Ch.83Chapter 83 – The Ending We Chose (2)

“…The rules are simple. If you can inflict even the slightest wound on my husband, I’ll count it as your victory.”

Shub-Niggurath curled the corner of her lips into an arc as she held up one finger.

She had always wanted to see just how strong the characters from the novel she enjoyed were, while also wanting to help determine the ending of the story.

Bittersweet memories, but looking back, each day had been something to look forward to and enjoy. That was what Han Do-hyeon’s web novels had been to Shub-Niggurath, the stories she loved.

“Is that really okay? No matter what, he’s still your husband…”

Yoo Seol-hwa was the first to raise an objection. No matter what Yog-Sothoth had done wrong, he was still the husband of the being standing before them.

Of course, personally, she wanted to beat him to death. She still felt her teeth grinding when she thought about how all the misfortunes she had experienced were because of one Outer God.

“Didn’t I tell you that an Outer God’s love is something humans find difficult to understand, child?”

Shub-Niggurath answered Yoo Seol-hwa’s question with a bright smile. She didn’t seem upset or sad at all about her husband getting hurt.

“I believe it’s your ethical view that those who do wrong should be punished. You call it ‘rewarding good and punishing evil.'”

She added slowly, looking at Yoo Seol-hwa and Bing-yeon’s disciples with sad eyes. Children who should have been living happy lives without such humiliation or pain.

Shub-Niggurath, also known as the Mother of All Things, had the quality of cherishing any child as her own, regardless of whose offspring they were.

“…I’m rather sorry I couldn’t do more for you. All I could manage was to hold onto your souls.”

Shub-Niggurath gently stroked Yoo Seol-hwa’s head with her large tentacle. It might have looked frightening to some, but it only gave a ticklish sensation.

“Still, thanks to you, I got to meet Do-hyeon again…”

Yoo Seol-hwa spoke with a slightly tense expression. She couldn’t completely forgive the Outer Gods, but if she could see her most beloved again, that was enough.

“Well, if there’s one thing I don’t understand… why did you resurrect us in the bodies of Bing-yeon and Bing-seol-hwa?”

Now Bing-yeon and Bing-seol-hwa were half-siblings, unlike their past lives, creating a problematic relationship connected by blood.

“Because those were the only empty bodies available. I thought you wouldn’t want me to kill someone else’s mind and insert a new soul.”

When this fact was mentioned, Shub-Niggurath gave an unexpected answer. It wasn’t possession by inserting souls into someone else’s body.

“…Then, are you saying this is reincarnation?”

It meant this world was truly Yoo Seol-hwa and Han Do-hyeon’s second life.

“Yes, I dislike possession stories. After all, if you end up loving someone while not in your own body, it creates too many problems.”

Shub-Niggurath looked as if she didn’t understand why they were so surprised. She had given plenty of hints for them to figure it out.

Han Do-hyeon and Yoo Seol-hwa’s faces looked almost identical to their past lives, and the fact that they recognized each other immediately upon meeting was one such hint.

“I thought you were quite clever, but you have unexpected blind spots! Perhaps that’s what the author fell for.”

Shub-Niggurath smiled brightly as if finding Yoo Seol-hwa’s reaction cute. After all, she was the one who had been sending codes and messages to reveal her identity.

Such a smart and meticulous person being surprised by such a small twist seemed endearingly human to her.

Shub-Niggurath realized once again that geniuses weren’t extraordinary beings but just slightly unusual ordinary humans.

“…Please cure our master’s terminal illness. It’s meaningless now, isn’t it?”

Bi-wol interjected between the two, expressing her opinion. No matter how warmly things had ended, the fact that Bing-yeon would soon die remained unchanged.

“Ah, that. Originally I thought it was to heighten the tension of the story, and punishment for suspending serialization three times…”

Shub-Niggurath stroked her chin, appearing deep in thought. To her, he was a bad author who constantly suspended serialization.

“But without him, we wouldn’t have witnessed this enjoyable situation.”

It was because he never gave up on his writing that everyone could gather here now.

Shub-Niggurath opened her palm and raised it toward the sky, revealing Bing-yeon bound by tentacles.

