The dawn of the next morning, Okarin was standing at the Scribel City Gates. They had packed very little — nothing but a dagger wrapped in rags and a small vial of purple potion. That said, the slime person owned very little, hardly even 100 G despite living in this world for months. They lived in a ramshackle hut made of twigs and leaves beside Slimebreak Creek that leaked whenever it rained. They still wore the same dirty cloak that Okarin had brought with them through the Otherworld Gate, and it was full of holes and frayed ends.
Who would have imagined that things would have turned out like this?
Today, Okarin's hair was short, cropped to their neck, so they looked especially androgynous.
They had lost a lot of mass at the witch's cottage, and the slime person had very little extra mass stored in their flowing hair. They had shrunk almost a foot in height, and now had the stature of a scrawny thirteen-year-old girl. In fact, their appearance was almost indistinguishable from one of the many street orphans who joined gangs and pickpocketed merchants in the city market. Okarin looked a bit battered, but that was to be expected from all the sleep deprivation, puffy red bloodshot eyes, and charred skin from
picking deathly toxic herbs the past few days.
So the next step was to charge straight into a Rank D region all alone without a single escort? A death wish, right?
The slime person smiled wryly at themselves.
It was a little bit of a bad joke. It wasn't funny at all.
"
Buh-bye Scribel."
Okarin spoke aloud for no reason in particular.
"
I guess we won't be seeing each other for a while."
They turned around and started walking towards
Exal Bridge.
+ + +
It was actually very easy to pick a direction to travel in.
After crossing Exal Bridge, the
Winter Mountain was easily visible in the distance off to the southeast. The much smaller
Oni Mountain was also visible on the same trajectory, but Okarin wasn't an idiot. They had read Vicious's quest report, and they weren't about to walk straight into the lion's den full of potentially dangerous monsters.
No, it was much more sensible to go around.
For the first few days, Okarin hugged the edge of the swamplands south.
However, on the fourth day, Okarin encountered something unexpected.
+ + +
*sniff* *sniff* *hic* "
Sis... What are we going to do?"
"
Shh! Quiet! We're hiding! We don't know when those blue monsters will be back!"
Okarin paused in their tracks.
It was nighttime, and Okarin was still walking since they hadn't felt sleepy. It was drizzling slightly and the ground was damp, but the misty environment was welcome because the slime person could absorb the moisture through their skin and passively recover their mass. The main issue was the fog, which made the visibility extremely poor.
Okarin had just passed by a large rotten log some distance away from the Marshlands when the slime person overheard some whispering voices and some muffled crying.
Okarin recalled all the weeks that they spent sleeping underneath a log outside Scribel City. Their first thought was that the log looked like quite a cozy thing, and it would serve as a really nice bed. Their second thought was that perhaps the voices were coming from underneath the log.
*sniff* "
I... the village... e-everything's gone! Why? Why did this happen?" One of the voices grieved quietly.
The sobbing wasn't even subtle.
Okarin could easily hear it from many feet away. They seemed to be voices of two children.
They thought about approaching the pair...
But suddenly there was a hysterical shriek of terror.
"
I found you~ (見つけた)" A chilling voice reverberated through the air.
Two small figures bolted away from their hiding spot, and immediately afterwards the rotting log exploded into thousands of splinters as a small cloud of dust was launched into the air. Okarin's fists tightened, and they strained their eyes to see the perpetrator... yet...
There was nothing.
A tree was toppled nearby and a bush was sliced up into a hundred different pieces. The ground was torn up ferociously and whole plants were violently uprooted. It was like a miniature tornado kicking up a disaster, but there was no evidence of any person responsible for this.
It was almost as if the monster were...
...
invisible.
There was a second shriek as the elder child tumbled to the ground.
A bright red gash was cleanly visible across her legs.
The monster had cut the girl's Achilles' tendons. It wouldn't be possible for her to walk anymore.
"
Sis! Sis! You have to get up! We have to run!" The younger child's voice was panicked and desperate.
However, a background of diabolical laughter drowned out the voices of the children.
"
Yes! Run! You've been naughty children, and I'm sure your parents have always told you that the Oni will come eat naughty boys and girls!"
The voice of the younger child was desperate.
"
I've never even heard of an Oni! You're just a monster! A horrible monster! Leave us alone! I hate you!"
