When Izel caught up and stared at Kaito's missing right hand, her face contorted, and immediately gripped the shoulder of that semi-conscious boy.
Wisesa emerged from the doorway moments later, mirroring the shock on his face. Barong, already manifested, exploded. "No! Who would dare do this to a child?"
Wisesa quickly took a piece of cloth from his drawstring bag and wrapped it around Kaito's severed limb. The boy whimpered weakly. "Are you going to do something or what, Alicia?" Wisesa's voice held an undertone of irritation as he fastened the cloth on Kaito's shoulders. The lass was still soothing the weeping Tome.
"S-sorry. I'll do something," Alicia replied. Orb understood and enveloped her entire body with Arcane. However, the healing and calming session was interrupted again by a squishy, sticky bouncing sound that echoed through the passage. Sure enough, a new army of slimes was dragging themselves from the end of the passage, with what appeared to be their brood afloat behind.
"Slime from the time of the initial rift. Wretched creatures," Izel remarked. She cast another glance at Kaito's absent limb. "Only a brood slime with an abundance of acid could inflict such a wound."
The lackey slimes were turbid green in colour akin to a disgusting snot, each with bulging eyeballs and a jagged mouth that swirled like a typhoon. The brood, however, was a stark contrast. Its tint was reddish-brown, its body surface revealing a whirl of clouds like a dense storm. Two horns adorned its head, and instead of sporting the common circular mouth brimming with sharp, shifting teeth, it had a rather ordinary one, grinning, revealing rows of teeth layered backwards. As if that was not menacing enough, the solitary blob spoke words, unintelligible to human ears, its voice a guttural rasp.
The blob matriarch moulded its arms and legs before settling on the ground and striding with a swagger. The sweep of its foot disposed of the other blobs of slime without a care in the world. Alicia switched her Arcane might to offensive mode and entrusted Tome to Wisesa. "This queer slime must not be allowed to linger. Izel. Wisesa," she called out, "I need you to take them to safety. And user yer magic to stop Kaito’s bleeding. Please!"
The slime brood now stood at the forefront, still mumbling incomprehensible words. Suddenly, it sucked in the other slime offspring, causing it not only to grow larger but also to change considerably into a living barrier. The stormy vortex on the slime’s surface no longer displayed a murky pale brown colour, but instead a vast, black expanse with white specks dwelled and hovered like glittering stars. Several eyeballs spun like gyrating planets.
An inconceivable cosmic sight.
"We've never seen such a slime monster," the astonished Izel remarked. "It’s aware of your Arcane, Alicia."
"All the more reason I must destroy it immediately," Alicia replied.
Izel, however, held a different viewpoint. "Alicia, I'm not sure you can defeat it on your own. I'll assist you. I entrust the children to you, Wisesa."
"No, I won't. I'll accompany Alicia," Wisesa proposed. "You take Kaito and Tome away from here and use your fire magic to heal Kaito's hand."
Alicia paid no further to this conversation. The slime with a cosmic vista extended its reach to every side of the cave, with Alicia fighting to sweep it away.
Meanwhile, Izel still argued with the lad's statement. "No offence. These slimes are most easily defeated with the help of Tlemauayolotli's fire magic—"
Wisesa grabbed two of Izel's arms. "And I guess your fire magic is powerful for healing too, right?"
"Yes..., of course, my magic is infinitely effective!"
"Good! Listen up! In any case, your fire magic and my shamanic magic are not as powerful as Alicia's when defeating monsters in a short time. But Alicia needs me, because... she's not herself in battle these days, and I doubt you can handle it."
"You doubt me—"
"And again, healing with my shaman arts requires materials and equipment, and more time to concoct. Kaito doesn't have time for my mystic art. You should take these kids and leave!"
Izel cast one final look at the two children and saw the burning tension of Alicia repelling the slime, even though its maddening regeneration forced her to dodge, even causing her to tumble to avoid being splashed by acid. The pyromancer scowled and groaned, then fled with Kaito on her back and Tome under her armpit.
"Good grief, that woman," Barong mused. "Why is she so passionate about competing and showcasing her magic?”
Alicia's voice erupted in a shrill cry. Wisesa and Barong turned their heads only to find Alicia leaning against the rocks. Melted patches were on her right sleeve, and sizzling, smouldering wounds marked her skin. The slime wall had learnt its lesson; whenever Alicia unleashed her Arcane, the slime would unfold a section of its body, allowing Arcane to hit the cave rocks or passages. And every time a portion of its body disintegrated by the force, the splattered remains would enlarge and fuse back into the giant slime. Even when Alicia triggered an Arcane explosion, the Panorama Slime mutilated itself and slithered into the cave’s crevices, before re-emerging when the explosive power subsided. A formidable absurd creature. It let the enchanting stars and planetary eyeballs move like a genuine cosmos to lull Alicia, all while jets of slime were shot from random angles without any warning. And just now, the lass almost met the same fate as Kaito.
