As players of Monster Hunter and Dungeons & Dragons know, the slime is not exactly the king of the fantasy monsters. So when a 37-year-old Tokyo salaryman dies and wakes up in a world of elves and magic, he's a little disappointed to find he's become a blind, boneless slime monster.

DANCING ON PUPPET STRINGS

At the Walpurgis, a gathering of those at the pinnacle of monsterkind, Clayman finally plays his hand. The master of marionettes accuses Rimuru of attempting to usurp his Demon Lord status, and employs every trick in the book as the battle rages on multiple fronts. But if there's one thing this confrontation makes clear, it's that in the world of Demon Lords, only the truly mighty can stand tall...