Girl in the Box: Please tell me why I was reincarnated as a mimic monster!

In my current state, I can't get out of the shell, and I can't see what's happening outside. I have no idea how Slime-chan is doing. But I heard the roar of the Flame Mountain Elephant, and it seems that Slime-chan is using magic to attack it.

No way?! It's not working?!

Aside from the Scorching Heart and grenades I have, I can't think of any other way that Slime and I could harm it. And now, the Scorching Heart seems ineffective, and the grenades are probably useless too. Waaah, this is dangerous!

bump! "--!?"

I heard the slime's incoherent groans, and then I was bounced back and sent flying. At that moment, my paralysis subsided a bit, and when I emerged from the shell, I saw a huge foot stomping down on me, with the slime beside me.

I immediately grabbed the slime and rolled around to escape under that giant foot. The foot missed its foot, causing the ground to sink. It was clear that the owner of that foot was angry.

After calming down and looking around, I realized we were now beneath the Flame Mountain Elephant. Had it already approached me while I was unable to move? Had the slime still not given up on protecting me at this point? But this location was too dangerous.

Just as I expected, the Flame Mountain Elephant slowly lay down, trying to crush us to death with its body. Its weight was more than enough to crush the shell monster and me together, let alone the slime.

There were some obvious wounds on its abdomen, perhaps caused by the blast from its heart. However, the wounds were shallow, meaning they were not very effective.

I immediately pulled Slime away from under the Flame Mountain Elephant, but after escaping, I was hit by its fireballs, which came from the volcano on its back.

I didn't pay any attention to my HP reserves; I could only do my best to escape. I looked at the slime in my arms; it had changed color again, turning purple.

What’s going on… ?

Do you have any ideas?

I looked at it with that intention, but it gave me an ambiguous look. Wait, you just brought me here to die without any preparation?

Slime ignored me and focused on doing something. Its magic power was constantly decreasing. Could it be that Slime has a trump card?

I've never seen Slime fight at full power in all this time. It always seems to be holding back something while fighting. This is the first time I've ever seen it use magic that consumes so much of its magic power.

But the magic doesn't seem to be finished yet, and I haven't seen the magic circle. Is it so that I can buy some time?

Then let's just throw the slime out first...

Don't get me wrong! I just think this is the most practical method! I don't mean to throw the slime-chan over to the Flame Mountain Elephant!

The volcano on the back of the Flaming Elephant began to erupt, filling the entire space with volcanic gases. I was already feeling a bit dizzy, so I mustered my strength and threw the slime out. It was probably a little surprised, but that didn't stop it from perfecting its magic.

After the slime-chan moved away, I turned back to face the big friend, who looked at me with a sorrowful and indignant gaze. Ha... I know, I'm sorry, but isn't this a maze?

I'm not sure if the Flame Mountain Elephant can understand me, but at this moment, all I can do is try my best to restrain it and buy time for Slime-chan.

Let's begin...

I suddenly unfurled a magic circle, using the spell "Twisting," and dropped a grenade to test the waters. The Scorching Lightning Heart would affect me, so I couldn't use it now, and I figured the grenade wouldn't do much good either, but it was better than nothing.

All we can do is pray that the rewards outweigh the effort.

However, I didn't think of one thing: there is a decisive difference between the two.

boom--!

——！ ！ ！ 』

Because the "Twisted" path led to the volcano on the back of the Flame Mountain Elephant, the grenade exploded the moment it hit the lava. The crater was immediately blasted apart, and lava poured down like rain. I spat out the stone slabs from my body and used them as a shield in front of me.

The lava didn't hurt me, but the Flame Mountain Elephant was caught off guard by the grenade, and the effect was outstanding. Only then did I realize the problem.

Hand grenades are a product of Earth, and their explosions are physical explosions. The Scorching Thunder Heart is a product of this world; although its effect is similar to a hand grenade, its damage comes from electric current converted from magic. Electric current, of course, has little effect, while hand grenades can reliably damage the Flame Mountain Elephant.

The Flame Mountain Elephant's HP was instantly reduced by more than half, and I started to feel sorry for the Scorching Thunder Heart I had lost.

Chapter 48 Goodbye, or Never Again

Although I now understand what can cause some damage to the Flame Mountain Elephant, the current problem is that I don't have many grenades, only about ten. I just used one grenade and one Scorching Thunder Heart, which caused me a lot of bleeding, and I don't want to use another one.

Just then, Slime-chan's magic was complete. What a great help!

A huge magic circle appeared on the ground, with runes and patterns clearly visible on it, all radiating a strong light that made it seem very reliable.

Generally speaking, magic with such a grand scale can't be weak. Look at the dazzling visual effects; even in a movie, it would be top-tier. Hey, can I have some popcorn?

I simply retreated and moved far away from the magic circle. According to the pattern, this should be a very powerful large-scale attack spell, so I needed to stay away from here.

However, I suddenly heard someone clicking their tongue in my head. Was it just my imagination?

