HI3: I Don't Want to Be a Valkyrie

"Theresa, what brings you here? Are you... a princess?" Ellen couldn't help but ask as Theresa temporarily joined their group. She eagerly tugged at Theresa, peppering her with questions.

AAnd oh, she even tried to gently pinch Theresa's adorable cheeks—a move that was utterly unacceptable to the girl.

Of course, Theresa wouldn't let that happen.

After all, Luna Kindred, was Captain's alone. How dare this other girl touch her! In all of Honkai Impact 3rd, only Luna Kindred held affection for the Captain. He had promised to take her to an amusement park and treat her to delicious treats someday—even though these plans hadn't yet come true...

"I suppose I am... a kind of princess," Theresa replied honestly without mincing words.

Yes, a vampire princess...

"As for why I'm here in the Great Jura Forest? It's because I'm looking for a slime."

Theresa was very honest and told them straight away.

The trio exchanged skeptical glances.

"A slime? One of those weakest magical beasts? What do you need a slime for? And how could there possibly be slimes in the Great Jura Forest?" Ellen couldn't suppress a laugh at the notion.

"..."

She was right!

Ellen and her friends hadn't met Rimuru yet. They were currently on a mission to scout out the cave where the storm dragon lived.

This was just when the anime was starting.

So Theresa felt lucky.

By sticking with them, she'd find the reincarnated slime king, Rimuru.

The storm dragon had disappeared not long ago, which meant Rimuru probably hadn't left his cave yet.

Finally, the four of them arrived at a massive stone door. It was still closed, not yet opened.

This was where Rimuru had first appeared. Inside the cave, the Hero had sealed away a natural disaster-level monster, a dragon species called Storm Dragon.

It was hard to say if opening the door now would lead to encountering Rimuru. After all, with me joining this trio of adventurers, our timing might be off.

"We're finally here!" Ellen sighed in relief as she looked at the stone door before her. Then Gido, one of the team members, took something out from his pocket and walked over, seemingly ready to open it.

But no matter how long he tried, the door wouldn't budge.

"It's no use," Gido said after trying for ages. "The door is rusted shut; even the keyhole has rotted."

"There's nothing we can do about that. No one has come here for over 300 years."

"Maybe we should let me give it a try?"

The adorable Theresa raised her hand and took a step forward.

"What do you plan to do, Theresa?" Ellen asked curiously.

"Well... I'd smash it open with brute force!"

As she spoke, her blood-red double blades transformed into a massive Axe of the Fallen several meters tall!

"..."

Staring at Theresa wielding an axe three times larger than herself, the three adventurers were utterly astounded.

Just as Theresa was about to raise the axe for a crushing blow, Ellen hastily grabbed her arm.

"Don't swing it! The cave might collapse. Let's give other methods one more chance."

"Hmm, alright!" Seeing Ellen's concerned expression, Theresa pondered briefly before reluctantly recalling the Axe of the Fallen.

Only then did all three adventurers breathe sighs of relief. That cute little girl... was far too violent for their liking.

-

At last, after what seemed like an eternity—though in reality it had only been about half an hour—the gate finally swung open.

The four of them pushed it wider, revealing a massive cave beyond.

"This is the entrance where they sealed away the storm dragon..." Theresa gazed curiously at what lay ahead.

Is Rimuru not around?

She looked for a while but was disappointed... there was no sign of Rimuru. He probably hadn't arrived yet.

"We... we won't suddenly get attacked, will we?" Ellen asked fearfully, staring into the pitch-black cave.

"Leave any enemies to your cute friend Theresa!" Puffing out her flat chest, she stepped inside first.

-

Once inside, Theresa kept a close eye on her surroundings, but still couldn't find Rimuru.

"Watch out!"

Just then, a huge bat flew towards them.

"Blood Embrace!"

Theresa threw Blood Embrace forward. The giant bat didn't have time to dodge and crashed right into it.

"Activate! Embrace of Blood!"

Blood Embrace turned into a meat grinder, instantly turning the entire giant bat into mincemeat.

"..."

The three people behind Theresa saw this and couldn't help swallowing hard - it was way too brutal.

"You're not scared, are you?" Theresa suddenly spun around, her blood-red eyes looking at them with a hint of mischief...

"N...no."

-

After a while, the three of them were ready to head back to their guild. Their task had only been to observe from the edge, so they'd finished quickly.

Of course, Theresa couldn't go with them to any guild.

"You're staying here?"

"Yeah, because I haven't found my slime yet." Theresa leaned against the cave entrance, planning to wait for Rimuru right there.

It'll show up eventually.

"Ah, how could such weak monsters like slimes be here? You should look somewhere else."

"The slimes elsewhere aren't as authentic."

Ellen was speechless for a moment.

"Fine! We're leaving now."

"Bye!"

The four of them parted ways at the cave exit.