Chapter 92. Drifters #7
“I like you. So much that I want to swallow you up and carry you inside my belly. Normally, I would have retreated somehow… but it’s been a while since I’ve encountered such a vile yet noble soul, I can’t help myself.”
Niara Nepensis smiled at me with a twinkle in her eyes.
A sudden spark of life appeared in her otherwise empty gaze.
“You… no, I want to swallow you and make you a part of me. Then, once you’re safely within my belly, I want to mold you anew over a long time.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“I meant exactly what I said. I want to rebirth you as my child. To be precise, I’ll crush your body, leaving only your soul behind, and then birth you again in a form that suits me.”
【Bubble Bubble】─???
【Mysticism】─😱
【Yumi】─What is she saying?
【Pururu】─This one’s crazy too, huh?
【Rise Nova】─Contrary to first impressions, she seems more insane than the other gods.
As expected, she was not in her right mind.
I thought she was more normal than the others, but after hearing what she said, it was clear she was crazier than any other god.
“Become my child. Reborn, call me mother.”
“Shut up…”
“You’re quite rude to your mother, child. That makes me like you even more.”
Niara stretched out her right arm.
As her hand gracefully sliced through the air, reality itself screamed as a rift tore open, spilling black matter like a waterfall.
[It’s dangerous! Everyone, gather near me!]
Arachne shouted.
At her call, the monsters quickly gathered around us.
“I’m scared!”
[Kyuuuu!]
[Doodoomba! Gather while dancing!]
[Olooloo! Runawayyy!!!]
Arachne swiftly shot threads, forming a protective barrier of silk.
In the blink of an eye, the grand cavern was filled with the black substance Niara had released.
It felt like we had fallen into another dimension.
The sensation was akin to being adrift in a void, lost in a vast, empty universe.
【Yumi】─Did the space just change?
【Pururu】─What the hell? What just happened?
【Bubble Bubble】─It seems she distorted the surrounding space.
【Mysticism】─😰
[Hmm. My power is weakened, making it difficult to fully manifest a proper world. The interference from the Ancient Labyrinth also hampers my creative abilities… well, nothing I can do about that.]
Particles of light danced from Niara’s palm.
The particles rapidly expanded, evolving into shapes resembling stars and galaxies in the far distance.
The miniature universe that floated in the air dazzled with breathtaking beauty, only to rush toward us at an explosive speed with a single gesture from Niara.
【Pururu】─Holy crap! That looks dangerous! She’s hurling stars at us!
【Rise Nova】─Do not worry. As always, the Gauntlet’s power will withstand it.
[Don’t threaten my dad!]
[Ssswing!!!]
The Blood Jellyfish Princess.
The Black Magma Slime.
Both released massive amounts of blood and magma.
As the two forces collided with the flow of stars, a dizzying sound echoed, as though reality itself cracked like glass.
We barely managed to block the attack.
The remnants of the stars scattered in all directions.
When our vision cleared from the debris…
Niara was clasping her hands together, chanting some sort of incantation.
“Come forth. My perfect children.”
Her belly grotesquely split open.
[Mother…]
[Mommy!!!]
[Momma…]
From Niara’s ruptured body, grotesque black lifeforms poured out.
They looked like they had escaped from a laboratory, mid-body modification.
Most were B-rank.
There was even an A-rank among them.
But their actual threat level was estimated to be S-rank and SS-rank.
The Necro Puppetmaster took charge of handling them.
[Stop them.]
At the Puppetmaster’s command…
The Curse Devil Gentleman, Neo Hyeong-seok, Jellyfish Queen, Ignis, and Lilith.
The five puppets lunged forward, clashing with the black entities.
The scene of death and creation battling each other looked like a grotesque dance.
Meanwhile…
Niara was still preparing her next attack.
I didn’t know what she was planning.
The murky light that flowed from her body began to writhe, forming into a shape.
‘This battle is probably going to drag on for a while.’
Before I could even finish that thought—
Thunk.
Niara’s back was suddenly grabbed.
Neither she nor we had noticed.
Azeras had silently slipped behind her and seized the back of her head with a violent grip.
“Celestial Martial Arts… Extreme.”
【Pururu】─Huh? When did Azeras get there?
