Chapter 69 - Rampaging Slime

Author Note: The sacred number has again been reached!! Praise the Sun!!

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---Several Days Later---

Managing to reach the 40th Floor on our excursion, everyone felt a sense of accomplishment reaching the floor with little trouble. It had been a lucrative adventure for everyone involved, and we were all going home with several hundred thousand valis...on top of another amazing gift, thanks to Lily.

Having run into an Adamantine Golem on the 37th Floor, when she went to use the bathroom one night, we ended up discovering a large vein of the ore close by that hadn't been claimed. The vein would have easily made us all among the richest people in Orario, but no one here wanted that. They saw this as their opportunity to get better equipment to dive even further into the Dungeon together.

Taking only enough to make equipment and pay for it's crafting, they opted to leave the rest behind for future Adventurers. While they said that, I knew only Bella and Lily thought that way. The rest of us knew that introduce such a large quantity of raw ore onto the market would crash the market value. Not only would that hurt our profit margin, they would likely have run ins with very angry miners who lost their livelihoods.

As we packed up our stuff from our last night of camping, everyone was excited to get back up to the surface. Having pushed themselves to the limit every day, thanks to the use of my Ark power, they were all very anxious to see how much they had grown.

"Hehe, I am going to get a nice suit of armor!", Lily giggled with glee as she packed up her tent.

"Yeah!! We can afford to get one of Hephaestus' best craftsmen to make our armor too.", Bella added, "I already know what my armor is going to look like!"

Showing all of us a drawing of a suit of armor from a child's fairy tale book, I gave her a soft smile. Even now at the age of fourteen, she still had a very strong desire to be a Hero and help protect people from evil. That said, at the mention of the word Hero I saw Ais' face darken a bit. Bella and Lily were unaware, but Ais placed a lot of unnecessary weight on her shoulders by trying to be like her father. Had they known how upset the word Hero made her, they would have likely not said anything.

"Alright ladies, everyone packed up?", I asked.

"All good here.", Aisha stated.

"Same.", Olivine replied.

"Do we have to go back? I have enjoyed this peaceful time.", Ryuu sighed.

"If you are that upset with Shera, I can see about moving her elsewhere.", I offered.

Telling me that was unnecessary, she said that it was just something she needed to come to terms with. She had never met an Elf like Shera, she was very cheerful and energetic which was a stark difference from the ones she grew up with. As much as she disliked her hyperactivity, she did enjoy the positivity that Shera had. It gave her a shimmer of hope that maybe one day her people could be as cheerful as her.

'If only she knew that Shera was an anomaly in her world too.', I thought hiding my smile.

Opening a portal for us to head back to the surface, we stepped out into Babel's Courtyard only to find the place was in ruins. It looked like Hulk has gone on a rampage, and was still fighting judging by the commotion from the Residential District. Seeing people feeling the area, at first Ryuu thought that Ares was attacking again but realized it was too early for an attack this year.

"We should regroup with our Familias?", Aisha spat wanting to jump into the fight.

I was about to agree with her, when a familiar man crashed into the Courtyard. Seeing the Blades of Chaos burning bright red, I was at a loss for what the hell he was doing here. Based on his current appearance, he should have been on Midgard with his son. The anger on his face made me come to the realization that he probably had suffered yet another loss.

"Why won't you just die!!", the Shang Tsung's Slime shouted in anger as it leapt on him.

"I won't die till I drag you down the River Stix myself!!", Kratos roared in anger as he knocked it away, "All I wanted was to be left alone!! You took everything from me!!"

Whipping the Blades of Chaos around, he didn't seem to care in the slightest who was in the way. Pulling several people out of the way before he sliced them in half, I watch him cut the Slime apart into two pieces. Watching the two halves head in different directions, I marked one part with a Tracking Spell and proceeded to help Kratos with the other half.

'I can't let this thing get away, it's my fault I didn't kill it sooner.', I thought as guilt welled up inside me, 'He lost his second family because I didn't kill Shang Tsung sooner. If I had just killed him sooner, the Dark Slime wouldn't have ever been made.'

Reforming its body, although smaller this time, the slime pulled out a replica of Shao Kahn's War Hammer and attacked Kratos again. Going to swing it's War Hammer down on him, I slammed my shoulder into the slime and sent him flying through several buildings. Kratos was going to attack me, but I told him I was here to help him.

"That creature is something I want dead as well.", I told him, "We should work together to kill it!"