"
Mhmm, delicious! Hatred, is it? Give me more! I want your Fear to soak through your skin and bones! Feed me more of it!"
Without thinking, Okarin ran across the scene, placing themselves in between the demon and children. They knelt down beside the older girl, who had fainted after getting her ankled sliced up. The wound was bad, and a major artery by the foot was cut. If it wasn't resealed, it was likely that she would never be able to walk again.
It was also at this point that Okarin realized that these two children were lizard-people, with pointed snouts and long scaly tails.
Did this mean that the Oni had attacked a lizard village?
"
That's enough," Okarin whispered to the hysterical younger lizard child.
They extended an arm to comfort the young lizard boy, but Okarin recoiled as soon as their palm touched the child.
It was hot! Scalding hot! As a slime, Okarin could vaguely taste other being's emotions and... the lizardboy was almost a solid mass of pure terror. It was literally the most disgusting thing that Okarin had ever touched, and Okarin was reeling with a sense of vomit.
Exactly how long...? Had this Oni been chasing these two poor children?
Was it simply to stoke their emotions? To build up their fear...?
Did the Oni eat emotions like fear?
"
Oh my... what do we have here? You look like a human, but you're not one."
"
Why are you doing this? Why are you attacking these innocent people?" Okarin asked.
The Oni ignored Okarin's question.
"
Ew, how disgusting. You don't even have an ounce of meat on you."
"
So you eat meat?"
"
Why do humans eat livestock, do you think?"
Okarin tightened their fists and looked around to scan the surroundings. The Oni was invisible in the darkness, but that didn't mean that Okarin couldn't try to spot any irregularities in the environment that could give away where the Oni was standing.
—Why do humans kill slimes?
A faint thought whispered insidiously at the back of Okarin's mind.
However, there was a flicker of light towards Okarin's left. For a split second, they could see blue skin and horns. The silhouette was easily ten feet tall, and he was grinning widely. Strangely, the monster was covered with wounds and bruises, and there was a slight limp to the demon's posture.
The invisibility flickered on and off a few more times.
The Oni seemed unaware of the fact that the spell was failing.
What did this mean?
"
You're... injured." Okarin spoke cautiously. "
You're not invincible. Who hurt you?"
A look of fury suddenly appeared on the Oni's eyes.
"
You insolent...!"
The demon seemed to stop himself all of a sudden.
"
My family affairs are none of your business," he growled.
Okarin's expression was unchanged.
"
You interfered with my hunt, and you want to help these children?"
The Oni paused.
"
Well, I'll let you do it. Give them Hope. I want to see you try to save them. A sliver of Hope that is crushed in total Despair is excellent seasoning, and it'll work out better for me anyways. The nearest village is days away, and it doesn't do me any good if the two of them die of exhaustion."
"
You're awfully chatty for an Oni demon. You're a weak one, I'm guessing?"
There was an explosive gust of air and several trees split in half in the background.
A stray blade of air sliced off Okarin's left arm as easy as if it were made of butter..
Even for a "weak" Oni, they were awfully scary.
Okarin's detached left arm tumbled onto the dusty ground.
The lizardboy stared at the dismembered limb and fainted.
"
Don't test my patience," the blue demon sneered. "
Be thankful you're actually doing me a favor. I'll be back in a couple hours."
The Oni vanished.
+ + +
A slime and two unconscious lizards.
Okarin stared at their dismembered arm on on the ground. It was slowly melting into a puddle, now that it had been separated from their main body.
Strangely, it hadn't really hurt that much.
After sitting in that witch's cauldron of boiling lye, it was hard for Okarin to say that anything really hurt anymore. It was basically just a superficial injury, right? Okarin was a slime. It was going to regrow, albeit it might take a while.
They wondered what they should do about the two lizard children.
Briefly, Okarin considered abandoning them. They weren't Okarin's primary objective, after all. The slime was working hard because they had a letter for Vicious, and no other reason. Okarin was not particularly attached to Scribel City or the Adventurer's Guild, but Vicious had been nice to them. Okarin liked Vicious, and Okarin wasn't willing to let the Ostrich girl run away from them.
Ostriches were fast.
Slimes were slow.
Slimes were dumb.
However, slimes were stupidly persistent.
Slimes weren't afraid of anything.
