“Run!”
As the Dark Chimera’s giant mouth swung open, Ophelia had already grabbed Camilla’s waist and retreated backward without hesitation.
Almost at the same moment they leapt back, a torrent of dark purple acid erupted from that giant maw, flooding the spot where they had just been standing.
Sizzleโ!!!
The ear-piercing sound of rock being corroded was tooth-aching; wherever the acid passed, rock walls melted, crystal clusters vaporized, and even the corpse of that Deep Sea Pedestal Fish instantly turned into a wisp of green smoke.
Without a moment’s delay, the two of them leaped toward the gap where the underground river’s current was strongest!
The bone-chilling underground river water instantly enveloped their bodies as the powerful current swept them toward the depths of the darkness.
“Rimuru!”
Camilla cried out in her heart.
“Pujiโ!”
The blue slime on her shoulder let out an unprecedentedly high-pitched cry, its body swelling frantically like it was being pumped with air.
In the blink of an eye, a “giant slime submarine” composed entirely of translucent blue jelly and comparable in size to a small boat appeared in the torrent, completely enveloping Camilla and Ophelia while automatically forming a chamber filled with air inside.
This was a new ability Rimuru had obtained after using the Awakening Potion, which Camilla called “Berserk Transformation,” a powerful skill that did not exist in the game.
In this state, its various basic stats were even slightly stronger than Dragon Bloodline.
ใMasterโฆ hold onโฆ charging!ใ
Rimuru’s thought carried a sort of desperate excitement.
In the next instant, the rear of the “blue submarine” suddenly contracted and catapulted!
Boom!!!
The water was pushed aside by a massive force as the underground river express train that Rimuru had transformed into sped forward along the main channel of the dark river at an unprecedented speed.
“So, so amazing, did you teach it this?”
A hint of surprise flashed in Ophelia’s ice-blue eyes.
“I supposeโฆ but now is not the time to study this, behind us!”
Camilla’s spiritual perception had been deadlocked on the rear.
Rumble!
The loud sound of rock walls collapsing came from behind them; the Dark Chimera was violently widening the hole, forcing its way in!
Its massive body created a terrifying sense of pressure in the underground river channel, as crushed stones and water sprayed frantically backward.
“Hold on tight!”
Ophelia held Camilla with her left hand and gripped her sword with her right in a reverse-hand grip, the tip pointing backward as ice-blue magic poured out frantically.
“Ice Path!”
Accompanied by a series of cracking sounds, the river water behind them froze at an alarming speed, and thick ice walls rose layer after layer, attempting to block the passage and delay the pursuer.
However, the Dark Chimera did not even slow down; it simply opened its giant mouth, and a torrent of dark purple corrosive energy surged out, causing the ice walls to rapidly melt and vaporize like snow meeting a scorching sun, only slowing its pursuit by half a beat.
“Is this guy part bulldozer?!”
Camilla complained while pulling stock out of her bagโflash grenades, smoke bombs, acid bottlesโฆ throwing them backward as if they cost nothing, causing bursts of chaotic light, shadows, and corrosive smoke clouds to explode in the narrow river channel.
These little gadgets, which were highly effective against low-tier magical beasts, were at most like annoying mosquitoes to the Ninth Order Dark Chimera.
The carapace on its body shimmered with an eerie light, easily resisting most of the effects, with only a small amount of acid leaving “sizzling” white smoke at the gaps in its carapace, drawing an angry low growl from it and seemingly making it even faster.
Why are you chasing us?
This little bit of meat isn’t even enough to fill the gaps in your teeth!
Camilla was frantic inside; in the original work, after the Dark Chimera escaped, its main goal was to take revenge on the academy, and the player’s party had just stumbled into it by chance.
But clearly, this monster’s goal from the start was either Camilla or Ophelia, and considering the unique attributes of a “protagonist,” it was definitely coming for Ophelia.
Rimuru utilized the characteristics of its fluid form to the extreme, weaving flexibly through the complex underground dark river, sometimes hugging the rock walls for sharp turns and sometimes diving into deep water areas to evade.
