This sucks.

I was all but forced to go to bed when it wasn't even dark out yet. Now, I was trapped in a room with two loudly snoring fools sleeping like babies, while I had literally nothing to do.

All I could really do was lay there and sort out my thoughts on what I'd observed so far in this strange place. But, that didn't last long.

I sensed some people walking down the hallway outside the room, which wasn't alarming at first, but it quickly became so when they went for the lock on our room.

Not picking it, no. They had the key to the room, which means they're staff or at least had stolen the key from staff.

Maybe they're mistakenly coming in to clean the room? I'll just pretend to be asleep and wait for them to leave.

"Just like always, that stuff did wonders!"

"Yeah, they're all out like a light, even the kid!"

"Her stealing that drink makes our job easier, that's for sure, not that the kid would've been a problem awake either."

Here we go with the girl assumption again…but that's not what I need to worry about right now, is it? That beer was apparently drugged…no wonder it tasted so nasty! I guess I canceled out that poison alongside the alcohol. Either that, or whatever they used just happens to not work on slimes.

Still, I was now in a bit of a pickle, with two of my three traveling companions in no state to defend themselves and the other who knows where–hopefully nearby. Should I step up and punch out these people? That would cause a huge stir and I'm not confident I could escape easily if I'm having to drag two unconscious bodies with me, and I'd rather not take the solution of eating them to make that easier.

"But there's something weird about her. She just looks…empty, not a single bit of visible energy in her body."

Empty!? …why do I feel like I should be insulted?

[[Notice: the effects of the Anti-Magic Mask are repressing any release and obscuring any visualization of magicules within the body of the individual Rimuru Tempest.]]

Oh, so that's the reason. That's better than what I thought at first.

"Maybe she has a skill that's blocking the one the Boss gifted us."

"Either way, the Boss is curious about her even more than the others."

"Talking about the others…weren't there three adults in this group earlier?"

"Not that I noticed."

"Well, I guess we can grab the fourth later if there is one. For now, scoop up the ones we have. We need to move them before the poison wears off."

Oh no, things are moving now. Gotta decide what I'm gonna do.

There were really only three options; run, fight, or pretend to be asleep.

Considering that our mission was to get to the heart of the sketchy stuff going on in this place, the last option was probably the best one.

Will it be dangerous? Possibly.

Will it be the most interesting? Definitely.

Play dead and go along with these kidnappers (slime-nappers?) and let them bring me right to the culprit behind all this.

I was weirdly excited, actually, which was a strange feeling to have while being kidnapped. The lack of danger I was feeling from all this was probably part of the reason I was so unconcerned, which left room for the rush that comes from something unexpected happening.

Yeah, the people living here had been weirding me out, but when it comes to how dangerous they are, I didn't feel like there was much to worry about. Sounds pretty cocky of me to say, but those were just my true feelings.

I listened, watching with [Magic Sense] as the group of five people went about grabbing me and my companions. The fifth guy was holding the door for now, leaving me on the bed while the other four carried Russel and Eli out first.

As I watched, I began thinking over what would happen once we got to wherever these thugs were headed.

I could take a few weird, possibly magically-enhanced humans no sweat (not that I could sweat anyway)–but I didn't know how many people would be there, or how heavily guarded our location would be. Factors like that could make it hard to maintain my disguise.

Just in case, I should leave a clue for our backup. And by backup, I mean Blake, of course.

As the last dude moved to grab my arm I pretended to stir. I snapped my eyes open, and as soon as I made visual contact I pulled the dagger Blake gave me out of my [Stomach] and swiftly stabbed the slime-napper's arm.

"AIEEEEE!" He screamed out in pain and I was surprisingly unbothered by it–but I pushed away that disturbing observation to continue my plan.

The blade pierced squarely through the man's forearm as he wrapped his hand around mine. The sheets immediately were stained with the decent amount of blood that started pouring from the wound. Then, without wasting a moment, I adjusted my grip on the knife and twisted. Hard.

"AU-!"

Pretty brutal of me, but I was convinced he deserved it. There was literally no chance these dudes had innocent motives at this point, that was crystal clear to me.

The other men had dropped my companions and ran to the other guy's aid–well, to cover his screaming mouth anyway. Another one of them barely took a glance at the situation before clocking me on the head. I let myself flop back onto the bed and dropped the knife, giving them the impression I was unconscious again.

