"Nyaa~"

"What a wonderful idea, Mimi. As expected of our current leader."

"What the hell did she say, Myka?"

"She said you should go fuck yourself."

"Fuck you too." Lina turned to me. "You speak nonsense. Translate what Mimi said."

"I believe she said we should meet up with the Dome's greatest assassin, who just so happens to live in an underground lair underneath that dingy old shack we passed a while ago when we decided to take the scenic route through the Yarrus Forest."

"There is no way that's the case…." Lina turned to Myka to see her shocked expression. "Fuck, she got it right, didn't she?"

"Yes, somehow. I don't fucking know how, but she did."

"Good job, Madeleine." Ehe… Mel is patting my head. Truly I live the best life.

"God, this fucking annoys me. As punishment, I'm forcing you two apart by making only Madeleine go with Mimi to see that assassin."

"You are not the leader, you do not get to decide such things."

"Shut up, you sheep background character. That's probably your only line in this chapter anyways."

"As usual, these comments about characters elude me, so I ask again, please elaborate."

"Hell no, go ask Myka for that shit."

"She doesn't share either. As usual, what a waste."

I have no idea what they're talking about, but I've completely ignored it in favour of the mission! Right now, I'm carrying Mimi in my arms and am about to make my way to the dingy old shack to say hi to the assassin. Before I go, though, farewell kiss!

"Stay safe, Madeleine."

"Aww… you care. That's so nice."

"Sometimes I feel like you want me to say harsh things to you."

"I'm someone with a wide variety of tastes."

"I know. I'm literally your girlfriend, you ask me for weird shit all the time."

"You know it."

"Now hurry up before I end up having terrible flashbacks."

"Aye aye, captain!" And off to the dingy old shack, Mimi and I went.

So the shack had this cool contraption where if you lit a torch on fire, something would detect it then, bada bing bada boom, a trap door opens, and you get sent into this really cool room that reminds me of the Dome, which makes sense since it's the home of an assassin from the Dome. Speaking of the assassin, they're sitting on this fancy chair in front of a fireplace, reading a book. The fireplace is kind of weird, though, since the fire inside it is shaped like a ball instead of… well… you know, fire-shaped. Eh, whatever.

Ooh, she… he… wait… is that a slime person? Oh my god, I love slime! "How flattering. The average reaction tends to be disgust, so it's nice to have a positive reaction for once." Oh man, I have the urge to hug it, "Aww… how kind." And also maybe eat it too. "Huh?"

Suddenly, I was surrounded by fireballs. Well… shit. "Do you promise you will not eat me?" I furiously shake my head. I'd rather not be burned alive, it didn't feel so good the last time. Eh, you guys don't remember the last time I got burned alive? It was during that fight against that really round bandit who said something about supernovas. It was really hot. Do you know what is also really hot? The fireballs around me that are disappearing. Also, Mel.

"I hope you keep your promise. Now," The slime closed the book and faced Mimi and me. You know, it reminds me of Marigold, with the whole featureless humanoid shape that's wholly a single colour. Except this slime wears clothes… I should make Marigold a dress at some point. "What brings you to my abode?"

"Nyaa~"

"Ah, Millie. I did not notice you there. Your presence is as little as usual, I see. That and your maid companion has quite the aura… such a subtle oppressiveness as if it is unaware of its true power."

"Nyaa~"

"Haha. I agree with that."

"Woah, you understand Mimi's current speech too?"

"I have lived a long time." A bell rang from somewhere, and then a piece of paper burst out of nowhere right in front of the slime. "Ah, one moment, please." The slime read the piece of paper, snapped her fingers, signed the paper with her slimy finger, and then burned it. "Sorry about that. I needed to do a quick job."

"Wait… job? As in, assassination?"

"Yes."

"Woah…" Did they do it from their chair? How?

"I can explain. Feel free to take a seat. Afterwards, we can discuss why you and Millie are here, and then you may return to your journey."

"Coolio." I took a seat on a free chair while Mimi opted to sit on the floor like a cat. We really need to cure Mimi… but then again, cat.

