Inside the Cave of Obscenity

Chapter Volume 10 5: Hero's Weakness

Episode 5: Hero's Weakness

The operation went well.

...It went so well, really, that one has no choice but to say so.

"What does this mean?"

"Fornelis-sama, there is no sign of the slime on the north side!!"

"The east side is clear too!"

A tall woman with large wolf ears and tail, and gray hair that is the exact opposite of her black military uniform, and a subordinate with fox and raccoon ears report to her.

Fornelis, the Grabalt's princess and swordswoman leads the troops.

Her subordinates are the fox-eared Julia and the raccoon-eared Anri.

Besides these women, Grabalt's vanguard unit, which was made up of a wide variety of races, including beastmen and demihumans, seemed bewildered and dismayed.

They were standing there with a vague look, but with a sense of tension remaining.

(It must be a trap that there is so little resistance...)

Julia and the others were standing in front of the slime castle, which was their goal.

They were in front of the big gate in front of it.

――It was so high and so big that one could look up at it.

It would be difficult to push it open with a human hand...... Well, no one would want to touch a gate made of the slime's highly sticky mucus.

Looking up at that gate, Fornelis exhales slowly.

"Well, we've accomplished our original goal, but......."

The number of slimes they fought before coming here was about thirty.

All of them were enemies that mimicked the appearance of monsters, but they were all lower-class monsters such as goblins and orcs, which was worrisome.

According to reports, there were also large magical beasts such as chimeras and powerful demons that could use magic.

Yet they arrived at the enemy's castle without encountering any of them.

Anyone would have suspected a trap and become suspicious.

"......Anyway, first of all, call Leticia."

Fornelis instructs them to send a message to her old friend Leticia, who is waiting behind as a rear guard.

Without letting her guard down, she stretched out her hand to the oversized sword on her back... the hilt of the oversized sword was made of mithril filled with mana that allows even beastmen who can't use magic to use magic.

She pulls out the sword and points it at the walls that surround the slime-formed gate of the castle.

The sword is beautiful as the flames rush out from the blade.

The shimmering red flame becomes so powerful that it shakes the atmosphere, and it is obvious at a glance from the range of the shimmering flame that it is quite powerful.

Normally, the heat would reach the person holding it, but Fornelis does not seem to feel the heat.

"Well then."

Fornelis, who muttered "Let's try this out," swung her oversized sword, which was as tall as she was, out sharply with her right arm alone.

The blade of the sword, with the sound of the blade ripping through the air, slashes the walls of the slime castle with its flame.

The sharp blade made a horizontal slash, and white smoke rose from the damage.

Not only sword damage but also burn from the heat.

The double damage makes healing difficult and impossible to recover naturally.

For a living creature, the attack can be fatal―― even for the slime, the effect will reduce its mass by burning the mucus that makes up its body.

The walls that had been damaged by the slash of the flames were recovering before Fornelis' and her unit's eyes in the blink of an eye.

"As I thought."

(It's the same as the slimes we've fought so far.)

If it were a normal slime, the mucus that makes up its body would be burned, evaporated, and disappear, making it difficult for the body to attack.

Depending on the damage, it would also be unable to heal itself.

Just like that.

Fornelis looked up at the large slime castle with dismay and sighed.

"So this entire castle is slime?"

It's so out of the ordinary.

The walls of the castle are the same as the bodies of the slimes they had seen so many times in the past few years.

When they are damaged, they move mucus from their bodies to seal it.

Unless they blow up the entire castle, it will probably heal no matter how much damage they inflicted.

She doesn't want to think about it, but... it's a ridiculously large slime.

"Haa."

(Can we really beat something like this...?)

Even Fornelis, who has experience fighting the demon king alongside the hero from the other world, can't imagine their victory.

That's how large this slime is.

It is as large as a small mountain, and prior observation has shown that the distance from one end to the other is considerable.

The castle is not only tall but also wide.

...One can see it clearly if one looked closely.

