Dungeon Encroachment ｢迷宮侵蝕, meikyū shinshoku｣ is the twenty-first light novel volume of the That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime series.
Synopsis[]
Rimuru’s disappearance struck the land of Tempest like a violent tremor, but this time, the monsters leading their government quickly regained their cool. They know for certain that Rimuru is still alive, and if they returned to find their nation wrecked, there would be hell to pay. For now, they must deal with the problems in front of them…and so Benimaru shifts his focus to the force of angels led by Dino. They’re invading the labyrinth, and Vega’s corrosive abilities have made them a worrisome threat indeed—that is, until two pillars of the dark stand before them…[1]
Chapters[]
- Prologue: Decisive Moments ｢決意の時, ketsui no toki｣
- Chapter 1: A Dying Capital ｢滅びゆく都, horobiyuku to｣
- Interlude: The Insect Lord ｢蟲の王, mushi no ō｣
- Chapter 2: Dungeon Encroachment ｢迷宮侵蝕, meikyū shinshoku｣
- Chapter 3: The Parent and the Child ｢親と子, oya to ko｣
- Chapter 4: Beyond Delusion ｢妄執の彼方, mōshū no kanata｣
- Epilogue: The Point of No Return ｢終焉の先, shūen no saki｣
Illustrations[]
Afterword[]
Thank you for your patience! Here is Volume 21.
I hope everyone enjoys this volume as much as I enjoyed working on it, but I must say, the moment of delivering the work is always the most nerve-wracking.
By the way, after reading the finished manuscript, my editor, Mr. I, had one comment:
"This definitely won't end in the next volume, will it?"
So, I told him:
"It's not time to give up yet!" To which Mr. I replied:
"You're the only one not giving up."
This was Mr. I's sharp comeback, which is fitting given the nickname "Razor Sharp I" he's been given lately. It almost feels like I hear a phantom voice saying, "Only Mr. Fuse is calling me that!" but let's just ignore that.
Even the anime producer, Mr. Sugi, messaged me right after reading, saying, "There's no way you can finish it in the next volume!" His tone was more of a cheerful assertion than a question, which left a strong impression. Goodness, what are you all saying? I was filled with confusion.
However…When I started writing out the remaining events…there’s this and that and that…hmm.
Oh?
The wind seems to have changed direction. Well, it's the final volume, so it might be okay if it turns out to be quite thick.
Or perhaps—
Volume 22: Part 1 - XX Arc
Volume 22: Part 2 - XX Arc
Maybe that way, it could be finished in the next volume? There are works out there that continue with "Part 1" and "Part 2" even after completing the "Part 3," so there are many ways to handle it!
Well, enough joking. The truth is, I do want to finish in the next volume. However, calculating backwards from the remaining events, there's a slight chance the amount of writing might increase. With the final volume, I can't afford to leave anything undone and I also want to finish it all at once.
So, I'll think about it after I finish writing!
I can't guarantee if the next volume will be a single book or not, but I'm committed to finishing it in the next volume. I'll work on refining the story for the conclusion and do my best to make the next volume enjoyable for everyone. Please continue to support me until the end!
See you in the next volume!!
References[]
- ↑ Yen Press synopsis, edited
- ↑ Translated by OpenAI's GPT-4o model and roughly edited