Wisesa stepped in and erected an actual barrier out of stone by fracturing the cave floor and hoisting it up. Seeing Alicia's grimacing expression from the wound that was still sizzling on her drooping arm, Wisesa stated, "Just leave the monster here. We have to go."
Alicia looked at the lad's face, then behind her. "Kaito? Tome?"
"Izel took them."
Wisesa put his arm around Alicia and helped her up. "Can she be trusted?" Alicia asked again.
"I guess you don't trust anyone to take care of children. Even their parents. But at least I'm not the one with them, right?"
"I still can't let this slime go. There will be more victims. And yer stone wall willnae work."
Slime began to seep from the crush of the barrier.
"See?"
The Panorama Barrier Slime had completely dismantled the stone wall. And presumably, the slime was growing increasingly aggressive, the words it chanted quickened, and the sides of the cave, too, began to be coated in black slime in a short span.
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Wisesa, empowered by both Barong and Arcane energy, let the two Barong Heads in his hands loose and charged towards the beautiful space scenery. Unfortunately, the way the two yellowish glowing heads charged was rather a mess, leading to the regeneration of the dispersed slime remnants. In vain was his labour. Alicia, having learned from her prior mistake, deployed an independent Arcane dome and rapidly disseminated Arcane energy lines to every corner of the creature's surface, hoping to saturate it entirely and destroy it.
Her efforts yielded results. Arcane prevented the lone blob from infiltrating the cave’s crevices again, gradually dispersing throughout the slime’s surface to later be pulverised in a single blast. Realising the danger of the attempt, the slime resorted to another ability, completely unexpected to Alicia and Wisesa.
The slime released a new, thick blob that trapped Alicia's Arcane circle, yanking her closer to the slime wall. However, instead of sinking into it, Alicia and her defences were "floated" on the starlit surface, drifting farther away, as if the surface itself had a different spatial dimension, and Alicia was stranded in space!
"Alicia!" Barong and Wisesa shouted in unison. Now they did not know what to do to break through the Slime Barrier Wall. Wisesa deployed his inner strength, daggers, and lightning bolts, but the slime freely evaded every assault. Acid splatters came in retaliation. Wisps of cosmos were also ejected to deem him another drifting victim amidst the celestial panorama. Wisesa took a deep breath and thrust his hand; a transparent magical wall stirred up dust and withstood the slime's attack. Perhaps too strong a blow, stone shards began to crumble.
"Now, how can we rescue Alicia from the slime?" Barong asked. "Her form is already farther and farther away on that surface!"
"How should I know?" snapped Wisesa, his hands shaking to keep the invisible wall intact as more acid attacks came. "You're the one with wisdom as old as the age of the earth!"
"Wisdom requires experience! This is our first time fighting this thing!"
"Not the wisdom I need right now!"
Wisea's feet were already recoiling on their own. Even his invisible wall was overwhelmed, no longer invisible, as it was bathed in murky acid.
"I have an idea!" he said. "The problem is that I can't create my protective magic like Alicia.”
"Build a multi-layered stone barrier, Wisesa!" suggested Barong. "But I'm more confident that my physique is resistant to slime spray."
"Just a multi-layered barrier. Thank you."
"Wisesa...! This is a matter of life and death!"
Wisesa was unwilling to argue anymore. He lowered his hand, and acid surged forward like a wave! He propelled himself backwards, frantically creating a series of thick stone barriers until it was stacked into ten layers. With bated breath, he initiated his dance. All must be done before the slime takes on its full form again!
His lips murmured an incantation:
“Kanthi nyilih wewayanganing Dharma Angling, ingsun saget ndemek mburi gunung. Ora ana sing saget dakdemek, nanging sing sapa nemoni ingsun ora bakal nemoni ingsun. Hawaku ngelus-elus gulu lan nggegirisi jiwa. Lengenku ngetutake sampeyan nanging sampeyan ora bisa ndeleng. Kaya dene paningal anglin dharma nundhung buri raseksa.”
The slime managed to infiltrate the layers of Wisesa's stone barrier, and bared its celestial panorama once again, with Alicia suspended as a mere speck. Its surface was about to bubble up when Wisesa summoned the two Barong Heads, instructing them to make a gnawing motion.
The idea worked. Part of the surface of the slime wall dissipated unnaturally. The cave quaked with the slime's ominous rumblings of pure wrath.
"You gnawed the slime from behind with the Knowledge Angling Dharma? That's brilliant!" exclaimed Barong.
"Fuck yeah!" Wisesa shouted with pride. He continued to launch bites of Barong Heads until the voids almost occupied the entire surface of the slime. However, the acid spray intensified, forcing Wisesa to dodge and weave.
