That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime

"Ve-Veldoraaaaaa!!"

Karman awoke to the sound of his own screaming.

That arrogant man who always acted so familiar.

He had been dreaming of Veldora, being swallowed up by hellfire.

"Heh. That's not like me. Maybe I've been depending on him more than I thought…"

Karman muttered as he remembered the situation they had been in.

This was not the time to be worrying about others. They themselves were in a precarious situation.

And so Karman dismissed all thoughts of Veldora from his mind.

(There is no point in worrying about that man now. It seems that the Six Tyrant has already been activated…)

That devil's roar had boomed far off in the distance.

It was the sound of immense energy running wild after it had been sealed in an Ether Ring Barrier.

The barrier was stretching and affecting the space outside of it.

With such a terrifying weapon in front of him, even Veldora would not be able to do anything. That's what Karman thought, but he did not voice it.

But maybe Veldora would…surely he could… There was just a little hope left in his heart.

And he felt that voicing his doubts would erase the last of that hope.

And so Karman turned his attention towards the taking in of his surroundings.

It seemed that he had only lost consciousness for a short time.

According to the clock in his brain, three minutes had not passed since they crashed into the ground.

While he checked the time, he also learned of his condition.

"Are you serious…"

He couldn't help but mutter.

'All clear.' Those were the words that were displayed in his head.

The numbers were supposed to appear in red to show damage, but now they were all blue…there was no problem…

Karman was shocked at this unbelievable durability.

He now knew that he was alright, but what about the others?

He thought as he looked around…

Then he discovered them. They were still unconscious.

"Hey, you guys. Are you okay?"

He called. And they groaned.

While they had moderate injuries, it seemed that they were all safe.

"Ouchhhh! It doesn't actually hurt at all. It's times like these that I'm happy to be a complete cyborg."

"But then again, you require maintenance over the smallest things. Mister Zaza tried to hide it, but it seemed like all sorts of functions had been shut down. He would not have lasted much longer had Veldora not modified him."

"That's true. However, it was all for nothing…"

"You idiot! Don't say such a thing!! Mister Veldora is with them. They are surely all right!"

Karman shouted and they all quieted down.

Then they looked at each other and nodded.

"Yes. You're right!"

"It's too early to give up. We have to do what we can!"

"Aye. Now, let's go and find the Powered Suits."

Karman ordered, and they all moved at once.

No one asked, 'what if they are broken?'

Finding a method of travel was absolutely necessary for them to leave this wasteland that was full of danger.

If they could not do that, then they would have to wait to be rescued.

For that reason, they would at least have to find a means of communication.

The Powered Suits were likely broken.

However, if they gathered the remains of the ship and its equipment, they might find a way out of their predicament. That's what Karman thought.

They all knew him well, and so they guessed at what his intention was.

However…

They stopped again, shortly after moving.

"…I'm so glad I came to have a look, just in case. To think that not a single one of you has died. You are pretty tough for vermin."

"Yes, what a surprise. According to my data, there was a 99.9% chance of all of you dying. It's impossible that you all survived. So, Mister Karman. What sort of trick did you use?"

A threat had appeared before them in no time—Jegyll and Reiz. And their men were now in front of them.

"Tsk. Back to square one."

Karman spat.

It had clearly been too early for relief.

"You're right about that, Reiz. Karman. I am quite interested in your body now. Perhaps the science behind it is more advanced than I thought. You must come to the city with us."

"Hah! So you can slaughter and dissect us?"

"Or we could kill you here and bring your bodies back, if you prefer? If you'll come willingly, we will spare you your lives."

Jegyll said with an expression that looked honest enough.

However, Karman laughed at her.

"Do you take us for fools? There is no reason for you to keep us alive. You're just trying to trick us, and spare yourself a fight. Aren't you? I can tell by your eyes. You don't see us as humans. If you're going to kill us anyway, then I'll fight until the end!"

"Aye!"

"We'll show you what we're made of!!"

