Hermes walked into the last lane which connected to the exit. After the easy loss of the four members of the criminal organization, his slime was very happy.
Why? Because it gathered a lot of free raw materials to be used in the future. More like, the lesser and evil spirits were converted into its mana.
The growth rate of the slime armor gradually increased and since it reached its limit from taking more than a million souls, it won't take less than a day to level up.
Hermes cautiously wandered his eyes, watching for an enemy nearby.
The slime, on the other hand, kept looking for the wandering spirits lurking around somewhere.
"Master, master, I collected 1,243,546 mana in a single day. Wonderful, right?" said the slime gratifyingly. "R, r, right, good job. Hmm, pretty well done. Nice hunting," Hermes answered with a fake smile.
'I'm going to puke. Just how many people died in this area?' he asked himself.
"By the way, are we there yet?" asked Hermes dryly. "Yup, we're almost there, master. Once you enter the next panel, you will find a short path. That path will show the stairs which leads to the entrance of this secret place," the slime confirmed, pointing its sight at the narrow road.
Hermes heaved a sigh of relief.
"Master, focus on the road. This is not the time to feel relieved. We're in a danger zone," the slime reminded. "I, I know. You don't have to tell me that again," Hermes answered angrily.
"I, I'm sorry, master. Please forgive me," the slime apologized. "Naah, forget about it. Just do your job properly. Keep us safe from any potential attacks, okay," Hermes ordered, smiling.
"M, master, your smile is so terrifying. You need to practice smiling properly. Look at the mirror first before you even do a practical test. You cannot deceive anyone like that," the smile giggled when it teased him.
Hermes stopped walking, and he placed a hand on his mask. His veins showed up with a terrifying smile.
"M, master?" the slime worried. "Whatever you do. Don't break me, okay. If I got destroyed, you will die as well. W, w, w, wait, master. Forgive me. Stop, stop, stop, please. Master, forgive me!"
A crack sound of a thin material sounded in the area.
"M, master, I'm just joking. You don't have to break me like that," the slime cried, fixing its broken part from his grip earlier.
"Next time, choose your words wisely. I hate people joking around about my face," Hermes declared, angrily.
"B, but, I'm not a human," the slime laughed.
"Huh?" Hermes's face turned into a monster figure, like a vampire ghoul of the southeast Asian folklore.
"O, o, o, ouch, master. Forgive me. Please release me, please. Stop, you're gonna break me again, master~" the slime begged, crying.
Hermes released his hand from the mask and smiled.
"Good grief, you should already tell me that. Next time, don't screw with your master, okay," scowled Hermes, even though his companion was a monster. "Y, yes, master!" the slime squeaked.
Hermes sniffed the air and found out that it was safe to remove the mask.
"Man, you disappointed me, slime. You didn't report about this matter, huh. Didn't I tell you to report immediately about the oxygen level?" Hermes condemned. "I, I'm so sorry, master. I'm just too focused on collecting the spirits, so I almost ―" it stopped after the young Don grabbed it again.
"Enough already. You don't have to explain everything," Hermes demanded.
"Master, you're really my... my true master!" the slime swooned.
Instead of being scared, it emotionally increased its loyalty to the young Don.
"You're really an unforgiving man who is fearless, assertive, and outstanding among your peers. Like the old times, you always trample your subjects like a toy. No, I'm wrong. You treated them like a piece of shit and an insect. Therefore, I'm so proud to experience this harsh treatment," it simpered.
"Huh?" Hermes tilted his head with a confused face.
"Master, you're the only one in this world who often scare me. Showing who is the real boss between us. Brilliant, you're really the vicious and frightening existence in this world. I'm so glad that you're slowly returning back to your original state," said the slime, happily.
'W, what the fuck is wrong with this creature?' Hermes was terrified.
"Master, we're here. The last door," the slime pointed out.
Hermes gulped some air and exhaled. Then, he gazed upon the door.
"Got it, let's go," he opened it slowly. Thankfully, no one was guarding the room when he took a peek.
The room was huge and the diameter was a size of a medium-sized apartment. There was a stair on the left side, and looking at the top, there was a double door position.
"Hmm, strange," the slime muttered.
"What do you mean strange?" asked Hermes. "I thought we will encounter seventeen sinners in this place, but everyone is gone. So strange," the slime responded with a confused tone.
'What? Damn it, I got a bad feeling about this,' Hermes said with a cold face.
"Hmm, this aura? Master, I know this mana. Now, I fully understand what happened in this area," the slime simpered.
"Wait, what? Spill it out," Hermes demanded.
Suddenly, a dark miasma engulfed the whole room. The slime activated its light vision quickly.
'W, what's going on right now? This is creeping me out.'
"Worry not, Hermes Archnemesis. I'm not here to hurt you," a little girl's voice crossed his ears.
Hermes quickly fixed his appearance and stood firmly.
"W, who are you?" asked Hermes, calmly. "You don't have to know," the little girl said bluntly.
"Oi, little girl, show up yourself," Hermes demanded. "L, little girl? You're telling me that you can hear my true voice? But how? This is impossible," the girl said panicky.
"Oi, slime, what do you think?" inquired Hermes, folding his arms across his chest. "A, as expected to my master, you already heard her true voice. I, I was right to choose you again," the slime praised.
