Meanwhile, in a cavern near Tempest, a loud roar resounded.
"Master Izzy, the mutation Blade Tiger: Future Name Sadie, injured Number five again, as he attempted to assert his dominance." A small, two foot-tall girl with green skin and a yellow sunflower on the top of her head raced up to a four-foot tall boy with long blue hair and a sword strapped to his back with a clipboard under her arm.
"Understood. Thank you, Hanako." he said, patting the girl gently on the head, "Normal behavior. Apply healing potion. No confinement."
"Understood, Master Izzy. I will tell them to scrap the confinement period." Hanako replied with a little bow.
This was the Tamed Monsters Initiative. Inside this cavern were several hundred magical beasts, all the way from rank F to the Wind Arch-Dragon that slumbered in an open chamber at the end of the hall, utilizing wind magic every once in a while in order to assist in restraining the stronger monsters during transport from one part of the facility to another.
As for the staff? They were all two-foot-tall flower creatures. Literally named flowers, transformed into F-rank monsters called Flower Sprites via evolution. Despite their low combat prowess, they all had congenial personalities, and excelled at following orders and maintaining decorum.
And as for maintaining discipline among all of the new monsters as they acclimated to their new environment, taking in Izzy's magicules and slowly growing less hostile, there were some Initiative monsters that actively aided with that, having mutated in some way due to prolonged exposure to Risa's magicules.
Future Sadie was one of those. She was a Blade Tiger whose fur had changed from orange and black to white and black from exposure. While she wasn't much larger than the others, she was far and away stronger than any of her peers, at a solid A-rank. She was also smarter than her peers, and was allowed full rein of the facility, though she rarely left the tiger habitat.
There were actually around a dozen of these mutated monsters who helped out, from Future Victor, the giant bat, to Elise, the Hellmoth Queen, to Future Bade, the irritable Slash Grizzly.
Izzy's job here was simple in theory. He managed everything, and compiled reports in order to keep Benimaru in the loop. He didn't have to micromanage. The flower sprites could make decisions on their own, but they tended to ask Izzy for help when he was in the area, which was several hours a day.
"Here are those reports you asked for, Master Izzy."
"Thank you, Rose-" Izzy trailed off. In front of him, the thorny flower sprite shivered, sensing an unfamiliar, malignant aura appear outside the cavern. Immediately, Izzy's hand reached for Sol, slung around his back. Sol resonated with him in response. "Rose. Security Measure Delta."
"U-understood!" Fumbling and stuttering, the rose flower sprite immediately raced off to enact Izzy's order, shouting "Delta! Delta!" As she went.
Security Measure Delta meant 'danger at main door.' Technically, though, there was only one door. The Arch-Dragon entered and exited the facility via a skylight in the large chamber that'd been created especially for it.
In order to counter the danger at the main gate, Delta Measure required all members of the Initiative, from monsters to flower sprites, to gather in the Arch-Dragon chamber, where the dragon could protect them, with the higher-ranked monster helpers aiding it in keeping the newer, more wild monsters in line. With several A-ranked monsters, and one of the strongest Arch-Dragons alive there, no monster would ever dare acting a step out of line.
'Ri-' Izzy immediately attempted to use Thought Communication to contact Risa, but found himself with a small headache for his effort, instead. Immediately, Izzy felt something that he'd never felt before: Panic. Pure, unadulterated terror. He could still sense the soul-deep connection he had with Risa, but he knew, deep in his heart, that he couldn't use it. Effectively, he and Risa had been separated, somehow.
The only thing allowing Izzy to think anything at all beyond that realization was Sol's pommel, quietly pulsing beneath his fingertips as Sol connected to his mind, helping him think rationally as their thoughts resonated with each other. They were both part of Risa, so it was their job to protect her assets.
"Sorry, kid. My job's killin' every single over-A monster in there, startin' with ya. Die for me, will ya!" The source of the terrifying aura was… a clown. Casually standing right outside the door.
Then, in the very next moment, he was in front of Izzy, his hand flashing toward Izzy's head. Even with Thought Acceleration accelerating his thoughts 100,000 times what a normal human would experience, and Battle Senses accelerating his reflexes and helping him make the optimal move, the clown's hand chopped almost half of Izzy's neck off. Luckily, that was nothing Ultraspeed Regeneration couldn't overcome instantaneously.
Still, Izzy immediately realized that he was horrifically outclassed. With Sol's capabilities added to his own, Izzy's current EP was around 300,000. Demon Lord seed level, but this guy'd nearly beheaded him in one strike.
"Sun-Cutting Slash!" Izzy busted out his most powerful art. Instead of doing any damage at all to his enemy, the clown, it went straight through it before slamming against the purple barrier, which barely wavered. "How!?" Izzy couldn't help but shout.
"Your Art's strong, kid. Mighta hurt me, but…" Suddenly, Izzy felt a sharp sting in his chest, "Shoulda made sure you hit the target."
Izzy looked down slowly, the horrible realization hitting him just a moment too late. In the center of his chest was a fist, covered in dark energy. Magicule poisoning, from the inside out. Izzy's slime body was dying. Even with his strength, Risa's skills, and the vast amount of data stored inside Curiosity, nothing could stop Izzy from dying. His foe had simply outclassed him.
"Falsify…" Izzy realized, turning his head around 180 degrees to face the clown. This was only possible since he was a slime.
"Creeepy… Why ya smilin'? Yer gonna die." The clown wondered, though his main thought at the moment was actually 'maan. This is takin' forever. What kinda tough goop is this slime made of?!'
"Analysis complete. You're…" Izzy trailed off, his human form dissipating, the arm with the Solslicer inside dissolving into the ground as Izzy lost control of it, the sword clattering to the ground.
But even though he barely had the ability to speak anymore, Izzy was still smirking, even as his face melted. "Goodbye, Laplace. I name you… Althea."
"Whaa? Ya can't name me-"
"GRAAAAARRRR!"
"Goddammit." Laplace muttered to himself, as a large green dragon swooped up from a hole inside his barrier, landing directly in front of him, shaking the very earth with its sheer power.