That Time I Got Isekai’d Again and Befriended a Slime

"Huh?" Mary's eyes darted across the clearing, then lasered back in on Drake. Something's wrong, here, in this place.

So focused on the man before her, it was only now she noticed.

The forest had gone utterly silent. The shadows elongated, swarmed, melded as one. It was all connected. Was he doing this? How? She couldn't see- there has to be a-

Where is it, where…

 Something had cracked in the world, and now it tore open.

"Now, get out of my way." Drake's aura flared, and he chanted, "My shade forms your body, my Will gives you direction. Get rid of her, Jörmungandr-!"

It had to be hidden-!

There! Mary focused Ability Severance on Drake's shadow, just under his feet. Like a snapped rubber band, it flew back into one shape, no longer extending back into the forest as it had been.

It had slipped her until now, somehow. As if, when she looked at the connection, her eyes simply looked over it. Even so, with as laser focused she had been, that such a obvious tell would slip from her was shameful. Hakurou, hell, Tanya would be ashamed.

No, Tanya would have killed him with the first exchange.

That didn't matter now, though. Now, she'd severed it.

Immediately after doing so, she winced, neon cracks opening along the skin of her cheeks. Drake flinched back as well, the backlash of his ability no doubt slamming him with its shattering.

Despite this, he grinned, collapsing to one knee with his spear supporting him.

"Too late."

An unnatural buzz hummed just inside the perceivable spectrum. Like tinnitus, a faint whine, the sound of electrical currents in wires. A pressing weight, like the atmosphere doubling atop of her.

Mary readied her sword.

The world made no noise. The very air hung precariously, like dew on the edge of a leaf. The forest remained hushed, silenced and dark.

Her heartbeat rattled her chest. Her breathing was all too loud.

Mary looked from place to place. Watching. Waiting.

Breathe in… breathe out.

Breathe in… breathe out.

Breathe in…

.

.

.

There is something terribly wrong in this place.

BWOOOOOOOOOMMMM

Mary spun, to her right. The tree line exploded in a shower of wooden shrapnel. Leaves and limbs flew, pieces of forest collapsing in a manner that would have a logger jealous.

She needn't worry about any of that, however.

A massive serpent bore down on her, tearing through her position.

Its appearance bordered on indescribable. A vague shape and style of movement belied its truth, but even so the very comprehension of the beast defied conventional understanding.

Her eyes almost slid off the thing, as if its very nature was damaging to perceive.

With a start, in the span of microsecond or less, Mary realized that she'd deactivated Ability Severance instinctually.

Lucky for her. The backlash of trying to negate the existence such a – could it even be called a – creature… it might have killed her outright.

Turns out, seeing the beast was all she could do. It descended on her far too quickly to react, a train with her tied to the tracks. It felt like her boots were stuck to the earth. An unearthly pressure held a vice grip on her consciousness.

She'd seen it, had been facing the direction it was coming from. And she couldn't do anything about it.

She couldn't react at all.

In between the span of a single blink, the space between an eyelid closing and opening, Mary and the beast were gone. Snapping her up in an instant, the massive serpent tore through the clearing, carrying them both away.

Drake stood, albeit shakily, his spear's point digging into the stone as he pressed on it for support. His left arm hung straight down, limp at his side, blood dripping from the tips of his fingers. All of the fingernails on that hand were gone, and all of the flesh along that arm had darkened and bruised, splotches of damage tissue streaking along tanned skin like patchwork nebulae.

Even so clearly in pain, he hurried forward.

The beast, if it could even be called that, was dangerous at best. There's a reason he could not afford to rely on it when it mattered most. As if he could battle a Demon Lord Seed with one arm. As if he could chance that thing – given the name of the great World Serpent and Harbinger of the End Jörmungandr – properly avoiding collateral damage and targeting the correct foe.

That thing – and the irony was not lost on Drake, given his own existence a not quite a man – did not technically exist on the same plane as them. The fabric of its soul had surpassed into somewhere else, though its physical form still lay in this world in some sense of the word and could be perceived in the vaguest sense of that word.

Drake would admit that he had made a mistake molding it, creating it. Grief took the best pieces of us, darkening the world. Taken literally, however… but there little he could do about it now, other than keep its leash tight and keep the beast dematerialized except in the safest of places.

Even this lesser manifestation of its undefinable weight had taxed him, costing at minimum all the fingernails on his left hand as a mere pittance of a starting fee. Naturally, this had not at all been assisted by his foe's meddling with that power of hers.

