Chapter 22 The Traitor

"Today, brought to you by "What Will Be" Break Show! We bring in a survivor from a burning house! Tell me, how did you escape?"

"Well...we..."

The TV blabbered about something in the TV, I don't really remember much of it. It's a stupid show, most of em are probably fake. I looked down at my cereal, crunching at em. God they're so good, it's like I haven't eaten them in ages. I'm almost late tho, meh, why should I care? Oh right. Money.

My phone's ringing. It's just Henry.

"Dude! Where are you right now?" Henry really likes yelling.

"Breakfast, TV, it's still, 6:30, I can be late 20 minutes." I wanna read the new issue of that cool Webnovel, bout to scroll up to that after the call. "Dude, look outside". What the hell?

I see him! He's waving around from his dn car! "Come on in! Let's go!" He honked twice, welp, I can read the Webnovel in the car anyway, thanks Henry.

A few hours has passed, most of the time Peppy was making some meat sandwiches with the dragon's meat with some cooking utensils she brought, and Fire Orbs. Rift groaned as he suddenly smelled something sweet,sitting up. "Yoo, Peps, you cooking?" Rift then looked at her workplace, a pan above Fire Orbs and some spices. "Yeah, come on, taste this." Peppy then takes a bolt shaped as a spoon from her bag, cut a piece of meat and lands it on Rift's mouth. His face lights up, his mouth staggering. "What did you put in this!? This is bussin!" Rift said, looking at the meat. "Ay, ay, you get more if you give me a peek at the pic!" Peppy teased. "You're gonna try to take it are you, I know what you tried doing when I was out." Rift smirked. "Damn it, I thought that was by coincidence too..." She rubbed her hand, sighing.

Jacko opened his eyes, then felt his Slime Heart throbbing, he held the pain in ad his stood up. Something was having a hard time staying in his chest, it may have been what Jacko feared. He walked away from the two, enduring the pain, he then held his hands out. "Agh...now's the time..." Jacko said to himself. "Finn, Broff, Mark, Grom!" He called out all his slimes in a circle. He looked at them as he felt a sudden relief as he let them all out. "I have to thin out my numbers, I can't even summon more slimes." Jacko said to himself. "Blizz gets the pass, he's barely any space...but you guys, I want to thank you for what you've done for me." Jacko told. He then held out his hands at both Finn and Broff. "If this works, we should be fine." Jacko said.

Finn suddenly felt it's body melting, turning itself into a floating goop, while Broff gets transformed into flames. Slime Runes began appearing all around them, pushing those goop and the flames together.

Jacko struggled to keep them together, his arms are slowly feeling numb from this process. "Come on, work!" Jacko yelled.

The flames covered up the goop, forming it into a familiar shape. It's eyes reappeared again, and a fiery smile painted it's face. The Fiery Fairy Slime then bursts out an ember, breaking free from the Slime Runes around it. "Haiiiiiiiyaaa!" The fairy cried. Jacko gasps. "Finn?" Jacko called, then the fairy flew around Jacko and sat at his shoulder. "Haiyaa!" Finn nodded, summoning a tiny fire ball and throwing it up and catching it. Jacko then looked at Grom and Mark. "Let's get to work." Jacko said with determination. The fusion spell taught by the enchantress was a success.

"Hey! Heyyy! Look who's back! Miss Busty over here!" Rift laughed, seeing the tall woman once more, scoffing at Rift. "Where have you been? We've been eating out here!" Peppy yawned, after patting her belly, stuffed. "How long have you been lounging around the 7th floor of the Dragon Dungeons!?" Ebony yelled. "A while, we saved you some food, you must be hungry from whatever you were doing." Rift told. "I'm not hungry, where's Slime?" Ebony suddenly realized.

Just in time, Jacko was walking back towards them, his arm seemed to be bubbling up, his face was in pain and looked at the group. "Jacko?" Rift asked. Jacko looked at Ebony. "Let's go to the next floor." Jacko said, before walking by the group and Ebony. "Well, I have no idea who gave him the balls to order 'round, but I like it." Rift stood up, helping Peppy clean up. Ebony looked at Jacko, interested yet intimidated. Something changed. A familiar energy. "Peppy, I'd like to have some of that meat now." Ebony said with a smile.

The group entered the staircase, leading them once again into a dark room. This time, once the room was lit up by the orbs at the ceiling, there was a marble altar with golden columns containing some of the light orbs in the middle of the room. Ebony grasped her fist. "Damn it..." She placed her palm at her face. "What is that?" Rift asked. "I dunno, but the staircase is over there tho." Peppy pointed out. "Yes, yes, we should get out of here before anything happens. We're lucky to have encountered a very easy floor." Ebony said with cracked confidence. Jacko walked up to the altar, his body still shaking. "Jacko! Leave that thing! We should go!" Ebony ran towards Jacko. Suddenly a powerful force slammed Ebony by her chest, knocking her back and sent her tumbling. "Oh my god." Rift gasped, seeing what had emerged from Jacko's back, then watching it return to his body. "That was not what I think it was, right?" Peppy gulped, shuddering.

