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ActionsEntire Work ← Previous Chapter Next Chapter → Chapter Index Comments Share DownloadWork HeaderRating:MatureArchive Warning:Creator Chose Not To Use Archive WarningsCategories:F/FGenM/MFandoms:転生したらスライムだった件 - 伏瀬 | Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken | Regarding Reincarnated to Slime - Fuse幼女戦記 | Youjo Senki | Saga of Tanya the Evil (Anime)幼女戦記 | Youjo Senki | Saga of Tanya the Evil (Manga)幼女戦記 | Youjo Senki | Saga of Tanya the Evil - Carlo Zen (Light Novels)Relationships:Tanya von Degurechaff & Rimuru TempestTanya von Degurechaff & Mary SueTanya/ShunaRimuru Tempest/Veldora TempestCharacters:Tanya von DegurechaffRimuru TempestMilim NavaShuna (Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken)Benimaru (Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken)Souei (Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken)Mary Sue (Youjo Senki)Veldora TempestAdditional Tags:ComedyCanon-Typical ViolenceReincarnationI guess you can say: the third time's the charmCrossovers & Fandom FusionsEnemies to FriendsPossible Character DeathEventual RelationshipsMixed Youjo Senki LN/Anime/Manga CanonAged-Up Character(s)Angst and Hurt/ComfortReminder: I write this for me but you can read it tooLanguage:EnglishSeries:Part 1 of Tanya in Tensura Next Work →Collections:cauldronrings favs ( •̀ ω •́ )✧Stats:Published:2021-08-02Updated:2024-04-25Words:317,291Chapters:42/?Comments:1,291Kudos:2,757Bookmarks:813Hits:187,900That Time I Got Isekai'd Again and Befriended a SlimeTanJadedChapter 16: The Shadow of XerxesSummary:
Eve and Nin have escaped. Or have they? Also, Mary's research is finally complete. An encounter with a Shade on the way back, however, delays her return.
Notes:
Shadow: a dark area or shape produced by a body coming between rays of light and a surface. It'll make more sense next chapter.
Around 6.6k words this time. I moved some stuff from this chapter to next chapter, so that's why.
Enjoy!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
This place is really weird.
The buildings are much closer to our previous world than the current one. At least, from what I've seen in this world so far.
Tempest has some nice buildings, but these are much more city-like, I think.
Also, everything runs on magic. In Xerxes, I mean. The trains use some weird magicule-based engine, and every other shop I've walked by has someone inside or outside doing things with magic. Like, using fire to cook, or cleaning with water magic. Or covering a hole in the road with earth magic.
Degurechaff said that magic is restricted here. That she'd gotten in a bit of trouble for using it.
Is it because she's not a resident of Xerxes? Maybe there's a registration, or something. I know some cities in our previous world restricted mana and formulae use. Enforced through mana detection arrays, and on the clock aerial mages. Depending on the city.
I wonder if they have something like that here.
There are other weird things about Xerxes, but that's what struck me first.
Oh, there's that blonde woman, I guess. She's super weird. And she has a pet snake in her satchel.
Which she can talk too. Or she just does that. Like someone who talks to their cat.
I don't know. Maybe I'm imagining things.
But then again, maybe not.
-=-=-=-
Just Past Noon
Northwestern Sector
Xerxes, Eastern Empire
Huh, that didn't take nearly as long as yesterday.
Mary strolled down a cobbled side street, meandering slowly back to the train station and checking out the sights. She bit into a bright blue apple, indigo juice trailing down her chin.
I guess, since a lot of them were the same and I'd already done it once, marking them down was just that much easier? It sorta seems that way.
The rest of the apple-like fruit disappeared in several quick bites, the core being tossed down an abandoned alleyway to her left. Mary pulled a handkerchief from a pouch on her belt, wiping her face and hands before replacing it.
Then again, that weird woman – Eve, was it? Yeah, it was Eve – did waste a good chunk of my time yesterday, since I couldn't exactly tell her what I was doing. She was… really persistent though. And super friendly. Too friendly. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was flirting with me. But that's absurd. I'm not a man.
A crashing sound further down the street reached her ears. Mary picked up her pace slightly, mildly curious.
Women don't like other women that way… right? I don't… know, actually. I do remember Tante Frey lived with another woman we weren't related to, but father-
She winced.
-but I remember being told they were just close friends. I mean, Degurechaff and I live together, and we're just close friends. I think. It's not like we're in a relationship or anything.
Of course, now that she'd thought about it, the image couldn't help but flash across her mind. If her and Tanya were in a relationship, well, they'd do the things that people in relationships do, right? Like, hug. Share food. And kiss.
