The Azure Slime: Final Part

A flashback sliced through Bluesy's mind. Slimes are beings that aren't intelligent nor have good memories; they aren't known to keep track of calendars, always arrive late to parties, always eat what they aren't supposed to eat, and more often than not, they make for bad conversation practice partners.

But Bluesy wasn't just a simple green Slime, he had become a blue Slime. And with Slimier powers, came Slimier responsibilities. He had now gained the gift of memory, a strange feeling that was new to him. To be able to understand current situations with more than your pure instincts, was a gift that felt good and painful.

Especially now. Pain, grief, sadness, terrible vibes, all flowed through the Little slime's mind as his Slimy brain lit up like fireworks. A Vampire Incursion, firing at the garbage pit killing all the Slimes that were part of the cleanup crew in his old base; a punishment suffered but seldom endured.

He remembered his old king on his knees. Pleading and begging for his life, as the Vampires pointed a strange staff and shouted orders and slurs.

"You diablo! You will pay the fine with gold or blood!" one of them shouted, as they blasted another one of the king's servants with their staff.

"I will pay! I will do whatever you ask for, just don't kill me!" The Black demon bellowed, shaking.

"Pablo Van De Quilla will give you two more months for your next tax collection, and remember to follow all the rules in section 80C to receive your tax breaks. We will come to collect the next harvest."

The Vampires shook their staffs, making satisfying 'click' sounds as the staffs dispensed strange metallic objects that soon hit the floor. They turned around, their red capes with strange insignias, and left the room with a bloodshed in their wake.

Bluesy shook and wiggled himself. It was now not time to test his newfound powers, but to solve a problem. He steeled himself, making the toughest, meanest 'poyo' he could muster.

"Poyo! What want? Why invade kingdom with anger?"

"Kingd- Really? The white-haired man said, as he looks around. "Are you sure this is a kingdom, amigo? This barely classifies as a village, even if you include slimes as a population."

Bluesy puffed himself up, trying to make himself appear larger. His blue 'skin' pulsed in defiance. "You wrong! Kingdom of Azurea is organized, great kingdom!"

The vampire let out a sigh, a hint of exasperation creeping into his voice.

"Escucha, little slime. I understand your pride, but being small doesn't exempt you from Taxes. I'm here for a routine inspection, nothing more."

He adjusted his cape with a flourish, revealing a silver emblem etched upon his breastplate - a bat with stylized fangs. "I am Inspector Francesco of the Intendencia Real de Sangre, here to assess your dungeon's condition and ensure compliance with the Tributary Code."

Bluesy felt a wave of confusion wash over his gooey self. Taxes? Codes? This was all new and overwhelming for his simple slime mind. Yet, the memory of his previous dungeon's destruction roared within him, a reminder of the danger they potentially faced.

"You... want look around?" He stammered, trying to process the situation.

Francesco nodded crisply. "A thorough inspection is standard procedure. It helps us determine your eligibility rating under Section 80C and calculate your tax bracket accordingly."

"Eligiblity? Eligibility for what?"

The Vampire raised an eyebrow. "Eligibility for not being part of our core tax collection program, marcha de la muerte. Failure to comply with regulations could result in severe penalties, you know?"

Bluesy blinked, or rather, pulsed his shell in the closest equivalent.

Francesco seemed to catch the fear in Bluesy's demeanor. "Let us start with the tour, shall we? Your living quarters, followed by the forge pits, and we can discuss the finer details afterwards."

The vampire gestured for Bluesy to lead the way, his voice taking on a slightly patronizing tone. "After all, organization is key to a successful dungeon, even for the small ones, hmm?" He chuckled, a hint of condescension in his voice.

Bluesy twitched, an mix of uneaseness and fear churning within him. This... Francesco was clearly underestimating them, but Bluesy also desperately needed to avoid antagonizing him further. The fate of his kingdom hung in the balance.

He bobbed his pseudopods in a gesture of acquiescence. "Poyo, follow."

Bluesy slithered towards the heart of the dungeon. It was time to prove they were more than just a chaotic mess of slimes.

Francesco trailed behind, his keen eyes scanning the surroundings. The cave walls bore the marks of unskilled expansion – chipped stones, uneven floors, and scattered debris. Actually, scratch that. There wasn't debris anywhere at all, the Slimes ate it in their eternal hunger.

"Hmm, your excavation efforts leave something to be desired, little slimy amigo. Resource management is crucial, you know?" He tapped his chin with a long finger.

Bluesy's pseudopods clenched. He wants our food? Maybe the stones and rocks, they also learned how to set fire to lionirds? Questions ran through their

"The resource place, follow way," he grumbled, pointing towards a side tunnel.

Inside, piles of bones, rocks, logs, sticks, leaves, and several animal corpses lay scattered around. Francesco barely entered the room and immediately stepped back.

As they entered the resource room, Francesco wrinkled his nose. "Ah, the sweet scent of... uncategorized decay. You'll need to submit Form ZS-56B for proper hazardous waste disposal certification."

Bluesy blinked. "Form? No, not form. Not Waste. We eat and burn tasty Bonnies." Form? Sounds chewy! Do forms taste like leaves? Maybe Vampires eat form. 

Or maybe, Vampires turn our food into form. Bluesy shivered at the thought of their hard earned food getting stolen to be turned into these mysterious forms.

Francesco stared at Bluesy in disbelief. "Let's see... Do you possess a dedicated composting facility? A hazardous byproduct containment unit? Any form of waste categorization whatsoever?"

"Process? No. Eat All. Slime grow big, mighty, and split." Although some of the things DO taste bad, Slimes grew to not care for the taste and eat as much as possible to grow big and strong, just like his oozy brothers taught him.

"Well, you can just mark everything as food anyways then, amigo. It has higher interest rates if you do use the loan serv-"

His words faded as he noticed a slime near the ceiling, absorbed in smoothing a crystal with its pseudopod. The crystal gleamed brighter than any diamond.

"... How did you achieve such clarity?" he murmured, transfixed.

Bluesy, relieved the focus was off the food, looked up. "That slime like shiny rocky. We call him 'poyo yo.' "

"Look. We'll need to regulate how you are treating corpses. You could be spreading disease and putting your nearby biomes in danger. And your organization needs some... refinement. A proper cataloging system is mandatory for tax purposes. Do you even have an accountant amongst you?"

Bluesy bristled. So many strange words that he couldn't keep up with. He just nodded in a concerned manner. "We cook accountant. Please no worry."

Francesco merely raised a skeptical eyebrow.

As they moved through the various caverns, Francesco's commentary continued. He found fault with the placement of the fire pits, the cleanliness of the pathways, and even the number of slimes present. Always mentioning rules, books, sections, subsections, numbers, and these damned forms. Bluesy's frustration and fear grew with each critique. What if any of these concerns is enough for a Vampire Incursion? What will they do? He knew he had to keep the Kingdom safe, but this challenge was not one that could be solved with sharp sticks. Well, maybe it could, but Bluesy felt he had no way to know for sure.

Finally, they neared the throne room - the heart of the Kingdom of Azurea.

Bluesy felt scared. Scared for what the Vampire would say and do once he sees Taki under the evil spell of that orb.

He tensed his pseudopods, and opened the throne room.