Hidden in plain sight

The guards turn, seemingly emotionless despite you summoning your gleaming armor. As you attack you recognize that these must be citizens mesmerized by their leaders powers. Their attacks are sluggish, and you can easily see why an army of people in this state would simply be slaughtered.

You disarm the first guard easily as you dodge a clumsy strike from the other. Punching out with a mailed fist, you connect with the disarmed guards’ temple, and they drop like a stone, ****. You turn to face the other guard just as Kali lands behind them, folding her wings as she delivers a strike to the back of their head. Even barehanded, she dents their helmet, and the guard’s eyes glaze over as they drop **** as well.

You turn to the terrified woman as the rest of the girls arrive. She is staring at you, wide eyed, even after you sheathe your sword. Her blue eyes wander over your armor, and she glanced at your companions before speaking. “It can’t be…y-you’re King Josh, aren’t you! I recognize your armor, and your…” She gestures towards the girls.

“W-what are you doing here, your highness?”

You nod at her. “I’m here with my army. I’m going to take down Darius and liberate the city.”

As soon as you say that, she gasps and hugs you. “Oh thank the gods! M-my name is Hana. There’s barely anyone left, and we all have to hide…please, come inside here, I can explain.”

She releases you and leads you into a nearby building, which seems abandoned. Once you close the door she visibly relaxes. “The guards aren’t bright. They can only follow basic orders, and their orders are to kill anyone who isn’t already enthralled. When Darius declared himself Protector of Humanitas, he held a great speech. The speech was simply a ruse to gather the people and enthrall them. Anyone who resisted was labeled a threat.”

You sigh. “So he had them killed.”

Hana nods. “Most monster girls had already fled to your kingdom, so it was assumed that anyone who resisted had some kind of power. I was fortunate that day, I watched from an alley. I have my own reasons for hiding.”

She looks at you, sadly. “I…I had friends I didn’t want to abandon, so I hid as a human. They’re all gone now, but I couldn’t escape on my own.”

Maya looks at her curiously. “You’re not human?”

She shakes her head. “I…I suppose there’s no harm in showing you…”

Hana takes a deep breath, and quickly her form changes, her body becoming translucent blue, and her clothing seeming to fade as she changes.

While she physically is the same, she is now a naked blue woman made of some kind of slime, with a pulsing red orb Inside her. There’s no denying she’s pretty, with large breasts and a curvaceous body, you’re stunned by the transformation. As you watch, she concentrates and her disguise covers her again.

Ruka speaks up. “We should get her out of here. It’s not safe.”

Clarissa shakes her head. “We have to take out Darius. This might be the only chance to get him unawares.”

You think, considering your options. “Hana, can you stay hidden here?”

She nods. “I only ventured out to find food. They cornered me as I was coming back.”

You turn to the girls. “Ruka and Samara, you stay here and protect her. Hana, you can come with us when we leave if you like.”

The undercover slime girl nods. “If you’ll have me, yes. There’s nothing left for me here. Thank you, your highness…”

You smile. “Just Josh is fine. We’ll be back after Darius is dealt with.”

You look to the girls. “Let’s go, we have a lunatic tyrant to dethrone.”