Ch.87Cannibalism (8)

In truth, it was a word I had forgotten for quite a long time.

I couldn’t help but forget it.

Netel. The sound of it wasn’t particularly pleasant.

Unlike the rather decent name of the world in the game my friend used to play, the world of Grim Darker had an unpleasant-sounding name, so it didn’t really stick in my memory.

I suspect even the developers knew this. From the second installment onward, the word “Netel” disappeared from the store page.

Since it wasn’t a word I’d ever hear in-game anyway, Netel was naturally forgotten, and even a veteran player like me had forgotten it until now.

Until I heard it just now.

Netel.

The name of this land of Grim Darker, and the identity of “Mother.”

That single word could lead to various interpretations.

Is “Mother” the land itself?

Or perhaps the will of the world?

Maybe she’s some kind of massive cosmic horror hidden beneath this world, or simply a complex of human consciousness.

Who knows.

Even if I tried to guess, how could I possibly know? I silently raised my head and sighed.

Watching as the impossible sigh spread long and white.

But if there’s one thing I’m certain of…

[Favored One / ???

-You are favored by Her.]

Does it mean Netel is watching me?

I existed surrounded by black mist.

I could still feel the chair I was sitting on.

I could also feel Isla’s tail wrapped around my arm, along with Isla’s distinctive pleasant scent and warm body temperature.

But it was so different from what I could see. A feeling as if my body and mind were separated.

In the dim mist, I was sitting face to face with someone.

A naked woman sitting with a clear form, pushing away the black mist.

A snow leopard woman with crossed legs, hiding her cruel smile behind languor.

Her long but thick tail swayed. Her ears perked up, and her high ponytail swayed in the breeze.

And beneath her skin…

I felt nauseous at the inadvertent glance. It was a strange feeling.

Visually, she was beautiful. But I could feel through my skin that what I saw was different from reality.

Beneath her skin, life was teeming. Not her own life, but the lives of others. Stolen life. The power of plunder.

It was a sight that gave me certainty.

The Mourner was indeed a collaboration between “Father” and “Mother.”

Come to think of it, the trait gained at level 20 didn’t really seem to match the characteristics of “Father.”

It felt somewhat disconnected, and excessively malevolent.

The Mourner’s final trait was an ability that could be associated with the appearance of Selma before me.

Something evil that absorbs vitality, steals lifespan, and fills one’s own life with the life of others.

From the gloomy flavor text to the context. I had thought it strange how it didn’t match the Mourner’s gloomy or unfortunate atmosphere.

So this was the reason.

I tried to firmly grasp Isla’s hand to calm the creeping anxiety, but…

“Can’t move?”

I only realized that my body beyond this illusion wouldn’t move.

“It’s like a dream. A vivid dream where you can feel your soundly sleeping body beyond it.”

Selma explained. I deliberately didn’t answer and glared at her.

Like her, I too was completely naked. Her intentions were obvious.

“You must be happy that I look exactly like your sister.”

Selma grinned as she caressed her naked body.

Indeed, it was as she said.

She was completely identical to Isla’s body that I had vaguely felt and glimpsed when she wore thin clothes.

From the detailed arm length to leg length, even foot length.

Even the tail that Isla was so proud of looked the same.

“Don’t you want to try?”

Selma said. The different hairstyle and seductive smile were the only remaining differences from Isla.

It would be a lie to say I wasn’t tempted at all.

But…

“Get lost.”

Instead, I was able to remain firm thanks to the tail wrapped around my arm, the hand I held tightly, and the fragility and purity I felt beneath.

That’s not Isla. Not the Isla who likes me.

On the contrary, she’s a cannibal who only thinks about devouring me at any moment.

Selma seemed to recognize my firm resolve and stopped her meaningless seduction.

“Your defiance turns me on.”

She said, licking her lips. With her clear smile and thighs rubbing against each other.

Though I wasn’t very experienced with women, I knew exactly what she meant.

“Don’t say disgusting things. What do you want?”

She wouldn’t have brought me to this place just to seduce me and commit some kind of infidelity.

Sure enough, the black mist-like substance surrounding Selma and me began to writhe.

“See for yourself.”

The writhing mist enveloped me. It covered my eyes and left a sticky sensation, pouring something into me.

My body froze for a moment.

For an instant, someone flashed through my mind.

The red beast Hertol. That blood mage must have been brainwashed like this too.

I tried to resist by gritting my teeth, but there was no resistance or sense of discomfort.

The mist just caressed me stickily and then fell away.

“What are you doing…”

That’s when countless scenes flashed before my eyes.

A city where numerous humans lived, something filling the underground waterways of that city, and a noble-looking man connected to it.

Humans situated in the distant permafrost, one of them. A warrior carrying an eerily huge greatsword.

Shadows forming from the northern edge downward.

I didn’t need to be told what those countless images were.

They were all servants and limbs of “Mother.”

“…You want me to join you?”

At my question, Selma smiled. The mist traveled through all those places, dotted across the new continent, and returned to Selma.

