Eric searches deeper into the forest. His face grows darker. Claw marks scar the trees. Signs of fighting litter the ground: broken arrows, shattered potion bottles, a snapped sword. The deeper he goes, the more traces he finds. Among them, he spots green fabric.
* Is that Lina's dress? No, it cannot be. Just a coincidence, * he tells himself, eyes red with panic. He follows the trail, praying she is alive. Both he and Lina are skilled adventurers. They would not die easily.
After half a day, Eric reaches a canyon. Battle scars cover the area of magic burns, explosion craters, scattered arrows, and a broken sword. A fierce fight happened here. Eric's sharp senses catch a faint trace of Lina's presence.
* This is it. Lina, hold on, * he thinks, gripping his sword tightly. He steps into the canyon.
Magic scars and craters mark the ground. Arrows and a broken sword lie scattered. Eric's heart pounds. Then he sees a figure under a tree. He rushes forward. It is Link, one of Lina's teammates.
"Link? What happened?" Eric calls out. He freezes. Link's clothes are torn. His skin is ghostly pale. Fear and despair twist his face. His mouth gapes as if begging for help. Worst of all, half his face is gone. Bare bone shows, with dried blood and tiny bugs crawling on it.
* This is bad, * Eric thinks, stepping back. Fear for Lina surges, overpowering his shock. "Lina, where are you?" he shouts. He notices Link's hand pointing deeper into the canyon.
* Lina, I will find you. You cannot be hurt, * he thinks, clutching his sword. He runs deeper, memories of Lina flooding his mind, her shy smile, their adventures, watching sunrises together. She wanted to marry him.
"Lina, is that you?" he yells. At a high point in the canyon, he sees a blurry figure in green clothes. It is Lina.
"Lina!" he screams, rushing forward. She lies still, eyes closed, unmoving. His shouts do not stir her. Suddenly, the ground shakes. A green magic blast shoots toward him. Eric raises his sword to block it, stopping his charge.
A massive green creature appears near Lina. It looks like jelly, half-clear, rippling like liquid. The creature moves toward her.
* A slime? * Eric thinks, recognizing the monster. Before he can act, the slime grabs Lina. In a flash, it swallows her whole. Eric stares, stunned, as Lina's body vanishes inside the slime's clear form. Her eyes stay closed, mouth slightly open. Green liquid seeps into her. It dissolves her clothes, then her flesh and skin.
"No! You filthy monster! Let her go!" Eric screams, charging with his sword. A green tentacle shoots from the ground, tripping him. He falls hard. By the time he scrambles up, Lina is gone inside the slime. Only a red mist remains.
* Dead? Lina? * Eric freezes, staring. His mind cannot accept it. The girl he laughed with, loved, and planned to marry is gone. "You monster! I will kill you!" he roars, gripping his sword.
The slime starts to writhe. Its body shrinks. A human shape forms inside it. As Eric watches, horrified, the slime transforms. It becomes a naked girl with pale skin, green hair, pointed ears, and Lina's face.
* What is happening? * Eric thinks, stepping forward with his sword. He stares at the girl's face. It is Lina, exactly as she was. Her naked body lies on the ground, green liquid pooling around her. She looks up, confused, and sees Eric.
"Eric?" she says, her voice stiff, like she is learning to speak.
Eric stops, sword raised. His eyes burn with rage. "You are not Lina," he growls. The girl looks unaware, defenseless. Eric knows one swing could kill her. * She is a monster, * he thinks.
"Eric?" she repeats, softer. Eric hesitates. He knows slimes can mimic their prey to survive or hunt. Old stories tell of a powerful slime that mimicked a teammate, joined an adventuring party, and killed them all in their sleep.
* You are not Lina. You are not her, * he thinks, shaking. He screams and swings his sword. It stops an inch from her body, missing her. He cannot do it. Her face stops him.
"Eric, take me away," she says, reaching out a pale hand.
Eric slaps her hand away. "Do not joke, you monster!" he yells, trembling. Countless thoughts swirl in his mind. * She looks like Lina, but she is not her. Lina is dead. This is just a fake, * he thinks. The girl touches her slapped cheek, her eyes showing faint sadness, not anger.
"Eric," she murmurs again.
Eric laughs, a cold, scary sound. "Fine, you want me to take you? Then you will be my slave. That is your punishment for eating my girlfriend!" he snarls. He pulls a leather collar from his bag. A red gem glows at its center. It is meant for taming weak monsters, like beast dogs, not powerful slimes. He puts it around her neck. The gem flashes, and Eric feels a strange control over her.
* This collar should not work on a slime. Is she weak, or does she not resist? * he wonders. He does not care. He yanks the collar, pulling her up. She gasps but follows obediently.