Gakuto brought Emeru closer to Emerald, who stopped his attack and turned toward her. "Sister…you're here."
"Brother!" she pleaded, tearing up. "Stop attacking! You don't have to do this! Honest!"
Emerald held his hand out. "Stop acting like a child. It's time to come home. I've been waiting, and so have the others."
Emeru puffed her cheeks and turned away. "No! I refuse! I'm not going back with you guys! I'm staying right here!"
"Disobedient girl!"
Emerald delivered a punch to Gakuto's head, but Gakuto withstood the blow. Emerald took the opportunity to snatch Emeru, who shifted into her humanoid form.
"Stop it!" she exclaimed. "I don't wanna be a Munjinsha anymore! I'm tired of dungeons! Tired of fighting! I just wanna live in peace! Is that so hard?"
Emerald held her up by the arm. "Sister, you've spent too much time with that old fool. You and I have a duty to the Endless. There will be no insubordination, understand?"
Emeru broke free of Emerald's grip, stepping back. "No! I don't wanna go!"
Slimy arms extended from her body, blocking Emerald from reaching her. One pushed Emerald back, and he used his shield to block it.
"Don't you get it? Living with Mr. Omariro has been way less stressful! No humans trying to kill me, no orders from the Endless, just peace, quiet, and food!"
"Tsk," Emerald sighed. "The fallacy of a child. It doesn't matter what you want. You will be coming with me, Sister."
In the blink of an eye, he grabbed Emeru by her head, lifting her. Gakuto formed his helmet, preparing to charge. "Put the slime down, fiend!"
"Or what?" he replied. "I'm trying to have a conversation with my sister here."
With a burst of speed, Gakuto charged at Emerald, who put up his shield and met the charge head-on. The shockwave echoed throughout the area, and Gakuto stumbled back.
Pieces of the shield fell to the floor as Emerald examined it. Gakuto cracked his shoulders, preparing for another charge.
"A Kaidanchō, no?" Emerald noted. "Even as a big brute, your skills are surprisingly polished."
"Heh," Gakuto chuckled. "That's not the word my folks would use! Now drop the girl, pal!"
"Hmph."
Gakuto dashed around Emerald, rolling into a ball that struck again and again. Emerald kept him at bay with his mace, while Emeru squirmed in his grasp. "Brother! Please! You can join too! I'm sure Mr. Omariro will let you in!"
"I don't want in your measly squad," Emerald hissed. "The old bastard's just using you for his own gain. When he's done with you, he'll throw you into that hellhole he calls a prison."
Gakuto slammed into Emerald from behind, but the slime's extra hands reached out to meet him, intercepting the blow. Emeru took advantage and broke free just as Rika and Sōshin rushed over to her.
"You guys!" she said, relieved. "Where are the others?"
"Master's busy fighting on the other side of the mountains!" Rika pointed out. "We've been trying to hold out, but your brother's not giving us any room!"
"I can calm him down, I know it!" Emeru insisted. "Just let me try talking to him! That'll help!"
Gakuto and Emerald were busy clashing full force, with the latter matching the former's speed and power. Gakuto ducked a mace swing and retaliated by flinging his helmet at Emerald, which exploded in a blaze of fire.
Unsurprisingly, all the fire did was scorch pieces of Emerald's armor, and he continued his onslaught on the Kaidanchō.
Sōshin moved to join in, but Rika stopped him. "Wait, Sōshin! Be careful, that thing's deadly! We should be smart about this!"
"We've got to help Friend Gakuto, Big Sis!"
"We will! But we can't get in his way! Here! Let's regroup with the others!"
On the other side of the battlefield, Zaria and Rei were helping Nonoka sit near a pile of hay. Nonoka winced as she touched her arm. "Yep, still painful."
The others ran over to them, and Zaria looked up. "Emeru? When and how did you get here?"
The slime pointed to Gakuto, who was still engaging Emerald. The latter smacked him in the head with his mace, which caused the weapon to vibrate.
Zaria set Nonoka down. "You should leave. This crap's gonna get real dangerous real fast, and I've gotta back up Mr. Gakuto."
