"Thank you for your services. You can rest for now," the Oracle of the Divine Army of Light said to one of her subordinates who was kneeling in front of her.
"Yes, Your Excellency!" the messenger replied before leaving the room.
Once she was finally alone, a sigh escaped the Oracle's lips. She turned her head, looking at the scenery outside of her window.
"Who would have thought that our mighty Empire, which has stood for hundreds of years, would suffer great damage due to a natural disaster?" the Oracle shook her head helplessly.
After that great earthquake that spread from the center of Elysium, many kingdoms that belonged to the Divine Army of Light suffered serious damage.
Although the number of injured people was countless, the silver lining was that the response of the Rankers and Saints was fast, and they were able to rescue those who would have otherwise died without anyone's help.
Their Divine Sovereign, as well as their Divine Ancestor, had also reacted quickly enough, activating the city's defenses that protected their people in time.
Without them, the Capital City of their Empire would have crumbled, and countless people would have lost their lives.
Thanks to everyone's efforts, the casualties were kept to a bare minimum.
Still, the Oracle wondered why she didn't receive a premonition about the natural disaster.
Usually, she would be able to perceive these things before they happened. However, this time, she didn't have any warning whatsoever, catching all of them unprepared.
'Things haven't been going our way since that Heretic appeared.' The Oracle of Light clicked her tongue as she thought of the Half-Elf, who had been able to escape their pursuit time and time again.
In each of their operations, their members suffered injuries, and some even died. Because of this, she was determined to make their third attempt succeed at all costs.
"One day, your luck will run out, boy," the Oracle of Divine Army of Light muttered. 'Wash your neck until then.'
———————
Kingdom of Agartha…
"The moment you meet her, your luck will run out, boy," Cleo said with a smile. "Bad luck will follow you wherever you go. Are you sure you want to meet up with the Misfortune's Beloved?"
"You've asked this question many times already, Miss Cleo," Lux replied. "If I didn't want to meet her, I would have backed down long ago."
After traveling for a few days, they were nearing one of the border outposts of Agartha, which they needed to pass through to get to the Pantheon of Exile.
Eiko, who was taking a nap on Lux's head, suddenly opened her eyes and looked outside the window of the carriage.
"What's wrong, Eiko?" Lux asked as he lightly patted the Baby Slime's head. "You can sleep a bit more, you know?"
Eiko didn't answer right away and instead narrowed her eyes as she looked in the distance.
A moment later, Cleo and Gaap felt something, which made them also look in the direction Lux was looking.
"Something's coming," Cleo said in a solemn tone. "Do you feel it, Gaap?
Gaap nodded. "Something strong."
Lux, who didn't feel anything earlier, opened his Soul Book and checked the map inside it.
As soon as he opened the map, he saw a very big blinking dot heading in their direction from the West.
The Half-Elf was very good at accurately estimating the strength of any creature that appeared on the Map of his Soul Book.
However, this was the first time he was seeing a blinking dot this big, surpassing even the size of Empyrean Ranked Creatures.
'A Calamity Ranked Creature?' Lux's face turned grim after seeing the size of the blinking dot on the map. 'This could also be a Demi-Human. But why is it heading our way?'
Lux was certain that the blinking dot didn't belong to a human. Since that was the case, it could only be a Beast or a Demi-Human that possessed a very strong Life Force.
But there was one thing that surprised Lux the most.
The color of the blinking dot changed nearly every second.
One second it was Red, which meant that it was hostile.
The next second it was Yellow, which signified that it was a neutral creature.
In short, Lux didn't know if the creature was hostile or not, but one thing was certain.
It was coming for them.
"We can't outrun it," Cleo stated. "Let's get out and see if we can fight it. If not, let's just escape with all our might."
Lux and Gaap nodded.
With the three of them together, it was highly possible that they would be able to fight anything that came after them.
After unsummoning her carriage, Cleo raised her hand and summoned a bow.
Lux was also holding the Spear of Longinus, ready to strike if the creature was hostile.
Gaap simply stood with his hands behind his back. However, the Black Knight, Baal, was already standing beside him.
"Pa!" Eiko suddenly spoke, making Lux nod his head.
"I see it as well, Eiko," Lux replied. "It's big."
In the distance, something that seemed to be around ten meters tall was headed toward them at a very fast speed.
Lux had already tried to use his appraisal skill on it, but the majority of the information that he saw was a bunch of question marks, proving that the creature was several times stronger than him.
Even so, he still managed to get two pieces of information with his appraisal skill. The first one was the name of the Monster.
The second was its Rank.
————————————
< Wicked Queen Slime >
Monster Rating: Calamity Rank Monster (Peak)
Health: ????????????????/ ????????????????
Mana: ???????????????? / ????????????????
Strength: ????????????????
Intelligence: ????????????????
Vitality: ????????????????
Agility: ????????????????
Dexterity: ????????????????
————————————
Both pieces of information surprised Lux, making him feel as if he was about to face the Last Boss Monster in a game.
The only thing missing was the background music, which would immediately start to play when such an encounter happened.
Eiko, on the other hand, looked more curious rather than afraid of the approaching Creature.
Five minutes later, a ten-meter tall, blackish-purple slime stopped several meters away from them.
Its gaze locked on the Baby Slime on top of Lux's head for a few seconds before it shifted its attention to the Half-Elf, who was looking back at it.
"I-It can't be…" Cleo's lips trembled after she recognized the Monster in front of them. "W-Wicked Queen Slime! What are you doing here?! This isn't part of your territory!"
The Wicked Queen Slime narrowed its gaze as it looked at the Saintess, making Cleo subconsciously take a step back.
This monster was the Calamity-Ranked Monster that their King didn't dare to fight head-on, in fear that he wouldn't be able to annihilate it completely.
"Shut up, child," the Wicked Queen Slime said in a cold voice oozing with killing intent. "If you don't want to die, you better seal your mouth."
Cleo gritted her teeth as she stared at the Monster before her. She didn't dare defy its orders for she knew that, if she did, she would definitely die without a doubt.
'We haven't even met Princess Aurora and our Bad Luck is already starting,' Cleo thought bitterly. 'Just how did we end up in this mess?'
However, just as the Saintess was at a loss for what to do, an innocent voice spoke up, which caught the Wicked Queen Slime's attention.
"Aunt?" Eiko asked in an uncertain tone.
The Wicked Queen Slime then started to laugh as if finding what the Baby Slime had called her Aunt to be amusing.
Its laughter reverberated in the surroundings, even causing the ground under their feet to tremble.
Such was the power of a Calamity-Ranked Monster, which could only be defeated by dozens of Saints working together.
Eiko, who found the Wicked Queen Slime's laughter amusing, also started to giggle.
Cleo, who was witnessing this firsthand, looked at the Baby Slime perched on Lux's head and almost screamed internally.
The Wicked Queen Slime was a creature that rarely showed mercy to anyone. If someone was to ridicule it, or even laugh at it, that person would die a very gruesome and painful death.
No one in Agartha dared to do so.
But right now, a Baby Slime was innocently giggling at the Monster in front of her.
A Monster that could easily erase the three of them, if they were to get on its bad side.
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