(It looks a lot like Fonteau's Royal Castle...)

It's an abominable thing, but the slime must have learned it from living in the castle for a year.

At least, its appearance is the Royal Castle of Fonteau itself.

The fact that it is not modeled after the royal city may indicate that the slime recognizes that the "castle" is "its own nest".

(If Leticia sees this, she would be furious.)

"Fornelis, are you alright?"

As she was thinking that, a familiar voice called her name.

Shaking her wolf ears high up on her head to check the direction the voice came from, Fornelis turned to look in that direction.

“Leticia, we've had very little resistance so far...... what do you think?”

"...We should think that our plans are being used against us."

"I agree."

Leticia thought so as soon as she came to the front line.

Just as they themselves are trying to attract the enemy to reduce the burden on the hero Mariabelle, the enemy is ignoring their diversion and gathering all their forces inside the castle.

Given the lack of resistance, it would be natural to think so.

"Now, what should we do?"

"We've been entrusted with the [Blessed Water] from Kara. First, let's destroy the walls with it."

"...Alright."

Well, even if their plan is being taken advantage of, what they have to do doesn't change.

Without destroying the walls surrounding the castle on all sides, it is impossible to enter the castle where the enemy to be defeated and the target to be saved are located.

(The strategy was to attract the enemy's force as a diversion, and rush into the castle while chasing the monsters that would be aiming for the "Hero" when Mariabelle rushed in...)

The "Valhari Blessed Water" that had been prepared for the occasion was several wagons.

Most of it was entrusted to Graffus, who was on the front line and in command of the support unit.

Mariabelle and her team were an elite few and their small number meant that they could only carry a limited number of "Valhari Blessed Water".

In that case, Mariabelle and Kara thought it would be more efficient to leave most of the water to the diversionary force.

"Is the plan okay?"

Julia, a fox-eared beastwoman who had been listening to Fornelis and Leticia, asked.

She wondered if it would be all right to change the operation.

“I’m worried, but it can’t be helped. The enemy that we have to lure is nowhere to be found."

"Yeah. Send word to Graffus' unit!"

"Ha!"

When Leticia said so, the fast-footed beastman entered the forest.

He went to the support unit waiting at a remote location―― a unit of priests for recovery and to Grafus, who was leading them.

The priests use the miracles of the goddess, but their power is not so strong.

Only Jenna, who was even called a "saint," and a few other priests could perform miracles that could purify monsters.

Most of them are limited to recovery and healing, which is normal, but from the point of view of Leticia and Fornelis, who traveled with Jenna, it is a little insufficient.

(If only there were a hundred more priests as good as Jenna, we could preserve the "Valhari Blessed Water".)

Fornelis thought so, but such a thing is impossible.

Smiling at her own thoughts, she looked at Leticia, and she too must have seen the exterior of the slime castle and realized that it was modeled after the Royal Castle of Fonteau.

She could tell that her expression was tense.

"Did you notice?"

"It's in bad taste."

It was just a conversation, but Fornelis understood that Leticia was angry.

She had always been the most passionate of them.

Even though more than twenty years have passed, her nature didn't change.

――Fonteau, the symbol of peace she built with her beloved husband.

She wondered how much anger she must have felt at having the Royal Castle copied by the slime.

Fornelis, who is not yet married, did not understand....... It's the same feeling of having the memories of her old friends sullied that makes her sick to her stomach.

"――――?"

It was at that time.

Fornelis and a few other beastmen with sharp instincts twitched their big ears.

“Leticia, something's coming.”

Fornelis said, and grabbed the hilt of the oversized sword on her back tightly.

Leticia, too, held up a large iron staff as tall as she was, and the others, sensing the two woman's caution, readied their weapons without being instructed to do so.

"From where?"

"I don't know."

There was no other way to put it.

Killing intent...... No, she felt malice.

She also felt uneasy.

However, looking around, it didn't seem as if anything special had changed.

Fornelis and the other beastmen looked around.

