“I like you. I like you so much that I want to stuff you into my belly right now and keep you. Normally, I would have retreated somehow… But seeing such a cunning and noble soul after so long, I can’t help myself.”
Niarah Nepensys, grinning at me with her eyes crinkled in a smile.
Suddenly, a spark of life flickered in her hollow eyes.
“Ah… I want to swallow you and accept you as part of me. And then, I want to nurture you for a long time.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“I mean exactly what I just said. I want to reincarnate you as my child. To be precise, I want to crush your body while leaving your soul intact, and give birth to you in a form that suits me.”
Boglebogle—???
Mysticism—😱
Yumi—What’s going on?
Pururu—That one’s also a crazy freak, huh?
Rize Nova—Contrary to first impressions, seems crazier than the other gods.
As expected, she’s not sane at all.
Just a moment ago, I thought she might be more normal than the others, but hearing her talk, she’s a madwoman compared to those other gods.
“Be my child willingly. And be reborn to call me mother.”
“Shut the hell up…”
“You have no manners for a child, huh? I like that about you even more.”
Niarah stretched out her right arm.
As that arm gracefully sliced through the air, a gap in reality opened with a scream, and dark matter began pouring out like a waterfall.
[It’s dangerous! Everyone gather around me!]
Aracne shouted.
At her shout, monsters quickly gathered around us.
“I’m scared!”
Kyuuuu!
Doo Doom Bar! Gather while dancing!
Orooooo! Run away!!!
Aracne quickly shot out threads, forming a protective barrier.
Before long, the Great Cavern was filled with the black matter poured out by Niarah.
It felt like we had fallen into another space.
It felt as if we were adrift in a hollow universe.
Yumi—The space has changed, hasn’t it?
Pururu—What? What’s going on?
Boglebogle—Looks like she distorted the surrounding space.
Mysticism—😰
[Hmm. My power is weakened, and it’s hard to manifest a proper world. I can’t even use my creative powers because of the interference from the Ancient Labyrinth… Well, it can’t be helped.]
Tiny particles of light danced upward from the palm of Niarah.
Those particles expanded in an instant, evolving into shapes like stars and galaxies far away.
The miniature cosmos floating in the air showcased breathtaking wonder and beauty but rushed towards us at explosive speed at Niarah’s single gesture.
Pururu—Crazy! Isn’t that dangerous? Stars are raining down!
Rize Nova—It’s alright. As always, the Gauntlet will endure.
[Don’t threaten Daddy!]
[Suuuuuuu!!!]
Blood Jellyfish Princess.
Black Magma Slime.
Each released large amounts of blood and magma.
When their outputs clashed with the flow of stars, a dizzying sound echoed, as if reality were cracking like glass.
We barely managed to block the attack.
The remnants of the stars scattered in all directions.
Then, as the view obscured by the debris cleared, Niarah was seen gathering her hands, muttering what seemed like a spell.
“Come forth, my perfect children.”
Her belly grotesquely split open.
[Mother…/]
[Mommy!!!]
[Mommy mommy…!]
From Niarah’s split body, bizarre black life forms gushed out.
They looked like they had escaped from a lab undergoing body modification.
Most were B-class.
One A-class was mixed in.
The actual danger level was estimated to be S-Class and SS-Class.
The task of dealing with them fell to the Necro Puppetmaster.
[Stop those things.]
As the Puppetmaster’s command was issued,
Curse Devil Gentleman, Neo Hyeong-seok, Jellyfish Queen, Ignis, Lilith,
the five puppets jumped out simultaneously to clash with the black entities.
The scene of the products of death and creation entangled in battle resembled a grotesque dance.
Meanwhile, Niarah was still preparing her next attack.
I didn’t know what she was planning, but
the murky light spilling from her body was writhing and forming a shape.
‘It seems this battle will last quite a while.’
Before I could dwell on that thought,
Thud.
Unnoticed by both Niarah and us, Azelas had seized her by the back of her head.
“Heavenly Martial Arts… The Extreme.”
Pururu—Huh? When did Azelas get there?
Yumi—Right?
Boglebogle—Come to think of it, we hadn’t seen him for a while.