They were numerous in the old continent and present in the new continent as well.

I didn’t get the impression that the servants in the old continent were just anyone.

Quite the opposite.

They all likely held key positions or were already renowned powerhouses.

If they all possessed the power of the ominous being called “Mother”…

This might be more difficult than what I experienced in the game.

So this was a kind of persuasion.

Moreover…

“Don’t answer now.”

Selma, seemingly knowing I was about to refuse, said that and gradually dispersed the mist.

“Think about it and answer later.”

Gradually, reality pressed against the illusion and revealed itself.

With that, the sensation in my arm became clearer.

A heartbeat against sensitive skin, a rapid pulse as if excited by the contact.

Meanwhile, the feeling of the tail binding my arm was strong. A possessive grip that wouldn’t let go, like a wild animal wary of a predator trying to take something away.

Beyond that, a soft touch. I slightly turned my head to look at Isla.

Isla had a rare anxious expression. Was it because her identical twin sister was trying to seduce me?

She looked up at me with eyes full of various temptations and anxieties, biting her lip.

“I’ll be here, so take your time to think about it.”

Unusually verbose. Selma said that and then guzzled blue wine straight from the bottle.

“What, Lu…?”

Isla looked up at me with a “No, right?” expression. I stroked her head and shook mine.

That bitch definitely said that on purpose. Despicable woman.

“It’s not what you’re thinking, don’t worry.”

“…Okay, I’ll believe you.”

Then she slightly released my arm. Her face still showed deep concern directed at me, but her anxiety had decreased.

It was just one word, but facing such heavy trust made me feel somewhat embarrassed.

“What about the three clans? Wasn’t your goal to hunt me down?”

“It doesn’t matter. Mother is more important.”

“How do you know I won’t harm them in the meantime?”

It wasn’t something I should be asking the person in question, but Selma didn’t dwell on that part.

“If you can’t trust me, go back.”

She spoke as if I would be the one missing out.

And with that, the conversation ended. Her attitude suggested there was nothing more to say.

I stared at Selma for a moment before standing up.

With the realization that I couldn’t just ignore this and leave.

*

Of course, logically speaking, there was only one kind of answer.

No. Get lost. Your mother, etc.

Anyway, any words that rejected and belittled the other’s opinion would have been sufficient.

The reason I didn’t do that was because I didn’t think the scene I saw was fabricated.

I wasn’t even sure if I could return to Earth, and I had just learned that unknown monster offspring were overflowing in the land where I would live from now on.

I couldn’t just ignore that and say I’d live my own way.

If this were a game, this would be a quest failure that would lead straight to an ending.

So I had to consider it. At least if I wanted to refuse, I needed a reason that I could accept myself.

After lying in bed and thinking about it, I realized that in reality, nothing would change.

That’s what made me conflicted.

I was already a Mourner.

The trait obtained at level 20, the maximum level, was already given by “Mother,” and the core ability, Recurring Mourning, was also from “Mother.”

My goodness, even Mortality seemed to be a power from “Mother.”

Father doesn’t do shit.

I lay on my side in bed, staring blankly at the wall.

I soon realized that such complaints were meaningless.

Now it was time to turn my thinking in the opposite direction.

What could I gain by rejecting Mother?

Wouldn’t accepting her only bring benefits, like gaining abilities faster?

With the Empire’s leadership being Mother’s servants, I could resolve the issue of my sister and Melody being pursued by the Empire.

Since they seemed to have infiltrated parts of the three clans as well, there would be no more pursuit.

Thinking about it, there seemed to be only benefits, no drawbacks.

That’s what made me hesitate more.

This world was Grim Darker’s world, Netel.

On this continent, easy and convenient solutions led to choices where the lesser evil was the best outcome.

There was no such thing as an easily obtained best result.

Just reflecting on how my sister had played proved this.

Sometimes acting evil, sometimes deceiving, sometimes even killing good people to create the best outcome.

The best result wasn’t something easily given.

What would I lose and what would I gain if I accepted?

I couldn’t know, so I was conflicted. In the deepening conflict, I closed my eyes in irritation and fell asleep.

…Rustle.

I had to. Suddenly, there was a presence and approaching footsteps, footsteps that weren’t hidden.

Footsteps that seemed deliberately not hidden by someone who could naturally conceal them.

When I opened my eyes, I saw a shadow.

Light footsteps landing softly, a voluptuous figure even in shadow.

And a tail flickering like flames on one side of the shadow.

I noticed the short-cut hair. And steps that paused several times, as if conflicted and hesitant.

The shadow’s outline was thin. She seemed to be either naked or wearing thin clothes.

Could it be?

I turned my head to look at the owner of the shadow.

There stood a woman who froze in shock when she saw me.

A woman with her tail raised straight up, biting her lip.

My companion, gazing at me endlessly with gray-blue eyes.

The moment I saw her face, I knew what to say.

“…Didn’t you say you’d wait for my answer, Selma?”

At my words, the woman stopped. The expression she had deliberately put on disappeared, replaced by a disturbingly clear smile.