Okarin slowly got up to their feet. They only had one arm right now, and they lacked the mass reserve to transform another limb immediately. Wobbling slightly, they stumbled over to the bleeding girl and placed their right hand over her bleeding ankles. Okarin applied a little of their own healing jelly, which cost them a bit of mass, but it would be enough to stop the blood loss.
Now, there was a more pressing question.
How the heck was Okarin supposed to carry two kids with one arm?
+ + +
A few hours later.
Okarin was no longer wearing their cloak.
They were dragging it on the ground, with holes rapidly opening up in the old fabric.
Two unconscious lizard children laid atop the cloak.
Okarin hadn't gotten very far dragging them, but there was a ridge nearby. It seemed like there might be some caves that could be used for shelter.
The lizardgirl's eyes slowly fluttered awake at this point.
The slime continued to drag the cloak, not caring that one of the children was awake.
"
You..." The girl's voice was slightly foggy and hesitant.
Okarin said nothing and continued to pull.
"
Is the blue monster gone?" She asked.
"
Yes, but he'll be back." Okarin's response was short and punctual.
The lizardgirl went quiet.
"
I see," she said.
The girl tried to stand up, but winced as she realized that she couldn't move her toes.
"
You are calmer than your brother."
"
Maybe. He's young. Are you... not afraid... either?"
"
I'm always afraid," Okarin responded. "
I grew up in a world thinking I might be killed or eaten at any moment."
"
Huh, so you're used to this then?"
"
In a sense. But this is different."
"
So... Miss(?) Hero... what's your
amazing plan to get us out of this nightmare?" Her voice trembled slightly here.
The girl was surprisingly demanding despite having the tendons in her feet severed.
"
I don't have one. However, I think your Oni is a strange one. Normally, people don't play with their food. Ordinarily, I think you would have been eaten right away. I don't really understand why he's letting you run. Is there something that he wants from you?"
"
Well... there were many blue monsters who attacked our village... but I think there's only been one who's been chasing us."
Okarin stopped moving at the mouth of a cave.
Was this it?
Was it finally time to play Hide-and-Go-Seek?
There wasn't much time left before the Oni would return.
Okarin didn't think they would be able to travel much further while dragging the two lizards.
Was it better to barricade themselves inside a cave?
"
E-Excuse me?" The lizardgirl spoke up again.
Okarin turned around.
"
If it's just one of us, you'll be able to run further, right? You should leave me behind. My little brother... you should save him. He's... He's the only one that matters. Our tribe needs him!"
"
...?"
"
My brother was chosen to be the next Da-Lai Lahm. He's something like a very important medicine man."
"
Absolutely not. I'm not leaving one of you behind to save the other." Okarin was stubborn for no reason.
"
But!"
"
I refuse to accept that you are less important than your brother."
"
Please! I'm begging you! It's my dying wish! Leave me behind!"
There was a chuckle of laughter nearby.
"
Such a heartwarming conversation~"
Okarin stiffened. The Oni was here? Already? How long had he been listening?
"
Thanks for babysitting, slime girl~ I'll take over from here."
Like before, Okarin had no ability to detect the monster. He was invisible like before.
There was a shriek beside the cloak, and Okarin whirled around. There was a blue-faced monster sitting casually beside the two lizards. He was tenderly stroking the unconscious lizardboy's face and cooing into the child's ear.
"
Child, will you wake up already? I promise the bad nightmare is almost over."
The lizardboy's eyes slowly fluttered open.
"
Kasi! Kasi! Listen to me Kasi!" The lizardgirl was practically screaming.
"
Does it hurt? It hurts a lot, right?" The Oni whispered. "
I can make the hurt go away."
The little boy's eyes met with the Oni's.
The lizardboy's eyes appeared to be surprisingly calm.
The blue-skinned monster placed a knife in the child's hand.
"
If you stab your sister, I will make the pain disappear."
"
Kasi! Listen to me! It's a trick! Kasi! Please! Don't listen to the man!"
The young lizard child slowly rose to his feet, wobbling with a knife in his hands.
He stumbled a few steps over to his sister.
The boy lifted the knife high in the air and...
And...
Plunged it straight into his own heart.
Right in front of the wide-eyed horror of the lizard girl, his elder sister.
And then he crumpled to the ground.
The boy was smiling.
+ + +
The next few moments passed extraordinary quickly.
