First Boss Battle

The opening move came from the quickest one, Kuu.

Flying into the grand room, the little bird-child unleashed a sharp kick against one of the Blue Slimes in front of the fountain. A breath later, Paula’s tail drew an arc, instantly pinning down another slime with Allure.

Beside them, Yoru kicked off the ground with hands and feet like a beast, sprinting past at incredible speed. With that momentum, the beast-child slammed head-first into the large slime that was just starting to move. She was sent bouncing back, rolling across the floor.

“Whoopsie-daisy—!”

“Wait! Hey, you guys are too fast!”

Mia, unable to keep up with the movements of Paula and the others, raised a panicked voice. I realized then that leaving her speed at less than half of everyone else’s had been a mistake.

However, the Blue Slimes seemed equally unable to react to our pace. Kuu, having kicked one slime away, soared back into the air and descended upon the slime diagonally behind him. Meanwhile, Paula cracked her whip at the final one to intimidate it.

It looked like the front of the fountain was completely under control thanks to our pre-emptive strike.

Yoru, having rolled away, popped back up and rushed toward the Boss Slime once more. This time, however, it seemed she had learned from the previous collision. She moved in a curve, attempting to circle around to its rear.

But a slime doesn’t really have a “front.” The Boss Slime ruthlessly intercepted Yoru as she leaped in for a strike from its blind spot. Once again, the beast-child was swatted away, unable to evade.

Just as it looked like she would slam helplessly into the wall, a large bubble suddenly manifested between them. With a soft pop, Yoru landed lightly on the ground, completely unhurt.

A fine play by Mia. Even though she’d only practiced the spell twice, she was using it perfectly.

“I did it!”

“Nice! Good job!”

Having learned from the two exchanges, Yoru kept her distance and didn’t transition back to the attack. She focused purely on taunting the boss, closing in only to leap back the moment the Boss Slime tried to move.

“Now! Aim!”

“Eh? Ah, right!”

Mia snapped her fingers, conjuring a Fire Ball and slamming it into the Boss Slime’s massive body. It made a sound like a lit torch being thrown into water, but the monster’s movements didn’t change. In fact, it didn’t seem to do any damage at all.

“Hmm, even with her magic attack buffed that much, it’s still tough. Can’t be helped. Fire and water are a bad match.”

“W-what should I do!?”

“Right. For now, just hold out with the Water Bubble.”

“Got it—!”

Relaxing my shoulders slightly at the girl’s energetic reply, I shifted my gaze back to the fountain. Paula and the others were putting up a good fight, likely because their status values were superior. However, the enemy had the numbers. Kuu, unable to launch a careless attack, had no choice but to fly around, luring three of them away.

Of course, this was within expectations. I had already prepared a trump card to flip the situation.

Waiting for the perfect moment, Paula unleashed even more mana toward the charmed slime.

— Subordination.

Her tail drew a circle, and a dark, vortex-like mana enveloped the monster. In the next moment, a new servant was born. The now-enslaved Blue Slime stood against its own kind, following the crack of the whip against the ground.

The moment the tide turned, Paula shouted sharply.

“Now, Kuu! !”

“Kooooo!”

At those words, Kuu soared high, stretching both hands out to his sides directly above the Blue Slimes. He beat his taut wings back and forth at high speed. A sudden gust of wind erupted, blowing toward the slimes. Simultaneously, feathers released from the wings on his hands rained down, riding the wind. Over a dozen feathers pierced the Blue Slimes one after another like darts.

In an instant, two of the Blue Slimes went flat, fluid spraying from their bodies. Without missing a beat, Paula targeted the last remaining one with Allure. Following through smoothly, she unleashed Subordination. Still confused and unable to resist, the second Blue Slime was added to our ranks.

With two defeated and two enslaved, the battle at the fountain ended abruptly.

“Nice! The minions are suppressed. What about the boss?”

I hurriedly looked back at the iron bars, finding the area transformed into a whimsical scene of large, floating bubbles. The Boss Slime, stretching and compressing its massive body, pressed toward Yoru as she ran across the floor. However, by skillfully placing bubbles in between, her small body nimbly evaded the slime’s charges. Occasionally, a bubble crushed by the boss would pop, but the impact was absorbed, never reaching Yoru.

“Yeah, yeah! Good job, Yoru-chi! Keep it up! You’re doing great!”

“Much obliged—”

She looked quite relaxed.

Then Kuu, having glided down from right against the ceiling, joined the fray. The bird-child slammed a two-footed kick into the Boss Slime’s head. It made a deep dent, but like his sister, he was sent bouncing back with a boing. He landed on a bubble, using it to spring back and skillfully regain his stance.

“…Even Kuu can’t do it. This is seriously tough.”

The strongest attack in our group had failed to have an effect. Numerically, we had the overwhelming advantage with the two enslaved slimes joining us, but without a finishing blow, we had no chance of winning. Mia’s mana was also nearing its limit.

The thought of retreating crossed my mind, but Paula called out in a steady, dignified voice.

“No, Sir. We are wounding it. Now is the time to attack.”

Looking closer at her words, I saw a small amount of fluid leaking from the top of the Boss Slime where Kuu had struck. He actually had pierced that ironclad surface.

“Leave this to me. Kuu, take Yoru!”

“Koo!”

Answering energetically, Kuu swooped down to Yoru as she ran across the floor. Hooking his claws under her armpits, he fluttered back up toward the ceiling. The monster-kids moved instantly to a position directly above the Boss Slime.

“Aim for the hole Kuu opened, Yoru! Tail!”

“Roger that—!”

Spinning through the air, Yoru dropped toward the Boss Slime. Simultaneously, a long tail popped out from her furry backside. Landing on all fours on top of the boss, Yoru gave a cute wiggle of her hips and thrust the tip of her tail deep into the hole leaking blue fluid. Then, retracting her tail in a flash, she immediately jumped off the boss.

“Wait, that’s it?!”

“No, wait, what is that…?”

I raised my voice in surprise as the interior of the Boss Slime rapidly stained purple. Simultaneously, its movements slowed down to a point where even an amateur could tell. Without me understanding what was happening, the entire Boss Slime was covered in purple.

While we watched with bated breath, it gave a few small shivers, then suddenly lost all strength, collapsing limply onto the ground. A moment later, the iron bars rose with a heavy rumble, and we let out a great cheer.