Mary paused, head tilting to the side in thought.
That's assuming women could actually be in relationships with other women… like that.
What would it be like?
She could imagine kissing a man. Her mother kissed her father all the time; they were married, after all. Bibi, her wingman from years ago, had made a game of stealing kisses from every guy in their battalion. She was very affectionate woman, Mary could recall, even with her own extremely scattered memory of her time at war.
So, she could imagine it for sure.
The thought didn't exactly excite anything. It was more of a factual thing. Yeah, it could happen. It probably would have happened eventually, had she not gone and gotten both herself and Degurechaff killed.
But if it hadn't ever happened, Mary didn't think she'd particularly mind. Most of the men she knew were not the dating type, being comrades-in-arms and soldiers that either had sweethearts at home or much preferred the company of other men when not on the battlefield.
…Huh.
Could men like other men in that way as well? That was a thought. If so, that meant Rimuru was 100% checking out Souei's butt that one time. Well, maybe more like 75%. Though, Rimuru wasn't technically a man per se, being agender and all, but-
That wasn't important. She was getting sidetracked.
In any case, kissing a man? Sure, whatever. Possible. Not really interesting though.
Kissing another woman? She'd never thought or realized it as an option, so it'd never even crossed her mind. Half the time a world ago, her mind had been co-occupied by a Deity, so it wasn't like romance or anything remotely in that vein had even sparked across her at-the-time, addled-by-magic synapses.
Mary decided to think about it for a moment.
Her mind flashed back to Eve kissing her hand the other day. Then, without her volition, the scene changed. Instead, it was Tanya, her current closest female companion, kissing her hand. Then, in the scene, Tanya reached up, cupping Mary's cheek and leaning in-
Her ears burned, crimson coloring her cheeks.
No no no! Stop that!
Oh God, did she like women? Like, like like them? Could she do that? Was she allowed to?
Was that why her chest felt hot when she saw Shion's huge… personality traits in the onsen, or whenever Degurechaff wore clothes that showed off her scarred, toned, and powerful arms?
I need to-
An explosion interrupted her.
Mary looked up, almost grateful to have something to stave off her impending crisis.
She could deal with that later. Nothing like bottling things up until they burst! She'd gotten really good at that. Been doing it for months now, even. Almost as soon as she'd arrived in this world, in fact.
It was great for pretending to have a sense of normalcy! She could joke around, have fun with her new life, and not feel sad anymore!
…Yeah, it probably wasn't healthy. Definitely wasn't. At all.
Mary bottled that thought up as well.
Instead of dwelling, she rushed forward, rounding a corner and skidding to a halt at the scene before her.
The street, an offshoot of the local marketplace for this specific block of this specific section of Xerxes, was in utter chaos. People streamed past her, as countless stands were ravaged by a massive… thing made of some weird black misty substance.
So, is that a Shade? It's sort of how Degurechaff described it. Black mist or fog or whatever.
Mary watched as the thing lifted a crate above its head, and then tilted it, pouring the assortment of blue and purple fruits within right down its gullet. She watched the muscles along its neck flex, contracting and swallowing its stolen meal in one go.
And it has a red energy running along its muscles. Definitely a Shade. And it's harassing these people. It's only eating now, but who knows how long it will be before it gets bored and attacks someone?
"Hey, you!" Mary stepped forward without hesitation.
The Shade paused what it was doing, looking over at her with an expression that could almost be considered confused. With it facing her now, Mary could make out more of its form.
It sort of resembled a wolverine, she realized, though it's outline wasn't the most distinct as it's shadowy form seemed to flow and shifted with every movement. It was a wolverine-like resemblance, that was for sure, though she could also argue for it being a fox if she tilted her head and squinted.
Maybe a raccoon? It didn't really matter.
"Yeah you! Ugly!"
Now, the Shade looked vaguely offended, as if it understood her. That was mildly concerning.
Then, the beast roared at her, fruit juice and liquid shadow dripping from its jaw. Its teeth were razor sharp, three rows on top and bottom making its gaping maw look more like a porcupine's back than anything else. That was a bit more than mildly concerning.
Mary's gaze darted across the scene.
Smashed stands and cart littered the street. Splotches and piles of smashed fruits and various food products stained the cobblestone, along with puddles of a reddish liquid Mary really hoped was a juice of some kind and not blood.
She also spotted a few people cowering on the side of the road. One person was dangerously close to the Shade, curled up in the fetal position behind the cart that had most recently been ransacked.
Her eyes narrowed.
"Can you tell me about these Shades?"