The knights from Fonteau divide into several groups and form a circle to eliminate any blind spots.

When Leticia stands guard behind Fornelis...

“Laetitia-sama, Fornelis-sama!!”

......Graffus, who was called by a messenger, appeared with a carriage loaded with barrels of "Valhari Blessed Water" in tow.

"Graffus, get back!!"

Leticia shouted, alert to changes in her surroundings, and at the same time, the ground shook.

It was no earthquake.

In a matter of seconds, the ground cracked and rose up, exposing the roots of the surrounding trees―― shattering and tearing them apart as a huge body of mucus appeared, shattering the ground.

"Wh-wha!?"

Graffus and the priests stopped in their tracks in agitation.

The huge body stood like a wall between Leticia and Fornelis's battle-hardened troops and Graffus's troops.

The impact was so great that a cloud of dust obscured its entire shape for a moment.

Grafus and the others looked up at the giant body in astonishment, and Leticia shouted.......

“Flame, burn it down!!”

The moment she recognized the figure, Leticia readied her staff and released flame magic.

Although the elf queen's mana had been reduced to about half due to the slime attack, with the aid of her staff, her firepower was so high that it was hard to believe that it had been uttered in a shortened chant.

The firepower, which is incomparable to the oversized sword used by Forneris, burns through the wall of mucus―― or rather, the torso of the worm, which boasts such a huge body that its entire area cannot be seen at close range.

In an instant, the mucus evaporates in a cloud of white smoke, but there is no way it can burn all of it.

As soon as the flames subside, the damage begins to heal.

The surface, which had changed like melted wax, quickly returns to its original shape.

"Tch! ――Knights of Fonteau! Follow me!!"

Hearing that voice, the knights began to prepare their magic by kneading their mana, although they were surprised by the sudden appearance of the huge body.

"What a size..."

On the contrary, Fornelis was speechless as she looked up at the giant worm, a size she had never seen before, even though it was smaller than the slime castle behind her.

Against such a huge body, a single sword would be no match.

――And.

She felt a disturbing presence behind her.

Looking that way, she saw the slime castle―― one after another, goblins, orcs, and other small monsters were emerging from its outer walls.

(Were the monsters that attacked us when we approached the castle appeared like this!?)

The number quickly became too numerous to count, probably not less than a hundred.

Moreover, while Fornelis was surprised, more and more were appearing from the castle walls.

Not only that, but when the knights of Fonteau unleashed not only fire but also ice and wind magic to blow away the body of the giant worm, the mucus that splashed down in droplets fell to the ground and transformed into other monsters.

Goblins and orcs.

"Follow me, warriors of Grabalt! Ready your weapons! Protect the Knights of Fonteau!!"

Fornelis instructed them to protect the knights who could use magic, and she herself took the oversized sword and slashed at the monsters that appeared endlessly from the walls.

In a melee, clear and short commands are effective.

The warriors readied their weapons and, forgetting the difficulties and the fear of the giant slime, followed Fornelis' lead and moved to protect the knights of Fonteau.

The flame-clad blades slashed at the obese slime orc's huge body, vaporizing the mucus.

No matter how much it changes, as long as it is a slime, it is no different from other monsters once it is burned by the heat or frozen solid.

As long as they know how to defeat it, the only thing that bothers them is the paralyzing poison in its mucus.

"Why is this happening all of a sudden!?"

"We don't have time to think about it!? They're coming, Julia!!"

Julia's body tensed up at the sudden appearance of the slimes, perhaps remembering her past humiliation.

"No way..."

The unit lost its commander in an instant, and Graffus, too shaken to know what to do, could only mutter.

The ordeal continues.

"The slimes appeared again!!"

"Kuh―― withdraw..."

(What should I do!? The situation is completely different from the plan I heard beforehand...)

With Fornelis and Leticia gone, the command was transferred to Graffus.

He has little experience in actual combat, but the people here are skilled knights and warriors.

Whatever the situation, he understood that obeying the commander would reduce confusion.