See? They were brutal with me too!

"What the heck was that!?" One of them asked my kidnapper, who was chewing on the edge of his hood to stifle his pained whining while he clutched his arm with a gloved hand.

"I don't know!" The guy sputtered, trying his best not to shout. "The kid got some knife outta nowhere–she didn't have that before!"

One of them examined the knife I had let clatter to the floor, the blade now coated in blood. "It's small enough," he muttered, "you probably missed it."

"I wouldn't miss something like that!" He protested, but another man shut him up.

"Whatever," he growled, "let's get the kid out of here before we attract too much attention."

The other kidnappers returned to where they'd left Russell and Eli on the floor, and the last one grabbed my collar with the hand of his good arm and roughly dragged me down the hall after them, hissing under his breath angrily as agonized tears streamed down his face.

Keeping my senses sharp despite going full ragdoll mode to fool the kidnappers into thinking I was knocked out cold, I let them take me wherever they were intending.

I wonder if this is some sort of slave-trading ring or something…but that wouldn't exactly explain all the odd behavior around this place, would it?

I was certain I'd find out soon enough since my two sleepy party members and I were being brought to their boss, or at least I assumed so.

I think I heard one of these thugs mention an altar or something while they grumbled to each other, which just raised the level of creepiness about this situation. I did notice some strange little shrines in the few buildings I went in while here. At the time, though, it hadn't raised any alarm bells in my mind since I was already aware that sort of thing existed in this world too, evidenced by the ones the ogres had to represent and worship Veldora as their guardian deity or whatever.

But these people weren't worshiping Veldora, I knew that much. I didn't know what those little shrines were representing, but it had nothing to do with any tsundere dragons, as far as I could tell.

They took us straight down the hallway to the wall, and while the man dragging me kept watch behind them they pushed in one of the planks, a piece of wood at the same height as a doorknob would be.

The entire wall tilted inward slightly, then the man pulled a hidden latch that had been uncovered by the moving wall, and it swung open into a dark, spooky staircase.

Wow. I never thought I'd see this outside of video games…it's so cliche, but I kinda love it!

The stairs wound in a tight spiral under the inn before opening up under an archway that led into a small dungeon–more of a wide hallway, with cells on both sides and a large door at the end. A man in flamboyant robes approached, face hidden by a hood.

"We've brought the next offering," the man at the front of our little entourage greeted him.

Offering? So this is a cult! I had been getting some pretty cult-ish vibes from these guys the whole time, but I didn't want to jump to conclusions since I still didn't know much about this world. Yet, here it was, a creepy, medieval-style fantasy cult.

"The master is busy," the robed man's voice hissed out of his hood in a way I thought didn't happen in real life. "Lock them up until he calls for them."

Answering with a nod, the group opened one of the cells that lined the wall and arranged me, Russell, and Eli inside. They chained us all up and locked the door, and once they'd stepped away, one of the cultists threw some kind of package into the cell.

It exploded upon hitting the floor, filling the cell with some kind of gas. I could hear Russell and Eli's breathing, which had been picking up on the way down here, slow down again. It must have been some sort of sleep bomb.

Satisfied with their work, the cultists left. They didn't even leave a guard or whatever, how careless! I guess they were fully convinced we were gonna be out for a while, or at least that we wouldn't be able to do anything against these restraints.

I stayed still, pretending to be asleep in the silent dungeon until I couldn't take it anymore. Sweeping my [Magic Sense] around and straining it to its furthest range lost its appeal in short order. After another quick glance with [Magic Sense] to make sure nobody was around, I turned into slime and slipped out of the shackles.

Remaining in slime form (just in case,) I slipped out between the bars and started to explore.

I could've left behind a body double, but I'd decided that was an unnecessary use of my energy since there was literally nobody keeping an eye on the cell.

The dungeon we were in was disappointingly small. I didn't think it even expanded past the walls of the inn above. It was dark and dry, and almost completely empty, as aside from scraps of clothing and loose chains in the other cells, there was nothing interesting.

Just a bunch of dust and ugly scenery; nothing to keep my attention whatsoever.

Then I found the door to the boss chamber!

I mean, what else could you call this thing?

It was this massive door with an ornate door knocker hanging under a barred window, looking a ton more fancy and expensive than the rest of this place.

