Chapter 293
Chapter 293
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 293
Chapter Title: Target (2)
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"...It's even uglier now that it's an adult."
The Mother of Heaven shuddered at the sight of the human-faced worm bearing Jason's face.
She had seen human-faced worms plenty of times in the game, but encountering a 3-meter-tall bug monster in real life was apparently too much for her.
'Time to get started, then.'
I activated my Mimicry organ to speak to Jason in a human voice.
"How far did you get in the quests?"
"I cleared up to stage 10 and was working on stage 11."
The Cult have a unique system called 'quests.' There are 12 stages in total, and clearing each one grants rewards.
The armor and gear Jason had brought to fight me were the 'Dragonslayer Set,' the reward for clearing stage 10. I'd suspected as much, and sure enough, I was right.
'Stage 11 and beyond take a lot longer to clear.'
Still, reaching stage 10 meant he was pretty close to the ending. So he must have had experiences similar to mine.
"Did you ever see illusions of your human days while clearing the quests?"
"Yes. I saw them every time I cleared a stage."
"Memories from your past, right?"
"That's correct."
Just as I'd expected. Like me, he'd gone through the same thing—reliving events from his past.
"Were there any weird parts to those illusions? Like only bad memories showing up, or distortions in the events?"
At my question, the worm hesitated. Jason's face twisted in a chilling grimace, as if recalling something painful.
The human-faced worm, which had been answering obediently up to now, paused before replying.
"There were no distortions in the memories the illusions showed. They were exactly as I remembered them."
"So they were unhappy memories, then."
"Yes. My drunken father always called me a faggot. My mother and I couldn't resist him at all. We just took beatings from him every single day."
Jason's face was crumpled in rage, but his tone remained utterly dry as he continued. The Mother of Heaven, listening from the side, furrowed her brow. From the way he spoke, it didn't sound like Jason had lived a smooth life either.
"I also saw memories of failing to fit in at school and being alone, and of failing to get a job and having to return to my hometown."
All the memories he described were from his human days.
'Just like mine.'
"Was that the end of the illusions? Nothing besides the abuse?"
"No. When I cleared stage 10, I saw a different illusion."
"A different one?"
Jason's twisted face began to relax bit by bit.
"When the illusion started, I woke up in front of my room. I was standing there in my Cult body."
Standing in front of his real-world room in the body he'd gained in this world. Exactly like when I'd seen my real self.
"I opened the door, and there I was—my real self."
"What did you do to him?"
"I killed him."
He said it so casually, killing his real-world self. His expression looked perfectly at ease, matching his voice.
"Killed him?"
"My real self lived a failed life. But I in this world am different. Perfect looks, immense power, authority everyone reveres, women who live only for me. Those are worth far more than some 'Jason Turningham'!"
He ranted on in a trance of ecstasy. It was the first time I'd seen him this excited since becoming a human-faced worm.
'His ego seemed so strong.'
This was unexpected. He'd maintained his arrogant attitude right up until I killed him. I'd assumed he'd been the same in reality, but to think he had such deep self-loathing.
'A backlash from his shitty real life.'
As a Deer-Horn Cult, he was among the top nobility in the Empire. Not only that, he held a key position as a high priest at the heart of imperial power. That's how he'd been able to sneak Muriel into the holy site, a place no ordinary person could enter.
'His life here was the complete opposite of his pathetic reality.'
That's why he'd chosen to kill his human self.
In that sense, Jason and I had something in common: loathing our real-world selves.
I'd nearly killed my own self in the illusion too. Something had stopped me at the last moment; otherwise, I definitely would have devoured him.
'The Mother of Heaven doesn't care much for her past either.'
If she advanced further in deification someday, she might have a similar experience.
'Is the purpose of these illusions to force us to stay in this world?'
I couldn't help suspecting they deliberately emphasized the negative sides of reality to keep us from going back.
'Did Jason and the others in his faction see different hallucinations from us?'
Cynthia, whom I'd met at the space fortress, had said her goal was to see the ending and return to reality.
That meant she and her faction had strong attachments to the real world.
'Maybe their realities weren't as miserable as ours.'
So perhaps the illusions they saw were different from ours?
Lost in those thoughts, I noticed the Mother of Heaven—who'd been listening to our conversation—speak up.
｢I have a question.｣
"......"
｢Your reality was so painful that you chose your self from this world, so why inflict pain on others?｣
"Answer her."
The human-faced worm was essentially part of my body now, so it only obeyed my commands. Only after I prompted it did Jason break his silence.
"Because I can."
｢What?｣
"Isn't it natural to use power when you have it? With this power, I can get anything I want anytime. Why should I care about others' suffering?"
｢Never thought of using that power to protect the ones who love you?｣
"They love me anyway, so why bother? Sure, it sucks a bit if the bitches I put effort into die, but it's no big loss. I can just raise new ones."
｢What do you consider the lives of those who devote themselves to you?｣
"Toys. And I'm their owner."
The Mother of Heaven fell silent at Jason's curt words, utterly speechless in disbelief.
"You're the one I don't get. Why push for coexistence?"
As she glared at him wordlessly, the human-faced worm turned the question back on her.
｢...They're not just simple NPCs. They're residents living in another world. If you're going to adapt and live here, shouldn't you get along with them?｣
"Adapting to this world and treating NPCs as full persons are separate issues. Even if they're really alive, a superior being like me has no obligation to help them."
｢You see this place as reality and treat all other beings as slaves... I can't understand it.｣
"Didn't you keep those Wolphs as pet toys? Getting worshipped as a god by them, no less."
