Chapter 65
Chapter 65
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Translator: Mod7
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: Chapter 6 - Atonement
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The situation began to stabilize.
Amy, following my orders, tended to Isaac,
While I apologized to Arachne, seeking her forgiveness.
“I didn’t intend to cause you so much pain. But I had no choice.”
We left the blood-soaked altar cave,
And I bathed with her, trying to fulfill my obligations.
The spider kingdom had been decimated. I couldn't blame anyone else. It was my fault.
“…What am I supposed to do now?”
Arachne’s voice was hollow, filled with despair. I held her close, sighing.
I didn't know. I didn't know how we had ended up here, or what I should do.
Arachne simply leaned against me, her body still and cold, refusing the warm water. Seeing her like this, I couldn't bring myself to abandon her.
I had to leave,
But leaving her alone, in her weakened state, would be a death sentence. With only two spiders remaining, she needed to rebuild her forces, to re-establish her kingdom.
“It’s okay. I’m sure you’ll-”
“It’s not okay. You’ll just use that weapon of yours to threaten me and leave. You never intended to stay, did you? Not from the very beginning.”
She was right. I fell silent, sighing.
I had been too focused on my own survival, running and hiding, without considering the consequences for Aria or Arachne.
My life had been my priority.
But now,
Having secured my position with Amy’s help, I couldn't ignore the guilt gnawing at me.
“…That’s not true.”
“Isn’t it?”
Arachne stared at me,
But I couldn't meet her gaze.
Even though we were close, our bodies touching, I felt a wave of shame wash over me.
“What’s not true? You’re just trying to ease your conscience before you abandon me. Aren’t you?”
“That’s not true! I just… I wanted to apologize…!”
“Apologize? For what? For killing my mother and father? Or for destroying my new kingdom, after killing all my sisters?”
Arachne’s accusations were relentless, each word a blow, leaving me defenseless, a guilty criminal.
“Don’t apologize. Just… do what you want, like always. I know you don’t really mean it. You don’t have to be sorry. You were just trying to survive.”
But Arachne didn't blame me.
She acknowledged that the events that had transpired were, in a way, inevitable.
“…I’m not sad about that. I’m just… angry and hurt that you’re leaving, that you never intended to stay…”
She only blamed me for my abandonment. Even though it hadn't been intentional, I had caused her and her kin unimaginable pain.
But I had to leave. I had to reach the Paradise crash site with Isaac, and I had to go to the desert, following the fingers’ instructions.
I wasn't sure which task should take priority. But I had to leave, and that meant leaving Arachne alone.
“What am I supposed to do now…? What if my two remaining sisters decide to kill me in my sleep? I’m not a Queen anymore. What kind of kingdom has only three members? I’m just… a spider now…”
“No, you’re not! Please stop saying that.”
“Stop what?! It’s true! Who are you to tell me what to do?! You’re just going to leave me here anyway!”
The conversation was going nowhere, a carousel of repeated arguments and accusations. A carousel with grotesque, terrifying decorations…
“Sigh- I’ll… I’ll do whatever I can to help you.”
I couldn't bear her accusing gaze, her resentment. I made a promise, even though I knew it was foolish.
I couldn't just leave her like this. I would be consumed by guilt, haunted by her words.
Arachne wasn't just some monster I had encountered on an alien planet. She was a woman who had loved me, a woman I had hurt deeply.
“You’ll help me?”
“…Yes. So please, accept my apology.”
Only after receiving my assurance did Arachne stop crying, her arms wrapping around my neck.
The steam from the bath swirled around her face, making her eyes and lips seem darker, more intense.
“I’ll do anything, anything at all-”
And perhaps that was why,
I suddenly saw her as a vulnerable, almost… pitiful creature.
But her eyes still held a predatory glint.
A fierce possessiveness, a refusal to let me go…
“Really? Then give me your seed. Whenever I want it.”
“What?”
Arachne wanted my children. It was a reasonable request, in a way.
I had decimated her forces, weakened her kingdom, so I had an obligation to help her rebuild.
“I need to get pregnant. Now. Even if we start now, it might be too late.”
Arachne was on top of me now, her lips pressed against mine. I didn't even realize when she had moved.
Her soft lips brushed against my nose and philtrum. Her breath, always carrying the faint, bitter scent of tea, tickled my skin.
“You said you would help me. Then give me your children. I’ve been considerate until now, haven’t I? I haven’t forced you. But things are different now. I need children.”
A shiver ran down my spine. While I had promised to help her, I wasn't sure about this.
Her arms around my neck and shoulders felt heavy, as if pulling me down, into the depths of the bath, or perhaps even deeper, into the earth’s mantle.
“Children… so, you want to… get pregnant…”
“What’s with that reaction?”
Arachne frowned, displeased. She pressed her lips against mine, her touch more insistent.
“Are you changing your mind again? Do you want to leave without saying a word?”
Her eyes, fixed on mine, were unwavering. An inescapable, moral obligation.
“Then just leave. Leave me here to die, alone and forgotten. And don’t ever look back.”
Her words, more binding than any spider silk, clung to me, suffocating me.
I coughed, my throat constricting, but Arachne silenced me with a kiss.
We kissed, and I knew that this would end, as always, with the exchange of saliva, with Arachne’s touch.
Arachne only wanted my children,
A [bond] with me.
“Kiss- w-wait… let me think about this…”
“If you say that again, I’ll just die. You’re all I have left, Juho. If you’re leaving too, just let me die.”
Good heavens.
She was using the same logic I had used against Amy, trapping me in an inescapable dilemma.
She held me close, her hands caressing and pinching my skin, and my body, weakened by her touch, yearned for her, craved the pleasure.
Having children was a significant decision…
I wanted to atone for my actions,
But I still hesitated.
I had to leave this planet eventually.
And then Arachne and her children would be left without a father, and then…
“I’m going in.”
“What? What?”
What would happen then?
I didn't know.
“…”
But,
This seemed like the only way to atone for my sins.
I had hurt Arachne deeply.
And to earn her forgiveness,
I had to give her what she wanted most,
And I had to keep coming back.
“Okay.”
So,
For the first time, I took control.
“Spread your legs.”
“Me?”
Arachne leaned back against the edge of the bath, her hips and waist tilted, and I climbed on top of her…
“Yes, spread them! I’ll take responsibility! If you want a baby, I’ll give you a baby! Now lie back! I’ll do it…!”
Arachne finally smiled, a genuine smile.
Her arms reached out, pulling me closer, her touch seductive.
“Juho, you’re the best.”