But the Dark Chimera was like a maggot on a bone, the light from its compound eyes piercing through the murky water and firmly locking onto their scent, its eight limbs clawing at the rock walls at a speed that was also startlingly fast.
“There’s light ahead! It might be an exit!”
Ophelia’s gaze was sharp, pointing toward a faint speck of light in the distance.
Rimuru’s spirits lifted as its speed increased again.
Just as they were about to burst out of that exit hidden by a water curtain, the water flow behind them surged violently, and several thick tentacles shot forth like javelins at a terrifying speed!
Right at this critical momentโฆ
“Beast! Your opponent is me!”
A clear shout full of anger descended from above!
The ceiling rock wall above suddenly exploded, and a figure that was neither fully human nor fully shark dropped like a falling star, boldly inserting itself between the pursuer and the fugitives.
The newcomer was none other than the arriving Lady Victoria!
She didn’t waste any words and directly launched her strongest offensive; wherever her fin-blades passed, the water was sliced into vacuum trails, and the two thickest tentacles were severed in response, dark purple blood gushing out and staining a large area of the lake water black.
The Dark Chimera roared in pain, the fierce light in its compound eyes surging as it temporarily abandoned its pursuit of Camilla and the other, and more tentacles along with dark purple light beams containing corrosive and destructive energy blasted toward this “kindred” powerhouse who had suddenly appeared.
Taking this opportunity, Ophelia pulled Camilla and jumped out of Rimuru’s body, heading into the depths of the nearby dense forest without looking back.
Rimuru quickly shrank down and jumped back onto Camilla’s shoulder, exhausted.
Behind them came the world-shaking sounds of booming, roaring, and the explosive noise of energy collisions.
The aftershocks of the battle between two top-tier powerhouses, even across a distance, still made their blood and qi churn, requiring them to operate their magic at full power to protect themselves just to move forward.
Not knowing how far they had run, it wasn’t until the booming sounds behind them became faint that the two stopped in a forest clearing, leaning against a giant tree that would take several people to encircle, panting heavily.
Rimuru had already fallen asleep in her bag from exhaustion.
“Are weโฆ safe for now?”
Camilla wiped the sweat and muddy water from her face.
Ophelia alertly sensed the surroundings and shook her head, looking toward the direction they had fled from with a solemn expression.
“Professor Victoriaโฆ is not its match.”
As if to verify her words, the distant booming sounds came to an abrupt halt at a certain moment.
Immediately following was a muffled groan full of pain and unwillingness, as well as the loud thud of a heavy object hitting the ground.
Then, that aura of despair and distortion rose once again, andโฆ at an even faster speed, it approached the position where they were located!
The Dark Chimera was back.
Many new wounds had been added to its body, especially the huge wound on its side that Victoria had cut into and mangled, which was continuously oozing thick dark purple blood and shredded internal organs; several parts of its carapace were broken, leaking dark purple blood, two tentacles were severed at the base, and one of its compound eyes was also dim and lightless.
Victoria’s desperate counterattack had made it pay a price.
But that was all.
And this price had clearly ignited its ferocity completely.
When it appeared at the edge of the clearing again, only the purest, most tyrannical desire to completely destroy everything before its eyes remained in its five surviving pairs of compound eyes.
It didn’t even look at that necklace again; it only wanted to crush these two insectsโwho had repeatedly fled and brought it troubleโinto meat paste!
Ophelia slowly drew her sword, holding it with her left hand and leveling it in front of her.
Ice-blue magic flowed around her, and moisture in the air condensed into tiny ice crystals as the temperature plummeted.
She gently shielded Camilla behind her.
“This time, there is no escape.”
Her voice was very calm, carrying a sense of finality as the dust settled.
“Sisterโฆ”
Camilla looked at Ophelia’s back, then at the soundly sleeping Rimuru in her bag, and finally, her gaze fell upon the increasingly close Dark Chimera.
She took a deep breath and also drew her own longsword, standing beside Ophelia.
“Thenโฆ let’s fight.”
In the depths of her ruby-like eyes, a trace of almost imperceptible gold quietly emerged.