Hekalys.

 “(You taught me that we don’t choose our instincts, but we can choose to face them and manifest them in new ways. Just now, you’ve proved it by saving me.)”

 “I…” He mustered his courage to repay her words.

 “(Now, let me sleep and go save Violet.)” She waved her tentacle to dismiss him. Her eyelid still closed to hide her embarrassment.

 Slade screamed, “I love you too!” and smooched the tentacle.

Metiva covered her gaping mouth. Milia held her sides in laughter. Shaki shook her head in disbelief. They realized the beholder’s strange reaction.

 “(Can you take Griscent to her usual resting place, please?)” Slade asked a group of five young beholders.

They lifted the limp Evil Eye and scrambled away when the group of troglodytes approached Slade.

“Can you explain yourself? You said that the Evil Eye messed your mind just before.”

Slade was in a pinch. He had to defend Griscent.

 “She didn’t mess up my mind… I was a pervert all along!” He winked.

“Care to elaborate, please?”

Her thorough nature didn’t allow her to let Slade off the hook that easily. Especially if Griscent could alter a rook’s mind.

 “Sorry about before.” Slade bowed to Milia to hide his sweaty face under the guise of apology.

He definitely lied when he said that Griscent didn’t have intentions to brainwash him. But it didn’t matter anymore.

 “It was an accident… We had a telepathic discussion. But I got reality and dream mixed up. It wasn’t her intention to do that. Don’t worry, you are immune to her telepathy. It only worked on me because I have a whooping -255 in attunement.”

He checked the description of the attunement stats. It was indeed a factor for magical resistance.

 “Ah, don’t worry. I was just surprised. I’m glad I have a cultured rook onboard. You know, I also have orgies with troglodyte pawns controlled by Shak-” Milia was interrupted by Shaki’s chop.

For some reason, Slade felt like he already knew that detail despite never seeing it himself.

 “It’s fine, as long as your new tentacle girlfriend doesn’t go rogue. I can’t get mad at you after seeing a love scene between a slime and an Evil Eye.” Shaki cackled.

She trusted her guts about the sincerity of their relationship, even if she could only understand half of the conversation. Griscent didn’t fight, and the golem’s help came as a surprise from both sides, so it was hard to indict the Evil Eye.

Metiva ordered her clan to calm down everyone. Some spooked gnolls and beholders might have already left the cave.

She picked Slade up and hugged him against her breasts. “Once again, you stood up for your servants. I knew you wouldn’t let it turn into a bloodbath.” Thanks to him, her clan didn’t turn into EXP points for the rooks.

 “Let’s not waste anymore time. Bring me to Violet!” Slade drooled in happiness, rubbing against the soft fur.

Metiva opened the march, followed by Milia and Shaki.

The pawns, gnolls and beholders split up a path for them. They looked at him with respect and curiosity.

Still giddy from Griscent’s words, Slade felt at the top of the world.

They headed to the impromptu sick-bay where Violet was treated. The stench of blood grew thicker.

A couple of witches were passed out, unable to keep up with the continuous spell casting.

Lorely sat, sobbing. She couldn’t bear watching, but also couldn’t tear her eyes away.

Next to her, gnolls held their hands together in a prayer, forming a circle around Violet. A witch held Metiva’s warbanner and glowing grimoire. Their healing spell fought in a tug-of-war against the damage of the mana vortex.

Violet floated in the center of the group, carried by mana.

The precious sovereign struggled with each breath. Her face was painted red. Wounds constantly broke open from the mana vortex. The Cure spell wasn’t fast enough to close them all, so her overall state kept worsening.

Slade swallowed. Her state was much worse than when he left her.

Mana kept growing during his absence.

He could only slow down the progress of her affliction; not solve its roots. Alone, he drained her mana at a lower rate than she gained, and that excess mana damaged her body.

 Lorely wiped her face. “Shall we go to Krisnan?”

Slade felt guilty for sleeping while she was suffering so much. If he could increase the rate of Mana Transfer, he could improve-

What if we had another slime?

 “Hmm… I wonder… Didn’t I impregnate Violet before?”

Lorely’s sobs cut sharply. “You what?”