79. Erosion (5)
79. Erosion (5)
'—!'
Viviant urgently halted her steps and hid her body.
Tak. Tak. Tak.
A Ners passed right by Viviant's side.
'The Ners I fought before were weaklings...'
If the Ners she'd faced were like ones just reaching adulthood, the ones patrolling here felt like trained knights—the difference was that stark.
Even just checking via Status Window, their stat differences were massive.
And you couldn't classify strength purely by the numbers in a Status Window.
Even with a stat gap, wielding those stats effectively required talent.
Talent in controlling your own body, that is.
'I absolutely can't get caught.'
The Ners here were the most combat-capable ones in the entire Colony.
Naturally, since this was the area around the Queen's residence, which had to be the safest spot in the Colony.
Viviant crept as stealthily as possible toward the source of the Holy Power she sensed.
Luckily—or so she hoped—it wasn't far.
The slaughterhouse and the bedroom were closer than expected. After all, they butchered humans in the slaughterhouse and handed them straight to Narim, so no need to build it far away.
Fresh delivery straight from the source, you see.
'It's right up ahead.'
The moment Viviant reached the slaughterhouse entrance, she cautiously peeked her face in toward the Holy Power wafting out.
'Ugh—!'
The sight inside hit her all at once, nearly making her puke on the spot, but she swallowed it back down and held it in.
She wanted to hurl everything up, but in this situation, vomiting would leave way too much evidence.
'You... you're too gruesome...'
Before her eyes was a shocking scene she'd never witnessed since arriving in this world.
Not even in horror or gore flicks back on Earth.
Countless humans dangled from the ceiling like livestock in a slaughterhouse.
Viviant squeezed her eyes shut, trying not to look, but she couldn't help it.
'They're all turning together.'
Steeling her resolve, Viviant opened her eyes and slowly stepped inside the slaughterhouse.
At the entrance area, headless naked humans hung upside down from the ceiling.
She passed them and ventured deeper in.
"Ian— Ngh."
Spotting one of her Holy Knights, Viviant nearly called out his name but clamped her mouth shut.
Who knew who might hear, or from where.
'No way...'
Gulp.
All her Holy Knights hung there naked from the ceiling.
'At least they're alive.'
Viviant checked the vital signs of the dangling Holy Knights.
Some were missing legs, but they were all still breathing.
'First, I need to meet up with Captain-nim and figure out how to escape this place.'
It was right nearby.
A Holy Power different from the faint traces of the other Holy Knights around her.
'Just around this corner—'
For five years since coming to this otherworld, Captain-nim had been her steadfast protector.
To her, he was like a father from this world—someone incredibly important.
That's why, before getting captured here, she'd tried to pass him her return scroll. Too bad it failed.
And there was Captain-nim, collapsed right before Viviant's eyes.
With a massive hole punched through his chest.
Blood poured endlessly from the gaping wound.
Viviant's face twisted at his contorted expression, dilated pupils, and the body gone cold. She let out the biggest scream of her life.
"Noooooooo!!!"
==
While gathering fresh Mana and Holy Power, a scream like a howl of despair suddenly erupted from behind me.
Viviant ignored my presence entirely and rushed to the fallen middle-aged man's corpse.
"No, no, no...!!!"
Forcing out Holy Power she hadn't even fully recovered, Viviant spammed Heal spells.
She looked ready to convert her own life force into nonexistent Holy Power, so I grabbed her hair and yanked her back.
'Where do you think you're getting life force from?'
Viviant was more precious to me than any other human.
I wouldn't trade her for 10,000 humans, even.
Unless one of those 10,000 had a Status Window, of course.
Anyway, Viviant was that invaluable to me.
I wasn't about to let her waste life force on what was now just trash, not human anymore.
"Let go!!! You yellow bitch!!! The Cap— Captain! I have to save him!"
"Viviant-nim. Look closely. He's already dead. No point wasting Holy Power on Heal now."
I commanded the Ners hanging from the ceiling.