Only in haste requiring times, when it was his best option, would he delve to such measures. Like now. Such was the reason he'd come to this place at all. To relieve his reliance on such an unreliable creation.

The damn thing would disappear as soon as he warped back to Ingrassia, anyhow.

He'd barely fed it enough power before the connection had been snapped, and as earlier stated, the sacrifice had been a pittance. It'd be around for only a minute, at most. Hopefully, that adventurer friend of Tanya's would perish before then, consumed by something half a step beyond conventional understanding.

Logically, however… Drake had a feeling he would see her again.

Actually, no, that wasn't logic at all. That's gut feeling. However, logic told him that gut feelings were often right, so trusting his gut feeling was actually logical.

Anyway. They'd meet again. Probably.

Not that he was worried.

About her? Please. The power of hers is a neat party trick. Useful. He acknowledged this. The sharp throbbing headache he was feeling thanks to her smothering of his Unique Skill told him that story well enough.

Probably allowed her to punch above her weight class, even with such an amateurish display. But unless she learned how to wield it properly, well…

She couldn't hold a candle to the one who really mattered.

His fight was with the woman who had defeated a Demon Lord Seed without one herself and had then gained one after the fact.

Real power. Someone who understood that. The small fry should just stand aside.

Pebbles had no right to speak to those walking over them.

Drake made it to the center of the warp circle.

"Blood as the catalyst. By my will." He flicked his left hand. Drops of blood splattered, then burned away, the circle coming alight and filling the clearing with a vibrant blue glow. "Activate."

That's one way to do it.

In a flash, he was gone.

-=-

A green sea of forested destruction. An artificial clearing in the wood, though incredibly small.

"What was it…?" The sound of flipping pages. "Vitality, energy, mind, conscious… ah."

Mary coughed, reaching up with her left hand to touch her throat, then her cheeks and forehead.

"There. This should work." Her fingertips came away dry on the first touch, and wet on the second and third. Fingertips bloodied, she traced, leaving red trails hanging in the air.

"Uruz. Laguz. Þ- th-" The sound flickered on her tongue, and she coughed again, clearing her throat. A sharp stab lanced through her skull. Some sort of burn the existed behind her eyes and head, just beyond the senses. Encroaching madness, best described. The fading threat of it, at least.

Mary winced, glancing down at the open notebook in her other hand.

"Þórr, strike the wound."

Her free hand reached around the lingering runes, crushing them in her grasp.

"Heal."

A faint green glow shone between the gaps in her fingers, illuminating her face. Then, a trickle. Then, a rush, flowing from palm to spread all the way across her body. Across her collective parts, she could feel various minor nicks and bruises sealing and reducing.

The faint ringing in her ears disappeared, as did the headache that somehow felt as though it existed far deeper than just physical.

This was a Frankenstein's amalgamated healing process, to say the least, combining Shuna's magic with runes and a rune spell. Normally, she wouldn't bother with more than Shuna's spell, but something about these wounds, shallow and random as they were, felt deeper, in a way she couldn't describe.

Ability Sight told her practically nothing. Mary guessed at some type of mental effect and went from there. For some reason, the idea that it could have been worse came to mind.

Perhaps Being X's mental corruption had been worth something, in the end.

Still, the need to be thorough had ingrained in her from half-remembered army life and Tanya and Hakurou's teachings. So, there'd be a mixed bag of healing magic, this time.

To be honest, there was a nonzero chance the runes she'd tacked on didn't do much of anything, and that the actual healing is just the result of Shuna's spell plus that… "placeholder effect" thing Tanya mentioned once or twice.

That's not really the point here, but it's worth noting. Or maybe thinking about it at all diminished the effect.

No no, bad thought.

She'd been trying to be better about her mental state. Being a Debbie Downer annoys other people, sure, but the worst effect by far is on one's own self. Negativity breeds negativity.

So, yes, the runes meant something, in some way. Even if not immediately obvious.

Besides, she'd seen what runes could do back in Xerxes, right? They clearly held power. What mattered was whether or not she herself could bring that power into the world. That required effort, which she had in spades, and knowledge, which she had very little of.

To rectify this, Mary had sought what she needed.

Tanya had lent her a book on runes from King Gazel's library months ago, back when they'd both still been in Tempest. Once she'd left and had become established as Rimuru's teaching assistant, Mary had searched for similar such books in the Freedom Academy's extensive library.

Much of it was unfamiliar, but true to Tanya's word this world did have Ancient Legadonian – Old Norse, she'd called it? – script as one of its main runic alphabets. Odd how that works.