"Hm." Tanya glanced at her, before turning back to the journal she was writing in. "Well, they aren't that strong. Not compared to us, at least."
Mary sat up in her bed, looking over.
"Not really what I meant."
"It's what matters. But fine. Just because they aren't the strongest, doesn't mean you can let your guard down. Whatever they were before, they're different now. Not monsters, and not reasonable either. These things only care about destruction and their own urges, sprinkled in with a tad bit more intelligence than you might expect. So, if you find one, kill it. You'll be doing everyone a favor."
One hand gripped her sheathe, and the other the hilt of her katana. Her eyes glowed, vibrant green energy zigzagging under her eyes.
I'll end this quickly.
"Modified Style…"
The air heated up around her, heat waves running along her arms and legs.
The Shade shifted, tensing up and snarling.
Mary breathed.
In, out.
It bolted towards her.
She unsheathed her katana, raising it high above her head in a two-handed grip. Crimson-yellow fire burned, licks of flame dancing along the green magisteel. The air grew even warmer, beads of sweat forming along her forehead and neck.
The Shade grew closer, and closer.
She waited.
And then…
"…Wildfire Arc!"
She slashed straight down. Flames followed in an arc of roaring heat.
FWOOM!
The Shade passed by her on either side, split clean down the middle.
Mary whipped her blade to the side, sizzling blood and black mist flying off and splashing against the cobblestone. Then, she spun around, walking swiftly towards her bisected foe.
Yeah, that felt cool. Who cares if saying your attack names is stupid? That was definitely cool.
She carefully stepped between the Shade's two halves, flashing Magic Sense at regular intervals.
Despite being cut down the middle, hardly any blood left the beast. Much of the cut flesh had been cauterized immediately by her blow. And the rest… well, the rest wasn't really flesh and blood to begin with, so it couldn't exactly bleed, per se. Not in the traditional sense of the word.
Mary reached the head. Magic Sense flashed once more, confirming what she already knew.
"Oh, there's something else. They have an odd sort of regeneration and body composition to match." Tanya looked up from her journal. "It's slow, but even after cutting off its head, the one I fought today didn't die. Not until I severed its magical cores. I want you to use your Unique Skill. If you run into one, of course. I'm curious to see if it'll work."
Mary prodded the right half of the head with the tip of her katana. It showed no signs of regenerating, or of moving at all.
Yeah, it worked. This thing is super dead. The fact that I missed its cores on purpose and it still died is proof enough. She reached up to touch her cheek. I didn't feel any backlash this time, either. These things really are weak if I could cancel it out so easily. I doubt I even needed to use fire magic. Though it would have been a lot messier otherwise.
"Miss! Miss!!"
Mary glanced up. A woman rushed towards her, a young boy in tow behind her.
"Miss, you saved us!" The woman, barely older than Mary, bowed respectfully, her son doing the same. "Thank you so much!"
"Uh."
"Miss!" A man ran up, bits of smashed fruit splashed across his white apron. "Thank you for stopping that thing! Who knows what would've happened if it had been allowed to keep roaming! I might have lost much more than just my stand, I'll tell you that much."
"Um."
"That's right!" Another person jogged over, and then another.
Mary's expression grew slightly panicked, her gaze darting between the members of the close to 10 or so strong group of grateful people, now crowding around and thanking her.
At the same time, her chest grew warm, as their praises and assurances flowed over her.
I… saved people.
That thought ran ceaselessly across her mind. Also…
"Could you all… step back a bit?" Mary gestured at the bisected corpse to either side of her. "I'm still… you know, it's hard to get blood out of things, and my boots are white. Can you all-"
"Of course!" The first man jumped to comply, urging the others to follow suit. "Step back! Give the young lady some space! Let's step back a bit!"
The crowd of well-wishers complied, and Mary let out a quiet sigh of relief.
While she hadn't lied exactly – blood staining her boots would be annoying, but she was pretty handy with water magic, so it really wasn't that serious – the crowd had been a bit suffocating. Most of her social interaction occurred through Tanya, Hakurou, and Rimuru, after all, and large groups of people… did not make her feel good, no matter how kind they were being.
Perhaps that was a remnant of her time at war, or indicative that she needed to get out more. Who knows? She certainly didn't. It was just another bad feeling to ignore, at the end of the day.
"You! You there!!" Another voice spoke up from down the street.
Almost in unison, Mary and the crowd turned.
A relatively tall blonde woman in a black military uniform ran towards them, her hand resting against a holster at her side. Actually, multiple holsters at various points along her body.
Mary had to do a double take.
That's a fucking gun.
The woman skid to a halt, bracing her hands against her knees for a moment to catch her breath.