The Ners fired spider silk, binding Viviant.
"Ah... N-No...!!! Let go!!! Release me!!! I have to save him! I have to!!! It's not too late! He hasn't died yet!!!"
Even with her limbs bound, Viviant twisted her body desperately, trying to reach the dead meat.
It was a heartbreakingly pathetic sight.
Seeing Viviant like that, I realized I'd fucked up.
'Hmm... this is bad.'
A clear mistake on my part.
I'd been killing so many humans lately, and my Queen life had dragged on, so I'd lost touch with human emotions.
Viviant clearly had a deep bond with the meat in front of her.
Makes sense—with that father-daughter age gap, and him being the Captain of her Holy Knights, they'd spent tons of time together.
Plus, he wasn't from this world but Earth, so she'd probably leaned on him even more.
Any human would act like Viviant with a loved one's corpse right there.
'I was thinking too much like a Queen.'
I'd thought I still held onto human heart and personality, but somewhere along the line, Queen priorities had taken over without me noticing.
Not that it'd lead to a better outcome for Viviant.
Her fate was sealed.
Eternal life in the Museum, displaying her Status Window for me.
But to keep her alive forever, brain health was key.
And right now, anyone could see Viviant's brain health was in the shitter.
Her mental strength was already shaky, and now a cherished human dies before her eyes? Keeping her sanity intact would be tough.
If she went full Narim-crazy, fine, but if she despaired and offed herself, that'd be a problem. So I made Viviant an offer.
"Viviant-nim. Let me make you a proposal."
"Bullshit!!! Shut up!!! Shut the fuck up!!!"
Viviant was freaking out, but I pressed on steadily.
"If Viviant-nim eats the human meat diligently, lets Erosion happen quickly, and enters my Museum, I'll release every surviving Holy Knight right now."
Flinch.
Viviant, mid-freakout, froze dead.
It had to play out this way.
In utter despair, sacrificing herself to save all remaining humans?
For regular adventurers, it'd be a worthless offer.
Sure, some with strong camaraderie might choose self-sacrifice, but sadly, most humans wouldn't.
Why die for that?
But the human in my clutches was a Saint Candidate.
Truth is, I didn't even need to bargain like this with my overwhelming power.
Just force her into the Museum exhibit. Done.
But I wanted to keep Viviant healthy and enjoying this world with me for as long as possible.
"How can I trust you...!!!"
"Simple. Release the Holy Knights first, right? I can show you them alive and returning to the city. Once confirmed, Viviant-nim becomes fully mine from then on."
Total inefficiency.
But if Viviant accepted Erosion without resistance this way, I'd get her Status Window fast.
It took months for Amber to fully join the Hive Mind.
Part of that was her initial hour of resisting Erosion without eating human meat.
But if she embraced it all?
Probably twice as fast as Amber, fully Eroded.
"...Fine."
Viviant gave her affirmative answer.
Truthfully, Viviant had no real choices.
Reject my offer? She'd endure hellish 2-3 months clinging to her humanity before becoming a Creature anyway.
Accept? Become a Creature painlessly and happily.
Either way, Creature-bound, so better to save the humans she'd shared hardships with.
I stroked the head of Viviant, who'd made her choice.
"Good choice."
[ Dagos. ]
[ Yes, Queen-nim. ]
[ Send all the Holy Knights back to Medherun City. ]
[ Understood. ]
"Oh, what about this corpse?"
I pointed at the meat by my feet.
"...Send him too. So the Holy Knights can carry him. At least let him be buried in his hometown..."
"Got it."
'When handing it to the Holy Knights, gotta sneak out the brain.'
They want the body anyway, so no brain won't matter.
This meat was originally for Dagos.
Least I can do is let Dagos have the brain.
'That aside, as expected of a Westerner? Those tits are huge... They call 'em Holy Power sacks or something?'
Viviant hung from the spider silk, body leaned forward.
Making her chest look extra emphasized.
'Pretty, though.'
I decided to display Viviant in the Museum with her tits on full show.