Karman and his men shouted in answer.

Jegyll heard this, and the smile disappeared from her face.

"This is all very hard to understand. You people are most strange."

"Yes, Jegyll. Let's just get this over with and kill them."

Reiz was no longer smiling either. He looked at Karman and his men with a cold, appraising look.

Alien.

Yes, Jegyll and Reiz were not human.

They may have had the appearance, but they were Bionoids.

◇◇◇

The fight started abruptly.

However, it wasn't Karman and his men that were attacked.

It was Jegyll and her men.

Gigantic lifeforms had suddenly appeared and attacked them.

"Super Beasts! Here's our chance! Let's hide!"

No, it was surely just a coincidence.

The Super Beasts must have heard the explosion of the ship and come down to search for prey.

However, this ended up saving Karman's life.

They used that moment when Jegyll's attention had been diverted, and they hid in the remains of the ship.

'All of you. Did you turn your power off?'

'Of course. These hidden cyborg features sure are useful.'

'Good! Now let's go and find the Powered Suits.'

They said through Thought Transmission.

In regards to the search, Karman and his men had an idea of how to go about it.

As the machines could be controlled remotely, each of them were connected to their machines through a special 'thought wave.'

There was no guarantee that it would still work, but they had hope.

And so they hid and worked quietly.

On the other hand, Jegyll and her men…

They were struggling against the pack of Super Beasts.

Had the ship still been intact, they would not have been attacked by the beasts.

And even if they were, the thing had a high power beam cannon installed. And so they wouldn't have had much trouble in dealing with the enemy.

However, Jegyll and her men had no such weapons.

Of course, Bionoids had tremendous strength as anti-cyborg weapons, but they had no methods of attack that covered a wide area. That was their weakness.

The plasma cannon was used against single human enemies. It could not deal a lethal blow to a Super Beast.

The Super Beasts' ability to regenerate was too strong.

While the Bionoids would now lose, it would take a very long time to kill all of the Super Beasts.

Jegyll understood this.

"We're being hindered by mere purification devices!!"

Jegyll shouted as she kicked the head of one Super Beast. Then she fired off a round of plasma bullets that were a meter in diameter.

Jegyll and Reiz had enough firepower to kill them.

And so eventually, they used the other men as bait, and then Jegyll and Reiz would attack.

Even while they fought, Jegyll's eyes were searching for Karman and the others.

While they had disappeared behind the remains of the ship, she had not given up the chase.

These wastelands were filled with rocks and cliffs. With enough time, they might actually be able to escape.

She couldn't imagine they would live for very long without being able to receive maintenance or replenish their energy. There was no way they could communicate with others either. Still, she could not underestimate how tenacious Karman and his men were.

They were seasoned warriors and she could not allow them to run free. That was Jegyll's decision.

She was annoyed.

As she was based on a human, she still had emotions.

However, not to the point where it would affect the mission.

That was a feature of Bionoids.

And so Jegyll dealt with the Super Beasts calmly and systematically. She would follow Karman when they were done.

Karman had realized this.

He had left the search to his men while he watched the battlefield.

As he and his men used 'Vision Link,' he had a wide range of sight.

It was an unbelievable feature, but Karman was able to use it without hesitation.

That was the difference between him and Zaza.

Karman did not worry or think too hard about everything.

And in Karman's vision, was a very familiar monster.

"That one…"

He muttered under his breath so no one else could hear.

A great serpent with a red head.

The one that Veldora had defeated. It had become humanoid after that.

'Continue the search. I have some minor business to attend to.'

'Captain?'

'Surely you don't mean to…?'

'It's too dangerous!'

'Shouldn't you hide here quietly!?'

As his men could see what he was looking at, they had an idea of what he was going to do.

They frantically tried to stop him, but Karman shook his head.

'You may be right. But I can't abandon that one. After all, what if…'

What if that Super Beast had been his lover?

He couldn't say it, but Karman's resolve was strong.