"No, no, no!" Emeru protested. "Let me get through to my brother, please! Besides, just like me, he's super hard to kill!"
"Well, we ain't super hard to kill! You think talking to him is gonna suddenly change his ways?"
"Well…if I do it, yeah! Just trust me! All you guys have to do is wear him down! Please?"
She gave them a pleading look, and they all turned towards each other before turning back to her.
"She has a point," Rika agreed. "If we can end this thing without any of us dying, I'd love that."
"Fine," Zaria relented. "But I'm not pulling my punches."
"Just follow my lead! Mr. Gakuto's keeping him occupied right now, so that's less work for us—-!"
Gakuto went flying into the ground in between the group, grabbing his forehead as he struggled to get up. "Sorry ya gotta see me like this, kids…that thing's no slouch…"
Emerald stalked forward, his eyes locked on Emeru. "Playtime is over, sister. The longer you drag this out, the more irritated I get."
Emeru stamped her foot. "Would you stop being so stubborn? I'm not going back, okay! End of discussion!"
Without hesitation, he reached for her face, but Zaria's blades met him halfway as he glared at her. With a slash of her blades, she pushed him back.
"Bullshit," he muttered. "Fine. Everyone's dead!"
He punched Zaria in the chest hard enough to draw blood, and she coughed out a few drops before lifting her leg and swinging it directly into his cheek, impaling her heel inside.
The slime grabbed her leg and tossed her aside, the wound healing. Rei blasted him with an array of moon blasts, while he used his shield to withstand them.
"Look at you," Emerald hissed. "Hiding behind these freaks as if you fit in. Was it you? Was it your plan to steal my sister from me?"
"Hmm?" Rei questioned. "Are you…talking to me?"
"Don't play dumb!"
The mace swung and hit Rei directly in the face, staggering her. Rika caught her, immediately pressing her hand to her face. "Rei! Stay with me!"
"Brother!" Emeru yelped.
Sōshin zipped past Emerald and touched his boot. "Jugen-Sōunsha: Jiritsu Sharyō Henkei!"
Emerald's boot began to form wheels of its own, pushing him off balance, but he wasted no time in destroying it with one punch before swinging at Sōshin, who dodged.
His mace tapped the ground, forming emerald spikes that impaled each member of the group except for Emeru, keeping them anchored in place.
Gakuto headbutted the spikes, shattering them, just as Zaria used her heels to stomp the ground and free herself, both bleeding profusely.
"Exactly why I hate Tōshi users," Emerald lamented. "You fools just don't know when to quit."
Both of them rushed at him, and he blocked both with either of his arms. Gakuto repeatedly headbutted the slime, while Zaria delivered a barrage of kicks.
Emeru stayed back, attempting to pull the others free of the spikes as they grew longer. Sōshin touched his, vibrating them fast enough to shatter them, while doing the same for the others.
"Are you all okay?" Emeru asked.
"Not the best," Nonoka answered, weakly. "But we'll manage."
Zaria sliced into a chunk of Emerald's skin before he grabbed her blades, breaking them in his hand before kicking her away. Gakuto tackled him to the ground, and they both began rolling around the terrain in a ball of flames.
"How do we wear this bastard down?" Zaria questioned. "Anything you do, he just heals! Emeru, you're a slime too! What's your weakness?"
"Excuse you, Zaria?" Emeru replied, offended. "Are you implying I'm weak?"
"Just answer the question!"
Emeru tapped her chin, thinking. "Well, I really can't stand ice. That's the worst."
"Why do you say that?" Nonoka questioned.
"It slows down my slime particles, duh! That makes my movements and regeneration slower! I don't have blood like you guys, remember?"
"But we don't have ice," Rika pointed out. "Wait…Sōshin! You can slow things down, right?"
"Yep!"
The entire group turned toward him.
"Wait, so we've had the cheat code to beating this guy right behind us all along?" Zaria realized. "The hell didn't anyone speak up for?"