What the heck? This really is like a video game! The only thing left to make this perfect was a fancy throne room on the other side of that door.

Wait, no, no, I'm getting ahead of myself here. I can't just jump the gun and skip to the end of this!

I decided that I should go back to the cell and continue to play unconscious. This was all just too close to a story you'd see in a manga or whatever and I didn't want to ruin the 'plotline.'

So, I slipped back inside, taking care to put the ineffective shackles back on, and proceeded to lay there as if I'd never escaped in the first place.

I wonder what Blake's up to…he didn't really say what he was running off to do earlier.

Honestly, from the start, he seemed like the loner type, so I wasn't surprised when he decided to separate from the group temporarily. I just hoped Blake wasn't up to something sketchy, and that he was clever enough to figure out where we ended up. Not that I needed him to rescue me or whatever, but I couldn't move two full-grown men out of here on my own while looking like I do without raising some eyebrows.

After a bit of patient waiting, the creepy cultist weirdos came back to the cell. They grabbed me and me alone for whatever reason, but I wasn't gonna complain; I mean, I was still pretending to be out like a light so complaining wasn't something I could do even if I wanted to.

They brought me right up to the big door at the end of the chamber, and it swung open with a heavy creak.

…it was a big culty throne room! Complete with altar and everything!

Just as I expected, behind that big, ominous door was a large chamber.

I should be really concerned about this, but… this is really cool! I wasn't even a tiny bit apprehensive–my nerd dreams were coming to life and I was loving every second of it!

This room seemed big enough to be the basement all by itself, it was so big. It didn't really feel like the basement of an inn though.

It had all the stereotypical cultish decorations possible–the altar, the stone walls dotted with torches… but there were also banners that I could tell with a cursory [Analysis] were very expensive.

Not to mention, on a dais in the back, lounging on a cushioned throne, was a majin. They had to be a majin–magic energy was just overflowing from them, much more so than any of the humans here.

In fact… they had the exact same magic signature as all the humans in town.

[[Confirmed. This individual is an incarnated Greater Demon using this settlement as a source of sustenance to maintain their incarnation.]]

Incarnation? I wondered.

[[Answer: as spiritual lifeforms, demons cannot maintain their existence in the physical realm without possessing a physical body.]]

And it degrades over time I'm guessing, and has to be replaced? I asked curiously, using every bit of [Magic Sense]'s capability to examine it. With that, I was able to tell that there was some sort of slow breakdown in the demon's body.

[[Answer: affirmative.]]

Well, it looks like we've found the source of the disappearances.

The demon rose imperiously from its throne. I couldn't tell what sex it was, since its frame wasn't really distinctive and hidden by opulent clothing, and the horns and bat-like wings made it very difficult to get any other clues.

[[Answer: as spiritual lifeforms, demons do not have a sex by nature.]]

Oh. Kinda like me, then. I suddenly feel a little solidarity with this… guy(?)

[[Answer: Most demons do not identify with any such social constructs.]]

"Place the child on the altar." The demon ordered, and the cultists complied. I continued to play dead as the two cultists that had retrieved me from the dungeon carried me over and arranged my body on the altar.

They stepped back, and I could see some eager expressions as the cultists took up what seemed to be customary positions in the room.

Uh, Great Sage, can I take a Greater Demon? The lesser demon during the B-rank exam was pretty easy, but I still didn't know what kind of power gap made a lesser demon a greater one.

[[Answer: it is not a problem.]]

Well, okay. If the sage was feeling that confident, who was I to rain on its parade?

"Leave us!" The demon commanded the cultists, sweeping an arm out. Somewhat surprised and a little disgruntled, the cultists filed out without argument.

Now it was action time. The simplest way to take out this demon would be to eat it–and with my human companions unconscious and not even in the room, that was exactly what I planned to do. All I had to do was wait for it to get close enough to grab and engage [Predator]; it was as simple as that.

I struggled to keep my expression blank–I didn't get to eat that demon at the guild, and this one was way stronger. Packed with magicules and probably equally loaded with interesting skills for me to steal, I was jittering with anticipation of eating it and I couldn't stop. It was hard for me to even sit still!

