Viktor tilted his head. "Do I look like one?"

"You leak slime too, don't you?" Kaida shot back without thinking glaring at his crouch area.

Silence.

Complete, suffocating silence.

Bella's mouth fell open.

Viktor's expression went completely blank.

Even the slime stopped bouncing, its gelatinous body going perfectly still.

Kaida's brain caught up with her mouth about three seconds too late. Her face drained of color, then flooded crimson as she just mentioned about his dick. "I—I didn't mean—that came out wrong—"

Viktor took a deep breath. A very long, very controlled breath. "Kaida."

"Yes?"

"From our journey here, I came to know that you speak too much."

"...I know."

"kyuu..." Even the slime seemed uncomfortable now, deflating slightly.

Viktor turned away, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Let's just... forget that happened."

"Um... but... S-sir Viktor," Bella whispered, her face bright red.

"Hmph," Kaida muttered, looking like she wanted the earth to swallow her whole.

Viktor exhaled sharply, then reached down and picked up the slime. He held it at eye level, his dark eyes serious. "So, buddy. Can you prove to us that you're that beast?"

The slime's eyes—those two dark spots—seemed to brighten.

"KYUU!"

It nodded enthusiastically, wiggling in his hands.

Then it bounced free, landing on the ground between them.

And began to grow.

"What—" Kaida started.

The slime's body expanded—not gradually, but in rapid pulses.

Bloop. Bloop. BLOOP.

One moment, melon-sized. The next, as large as a barrel. Then a wagon.

Its form stretched upward, gelatinous mass reshaping itself, limbs extending, a neck forming, wings spreading—

The silhouette was unmistakable.

"Oh gods," Bella breathed.

Viktor's sword trembled in his grip. His voice came out strangled. "A-A D-Dragon—!"

The creature loomed before them—massive, towering three stories high. Its body was translucent purple gelatin, constantly shifting and rippling like water.

Not scales. Not skin. Just smooth, wobbling slime in the rough shape of a dragon.

The head was oversized, almost comically so, with those same dark spot-eyes now the size of wagon wheels. The wings were membranes of stretched slime, flapping slowly, sending ripples through the entire body. Four stubby legs supported the mass, each one jiggling with every movement.

It wasn't a real dragon. It was a mimic. A morphed approximation.

But the size—gods, the size—

Bella's legs gave out. She collapsed to her knees, the knife falling from her grip. "W-Why does it look like that though...?"

It was a valid question. The dragon looked almost... cute? In a terrifying, reality-defying way. Like a child's drawing of a dragon brought to horrifying, gelatinous life.

Viktor's hands shook. 'This is useless. It's just a shape. There's no way this thing can—'

The slime-dragon's mouth opened.

And roared.

"ROOOOAAAAAARRRRRGGGHHH!!!"

If Viktor had to describe it—

It was like standing next to a flying jet during takeoff.

Or having a bullet scream past your ear at point-blank range.

But worse.

The sound wasn't just loud. It was pressure. Physical, crushing force that slammed into them like a wall of solid air.

"KHUCCCK—!"

Viktor's hands flew to his ears, but it was too late. The roar punched through his skull, rattling his brain inside his head like dice in a cup. His vision went white. His knees buckled.

"AAARGHH!!"

Kaida screamed, collapsing instantly. Her daggers clattered from her hands as she curled into a ball, both palms pressed against her ears, blood trickling between her fingers.

The chain between them snapped taut, yanking Viktor down with her.

They hit the ground hard, writhing, gasping, unable to think through the ringing that filled their heads like a swarm of wasps.

Bella didn't even get a chance to scream.

Her beast-kin instincts—those same heightened senses that let her hear a pin drop from across a room—turned against her.

The roar hit her eardrums like hammers.

Her eyes rolled back.

Her body went limp.

She collapsed face-first into the dirt, unconscious before she even registered the pain.

The roar echoed for three full seconds.

