Chapter 8: Side Story #1 – The Apostle of Vengeance (1)

The ground trembles and shakes, exploding and spreading, crying and pleading like a man being assaulted by the sky itself. 

A bright pink goo floods through the vast forest, glowing to create light through the darkness created by the night sky. 

"The [Vengeful Slime] has lost her way, your majesty! Our people are being consumed by her mass! Soon, we will be next if we do not do something!" The distressed voice of a man calls out, echoing through a room that has become mostly baron.

Sitting on a throne at the far side of the room is a blue ball of slime, with eyes and a crown on its head. In front of the slime is another, slightly larger slime ball, the source of the distressed voice. "Vulye, do you believe that we can flee from that woman? This land is doomed, and there is nowhere that we can do for it. Her abilities are too powerful for us to stop." A soft, motherly voice calls out in return.

"This is because of our own undoing. For too long did we oppress the [Pink Slime Tribe], clueless of the power that they'd yet to unleash upon the world. That monster has power rivaling the [Ogre King]... What's more, it can absorb all of our abilities as well. The only thing awaiting us is death." The crowned slime explains, unmoving on her throne.  

However, the blue slime in front of her disagrees! "Queen Dayna, please do not speak like that! The lives and souls of our people; they are in your hands! I will not let you meet an untimely end here!"

They are within a castle-like structure, though it is much smaller than it should've been. The wall was shining, despite being made of large bricks. A slimy texture has coated the walls of the structure, allowing passage for the slimes to freely travel without restriction. Outside of the structure that sat atop a green, gooey hill, there was a kingdom quickly becoming overtaken by a thick pink sea of slime. 

Blue slimes leapt and crawled as fast as they could to get away from the approaching flood, and a majority of them were completely unable to. "It's coming! Please, take my children!" A mother slime calls out, speeding across the ground with a small baby slime on top of its head. 

"Faari!" The voice of a male slime calls out to it from beside. As the slimes weave between and around obstacles falling in their way, the mother slime looks in the direction of the voice to see the slime approaching her side. "The entire kingdom is being absorbed into that thing! Jignik and his family were absorbed with just a touch! Its absorption ability is unlike anything I've ever seen from a slime!"

The mother slime is too focused to respond immediately, realizing that they were approaching the slime-coated hill that led to the castle. "The castle! We have to evacuate Her Majesty!" Slimes are loyal creatures, often seen as trash in the eyes of Awakeners. The average slime is only viewed as a threat because it can absorb things into their bodies to gain their attributes. For instance, if a slime absorbed a poisonous snake into itself, its slime will have a poisonous effect on it.

Even in the face of danger, when their children are certain to face a certain death, they prioritize the life of their Queen who carries the will of their people. Slimes often allow humans to enter their land for the sake of trading weapons, knowledge, and other things! They are a relatively peaceful race, depending on the tribe! The [Blue Slime Tribe] has coexisted with the humans for 7 years now, though not even the [Awakened] Humans that were here for trading were spared from the sea of goo. 

As the slimes reach the base of the hill, the only remaining Awakener stands there, her elegantly tied white hair flowing behind her back, a powerful gust of wind passing by. "So... You are the only remaining slimes?" The woman speaks, a monotonous look on her face. It's as if the entire situation doesn't bother her in the slightest, how can she be so calm at a time like this?!

"Tsenira!" The mother slime cries out, pushing the slime on top of her head off into the air toward the woman. Instinctively, the woman catches the slime with one hand, a confused expression on her face. "Please, take my child and save the Queen! We don't have enough time to go together!" The mother slime requests desperately, the pink flood appearing to speed itself up at the sight of Tsenira drawing her weapon.

"Faari, I have enough time to... !!!" Tsenira is in the middle of speaking when suddenly, two spikes strike out of the flood. "What...?!" The two slimes in front of her, Faari and Tug were stabbed by fast-moving spikes coming from the flood. Tsenira's expression remains the same, but the concern that she's feeling has never been more obvious in her life.

This mysterious mass has just unleashed an attack that she, a [C-Rank Awakener] could barely keep track of. Tsenira was trapped in place for a moment, startled by the sudden display of speed. If it were to attack her like that, she didn't know if she'd be able to dodge, even while knowing its capabilities. "It's... It's tormenting them." Darting her eyes around the Slime Kingdom, the speed of the flood is nothing compared to what she'd just witnessed. "It's drowning them in despair, giving them a false hope of fleeing..." The true speed of this flood has yet to be unleashed — there's no way a single slime can get away from it if this thing starts to move at its full speed! 

"Muh... Blugh...!" Tsenira looks down at her left hand, remembering the baby slime that she's carrying. "I need to get you out of here." In front of her, the bodies of Faari and Tug have been melted and absorbed into the mass of the blood, contributing to its overgrowing size.

Though they were merely slimes, Tsenira feels a tinge of pain in her chest. Holding the small slime close to herself, she pushed herself off of the ground, leaving a boom behind her as she rapidly rises up the massive hill, reaching the top in only a second or two. Banging through the doors of the castle, Tsenira is shocked to find that there are only two slimes inside.

Queen Dayna and Vulye, her loyal attendant, are inside the throne room arguing with one another. Tsenira approaches, holding the small slime close to herself. "Queen Dayna, your people are but extinct. If you allow me, I can carry the two of you from this place as well!" Tsenira shouts from across the room while approaching the two of them.

Queen Dayne speaks with a soft chuckle. "You've been too kind to us, Tsenira. Though, even you must accept that if not for our lack of discretion, your people would still be alive as well." Tsenira's Party was lost to the sudden flood that consumed the front walls of the Kingdom. Due to her class as a [Knight], she was able to quickly travel to the base of the hill using one of her skills. 

