[The Mission Begins – Reluctant Co-op Mode]
Melromarc's royal castle was packed tighter than a convention floor during a Demon Slayer premiere. King Arrogance (a.k.a. Trash) stood at the head of the hall, grumpy as always.
"The four cardinal heroes… and the axe one," he added with a sneer toward Thorfinn.
Thorfinn did finger guns. "The fifth cardinal hero, thank you. Axis Hero, baby. Axe-cellent and un-axe-pected."
Naofumi facepalmed so hard it echoed.
The King went on. "A dangerous monster infestation has taken root in the Talvalet Ruins. A cooperative mission."
All the heroes groaned.
Motoyasu: "Cooperation is for losers who don't solo everything."
Ren:"Tch. Whatever. Just don't slow me down."
Itsuki: "As long as justice prevails, I will accept this noble duty."
Thorfinn: "Justice? Bro, you once punched a guy for giving you a wrong quest."
Itsuki narrowed his eyes. "That man was evil."
Thorfinn narrowed his fangs. "That man was a cabbage vendor."
[Road to the Ruins – Banter, Beef, and Bloodlines]
The heroes headed out in awkward silence… except Thorfinn, who wouldn't shut up.
"So anyway, I think my axe might be haunted. It hums the Attack on Titan theme sometimes. That's normal, right?"
Naofumi groaned.
Filo squawked.
Takimaru, riding silently beside them, said nothing as usual.
Raphtalia giggled. "He's… unique."
That night, while camped outside the ruins, Thorfinn couldn't sleep. He wandered off into the forest to practice spells and look mysterious under the moonlight. You know, like all edgy vampire protagonists.
[The Itsuki Incident – Triggered By Axe]
Come morning, they reached the ruins. Of course, things went south instantly.
Itsuki found a trapped villager (fake) and declared himself Justice Man 3000.
"Wait!" Thorfinn shouted. "That's a mimic slime pretending to be a hostage!"
"Don't interrupt justice!"
He attacked. The mimic melted into goo. A boss mob emerged.
The party scattered, and during the chaos, Itsuki turned his bow on Thorfinn.
"You endangered everyone!"
"Oh please," Thorfinn said, dodging an arrow. "You're just salty because my axe is cooler than your edgy green bow."
"You wanna fight?!"
"Oh I live to fight narcissistic NPCs!"
They clashed in the middle of the battlefield — axe versus bow. The other heroes watched like they were seeing an anime rivalry unfold in real-time.
Suddenly—
[Takimaru Speaks – Shadow Reveal Moment]
"Enough."
The voice cut through the chaos like a blade of reason.
Everyone froze.
Takimaru stepped forward, his hand raised, magic swirling around him like mist.
"Shadow Bind."
Both Thorfinn and Itsuki were caught mid-attack, frozen in place by thick shadowy tendrils.
Naofumi blinked. "Wait. You can use magic?"
Takimaru nodded. "I was once a spellblade knight of the east. Before… I was sold."
Silence.
"I followed orders. I obeyed. But this party… it's different."
Raphtalia looked up at him, amazed.
"I'll fight for you all. Not because I must. But because I want to."
Thorfinn, still bound: "Bro, I'm so proud of you… but also can you please let me go, this pose is killing my abs."
[Summoning Shenanigans – Familiar Style]
Later, with the ruins cleared and party tensions eased (mostly), Thorfinn finally performed the Familiar Summon Ritual.
He drew a complex magic circle, chanted in ancient vampire-tongue (which sounded suspiciously like Latin crossed with JoJo quotes), and offered a drop of his blood.
Lightning struck. The wind howled.
From the summoning circle rose…
A three-eyed, bat-winged, fanged plushie.
"Hello, master. I hunger for the souls of the unworthy. Also… snacks."
"YESSSS!" Thorfinn cried. "I shall name you… Snuggulon the Cursed."
The party stared in horror.
Naofumi: "That… thing's going to sleep on my bed, isn't it?"
Snuggulon blinked. "Only if you leave your windows open."
[Unity at Last – The Hero Pact]
Later that night, around a roaring campfire with everyone licking their wounds (emotionally and physically), Ren broke the silence.
"…We can't beat the Waves like this."
Motoyasu nodded. "Yeah. As much as I hate to say it, solo grinding hasn't worked."
"I agree," said Naofumi. "We need to combine our strengths."
"I can cast explosions," Thorfinn added, "and tell bedtime stories in four different dialects of vampire Latin."
Raphtalia whispered to Takimaru, "We're… actually becoming a team."
Takimaru nodded, now relaxed, even smiling faintly.
The heroes all looked to each other… and in that moment, a silent agreement formed.
Together.
They would face the next Waves.
As a real party.
[Leaving Melromarc – A New Journey Begins]
The next morning, bags packed and bonds formed, the five heroes and their growing parties departed Melromarc.
Thorfinn stood on top of Filo, cape billowing in the wind, Snuggulon latched to his arm like a gremlin.
"ONWARD! TO ADVENTURE! TO DESTINY! TO MORE SLIMES!"
Naofumi sighed. "And so it begins…"
[TO BE CONTINUED…]
Next time: Chapter 10 – The Monster City, Egg Trouble, and a Vampire's Night Out!
(AN: sorry if the chapter is bad its kind rushed since im working on another great project but I hoped you enjoyed the next chapter is coming the tomorrow bye have good rest of your day)