The Flame Mountain Elephant was hit by a highly effective grenade, and now its back is covered in flowing lava and its entire body is covered in dark red patterns, making it look rather terrifying. However, it seems unable to recover. Could the volcano on its back be its weakness?

It seemed desperate to escape, but its body was completely immobile, and it collapsed onto the magic circle. The magic circle suddenly contracted, shrinking to the size of the Flame Mountain Elephant. Why is this happening again… Why do you guys always do things unpredictably?

And there was no eruption of fire pillars or lightning as I had imagined. It just suddenly emitted an even stronger light, which could be explained by illuminating the entire maze. In short, the light made it impossible for me to open my eyes. What kind of magic was that?

After a while, I slowly opened my eyes. Yanshanxiang was lying there, motionless.

It seems... it's over, right?

I don't know what happened during this time, but I didn't feel any aggressive magic at all, which is very strange.

Slime-chan walked past me, heading straight for the Flame Mountain Elephant. I quickly stopped it. At this point, we hadn't determined whether the Flame Mountain Elephant was alive or dead, and it would be too dangerous to walk past it so carelessly.

“…” Buzz—

The Magic Circle lit up in front of Slime-chan, and my Mystic Eyes told me it was a 'fireball'. Why did Slime-chan unleash the Magic Circle? I didn't understand its meaning, so I reached out to hug it, and it activated the Magic Circle right in front of me without hesitation.

Boom! Whoosh!

Because of the slime's unexpected action, and because we were almost at point-blank range, I had no way to dodge the fireball, and I was hit directly. The power wasn't great, but it still reduced my HP to one-fifth.

The slime-chan continued its magical arc, its target still me. That's when I realized this wasn't a joke; it was for real. If the last fireball showed some mercy, the next one would definitely kill me...

why?

I stared intently at it, not moving an inch. I didn't know why Slime-chan had suddenly acted this way. It wasn't gentle and cute at all; its jelly-like body was filled with hostility. Why had it become like this? Weren't we partners?

I stared at it, hoping it would give me an explanation. The slime-chan still held up its magic circle, aimed at me, but didn't activate it. We couldn't communicate normally, and I didn't have the blackboard with me, so it was understandable that I wouldn't get an explanation. If only I could speak right now.

We were at a stalemate for a long time, with no resolution and no one taking any action. Until that guy woke up.

I heard a huge sound behind me and instinctively turned around to look. When I saw it, the Flaming Mountain Elephant's feet were already on our heads, and we couldn't run away.

bake--!

I was suddenly blasted away by the slime's fireball, leaving me with only a sliver of HP and looking quite disheveled. In that instant, out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of the slime, who hadn't made a move, and my heart started racing.

What are you doing?!?!?

boom--!

The fiery elephant stomped on the spot where I had once stood, where a slime, my companion, once stood, but is now gone. It saved me with a fireball...?

To my surprise, Slime-chan had already climbed onto the head of the Flame Mountain Elephant, and the Flame Mountain Elephant showed no sign of resistance, instead glaring at me with hostility. It felt as if I were being manipulated.

And so it is.

"Entrapment magic is magic capable of enslaving living beings. It requires a certain amount of time to prepare, and the weaker the target, the higher the success rate. A single spell can affect multiple targets."

So that's how it is... I... was used by Slime-chan...

My mind is blank, my heart is pounding, and an indescribable emotion is trying to take over my body—a dark emotion that I can't let... if it does...

I might no longer be myself... no longer reason...

I struggled to control my emotions, glaring at the slime. I didn't believe I was in a match for it or the Flame Mountain Elephant. If I were controlled by that darkness right now, I would have charged in and started the fight without hesitation.

No—no, absolutely not now—I still have a long way to go—

So—get out of here, slime—

I used pliers to shove into the ground to control my body, struggling to suppress the darkness that kept crashing against the walls of my heart. Ah, yes, now throw all the grenades out, and it'll all be over—

"—!"

The Flame Mountain Elephant let out a bellow and carried the slime away. They didn't even look at me, nor did they do anything to me; it was more like they were fleeing in panic.

Run! Just run! Wouldn't it be great if you got away? You bastard!

...Let me be alone for a while...

The dark mood vanished, but another different emotion took hold of me, an emotion I couldn't control.

After that, my cries, which I couldn't quite make out as crying, echoed through the maze for quite some time.

Chapter 49 Brave Xia Que

Two moons hung in the azure sky; it was morning, yet there were two moons—a sight impossible on Earth.

Xia Que already knew this was another world, but she still couldn't help feeling a little suffocated.

It's not that the scene was unattractive; in fact, it was quite romantic. But she couldn't muster the interest to appreciate it. Because she was a "hero," a hero destined to save the world.

About three months ago, she was summoned to this world by the kingdom's summoning ritual. Surrounded by strangers, speaking an unfamiliar language, and seeing unfamiliar scenery, she was so frightened by these strange things that she fainted. She was just studying in the classroom, and in the blink of an eye, she was here.

