episode_0355

“Nice to meet you! I am your enemy.”

“What…?”

When Tier suddenly regained consciousness, she found herself seated at a table. Across from her, a woman in a dark dress laughed ominously, her hat pulled low, obscuring her mouth.

“To be precise… I am the enemy of the woman you adore.”

“…Ah.”

Lulu’s situation was the same. She had no memory of what had just happened. Nari’s other wives had vanished, leaving only her and this woman, yet she felt no suspicion about this sudden turn of events. All her attention was focused on the woman before her.

“But I don’t particularly want to be hostile towards ‘her.’ Even though I’m gradually approaching by eliminating her descendants, generation after generation… what can I do!”

Aspi inexplicably clasped her hands in her lap. It was as if her heart settled calmly, making her want to listen intently. The tension began to slowly ease.

“Survival of the fittest, the strong prey on the weak. That’s the natural order of things.”

“Heehee— That’s right!”

“Oh, so you agree with my opinion? My… this is rather pleasing.”

Nix was completely engrossed in Nyarlathotep’s story. She raised her hand to answer questions and, when she had a question, raised her hand to ask.

“But… the problem is, our obtuse father still hasn’t replied. Without his instructions, we have no idea how to deal with ‘her’!”

Nyarlathotep broached the main subject. The four women, immersed in the story, pondered at their respective tables. What problem did this woman face, and how could it be solved?

“Since ‘she’ is an exceptional being, there’s no issue with sending her to Father. However… unfortunately, you lack the qualifications to meet Father. Even if Father’s eyes are blinded, there’s no reason for him to be inconvenienced by sending up a worm like you.”

The four nodded in agreement. Compared to Nari and the otherworldly gods of this universe, they were indeed less than insects. Surely…waiting here was the right thing to do.

“However! That doesn’t mean there’s no way. You simply need to obtain the qualifications, don’t you?”

“What should I do?”

“Simply prove that you’re not a worm. By killing other worms.”

Aspi struggled to keep her expression from twisting. Only the hand she hid under the table trembled faintly.

“Kill the maid first. It is you who truly protects ‘her’… yet it is that maid who is by her side.”

“Y-yes.”

“You can do it. Cut off her life completely and without reservation.”

Aspi’s trembling hand unconsciously reached for the hilt of her sword. She hesitated for a moment. Something felt wrong.

“Kill the saintess. Won’t those monstrously large breasts get in the way? If you bear a child, it will surely feed on the saintess’s milk instead of yours.”

“I-I don’t want to, that’s…”

“I support you. Those unnecessarily large mammary glands are the enemy of women like us.”

Lulu empathized, looking at Nyarlathotep’s large breasts. She thought that, like herself, this woman probably felt quite inconvenienced by her large chest.

No, wait… are they really small?

“Kill the sorceress first. That woman possesses a special charm that you lack. While pretending otherwise, she’s always thinking about seducing ‘her.’”

“I… I must kill her…”

“That’s right. Teach her properly that breasts are the more, the merrier, and that only large breasts are justice.”

Tears streamed down Tier’s face as she empathized. She felt an urgent need to immediately grab her staff and go somewhere.

“Kill the humans. Isn’t it because of those monkeys who can’t use magic that ‘she’ struggles so much? Try it. I hate monkeys.”

“Monkeys… I hate… monkeys…”

“As a noble spirit, you understand my intentions. Kill the monkeys quickly!”

Nix, hypnotized, emitted wisps of black fog. She planned to quickly draw her companions into a phantom world before returning to her homeland to exterminate the humans.

“Kill the spirit. Isn’t it truly unsettling that an otherworldly being is hiding among you?”

“Um…”

“You are more than capable of killing it—”

Kwang—!!

Nyarlathotep, who was still trying to persuade Yuri, looked up sharply at the sudden loud bang. It was the sound of Yuri slamming a dagger onto the center of the table.

“Just a moment. My sister called me.”

“…….”

“What were we talking about… who were we going to kill? I’ll listen when I get back, so wait here.”

Nyarlathotep turned her head. A pure white door stood beside Yuri.

Yuri opened the door and went inside.

As soon as one person left Nyarlathotep’s domain, the entire thing collapsed. The remaining four, who had been hypnotized, opened their eyes wide and assumed a battle stance.

“How…?”

The air pressure from the dagger slamming into the table sent Nyarlathotep’s hat flying. Instead of a mouth, a single long tentacle protruded from under the hat.

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.

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Tssstsstsstssts—

Time froze under Eve’s cold breath. The Nameless Mist, Nyog Sotep, shattered the frozen time and birthed a small tentacle beyond it.

