Chapter 118: COOKIE. Summer Doesn’t Die at the End (Complete)

COOKIE.

The cathedral was packed to the brim with guests.

Neighbors and relatives filled the pews, their faces beaming with contentment. They looked like a crowd queuing up for heaven.

Even the stern-faced priest clutching his Bible couldn’t hide a hint of cheer.

Unlike the seated guests, I was on my feet.

Well, I wasn’t a guest – I was the groom.

I’d cleaned up nicely and squeezed into an ill-fitting suit.

My palms were slick with sweat. It was my first time at a wedding, and I couldn’t help feeling a bit jittery.

“The bride enters!”

At the priest’s cue, the bride made her entrance.

A snow-white wedding dress. The guests gasped at the dazzling light caught in her flowing golden locks.

The bride was Nancy Strode. Standing before me, trembling slightly, she was a vision of beauty that almost hurt to look at.

“Next bride, enter!”

Ellen Strode stepped in next, followed by Zelda and Hilda entering side by side.

One groom, four brides. The guests’ heads swiveled in confusion at the bizarre scene.

If Solomon were here, he’d have cut me into quarters.

But we didn’t need Solomon.

I was marrying all four of them today.

I’d decided to spend my life with Nancy, Ellen, Hilda, and Zelda.

Convincing them wasn’t easy at first, of course.

When I said I’d take responsibility for all of them, they hit me with “Are you nuts?”, “Have you lost it?”, “You must’ve knocked your head or something.”

But after I showed them I meant business, even the reluctant ones came around.

Getting the marriage registered was surprisingly smooth sailing.

After Ishikawa Reiko was out of the picture, I became the director of ‘W’.

Conveniently, the U.S. President was also part of ‘W’. To me, as director, he was just another underling.

The polygamy bill sailed through Congress without a hitch.

I stood beside my four brides, silently vowing not to let any of them down.

Sunlight filtered through the cathedral’s ancient stained glass, bathing us in a shimmering glow.

Just then, Bob Bojangles’ radio crackled to life as he sat munching on a donut in the audience.

“Alert to all units, giant elephant sighted near Tromaville! Looks like a mammoth… its entire body is made of steel!”

…A Mecha Mammoth?

Looked like another backflowed creature.

We’d dealt with the hexagonal hole under the forest cabin, but that wasn’t the only backflow point. It was impossible to find them all, so we couldn’t completely stop creature backflows.

What a pain.

The priest was saying something, Bible in hand. But I couldn’t make out a word.

My mind was racing, consumed by thoughts of the Mecha Mammoth.

My sharp-witted brides gave me a sneaky pinch. They wanted me to focus on the priest’s words, but with four of them, the sensation was something else.

Bob’s radio crackled again.

“It’s charging towards the cathedral! We can’t stop it! Repeat, we cannot stop it!”

Nancy, Ellen, Hilda, and Zelda locked eyes with me.

“Summer, you didn’t…”

“You didn’t bring an axe to the wedding, did you…?”

Instead of answering, I scratched the back of my head sheepishly. A hand axe was tucked into my waistband.

Ellen’s face fell.

“I swear, I can’t live like this!”

CRASH!

The cathedral entrance crumbled like a sandcastle. Debris went flying.

The culprit was the menacing Mecha Mammoth.

Its mechanical body was enormous. The red glow in its eyes screamed ‘ready to slaughter’.

The priest let out a scream that would put a schoolgirl to shame. Panicked guests scattered in all directions.

The four brides glanced between the wedding-crashing Mecha Mammoth and me.

Then, with a hint of regret, they sighed in resignation, as if to say, “What can you do?”

Nancy reached back and pulled out the axe tucked into my waistband.

She handed it to me with a smile.

“Go get ’em.”

I took the axe from my bride.

As I gripped the handle, I felt strength surge through me.

The power of love.

I stepped towards the roaring Mecha Mammoth as it charged at us.