Shizu's lingering wish, her regret,
that she entrusted to Rimuru,
turned out to be children who'd been summoned here in an incomplete form.
Their bodies, not fully matured,
were unable to control the immense magicule energy within them.
Before long, that energy would go berserk,
destroying their bodies and dooming them to die.
Rimuru conjectured that the reason Shizu survived longer,
despite being summoned as a child herself,
may have been because Ifrit dwelled within her body, giving her control of that energy.
So, to save the children,
he decided to get superior spirits to inhabit their bodies.
Shizu-san, I swear I'm going to save these kids.
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime
Episode 22: Conquering the Labyrinth
This is the entrance?
So the Dwelling of Spirits is right inside here.
Are you guys ready for this?
Once we go in, we may never come out.
O-Of course I'm ready!
Yes!
I'm fine.
I-I'm not scared at all!
Ranga, if anything happens, take care of them.
Your students are my students, Master.
I will protect them with my life!
Good.
Let's go.
It's just a straight path.
What the heck? For a labyrinth, this looks easy!
B-But something seems weird about it...
Whatever you do, don't wander away from the group.
R-Right!
It looks like a straight path,
but there are traps meant to confuse your sense of direction all over the place.
With human senses alone,
we might end up unable to either move forward or go back.
I'm glad I have my mental map.
What are those voices? Where are they coming from?
It sounds like they're resonating inside our heads.
Powerful thought transference... no, telepathy?
Not very amusing, visitors.
Be more afraid. Feel more fear!
Good, good! It's no fun for me if you show no fear!
Are you a spirit who lives here?
We need to talk to some superior spirits.
If possible, could you take us to them without impeding us?
What an amusing thing to say!
Of course, of course. I'll tell you.
Oh, that was easier than I expected.
But before that...
Before that?
Sensei, look...
Looks like an invitation to me.
I guess we'll have to go.
Hey, it's a dead end.
No rush, no rush.
Small World!
Well? Amazing, don't you think?
Wow...
Now, it's time for your test!
Whether it's in an anime or a game,
the shady characters' eyes always glow red.
Hey, is our "test" to defeat this thing?
Ding-dong! That is correct!
Seriously? This'll be easy.
Shall I handle it?
No, you protect the kids for me.
If anything happens to me, get them out of here.
Right!
Sensei...
It'll be fine. Sensei's strong.
What's this? What's this, what's this, what's this?
You're doing this alone? Overconfidence is a dangerous thing, you know.
Great Sage, Appraisal.
Answer.
Answer
It is a golem with a body made of magisteel.
Damn, this thing's intense.
Its magicule energy is off the charts.
It's even stronger than that thing from the other day.
What to do?
It looks pretty damn heavy, too...
Hey, what the hell?! It's trying to kill me!
How is this a "test"?!
Precisely! Get careless, and you're dead!
Think you can win? Think you can win?
I feel as though she's making fun of me...
It's definitely fast, but I can evade it easily.
The only question is how to defeat it...
Since it's made of metal, Black Thunder probably won't work.
The electric shock would run through the ground and wipe us all out.
I doubt I can cut it with a sword, either.
Should I use... that?
Sensei!
It's all right! There's nothing to worry about!
Hey! If you apologize now, I'll let you off the hook.
If you don't, I'll bust this thing up. Is that okay with you?
Interesting! Yes, of course! Of course!
Go ahead and try!
Arcane Thread Fetters!
What?! My Elemental Colossus!
Better say your goodbyes now.
Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh—
Hell Flare!
I-Incredible!
I-It's nothing that special, but... Wow...
No! This can't be!
It only took one hit?!
Well, that about does it.
Sensei, you're awesome!
Yeah! Yeah!
You really are as strong as Shizu-sensei!
Well, of course he could beat that thing!
Why are you talking tough, Alice?
Now, then...
If you don't want to be burned to a crisp, come on out here.
I can see where you're hiding.
Right!
Right, right, right, right...
Humiliating though it is, I have come in response to your call!
A Fairy?
She's cute...
