Chapter: 175
A pitch-black, formless void stretched endlessly.
It was a familiar place for Iris, but deep wounds in her heart that were bearable with Lian around now lay bare before her.
[See? I told you this would happen.]
“…”
The voice that always shattered Iris’s spirit whispered with a touch of gentleness. The laugh behind it was warm, like a parent cradling their child, yet the mockery hidden in its tone glimmered ever so slightly.
Iris hugged her knees, just as she did back in the Slave Prison where the cold, musty odor permeated the air, unable to utter a single word.
Creak.
Though she showed no outward reaction, her heart was visibly frayed. The malevolent whispering presence fed off this devastation, unleashing even crueler taunts.
[You should have parted ways in the village instead. I should have convinced you to save the Duke instead. What are you doing reflecting on those words now? It’s too late.]
[You shouldn’t have hoped at all. If you hadn’t, this wouldn’t have happened. Right?]
[Always blaming others, are we? You were the one who stabbed him and led him to his death.]
The chuckling voice poured forth the words it had been holding back for this moment. As Iris’s heart crumbled further, the void within her grew larger.
[Ha, exactly this.]
The “darkness” that resided within her—not just darkness, but a parasite-like outsider—secretly grinned with satisfaction as it swirled around the dim despair surrounding Iris.
[If it weren’t for that damned brat, this body would have been mine entirely.]
The outsider scowled, picturing the face of a man with white hair and golden eyes.
[You need to learn to share, you worthless bastard who only interferes!]
The outsider mentally cursed Lian, dismissing him as “another outsider.”
[Even knowing I’ve possessed this body… Huh, I guess it doesn’t matter anymore since I seem to be fading away?]
She watched with delight as the darkness seeped into Iris’s body, beginning to take over.
[There’s really not much time left…]
After just a day has passed, she would finally obtain this precious body she had been working to claim for so long.
[If that happens, I can wipe out that damned brat too. After all, this body belongs to a ‘Hero.’]
Surprisingly, she knew that Iris was a Hero from the start. She also understood that the Demon King’s faction was the biggest and strongest among the many outsider forces lurking in this dark fantasy world.
This was why she had patiently endured for so long within Iris’s body.
[To oppose the Demon King, the Hero’s body is ideal.]
She approached Iris with a sultry smile and quietly wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Suddenly, the hazy form of the outsider began to disperse, and the surroundings blurred into smog.
Creeeak, clank.
Before long, the scene shifted to a place familiar to Iris, and she found herself standing upright, looking straight ahead.
“W-Where.. is this?”
The scent of dry sand, the coarse texture beneath her feet, the cheers echoing from outside, the bright light pouring through the end of the dark corridor, and the thick smoke cascading in—everything felt surreal.
In a daze, she stared ahead as familiarity brushed past her.
“…!”
Flowing white hair and determined golden eyes.
Her past self, much smaller than she was now, strode confidently through the corridor. At that moment, Iris finally recognized the scene unfolding before her.
“Oh, no!”
She extended her hand, screaming for her younger self moving toward the exit, but nothing caught her grasp. When her hand snatched at the air, it fell limp to the ground.
Puff!
“Aah… ahh..”
Before she realized it, Iris was holding a blood-soaked sword, her hands dripping red.
The familiar smell of blood flooded her senses.
The familiar smell of blood flooded her senses.
The familiar smell of blood flooded her senses.
Her mind dulled and failed to function properly, and a piercing ringing echoed in her ears. Struggling to breathe, blood-covered hands clutched her throat, desperately trying to claw it away.
“No, no! My brother… my brother is alive!”
Iris turned and ran forward without a second thought. As tears streamed down her face, mingling with her shuddering breath, the surrounding scenery shifted once again.
Caw.
A horrific crow’s caw echoed alongside the dreadful sounds of flesh being ripped apart. The Corpse Disposal Site was saturated with a nauseating stench.
Before she knew it, she was standing frozen before the lifeless body of her brother.
Thud.
“No, my brother… my brother is alive. He will come back!”
In her eyes flickered a desperate hope intermingled with anxiety. Memories of Lian awakening and embracing her—just like a miracle—filled her thoughts with a belief that the same could occur once more.
Perhaps it was because she had just killed her brother with her own hands, but the obsession and fear were in a state of the extreme. Iris clutched her cold brother’s body tightly.
Unlike the adult Iris, her younger brother’s body felt so small and fragile. She pressed her ear against his chest, still holding him close.
An overwhelmingly cold emptiness lay there.
‘It’s… surely going to be alright.’
Knowing that she was dreamt, she was certain Lian’s heart would eventually beat strong again, but the human heart doesn’t operate solely on logic. Especially not the tormented Iris.
Memories meticulously crafted to dismantle her clearly held distinctions from reality.
“O-..brother, please… please wake up. Okay?”
One of those distinctions was that the corpse didn’t move in the slightest, but Iris had no way of realizing this.
Desperately shaking the rigid body.
Creak.
Iris inadvertently shattered the arm she was holding onto.
“Ah, ahh… ah…”
She gazed down at the unreal scene with a vacant expression.
Squelch, crack.
Her heart crumbled rapidly. The outsider hummed a cheerful tune, bringing forth even crueler memories.
[Hehe… Once I obtain this body, I will surely take my revenge on that brat.]
She had no idea that Lian, with the powers of “gag,” was watching over her through the crystal ball when she uttered those words.
Zoom.
[Ahaha! Seems the shock was too much, huh? Looks like we have quite the wound here—… huh?]
This gave the outsider the chance to invade Iris’s inner psyche… and the comet began to fall into Iris’s mind.
[W-What is that?]
As massive rocks filled with a red hue rained down from the sky, the barriers separating the Corpse Disposal Site from the outside world came crashing down.
“Catchaaa!”
Crumble!
From beyond, a giant dinosaur with a massive maw and stubby arms appeared. Countless hooks rained down in the outsider’s mind.
[W-What the…?]
The moment she stood there with her mouth agape in shock, gigantic dinosaurs rushed into the Corpse Disposal Site and bolted toward the cheering Coliseum. The ground shook like an earthquake.
Rumble!
Boom!
[AHHH!]
The falling comet struck the ground, producing a thunderous explosion. The aftermath played out like a typhoon had swept through.
[Who… who did this…?! Ah!]
In a frantic attempt to gain control, she stepped away from Iris and raised her hands to the air, stretching her power wide—
“Kee-heeing?”
“Gurgle?”
She caught the attention of the dinosaurs instead.
[Eek…!]
A horde of dinosaurs began charging toward her with deep rumbles.
[Ugh… Ugh!! Damn!]
She could do nothing but curse as she fled far away. As she distanced herself, the scenery that had been endlessly replaying Iris’s trauma began to turn to mush and fade away. Alongside this, the dinosaurs vanished too, leaving only a dazed realization in her mind.
[Who exactly attacked me?]
Logically speaking, only another outsider like her could launch such an attack. This meant that an outsider she couldn’t even detect had come to assault her.
[Focus and respond… huh?]
With wide-open eyes, the outsider, waiting for the scheduled darkness and emptiness, could only stare stupidly at the unexpected gap unfolding before her.
[W-What is all of this?]
A pastel-toned amusement park unfurled before her eyes. Just for reference, the dinosaurs were riding the attractions with cheerful expressions.
An inexplicable calamity unfurled, far beyond what a mere outsider could handle.
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