"Listen up, how did you hear my true voice, Hermes Archnemesis?" the girl demanded. "C'mon, are you fuckin' serious right now? You're complaining about this topic. Gosh, this little girl is fuckin' stupid," Hermes heaved a sigh.
Suddenly, Hermes noticed a strange attack from his behind. Three shadow tentacles showed up and hit him, but to no avail.
"I, Impossible. Not even the strongest subordinates of the emperor can even survive that assault. Just who the fuck are you really?" the girl complained. "Can you shut up, little girl? Are you perhaps trying to kill me with that kind of light assault? You gotta be kiddin' me," Hermes laughed.
"H, how dare you?" the girl scowled, releasing multiple tentacles around his position. Then, it smashed him directly.
'What the fuck is going on here?' Hermes rubbed his chin when it attacked him.
"W, what the ― why are you still alive?" the girl argued. "C'mon, little girl. Stop messing around," Hermes yawned.
"I'm not messin' round, Hermes Archnemesis. Don't call me a little girl. I have a name and my name is not what you really think it is," the girl badgered.
Hermes shrugged off his arms with a face looking down at his opponent.
"W, why you? Stop makin' fun of me," the girl fumed. "I ain't. You're the one who started it, though. Don't make it sound like I'm the one who's bullying the weak here," Hermes simpered.
"W, weak? You call yourself weak? How dare you seduce my big sister to become your familiar? Give me back my sister!" the girl demanded.
Hermes's left eyebrows raised up with a confused face.
"Sister?" Hermes wondered. "Y, yes, exactly. My beloved big sister. She shouldn't be licking your dirty face like that. You're making her kiss your disgusting lips," the girl condemned.
"Rude, I'm not though. But still, the Goddess will kill me if I kiss him though," the slime debated. "S, sister? You can speak? How? This is my first time to hear your voice," the girl was surprised.
"Oi, you piece of paper, how dare you to speak your sister like that?" the slime scolded. "B, big sis, I'm sorry. But this is not the time for us to have a long chat fight. Please come with me. Stand on my side right now. That man, that man is a fake master!" the girl begged.
"Sister? Wait, what? You're a girl, slime?" Hermes removed quickly the mask from his face. "N, n, no, my disguise is uncovered. Goddamn, it. You will pay for this flat chest letter. I'm so sorry, master. But wait, why did you remove me from your face? I'm not a bad girl, though," the slime transformed into a small liquid girl figure.
"H, holy shit, you're actually a girl? Since when?" Hermes inquired. "Master, I'm really a girl since I was born in this world. Stop being a jerk sometimes. That's kinda rude," the slime puffed her cheeks.
'This creature has a gender? I thought slimes are genderless.'
"Shouldn't the slime race a sexless creature?" queried Hermes. "Master, all of my sisters are girls. We are literally born into this world because we're only familiar, a powerful creature for the sake of master's ambition. We didn't choose to become like this, only the Goddess does," the slime explained.
"O, oi, don't ignore me!" the little girl voice complained.
"Shut up, you fuckin' piece of letter. Because of you, I'm no longer can lick ― protect my master's face from toxic people," the slime declared, angrily.
"S, s, sister!" the little girl cried.
"Hey, did you just say lick earlier?" Hermes' eyes looked disgusted at the slime. "M, the master, stop looking at me like that. Please, I'm not a bad girl, you know," the slime begged, crying.
Hermes placed a hand on his face and heaved a sigh.
"Alright, enough already. I'm already exhausted from this massive spoiler. I don't want to add a ton of unimportant details inside my brain. By the way, may I ask you to remove the fog, sister of the slime?" Hermes demanded. "You don't have any right to order me around. But, fine. I'll do it," the girl complained at first but she deliberately removed the miasma.
Hermes's eyes lurked around, trying to find the girl.
"Hey, where are you?" asked Hermes. "I'm over here," the feminine voice clearly called, pointing herself.
Hermes was surprised at first. He found a white letter flying in front of him.
"What? You lost a word, am I right? This is my battle form, Hermes Archnemesis," the letter spoke proudly. "Y, yeah, I cannot tell if I should pinch my cheeks or not. A talking letter with a little girl voice is speaking in front of me. Not only that, you're floating up in the air," said Hermes, honestly.
"Hmm, you better remember this. You won't get anything from me. Not a single piece of information about my job. I'll be frank, Hermes. I won't tell you my name and my true identity―"
"Her alias is an informant. She's the useless messenger of the Empire, and one of the Great spirits trying to seduce you back then. She's a loner type of girl but the most favorite plaything of the Goddess during the Ratican Era. That's all," the slime interjected. "Aaah, what a useless girl indeed," Hermes hit his palm with awe.
"S, sister~! Why did you tell him?" the informant cried, like heart hit by a lightning rod. "I'm just stating the facts. Stop crying already. You're over a thousand years old, sis," the slime giggled.
"S, sister~! That's not the point here! I'm not a useless messenger of the master, you know. No one is aware of how to use my powers, so the message is often delayed to be received by the receiver," the informant complained.
The slime chuckled upon hearing it.
"S, sister~!" the letter transformed into a small paper girl figure with a ribbon pinned on her head.
'Man, I don't know what to say in this situation,' Hermes's eyes wrinkled at the pitiful letter.