'…I'm leaving the rest to you!'

Karman told them before rushing out.

He went around so that the enemy could not locate him. Then he disappeared into the shadow of some rocks.

His men quickly pulled themselves together and returned to their work.

They would do what they could at the moment. That was the only way to get out of this danger.

Then, just as Jegyll had created a great sphere of plasma and was about to unleash it at the head of the great serpent…

"I won't let you!"

…Karman jumped out and blocked it with his Ether Ring Barrier.

◇◇◇

Karman's arrival was very sudden, but Jegyll was not phased.

Reiz was the same. His reaction suggested he had anticipated this.

"Tsk. I thought you might be a little surprised…"

Karman joked. Jegyll snorted.

"Hehe. As if I wouldn't notice you when you are so close by. We were also looking at you all along."

"But you know what did surprise me? That you would try and protect a Super Beast. A tool. A mere purification device. I thought you were going to launch a surprise attack. But well, you did ruin my attack just now."

Jegyll had known that Karman was approaching.

And so Reiz had intended on shooting Karman while he was targeting Jegyll.

It would be difficult to follow and shoot someone who was moving faster than the speed of sound. And so he had to predict where Karman would move and shoot in advance. And he had predicted wrongly.

Karman hadn't gone for Jegyll. Instead, he had protected the Super Beast. Even Reiz could not have foreseen that.

"Heh. Sorry about that. But I have my reasons too. I swore to protect my lover. And I don't want to break my promise ever again."

At this, the great serpent with the red head seemed to react.

It wasn't much. In fact, no one even noticed it. But it was almost as if it understood Karman's words.

But Jegyll, on the other hand, did not understand Karman at all.

"Are you stupid? What does that have to do with this Super Beast over here?"

She asked as she prepared yet another attack.

It was really just her way of toying with Karman. She was not actually interested in a reply.

All it did was buy her some time.

However, Karman answered politely.

"Yes, maybe I am an idiot. But it's possible that someone from my old home exists within that Super Beast. You called them 'purification devices'? So you know the secret of the Super Beasts?"

Karman asked. 'Ah, yes,' Jegyll said knowingly.

"Now that I think of it, the use of Six was top-secret."

"Aye, it's true. I didn't know about it either. And I was the captain of a Special Task Force team. So, now I am curious as to why someone like Karman would now."

"Well, it doesn't matter. We're going to kill you right here, so the city residents won't hear anything of it."

There were still questions left unanswered, but it didn't matter to Jegyll.

And so she moved to attack.

She was ready.

Her body had been remade and now specialized in combat.

Karman also didn't let his guard down. His eyes were locked onto Jegyll and Reiz.

Reiz's men were still fighting the Super Beasts, but he also kept his attention on them.

Karman didn't have much chance of winning, but he intended on buying his men as much time as possible, so they could find the Powered Suits.

Still, there was some hope for him.

Veldora's own words… 'Oh, Karman. The Battle Bodies you and Zaza were given were based on our analysis of Michelle. If you can handle it, you will have the strength of a Demon Lord.' If he was to believe those words, he should be able to take on the Machinery Four.

He didn't know what Veldora meant by 'Demon Lord,' but Karman didn't worry about such details.

And so he decided to fight without giving up.

"Reiz. I will handle Karman. You hurry up and get rid of these pesky Super Beasts!"

"Yes, yes. Understood!"

Jegyll ordered him as his superior. And so Reiz obeyed her and moved towards the Super Beasts with his men.

"I won't let you!"

Karman said as he tried to attack them as a diversion.

However, Jegyll stopped him.

And so he was forced to face her. And the fight began.

As vicious as the fight was, it was mostly Jegyll attacking.

While Karman followed the warning signs that appeared in his brain, it was all rather superficial. He was good at handling heavy weapons, but not at close-quarters combat.

And so he tried to establish the tide of the battle as quickly as possible.