Who are you?
Ta-da!
I am one of th—
She bit her tongue.
That had to hurt.
Must've been her first time speaking without telepathy in a while.
You okay?
I'm fine, I'm fine...
I am one of the Ten Great Demon Lords,
Ramiris of the Labyrinth!
A Demon Lord?
Know your place! You should be groveli—
Ow!
What the heck was that?!
A chop?
Not the point!
How could you even be a Demon Lord, anyway?
If you're gonna lie, make it believable.
There's no way a kid like you could become a Demon Lord.
Don't call me a kid! How rude!
What else could I be but a Demon Lord?!
An idiot?
Who're you calling an idiot?!
A simpleton?
Right, right. I'm a simpleton.
Hey!
Don't think just saying it politely makes it okay!
Hmm... I have a friend named Milim who's a Demon Lord,
and you look too weak to even compare to her.
Hmph! You moron!
Moron! Moron! Moron! Moron! Moron! You're a moron!
Now, listen... Milim is known to us as the Demon Lord of Absurdity.
She thinks she can just solve everything with strength.
It's beyond rude to compare my lovely self to that embodiment of absurdity!
I need you to understand that, or we'll have big problems!
Big problems!
Big! Problems!
Damn, she's obnoxious.
And isn't there something off about you, too?
What's your deal? How is it you can use a haphazard move like that?
I wish you wouldn't be so reckless!
Do you really know Milim?
We became friends recently.
Wait a minute...
Are you the slime that became the new leader of the Great Forest of Jura?
That's right. I'm impressed you know that.
Oh! So it's true!
Sensei...
You're a slime?
Oh, yeah.
S-Sensei is...
...a slime?!
That's how it is.
Cute...
Sorry to surprise you.
Awesome!
You're a slime, but you're so strong!
Th-That's not a big deal, okay?!
I guess anything goes! Amazing, Sensei!
I'll tell you all the details some other time.
Excuse me! Have you forgotten that I'm here?!
Sorry about that.
So, how did you know about me?
Milim showed up here for the first time in ages,
bragging about how she'd found herself a "bestie."
I sneered at her then, but it turned out to be true!
If Milim was here,
maybe that means she wasn't lying about being a Demon Lord...
What's with that doubting look in your eyes?
You'd better believe I'm a Demon Lord!
She could tell I was doubting it...
It's so good! Yep, so good!
She eats a ton. Where is she putting it all?
I never intended to kill you, or even hurt you.
Really, now?
Yes, really.
I just wanted to have a little fun scaring you,
and then gallantly save you, so you'd respect me!
What the heck?
Acting in my own play?
But then you actually destroyed my Elemental Colossus!
I finally completed it after fiddling so much with that toy I found!
What choice did I have? I thought it was kill or be killed.
Also, that thing was super sophisticated, you know!
I used earth spirits to control its weight,
water spirits to move its joints,
fire spirits to generate power,
and wind spirits to regulate heat, making it a composite of all the elements!
I made it using the very best spirit engineering!
Spirit engineering?
Could that be...
One of the projects he'd been under pressure to complete, the Magisoldier Project...
went up in smoke.
You mean the Magisoldier that the Dwarves and Elves
were working together to invent in Dwargon?
Ding-dong, ding-dong! So you know about that!
That project failed
because they couldn't produce the magicore that would serve as its heart.
Besides, there's no way it could've withstood spirit power
if it was made of normal steel.
After it went berserk and fell apart,
they threw out its shell, which I brought here and restored!
Could I be a genius?
Aren't I amazing? Aren't I amazing?!
Obnoxious...
That really is amazing, though.
She managed to complete the research that Vesta's team failed at.
She just looks like an idiot,
but this Demon Lord Ramiris might actually be amazing.
Okay. I get that you're amazing.
And having seen how amazing you are, I have a favor to ask.
Huh? A favor? Why should I do what you—
I'll listen! I'll listen! I feel like listening to you now!
It's good to be so accepting.
Of course, I won't ask you to do it for nothing.
If you'll help me, I'll whip up a new golem for you.
