Hey hope yall enjoy
Also for those interested i will be restarting my first fic which was a mha one, the shadow hero , im only rewriting the usj arc for now so the first half might be a little rough.
Chapter 43: Flames of the Past
The morning sun hung low over the goblin village, painting the new wood-and-stone houses in soft golden light. The adventurers were already packed and ready to leave. Kaval, Ellen and Gido were double-checking their gear with groans about the long walk back. Shizu stood a little apart, her masked face calm but her posture still carrying the quiet weight of the previous night's conversations.
Rimuri bounced beside them. "Safe travels, everyone! Come back anytime the village is always open."
Varion stood a few steps back with Prinz at his side, watching the farewells. As the group exchanged final goodbyes, Prinz caught Ellen's eye across the clearing. For the briefest moment the two sisters shared a small glance . Varion noticed it, tilting his head slightly, but he shrugged it off with a faint smile. 'They must have become friends last night.' he thought. 'Good for them.'
Ellen gave one last wave, then turned to follow her companions down the forest path. The group had only taken a few steps when Shizu suddenly staggered.
Her knees buckled. She dropped to the ground with a choked gasp, arms wrapping tightly around her own body as if trying to hold something in. A faint, ominous glow began to pulse from beneath her clothes — warm orange light that grew brighter by the second.
"Shizu?!" Rimuri cried, shooting forward.
Varion moved at the same time, positioning himself protectively beside Rimuri. Prinz's golden eyes sharpened, her playful demeanor vanishing in an instant as she stepped up on Varion's other side.
Shizu's body convulsed. The glow exploded outward.
A towering pillar of flame erupted from her, shooting high into the sky and turning the air around them scorching hot. The fire coalesced into a humanoid shape that was about 7 or 8ft tall, its body made of roaring, living flames. Two burning eyes formed on its head, and the temperature in the entire clearing spiked dangerously.
Ifrit, the Greater Spirit of Flame, had taken control.
The spirit didn't speak. It simply acted on pure instinct — the overwhelming urge to burn everything in sight. Flames roared outward in waves, igniting grass and trees as it created a massive fiery fist and slammed it toward the nearest houses.
"Everyone back!" Rimuri shouted, already moving.
Rimuri darted in first, using her Black Lightning to strike at the flames and disrupt Ifrit's attacks without hitting Shizu's body directly. Varion stayed right beside her, holding back his full power as he unleashed controlled bursts of small, precise light lances that sliced through the fire constructs Ifrit summoned while carefully avoiding the center so he didn't hurt Shizu's body too much. Prinz moved with surprising speed and grace, using her own magic to create barriers of wind and light that redirected the worst of the flames away from the goblin homes.
The goblins scattered in panic, but the dwarves and a few of the newly named ones grabbed weapons and tried to help where they could. Kaijin barked orders, directing everyone to safety while the three strongest fighters kept Ifrit's attention.
Ifrit roared, manifesting smaller fire salamanders that charged at the village. Rimuri intercepted them with water-based spells she had practiced, while Varion's starlight shots erased several in brilliant flashes. Prinz danced between the constructs, her movements precise and almost dance-like as she disrupted their coordination.
The battle was fierce but controlled. All three of them were deliberately holding back Rimuri to protect her friend, Varion because he didn't want to accidentally kill the shizu, and Prinz because she trusted the other two and focused on defense and crowd control. Flames licked at the edges of the village, but the new stone-and-wood houses held firm thanks to the dwarves' reinforcements.
Ifrit reared back for another massive flame attack, the heat becoming almost unbearable. Rimuri's eyes narrowed.
"We need to end this without hurting Shizu!" she called.
The spirit reared back for a massive fire attack, the heat becoming almost unbearable. The trio fought with a surprising amount of coordination for having never fought together before — Rimuri drawing aggro due to being immune to the heat , Varion striking with surgical precision, and Prinz controlling the battlefield keeping the damage contained to the small area they were in. Because they were deliberately holding back to protect Shizu, the fight was smoother and far less destructive than it could have been. No wild area-of-effect spells, no full-power techniques — just focused, efficient teamwork.
