The battle had lasted for ten minutes...
Flo kept using slime attacks against Shirone, seizing every opportunity to snatch the Golden Tentacle.
Predictably, she failed—again.
In the end, all she'd managed was to drench Shirone from head to toe.
"Ahahaha, little Flo sure has a kinky streak," Shirone chuckled, pinching the dripping hem of her skirt.
"But that's quite enough."
Her smile vanished.
Clearly, Shirone had run out of patience for Flo's childish slime games.
Flo knew it too. She quickly opened a private voice channel with Nicoleam.
Flo: "Nini, do you have any more slime left? Throw some more over here!"
Nicoleam: "Nope, Master! I've already used up a whole month's worth! If I throw any more, I'll have to toss my actual body over—wahhh X﹏X"
Flo:"Alright… Looks like Plan A has failed."
This so-called "Plan A" was a strategy Flo had devised with Nicoleam and Eriko before challenging Shirone.
The idea was to exploit their high-speed sliding and slime decoys to distract Shirone and steal the Golden Tentacle.
But it was obvious now—it hadn't worked.
Nicoleam: "But hey, we did manage to cover your sister in slime all over! That's gotta count for something, right?"
Flo: "…No. Quite the opposite. She's just been humoring us this whole time."
Nicoleam: "Seriously?!"
Flo: "Haven't you noticed? She hasn't moved an inch since the fight started—and she's only using one tentacle against us."
Indeed, Shirone had remained rooted in place the entire battle.
Nicoleam: "Ugh, this is so frustrating! Why do we have to fight a literal monster?!"
Flo: "Well… aren't we all monsters? You're a slime, and both she and I are tentacle girls."
Nicoleam: "Oh… I guess you're right (°ー°〃)"
Flo: "Enough chit-chat. Time for Plan B."
Nicoleam: "Got it! (◦`~´◦)"
"If you've lost your patience, Sister… then I, Flo, will go all out!"
As Flo spoke, the slime armor covering her body began concentrating into a single point—onto one of her tentacles.
"Oh?" Shirone's interest was piqued again.
The slime coating Flo's tentacle hardened and crystallized rapidly, sharpening it into a deadly point.
"Sister… dare you take my full-power strike?"
"I'd be delighted~"
Shirone extended a tentacle, signaling she was ready.
"Nini! Launch me!"
"Coming through!"
A colorful little slime popped out from Flo's chest and landed beneath her feet.
To everyone's surprise, the slime possessed incredible strength—it hoisted Flo up and hurled her straight toward Shirone!
Flo aimed her sharpened tentacle directly at Shirone.
Their tentacles clashed head-on!
Shirone: "?!"
This strike was far stronger than Shirone had anticipated. Her single-tentacle block forced her to stagger back two steps.
She immediately brought out a second tentacle to reinforce her defense.
Flo: "Now's our chance!"
Flo reached for the Golden Tentacle.
"Nice power… but you still need more training, little Flo."
Shirone effortlessly intercepted Flo's grab before she could reach the prize, then smacked her away with a tentacle.
"Aaah!"
Flo went flying toward Nicoleam.
"Master!"
The colorful slime transformed into a pink-haired little girl and caught Flo mid-air.
With her slime reserves depleted, Nicoleam couldn't morph into a giant trampoline-like slime—but luckily, Flo was light enough to catch without injury.
"Hehe… I think it's time to wrap this up," Shirone said casually.
"To be honest, little Flo, I'm quite pleased with your performance. But sorry—the Golden Tentacle isn't yours yet."
She moved to put it away—
—but suddenly froze. A powerful aura surged nearby.
Shirone: "Wind-element magic?!"
She whipped her head around just as a wind-enchanted katana slashed down toward her skull.
Her tentacles shot up to block—but the moment the blade struck, a violent vortex erupted beneath her feet, lifting her off the ground.
Before she could recover, the sword's wielder delivered a horizontal slash.
Shirone blocked again, but this time the strike carried a slicing gust of wind—a wide windblade that sent her flying backward.
The vortex dissipated. A white-haired, blue-eyed tentacle girl flicked her blade dismissively.
"Tch. Annoying… she's still fine," Eriko muttered.
Mid-flight, Shirone jammed her tentacles into the ground to regain balance. The windblade hadn't actually injured her—but her outfit now bore several rips.
Nicoleam: "Whoa, Master! Your little sister's crazy strong! She actually sent that monster flying! I'm stunned!"
Flo: "I think there's some… personal beef mixed in…"
Flo knew very well that her older and younger sisters didn't get along—and it was mutual hatred.
"So you've shown up too, little Eriko~"
Shirone's expression toward this new opponent was completely different from how she'd looked at Flo—
more like pitying a helpless creature.
Eriko responded with a glare and unleashed several windblades in rapid succession.
While Shirone deflected them, Eriko had already closed the distance, appearing right in front of her.
Their weapons clashed—Eriko's katana against Shirone's tentacles.
"It's been a while… but you're still flat as a board, huh?"
Shirone smirked down at Eriko's notably underdeveloped chest.
(P.S.: Tentacle Girls are a unique race—the size of their tentacles roughly correlates with the size of their "assets." Shirone's tentacles are large and heavy; Flo's are medium; Eriko's are thin and petite. You get the idea~)
At those words, a violent storm erupted around them once more.
Shirone had to admit—even she couldn't afford to play around with Eriko like she had with Flo.
"First," Eriko growled, "I hate you. Don't talk to me."
"Second—I couldn't care less about your oversized, useless lumps!"
With that, she kicked Shirone's tentacle and leapt several meters back—
but not before secretly wrapping one of her own slender tentacles around Shirone's ankle, yanking herself forward again.
Her target? The Golden Tentacle.
But Shirone wasn't taking any chances with Eriko.
She immediately deployed four massive tentacles to block the path.
Eriko, however, wasn't one to back down.
She gathered wind energy around her feet and executed a mid-air double jump!
"Gotcha!"
Her katana plunged downward—
but Shirone caught the blade barehanded.
"What a shame~"
"Tch."
Eriko realized instantly: Shirone's palm was coated with a faint layer of flame, protecting her from the blade's edge.
"Now that I see you're in this world too… I think I understand where little Flo disappeared to for those three days." Shirone paused. "You took her back with you, didn't you?"
"What's it to you?" Eriko shot back.
"Hehe… nothing much. Just wondering—did you two have fun during those three days?"
"Hmph… She's my enemy! I treated her like a prisoner—what's there to enjoy?"
(She was lying. Those three days with Flo had actually been… pretty memorable.)
"How tragic," Shirone said with mock sympathy. "Because Flo and I have fun together every single day."
Then, with a seductive smile:
"Especially in bed~"
Eriko: "…?!"
Shirone caught the slightest flicker of emotion in Eriko's eyes.
"And not just there—on the living room couch, in the bathtub… oh, and the kitchen too~
Don't forget our private little home theater, where Flo and I experiment with the most pleasurable positions…
Ah, poor little Eriko—you'll never understand that feeling, will you~?"
BOOM!!!
A massive shockwave of compressed wind exploded beneath their feet.
"Die…"
Eriko's magic surged with murderous intent.
Watching from the sidelines, Flo and Nicoleam were utterly dumbfounded.
Nicoleam: "Uh, Master… your sister's seriously stacking rage buffs on your little sister right now (*ﾟﾛﾟ)"
Flo: "So embarrassing〃﹏〃"
Why were they arguing about her intimate details?!
But now wasn't the time to blush.
"Get ready, Nini—it's time for Plan B!"
"O-okay!"
Nicoleam transformed back into slime form and dove straight into Flo's chest.