WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Episode 45 of That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, "Adalman, the Index Finger," now streaming on Crunchyroll.
Rimuru Tempest's many allies disperse to carry out his carefully concocted plan to deal with his adversaries. While Benimaru confronts Demon Lord Clayman's army in Eurazania, his little sister, Princess Shuna, sneaks into Clayman's territory to rescue Demon Lord Carrion and sabotage the castle. Clayman's defenders rise to greet Shuna and her two escorts.
Shuna has done little to no fighting thus far in Reincarnated as a Slime, but now her time has come as she burns with anger at what Clayman has done to her fellow ogres and to Tempest. She clashes with the skeletal Adalman, one of Clayman's top minions, but it ends with a rather unexpected outcome.
Rimuru's ogre allies have greater strength than ever before in Reincarnated as a Slime, and they put their skills to good use here. Shuna, Hakuro and Souei push deep into Clayman's territory until the index finger, Adalman, blocks them with a massive army of skeleton warriors. Souei and Hakuro fight an undead dragon while Shuna faces Adalman personally, using advanced combat magic to break even with Clayman's bony minion. Adalman talks a good fight but he feels despair, having lost his faith in the god Luminus. He now defends Clayman's lands on Demon Lord Kazaream's orders, but it brings him no joy. Not all of Clayman's followers are devoted fanatics -- if he's using others the way he uses Adalman, some may feel even deeper resentment.
Adalman fires his strongest spell, Disintegration, but Shuna shields herself with Overdrive and then overwhelms him with her spell. Hakuro and Souei emerge victorious as well, and the three prepare to infiltrate Clayman's castle. Suddenly, Adalman rises and asks them to stop and listen to him. He says he will no longer fight and seeks salvation from his former enemies. As it turns out, his true goals are completely different from Clayman's and Kazaream's.
As Adalman and his remaining zombie warriors bow to Shuna and address her as "lady Shuna," the skeletal being notes that even though he is free of his curse, he is not moving on to the afterlife. Clearly he remains on the mortal realm for a reason, and determines that allying with Shuna will reveal this reason and give him purpose in his unlife. Adalman felt empty fighting for Kazaream while bound to his curse, and now takes this chance to reinvent himself as a wizard. He clearly feels no loyalty to Kazaream or Clayman who have done nothing but exploit and use him.
Clayman and similar villains only recruit allies through coercion and manipulation -- as when he affixed a puppet collar onto Milim -- while Rimuru conversely uses generosity, diplomacy and cooperation to win over new allies. Adalman knows which side he prefers and Shuna accepts him as her new friend.
One by one, Clayman's minions and allies are either losing in battle or defecting to Rimuru, suggesting Clayman's ultimate defeat is around the corner. He can't keep his villainous empire together for much longer when not even necromancers like Adalman can put up with him. As Reincarnated as a Slime continues, this all seems to bode well for Rimuru's campaign as Walpurgis finally begins.