From an objective point of view that was probably a little disturbing… but I didn't care at the moment, and this was a demon that had obviously already killed people, so there was no reason for me to spare it. Yeah, I wasn't initially planning on soloing the end of this mission, but at this point, I was too overwhelmingly excited to wait any longer. Plus, with those three around, the whole predation thing wouldn't be possible.

"I know you are awake." The demon smiled creepily, remaining standing on the dais. "Stop pathetically laying there and face me."

Guess the jig's up.

"Pathetic, eh?" I opened one eye and cracked a grin, "someone who doesn't even fight opponents when they're conscious looks pretty pathetic to me." I used a little taunt to start us off.

"Heh." The demon smirked, "someone of my strength doesn't need to concern themself with allowing lesser beings to struggle–it is beneath my status to let them even see me. It is for the ones I have bestowed my blessings upon to take care of that."

"Oh yeah?" I swung my legs over the edge of the altar so I could sit up, smiling even though I was itching to eat this demon already. "That just sounds like you're lazy to me."

"Tch." The demon clucked its tongue disdainfully. "That isn't for weaklings like you to understand. There's no way someone like you could match up to the strength of a Greater Demon like myself!"

That's right, I thought. Get angry. Let your guard down. Make eating you even easier. It was kind of interesting, seeing as this was the first time I'd gotten to talk to a demon–but I was ready to get to the action.

"Hahaha!" I laughed, hopping off the altar. "And look what that's got you, a shabby basement in a watering hole, run by a bunch'a country bumpkins! I've seen lesser demons who've accomplished more than you!"

That worked.

The demon let out a feral snarl and I saw its magicules surge. Its body swelled with muscle, horns growing longer and knife-like claws sprouting from its fingertips.

Wow, I stared in amazement. I thought that insult was kind of lame, myself. I was just playing off the whole 'lesser–greater' thing. Looks like it struck a nerve though.

I had plenty of time to think as [Thought Acceleration] engaged, and I stood there, waiting for the moment when the demon came close enough for me to envelop.

"Rimuru!" Just as the demon was entering predation range, Blake appeared, grabbing my shirt and yanking me behind him as he squared up to face the demon. I was so focused on the demon and what I'd get from consuming him that I didn't even notice him until he was right behind me!

I supposed my trail of bloody breadcrumbs led him here at the exact wrong time! That's what I got for leaving that purposefully so he could find us if something went horribly wrong.

I wanted to eat the demon, but now that this guy was here, I couldn't do that! What a bummer! Now that's two demons I've had stolen from under my nose! Well, the lesser demon wasn't exactly 'stolen' per se, but it sure felt like it.

Well, I guessed all I could do now was see how Blake fared against this thing.

Something isn't right here…

I was standing in the inn room a receptionist had pointed out as the one my friends rented. We were going to meet up here, but it was empty.

Eli and Russell's traveling gear was hung up near the door, and I saw their shoes sitting near two beds, respectively. But the sheets were pristine and undisturbed–nobody had lifted or so much as sat on them.

Oddly enough, little Rimuru's belongings were all absent–except the straight sword leaned against the wall.

Even just a few minutes after he was introduced to us, I could tell the kid was very possessive of that sword, along with the mask from the Conqueror of Flames. There was no way he'd leave without it.

Yes, something was very wrong here.

I slowly walked further in, making sure the door was left open in case I needed to make a hasty escape. People had been disappearing in this town, and it while it was possible my group just went to resupply without me, that didn't explain why they left their shoes behind.

Nothing else in the room was out of place–no scuff marks or splintered wood. But as I leaned down to closely examine the floor more, I noticed the floorboards were stained.

It was quite a dark stain–perhaps old spilled beer from some other guest, but it only increased my suspicion. Then I found another one nearby, and all of a sudden my eyes adjusted to seek out the change in color. That's when I realized there was a trail of these stains leading right out of the room.

Quickly preparing some small weapons under my cloak and grabbing both Russell and Rimuru's swords, I followed the trail out the door and down the hall of the inn.

It stopped at the end of the hallway, a dark splotch cut off by the wall. I frowned and attached the two swords to my waist so I could arm my crossbow.

There was no obvious divot or hole in the wall that would open it up. The wood was smooth and finished perfectly–too perfectly. It didn't seem to have so much as a scratch.