There was some kind of purple light around the Oni, and the demon was screaming. Previously sealed wounds were opening on the ogre's torso and silver blood flowed out of the injury. The monster was ferocious and his eyes were pure red. A maelstrom of violent air exploded, causing the surrounding landscape to contort and the granite rock to groan underneath the pressure. A rockslide tumbled down the side of the ridge, thundering as it crushed the entrance to the cave.
Slowly, a brilliant golden trident started to materialize out of thin air.
The pole was stuck inside the Oni's chest
"
That's... father's... the Chieftan's trident..." The Lizardgirl whispered. "
Father stabbed... that demon... mortally wounded..."
Okarin stared blankly.
"
It's magic," Okarin said, breathlessly. "
The Oni was using magic to heal himself."
It was the same kind of magic that Okarin had learned from the witch.
Stories. Karma. Fate. An ancient kind of Magic where the memory of objects gave power to a spell.
Trading lives. A deck of cards. The law of equivalent exchange.
The spell was broken, and the Oni's mortal wounds were reopened.
"
Aghhhhhhhhhh!" The Oni shrieked.
The blue-skinned monster whirled around to face the two of them.
Desperately, the Oni reached out and grabbed the limp corpse of the dead lizardboy. He lifted the boy to to his jaws and torn off the head of the bloody child with his teeth. There were loud crunches as the skull bone was crushed on the demon's molars. The Oni chewed a few times and ate greedily, even as silvery blood continued to spill out of the monster's existing injuries.
"
I won't forgive you!"
The demon lifted his claws in the air and clenched them together, as if crushing something to dust in his palms.
Immediately, a thousand different cuts opened up all around the lizardgirl's body, and she screamed.
"
Curse you lizards! Curse your father! Curse your family!"
There was no response from the lizardgirl.
Okarin was stunned. The ridiculous power... even while the Oni was dying...
"
I'll break every single bone in your body! I'll break your legs! Your spine! Your fingers! You'll never be able to move again!"
The Oni had a look of madness in his eye, and he huffed and screamed as blood poured from his eyes.
The monster did something with his hands, and there was an audible crunch.
There was a girl's scream, and then silence.
Okarin looked away.
They couldn't bear to watch.
Okarin's arms trembled slightly.
+ + +
"
Just die already," they muttered.
The Oni paused.
He slowly turned his disfigured head around, silver blood continuously flowing out of the grotesque beast.
The monster was rapidly running out of time. Already, there was a small lake of demon blood on the ground. Flesh was already falling off of the Oni's skeleton, and the monster was smoking and decomposing under the moonlight.
"
You can't have long to live."
"
Damn you."
"
Yeah, and you too."
The Oni suddenly laughed, and he threw his head back up towards the sky, black ooze spilling freely out between his sharp teeth.
"
Damn." The Oni laughed.
And those were his last words.
The Oni died in the most anti-climatic way possible, still standing atop two legs.
The blue demon was dead.
The lizardboy was dead.
The lizardgirl had... every bone in her body shattered.
Okarin was missing an arm.
They were in the middle of nowhere.
Okarin immediately sank to their knees, and wondered if all of this had been totally pointless.
+ + +
Okarin was dragging his cloak again.
The lizardgirl was atop it, but she was limp like a doll and entirely unconscious.
Okarin wasn't sure if she was alive or not.
Okarin didn't have the motivation to stop and check.
They arrived at a river.
Okarin was exhausted. They had lost track of time. How many hours? Days? Okarin had been walking.
They were still missing their left arm. Okarin was heavily bruised and sliced up in various places.
It was a
White River.
The river started talking to Okarin.
Okarin wasn't sure if they were totally delirious or not, but they had a brief chat.
The river's name was
Seiryuu or something.
"
Do you know somebody called Vicious?" Okarin asked. "
I have a letter for her."
The river said something something something.
"
This Lizargirl might be dead. Or she might not. I hope she's not dead."
Okarin's speech was getting increasingly feverish and nonsensical.
The world seemed to be swimming like a kaleidoscope around them.
Okarin didn't remember anything after that.
Okarin passed out.
OOC: I ended up not writing much about Fuyu Machi at all.
Maybe next time. In either case, the intended epilogue here is that Seiryuu brings Okarin and the Lizardgirl to Fuyu Machi (or Yato Machi) -- and the letter somehow makes its way over to Vicious.
