Turning Away (Part 3)
Turning Away (Part 3)
[Snap out of it, you fool! Don't use physical strength—use magic!]
"Ngh......!"
Only after hearing the goddess's voice filled with frustration in her head could Melanie think somewhat calmly.
In a body whose stats were concentrated on magic use, trying to fight a demonkin with brute strength was foolish.
Perhaps because the power had been forcibly given to her through Luxuria's violation, it still didn't feel like her own strength.
【Black Swamp's Torrent】
Sinister black mud filled the area around Melanie.
It clumped together into droplet-like masses and spread in all directions at bullet-like speeds.
Instantly, the tentacles holding Melanie became tattered and slack, and she seized the opportunity to break free from their restraints.
[You should have done that from the start.]
'Th-thank you...... That helped me snap out of it.'
[......Thank me......?]
Boom! Boom! Boom!
—Melanie! I'll get you out right away!
Outside, Lili was still attacking Aatan's belly trying to tear it open.
If she attacked from the inside too, it seemed like they might somehow escape.
【Black Swamp's Calamity】
The black mud took on the form of palm-sized locusts.
The insects, which had multiplied from dozens to hundreds, ran amok and began gnawing away at Aatan's insides.
With a storm raging in its stomach, as if its innards were being ground to shreds by the excruciating pain, Aatan couldn't stay still either.
—Aaaaaaaah!!!!
"Huh?!"
Along with Aatan's scream, the inside shook violently, and the hole in its belly that had swallowed Melanie opened wide.
Aatan's tentacles pushed Melanie out as if tossing her, expelling her from its body.
Melanie's expression upon encountering the fresh air was anything but bright.
Escaping was one thing, but she hadn't anticipated that Aatan was in flight.
Spit out into the air, Melanie began falling straight toward the ground.
"Ah, I still can't fly or anything......!"
"Melanie!"
Lili, who had been hanging onto Aatan's belly and attacking until now, jumped off.
She grabbed Melanie and put force into their fall to direct them toward the sea.
The two covered each other's heads with their hands to protect them and safely plunged into the seawater.
But even now, they couldn't let their guard down.
As soon as they submerged, they saw Skillas aiming spears at them.
【Black Swamp's Fragments】
The spears thrown by the Skillas approached, creating bubbles, and Melanie hastily cast a spell.
Black rock-like formations appeared around Melanie, protecting her body from the Skillas' thrown spears.
Meanwhile, Lili pulled Melanie and swam as fast as she could to the sandy beach.
"Hahak, hahak......! Melanie! Are you okay?!"
"Y-yes......!"
—Aaaaaaaah!!!!
Aatan's scream came from the sky.
Ultimately, swallowing Melanie had been its fatal mistake.
Even though Lili had attacked from the outside for a long time, the damage was minor, but it had given them a chance to attack its insides directly.
The that Melanie had summoned was now piercing holes all over Aatan's body and emerging outside.
—Kyaaaaaa!!
—Kyaaaak!!
Thanks to the large prey that was Aatan, the number of locusts had increased enormously.
The locusts that burst out clung to other Sirens and began gnawing at their wings.
The Sirens twisted their bodies in the air in panic, but it was useless as the creatures' claws were hooked onto their feathers.
"Melanie! Ms. Lili!"
Pia had barely managed to gather survivors and was fighting against the Sirens.
Seeing Melanie and Lili come up on the shore, she ran toward them with a happy expression.
"Chuut♥"
"Ngh?!♡"
But she stopped in her tracks when she saw Lili suddenly plant a kiss on Melanie.
Melanie didn't know Pia was approaching, but Lili was looking at Pia with sinisterly curved eyes.
For some reason, Pia felt a tingling sensation in her chest.
She couldn't understand why herself.
"Paha♡ L-Lili, what are you suddenly..."
"Artificial respiration♥"
"I, I didn't swallow much water, and I'm fully conscious, so ngh?!♡"
"Chuuut♥"
* * *
Hearing news of the sudden major damage on the coast, the First Knight Captain Lancelot came.
Looking at Aatan's corpse, which had fallen to the ground stripped to the bone, he received a damage report from Pia.
"......That is all. I have disappointed you...... I am sorry."
In just one battle, nearly half of the mercenaries stationed here had died horribly.
Pia couldn't help but be certain that she had failed to meet Lancelot's expectations.
Feeling as if she had forever lost her chance to be recognized by him, she hung her head in despair.
"Hmm. Indeed, a demonkin worthy of being mistaken for a god by the islanders. For a demonkin of this level to appear where I was not, succeeding in exterminating it without being wiped out is a great achievement in itself."
"......Huh?"
"Knight Pia. As promised, I will give you the chance to fight alongside me. Tomorrow, we will enter the underground ruins together."
"Y-you mean it?"