As I investigated, I tried pushing various spots on the wall. At first, I had no luck, but then I realized I was simply not applying enough force–one hard shove caused the wall to swing in as if on a hinge, before catching on some safety mechanism whoever built it had installed.

Worming my fingers into the gap, I found a latch to undo, and like that the whole thing opened up. I was greeted by a spiraling, unlit stone staircase, the trail of what I now realized was blood leading down it. Evidently, no one had made an attempt to clean this part of the inn yet.

The blood spots, which had been growing smaller as they progressed, petered out only a couple of steps into the stairwell–but that was fine. They had done their job.

This place was ominous and giving me the creepiest feelings. Through that feeling alone I could tell that this was the source of the trouble in this town.

At the bottom of the stairwell, I found a long room with cells lining the walls. Keeping alert for any guards, I began looking in the cells, and quickly found Russell and Eli in one of them, fast asleep.

"Hey!" Unable to reach them, I took a risk to shout and bang a fist on the bars. Anyone nearby would hopefully assume it was just their two prisoners anyway. Neither of them stirred–they were out cold.

…but Rimuru was missing.

Crap, kid! I thought, you better not be trying something you shouldn't!

I had a sinking feeling in my stomach that the kid was in danger, and rushed to the door at the end of the room. Behind it I could sense a strong demonic presence. After my years as a demon hunter in the Empire, back when I was just a young man, I knew this kind of thing well enough.

There's a demon on the other side of this door, and a strong one too.

I cautiously listened at the door, trying to glean anything I could without actually entering. I needed to be smart about this. Even if the kid is in trouble, if I run in there recklessly we could both end up dead.

But then I heard something unexpected; a cocky, high-pitched voice that I'd heard before. Laughter too from the small-sounding voice, followed by a deep, guttural growl.

Rimuru, you little brat! You're in way over your head!

It couldn't be anyone else in there, I could easily tell by the voice–that little boy was taunting a demon right this moment! Demons are prideful creatures, ones that look down on all of humanity, and yes taunts can be effective at triggering their beastial instincts, bypassing their sense of reason, but this kid is doing it while unarmed! I bet he's overconfident after taking down a lesser demon by himself, but he clearly doesn't understand that this one is in an entirely different class!

I need to do something, and fast!

I opened the door just enough to slip in, trying to be as stealthy as possible. I'd like to think I'm pretty good at concealing myself from detection, but depending on the situation inside, this may be a fruitless effort.

Nevertheless, I was still going to go to that trouble.

I don't half-ass my jobs. Ever.

What I found inside was nothing short of a disaster. The kid is just standing at the foot of a massive demon overflowing with magical force. The worst part was the arrogant grin Rimuru was wearing in the face of this massive threat!

I acted swiftly, getting to the boy as quickly as I could, pulled him away from the demon and squared up to face it.

"Rimuru!" I scolded as I yanked him backward. He turned and looked at me with the most petulant, irritated expression I'd seen from him so far in the short time I'd known him.

"Oh, hi, Blake." Rimuru greeted me in a monotone voice.

"You don't sound very happy to see me."

"That's because I'm not," Rimuru stated bluntly, not even trying to hide his lack of gratitude. "Hey, why don'tcha hand me my sword? We can take this guy down together."

I wanted to say no to that, I really did, but lacking confidence that I can take on this demon by myself, I nodded and handed him the weapon.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Rimuru."

"I hope you know what you're doing, Blake."

"Don't give me that right now."

"Pfft…fine. Let's focus on the demon."

"You don't need to tell me that."

"Are you finished?" The deep grumbling voice of the demon asked. It was grinning widely, probably enjoying the argument I was having with the kid–it would all seem futile to it, anyway.

Rimuru responded by readying his sword, a glow suddenly wrapping around it.

A magic sword…I couldn't tell it was one of those he's been carrying this entire time! No wonder he had no trouble with a lesser demon! But…will that be enough here? Maybe; just, maybe.

But as I was staring at my small companion, even if it was only for a few seconds, the demon made its move.

A fog formed around us both, filling the room and obscuring my sight.

Dammit…a smokescreen!

My thoughts raced, trying to figure out what to do about this, but they quickly started to slow, my vision fogging further. A fog separate from the physical fog hanging in the air around us.

What…no…this is…poison!