Then silence.

Horrible, ringing silence.

Viktor lay on his side, gasping, his entire body trembling. His ears felt like they were bleeding. His vision swam, doubled, refused to focus.

'What... the hell...'

"KYUUUUUUUHHHH~!!"

The last thing he heard as his eyes went blank and darkened, while noticing Kaida losing consciousness with her ears bleeding and Bella already lying beside her, was the sound of that slime calling him out in panic.

'Nah buddy... I think, Kaida is just a bad luck—!'

thud

----

"Are you alright, Bella?"

Bella's eyes fluttered open slowly, her vision blurry and unfocused. Everything felt distant, muffled, like she was underwater.

Her head throbbed with a dull, persistent ache that pulsed behind her eyes.

She blinked several times, trying to clear the fog, and found Viktor's face hovering above her—concerned, tired, but relieved.

"S-Sir Viktor...?" Her voice came out hoarse, barely above a whisper.

She tried to sit up, but her body felt heavy, uncooperative. Viktor's hand steadied her shoulder, helping her into a sitting position.

"Easy," he said quietly. "You've been out for about an hour."

An hour?

Bella rubbed her forehead, wincing at the tender spot above her left ear. Her fingers came away clean—no blood, at least. "What... what happened?"

"The slime happened," Viktor said flatly.

Memory crashed back in fragments—the dragon shape, the massive silhouette, the mouth opening wide—

And then that sound.

That gods-awful, skull-splitting roar that had felt like her brain was being liquefied inside her skull.

Bella's hand flew to her ears, panic rising. "My ears—I can't—am I—?"

"They're fine," Viktor assured her quickly. "We're all fine. Somehow."

Bella blinked, confused. Her hearing was perfect. Crystal clear, even. No ringing, no damage, nothing.

How?

She looked past Viktor and saw Kaida sitting a few feet away, legs crossed, both hands pressed against her temples. The fierce warrior looked utterly defeated—slumped, pale, staring at nothing.

"How are my ears fine..." Kaida muttered, her voice barely audible. "I thought my eardrums... crashed..."

She spoke like someone in shock, all her usual fire and bluster completely extinguished.

Viktor followed Bella's gaze, then looked toward the edge of the clearing where a large tree had somehow sprouted—or maybe it had always been there, and Bella just hadn't noticed.

At its base, partially hidden behind the trunk, was the slime.

Melon-sized again. Perfectly round. Wobbling slightly as it peeked out, those dark spot-eyes watching them nervously.

"kyu..." It made a tiny, apologetic sound.

Viktor's expression softened. A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth as realization dawned.

'So you healed us, huh?'

He pushed himself to his feet, his knees protesting slightly, and walked over to the tree. The chain connecting him to Kaida clinked with each step, but she didn't even react.

Bella watched as Viktor knelt down, reaching out toward the slime.

The creature flinched, shrinking back slightly.

Viktor poked it gently with one finger. The surface rippled like disturbed water. "So... you're really strong, huh?"

"kyu-kyuu... kYuu-kyu..." The slime's voice was small, mournful.

"He's apologizing," Viktor said over his shoulder to the women. "Says he didn't mean to hurt us."

Bella struggled to her feet, still unsteady. "S-sir Viktor, you can... you can understand it?"

Viktor paused. "I... yeah. I don't know how, but I can." He turned back to the slime, tilting his head. "You don't need to say sorry, buddy. You were just showing off, right?"

"kyuu~" The slime bobbed—definitely a nod.

Viktor's smirk widened. "So... you called me master earlier. Why?"

The slime wiggled, then tilted its body—like a head tilting in thought.

It gestured with a newly-formed pseudopod toward the two women behind Viktor.

Viktor glanced back at Kaida and Bella, then returned his attention to the slime. "Because... of those women?"

"Kyuu... KyUhh!"

"Heh? I...nsert my tail into... t-them?!"

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