Ranking Up! (5)

PREVIOUSLY

Then I-Danger!

I carried Raegis, and with all the chi infused into my legs, I kicked the ground, pushing myself away from something black and acidic that shot at such high speeds I couldn't even catch it with my chi-enhanced eyes.

Crashing into the patch of dirt beside me, I wrapped my arms around Raegis so that she wasn't hurt. Instead, I accidentally bit my lip, causing it to bleed.

"Ow." I checked Raegis, and her aura was still calm, but a little shaky. She was going to wake up soon.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx

I turned back to the Black Slime, who was wiggling about violently now, no doubt charging up it's acidic shot again. One look at the burnt patch of land from where I'd just stood and I knew I did not want that acid anywhere near me.

Mentally, I counted the options I had for escape. With Raegis unconscious and on my back, I would have to be wary of the Black Slime's acidic shots from behind, the random monsters that might appear in front, and also to concentrate on the flow on my chi unless I wanted it to dissipate mid-jump, leading me to fall to my death.

So, there was only one option really.

"Aegis!"

FLASH!

My entire surroundings beamed in golden, holy light. Something appeared below me, catching me and Raegis on it's back as a powerful, flying steed of white appeared in my view.

I stroked its majestic mane and asked, "You missed me?" The pegasi neighed in response, happily thumping its feet into the ground.

"Woah there, buddy. I missed you too, but," I turned to the Black Slime who had stopped charging up it's shot, and instead opted for observing the situation first. "I need your help with something."

Almost instantly, after the words left my mouth, Aegis unfurled it's wings, showing off it's impressive wingspan before charging up it's own magical, rainbow-colored beam that would have surely decimated the Black Slime and the entire forest in front of us.

"Stop!" I screamed, and luckily Aegis listened. I felt like my heart was about to jump out of my chest. Jesus Christ, Aegis nearly doomed my ass. Turning to the Black Slime, was it just me or had the Black Slime lost some of it's color?

"I just need you to get us out of here," I said. "Can you do that for me?"

Excitedly, Aegis started to flap its wings as a sense of weightlessness started to surround me. Down on the ground, the Black Slime seemed to be pondering, snapping out of it's fear as it must have been weighing it's end, either by the magical beam of this Top Grade Pegasi, or by it's cruel and sadistic mistress.

It made it's choice pretty quick, letting a barrage of highly acidic tentacles onto us but Aegis expertedly cut and slid past each one. I felt like I was one of the worst roller coasters in my lives, with the amount of turns and flips Aegis was doing. If it wasn't for the magical property of holding it granted to it's riders, I would had long been flipped off the rowdy flying steed.

"Stop playing," I said. In the glance of my eyes, I could see the Black Slime trying to be sneaky, separating a small portion of itself with the intention of using said blob to charge a sneaky acidic shot at us.

"Make a run for it," I whispered to the pegasi. The Mini Black Slime had finished up it's acidic shot and with my eyes, I could tell that it was super concentrated. "That would be bad even for you."

Aegis whinnied in disappointment while still easily evading each and every one of the tentacles. It was disappointed that it's playtime had been cut short. I didn't know whether to feel sorry for the Black Slime who was trying so hard to kill Aegis.

Just as the acidic shot left the mini-Black Slime's body, I shouted. "Run!"

Space warped in front of me, and I was gone.

***

For the Black Slime, it was a terrible day. It was one of the most recent creations and failure of its mother. The moment it had been born, it had an order singing throughout it's consciousness just like all of it's brothers and sisters.

'Find him. Find the Maiden. Find him. Find the Maiden.'

But, perhaps it's weakness was actually a blessing in disguise? After all, all of it's brothers and sisters had been sent to the most dangerous regions in the world, with many of them dying just from entering the place and yet, here it was, somewhere in the outskirts of a backwater kingdom in a backwater realm.

'Find him. Find the Maiden. Find him. Find the Maiden.'

It had already been driven to madness. No, it was more accurate to say that madness was the Black Slime's home. When it had first arrived in this realm, in this forest, it had devoured, killed and maimed anything that stood in it's path which was pretty easy due to it's Sin being that of [Gluttony], something it had inherited from it's mother.

[Gluttony], an inherent skill that allows its user to eat anything and grow stronger from it. An overpowered ability but it was nothing compared to the original sin.

'Find him. Find the Maiden. Find him. Find the Maiden.'

It was hilarious how the other denizens of this forest acted upon it's arrival. They had mostly flee, with the strong ones attempting to kill it and steal it's power for their own but unfortunately, that was not how it would work. After all, although the monsters operated under the system of that abhorrent Monster God, the Black Slime was a being who served under the Ultimate Evil, it's mother. Basically, weaklings who did not even fully understand the system they worked under, would not even be able to lay a scratch on it.

That was the law of the Ultimate Evil. They did taste delicious though.