(Laplace POV)
Goddammit. My orders were to kill every single beast that the slime collected over the course of her travels, but I hadn't expected that guardian to be so damn tough. Sub demon-lord level tough. If that slash had hit me, even I woulda died.
But that wasn't a big deal. I dealt with close shaves like that all the time. This particular slime wasn't as strong as that 'Rimuru' fellow that the boy told me about, or even that 'Risa' chick, but this…? Dammit.
"Analysis complete. You're… Goodbye, Laplace." Immediately, I realized what the bastard had been doing, but I couldn't stop it. He'd used the fist that I was using to destroy his body, and he'd analyzed all my skills. If he managed to pass that data on, all my secrets would be right out in the open.
"I name you… Althea."
"Whaa? Ya can't name me-" I was cut off by a loud, earth-shaking roar. "Goddammit." I muttered to myself, as the smiling bastard instantly turned into a puddle around my hand, his sword losing the luster of magicules around it, too, as the fire spirit inside it gave all of its own energy to the cause, as well.
(3rd POV)
Laplace shook Izzy's remains off of his arm as he and the wind Arch-Dragon stared each other down in silence. The thing that broke the silence was the World Language. In its own unchanging, emotionless tone, it proclaimed:
['Individual Althea will now evolve into Chaos Dragon Lord. Evolution Complete.']
And with that, the Arch-Dragon shrank, no longer an Arch-Dragon at all. Laplace cursed once more, as the dragon quickly took on a human form. When the glow faded, the evolution completed, a woman with long silver hair stood where the dragon had once been.
"Umm… I think I'm done here, so imma get goin' while the goin's good. I got no beef wit' no Dragon Lords, lady." Laplace said, immediately backing up.
Even inside this Cursed Barrier created for just such an occasion by Kazalim himself during his heydays, Laplace immediately knew that he wasn't a match for this Dragon Lord in front of him.
After all, Dragon Lords, Elemental Lords, and Seraphim were all essentially parallel to True Demon Lords. There was a reason that nobody went near the top of the Canaat Mountains, after all.
The woman looked at him for a moment in silence, before using Create Materials to clothe herself. In a maid uniform.
"Why are you here?" She asked.
"I dunno. Just to kill the slime there, ya know. I'm a mercenary, I don't ask questions. Maybe he pissed off the wrong dude?" Laplace lied, as easily as breathing. Really, his mission had been to slaughter all of them, but he didn't want to admit to a Dragon Lord that he was trying to kill her.
"Who hired you?"
"Sorry." Laplace replied with a shrug.
"I understand. Further questioning would be pointless. I will kill you now." She told him.
"Wait, why!?" Laplace screamed, instinctively backing up. "Why's a dragon lord care about a measly little slime!?"
"That measly little slime was a part of my master. Your sin is incalculable. You die. Now." The Dragon Lord, Althea, told him.
Meanwhile, internally, Althea was thinking 'Laplace. I will kill you here. I swear it.'
'Unique Skill, Honor, subskill Pact activated. All effects of target's Unique Skills will be nullified when used on self.'
The effect of Althea's Pact was immediate. Suddenly, Laplace wasn't standing in front of her anymore, but behind her. Immediately, she knew what he'd done. He'd created a fake copy of himself and begun getting the hell out of Dodge. But it was already too late for him. The moment that her Pact went into effect, Laplace lost the ability to deceive her.
Immediately, she grabbed him by the neck, moving as fast as a ghost in the forest.
"What kinda dragon serves a slime?! I thought you guys had pride!?" Laplace shouted, flailing his limbs in the air, helpless.
"So you still refuse to betray your employer?" Althea asked Laplace, staring directly past his big red nose and into his eyes.
"Even if ya weren't gonna kill me anyway, I'm a member of the Moderate Harlequin Alliance. Not a rat." Laplace spat at her.
"I respect that. Die." And instantly, Laplace's body disappeared, Althea used wind magic to instantly atomize him, cutting him into ribbons so thin that they dispersed in the breeze. And once Laplace was dead, the Cursed Barrier sealing the Tamed Monster Initiative Stronghold dispersed as well.
"I should warn the city of this. The chances of this attack being a coincidence are low, but…" Althea picked up the Solslicer. Beside it was a puddle of slime. All that was left of Sol and Izzy.
"...I can't leave them." She muttered to herself.
As she held the blade in her hand, struggling to decide what to do, one of the flower sprites slowly inched out of the cavern, holding the door open behind her. "Umm… Miss Dragon?" The sprite asked cautiously.
"Ah. Rose. Perfect timing. I need you to do something for me." Althea gestured to the little Rose Sprite.
"Umm…"
"I need you to get a mount of some kind, and tell Benimaru that we were attacked by the clown, Laplace." Althea told Rose.
"I understand, Miss Dragon."
"It's Althea now, Rose." Althea told her with a little smile in order to reassure the young Flower Sprite. "Everything is going to be okay."
"Even Master Izzy?" Rose asked. She looked at the blade in Althea's arms with a forlorn expression. Unfortunately, Althea didn't have an answer for her.