Chapter 4: The Goddess in Shadow and the Hunters of Light
The moon of Veridion hung low, red as blood.
Across the silent rooftops of the holy capital, unseen eyes tracked every movement of the one they now called the Monster King.
Velren had left the royal palace hours ago, walking the narrow streets like any other traveler. His human form wore a simple black coat, but the aura around him was unmistakable too still, too heavy, like the air before a storm.
Inside, he could feel Velnara's cold voice hum through his core.
"They're following you."
"I know," Velren murmured. "Let's see who dares."
The Assassins of the Church
The sound of blades whispering through air broke the night.
Six figures emerged from the shadows robed in white, faces hidden by silver masks carved with angelic sigils. The Judicars of Light, holy assassins sent only against beings marked as heretical threats.
"Velren, Abyssal Slime King," one hissed. "By the decree of the Holy See, you are sentenced to purification."
"I was wondering when they'd send someone," Velren said calmly, his eyes glowing faint blue.
They moved as one faster than lightning, their weapons coated in sacred light.
The first Judicar lunged, his sword cutting through Velren's torso or so it seemed.
Velren's body split like water, the blade passing through harmlessly. He re-formed behind the man and whispered,
"Nice try."
His hand brushed the air frost bloomed from his touch, freezing the assassin in place.
"One."
Two more struck from above. Velren extended his hand.
[Skill: Shadow Construct Thousand Blades]
Black spears of liquid darkness erupted from the ground, piercing the assassins mid-leap. The street shattered, light and shadow clashing in a roar that shook the city.
The remaining three drew holy seals in the air, chanting.
"By the Archangel's Flame Divine Execution!"
A pillar of golden fire engulfed Velren. For a heartbeat, the world glowed pure white.
When it faded, he was still standing untouched. The air around him was absolute void, a space where no light existed.
[Absolute Null Zone Expanded]
All elemental, divine, and conceptual magic negated within radius: 100 meters.
Velren's eyes burned with cold fury.
"You tried to erase me. Now, let me return the favor."
He raised both hands frost and darkness spiraled together, forming a massive sphere of energy.
[Skill: Abyssal Devourer]
The remaining Judicars screamed as the sphere consumed their light, their forms dissolving into the black mist. When the energy faded, nothing remained but silence.
The Goddess in Shadow
Velren turned and froze.
A woman stood at the end of the ruined street. Barefoot, cloaked in silver mist, eyes glowing faint gold. Her presence was divine but restrained, like a melody the world had forgotten.
"You shouldn't have done that," she said softly.
"And you are?" Velren asked, lowering his aura but not his guard.
"Someone who once ruled the heavens," she answered. "Now, a wanderer. You may call me… Lyria."
He studied her. "You're not human. Nor demon."
"No," she said. "I am a goddess without a temple. The Church hunts me as they hunt you."
She walked closer, the ground blooming with faint light beneath her steps.
"Velren, you are something they fear a being unbound by the laws of gods. You have touched the essence of creation itself. The power of Origin."
Velren tilted his head. "Origin?"
"The first energy that shaped every world," Lyria said. "And it sleeps inside you."
Velnara's voice echoed in his mind, trembling for the first time.
"She speaks the truth… I feel it. Your core it's evolving."
Velren clenched his fist as his body pulsed with unstable light. The air distorted; reality rippled.
[Core Evolution Detected]
Path: Multiversal Entity (Stage 1)
Ability: Reality Assimilation Incomplete
"What happens if it completes?" Velren asked quietly.
"Then you will no longer be a being of this world," Lyria said. "You will become something the gods themselves cannot erase."
The Choice
Lyria turned to leave, her silver hair glowing in the moonlight.
"The Church will send more. Stronger ones. And the gods will take notice."
Velren's eyes burned with determination.
"Then let them come."
"You cannot fight every world alone," she warned.
Velren smiled that same calm, impossible smile he had before death.
"I was born alone. Died alone. Reborn as a slime in a dungeon alone. But now…"
He extended his hand toward the forest in the distance his kingdom glowing faintly under the moon.
"I have monsters who trust me, demons who respect me, humans who dare to believe in me."
He looked back at her.
"I won't destroy this world. I'll remake it."
Lyria watched him for a long moment, then nodded slowly.
"Then the world's balance will depend on you, Abyssal King. When the gods descend… remember my words."
She vanished into light, leaving only a feather of silver radiance behind.
Velren caught it in his palm, and his core glowed brighter.
> "A goddess in hiding, divine hunters, and gods preparing for war…"
"Good," he said, smiling into the night. "Let them try. I'll devour them all."
The moon cracked through the clouds, casting light over the ruined street where the bodies of holy assassins once stood.
Only frost and shadow remained.
And in that silence, the world trembled for a slime was about to transcend reality itself.