Of course, she did cause a huge scene, which gave those people a real headache, but the damage was only to a vase. The reason for this was that she wasn't a hero yet at that time.

At that time, she didn't know why she suddenly became able to communicate with those strangers, and they took her to various places without her consent, claiming it was for inspections and tests, and finally told her without her permission—

"I'm sorry, it seems there's been a problem with our ritual. You are not the hero we are trying to summon."

"So...can I go back?"

"This is beyond my jurisdiction, but I can tell you with certainty that only by defeating the Demon King can you possibly return to your original world."

Hearing these words, Xia Que felt dizzy for a while. Defeat the Demon King? Don't be ridiculous! I'm not even one of the Ten Heroes, yet I dare to dream of defeating the Demon King? Is this the kind of irresponsible thing you've been doing before?!

But Xia Que couldn't voice these thoughts, because this wasn't the Earth she knew, but another world. She was all alone here; how could she possibly have any reliable friends to help her? Perhaps a careless remark could inadvertently take her life.

Fortunately, these people still had the idea of ​​taking responsibility. They sent Xia Que to the church that was in charge of the summoning ceremony, entrusted her to a priest named Hao Er, and asked Hao Er to take care of her.

Hao'er is said to be the most learned person here, and he looks very handsome, like a male protagonist in a shoujo manga. When I first talked to him, he was very aloof, but he is actually very gentle at heart; that's probably what they call tsundere.

He didn't talk much or ask many questions about Xia Que, only speaking to her when necessary, but he was very considerate when doing things for her. Therefore, Xia Que considered him family in this world, though Hao Er only tacitly accepted this.

Then various things happened, and some power within her was forcibly activated. And unfortunately, the news reached the royal family, and she was summoned again, forced to accept the title and mission of a hero.

These were not things Xia Que could decide for herself; she could only silently endure these people's willful and reckless behavior. Even so, Hao Er didn't say anything, simply maintaining his usual attitude towards her.

However, he took on another job: the hero's mentor.

Those were truly very difficult days, but things are better now because the sparrows have a voice.

She had nothing to do, so she stayed on the roof of the church, sitting there and enjoying the view of the royal city.

She wouldn't have dared to do this before, but now, thanks to Hao'er, she has more options.

And of course, there's also its partner that appeared two months ago along with power—'Great Xia Dragon Sparrow'.

The Great Xia Dragon Sparrow possesses a ring-pommel sword, which is clearly an ancient sword. However, the one beside Xia Sparrow is somewhat similar to a Japanese sword, but the blade is straight and ice-blue, constantly radiating a chilling aura.

Over the past two months, Xia Que has been saved countless times by the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow.

A carrier pigeon flew in from the other side of the sky, and the girl beside Xia Que reached out to catch it and took the note from its leg.

"Ellie, what is this?" Xia Que asked the girl beside her.

Beside Xia Que was Princess Alice Aryas, a beautiful blonde girl. A princess with forward-thinking ideas, far-sighted, kind, and approachable, she was supported and loved by her people, a stark contrast to her brother Pelle. However, more than anything, Xia Que was worried about whether a very strange organization might emerge within the kingdom.

She was one of the few people who were friendly to Xia Que when she was first summoned here, and she still is now; in fact, she's a close confidante. Alice told Xia Que to call her Alice in private, otherwise she would sulk for a long time. I really hope she doesn't expose this side of herself to the public.

“Hmm, a secret report from an inside agent in the palace.” Alice casually opened the note. “Oh…I see.”

"What happened?" Xia Que was not surprised at all that Alice had planted an inside agent, because there were also inside the church, and they were very troublesome.

"Xia, have you felt like something's missing lately?" Alice's answer was completely irrelevant.

What's missing?

Xia Que pondered Alice's question, searching her mind for the answer, and realized that something was missing.

"For example, His Highness the Prince's courtship?" Xia Que's expression twitched slightly.

“You don’t need to call him Your Highness,” Alice said calmly. “That guy is a scoundrel, you can call him scum if you want.”

Alice initially ignored Peller, only showing disgust and hostility towards her younger brother after he courted Xia Que. Isn't this emphasis a bit odd...?

“He was sent to the labyrinth by his father,” Alice said, quoting from the creed.

“No wonder the church has been so quiet lately…” Xia Que’s face showed a hint of relief.

Ever since she met Peller, she had been harassed by him quite a bit, and the entire church was in an uproar because of him. However, no one dared to say anything to him, and Xia Que could only avoid meeting him.

Chapter 50 The Princess's Thoughts

“Father probably wants him to have some achievements,” Alice scoffed. “How could it be so simple? That fool’s wickedness is deeply ingrained. To think he can offset it with some achievements is wishful thinking.”

"Will this have any impact on Ellie?" Xia Que didn't know much about politics.

"It exists, but it's useless because it's impossible to achieve." Flames ignited at Alice's fingertips, burning away the creed.