I started choking on the gas and gasping for breath as the darkness started creeping in from the edges of my vision, my head starting to spin as my consciousness was slipping away.

I look over at Rimuru, standing next to me, and see those strange golden eyes through the haze, staring at me as if I was crazy.

What…? He's…not…ugh…

Then I was out, the darkness consuming both my sight and my mind.

Huh. I mused as I watched Blake suddenly collapse due to the effect of the poisonous cloud the demon had filled the room with. I guess my meal wasn't taken from me after all.

Yeah, I should probably be a bit more concerned for Blake, but I wanted to wrap this up first.

"Now that that's out of the way," I grinned at the demon, "shall we continue?" I said as I sheath my sword. The demon gave me an odd look, watching as my blade disappeared into its cover.

"Feh." The demon scoffed at me, a wicked grin forming on its face. "Yes, let's. Before you die, I will teach you to fear the power of a Greater Demon!"

Finally! Unable to contain my excitement anymore, I lunged at the demon with my arms stretched wide, liquifying back into my natural slime state. Spreading myself flat in the air, I fell over the shocked demon like a blanket, and let my instincts take over.

The demon tried to fight, but I didn't give it time to do much of anything. In a few moments, it was completely consumed, already starting to be rendered into magicules. [Great Sage] did its thing, and in a moment I had a report.

[[Notice. Acquisition of extra skill, [Miasma], intrinsic skill, [Material Creation], and extra skill, [Bestow] complete.]]

Bestow? I asked, what's that?

[[Answer: it is a skill that allows its user to grant temporary power and control over said power to individuals who willingly form a connection with the user. The skill user, in turn, gains a degree of influence over the subject's actions and thoughts in scale to the amount of power bestowed.]]

Pretty cool, pretty cool. Not anything I'll probably use since it manipulates people's minds, but who knows if it might come in handy later.

What sounded much more interesting to me was [Material Creation].

Does that mean I can just, make stuff? From thin air? I asked the sage.

[[Affirmative. The extra skill [Material Creation] enables the user to create physical matter by arranging magicules into any shape according to their desires.]]

Woah! I grinned widely, so I can make a robot? Or, an indestructible super suit! Or a sword that cuts through anything!

[[...Negative.]]

I felt like the sage was exasperated with me, but I couldn't fathom why.

[[The created magic item's power and durability are dependant on the creator's own strength.]] It continued to explain.

Hmm… well, I suppose that made sense, otherwise you'd have a bunch of invincible, overpowered lunatics with world-destroying weapons running about.

How powerful are the items I can create? I asked it.

[[Answer: the individual Rimuru Tempest can create unique grade magic items with [Material Creation].]]

Is that good? I wondered.

[[Answer: the individual Rimuru Tempest can create items at the same level as the sword of the individual Conqueror of Flames Shizue Izawa.]]

Okay, I considered the information for a moment. Shizu's sword was pretty good from what I could tell, so that meant the stuff I was able to make was probably at least above average.

I'd stumbled across a very useful skill, and I'd make sure to put it to good use.

But, I couldn't sit there nerding out about my new abilities for long, I had some other things to worry about. For one; Blake was on the ground, still out from that poison cloud that hadn't dissipated yet.

But I'd just gained that [Miasma] skill that was used to make this stuff anyway, so couldn't I just take care of that more directly?

[[Answer: the combined use of [Predator] and [Miasma] can be executed to eliminate all poisonous particulates suspended in the air within a certain range. Execute? Yes/No]]

Yes.

The fogginess in the room all poured into my outstretched hand, disappearing into my [Stomach], probably to be broken down and neutralized.

Apparently, whatever the demon used was quick to work and quick to wear off, because as soon as I'd absorbed the stuff in the air, Blake began to stir, already waking up from his poison-induced slumber.

"Hey, you! You're finally awake!" I exclaimed right after Blake opened his eyes.

He groaned a little as he stared up at me before suddenly his eyes shot open wide and he hopped to his feet, scrambling to grab his weapon.

Blake frantically started looking around the room, looking for all intents and purposes as though he was about to murder someone.

"What happened with the demon?! Where is it!?"

"Hey, calm down, man! I took care of it!"

Blake skeptically narrowed his eyes at me, but after another scanning sweep of his eyes around the room, he seemed to relax slightly.

"You…took care of it? All by yourself?! HOW!?"