"None of that matters now, we need to get you out of here. If you die, your people may as well have died in vain." Tsenira reaches beside Vulye who'd stopped speaking once she entered. "This child is the only thing left on this side of the kingdom. Soon, your people will be wiped out! The flood hasn't even begun to move at its full speed yet! We can use that to its advantage and get out of here!"

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For the second time, Queen Dayna chuckles at Tsenira's concern. "Tsenira, you can't convince me with that same lifeless expression, dear." During this entire ordeal, since she was born, Tsenira had a certain look on her face, one lacking feeling. People thought that she was heartless, even though her tone changed to match how she felt. "Bring me that child, please." The Queen requests and Tsenira swiftly obliges. 

Queen Dayna begins to glow as Tsenira stands in front of her, holding the slime child. "This child will carry on the [Legacy] of our tribe. It will right the unforgivable wrongs that our people committed and realized far too late." Queen Dayna speaks to both Tsenira and Vulye. 

"Tsenira, please take the child and Vulye. Flee to the Southern Kingdom of the [Red Slimes], they may not accept you willingly, but you are strong enough to manage for yourself. I am sorry to say, but the [Gate] that brought you here cannot be reached because of that monster." Queen Dayne sadly explains before continuing her requests.

"Vulye, raise that child into a true ruler. Tell it of the mistakes of our people. Teach it of the wrongs that we'd done... teach it so that it will be better than we were." Then, the structure started to tremble. The disheartening sound of the slouching goo groggily rose up the massive hill, the flood finally reaching them. "Please, go. I hope that you can return home safely, Tsenira!" 

Tsenira's already understood that now is not the time to act sentimentally. "My Queen!" Vulye screams as he is scooped up by Tsenira, blue, slimy tears dripping from his white eyes. "My Queen, please!" Vulye cries out as the distance between him and the Queen grew greater and greater. Using her sword, to cut through the wall to get out from the other side. 

A boom went off from outside, signifying the retreat of Tsenira and the surviving slimes. There were others that were trying to get out of the Kingdom, but around the outside of its walls, the flood had already moved to trap them. Tsenira is the only one who can leap far enough to keep out of the distance of its slime, and Queen Dayna knew that. No matter what she wished for, her people were facing their doom tonight.

While waiting for her inevitable end, Queen Dayna hears footsteps approaching from the entrance of the throne room. Looking up, she sees a humanoid figure, a young girl, approaching her in a pink dress. "Hehehehe." The girl snickers, a mass of pink goo behind her, spreading around the building. The building trembles as the mass begins to consume it, a sinister gaze meeting Dayna who can only shudder in response to it.

"Queen Dayna, how pleasant! You sat there complacently, waiting for me to come and take my prize, have you?" The [Vengeful Slime] approaches, her snickering only growing more audible the closer the distance between them became. Once the gap between the two of them closed, Queen Dayna maintained her silence for a bit before speaking.

"You do not understand what you're doing, child... I do not resent you for what you've done, we— I have done horrible things to your people, all without knowing, and I apologize deeply. But, you are doing something that no slime should do. You've consumed too much, you've dug yourself in too deep." During Queen Dayna's explanation, she failed to notice that around her, the pink slime had surrounded them in an instant. It resided only inches away from her, even engulfing her throne. 

"I don't care for your apology or the consequences of my massacre, Queen Dayna. The world has wronged me by [creating] me, and I will not allow it to get away with that wronging." The Pink Slime Girl explains, her hand delicately reaching out, letting her fingers stroke the spherical body of the Queen. "Huh?" The Pink Slime Girl's expression changes to one of shock, like the one you'd expect a child to have when they see that the toy that they wanted was purchased by someone else.

"You old hag! HAHAHA! You transferred your [Blessing]! Who'd you give it to?! That human girl?! Your bashful advisor?!" Queen Dayna lets out a squeak as the fingers that'd previously been stroking her so gently turned into a tight squeezing embrace. "You were loyal to your people until the end, were you? Such a waste, but it's respectable." The Queen was lifted off of the ground by the [Vengeful Slime], squirming in the grasp of the monster.

"You've served your people well, Dayna." The voice of the Vengeful Slime changes into one of an innocent child's. Dayna's eyes widen in response, realizing that the Vengeful Slime was replicating the voice of one of the slime children who she'd absorbed into her mass. Dayna is completely unable to speak, her body trembling. "You deserve some rest." Suddenly, a sense of fatigue overtakes Dayna who can barely fight it. 

The sweet sensation of drowsiness distracts her from realizing her mass decreasing. "Sleep." And then, her body ceases to exist. Absorbed into the mass of the Vengeful Slime, Queen Dayna too ceases to exist. The castle lowers itself around the Vengeful Slime who walks to the backside of the castle, where there is a hole. Looking out, she can see the slimes attempting to climb over the walls and slip through its cracks, trapped by the blockade of pink goo that she'd set up before.

"In the end, the [Blessing] will come to me anyway!" The Vengeful Slime Girl puts her hand on the ground, looking out with her bloodlust reaching the opposite ends of the kingdom, making the remaining slimes tremble and collapse in despair. 

In an instant, the flood of pink goo moved through the opposite half of the Kingdom, engulfing it in the blink of an eye. The Vengeful Slime felt no joy in continuing to torture the slimes, so she put them out of their misery. 

"I have to thank you though, Dayna! A new game has begun!"

"The [Blessing of Righteousness] will bring me one step closer to perfection!" Looking out into the vast land and water outside of the Kingdom, the Vengeful Slime begins to plan her next move already. "They must be moving to the [Red Slime's Kingdom]. It'll be troublesome if another [Gate] appears there because of me, so I'll go elsewhere."

Without even being aware of it, 3 years in the past, the [Monster World] were completely unaware of the changes to the world that they'll experience with the appearance of the [Apostles]...

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