"Well, I didn't know," Nonoka shrugged. "Sōshin's good, but not that good. At least I thought."
Rei pointed to the battle. "Mr. Gakuto is wearing down! We've got to help, quickly!"
Gakuto delivered a series of headbutts to Emerald's forehead, but the latter began to resist them bit by bit, before eventually swinging his mace and bashing Gakuto in the ear.
"Argh!"
Following up with an uppercut, Gakuto went tumbling back as Zaria threw her blades at Emerald, who sidestepped them.
"Sōshin, we'll cover you! Pull your trump card!"
Emerald turned around just in time to witness a pair of moon crests slashing at him repeatedly, followed by Zaria reforming her blades and unleashing a flurry of slashes. With a grunt, he held up his shield, blocking the attacks.
Nonoka slid next to him, using all of her energy to shift her form. "Jugen-Sōunsha: Ningensei Tōki!"
〈Humanity *Discarded.* Buff Timer: 1:30〉
The two wrestled as Emerald forced her back. "The hell is up with you? That armor…weird!"
Nonoka elbowed him in the chin, which barely affected him. He punched her injured shoulder, causing her to recoil and grab it. Behind him, Zaria slashed his back, but to no avail.
"This is who you stand behind, sister?" Emerald taunted. "Think of your words. If they can't even beat me, how will they hope to take on Neraziria and the others?"
"You just wait and see!" Emeru declared. "Now, Sōshin!"
Sōshin zoomed in. "Jugen-Sōunsha: Densō-Dai-ichi Giyā!"
A hand touched Emerald, and he immediately felt his senses feeling slower. He swatted Sōshin away, looking at his hand. "Odd, that's not how it should work!"
Nonoka pushed him one last time before shifting back, collapsing. Zaria and he began clashing blades, with Zaria matching his speed. Zaria managed to slash off one of his arms, which didn't regrow.
"That boy, he did something!"
He disarmed Zaria with one hand before smacking her with his mace, right as Gakuto got back up, wiping the blood off his face.
"Sorry, kids!" Gakuto announced. "Had to take five, but I'm back and raring to go!"
"Tch."
Gakuto quickly dashed into Emerald, and the latter barely managed to get out of the way, losing part of his shoulder in the process.
Zaria tried kicking his side, but he used his remaining arm to counter. Unfortunately for him, Rei caught him in the chest with a moon crest, slicing off a chunk of his armor and skin.
"My healing has been hindered," he scoffed. "I must end this quickly!"
With a growl, he reformed his left arm and knocked everyone aside from Sōshin and Emeru back. He tried to grab his sister, but Sōshin zipped away with her, forcing Emerald to shift into his blob form and follow.
"Where are we going?" Emeru asked. "He's gaining on us!"
"I have a plan, pet Emeru!"
Sōshin sped over to the mountains as Emerald followed, stomping after them. The boy stopped just before the mountain range, waiting.
"Nowhere to go," Emerald declared. "You shall die, boy, and my delusional sister shall watch."
Emerald tried to punch Sōshin, but the boy ducked, and the slime's fist struck the mountain instead, heavily cracking the base of it.
"What the—-?"
Sōshin got out of the way. "Time for a bath, Evil Slime! Friend Zaria!"
Before Emerald could process, Zaria kicked a sword at the mountain's base, striking it so hard that the entire mountain collapsed onto Emerald, followed by a rush of water.
"NO—-!"
Sōshin touched the water, which slowed around Emerald, keeping the mountain trapped atop of him.
"Emeru! Get this thing off me! Now!"
"I'm sorry, Brother!" she replied. "It's for your own good! Promise!"
"The Mujinsha will have your head for this! After everything I've done for you, you'll betray me like this?—-?"
The water drowned out his yells, leaving him trapped.
"Now, we just wait for Mr. Omariro to capture him!" Emeru stated. "Where is he?"
Gakuto swam over to the group. "Nice fighting, kids! Omariro should be right past there!"
Gakuto pointed to the space where the mountain fell, and as he did, a large rush of water burst from it, followed by the sight of three clashing beasts.
——