Chapter 115
Chapter 115
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Translator: Mod7
Chapter: 115
Chapter Title: Chapter 11 - Showdown
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“Gah!”
I had to use every last ounce of my strength.
During the brief respite the succubus had bought me,
I carried Jenny on my back,
And dragged Nefer with my arms, fleeing towards the temple.
“Gasp… pant…”
My body was drenched in sweat within minutes. My pounding heart and the burning in my muscles replaced the need for screams.
“Jenny! Snap out of it, please…!”
I slapped Jenny’s cheek, a desperate attempt to rouse her, but she was unconscious, her body limp against my back.
I couldn't rely on anyone else. If only the fingers would appear now, a deus ex machina to save me.
“Ugh!”
Yes, I knew.
I had already received so much help. Especially since arriving on this planet, I had faced countless situations I couldn't handle on my own, and I had, unconsciously, come to rely on others.
But the world wasn't filled with benevolent beings, eager to help. And even if they did help me, they would be putting themselves at risk.
The universe,
Nature, wasn't kind.
In this world of senseless death and agonizing struggle, happiness was a fleeting illusion.
“Gasp…!”
So, we had to face the harsh realities of our situation.
If you clung to illusions, to false hopes, your journey would end in a bitter, desolate nothingness.
My eyes were clear.
I had only one goal.
I dragged the two women, their combined weight three or four times my own, across the desert.
I could see the temple in the distance.
The temple I had been searching for,
Its gates closed, waiting for me.
***
“Agh!”
Succubus was thrown to the ground by the sandworm’s thrashing. She couldn't control the massive creature’s overwhelming emotions.
Grrrroooooan-
The sandworm roared. It hadn't forgotten its mother, her cold, lifeless body lying beneath the sand.
All the emotions, all the memories, that had been suppressed under Lilith’s control, now erupted.
It was a grief too deep, too dark, for even Succubus to handle. Only Lilith could control the sandworm.
“You’ve made a mess of things.”
The only one who could control it,
The trainer,
Lilith, one of the moon’s most powerful followers, appeared behind Succubus. She grabbed her sister’s tail, her expression a mask of cold fury.
“S-sister…”
“I don’t understand. Why?”
It was time for a lesson. Even though she loved her sister, she couldn't tolerate this defiance, this betrayal of the moon’s will.
“Nothing will change. You’ve only made this poor child suffer. The male will die, and this child will spend the rest of its life alone.”
“You don’t know anything!”
But Succubus, in her desperation, rejected her sister’s words, her voice a sharp cry. Tears, so out of place on her usually playful face, streamed down her cheeks.
“I told you, I’ll handle this! I could have handled it! You’re the one who interfered!”
“Handle what? You think you could have handled this? You were going to endanger our entire clan, our father, for some… pathetic male?!”
The two succubi argued, their voices rising.
Even in her anger, Lilith kept her distance, worried about the sandworm’s thrashing,
But Succubus, consumed by her emotions, didn't seem to care.
“Let’s just… calm down. Sister, we can’t abandon our duties. If you had just taken control of the male’s mind, none of this would have happened. Admit it.”
Lilith, having secured a safe distance, continued her lecture.
“He’s going to die because of you. I told you, didn’t I? Break his mind, make him your slave. But you couldn't do it, could you? You came back empty-handed, and now I have to clean up your mess. What will Father think-”
“I don’t care about any of that!”
But Succubus wouldn't back down.
She seemed to have made a decision.
“Father, whatever, we don’t have to do this! We can just let him go…”
The once-close bond between the two sisters was now on the verge of breaking.
“H-he’s a pitiful creature. Let’s just send him somewhere else, not the desert. Hmm? Sister, that would be okay, wouldn't it…?”
Lilith clutched her head, her mind reeling, trying to figure out how to bring her foolish sister back to her senses.
“Sigh…”
It was ridiculous.
She couldn't even control a single male, and now she was sympathizing with him, trying to help him.
This was a betrayal, a rebellion. But Lilith couldn't bring herself to punish her sister.
So, she turned her attention to the rampaging sandworm, its rage fueled by its mother’s death…
“You think it’s okay?”
“Agh!”
She pulled Succubus by her tail, dragging her towards the grieving creature.
Then, she placed her hand on its thick hide,
And her voice, soft and gentle, yet filled with a chilling authority,
Whispered a new solution, a new way to channel its rage.
Revenge.
***
My breathing was ragged. I couldn't catch my breath.
Sweat poured down my body, but the night air was cold.
My brain, deprived of fluids, ached, and my sense of direction was gone.
But I could see the temple, about a kilometer away. Just a little further, and I would reach the entrance.
An ominous, yet sacred aura emanated from the temple, its form shimmering in the eerie moonlight. The distortion of space, like a heat haze, amplified the fear.
But I didn't hesitate. I kept walking, my muscles screaming in protest.
Nefer and Jenny were still unconscious. Perhaps bringing Amy would have been a wiser choice.
Living beings had their limits,
But Amy, with a proper energy source, could function indefinitely.
Rumble rumble rumble-
As I thought of Amy,
The ground beneath my feet began to shake.
I knew what this was.
Yes,
I was too late.
BOOM-
A massive explosion of sand,
And the three of us were thrown into the air.
The smaller sandworm erupted from the sand, its massive body striking me. My already exhausted body couldn't withstand the impact, and I was thrown to the ground.
I rolled to a stop, and the sandworm’s maw was waiting for me. Perhaps this was the end. I smiled, a hollow, empty gesture-
Grrrr…
But it didn't swallow us. It circled us, its movements slow and deliberate, the circle of sand growing smaller and smaller.
“What the…”
I was the only one conscious. Jenny and Nefer showed no signs of waking.
Groooan-
The sandworm swallowed them, one by one.
First, Jenny,
Then, Nefer.
“No! You bastard…! Don’t eat them!”
Thud- thud-
I stabbed at it with my knife, but the blade barely scratched its thick hide.
It seemed to be toying with me, savoring my helplessness.
But it didn't swallow me.
It had a message to deliver.
“Damn it…”
I stood up, my body trembling, a few of my ribs broken from the impact.
Breathing was difficult, but I wasn't dead. I wouldn't die here, and I wouldn't let Jenny and Nefer die.
“…What, you’re angry? Was that sandworm your mother?”
I raised my knife, my voice a defiant shout.
“So you want to kill me? We destroyed your family? Huh?!”
I clutched my chest, my voice filled with a desperate rage.
“Yes, I’m sorry! I’m truly sorry. If an apology is all you want, I’ll bow my head, I’ll beg for forgiveness. But you’re not going to spare us, are you?”
I,
And the small sandworm,
The last remnants of our respective factions, were now locked in a battle of wills.
“Then come at me. Actions speak louder than words. Right?…”
I searched for a way to reach the temple,
And it, for a way to make me suffer, to avenge its mother.