While Wisesa was busy upsetting the Barrier Slime Wall, Alicia remained adrift in the starry black expanse, and the Arcane barrier disappeared shortly afterwards. She could barely do anything; for she felt her body heavy, her tongue stilled, and her head overwhelmed by these unfathomable sights.
Stellar sand.
Waves of colours.
Eyeball planets.
But then stardust began to permeate her eyes, capturing other images that had nothing to do with space. Memories that should not exist.
A perfectly triangular cake.
Symmetrical twin dragon faces.
A banana amidst nothing.
A spiraling snail shell
Ten different individuals with the exact same grin.
She had seen stranger things than this, but somehow, the sense of awe that should not be there made her head heavier, fuller, more depressed.
Her head was about to explode.
Literally.
By infinite inspiration.
Her face was already reddened.
The buzzing inside her ears grew louder.
Blood trickled from her nostrils.
Until a blue explosion dazzled the sight of the hole-riddled slime, simultaneously obliterating the entire cave! Wisesa was thrown backwards.
Now the man shared the ringing in his ears. When he opened his eyes, Alicia had her back to him, floating with tendrils of energy swirling around her, while the cave pulsed with blue light. The once gloomy cave now gleamed with a sprinkling of starlight, not from the slime's celestial panorama, but from Alicia's Arcane might.
"There she is, the Alicia who is not herself," Wisesa spoke to himself.
What about the slime's fate? Wisesa craned his head and saw no sign of the slime wall before the girl. Alicia must have exploded it from the inside. Only the way she did it was a mess, unlike the bites of Barong Head. And sure enough, there was still a drop of slime blurred on the gravel bed. But as clever as a creature might be, it was still a creature with only one purpose: to satisfy its hunger. Instead of escaping, the slime multiplied once more, again forming a star-studded barrier accompanied by a shrill roar.
Alicia had already equipped the Arcane circle once more. When bursts from random directions came at her, she rushed forward. When a new black blob formed to engulf her, she instantly enveloped the entire wall with Divine Grace, not letting a single drop escape. Fiercely, Alicia flexed her fingers, then slowly fused her hands as she squashed the slime in the Arcane prison. Alicia appeared cruel while doing so, Wisesa noticed. Though such a small slime did not deserve such grandiose torture.
Arcane's cage was getting smaller, and the slime was getting thicker, only it could not be dispersed anywhere. A heavy roar began to sound, as if asking for mercy, but Alicia's hands were deaf to pleas for mercy. And by the time her hands managed to clasp together, the slime had already been scorched away by the Arcane.
As if realising there was still something behind her, Alicia turned her head. Her eyes were already glowing blue.
"Oh, shit," said Wisesa. "Barong, get ready for impact—"
Alicia leapt straight at him and the Arcane energy ball in her hand burst forth! Wisesa and his magical wall could not take the force, he was knocked back again, and the cave became more and more shapeless, the path narrower and narrower.
"Damn it, Alicia!" Wisesa snapped, but Alicia with glowing eyes kept floating towards him gracefully. "One more time you do that, and we'll be buried by rocks—"
Another high-explosive blue spherical projectile! A pile of falling rocks separated them, but not for long. Alicia broke through them shortly afterwards, and the cave roared in pain through its violent tremors!
Barong, too, let out a frustrated roar. "Alicia! You'll bury Izel and the children if you are too stupid to attack us again!"
"There's no point." Wisesa shook his clothes and face from the dust. He took out his kris again. "She likes to shoot these days. I'll attack at close range."
"You fool, Wisesa!"
Wisesa ran and threw a strike at her face. Alicia's delicate hands now spread a shuddering aura as they caught the man's rough hands in their strong, scalding grip. She tossed Wisesa's hand in the other direction, then slammed him against the stone wall. With Orb in hand, Alicia was about to smash Wisesa's cranium before the man rolled over, then intercepted Alicia's waist, launching a counter suplex. Alicia lying on the ground was the most fleeting of moments, so Wisesa immediately collapsed on her and locked Alicia's legs and arms. No, the bookworm was not without a fight; her glowing body was afloat in the pinned state, then stomped Wisesa against the wall and stone aisle repeatedly.
Wisesa felt his strength draining, and his eyes caught sight of Alicia's waist bag.
Alicia's body suddenly became more dazzling.
Barong's warning deafened the ears. "Arcane explosion incoming!"
The next thing they knew the two teenagers were ejected from the ground. The cave was officially a ruin. It must have been a ruin.
How the Divine had cursed Wisesa. Alicia remained sturdy. Even before the witnessing sun her eyes were still brightly lit, and her surroundings still glittered with stars.
However, Alicia was unaware that something as precious as her waist bag was missing. Wisesa had stolen it.
Wisesa's hand had already scanned the contents of the bag, and he had found what he needed. Alicia rocketed again, and Wisesa immediately threw three xixin bullets at her. Yellow smoke rose, and they both suffered an uneventful landing on the grassy ground. []