"Like all the other assassins under the Dome's employment, I am a Sacred Power holder. However, one simple question separates me from the rest: What's stopping me?"

"What's stopping you?"

"When a Sacred Power holder is gifted their Sacred Power, they inherently know their Sacred Power, its effects described in one to three sentences. For example, mine is simply 'You can create fireballs'. This got me thinking, however."

"About fire or balls?"

"About limits. It merely says I can create fireballs. No limit on size, strength, heat, location, nothing. So I did some experiments. A fireball the size of my head that cannot burn on my hand, easy. A fireball that only emits light in my fireplace that lasts forever, done and dusted. A fireball inside the head of the tyrannical king of my home country, who sat comfortably behind his nearly 50 bodyguards, off with his head. That's the secret of my power, and I'd assume it'd be the same with every other Sacred Power, not that I'd share that."

"Why not?"

"If I felt like it, I could probably make a fireball the size of Mendass and have it explode. Imagine if a Sacred Power holder who wishes for destruction knew there was no limit to their ability?"

"That's a good point. You know what, maybe I'll apply your knowledge."

"You're a Sacred Power holder too? Can you tell me your Sacred Power?"

"Well, I've got Side Note and Shadow Cloning. Also, with this cool ring I have on, I can use Umbrakinesis. I guess I can use some others, too, by proxy since I've got this weird prison thing with some Sacred Power holders, and I have shadow clones of them. So that'd be Stealth, Jack The Ripper, The Devil, Bomb, and Becoming Insane. I don't want to use that last one, though. I wouldn't want my insanity to get worse. Oh, and one of my shadow clones has a Sacred Power for herself, but she can give it to me if she feels like it. She has Anarchy."

"I gave my knowledge to the worst possible option in this terrible world, didn't I, Mille?" Mille nodded her head. What a rude thing to agree on, not that I disagree. Hey, I have some self-awareness… Mel has taught me a bit of it. "Well, what happens, happens. So, what brings you two to my home?"

"Nyaa~"

"Really? Is that it?"

"Nyaa~"

"Okay then. Madeleine, you may look into my eyes… I do not have eyes."

"Well, touch works too, probably."

"I see. Touch me, then."

"Sorry, I'm taken."

"Not like that."

"Oh… can I do it as a hug?"

"Sure."

"Hugs! You can join in too, Mimi!"

"Nyaa!" And so we all had a big group hug. Also, I touched the slime, I guess.

"Well, that was fun. Guess we'll get going. Come on, Mimi."

"Nyaa~"

"Ah, one thing before you leave." The slime conjured up a fireball which then solidified into a gem. "A one-time use fireball. Throw it at anything troublesome. Consider it a gift." She handed it over, and I stashed it inside my magical dagger. I should take some things out of it. I'm losing track of what's in it. "Farewell."

"Bye bye!"

"Nyaa~"

Character profile: Ignis

Sacred power: Fireball

Reason for being a slime: How was I supposed to know that weird looking green goop was a discarded potion that would turn me into a slime?

Description: The slime whose killing technique is sublime. Ignis is the top-ranked assassin in the Dome, an oddity as assassins raised within the Dome tend to dominate the top ten ranks, with the highest outsider before Ignis being ranked at 27. Ignis found herself under the care of the Dome after her assassination of King Jauls, which caught their attention. She quickly picked up the assassin work and climbed through the ranks fast, abusing her ability to assassinate anyone from anywhere. She shared her technique with one other assassin before but was forced to kill their friend after he abused the technique in conjunction with his Sacred Power to almost end the world. Since then, Ignis has tried to keep their knowledge to themselves. A shame she ran into Madeleine, who forces people around her to share stuff because that's just how main characters be sometimes.

Chapter namesake: Fireball by Pitbull featuring John Ryan

pojlk

I hate the fact I have to reference a Pitbull song. In other news, I forgot about the glossary. Let's just say my laziness has gotten the best of me. I'll update it in... give or take three months.