It writhed like a larva, devouring the surrounding ice fragments and gradually increasing in size.

It didn’t take long for it to reach the same size as its original body.

“Goddamn it, this is a real pain in the ass.”

“Hoooo… Is it difficult for you too?”

“Of course it would be. If I were alone.”

Nari smirked and whispered in Eve’s ear. Eve, instantly understanding her plan, immediately rallied all her strength.

One chance. Before it adapts to this tactic and truly becomes an immortal being, she had to kill it before it even realizes it has died.

Nari placed a hand on Eve’s back. Due to the aftermath of the battle and fatigue, Eve’s body trembled slightly in surprise. Then, she awkwardly smiled and accepted Nari’s power.

A comforting feeling. Her whole body filled with warm energy, making her feel relaxed enough to fall asleep.

Eve froze all time and space where Nyog Sotep existed. Mana resonance. Such observation would have been impossible for the original Eve, but now she was with Nari.

It all happened in an instant, yet Eve felt as if an eternity had passed. She held hands with Nari, leisurely wandering through space, freezing everything the latter pointed to.

It was refreshing, like a date.

Then, Nari pointed somewhere with her finger. There was a very small space that hadn’t been frozen.

Of course, it wasn’t due to a mistake by Nari or Eve. Nyog Sotep had judged that space to be safe. Consciousness continued uninterrupted there compared to other areas where space-time was frozen.

“Kill it.”

Behind the enormous maggot-like thing, a pure white door opened.

Creak—

And Nyog Sotep ceased to exist. Yuri, bursting from the door, sliced it into pieces smaller than atoms, instantly killing it.

The new power Yuri had gained. It was not an absolute spiritual power capable of nullifying Nyarlathotep’s ‘persuasion,’ nor was it a transcendental body capable of passing through the door of time under Nari’s guidance.

A power of absolute slaughter… that sliced its target into minuscule fragments, obliterating its very existence.

It was a power capable of killing even a god.

“Whew… Is it over?”

“Yes. Your cooking skills have improved, Yuri?”

“Aw… no. It’s the same method for the meatballs you usually eat. Finely minced and then gathered together.”

Yuri smiled brightly and brushed her hair back. Even if she tried to act nonchalant, when praised by Nari, she always reacted like this – shy and happy.

It was a kind of flirting, with no intention of hiding it. Naive acting, one might say.

Nari knew this, and Eve vaguely sensed it. Their gazes met briefly, and they all three shared similar thoughts.

“Shall we go back?”

“Yes.”

“Yes!”

Eve took Nari’s left hand, and Yuri took her right hand.

With bouquets of flowers in both hands, they proceeded towards the final stage.

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.

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“Whew… Okay. Now I truly have no intention of being hostile to you.”

“Is that so? Or are you just saying that because there’s a knife to your throat?”

“Then keep it there. I don’t mind.”

Six wives surrounded Nyarlathotep.

Lulu’s flames, and Yuri and Aspi’s swords were poised as if ready to strike at any moment. Tier’s pronouncements restricted their movement, and Eve and Nix controlled time and space respectively.

Nari realized that Nyarlathotep harbored no ill will from the beginning. It was not the voice of a demon god, but a human voice produced using a vocal organ imitating a human’s.

If they had heard the “mantra,” things might not have gone so smoothly.

Nyarlathotep was even friendly.

“To be honest… I’m only interested in you. If I had enough time, I’d like to talk more.”

“After trying to brainwash and kill us all?”

“It was a kind of test. If it truly worked, wouldn’t you be no different from the humans sprawling across that land?”

Four of them felt a pang of guilt.

However, before they could properly react, Yuri had already started a commotion, making it seem as if they had been brainwashed and then released by Yuri.

Had she been allowed to act upon her intention before being interrupted, she would have undoubtedly freed them.

Nari shrugged indifferently and quietly stared at the middle of the universe.

“Is it over there?”

“Oh, you can see it. That’s right. Our obtuse father is over there.”

Nyarlathotep raised her hand and pointed somewhere.

At the center of all the universes, where darkness and light intertwined, a small ripple formed.

It was a path. Even without moving, they were drawn there gradually. As if they had to go, an inexplicable flow pushed against Nari’s back.

The flow of the universe, no, the universe itself was calling to Nari.

“Father welcomes you too. Come, go. You are worthy.”

It wasn’t only Nari who was being drawn. Everyone present was moving towards the place where the ripple was forming.

“Wh-what…?”

“My body’s moving on its own…”

“Eek! I’ve been kidnapped!”

At this point, resisting was pointless. Nari adjusted her clothes, took a deep breath, and moved forward with a devout expression.

“Let’s go. To see the end.”

Her six wives followed behind her.