"I came over… as soon as the report came through… oh shit." She straightened up, wiping sweat from her forehead, and brushing her gloved fingers through the wing patterned bangs over her left eye. "Fuck, I just sprinted over from the Northeastern sector. Is everyone here alright?"
She glanced up, her eyes widening comically at the bisected Shade Mary and the others were standing in front of.
"Whoa. Who did this?"
"She did!" The young boy from earlier pointed at Mary.
Mary jumped, looking between him and the newly arrived military personnel. After a second, she sheathed her sword in an effort to appear less threatening.
And she made sure not to clean it with magic. She would do that later.
"She saved us!"
"Really now?" The woman turned an appraising eye on her. "And who are you? An adventurer of some sort, I'd guess. You don't look like you're from around here."
"I'm Mary." Mary held out a hand. "And you could say that. I'm just in the area for a little while with a fellow adventurer."
"Is that so?" The woman grasped Mary's hand. "Lieutenant Rize Ameri. You did Xerxes a great service here, from what it looks like. These shadow fuckers have been giving us the real run around lately."
Oh! I bet if I ask…
"Has Xerxes always been like this? Most of the cities I've been too don't have dangerous shadow creatures threatening people."
Rize winced. "No, this is a recent thing. Shades like the one you killed only started popping up a few months ago. Though, it's gotten worse over the past couple weeks. A lot worse."
That's good. Well, actually that's bad, but it's good to know. It's gotten worse. So, I guess that means that Nin guy is boosting production. Which, logically, means he's planning to do something big soon.
"Can't you stop them?" Mary pointed a thumb back over her shoulder, "This guy was pretty weak. They shouldn't be that much trouble."
"Weak?" Rize blinked. "I think you're just stronger than you think. These things really hate dying; most of the time, it takes a whole squadron to bring them down. That, or one of our heavy hitters. But they're usually wrapped up somewhere else."
She shook her head.
"So no, we can't really stop them. Not until we know their origin, at least." Rize leaned in, "You seem like a capable adventurer, so I'll tell you this. Word is these Shades are coming from outside the city, and that they've got whole nests of them outside each of the gates. That's why people are so antsy, you may have noticed. Lieutenant General Drake's set down a curfew and warning to stay inside Xerxes, and I don't blame him. If it's this bad inside, imagine how rough it is outside."
Wait, that doesn't add up. The only Shades – well, Shade. Singular – I've seen has come from inside Xerxes.
"Why tell me this?"
"Again, you seem like capable adventurer. If you wanted to say, take care of a nest or several for us, then you'd really be doing Xerxes justice. Of course, you didn't hear that from me."
"…So, you're trying to slack off."
"No!" Rize leaned back, putting a hand on Mary's shoulder with an easygoing smile. "I'm just saying, if someone like yourself, a strong capable adventurer, happened to wander outside the gates, well, you might just end up fixing a few of our problems on accident!"
"Definitely slacking on your work." Mary nodded. "Got it. Is that all?"
"That's about it." Rize said, stepping back, "Well, regulation states I have to ask this as well, so," She gestured at the Shade's corpse. "Did you use magic to do this?"
Mary blinked.
"…No."
Rize squinted at her. "Are you sure?"
"Yes."
The Lieutenant continued to stare suspiciously, before turning to a nearby civilian.
"Did she use magic to kill this Shade?"
The fruit stand man from before didn't even flinch.
"I don't believe she did." He said, looking the Lieutenant directly in the eye. "All I know is that she was here at the right time, and she saved us."
The unlike you at the end of that statement went unsaid. But everyone felt it.
Rize narrowed her eyes.
"…Okay then." She said after a moment, shrugging. "Good work out here, Mary."
"That's it?"
"Well, between you and me," Rize leaned in again, holding a hand up to the side of her mouth to block the others from seeing, "Technically, I should take you to General Garmstrong, since she's super involved in trying to solve this Shade business. But…"
She glanced to the side. Mary followed her gaze.
"I feel like they'd jump me if it even looked like you were being taken in. So, we'll call it good, okay? Unless you have something else to add…?"
Mary shook her head. "No, I'm good. I'll just be on my way, then."
"Excellent!"
"Lieutenant!" Another set of footsteps approached them. Several sets, in fact.
"Ah, that'd be my squadron. I sort of left them behind in my haste to get here. Ahaha." Rize dropped her head for second. "I really need to put them through remedial training."
"…Right."
"It was nice meeting you, Mary. And hey, thanks again! You really did some good here. Don't forget that."
Rize spun on her heel, jogging over to her currently gasping for air squad of fellow soldiers.