Not only did he erase his presence, but he seemed to have temporarily erased his very existence to approach.
They said there was a technique like that among Heavenly Martial Arts.
“…When did you get behind me?”
Surprise flickered across Niarah’s eyes.
Then, after a moment.
“Void’s Mouth.”
A small murmur escaped Azelas’s lips.
The instant that sound spread through the silent space, Niarah’s head, caught in his grip, shattered into mist and vanished without a sound.
And Azelas’s arm disappeared along with it.
*
We returned to reality once more.
With a loud roar, everything crumbled.
The space that had transformed into a universe shattered, and the distorted surroundings returned to their original cave form.
The monsters that had burst from Niarah’s belly also disappeared.
The headless body of Niarah collapsed coldly onto the ground.
After entrusting the body inspection to another monster,
I approached Azelas, who had lost an arm, and inspected her body.
“Azelas. Are you alright?”
“I’m fine… I just lost her head in exchange for my arm…”
Now, Azelas had lost both arms.
One arm had just been lost, so I tried to heal her with the liquid from the Medical Mushroom, but,
Biiii! Beep beep!!!
Unfortunately, the arm she had just lost was also beyond healing.
Since it was an arm lost in exchange for erasing a god, the liquid from the Medical Mushroom couldn’t treat it.
“…I guess I can’t fight anymore like this.”
“If you fight with your legs or head, you can.”
“Enough. Don’t go on any more explorations. Join the Headquarters Team.”
Originally, the first team was supposed to be integrated into the Headquarters Team.
After taming more monsters, that was the plan.
Though it wasn’t time yet, I fast-tracked Azelas to integrate into the Headquarters Team.
Because her combat ability had drastically decreased.
“Stay behind at HQ and focus on recovery. Got it?”
“Understood.”
“And thank you. Because of you, we could end this without any casualties. You worked hard.”
“…I just did what I had to do.”
From now on, Azelas’s role at headquarters was rest.
Nothing else.
Due to her lacking intelligence, she could not take command, and without hands, she couldn’t be tasked with mapping.
Of course, I didn’t plan to let her rest forever.
I thought I would find a way to treat her arms somehow later.
‘Speaking of which, wasn’t there a mechanical-type monster that could perform body modifications? I need to form a new exploration team soon and find it.’
I gave Azelas’s shoulder a light pat as a meaning of appreciation and walked towards where Niarah’s corpse was located.
“But Azelas, you’ve never met that Niarah before, right?”
“Correct. I’ve heard the name but seeing her in person is… my first time.”
We stopped in front of the Puppetmaster.
He was in the process of turning Niarah’s corpse into a puppet.
Watching that scene, Azelas grinned.
“Why are you grinning like that?”
“Having beaten a Creator God who I couldn’t even dare to look at before. If it were the past, I couldn’t have dreamed of this.”
Even with one arm lost, she seemed satisfied with having defeated a god stronger than herself.
*
*
*
Like the other gods,
Niarah Nepensys was reborn as a puppet.
As soon as Niarah, reborn as a puppet, saw me, she leaped into my embrace, as if she longed for it.
[Son!]
“……”
Pururu—What’s with that guy?
Mysticism—🧐
Yumi—Gunshi isn’t your son.
Rize Nova—It seems she’s confused due to the memories from her previous life.
Boglebogle—Gunshi has never been her son in life.
I harshly pulled Niarah away and turned my gaze to the Puppetmaster.
“Puppetmaster. She’s lost her soul, right?”
[Correct. She has no soul, only a self.]
“Then why does she call me son?”
[It seems the memories she possesses and the emotions caused by those memories are stronger than expected. She genuinely thinks of you as her son.]
Even as a puppet, Niarah was still a crazy lady.
Well, she seemed friendly, though, so it wasn’t bad.
At least, she wasn’t spouting crazy things about wanting to stuff me into her belly like before.
I decided to let the title slide.
■ Creator God: Author of Abyss (Niarah Nepensys)
― Actual Danger Level: SS-Class.
― Current (Nerfed) Danger Level: A-Class.
― Ability: Creation / Distortion / Release of Seals / Generation of Darkness, etc.
― Special Note: Of Heavenly Origin
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