The town plaza buzzed with late morning life—merchants yelling out discounts, carts creaking over the cobblestones, kids running between benches and fountains. Mirio was weaving through the crowd, Lily trailing close behind with her body gently wobbling at his back like a thick, affectionate shadow.
Today, she was in her default soft form—skin pale blue with a glossy sheen, raincoat zipped halfway and snug against her rounded chest, tentacle-hair coiled neatly behind her head in loose curls that swayed with each step. She was unusually calm. Maybe even serene.
Then he showed up.
The basilisk boy.
He slithered over with the lazy confidence of someone who had never been told "no" in his life. Sleek obsidian scales wrapped around his limbs like gloves, his loose silk shirt half unbuttoned to show off an unnaturally chiseled chest. His golden reptilian eyes locked on Lily the moment she peeked out from behind Mirio's shoulder.
"Well, hey there," the basilisk drawled, flashing sharp teeth in what he must've thought was a charming grin. "You don't look like you're from around here. You lost, sweetheart? Or just looking for a stronger man to show you around?"
Mirio stopped mid-step.
Lily blinked once, slowly, her head tilting as her hair-tentacles twitched with the faintest ripple.
"She's with me," Mirio said flatly.
The basilisk scoffed, waving a dismissive hand. "Relax, I'm just being friendly. Didn't think the puddle could talk, anyway. I was gonna ask if she wanted to wrap around me instead of this stiff twig."
Mirio opened his mouth to retaliate—then paused.
Lily's body had stopped glowing. Her glossy surface dulled slightly as the air around her grew humid and heavy. Her tentacle-hair lifted, straightening from their loose curls into sharp, arcing shapes that floated upward like electric whips.
She stepped forward once.
Then again.
Then came the shift.
Her soft, jiggling mass rippled from the inside out, solidifying rapidly as her slime composition condensed. Her chest pressed outward with added pressure, her hips flared, and her entire body became tighter, more defined, but still glossy and glowing. Her raincoat melted off her form as if scorched by her own heat. Her chest rose, visibly firmer now—each curve looking like pressurized tanks of fluid barely contained beneath the surface.
She entered Slime Guard Mode.
The basilisk only blinked. "What, she gonna wobble me to death?"
Two hair-tentacles shot forward with a wet snap, wrapping around his waist and throat like twin serpents. Before he could hiss a syllable, she slammed him backward into a plaza wall. The entire square went dead silent as the serpent boy wheezed, pinned like a lizard in a trap.
Lily walked up to him slowly, step by squishy step, her solidified form making soft squelches against the cobblestone. Her green eyes glowed. Her lips pressed together in a smug, silent smirk.
"What the hell—let go!" the basilisk snarled, struggling to free his tail.
Her arm shifted—morphing at the elbow into a long cannon-shaped sprayer.
Mirio recognized the form. "Oh no. Not the pressure nozzle…"
Before he could warn the bystanders, Lily blasted him with a full-force stream of high-pressure, purified slime.
The serpent boy screamed as he was soaked from head to toe, slammed by a torrent of slime with enough force to lift his feet off the ground. The thick green gel pinned him harder to the wall, coating his face, tail, and clothes.
"OKAY—OKAY—I'M SORRY!" he sputtered, flailing.
She didn't stop.
Another jet hit his chest, this time laced with a touch of her poisonous variant, making his arms go numb as slime streamed down his sleeves and pooled at his ankles.
He gagged as a tentacle forced his mouth open and blasted a short squirt of cleansing water directly onto his tongue.
Mirio watched from a distance, jaw slightly agape, as a crowd formed.
"That's… thorough."
By the time Lily stopped, the basilisk was twitching in a puddle of his own shame, drooling and begging for forgiveness.
"I didn't mean it, I swear—I didn't know she was that kind of slime!"
Lily turned without a word.
Her tentacle-hair receded, curling back into its defensive halo, and she strode back to Mirio with slow, deliberate purpose.
Her body was still firm. Her chest still tight. But now the glow around her core pulsed with satisfaction.
Mirio opened his mouth to say something—
And was instantly tackled.
Her slime arms wrapped around his back, pulling him against her chest with a squish that nearly knocked the wind from him. Her breasts engulfed his face, warm and pressurized, each bounce cushioned like high-grade memory gel.
Her lips brushed his ear as she whispered her first word of the day.
"Mine."
The possessiveness in her tone wasn't threatening. It was… final.
Everyone was still watching.
Lily turned her head—eyes sharp, glowing, challenging—and held Mirio tighter, wrapping a slime strand around his waist and another around his thigh.
She was marking her territory in full view.
And no one dared approach.
After a few seconds, she softened back to her normal consistency, melting into him like a comfy blanket, arms slack but affectionate. She rested her head on his chest, humming quietly.
Mirio, dazed and now partially soaked, just smiled faintly and stroked her hair.
"You're lucky you're cute when you go full monster mode."
She nuzzled him closer and murmured, "Mate."
His knees nearly buckled.
The basilisk, still twitching behind the market stall, looked up through the dripping goo on his face and muttered, "Never flirt with slimes. Got it…"
Lily hummed louder.
She wasn't just defending her partner.
She was claiming her prize.