【Yumi】─I know, right?
【Bubble Bubble】─Now that you mention it, she’s been missing for a while.
Not only had she erased her presence…
It seemed she had temporarily erased her entire existence to approach.
I had heard there was a technique like that in Celestial Martial Arts.
“…When did you get behind me?”
Surprise flashed through Niara’s eyes.
And then…
“Null Ghost Strike.”
A soft murmur escaped from Azeras’s lips.
The moment that sound echoed through the quiet space, Niara’s head, held in Azeras’s grip, dissipated like mist and silently vanished.
Along with Azeras’s arm.
『Drifter Count: 1』
***
We returned to reality.
With a tremendous roar, everything collapsed.
The space that had transformed into a universe shattered, the distorted space returning to its original form as a cave.
The monsters that had crawled from Niara’s belly had also disappeared.
Niara’s headless body lay cold and lifeless on the ground.
After leaving the task of confirming her death to the other monsters, I went over to Azeras, who had lost her arm, and checked her condition.
“Azeras. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine… I just sacrificed my arm to erase her head…”
Now, both of Azeras’s arms were gone.
She had just lost one arm, so I thought about healing it with the Medical Mushroom’s liquid, but…
[Beeeep! Beep-beep-beep!!!]
Unfortunately, the arm she just lost couldn’t be healed either.
It was the price for erasing a god, so even the Medical Mushroom’s liquid couldn’t treat it.
“…You won’t be able to fight like this.”
“I can fight with my legs or head.”
“Enough. You’re done going on expeditions. Join the headquarters team.”
I had already planned to transfer the entire first group to the headquarters team.
After I tamed more monsters, of course.
Even though it wasn’t the right time yet…
I moved Azeras to the headquarters team earlier than expected.
Her combat ability had dropped significantly.
“Focus on recovering at the headquarters. Got it?”
“Got it.”
“And thank you. Thanks to you, we got through this without any casualties. You did a great job.”
“…I only did what I had to do.”
From now on, Azeras’s role at the headquarters would be to rest.
Nothing more.
She wasn’t smart enough to take on command roles, and without hands, she couldn’t help with map creation either.
Of course, I didn’t plan to let her rest forever.
I thought about finding a way to heal her arms later on.
‘Now that I think about it, there’s a machine-type monster that can modify bodies, right? I should form a new exploration team to track it down soon.’
I patted Azeras on the shoulder, acknowledging her hard work, and walked with her over to where Niara’s corpse lay.
“But Azeras. That Niara… you hadn’t met her before, right?”
“That’s right. I’d heard of her, but this was my first time seeing her.”
We stopped in front of the Puppetmaster.
The Puppetmaster was in the process of turning Niara’s corpse into a puppet.
Seeing the scene, Azeras smiled wryly.
“Why are you smiling like that?”
“I defeated a god I could never even dream of looking at before… a Creator God.”
Even though she had lost her other arm…
She seemed satisfied with the fact that she had defeated a god stronger than her.
*
*
*
Like the other gods, Niara Nepensis was reborn as a puppet.
As soon as the puppet Niara saw me, she rushed into my arms, as if she had missed me.
[Son!]
“…”
【Pururu】─What’s with her?
【Mysticism】─🧐
【Yumi】─Geon is not your son.
【Rise Nova】─It seems she’s confused because of the memories from her life.
【Bubble Bubble】─She was never your son, even in life.
I roughly pushed Niara away and shifted my gaze to the Puppetmaster.
“Puppetmaster. She’s definitely lost her soul, right?”
[That’s right. No soul, just consciousness.]
“Then why is she calling me her son?”
[The memories and emotions tied to those memories are stronger than expected. It seems she genuinely thinks of you as her son.]
Even as a puppet, Niara was still a crazy woman.
But at least she was friendly, so it wasn’t all bad.
She wasn’t saying crazy things about wanting to put me inside her belly like before either.
I decided to let the whole “son” thing slide for now.
—
■Creator God: Author of the Abyss (Niara Nepensis)
─Actual Threat Level: SS-rank.
─Current (Weakened) Threat Level: A-rank.
─Abilities: Creation / Distortion / Unsealing / Darkness Generation, etc.
─Notes: Originates from the Celestial Realm.