Rimuri saw her opening.
She shot forward, wrapping Sticky-Steel Thread around the spirit's core and binding it tight. "Predator!"
Ifrit's massive form shuddered as Rimuru's unique skill activated. The flames roared once in defiance, then collapsed inward as the Greater Spirit of Flame was swallowed whole. The pillar of fire vanished in an instant, leaving only Shizu's body collapsing to the ground.
The spirit was gone. Shizu's eyes fluttered open for a brief moment, her body already starting to fail without Ifrit's sustaining energy. She looked frail, older, the years she had been kept alive by the spirit now catching up in seconds.
Rimuri gently lifted her. "We need to get her inside — quickly."
They carried Shizu to the nearest finished house and laid her on a soft bed. Varion and Prinz waited outside, giving the two otherworlders privacy. Inside, Shizu's breathing was shallow. She managed a weak smile as she looked at Rimuri.
"Thank you… for freeing me," she whispered. "I don't want to rest in this world. Please… absorb me. Let me stay with you."
Rimuri's core trembled, but she nodded. "I understand. I'll carry you with me."
She activated Predator once more. Shizu's body dissolved into light and was gently taken in. The process was peaceful, almost reverent.
A moment later, Rimuri's form began to change.
Blue light enveloped her. Her slime body stretched and reshaped, growing taller, gaining limbs, curves, and long, flowing light-blue hair. When the light faded, a beautiful young woman stood in the center of the room — completely naked, with smooth pale skin, generous breasts, and the same striking golden-yellow eyes Shizu once had. The new form was perfect.
Rimuri looked down at herself, eyes full with sadness at the loss of shizu but also delighted at having a body again. She was a woman again, a real, human woman. Her hands moved instinctively, cupping her heavy chest, lifting them slightly and squeezing to test their weight and softness. "Whoa… these are way heavier than I had in the past," she murmured, a mix of fascination and modest blush coloring her cheeks as she turned side to side, running her hands over her hips and waist, feeling the unfamiliar but familiar curves of a human body once more. She started doing a few poses in front of the mirror enjoying her new body.
Then the door opened.
Varion stepped inside, intending to check on them after the fight. He froze mid-step.
His emerald eyes locked onto the naked blue-haired beautiful woman standing in the middle of the room, hands still gently fondling her own chest while posing. Rimuri turned toward the sound, still mid-touch, and their eyes met.
Varion's face went completely red for a long second. He stared, throat working as he swallowed hard as his eyes roamed her body, clearly liking what he saw.
Rimuri's cheeks exploded into a deep, fiery blush. She let out a startled squeak and immediately crossed her arms over her chest, trying to cover herself which only made the view more enticing by squishing her boobs together.
Varion's eyes instantly dropped to her chest due to the movement and stayed there
"Varion!" she fussed, voice high and embarrassed. "Don't just open the door like that! Knock first, you idiot!"
Varion blinked, snapping out of his daze. He quickly stepped back and pulled the door shut behind him. "S-Sorry!" he called through the wood, voice a little strained. "I didn't— I'll wait outside!"
The door clicked closed.
Rimuri stood there for a moment, still blushing furiously, arms wrapped protectively around her chest. Then the memory of the look on his face, that stunned, appreciative stare and the audible gulp the way he looked at her, flashed through her mind. Her embarrassment slowly shifted. A small, smug smile crept across her lips.
She lowered her arms and set her hands on her hips, puffing out her chest proudly, feeling the heavy bounce and jiggle of her new breasts. "Heh heh.."
She smiled brightly, golden-yellow eyes sparkling with quiet delight. The guy she liked had just looked at her like that. Even if it was embarrassing, the made something warm flutter in her chest. At the thought of him liking her back.
Outside, Varion leaned against the wall, face still faintly red, trying very hard not to think about what he had just walked in on.