"This isn’t necessary, Larrk, I can take him on my own," Frowned Izzy indignantly, as Plasmuk’s humanoid form disappeared through the cracks in the ground...guess he’s giving us some space for the time being, how awfully considerate of him.

’No, she absolutely cannot, do not let her do that!’

Yeah, we’re on the same page, I was just about to say that.

"Would you please calm down? We don’t stand a chance of beating this thing in a direct confrontation. So long as his core remains intact, nothing we do will have any real effect. And with no way of finding where he’s hidden it, we’re stuck," I reasoned as I placed a hand on her shoulder to try and calm her down.

She didn’t say anything in response, pausing with a thoughtful look on her face before meeting my gaze and pointing at her head, giving me a meaningful look.

Huh? What’s she doing? I don’t get what she’s trying to-...my eyes then widened in realization as I figured out what she was getting at, activating my Thought Communication and linking with her mind.

"Can’t you use this power to find where his core is? I don’t know how Slimes work, exactly, but I’d assume that their thoughts come from their core," She suggested telepathically, as I linked our minds.

"No, that’s not gonna work. I’ve been trying this whole time, ever since he mentioned that his core is no bigger than a grain of sand. I can feel his presence evenly spread out all throughout this cavern, so I have no idea where his core is."

"Oh. Well, that’s not good. How are we supposed to defeat him if we don’t know where his core is?" She responded, a frown appearing on her face.

"That’s what I’ve been trying to say this whole time. Well, we’re not the only ones here, maybe getting a third opinion might help," I replied telepathically, before turning to the former slave girl and speaking out loud, "Hey, uh...I know we were just fighting a few minutes ago, but since the situation has changed the way it has, let’s work together to try and figure out how to get out of this alive, okay?"

"I-I have nothing to say to Dark Continent scum and a Monster," She shrunk back warily, a fearful, defensive look in her eyes.

"Oh, spare me the prejudice, your fellow countrymen from the Light Continent enslaved you, so why abide by the same prejudices that put you in that position?" I pointed out, approaching her and sitting down a few meters ahead of her.

"Well, I guess I have no choice...I don’t exactly want to die down here, so I’ll suck it up and play along for now," She replied after a brief, hesitant pause.

"Huh, guess humans from the Light Continent are the same as humans from the Dark Continent...well, you are the same species, so that makes sense. Why are you at war with each other again?" Chimed in Izzy with a confused look on her face.

"Because people are stupid. Anyway...what’s your name?" I asked the girl.

"...it’s Lumena Lucidus," She answered, as she eyed me warily.

Huh, now that I get a better look at her...she’s pretty cute. She had shortish black hair that went halfway down her neck and framed her face, a slightly dark complexion, red eyes and scars on the right side of her face that looked like they’d been inflicted with claws.

She was a bit shorter than me, and looked about the same age or maybe slightly younger. She was kinda skinny, likely due to not being fed properly as a slave. Despite that, she had a pretty attractive figure with curves in the right places.

She wore glasses with a dark red, rectangular frame, a worn out old dark blue tank top with a few holes and small tears all over it, with black shorts that also looked pretty worn out, and she was barefoot.

Hm, her feet look about the same size as Prysm’s more or less...uh, I only know that because I’ve bought shoes for Prysm before, no other reason. Anyway, uh...the soles of her feet aren’t injured or anything, she’s probably been healing them. Still, she’s probably uncomfortable like that...

"Here, put these on," I remarked, taking out a pair of open-toed black combat boots and handing them to her, before adding, "I’ve also got some clean clothes that should fit you, if you want."

She’s clearly wary and distrustful of us, we should fix that as quickly as possible if we’re to stand the best chance of working together effectively.

Still, I can’t exactly blame her for being cautious. I can imagine what she’s been through, I was in a similar position at one point myself, after all. I was lucky enough to escape, and now that she’s free too, I can relate to how she must feel right now.

"...thanks, I guess," She replied as she took the shoes from me warily, before putting them on and glancing back at me, "If you’re offering clean clothes to change into, I’ll take you up on that too."

"Sure. You’ll probably want some privacy, so...get inside this portal. There’s a few outfits in there that should fit you, feel free to take your pick. I’ll open the portal again after, say...ten minutes?" I offered, as I opened a portal into my Pocket Dimension.

"Uh...if it’s okay, could I have, like, half an hour or so? If I’m going to change, I’d like to wash off the dirt and grime on my body," She frowned, staring down at herself.

"That’s fine by me, take your time. And you can relax while in there, I won’t peek or anything," I assured her, in an effort to make her feel as comfortable as possible.

Hm, maybe I shouldn’t have said that...I might’ve just made her concerned that I do plan on doing that.

"Whatever...I honestly couldn’t care less about that, I hate my body. Anyone who’s had their body defiled like mine has would probably feel the same way," She replied bitterly, as she walked into the portal, before I closed it up.

I’ve...got nothing to say in response to that...

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Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this Chapter! Don’t forget to vote, and feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate any and all feedback and criticism!

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