Mary watched her begin to berate them, before turning away.
It was time to leave, for certain now. Tanya would probably be back at the inn by now, finished doing whatever she'd rushed off to do this morning.
As Mary made to leave, a conversation between a few of the remaining members of her fan crowd caught her ear.
Oh, Degurechaff will definitely want to hear about this.
-=-=-=-
Around the Same Time
Centermost Section
Xerxes, Eastern Empire
"Well, have you made the rational decision yet?"
"Get away from him!"
"Quiet."
A man, wearing the black uniform of the Xerxes military branch, frowned. The metals along his chest and the patches along his shoulders denoted him as a Lieutenant General, and the tag on his chest showed him to be 'Drake'.
This man was powerful; it was clear even without knowing his status, just from the lines of his body and the weight of his magic. In the city of Xerxes, his standing was second only to General Garmstrong. And in Scylla?
He was the First Head.
Drake spared the trapped humanoid Dragonewt an annoyed glance.
"I wasn't talking to you. Wait your turn, or you'll waste both of our times."
Souka snarled, yanking uselessly at her chains. The rune-inscribed magisteel didn't even budge.
"I was talking to this fine gentleman here, who not once has lashed out nor even spoke a word since his capture. I admire that tenacity, truly."
Drake leaned in, gripping Souei's Body Double by the chin and tilting his head up.
"But you should be smarter than this. Be reasonable. You were able to infiltrate our headquarters so thoroughly before being caught. Yet, none of that intelligence or reason is showing here. Just look at you."
The Body Double was a horrid sight indeed. His horn was broken off halfway down, the top half of his outfit completely ripped away, showing a bare chest littered with gashes and bruises. Magisteel cuffs, inscribed with runes the same as Souka's, ensnared his ankles and attached to the wall by way of chain, which led to a loop of metal stuck in the wet stone-brick wall. Another cuff encircled his right wrist and was similarly connected with the wall.
There was no need for a cuff and chain for his left arm.
Souka had nearly burst into tears when she'd seen him, though afterwards she was far too busy being chained up and smacked around herself to really let it sink in.
"You should have realized by now how helpless this is by now. Tell me what you know already, and I'll have one of my associates heal you and let you free. That's only fair, I think?"
Drake pressed his palms together, clawing his fingers and making some sort of hand sign. Underneath his boots, his shadow stretched out, a creature materializing in a flurry of bubbling shade and sparking gold.
"If not, I'll just have to move on to your friend here. Maybe then I'll get an actual answer, and you both can stop wasting my time."
The creature finished forming at his side, standing on two legs just under the man's own six-foot height. It almost looked like a canine of some sort, though its limbs were too long, and its form was just slightly… off, in a way that made it hard to properly discern. It raised its arms, black dripping claws extending from each finger.
"How well does she deal with electricity, I wonder? Most people can't handle it at all, so I'd like to think I can make this quick."
Souka flinched, as a sharp crackle of golden sparks and bolts danced along the beast's form.
"Well?" Drake leaned in, gripping the Body Double by his hair and yanking.
Not-Souei narrowed his eyes.
Ptoo.
Drake's expression went carefully blank. He let go, reaching into one of the breast pockets of his uniform and pulling out a handkerchief.
"Perhaps we'll stick with you a little longer." He dabbed at his cheek, wiping away Not-Souei's spit. "You've clearly got something more to tell me. Lycaon."
The creature turned.
"I want you to-"
A buzzing came from Drake's chest. He paused, before reaching in his collar and pulling out a shivering silver medallion. Sitting on a chain around his neck, the medallion featured the image of a six-headed, serpent-resembling beast on one side, along with a large number "1" on the other.
He held the medallion up to his face, the "1" flashing gold for a split second.
"This is the First Head. What's going on?"
"Drake! You need to get over here right now."
"Sixth?" He glanced to the side, "I'm busy right now. What has you in such an uproar?"
"Whatever you're doing is less important. We've got a serious problem on our hands."
"Calm down. Listen, I'm currently dealing with those nuisances that were knocking at our door. Just tell me what's-"
"It's Nin. And if you don't hurry, we're going to have one much bigger nuisance on our hands. Our whole operation might just go up in smoke."
Drake froze, then let out a tired sigh.
"Alright, I'll be right over. Where are you?"
-=-=-=-
Contrary to Mary's thoughts, Tanya didn't want to hear shit from anyone, at the moment.
This had been one hell of a day, and it was only just past noon, and now, she had this bullshit right in front of her, further cementing today's events in the realm of "Incredibly Annoying".