"Exactly as I had feared." There was then a sudden familiar voice coming from the altar. A white wisp formed in the middle of it. "Dammit!" Ebony then looked at the two. "I might as well do it now!" She then summons two water blades as her arms, then dashes towards Rift. "What the!?" Rift then prepares to block with his only sword left, suddenly caught off guard. He did manage to block, which turned to a back dodge once he witnessed his sword being cut in half, and having his nose slightly cut. The second slash then hesds to chop off his neck.

A rock pillar then suddenly shoots out of the ground, hitting Ebony hard on the chest. "Sh-shit!" Her eyes then began to glow blue, a familiar glow. "What the shit!?" Peppy then starts shooting at Ebony with green liquid syringes. She dodges them easily, while suddenly a hammer swiped her leg. She collapses, slowly regenerating her leg back to normal as she looks up. "Oh...Jacko..." She groaned, seeing a Steel Golem-shaped slime. It looked more humanoid and resembled more of a young child with the face of Grom on it.

Jacko watched the wisp form into a familiar shape before him. "Herman!?" Jacko gasped, seeing the white man. The shape then forms a blade on its hand. "I am the Lost Spirit Of The Late Herman Gotye. My Death Did Not Satisfy Thy Host!" The spirit then slashed it's white blade at Jacko, he dodged it, then he sees the blade suddenly lengthen itself. Jacko grabs the blade with his slime hand and crushes it with a ground slime fist. "Herman! It's me! Tell me who killed you!?" Jacko asked. The spirit's eyes brightened. "A Traitor To Humanity. Just Like What I Have Become." The Spirit then suddenly summons another sword on its other hand. "Finn!" Jacko called out, the new flame fairy then starts shooting beams of flames towards the spirit, piercing through its body but immediately reforming. Jacko then summons a Ground Slime and forced it to become a ground wall shaped slime to block the attack last minute after backing up. "You're not Herman, if you were you'd call me an freak already!" Jacko yelled. The spirit then stood still. "If I Don't Possess His Spirit, This Floor Would Have Been Too Easy!" The spirit then dashes to Jacko. "You asked for it..." He then takes a deep breath.

"ATLANTIS!" Jacko yelled out, followed by screaming.

"I can see why they had a hard time catching this kid!" She temporarily turned into a puddle right now, barely dodging the bolts from Peppy and the attacks of the Steel Golem Slime. "Grooooo!" The slime then runs to Rift. "Groooo!" It held out it's hand, wanting something from him. Rift, who had been in the sidelines looked down at his broken blade."Sure?" He then let's him take it.

The golem ate them up, chewing them while sounds of hammering is heard from within, then it spat out two beautifully shaped daggers crackling with electricity landing on Rift's hands. "Dayuuum! Guess we're back to basics!" Rift nodded to the Slime, then readied himself. Due to the lack of pressure, Ebony reformed herself from the water, fully healed once more. "I thought you were super hot too!" Peppy growled, more annoyed that she's wasted almost all her prescious syringes. "Well I only have one goal, casualties are always expected. Just like that asshole." Ebony smirked. "I knew something was fishy about you, you're a fucking Magekeeps are you!? Not cool!" Rift then charges at her, his body suddenly felt light, the daggers made him feel a bit faster, causing him to slice one of her arms. Ebony herself didn't expect that speed and tried to slash him once he's passed, then a sting is felt through her arm, causing it to flop down. She looked at the sting, it was a Paralysis Bolt. "Finally! Fuck you! Oh my god that's what she'd say!" Peppy giggled as she then kept shooting. Ebony then returns to a puddle form, desperate and tired. Her arm was the only one that didn't join her puddle form. Then all of a sudden a powerful roar echoed around the floor, once they heard the word...Atlantis.

Everyone immediately looked at the source of the roar, flying above Jacko.

It wasn't as big as the large dragons before, it was the size of a Mid-tier dragon. It's body dripped of slime, though the power of pure water can be felt within it. It was just a slime, with the power of a dragon.

"Sorry Herman! Atlantis, take him down!" Jacko ordered, his face no longer showed fear, there wasn't even a hint of courage. He was just pissed. Atlantis opened it's mouth, tentacles of all shapes and sizes emerged from it's mouth and crushes the altar with them, the spirit of Herman disappearing among with it. Jacko then absorbs back the entire dragon into his chest, taking a deep breath, the Steel Golem Slime and Finn also returned to his body, looking back at Rift and Peppy. "Where's Ebony?" He asked.

The two were just stunned to speak, but Rift managed to snap out of it first. "She got away." Rift told.

Jacko then noticed a puddle slither above the next staircase. "I'm going to kill her." Jacko then walked quickly to the smnext staircase, the other two following behind him. Peppy loading her Crossbow and Rift removing the Sandworm Armor, revealing his old cloak once more.