Fortunately he listen to what I said and returned his attention to the slime. Both of us ran after it, and got to it just as it was reforming itself again. Watching it eyeing some terrified families trapped in the house with it, I refused to let them pay for my mistake.

"Cruel Sun!!", I shouted as I blasted it point blank with it.

Unable to get a defense up, it took the hit head on and screamed out in pain as it's body started to burn up. Sensing it trying to absorb my Sun, I put a barrier up around it and used Pride Flare to try and kill it quickly. The violent explosion shook the area violently, but the barrier held strong.

"Damn you!!", the slime hissed as it struggled to put itself back together, "Damn both of you, we will not be stopped!!"

"What the hell do you mean we!?", I said.

"My brethren will rise up, we have been looked down and tread on for far too long. We will show all of creation that we are not merely pests that you can eradicate!!", the slime said trying to open a portal beneath it.

Detecting the spell before it opened, I used Absolute Cancel to prevent it's escape. Closing the gap instantly, I unloaded on it using Combo Star. Trying to hit it's core, the slime was surprisingly fast and managed to move it's core around to avoid my blows though with each one it became harder to dodge me. The moment the core was exposed, I used Final Prominence to obliterate it's core.

"We are Legion, we will not be stopped!", the slime laughed as it became no more than a spot of sticky goo on the ground.

Taking a moment to look around for the other half, I tried reach out to the tracker I placed on it. Thankfully the other half was still in this world, and was on the outskirts of the Market District.

"That thing is probably going to go for one of the many Gods in this world.", Kratos stated unsure of where to go now.

"What do you mean, is that why it came to you?", I asked.

"Yes, it mentioned something about wanting me to help it get stronger. Instead of asking though, it killed my wife and son while I was away...", he said as the anger and pain came over his face.

"I am sorry...", I stated as the guilt I felt increased.

"We should focus on hunting the other portion of it down.", he told me, "Is there any Gods you think it may go for? Maybe ones that aren't combatants?"

Agreeing with him, I told him to follow me as I could get a sense of where it was going. Running with me through the city, I sensed it start moving quicker like it was pursuing something. Mentally figuring out what was in that area, it dawned on me that Hestia, Ristarte, and Aqua lived in that immediate area. Telling Kratos that I had to hurry on ahead, he told me he wouldn't be far behind.

Changing into my Angelic Form, I shot into the air and made a beeline for the home. As I drew near, I saw the three of them running for their lives as the slime chased them. All three of them were bloodied and covered in cuts from the slime's assault. Hestia was dragging behind the other two because she was in sandals.

"Hurry up!!", the two said reaching back to grab her hands, "Take our hands!"

Tripping over one of the paving stones, Hestia went down and rolled for a few feet. Looking behind her, she watched it dive for her as it activated it's Predator Skill. Diving head first at it, I covered my right arm in a Cruel Sun. Sensing my approach, the slime's survival instinct kicked in and it immediately jumped away before I hit it. Giving it no time to flee, I covered my other arm with a Cruel Sun and used Combo Star in unison to kill the Dark Slime. Once it's core was exposed I finished off the monster in a hurry.

"Death Zero!", I said crushing it's core with my Darkness.

Turning around to check if Hestia was alright, I barely got a look before she leapt into my arms. Shaking violently, Hestia was petrified of what just happened as were the other two women. Running over to me, the two of them held on to me like their lives depended on it.

"Are you okay?", I asked them as I knelt down.

"No...", Hestia choked up, "It...it ate Penia...we couldn't do anything..."

"She...she saved us.", Ristarte said, "It...it attacked us on our way home from the market. We were talking with Penia, and it...it came out of nowhere. Before we could move, Penia...she pushed us out of the way...it should have been us!!"

The three of them started crying, and I felt ashamed of myself for allowing this to happen. I had let Shang Tsung make that thing when I didn't kill him the first time we met. It was my fault the slime and him got away at Shao Kahn's Castles. My inaction led to this, Kratos lost his second family and these two had to watch a dear friend die because of me.

'What have I done...', I thought holding them tightly.

Arriving a few minutes later, I gave Kratos a nod confirming it was done. Seeing that I was preoccupied, I told him to make himself at home and that we would talk here soon. Once he was inside I did my best to console them, and eventually the three of them fell asleep. Carrying them inside, I got them tucked into bed and then sat at the table with Kratos.