｢I was trying to protect them!｣
"Same here. My very existence benefits the Empire. I just took a modest payment for it."
Their argument was going nowhere, running parallel.
Both Jason and the Mother of Heaven had chosen to adapt to this world over returning to reality.
But their approaches couldn't have been more different. Jason had chosen to abuse and dominate other beings, while the Mother of Heaven had sought to bond with the Wolphs and live alongside them.
"I heard the Coexistence faction failed because of idiots like you who got too immersed in the NPCs. If that dumb Muriel hadn't screwed up, you'd be in my cast—"
"Enough."
"■!"
I silenced him forcibly as he crossed the line.
"The Mother of Heaven is my precious friend. Don't insult her."
He looked at me in startled confusion before bowing his head.
"You okay?"
｢...That fucking bas—cough, that guy's still the same even as a human-faced worm.｣
The Mother of Heaven glared at the silenced worm before letting out a sigh.
｢I'd love to smack him, but that'd probably kill him, right?｣
"Hit him if you want. No problem—he can regenerate anyway."
｢Don't tempt me like that.｣
Despite her words, she had no intention of punching the worm. Instead, she plopped down right there. Her pumpkin-colored eyes still held some irritation, but she seemed calmer than before.
Confirming she had settled down, I released the restriction so Jason could speak again.
"I've heard there are people aiming for the ending. Do you know about them?"
"Yes. They call themselves the 'Returners.'"
"And you mentioned the 'Coexistence faction' earlier. They're like you—people who chose to stay in this world?"
"They're very different from us, but I think our end goals are similar."
The Returners had a clearly different objective, while the Coexistence faction shared some similarities with Jason's group but diverged sharply in direction.
The three factions couldn't coexist because of their vastly different views on reality and the world of Space Survival. The illusions—which starkly contrasted the two extremes—likely differed between them as well.
To understand why the illusions existed and what effect they had on us, I needed to know what those differences were.
'And whether the illusions are dangerous or not.'
I still believed we needed to see the ending to understand why we'd been dropped into this world.
But if it wasn't my choice—if we were being manipulated into it—I'd never go along.
'I'd find another way.'
"Last question. Do you know where the members of the Returners and Coexistence faction are?"
Jason gathered his thoughts for a moment before answering.
"Of the ones I know, two are Returners and one is Coexistence. Total of three."
"Tell me."
"Rank 4 Outspacer player, Rank 7 Cult player Beomho, and Rank 22 Coldblood player. The first two are Returners, and the Coldblood is Coexistence."
"Rank 4 and 7? Those two are Returners?"
"Yes."
I knew those two well.
'Of course, the trickiest ones left.'
Rank 4 was the top Outspacer player, a master at controlling massive forces. He had as much in-game knowledge as I did.
'And Rank 7.'
Jason knew him personally, calling him by name. 'Beomho' didn't sound like a Cult name, so it was probably his real one. As far as I knew, Rank 7 was the only Korean among the top Cult players.
'The most annoying one among the Cults.'
The highest-ranked Cult was Rank 2. One might think lower rank meant weaker, but that wasn't the case.
'Rank 2 is just brute force—easier to handle.'
Rank 7 Beomho, on the other hand, was the most sensible and strategic Cult I knew. In terms of combat sense and battlefield control, he outdid even me. Fighting him here would be a true fight for survival.
'The two Returners are too much in my current state.'
Both were sharp enough to have likely noticed my presence already.
The Outspacer especially knew that Aimorphs factored into evolution conditions. As long as I was in this world, he'd be fully prepared for me coming after him eventually.
'So that leaves...'
The Coexistence faction's Coldblood player.
"Where's Rank 22?"
"I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"I missed Rank 22 and only caught their companion. I just know they're hiding somewhere in the Empire."
The Cult Empire's territory was even vaster than Mega Corp's. With countless star systems under its control, "somewhere in the Empire" was as good as nothing.
"I don't know Beomho's location either, so the only one I can tell you is Rank 4's."
'...This is getting tricky.'
Facing Rank 4 without knowing Rank 7's position wouldn't be easy. They were in the same faction, so they might be together.
What if they both came for me to take me down?
'I'd be done for.'
Even with my full Galleron swarm and Gigacracker, it'd be my defeat.
As I pondered deeply, the Mother of Heaven stood up.
｢I have something to say.｣
"Yeah?"
｢...I know a way to find Rank 22's location.｣
"What?"
｢But promise me one thing first.｣
Her pumpkin-colored eyes gleamed like lantern flames as they fixed on me.
｢When you meet that kid, talk first. Don't attack right away.｣
"What if they attack first?"
｢They're a scaredy-cat, so probably not. If you don't believe me, I'll convince them first.｣
From her tone, she knew Rank 22 personally—more than just acquaintances; they seemed close.
'But who knows if it's still the same now.'
The Mother of Heaven had spent a long time in the Cult holy site without meeting other players. Her encounter with Rank 22 must have been even earlier, so would their relationship still hold?
After a moment's thought, I half-accepted her request.
"I'll try talking. But if I sense even a hint of danger, I'll attack immediately. I have too many people to protect. I can't leave any threats alive."
｢...Okay.｣
"And if I judge them not dangerous, I'll just subdue them without killing."
｢Yeah. Thanks.｣
She understood my intent and expressed her gratitude. Subduing without killing meant I could use symbiotic parasite spores to heal them, just like when we first met.
'Next destination's set.'
After the nest with Adhai's pack.
The Cult Empire, where Rank 22 was hiding.