“Damn! I didn’t expect this planet would have M’’Bo”

D’Atch just came back with fairly amount of fishes after went out searching for foods.

Rubaegia mentioned that the river from the “center” flowed through large area of the planet. She said it was so long that the time she came out from the “center” it took really long time to reach where her den currently was and when she looked across the horizon from her den, the river still felt endlessly.

“Mah bo? You mean these? I call it a fish!”

Rubaegia took a fresh one from the pile and gulped its body down in one bite causing fresh blood to spurt out and its head slipped out from her mouth.

“Yaw! Where’s your manners, girl?”

The blood almost hit D’Atch as he was making a bonfire to cook the fishes. Rubaegia’s mouth was covered in blood.

Rubaegia didn’t bother to say anything as she continued enjoying her food as well as Maka.

…..

“I thought you guys didn’t need to eat…or eat those greeny things on rocks and else.”

While cooking fishes, D’Atch noticed that the fishes two slimes had eaten gradually decomposed in their see-through bodies.

“We only eat when needed. Those green things you say are not our foods.”

Rubaegia and Maka finished their meals. The blood that was stained on their bodies was absorbed and eventually faded away inside.

“This is very strange and curious…”

“First, I’ve just encountered a new species days ago. Second is, although there were animals similar to you guys back in my planet, you guys actually have more intelligence and can even talk……”

“What’s more unbelievable above all else is that how could I even talk and understand languages of other species in this planet…..The same case for them as well…”

D’Atch murmured to himself while recalling what have happened so far.

“By the way, you haven’t told me about yourself. How could you speak? And just now you mentioned that you came from what you called “the center”. What’s that?”

It is night time now. D’Atch could see that Rubaegia got better and better these few days. He thought it’s finally time to part their ways. Tomorrow he’d leave and before that he wished to know more about this planet.

“Me? I used to was a little slime like Maka long ago. I remember that day. When me opened my eyes I was in very weird place. It so dark I see not. There were some lights flow in and many rivers flow out of it. Me used one of them to reach here. When I out I saw very beeeg white sky then it changed to blue after not long.”

Rubaegia was recalling her birth memory as she petted Maka in her laps.

“A white sky? Maybe the center she mentioned must be surrounded by some kind of thick fog?”

D’Atch thought that this planet was very mysterious, yet it stimulated his curiosity.

“That was very long ago. One day I feelt like very humgri. I Eat a lot of fishes then I boom out of my old body then I become like this and can let out air from inside.”

“That’s probably an evolution? But how…..A simple creature like slimes could evolve into a humanoid animal? Furthermore, she acquired ability to speak when evolved….”

D’Atch wasn’t that good at science but he could fathom some basics and that kind of thing, he found it’s really impossible to believe.

“What about the little slimes? Did they come from the center like you?”

“Not all of them. Some of them come from me. One day I wake up and found 3 little slimes near me.”

“Maka come from me too!”

Rubaegia threw Maka up in the air like a mother playing with her child.

“A cell division? An asexual reproduction? But then evolution would be difficult….no..it is actually impossible to evolve with that method....”

“The answer of everything must be in that center she mentioned……At least it’s gonna be fun for a while…”

“Alright. Thank you for telling me. I’m getting sleepy now. Good night you two!”

D’Atch was very confused. In the end he gave up trying to understand and set his goal on “The center” instead.

Rubaegia and Maka was a little curious in concerned D’Atch as they watched him making what seemed to be his bed. Eventually they all went to sleep.

…..

“Alright. It’s nice to meet you two. I hope you find your twin and your child. I’m parting now. Good bye!”

The next morning, after D’Atch went out to find them some foods and finished the meal, he bid his farewell to them as he noticed that Rubaegia’s body seemed to return to her normal size. Maka seemed to be a little sad.

“Wait! ...”

“Thank you for helping us. Your kindness I will no forget.”

“This could protect you a little.”

Rubaegia called out to him then placed her hand on his chest. Some part of her mucus flowed out and seeped into D’Atch’s clothes.

[You have received The Slime Queen’s Blessing!]

Rlururluru!

Maka too, wanted to give him a farewell gift. He jumped out of Rubaegia’s hand and seemed to be concentrated in something.

After a few minutes, Maka’s body was oozed out of his old body and the empty shell was left.

“Maka! You got bigga!”

“What the?! This is a molting? I see.. This is how they evolve.”

Rubaegia and D’Atch saw the bigger slime, they both were surprised.

Rlurllu!

Maka swayed trying to tell D’Atch that the shell was his gift.

“Huh? You want to give me this? Thank you!”

D’Atch picked up the shell. That shell wasn’t hard at all, instead, it was a bit squishy. It also felt a little chill but when he checked inside it wasn’t wet at all.

[You have received a Slime Shell!]

Rulu!

Maka tried to tell something again but D’Atch didn’t understand, so he altered a small part of his mucus and make it like a hat then put it on his head.

“A hat? You want me to put this on? Uhm…it feels a little weird to put someone’s old body on my head tho….”

“Ok Ok. I’ll try!”