“Let me make this more interesting. If you defeat my husband, I’ll cure this man’s terminal illness and send all of you back to the real world.”

Snap!

As Shub-Niggurath lightly flicked her finger, the restraints on Bing-yeon were released, and he fell from midair.

“Master…!”

“Master!”

“Brother…”

“Do-hyeon…!”

Bi-wol and everyone else rushed to catch him. Bing-yeon was peacefully asleep in their arms.

“What a sinful man. How did he manage to receive such passionate love from so many women?”

Shub-Niggurath commented while looking at the peacefully sleeping Bing-yeon. He was a man who had used every means to win against her, an Outer God, despite the odds.

What kind of madman would willingly fight a battle with no chance of winning to save the woman he loved?

“Youth is enviable. When I was younger…”

Shub-Niggurath sighed, thinking of her husband Yog-Sothoth. How could he be jealous of a mere human creation and resort to such trickery, even manipulating time?

For an Outer God, his methods were too petty and mean-spirited.

“But why did you say you’d send us to the real world? Are you saying this place is truly a fictional world?”

Azazel Blackheart suddenly became curious about Shub-Niggurath’s words. No matter how much they were fictional characters in a novel, everything felt too real.

Azazel knew that Outer Gods wouldn’t normally go to such lengths. It would be much simpler and more convenient for them to drive people insane or kill them.

Something was strange.

“…To be precise, this is another reality I created. Therefore, neither you nor this world is completely fake.”

Shub-Niggurath patted Azazel’s shoulder as if finding her admirable. Their tentacles wriggled together, seemingly communicating in an inaudible language.

– Mother, could it be… that you took the trouble to create an entire world out of pity for these children?

Morgidian, having learned the truth from Shub-Niggurath, asked in surprise. Creating a new world like this was no small feat.

“This is my ‘sincerity.’ Just as readers gift fan art to the works they love, I simply gave these characters a world to live in and life itself.”

Shub-Niggurath referenced the comments she had left on Han Do-hyeon’s novels. Her love for his stories was this enormous and precious.

To prevent the novel’s serialization from being suspended, she played the villain, setting up various scenarios and breathing life into a new world and its characters.

“And Yoo Seol-hwa, don’t you want an ending where everyone is happy? Then returning to your original place would be right.”

“That is certainly my principle, but…”

Yoo Seol-hwa found it surprising to hear about a happy ending from an Outer God’s mouth. The Cthulhu mythology was a setting she had added because she liked various occult and superstitions.

In Azazel’s case, she was the final boss most strongly influenced by Yoo Seol-hwa. The tentacles on her back were something she had insisted on including.

“Then it would be right to send you to the real world rather than this artificially created one.”

As she said this, Shub-Niggurath was looking at Bi-wol.

A timid girl who hadn’t let down her guard against her, ready to draw her weapon from its sheath and fight at any moment.

“…Child. If you go there, there will be no obstacles preventing you from being with your master. It’s a place where things like ‘deceiving the master and destroying the ancestors’ don’t matter.”

“……”

At those words, Bi-wol’s wariness eased slightly. Being with her master Bing-yeon was always what she had wished for.

“Well, the blood relation might still be a problem, but you could find a country where it’s possible… or if all else fails, you could just hide the fact that you’re siblings.”

Originally, unlike in the original work, Bing-yeon and Bing-seol-hwa had taken such different paths that they were practically strangers.

The elder of the North Sea Ice Palace, seeing Bing-yeon’s extreme yin constitution as a threat to his successor position, had abandoned him at the Five Poisons Sect to die.

“All of this was my arrangement to ensure that the author Han Do-hyeon wouldn’t escape the karma he carried.”

The reason Han Do-hyeon had meridian blockage that couldn’t be treated by ordinary methods.

It was the last safeguard to prevent Han Do-hyeon from living in luxury or running away without concluding his novel.

“…If you win the fight, I’ll ensure all your problems are resolved, so give it your best shot.”

Shub-Niggurath turned her back and walked away to prepare for the final battle.

“If that is truly the ending you choose, I’ll respect it with the greatest joy.”

She let out a small laugh, hiding an expression of utmost happiness.