Meat Shields

"Hey, what do we do? Sitting around in the basement won't get us anywhere."

"What about the senior researchers? Besides the one who died the other day, there should be two more, right? Did they evacuate separately from us?"

"They should each be in their research labs… If they didn't move after hearing the alarm, they might already be dead."

"… Haha, then doesn't that mean the rest of us all get to become senior researchers? Right?"

If we'd been somewhere safe, I would've been happy to hear that.

"Hold on… Where did the senior researchers die?"

"Hey now, we don't know for sure they're dead…"

"No. Better to assume they are. If it happened in the senior researchers' labs, then… you know? Those are in the basement."

I nearly started crying.

"S-s-s-so what you're saying is, that red Slime—no, the Slimes—are actually squirming around somewhere in this basement? Somewhere we can't see!?"

"It's… a possibility."

"Hey! Whose idea was it to flee to the basement!? It was you, wasn't it!?"

"Shut up! That was our only option at the time!"

"Keep it down! Slimes can hear sound!"

Everyone went dead silent.

"They don't even have ears. How do they hear?"

"Don't you remember how that researcher was killed? He was yelling, stomping around, and the moment he stepped through that door, dead. I've heard wild Slimes detect prey through vibrations."

"… True."

If that's the case, making noise is a bad idea.

I instinctively tried to cover my mouth, only to smack my hand against my hazmat suit's mask.

"…! Actually, I just thought of something good. There's a perfect decoy on the third basement floor."

"The slave brats? That's a great idea, if they're still alive."

"Think about it the other way. If they're alive, that means there's no Slime there, right? Worth checking out."

But that raised the question of who would go check.

"Ha. I came up with the idea, so one of the disposal team can go."

"… No. Splitting up is bad. We should all go together."

"I agree with that."

"No way. I'm staying here. The door is shut. I've got my hazmat suit on. I don't want to go further down where it might be even more dangerous."

The very guy who suggested it said that.

"… Then why don't you just stay here alone?"

"Th-that's not what I said. A few of us should stay, right?"

"But everyone except you wants to go down, yeah?"

"Y-yeah. I'll go down too."

"… Fine, I get it. I just have to go, right? I'll g—"

He was mid-sentence. He'd had his back to the hatch. He hadn't noticed.

The metal part of the hatch silently slid away… and red tentacles reached through.

"RUN!"

At the disposal team leader's shout, we bolted. Down. Toward the second basement floor.

Leaving behind only the researcher caught by the tentacles.

"Stop, gyah, hiii!? A-a-a… AAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!!!"

I didn't look back to see what happened to him.

Only his death cry echoed through the dark corridor.

Then it abruptly cut off.

"H-hey!? How did it get through the door!? Kill the Slime, that's your job, isn't it!?"

"Shut it! Hitting just the tentacles doesn't do anything, moron! Figure that out yourself if you're so smart!!"

One of the disposal team snapped back.

Damn it! Damn it! What the hell is going on!? We slid into the second basement floor and slammed the door shut.

"Hey, c'mon. What's happening… son of a bitch."

"… The most likely explanation is that this hatch was designed to defend against things coming from below… So…"

"It wasn't designed for attacks from above? Idiots… should've made it work both ways."

The other researcher slumped down, hugging his knees.

"No time to rest. We need to get to the third basement floor and grab those decoys."

"… I don't wanna do this anymore, I wanna go home…"

"If you want to go home, stand up! If we don't hurry, that thing will breach this hatch too!"

"Uwahhh… I studied hard, I worked hard to get here… why is this happening to me…"

The disposal team leader pulled him to his feet. He was sobbing inside his hazmat suit.

What a baby. Damn it, I want to cry too.

Ah. Right. Now there's only me and him left among the researchers…

"Hey, do you have weapons? Any weapons? If we had weapons, we could defend ourselves when that thing attacks!"

"… Half-baked weapons just get absorbed. Only the disposal team's Special Gear D seems effective against it."

"Then give that to me! I can't afford to die!"

"… If we hand over our Special Gear D, we die. Then you'll be surrounded by Slimes alone. Can you handle that without any training?"

He choked on his words.

Right, taking weapons from your guards is just plain foolish. But that's how cornered we are. We can't even think straight anymore.

"Th-then let's find new weapons! Hey, doesn't your research lab have any anti-Slime weapons left?"

"Nothing's left. When I checked yesterday, everything had been moved out and the room was completely empty… Oh. But maybe another research lab has something?"

"Let's peek in as we pass by. Might find something."

We didn't have much time, but a quick peek should be fine.

With that thought, we checked the rooms on the second basement floor as we went… A quick peek was all we needed.

Because there was nothing inside the rooms.

Completely empty. Only the floor and walls visible. Even when we shone our lights in, only the marks where furniture used to be remained.

"Nothing here…"

"Did the Slime eat everything? … Then going to the third basement floor might be pointless too…"

"Weren't there weapons for dungeons on the fourth basement floor?"

"Would that even work on Slimes?"

"Hey! There's something left over here, come look!"

Just as despair was setting in, the disposal team found something.

We went over. It was probably a cell. Some kind of red, branching rod-like thing lay on the ground.

What is this… growing out of the dirt—no, out of stone? A mushroom?

"This was the Artificial Demon Project's lab, right? Why is only this left…"

"! I get it, this must be the Slime's weakness! Hell yeah, weapon acquired!"

Saying that, my colleague picked up the red rod.

"H-hey! Don't just grab it like that, it's dangerous!"

"It's fine, I'm wearing a hazmat suit! … Huh? It's stuck to my glove and won't come off."

"That's what I was saying!"

"You said it too late! … Well, I can just take off the hazmat suit."

"There are no spare suits."

"… …"

My colleague ended up carrying that red rod with him.

It might actually work as a weapon against Slimes, so leaving it behind would be a waste.

We reached the third basement floor… The slaves? … They're here! Thank god! We're saved!

"Alright, alright, alright! Now we just use them as deco—"

"Idiot. Even slaves will resist if you say that. Leave this to me."

The disposal team leader brought the cell keys and unlocked the cell.

"Hey, are you okay!? We're here to rescue you!"

"Rescue…?"

"Yeah. A monster escaped and is on a rampage. It's dangerous here. We're evacuating, so come with us."

"A monster… okay, g-got it. Everyone, can you walk? We're getting out of here."

The beastkin slaves easily fell for the leader's smooth talk and came out of the cell.

Stupid beasts. No wonder they ended up as slaves.

"The monster is coming from below. We'll guard the rear, so you all go in front."

"… Okay. Thanks, mister."

Yes. Now we have shields.

All we have to do is wait for the Slimes to attack them, then escape outside the facility!

Finally, a ray of hope.

We headed back the way we came, meat shields in front. The Light spell's range wasn't very far, so beyond it was dim. But we'd easily spot a red Slime.

"Come on, walk faster. We're trying to escape here."

"Hey, watch that red rod, okay? If it sticks to something else, you'll really have to take off your suit."

"Y-yeah, I know."

My colleague, who'd been swinging the red rod around like a whip, settled down.

The slaves walked ahead, unknowingly confirming the path was safe for us.

Walking the safe path is our privilege as humans. Alright, we're going to make it!!

Oh. Come to think of it, there's still a servant on the fourth basement floor… We don't have the luxury to save them, so we should just leave them.

The slaves are enough as decoys. Their survival rate will probably be higher if we escape first and send a rescue team anyway.