So start talking.
I explained everything about the kids to her, keeping nothing hidden.
That I wanted superior spirits to inhabit them
so they could control the energy within them,
and that this was why I wanted to go to the Dwelling of Spirits.
I see.
Those kids have it pretty rough.
Right?
That's why I want you to introduce me to the Queen of Spirits.
Hmm?
Oh, didn't I tell you?
That's me.
Huh?
I'm saying the Queen of Spirits
is me.
This is no time for joking aro—
Bzzt! It's no joke!
It's true!
Okay, look...
Why would a Demon Lord be Queen of Spirits?
Bzzt again! You got it backwards!
Backwards?
The Queen of Spirits fell from grace to become a Demon Lord!
Is "fell from grace" something you'd say about yourself?
Well, I did fall from grace.
It's so easy to fall...
Oh, come to think of it, he fell from grace, too.
"He"?
Leon-chan?
Apparently, he had something he wanted to look into,
so he called in a superior spirit from ancient times,
and they forged a contract. Shocking, right?
So then I had no choice,
as Queen of Spirits, to recognize Leon-chan as a Hero
and grant him the divine protection of the spirits.
Hang on! Why did a guy who was declared a Hero become a Demon Lord?
He must have fallen from grace.
Maybe he copied me!
So you have to fall from grace to become a Demon Lord?
Of course, I could knock him out with one punch!
Easy peasy. One punch, one punch!
Liar.
Seriously, though, Heroes can become Demon Lords in this world?
Come to think of it, Leon-chan said something pretty outrageous.
He asked me to summon a specific individual from another world.
A specific one?
As if that's even possible! What a moron!
He looked like he might cry!
No, he did cry! It's not a stretch to say he cried!
Pretty impudent for such a crybaby! That moron! Just one punch! One punch!
I'm not too sure,
but this Demon Lord Leon might be more trouble than I thought.
But seriously, is this chick gonna be okay?
Won't Leon wipe her out if he finds out she's trash-talking him behind his back?
If it were me, I can safely say I'd wipe her out.
Hey! You're thinking something really rude right now, aren't you?!
Nope, not at all!
So, are you going to take me to the Dwelling of Spirits?
You know, I'm not just a Demon Lord.
I'm also the Guide of Saints
and the Fairy of the Labyrinth, as well as the former Queen of Spirits.
I have the duty of bestowing
the spirits' divine protection upon Heroes, as I did with Leon-chan.
So you don't need to to worry.
I am impartial.
I am the one who maintains the balance of this world.
Very well.
I will aid you in your summoning.
I hope you can call forth powerful spirits.
Treyni?
Wow, it's good to hear that those girls are well.
They were such cute little spirits back in the day.
Huh?
But Treyni-san said she had no connection with the current Queen of Spirits.
Ah, right...
Even after dying and being reborn,
I still retain my memories of my previous life.
I guess they don't know that.
We got split up a long time ago, and I haven't seen them since.
Tell them to come pay me a visit sometime.
Will do.
I can't wait!
So this is...
The deepest part of the Labyrinth, the Dwelling of Spirits.
It's a lot like Veldora's cave.
It's overflowing with natural energy.
And there are superior spirits here?
There are, but they have wills of their own.
They'll only respond to your summons if they feel like it.
What happens if they don't come?
You can just separate some of the energy
and create a new superior spirit.
Create one?
So if they won't respond to our summons,
we should just make a new one?
Right!
This won't be easy.
I'm concerned about their affinities...
But I guess there's no other choice.
I have Degenerate, a special skill that specializes in unification and separation.
Degenerate
If Demon Lord Leon could do it, there's no way I can't.
Everyone...
Y-Yeah.
We're ready.
Sensei...
O-Of course we're all right!
We'll do our best!
That's the spirit!
Right!
Kenya, Ryota, Gale, Alice, Chloe...
Let's do this!
Yeah!
Shizu-san, wherever you are, are you watching?
I'll make sure
your wish is realized.
Next time, "Saved Souls."
Saved Souls