Quite honestly, she felt like throwing hands. Ignoring the fact that she had spent the pre-noon section of today doing exactly that, Tanya was irritated and wanted to punch something.
Preferably Nin. Too bad he was currently unreachable at the moment, despite her knowing exactly where he was.
Let's backtrack.
-=-
"Mother!"
A spurt of heated air. A collapsed pile of dirt and rock melting and burning away.
"Fucker!"
Tanya burst from the collapsed section of tunnel, pieces of earth and melted stone lodged in her hair and cloaking her clothes and skin.
She'd managed to keep from suffocating, thanks to the same spells that allowed her to breathe at high altitudes and her barrier spell. But that could only do so much, and melting and blasting though what felt like a kilometer of collapsed earth – though in reality it was closer to a quarter of a kilometer, at most – with bursts of magic and controlled explosions did not lend itself well to the cleanest of appearances.
Perhaps a drilling formulae of some sort would be the next thing on her agenda. Perhaps she'd file that under her "attack and dethrone God" agenda.
Always nice to have a proper tool for piercing the Heavens.
At a later date, when she was in a better mood to contemplate such things. Right now, Tanya looked, and felt, absolutely fucking terrible.
And after the way the past 10 minutes of impromptu explosion mining had gone, Tanya was more than willing to fist fight anyone who decided to point out this fact.
Luckily, she had just the person to take out her anger on. Two such persons, in fact.
Nin, and whoever his serpent-controlling friend happened to be.
Where the fuck did you go?
Tanya activated Magic Sense, brushing off as much dirt and mud as she could in the meantime.
Immediately, she recoiled, a white-hot stab of pain lancing through her brain. Before she could deactivate it, the feeling disappeared as quickly as it came, fading away into a slight mental pressure.
"The hell?" Tanya murmured, rubbing at her forehead with a grimace. She focused all her attention on Magic Sense for a moment, zeroing in specifically on the blood tracer she had on Nin.
Something had changed.
It was… stronger? More specific. More attuned, maybe?
…Well, it wasn't hurting her, at least. And in fact, she knew exactly how far away and in what general area Nin was now, as opposed to the vague tug her tracer's previous iteration had provided.
So that was… a good thing?
The red magic circle around his finger. Was it that?
Tanya shook her head.
Not important right now. Later.
She could catch Nin and his interrupting compatriot now, and that's what mattered.
So, where were they, exactly?
The strengthened tracer pointed slightly ahead of her, and to the right. Right at the curving tunnel wall. So, the tunnel probably was circular, or just curved inward heavily at a later point.
That was just fine.
Tanya took off, jumping and flying down the tunnel as fast as the not incredibly large area would allow.
She'd find them, that was for certain.
-=-
Tanya had, in fact, found Nin and his compatriot.
Or rather, she'd found the place they retreated to, which she assumed to be their base of operations.
Only…
"Dammit." Tanya clicked her teeth, staring at the familiar moat-surrounded compound with a mix of annoyance and exasperation. "There goes that."
She had surfaced at the tunnel's end, emerging from a warehouse similar to the one she'd found Nin squatting in earlier that day. After stepping out into a side alley, Tanya had followed her tracer a block or so north, until she had arrived at her current position.
Just outside the centermost section of the city.
In other words, just outside the borders of Xerxes Military HQ.
I'm in no position to storm a military headquarters. I need to retreat and form a plan of action.
Tanya sighed irritably.
"Souei. Souei's Body Double. You there?"
Nothing. She'd been trying sporadically since this morning, but nothing had gone through. Trying to contact Souka gave her a similar amount of response, which meant nothing as well.
They were either out of range or under some sort of jammer. The former was extremely unlikely, so...
Fuck's sake. It's annoying, but there's nothing else I can really do. Not without the right information. I suppose I could get a better mental map of the tunnels. And maybe I'll try to reach out to Armstrong.
She turned to walk away.
Unless she's involved, of course. How much of the military is involved? And here I'd hoped this would be simple, for once. As if-
Someone stepped a little too close while strolling past. A large man, tall and powerful and adorned in crimson, bumped into her.
After the day she'd had and the irritation-inducing realization she'd just reached… on someone with less self-control, that would have been the straw to break the camel's back.
Relax. Don't prioritize an emotional impulse over rationality. Relax.
Tanya merely paused, taking a sharp breath.
"Watch out." She said quietly, instead of snapping like she'd wanted to.
"…My apologies." The man inclined his head. "My head was elsewhere."
Tanya shook her head, walking away without another word.
Octavius watched her as she went, a curious expression on his face.
Was that… Nin's target? Tasha, or something like that.