Mary herself was only vaguely familiar with them, remembering only the barest amount from her time before X. Further, much of the meaning and style differed.

However… they were still Legadonian. They were still hers. She'd lost far too much to allow this to slip away as well.

The result of this motivation was the journal in her hand. Half filled with scratchy hiragana, katakana, and kanji and half filled with whatever she could find in those books, it sat at all times in a reinforced inner pocket inside Mary's coat.

She snapped it shut and slid it back into this pocket, after a short moment to catch her breath.

Have you ever been swallowed by a giant serpent before?

It was not fun. Unless you were into that sort of thing, in which case, you likely would have enjoyed it quite a bit.

Mary was not, however, into that sort of thing, and had not at all enjoyed spending the past minute or so shoving her katana into the roof of it's shifting, semi-solid throat to keep from sliding further down into its black hole of a stomach.

A small consolation here is that, since that serpent thing – It had a name, right? Hadn't Drake called it something? – clearly did not follow to rules of ordinary animals, the inside was completely dry. Just, sort of wispy and gelatin-y.

Mary pushed herself to her feet, grimacing at the slight rips along her coat sleeves. The dried blood on her forehead and cheeks didn't make matters any less annoying, either.

Yeah, not getting slimed for her troubles was a small consolation, all things considered. After all, that massive, otherworldly serpent had fucking eaten-

…Huh?

Otherworldly serpent?

Other world… World Serpent? Mary paused for a beat. Wait, that's right. He said "Jörmungandr", didn't he?

Jörmungandr, the great ouroboros that wrapped the Earth round to bite its own tail. The World Serpent, whom with the releasing of its own tail signified the end times, Ragnarök.

Then again, there were multiple myths where Jörmungandr let go of its tail throw hands with Thor, so the actual "stop biting its own tail" thing carried different weight depending on your interpretation.

Even so…

Coincidence. Has to be coincidence, but… that's a bad omen if I've ever seen one.

It boded well to show cautious here, just in case. Mary no longer viewed herself as religious, but religion, superstition, and spirituality were different, sometimes intersecting spheres.

I have to tell Tanya about this. Rimuru too, but later.

The only problem with that part, is…

"Ugh. Dammit." Mary looked around, spotting Mamoru lying on flattened grass a few steps away. She made her way over, then held her hand above it, sparks dancing the gaps between her fingers. The neon katana shot up, its hilt slapping against her palm.

She sighed, "Dammit... but, Tanya needs to hear about this. I guess I'll send a message through Rimuru, because she definitely needs to know."

Even still, she'd let Drake get away. Not on purpose, but he had gotten away, nonetheless.

This is so embarrassing...

-=-=-=-

A Little While Later

In the Dwelling of Spirits

Ulgrasia Republic

"…and may you all find wonderful spirits!"

Rimuru couldn't help it. He smiled.

Ramiris may be an annoying little asshole, but she agreed to help. And that's the important thing here.

Queen of Spirits turned Demon Lord out of poverty. It sounded like a bad joke. But hey, Rimuru wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. Really, creating a new golem for the impoverished fairy would likely be the easiest thing he'd had to do so far on this quest.

Hell, taking down the first golem had been harder, and that had taken a simple application of Black Flame. Like taking candy from a baby.

Ramiris is the baby in this situation. She kind of acted like one, too. It's an apt description, the more Rimuru thought about it. Tantrums, lying, emotional manipulation…

Right, point has been made.

Rimuru let himself feel relief, in the here and now.

These children will not die. That is the goal that was set months ago, and now, here they were. Against the odds, on the precipice of salvation. Something was missing, however.

Someone.

And, speak of the devil. Footsteps.

Rimuru turned, his expression lighting up.

"Mary!"

"Rimuru, hey."

"Did you have trouble with the Labyrinth?"

"Labyrinth?" Mary slowed from her jog, stopping a few steps away. She looked a bit rough for wear, her jacket cut in a few places and a bit of dried blood along her forehead. "It's a straight path. What did I miss?"

"That's true, but… no, sorry, what did I miss?" Rimuru had to do a bit of a double take, parroting back her words with emphasis as her appearance fully registered.

He glanced at the children, who were currently occupied talking with the little fairy friends that had been fluttering around Ramiris, then looked back to Mary, lowering his voice.

"Did something happen?" He gestured to his own forehead.

Mary's hand twitched, like she wanted to mirror the motion.

