Slimantha walked into another steel room. The sliver-hued floor glistened at her feet. Warm-hued light drifted down from the overhead LED panels. Samuel, Mimi, and Black walked into the room after her.
Slimantha glanced up, raising her right hand to shield her beautiful brown eyes. Here, the ceiling was intact. It wasn’t like that other room where the ceiling had partially caved in. Actually, Black was kind of the cause of that partial cave in.
Slimantha lowered both her gaze and her right hand. Her eyes went to a large glass vat. She blinked. A viscous silver fluid filled the vat. She cocked her head to the side, her long brown locks of hair swaying. Her eyes then went to the steel table at the left of the vat. A steel chair sat in front of the table. She blinked again and then headed over to the table, the long brown locks of her hair swaying with her steps.
The table’s top was steel. Well, it was a steel table. Of course its top was steel. Slimantha’s brown eyes went to that steel tabletop. She found a note, a note with a pencil at its right. Her eyes flitted to the pencil and then the note. She took the note into her right hand and held it up. Her eyes scanned over it.
“Sword essence?” she said, her eyes still on the note. The note spoke of sword essence and how swords were needed for its extraction. “The key?” She blinked. According to the note, sword essence was the key. What was it the key for though? She blinked again and then put the note back down onto the table’s steel top.
Black stepped up to the glass vat at the right of the steel table. The cat woman’s feline tail swished behind her. Her brown eyes were focused on the silvery liquid held by the vat. She leaned closer to the vat bending at her hips. Her tail swished again, her eyes still on the liquid. She straightened back up and then looked at Slimantha, who stood at her left. “Hey, check out this stuff,” she said, gesturing to the viscous silvery fluid. A smiled flashed across her face. “Mind providing me with a slime for a reading? I’m wondering what this stuff is.”
Slimantha looked at Black and smiled. “Sure,” she said. “Just give me a moment.” She cupped her hands in front of herself and summoned a small blue slime into them. “Here you go.” She held the slime out to the other woman.
Black smiled, her brown eyes on the offered slime. Unlike the last, this slime did not blush upon seeing her. Instead, this slime looked at her inquisitively. She reached out over the gelatinous blue blob. Then she glanced to the vat and its silvery liquid. “This stuff is sword essence.” Her lovely brown eyes went back to the slime. Behind her, her black tail swished. “They are extracting sword essence from swords, but,” she pulled away, “the process destroys the sword.” She glanced at Samuel, who stood nearby. His face had gone pale upon overhearing that last part.
“D-Did you say it destroys the sword?” Samuel said, frantically stepping up to Black. He got a little nod from Black the Witch, and his face went even paler. “T-Then my sword, the sword the goddess blessed me with, is …”
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Mimi stepped up to Samuel and placed her right hand on Samuel’s left shoulder, a solemn look on the golden woman’s face. “My condolences,” she said.
Slimantha’s brown eyes went to Samuel’s face, and the slime summoner smiled at him. “Just relax,” she said. “I’m sure it is fine. Maybe your sword isn’t among the casualties.” Then she looked at Black. “You done with this?” She held the little blue slime up.
“Actually, let me use that again,” Black said. She glanced at Samuel, and then her lovely brown eyes went back to the slime. She positioned her hands above the little blue creature again. Then she frowned. She pulled her hands away. “I’m done.” She turned to face Samuel as the little blue slime melted away. Her brown eyes met his blue eyes.
“Tell me,” Samuel said, his face getting some of its color back. “Has the sword the goddess blessed me with been destroyed?”
“I,” Black smiled awkwardly, “can’t actually tell.” She averted her gaze. “It might have been destroyed, or it might have not.” She looked at him again, her eyes meeting his eyes once more. “I’m sorry I can’t give you a better answer.” She bowed in apology, and her black witch hat slipped off. Her black cat ears gave a little twitch.
Samuel smiled. “Don’t worry about it. It isn’t your fault.” He bent down and picked Black’s witch hat up. “At least my missing sword might still be out there.” He held Black’s hat out toward her. “Here.”
Black blinked, and then her brown eyes went to her black witch hat. She looked at Samuel’s face and smiled. “Thanks.” She took her hat back, her fingers brushing his fingers as she did so. Her black cat ears gave another twitch, and then she put her hat back on. Behind her, her black cat tail gave a swish.
Slimantha smiled, her brown eyes on Black and Samuel. Then she turned her attention to the glass vat of sword essence. She blinked and then stepped up to the vat. She gently pressed her right hand against the vat’s glass. The glass was cool to the touch. This silvery stuff was supposed to be the key to something. What was that something though? Was it the key to some sort of sword realm? Were the birds going to war with a sword realm? Was a sword realm even a thing? She continued staring at the silvery fluid for a moment. Then she pulled her right hand away from the glass and blinked. Would the search for Samuel’s missing sword lead to a sword realm?
She jolted back at a caw, the caw coming not from the vat but from the doorway. She turned to the doorway. Her beautiful brown eyes fell across a lone crow. She blinked, and the crow cawed again. She cocked her head to the side cutely, her long brown hair swaying with the motion. She wasn’t the only one staring at the crow. So too were Samuel, Mimi, and Black. The crow gave a third caw and then fled down the hall.
Slimantha blinked, and Samuel pointed at the doorway. “Was that a crow?” Samuel said.
“Yes,” Slimantha said, her brown eyes on the doorway. “Maybe it knows the bird that pilfered your sword.”
“Shouldn’t we chase it?” Samuel said. He glanced at Slimantha.
Slimantha gave Samuel a nod. “Let’s,” she said. She pointed at the doorway. “After that crow!”