She was stronger than he'd expected. Much stronger. Her magic was...
"Hm." He turned, resuming his stroll towards the HQ's entrance.
For the first time in a long time, he found his boredom waning.
-=-=-=-
"Eve!" The infirmary's door burst open, and Drake stepped inside, "What the hell happened?"
Eve glanced at him from where she was sitting, cleaning the scales of a smaller snake with a small hand brush.
"Nin picked a fight with someone way past his paygrade, is what happened."
Eve leaned back in her chair, tossing a glance at the unconscious form of Nin. His skin was still partially melted, charred flesh and burnt blood slowly knitting itself back into a something resembling a healthy state.
"Why is he taking so long to heal?" Drake strolled over to Nin's side, brow furrowed in concern. "He should've recovered from this level of damage already."
"I'm not sure the exact number, but Nin defintely should have died several times today. His regeneration must have been working on overdrive the entire fight." Eve sighed. "It seems his opponent knew that too. If I'd been a few seconds later, he would have been dead for real, and I would have had to bring him here in an urn."
"Tell me about this fight, if you would. Nin's supposed to be lying low and focusing his efforts on his Shades."
"Well, there's not much more to say. I only arrived after he'd lost." Eve said, putting away the brush in her satchel and leaning forward, "I can tell you a bit about his opponent though. It's some adventurer Nin got on the wrong side of. Apparently, she tracked one of the Goblinas he had a Shade kidnap from that new monster city, Tempest, and they fought outside the walls. This was a couple days ago, by the way. He escaped, and somehow, she tracked him down again earlier today."
"Why wasn't I informed of this earlier?" Drake's tone was that of carefully concealed fury.
"Why do you think? He wanted to handle things himself, make sure his mistake didn't screw over our entire operation." She scoffed, tilting her head slightly as her snake wrapped itself lightly around her neck, "Of course, now we're in even deeper shit. If she tracked him down once, I wouldn't be surprised if she came knocking at our door soon. And let me tell you, she had power to spare, even after putting Nin through the magical blast burner. Poor Lucy here was shivering from the weight of all the magic saturating the area."
"God dammit." Drake shook his head.
He pressed a hand against the unconscious Nin's forehead, a deep blue light emanating form his palm. Slowly, Nin's remaining wounds closed, his burns and bruises fading.
"This damage is much more extensive than it looks." He frowned, pulling his hand back and wiping it with a handkerchief from his belt. "It's not just his physical body that was damaged. You're right; he'll need to replenish his stockpile."
"Hm." Eve murmured noncommittally, "So, what now?"
Drake watched Nin for another few seconds.
"Keep an eye on Nin. When he wakes up, tell him to wash up and come to the council room. You as well, when that's done. I'll contact Tear and try to find Octavius." Drake said, already making for the door, "Scylla's meeting has been moved to today. Be there."
-=-
"What's the big idea, calling me out here?" Tear stood up on her chair, her sleeve-covered hands on her hips, "Scylla was supposed to meet tomorrow. You know the excuses I had to make to get here?"
"I'm sure you didn't have to do anything of the sort." Eve propped her head up on her hand, "No doubt your fellow clowns jumped at the chance to be rid of you for the afternoon. And if not, then I'm sure you had nothing better to do anyway."
"Hey!" Tear pointed at her, "That's fair. But also, you're a jerk! I had plans today. Plans to do nothing but plans nonetheless! Now I gotta do nothing tomorrow instead! It's a real scheduling issue, so don't make light of it if you please."
"Fine, fine." Eve said without care. "You can teleport though, so scheduling can't be that rough. But fine, act like a child, like always."
"Why you-!"
The door slid open.
"Ah, Nin. You're looking much less like a corpse now."
"Quiet, Eve." Nin grumbled, sliding into the seat to Eve's left.
"Now now, that's not quite the gratitude I'd expect from you. Who saved your life today?"
"Tch." He looked away. "…Thank you."
"That's better."
"Nin, you almost died today?!" Tear jumped onto the table walking across it to stand in front of him, "What happened? Who did it?"
"It's none of your business, clown!"
"It's totally my business! We're both Scylla Heads you know! Come on, tell me!"
"Now, Tear. Don't harass him too much."
Drake strolled through the door, still open from Nin's entrance. Octavius followed behind him, his massive frame towering a good foot over the just-above-average-height Drake. They both walked along the outside of the table, the other Heads' eyes following them as they went.
"It's more efficient if he tells everyone at once."
Octavius settled in the seat to Nin's left, whilst Drake sat at Octavius' left at the head of the table. Well, it was a circular table, so there wasn't really a 'head' per se. It was the seat directly across from the door, how about that?
