Chapter 57—Interrogating Adventurers
"There it is....We’ve arrived," Slime#47 muttered, glancing at the ruined fortress in the distance.
They were almost five hundred meters away from the Ruins City Lunxia.
"Stop," he ordered, having spotted some adventurers near the city.
They might be seen if they went any closer; the humans had come from the other side of the fortress’s entrance—many roads were leading to the it.
"Okay, go take a look," Elder Slime said, glancing at the city with nostalgia.
"Hmm." Red Slime nodded. "I’ll be careful."
Wob!He bounced off under everyone’s worried gazes.
"Double Presence Hide," he muttered, activating his skill.
Boom!
’Incredible... it really lives up to the word ruins,’ he thought, looking up at the shattered fortress coated in dust and rust.
The fortress rose fifty to sixty stories high, broken in places, green mold crawling over its walls. The once‑white walls had turned dirty grey from dust and age.
Bam! Dust fell as he punched the wall in front of him—but not even a scratch appeared.
’Very durable... Just who in the world destroyed this?’ he wondered, who needed to bring such a place down.
’This place is huge... It might take days or even months to search everything...’ he thought with irritation.
He decided to bring some humans to Elder Slime to question them about whether adventurers visited often and whether this was a popular treasure-hunting ground.
If it was crowded, they’d have to find a different way to get what Old Slime wants from that building.
----
Wob!He dropped onto a side wall near the entrance and peeked out while hiding.
"There they are," he muttered as he spotted the same adventurers, he’d seen before.
A heavily armored middle‑aged man with slight grey hair at his temples, holding a shield; a middle‑aged woman with brown hair and light armor, a sword at her hip.
A young blue‑haired woman in purple mage robes holding a staff; a young man of about seventeen in light armor with a bow and quiver on his back; and another middle‑aged woman with black hair in white robes, also holding a staff.
"$%%5^^%%," they chatted as they entered through the broken, mold‑covered gate.
’What a fortress it must’ve been once...’ Red Slime mused, gazing at the huge entrance and weathered stone.
Even after losing to time, traces of its old majesty remained.
Thud! Thud! As they came closer—
"Appraisal," he used his skill.
[ Status
Name: ???
Race: Human ★★★ {Common}
Class: Fighter {Common}
Titles: New Party, F‑rank Adventurer
Level: 25
Tier: 1 ]
----
[ Status
Name: ???
Race: Human ★★★ {Common}
Class: Mage {Common}
Titles: New Party, F‑rank Adventurer
Level: 24
Tier: 1 ]
----
[ Status
Name: ???
Race: Human ★★★ {Common}
Class: Defender {Common}
Titles: New Party, F‑rank Adventurer
Level: 25
Tier: 1 ]
----
[ Status
Name: ???
Race: Human ★★★ {Common}
Class: Ranger {Common}
Titles: New Party, F‑rank Adventurer
Level: 25
Tier: 1 ]
----
[ Status
Name: ???
Race: Human ★★★ {Common}
Class: Healer {Common}
Titles: New Party, F‑rank Adventurer
Level: 25
Tier: 1 ]
----
’Weak... Knock them out and drag them to Elder Slime to squeeze information out of them,’ he decided after reading their status.
Wob!
"Fire Chains," he cast, and chains made of flame manifested into reality.
Whoosh!
He bound all five adventurers at once, dragging them together. They struggled, roaring when they spotted the red slime.
They flared their aura and mana boosts, trying to break free but failing, barking, "&&hvVM!"
"Hmm... It’s no use. I can’t understand you," he said flatly, holding the other end of the chains.
"$%$!" The blue‑haired woman tried to cast a spell; a blue magic rune flickered to life—but the fire chains flared hotter, making her yelp, "Ahh!" and cut the spell off.
"Hm." Slime#47 narrowed his eyes.
Wob!
He flashed in front of them and—Smack! Smack!—hit each of them in the throat, knocking them out as they squealed and collapsed.
----
"Elder, ask them for details," Young Slime said, pointing at the adventurers.
They were tied separately, kneeling with their arms bound behind their backs. He had taken all their magic staffs and weapons.
And broke their hands to weaken their power, since they could kill everyone except him.
He still stayed wary of casters; they could invoke spells with nothing but mana reserves and their mouths. So he kept a close eye on them.
The lad was furious, the middle-aged ones calm from experience, while the young woman trembled in fear.
Mama Slime had wrapped them in rock chains as well, just in case.
’They’d have been covered in scratches from being dragged... their armor saved their skin.’ Young Slime thought.
He hadn’t cared about their comfort while hauling them; without armor, their flesh would have peeled, and blood would have fallen.
"Tell me—how did this Luxia Fortress fall?" Elder Slime asked, eyes hard and filled with rage. He had no intention of sparing those who had destroyed this place.
’This fortress once housed more than a hundred thousand demons...’ he thought with wrath, wondering who had killed them all.
"You can... speak?" the white-robed woman exclaimed as they all stared in shock at the talking slime.
"What, none of you have ever seen a talking slime?" Elder Slime asked, confused. ’Wait... why is everyone so surprised? In my era, under Lord Remora, every slime learned to speak and write...’
"No... ahh, we never have in our whole lives nor heard of such as slime speaking," the blue‑haired young woman groaned through the pain.
Seeing that the burning chains were making it hard to talk, Red Slime lowered the flames on the Fire Chains.
"Tell me—have you ever heard of Demon King Remora?" Elder Slime asked. He felt he had to start from the beginning.
"Remora... who’s that shit?" the young lad spat, unable to hold himself back.
"Child, burn this lad until he’s almost dead," Elder Slime said coldly to Slime#47; he was pissed, eyes narrowing; how could someone insult his lord in his presence!
"Okay..." Red Slime nodded. The Fire Chain’s magic circle flared once more in his palm and vanished as he poured more mana into it.
Gzz!
"Ahhh!" The lad screamed as flames engulfed his body.
"Stop! Stop!" the white robed woman begged, unable to watch him suffer, while the young woman trembled nonstop, other two glanced with fear.
But the flames continued to rage as the slime gang watched in silence.
"Wait! Remora... He’s a myth! They say he was just an imaginary figure!" the white robe woman shouted, desperate to stop the burning.
"Stop," Elder Slime said flatly, staring straight at her, ’How can he be...a myth!?’ This made him even more confused; he’d find out what happened.
Whoosh! Young Slime snuffed out the flames.
A scorched body fell—Thud!—to the ground. He was barely breathing, but still alive.
"What do you mean, imaginary?" Elder Slime asked, taking a deep breath.
"Human archaeologists and scholars... confirmed he didn’t exist," she said, trembling as his sharp gaze bore into her. "Humans believe he’s just a figure created by demons... to frighten us, humans."
End of the Chapter.