"Hehehe. You're better than I thought. I was confused as to why you didn't die from my kick. But now I see it. You've undergone some modifications."

"Yes. And so I'm starting to get used to your movements."

It was a bluff.

Indeed, Karman was able to react to a certain degree.

However, it was very difficult, even as he relied on his body's features.

It wasn't real Machinery Arts. He was just using the official military combat skills he had gained previously. And that wasn't so useful against a cyborg.

Even now.

Karman aimed his high-power blaster at Jegyll and fired. But she dodged it every time.

Karman clicked his tongue. Jegyll laughed.

"It's no use. You are like a child compared to me. I was humoring you just long enough to take stock of your abilities, but I have sufficient data now. As you were able face me with such weak combat skills, the features of your body must be at least as good as the Machinery Four. But that's all it is. It's still surprising, but you yourself are no threat to me. After all…"

And with those words, Jegyll vanished.

Then she seemed to materialize behind Karman. And she kicked him in the back.

"GUHAAA!"

Karman slammed to the ground.

His brain allowed him to trace Jegyll's movements. And so he understood what had happened.

It was a simple thing. Ultra-high-speed movement.

Karman was able to see it all displayed in his brain as if he had a bird's eye view. He saw Jegyll appear behind him.

It was twice the speed of sound.

It was an incredible speed, considering that she still hadn't gone all out.

That was when Karman fully realized that this battle exceeded anything he had ever experienced before.

The speed of his heavy weapons were the same as the speed of sound.

Karman could fight while flying, and hitting his targets determined on his ability to predict where they would go.

Dodging optical weapons was not possible, so he managed by predicting the trajectory and firing time by reading his opponent's movements.

But now, with an enemy moving around at a speed that was clearly faster than him, it was clear that such strategies would no longer be effective.

"Bullet-firing weapons are pointless against cyborg soldiers. You do understand what this means, don't you?"

Karman didn't need Jegyll to remind him.

It was obvious.

You had to use optical weapons to defeat cyborg soldiers. Because cyborg soldiers could move faster than bullets.

Especially seasoned fighters could even deal with beam weapons if they moved before firing.

This was what Jegyll was talking about.

And blaster weapons were slower than beam weapons. Slow enough for cyborg soldiers to dodge them.

Even an ultra-high-temperature plasma took time for the energy to be gathered. And as it was a short-range weapon, it was necessary to get close to your target.

The finished plasma sphere had enough power to burn anything it touched. However, it was practically useless in combat when you are moving at a high speed.

And that was why Machinery Arts had been invented. It was the crowning achievement of high-speed combat.

Even if both people otherwise had the same abilities, the difference between knowing and not knowing it was great.

Karman's team was able to use optical weapons for wide-range annihilation.

However, once they were close enough to cyborg soldiers that they became visible to the eye, then there was nothing they could do but be trampled.

Just as Karman currently had no way to defeat Jegyll.

However, Karman did not give up.

He frantically looked through his weapons and searched for something that would be effective on Jegyll.

"Damn it all! But, what about this!"

Karman shouted as he unleashed a card he had up his sleeve.

Both of his arms were crossed and thrust forward as it fired—it was a neutral particle cannon.

It was usually a weapon used while wearing Powered Armor, but Karman was still able to use it in his current state.

As there was not enough power, it would not pack as large a punch as normal, but its speed was still 80% of the speed of light. That was better than the blaster, which wasn't even double the speed of sound. And it was more than enough to be effective on cyborg soldiers.

The speed was accelerated through both arms, the different particles mixed and transformed into an attack…that was not deadly.

"Too slow!"

There was a roar, and then Karman was blown away as something slammed into him.

The particles dispersed and Karman's special attack was no more.

Jegyll glared at the fallen man.

"Let me give you a little lecture before I kill you. Whether it is a beam weapon or something else, these deadly blows should be dealt once you are sure that your opponent can no longer move. For instance, after they have just used a special attack. I mean, do you even have enough energy left to raise a barrier?"