"Orsted will not be joining us." Drake announced. "He is still on mission amongst the Dragon's Peak and will not return in time for our operation here. Tear."
"I won't be here either." Tear added on cue. "I've got some work for the Demon Lord Clayman that I've got to sort out. So, sorry about that!"
Drake nodded. "My apologies for calling you here on such short notice, Tear. I know you've been busy as of late."
"Ah, it's nothing." She rubbed the back of her head, "But you know, I can only use teleporting magic every so often. It's not a huge knock on my time anyway."
Eve shot her an annoyed look when no one was looking.
"With that out of the way, the meeting of Scylla's Heads shall now commence. First on the agenda: Nin, tell us about this woman you've been consorting with."
"Consorting?!" Nin slammed his hands on the table, "That bitch nearly killed me! Tasha! Tasha, she called herself. A hero from the Western States."
"As far as you're aware. Now, tell us about her. Everything you know."
And Nin did. He went into great detail, hiding nothing. Not even his own fuck-ups along the way were spared, and his battle and multiple near death encounters during it were described in thorough detail.
He already made the mistake of trying to fix things himself once, and he'd nearly died for it.
He would not make the same mistake twice.
Drake leaned forward once Nin had finished, lacing his fingers together and resting his chin atop them.
"Now, the question is what we should do with this information. Our operation is nearing a crucial stage; we can afford no delays at this point in time. Yet, if this Tasha is not dealt with summarily… hm, and we need to fix the tunnel as soon as possible as well…"
He shook his head.
"I'd like to put the question out in the open. What should we do? Octavius?"
"…You won't be able to threaten her." Octavius said quietly.
Drake blinked.
"Pardon? This Tasha woman is whom you're referring to, I assume." He shot the vampire an odd look. "What do you mean by that?"
"She's more powerful than you, Drake." Octavius looked across the table, "And Tear, as well."
"Really? What of Orsted?"
Octavius thought about it for a moment.
"The Fifth Head is a… unique power. I cannot say for certain. Perhaps it is possible, were the right individuals with which he's formed pacts, or indeed one of us even, to meet their end. Then again, perhaps not."
"That's a fair point. I trust your judgement." Drake agreed without question. "Though, you are certain then of this woman's power?"
"Yes. I ran into her earlier today, quite by accident." Octavius put a hand to his chin, "Just from brushing shoulders, I could feel it. Her power now is great, and I believe it could become far greater, should we let it. There is an air about her. One that is hard to describe. Coercion and threats are not an option."
"Could you defeat her, Octavius?"
"…I'm not sure." Octavius admitted. "It has been a very long time since I've fought an equal. I admit myself as rather… curious, to see this woman's true power."
"Alright. That settles it."
"You have a plan, then?" Nin raised a curious eyebrow.
"When doesn't he?" Eve said with an eyeroll.
Drake ignored them both.
"Octavius. I want you to bring her here tomorrow. Take Nin, use blood magic and Shades to find her, if you must. Bring her here. Willingly." Drake heavily emphasized this last word, "She sounds intelligent enough, and powerful, if her fight against Nin was any indicator. I don't wish for someone like her to get in our way. Not at this stage, not when our plans are mere days from completion. The most rational option right now is negotiation. Tell her that Scylla wishes to parley."
-=-=-=-=-=-
Known Skills List
Tanya:
Common Skill: Thought Communication
Extra Skill: Magic Sense
Extra Skill: Magic Aura
Extra Skill: Voice of the World Communication
Unique Skill: Formulaic Casting
Unique Skill: Tetrabattery Limit Enhancement
Mary:
Extra Skill: Magic Sense
Extra Skill: Magic Aura
Extra/Intrinsic Skill: Physical Enhancement
Unique Skill: [Well, It Certainly Exists]
Notes:
It's funny. You know what I was originally going to do for this section of Tensura canon? Nothing. I was going to time skip from Charybdis to the Demon Lord Awakening Arc, with maybe one or two chapters of inbetween dedicated to Rimuru taking the Otherworlder kids to the spirits and to Mary and Tanya's relationship progression. But no, I had to come up with a whole new arc to throw in, and here we are. Speaking of which, we're getting to the part where people are going to die. Who kills who, you think?
Also, I wanted to throw this out there, but Mary's encounter with the Shade was very similar to Tanya' encounter. That's on purpose, and I wanted to show the difference in approach, among other things.
Anyway, Mary's Unique Skill. I mentioned it again, like a few times. The pieces are all there. Mary even mentioned it herself! But yeah, next time: "Scylla Rising"!
Thanks for reading!
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