So with a glance, they want Graffus to command.

In other words, they don't act on their own.

Because they understand that this will lead to confusion and cause the troops to split up.

If the unit does not act as one, it will not survive―― that is why they wait for Graffus' command.

But, Graffus is so surprised by the situation that he is unable to think properly.

That's why.

“We're retreating! Retreat!! The [Valhari Blessed Water] must be defended to the death!!"

"Ha!!"

So, as per the original plan, Graffus decided to withdraw when the slime attacked.

Letting go of the option of saving Leticia and Fornelis.

...

"――――!?"

She suddenly had a bad feeling.

Mariabelle, who had been hiding away from the slime castle, followed her instincts and stood up.

"What's wrong, Maria?"

"Ah, no..."

Her heart palpitates. Her breathing was erratic.

The bad feeling grew stronger, and she found herself sweating so much that her neck was damp.

It's an unusual reaction.

......As Meltia and Kara were wondering what to say, Fenelieka, who had gone up to the sky for reconnaissance, returned.

"It's bad, it's bad!"

"What happened, Fenel-sanl!"

"U-uwa!?"

Fenelieka came down with her wings flapping, and Mariabelle grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her violently.

Fenelieka was surprised and saw Meltia and Kara coming out.

"W-what happened?"

"You said it's bad―― so what's the problem?"

"Ah, that's right. I was keeping an eye on the castle, and I saw a really, really big worm!"

Fenelieka says with her hands outstretched exaggeratedly, and Meltia feels her credibility fading from the way she says it.

She glared with her eyes narrowed, but such an attitude is normal for Fenelieka.

More than that.

"What's wrong with that worm, Maria?"

"E-eh..."

She had a bad feeling about this.

She had a very, very bad feeling about this.

At the same time.

(If I move now, I feel even worse...)

It was the first time.

She didn't know what was going to happen.

Only the bad feeling is getting stronger, but she doesn't know what it is.

The "hero's intuition" that she felt.

Or like a feeling that the way of life she had relied on was crumbling beneath her feet?

The feeling of suddenly "not knowing" what she believed in is upsetting to Mariabelle.

"Haa, haa..."

"What's wrong, Maria? Calm down and take a deep breath."

"Y-yeah... suu, haa..."

Mariabelle, who had trouble breathing while standing still, took several deep breaths as Kara told her.

As she calmed down, she felt the ground gradually harden.

The foothold hardened.

Both of her legs are stepping on the ground.

As she regains that proper feeling, little by little, Mariabelle's breathing turns slower.

"I-it's okay... it's okay."

"It doesn't look like it's okay―― what's wrong?"

"I don't know."

"Ha?"

Kara was not the only one surprised by the sudden change.

Meltia, and Fenelieka too.

When Mariabelle, who always asserted the correct answer in any situation, said, "I don't know", Fenelieka was surprised and asked back.

"What don't you understand?"

"Something happened, but I don't know what..."

It was the first sensation she had felt since her powers had been awakened.

She doesn't know. It's because she had always been able to understand things intuitively that what she doesn't know is frightening.

Mariabelle looks in a certain direction, puzzled and even frightened by the sensation for the first time.

Fenelieka said she saw a huge worm in the direction where her mother Leticia and Fornelis were.

(Over there, something...)

She knows something happened.

But she doesn't know what happened.

Mariabelle stood still and took another deep breath.

“We left the diversion to them, right? Then we'll just have to trust them and wait for their signal, okay?"

"That's... that's right..."

Fenelieka's words are correct.

Since the operation has started, Mariabelle has no choice but to "wait" no matter what.

(Okaa-sama, Fornelis-sama...)

It was then.

"Ah, the signal has been raised!"

What Fenelieka saw was the beacon smoke raised by the unit.

But it was a trap.

Graffus and the others were focused on protecting their trump card, "Valhari Blessed Water," that they were unable to retrieve the beacon to communicate.