"Uh…the same way I did that lesser demon back in Blumund," I said with a little twirl of my retrieved sword. This was an outright lie, but saying I went all slimy and ate the thing wouldn't go over well. "This one was a bit stronger, but still didn't stand a chance against me!" I boasted.

"Where's the body? We need to destroy it."

"It just disappeared into smoke. That's what happens when you kill a demon, right?"

"But this one had a physical body."

There's a difference? Huh.

"Oh. Well, I dunno then. All I know is that the body was gone after I finished killing it."

"Hopefully you properly killed it."

Oh, I know I did.

"Don't worry, I think I did it correctly."

Blake didn't look entirely convinced or amused by my answer, but he moved on anyway.

"Well, let's get out of here," he said. "We need to find a way to get Russell and Eli free."

"Yeah," I said, "we need to get out of here as soon as possible, don't we? The town, I mean."

"Clever of you to think that. Yes, I feel like there will be a lot of trouble now that we've killed that demon that seemed to be manipulating this place's people. This is not something a small group like ours can tackle at this point. Heck, that demon wasn't either, but you somehow managed… still…we should leave."

Blake shook his head slightly after shooting me another suspicious look, but turned toward the door to leave.

Out in the hall, we found a few of the robed figures that had captured Russell, Eli, and me earlier; all passed out on the floor, twitching and foaming at the mouth.

Whatever power-up that demon gave them with [Bestow] was not working properly now that it was wiped from existence.

How could I tell?

That same energy that I'd sensed in the people here earlier was raging out of control, destructively pouring out of the bodies of the cultists. It was like a dam that'd been blown, the outflow of energy causing damage to the person who possessed it, no longer able to contain or control it.

I do remember the sage saying that [Bestow] gave those affected better control over the magicules they were given, so I'm certain that's what's going on here.

The human body really can't handle that stuff, can it? I mused, but my thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Blake's crossbow shooting bolts right into the cultists' vitals.

I was a bit surprised by his sudden brutality.

"They were on the brink of death anyway." He matter-of-factly answered my unasked question. He didn't sound too bothered by what he just did, and to be honest, neither was I.

Blake retrieved his bolts and motioned for me to follow.

We moved quickly and quietly to the cell containing the two snoozing men.

Dang, it's locked…

The latch was in decent shape, but the lock itself sure wasn't. It was pretty rusty, so breaking it wouldn't be too unrealistic, I decided.

So, I got a firm grip on the padlock and gave it a yank and it just crumbled in my hand.

Blake gave me a strange look for that.

"It was all rusty and degraded, see?" I hold out the pieces in my hand for him to see.

"That's one way of doing it."

Is that a lockpick in his hand? I guess he had a plan before I went and took care of it myself.

We stepped inside the cage and started trying to figure out what to do with Russell and Eli.

I wanted to break the shackles on them as well, but that would definitely give away my identity as a monster (and might hurt them since I'd be rushing it in this case). Fiddling with the chains a bit, I pondered what to do.

"Let's wake them up first," Blake said. I nodded in response.

A few light slaps was all it took to stir Russell and Eli awake; the poison must've been wearing off by this point.

"Hey! Let's get out of here!" I urged the sleepy men.

"Where's…'here'...exactly?" Russell asked with bleary eyes and semi-slurred words.

"We were kidnapped by demon cultists! Get up so we can get outta here!"

Russell just stared at me blankly for a few seconds.

"C'mon!" I emphasized, getting tempted to yank him to his feet.

"I still don't understand what'cha mean by that kid, but suuuure…"

Russell stands up and brushes himself off (at least the best he could while handcuffed) before glancing around the cell. It's clear that whatever knocked him out hasn't completely worn of, but at least he was on his feet now. Eli on the other hand…

He's still just mumbling incomprehensibly from his position on the floor, still completely out of it despite being awake for the most part.

"Get up, you ol' lout," Russell grumbled as he hoisted the other man to his feet.

"My head is spiiiiiinning…" Eli whined.

"Come on," Blake said, catching the other two men's attention for the first time. He'd been examining the lock on the delirious Eli's shackles. "We need to get out of here; we'll figure out how to unchain you once we're safe."

Attempting to shake the fog from their heads, Russell and Eli followed us out of the cell and towards the stairs that led out of the dungeon.