…

“Woah! It’s cool! Might be good when the sun tries to burn my head”

At first, he felt uncomfortable but after Maka insisted with his movement, D’Atch put on the old shell to his head. He found that the shell gave off some coldness. Rubaegia giggled as she watched Maka’s behaviour.

“But I can’t keep this on forever though! The cold will make me sick! So I’m gonna keep it in my backpack.”

D’Atch removed the shell off his head. Similar to human, if his head got colder, he would catch a cold.

“Alright! Thank you for the gift little buddy! Farewell!”

D’Atch bid his final farewell before disappeared into the woods as the two slimes watched him from behind then they went back to their den the other way.

….

D’Atch planned that he’d take a path along the river up to the center Rubaegia mentioned, but there were woods in the path so it’s unavoidable.

If there were an open space and a forest as choices to take, he’d never pick a forest.

In an open space, even though you’re easier to be tracked or targeted, at least you could still see your enemies. But in the forest, those that were born in it, lived in it, or ruled over it were much more dangerous. They knew how to take advantages from the environments.

D’Atch was an outsider of the planet. He had no idea about creatures or animals in this planet nor anything inside the forest at all. As he was clueless so he shouldn’t be careless.

“Hope there’s nothing deadly. By the way…did I hear something when they gave me gifts? Or was I hallucinated?”

“Hm….it feels a little cold like the shell but my body still feel the same…..and it doesn’t feel much heavy too…”

D’Atch stopped at a tree then examined the shirt Rubaegia gave the blessing. He found that the mucus didn’t make him feel cold at all.

[You have angered a nymph!]

“Huh? What was th- Arghh!”

The sound resonated in D’Atch head making him distracted then at that moment, he got bound to the tree with large tree roots.

“Who?! ……….. Huh?”

D’Atch tried to look around but found no one. There was nothing except trees and green plants.

“I smell slime mucus from your body!”

A female voice came from behind D’Atch. The voice was filled with anger and vengefulness.

“what?!!”

When D’Atch tried to turn his head around, he saw a humanoid tree at the corner of his eye.

What seemed to be a humanoid walked out of the tree D’Atch was bound.

“Damn girl!......WAIT NO! Not now!”

The nymph had a face of a beautiful woman with red-pink flowers on her dark green hair. Her body was very similar to human with a good shape but most of it were covered in bark. D’Atch went stupid for a second before got his mind together.

“Looks like you are the one who killed those slimes!”

She raised her hand up and many sharp branches were pointing toward D’Atch.

“No! I didn’t kill her! She gave it to me!”

D’Atch quickly explained to the nymph but it was in vain.

“Argh!”

The roots tightened making D’Atch let out a small sound of pain. The roots pushed Maka’s old shell out of his bag making it rolled around on the ground.

The nymph saw and quickly snatched it with a root.

….

“DIE!!!!”

When the nymph looked the shell carefully she immediately went furious and pierced D’Atch with a large sharp branch.

“Pffft!!”

A sharp branch pierced through D’Atch’s chest in an instant.

His blood spurted out of his mouth and his wound was overflowed.

His skin was pale purple. One might expect that his blood must be purple, but it was actually bright red just like humans.

“I didn’t expect I’d find the murderer of Mako’s siblings this soon!”

Seeing D’Atch’s hand dropped down, the nymph assumed he died.

“I’m sorry guys…If only I was there…”

The nymph clutched the shell as she blaming herself.

Swish!

“How are you still alive! Wretched creature!”

D’Atch gathered his strength with difficulty and swung his sword to cut off the roots. He cut off most of them but his legs were still tied with the tree.

The blood that flowed out of his chest slowly stopped. Rubaegia’s mucus had crept and seeped into the wound, truly the blessing of a queen.

“This is only temporary….I don’t know how long will it last…I need to run! She won’t listen to me for sure!”

D’Atch was short of breath as he decided to flee because convincing the nymph seemed to be useless.

Whoosh!

Clang!

Another sharp wood was hurled at D’Atch again, he quickly deflected with his sword.

“Let’s see how long can you last! Pay for your sins!”

“Arghhhhhhhhhh”

The nymph tightened the remaining roots on D’Atch’s legs making him screamed out in pain.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Countless amounts of sharp woods and branches were hurled with speed.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Gahhh! Clang! Agh! Clang!

D’Atch was horrified. He tried his best to block and deflect the sharp woods with panic but some of them managed to struck parts of his body making him screamed in pain.

“For The One’s Sake! She’s torturing me!”

“That is just Maka’s shell! I have never killed anything since I came here! I swear in the name of the sovereign of the endless sea!”

D’Atch tried to convince her again as he had no other choice while blocking the woods.

“Liar! Mako told me a man with a sword killed all of her siblings! Yet you dare trying to tell me this is not her twin’s corpse?”

The nymph shouted back furiously as she held the shell up.

“I’ve had enough of you! Time to die!”

The nymph finally raised her hand up again. This time the tree that bound D’Atch was slowly falling back as more roots tied up his body making him difficult to breath and the ground was parted forming a large hole just as the size of the tree.

“A fertilizer for the nature!”

That was the last thing D’Atch could hear before he was fainted by the roots as the sight of soil buried him alive. “Fakkk! ……..Why would my end be this cruel?!”