As a result, the slime, which had absorbed the knight of Fonteau and knew how to use the beacon, used the tool.

Smoke rises.

With that as a signal, Mariabelle and the others began to act.

"The slime appeared...... we're going into the castle while the enemy is gathering over there!"

"Ah, y... yeah."

Mariabelle asked herself, "Is that really okay?", but she moved her body.

She can't trust her intuition.

But her intuition tells her there is no danger.

Shaken by that incomprehensible emotion, she jumped out of the forest where they were hiding and rushed towards the castle at once.

(It's alright, it's alright...)

As if to convince herself, Mariabelle repeats "it's alright" over and over again.

In fact, there was no attack from the slimes, as if the diversion had worked.

As it is, they are approaching the castle......

"It's coming!!"

The slime castle, which is their target, is right in front of them, and then Mariabelle raised her voice.

Everyone stays alert to their surroundings. Nothing could be seen around them.

The deep forest of Grabalt blocked their view and they could not see the approaching enemy.

But.

"It's down!!"

Mariabelle shouted, and at the same time, she pushed Meltia to the side, picked up the petite Kara, and jumped away.

"Fenel-san, fly away!!"

As soon as she shouted that, the ground cracked. The ground rises up.

After a moment, a huge worm appeared.

It is so tall when one looks up at it―― almost as tall as the slime castle that can be seen in the distance.

"Uwawa――――!?"

Fenelieka, who had flown into the sky to escape as told by Mariabelle, screamed.

Like a giant tree suddenly growing, the worm grows out of the ground and into the sky.

"Get away from here!!"

“Kyaaaaa!!!”

When Mariabelle raised her voice again, Fenelieka flew away.

――And.

"Onee-sama, please be careful."

"I-it's alright..."

"It's coming down!!"

Next, the giant worm, as if it could no longer support its huge body, stretched its torso to a certain height and began to fall, this time pulled down by gravity.

The thick body came crashing down, crushing the surrounding trees under its own weight alone.

Hearing the sound of the trees being crushed, Mariabelle moved away from the spot with Kara in her arms.

When she looks toward Meltia, she is relieved to see that she is in the opposite direction of the worm's fall.

“What do we do, Maria!?”

"W-what should I..."

It is too huge.

Mariabelle did not know what to do on the spur of the moment, but she ran away from the falling worm.

When she moved away, the huge body of the worm fell down, shaking the ground.

"R-right now, let's go to the slime castle..."

“Maria, over here!!”

The worm seemed to be unable to move as soon as it fell, perhaps due to its overly huge body.

In the meantime, she lowered Kara, who she had been carrying, to the ground, and Meltia, who was at a distance, called Mariabelle.

Ignoring the immobile worm and pointing at the slime castle.

"Hurry up――"

At that time... Meltia's feet collapsed.

In front of Mariabelle's eyes―― another worm appears, shattering the ground and swallowing Meltia whole.

"Onee-sama!?"

Instantly, Mariabelle pulled out the holy sword at her waist.

Without hesitation, she held it up, and light overflowed from the blade of the sword.

――But the worm that had swallowed Meltia disappears into the ground faster than the sword can be swung down.

"No way!?"

The worm, perhaps not having time to dive deep into the ground, moves toward the slime castle, heaving up the ground.

“Wait―― wait!!”

"It headed for the castle... it's inviting us! Wait, Maria!!"

“Onee-sama!!”

The unforeseen event continues.

Mariabelle is upset because her family, her greatest weakness, has been kidnapped.

"Shit!"

Kara wondered if the slime was after Mariabelle.

From the beginning, it may have aimed only at Meltia and attacked.

That was correct.

They don't know yet―― Leticia was also swallowed by the same worm and being carried to the castle.

Just to keep the hero Mariabelle from escaping.

To get her into the castle.

To not let her escape from the castle.

...Her family are hostages.

"Onee-sama!!"

The hero who had her family kidnapped in front of her was shaken to notice.

She never imagined that the slime was targeting only her.