"Ah, right. About what we talked about. There was a… giant serpent a little way past the tree line."

"Did it win?"

"I won." Mary narrowed her eyes. "Easily."

"And the blood?"

"Right, that. You see, the scales were really tough. So, I let it eat me so I could stab it from the inside."

"Hold on. What." Rimuru held up a hand, barely keeping his now panicked voice lowered. "You let it eat you?"

Mary nodded and said nothing. Rimuru waited. And when no further explanation followed, he sighed.

"…And you got injured, how exactly?"

"Oh, that. One of its fangs clipped me as I went in." Mary reached up, brushing away some of the dried blood to reveal entirely unblemished skin. "I didn't even notice until after, honestly. Not a big deal."

"Not a big-" Rimuru stepped forward, grabbing her by the shoulders. He hissed, shaking her, "Mary, this is serious! Was it venomous? Do you need antivenom?!"

"It's fine!" Her raised voice drew the attention of the others. Glancing over Rimuru's shoulder, she waved casually. Then, she lowered her voice, "Don't make a scene. I told you, I'm fine. More importantly, the kids-"

"So, it wasn't venomous?"

"You're still- ugh, fine. It might have been venomous."

"Mary!!!" Rimuru whisper shouted.

"It's fine!!!" Mary whisper shouted back. "I'm probably immune to poison stuff anyway! Stop making a big deal out of it!"

"I can't not make big deal out of you getting poisoned! Tanya would kill me! Shuna would kill me!" Rimuru paused. "…What do you mean you're immune to venom? Or, well, poison?"

"Probably immune."

"That's not the point!" Rimuru wanted to throttle her so bad. Then, he had a sharp, startling realization of how Tanya must feel dealing with both himself and Mary. He discarded it immediately. "Explain already!"

Mary looked away.

"Mary!"

Now, Mary absolutely was not going to tell Rimuru about the time she and Gobta ate some random mushrooms they found in the forest after one of Hakurou's longer training sessions. Nor would she elaborate on the fact that while Gobta got incredibly sick and puked up his guts, Mary had been entirely unaffected.

Because she just knew the story would get back to the others somehow.

It was Gobta's idea, anyway. Not that this fact would save her from a lecture.

"I just am! Drop it!"

"It's about Scylla, so wait until later! Read the mood!"

Mary brushed aside his concerns and his arms, reaching up to grasp his shoulders after. "Now explain to me. The kids, from what I heard on the jog up it sounded like we're golden. Are we golden, Rimuru?"

"Fucking- fine. Fine, Mary." Rimuru absolutely did not want to drop it, but by now the students, Ramiris, and those little fairy friends had floated over. No time for further admonishment. 

A shame, really. Usually, he was the one getting admonished. He kind of understood why, now. It's really fun.

And also stressful, so actually no, not that fun.

Rimuru took a deep breath – despite not needing to breathe – and exhaled.

"Yes, we're golden."

Mary let her hands drop from his shoulders, a sigh of relief falling from her lips.

"Good. That's good."

"Yo, Teach!" Kenya – not Kentaro, as she'd eventually learned – ran up to Mary, holding up his hand for a high five. Mary high-fived him, and he smiled bright and wide.

"You shoulda seen it! Sensei took out a-"

Ryouta, Gale, and Alice were with him as well, surrounding Mary and filling her in on the past 10 or so minutes.

Rimuru took a few steps back, watching the scene. Someone was missing-

"Sensei, is something wrong?" A soft voice on his right.

Ah, there she is. Chloe, what a little sweetheart.

Rimuru pat her head.

"Nothing's wrong at all, Chloe."

Nothing could possibly wrong. Not anymore. There is an odd relief to knowing your gambit has paid off. When the end is in sight, isn't a weight lifted from the shoulders?

You've made it! Congratulations. Did you have fun?

Was it all worth it?

Right now, in this moment, Rimuru looks down to Chloe, and over to the other four. He sees the smiles on his students faces.

And he thinks…

Yes, it is.

~END: TALE OF TWO NATIONS ARC~

-=-=-=-=-=-

Known Skills List

Tanya:

Common Skill: Thought Communication

Extra Skill: Flames of Babylon

Extra Skill: Magic Sense

Extra Skill: Magic Aura

Extra Skill: Voice of the World Communication

Unique Skill: Tetra Breaker

Mary:

Common Skill: Thought Communication

Extra Skill: Magic Sense

Extra Skill: Magic Aura

Extra/Intrinsic Skill: Physical Enhancement

Unique Skill: Ability Severance