Pia raised her head and saw Lancelot nod.
But for some reason, she didn't feel particularly excited.
Even though being recognized by Lancelot should have made her incredibly happy.
"However, no matter how excellent you are, I doubt you could reduce such a massive demonkin to mere bones. Who did it?"
"Ah, that was this mercenary here."
"......My name is Melanie."
Pia pointed to Melanie standing beside her, and Melanie gave a slight nod in greeting.
Melanie was naked, so she had wrapped herself in a blanket.
"I see. You do seem like an extraordinary person. But why aren't you wearing clothes? Did you suffer sexual torture from the demonkin or something?"
"Kyarrururur! Sir Lancelot, really!"
"Ahahaha! You're too mischievous!"
Melanie frowned as she watched the female knights clinging to Lancelot's sides burst out laughing.
Pia briefly thought it was too rude for a first meeting, but that thought was soon overwritten by another.
"Ahahaha...... Th-the Captain is indeed so cheerful......!"
Pia said with a distorted smile.
"Ugh...... My head keeps forcing me to laugh at that remark......!"
Lili tore at her hair as if resisting something.
[The Distortion is worsening...... It's nauseating and hard to bear.......]
'Probably everyone is supposed to feel affection for Lancelot.'
Even when Lancelot was in the game, he wasn't this kind of personality, but people always hyped up whatever he said, just like now.
As the women's laughter subsided, Lancelot explained the next operation.
"The underground ruins have become too narrow for the main force to enter. Therefore, the main force will guard the coast, and we will split into several elite teams to enter the underground ruins. Melanie, was it? You seem highly skilled as well; it would be good for you to join the ruins team."
Up to this point, it wasn't much different from Sephemo's story.
Except that far too many people had died.
* * *
'If the story you know also had this many people dying, does that mean you wouldn't have tried to stop it? Because they were supposed to die anyway—so it doesn't matter—is that it?'
'Isn't that your belief? That's why you're going to leave Pia to die.'
"......."
Melanie, who had entered the tent, lay down on the simple bed but couldn't fall asleep at all.
Luxuria's words kept swirling in her head.
Melanie had vowed not to arbitrarily change Sephemo's story.
Even if someone was dying before her eyes, if she knew that person was supposed to die, it meant she would ignore it.
Although those who died today didn't fall into that category.
Still, watching someone die was much harder than she had initially thought.
Most of the corpses she saw today were horrifying sights, missing their eyeballs, tongues, and significant portions of their organs.
That's because the mercenaries and soldiers who had been knocked out by Aatan had been eaten from those parts first by the Sirens.
'Soon, Pia too...'
"Melanie......?"
She was thinking about Pia when suddenly Pia entered the tent, startling Melanie.
"P-Pia?"
"I, um, I think I need to ask another favor......."
"Ah, r-right."
Pia's face was flushed as if embarrassed, and a magnificent cock stood firmly erect at her groin.
"Wh-where should we do it this time? Chest? Thighs? Y-you seemed to like armpits too, want to try here......?"
Taking off her clothes while suppressing her shame, Melanie asked about today's preferred area.
Pia, who had been hesitating, spoke in a very small voice, but with clear pronunciation.
"......Pussy."
Melanie's movements halted abruptly.
She looked at Pia with wildly trembling golden eyes.
"......Wh-what did you say?"
"......The hole, please give it to me."
"P-Pia. Why are you suddenly like this? You, you're not that kind of person."
Pia hung her head low and spoke with a dark expression.
"It's not the first time I've seen people die, but I've never seen such a horrific sight like today. If there are more dangers ahead, I might end up like that too."
Pia raised her head and looked at Melanie with an indescribable expression.
It was a distorted smile containing fear of death, sorrow for those who had died, and lust for the female before her.
"Before I die...... I don't want to have regrets. If today is the last, I really want to do it with Melanie. Melanie, don't you want to be with me?"
"Pia, snap out of it. You're a girl. Th-that's just a fake from the Demon's Curse. A-a Knight shouldn't give in to depraved pleasures."
"I don't care if it's fake. The fact that I like being with Melanie is my true feeling. Maybe I was a lesbian all along and didn't know it."
"Even if you say that......."
"......Are you rejecting me now?"
Melanie had no desire to do it at all.
Having lived as a man for longer in her past life, she didn't enjoy being penetrated by a cock at all.
Luxuria and Lili were nothing more than raping Melanie.
Even if she knew this might truly be someone's last request, there were limits to what she could grant.
"......I heard from Ms. Lili. She said you've already given it to two people?"
"No, why would she say that..."
"What's the problem with a slut who gave it to two people acting reluctant about a third?!"
"Kyaaaaah!"
Finally unable to hold back, Pia pounced on Melanie.
Overpowered in strength, Melanie had no choice but to be pinned down beneath her.