Jegyll lifted her hand towards Karman and laughed.

It was over. Karman knew that he was about to die.

He realized it after she said it, but Jegyll really hadn't used plasma during the fight.

As always, Karman had used it to distract her.

(I see. When fighting on this level, wasting bullets is a bad idea…)

It was too late now. Karman would not be able to move for the next two seconds. And that was more than enough time for Jegyll to finish him off.

"Damn you!"

"Goodbye, Karman."

There was a flash.

Karman was enveloped in light…

"…What!?"

Jegyll jumped away frantically.

The ground was burning. Powerful acid was raining down.

No, it wasn't acid. It was the Super Beast's blood, which contained powerful toxins.

"Y-you…"

The monster that Karman had saved was now protecting him.

And…

The serpent's eyes lit up with the will of a noble human, and then its mouth opened in order to say something to Karman.

"…G-ggkaaarmaan…"

Karman heard his name come from the mouth of the girl who was now a monster. It had such a nostalgic ring to it.

"Is-is it you, Charlotte? Is it you? Are you really…"

It was a miracle.

After one hundred years, Karman had reunited with his lover.

However…

"GGgarrman…I…I…"

Everything below the torso was torn, and purple blood dripped to the ground.

The rest of the body had exploded and flew everywhere.

The poison blood had been sprayed towards Jegyll, as if the monster was fulfilling its final role.

This blood had the ability to melt anything. And so Jegyll could not approach them.

However, none of that mattered to Karman.

He had forgotten about Jegyll, no, he had forgotten about the battlefield. All he did now was embrace the twisted and transformed being in front of him.

The poison burned his arms, but he didn't mind.

"…So…you…kept…your…promise… I'm…so…glad… Love. You. And…so…live…Karman…"

In the end, the great serpent forced its mouth to move—and the girl who was now a Super Beast—called Karman's name.

"Hey, Charlotte! We finally met. Don't give up!!"

"Yes…we did. I'm glad…I didn't give up…"

Their reunion was short-lived.

My wish came true—she muttered, and then her hand went limp and fell.

Her eyes closed silently, covering the snake-like pupils.

Then the long red hair fell over her forehead like blood.

"Uuu-uuu-uaaahhhhh!!!"

Karman's wail echoed.

And…

[[…confirmed. Synchronization will begin, as the master ordered]]

—The machine in Karman's brain said.

It sounded very cold. Karman was immediately brought back to his senses.

[[As you ordered, all restrictions have been deactivated. 'Self Repair' has now been overwritten by 'Ultra Modification Repair' — Restoration will now begin. Do you choose to incorporate the material around you? YES/NO]]

Material—It was talking about the person Karman was holding.

Karman closed his eyes and hesitated for a second. And then he bit his lip and decided.

"…Yes. We'll always be together, Charlotte. Let's get revenge together."

He muttered in a voice too quiet for anyone else to hear.

However…

Karman's will resulted in the birth of a superweapon that exceeded all the laws of physics in this world.

[[Permission received. The 'brain' has been saved in the hollow vessel—the 'soul' will now be installed…success—I will now support you as 'Charlotte '. I look forward to working with you, Karman!]]

Karman's eyes widened.

But it was only for a moment. He quickly returned to his old self and smiled mischievously.

It wasn't like him to cry.

And more importantly…

"Aye, Charlotte. We'll always be together now…"

The modification restoration was complete.

—The two were now united.

The cloud of blood in the air had now disappeared.

What was there now, was not a military machine, but a purple machine in the shape of a dragon.

Jegyll took one look at it and stopped.

"…What? What does this…"

There were wings on its back and a tail grew from its flanks.

Dragonic Armor—it was a destroyer that took features from the Super Beast serpent.

As for its abilities…

"Let's do this, Jegyll. I'll kill you. And then I'll crush the whole Empire. And then, we shall build a new country!"

"You make me laugh! You can dream all you want once you are dead!"

—And then, the two clashed once again.