Chapter 42
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: No Son of Mine
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"I never had a child like you."
I pushed deep in the direction Marigold had indicated, but there was no sign of the heart—or even an exit.
The place was covered head to toe in black, viscous slime that squelched unpleasantly with every step. What a filthy pit.
I sensed a presence that wasn't a tentacle.
Someone came running frantically from the opposite direction and bumped right into me.
It was the Commander.
'Still alive, huh.'
Protagonist's plot armor, apparently. Tenacious bastard.
If he bowed out this early, the game's story would go off the rails.
His crisp uniform was in tatters like an old rag, and his whole body was caked in dust and slime.
His limbs looked intact, at least.
His face flushed and heaving for breath, he skidded to a halt in front of me.
"You're alive."
"It's you!"
The Commander widened his eyes, then broke into a relieved grin.
"Haha, got lucky. The floor just gave way outta nowhere—dropped me into some weird sewer pit. Took forever to claw my way back up."
"Good."
"Weren't worried about me?"
"You're alive, aren't you?"
"......Cold-blooded."
The Commander flashed a wry smile and scanned our surroundings.
"You here alone? What about your crew?"
"They're in a safe spot. I'm heading for Sage's main body—the heart."
"The heart? You mean it's way down there?"
"Yeah. That's where the heart is. Gotta smash it to get outta here."
The Commander let out a belated exhale. He shrugged, lost in thought, then let out an incredulous chuckle.
"That's really the only way?"
"Yep. Simple choice: succeed and we leave, or we both die here."
The Commander's face stiffened. The tension rippling through his body erased every trace of his usual nonchalance. His seriousness felt downright alien.
"......Think you can pull it off? All by yourself, no backup."
"Weird question. It's not about 'can' or 'can't'."
It wasn't a laughing matter, but my lips twitched anyway.
"You just do it. Pound away till the path opens up."
The Commander stared at me blankly, then slowly shook his head.
He tapped his earpiece to check status, then peered intently behind me.
"Then let me help."
"Don't need it. You're barely holding yourself together as is."
"No, I can. I can see them."
"See what?"
"Their patterns. The path you need to take."
Absurd bullshit, but he didn't sound like he was bluffing.
"Looks can deceive—I'm a commander. I'll secure the optimal route, cover your blind spots. Trust my orders, just once."
That confident tone.
His survival instinct alone in this hell proved he was no ordinary guy.
I lowered my sword for a moment and fixed him with a glare.
"One question."
"Shoot."
"Why help? I'm not one of yours, not a subordinate."
"We're trapped here together. Shared fate, right? Plus, you fail, I'm dead."
"That all? No pointless sense of justice?"
The Commander clamped his mouth shut.
He brushed the dirt off his shoulder, and a sly grin spread across his grimy face.
"What if I just like you?"
"......"
"C'mon, don't stare like that—it embarrasses a guy."
"I was seriously considering leaving you buried here."
"Harsh. I got feelings too, y'know."
"You reek of ulterior motives. Cut the crap."
His beaming smile only made him look more suspicious.
That composure, even with death breathing down his neck. Definitely not ordinary.
He wiped the grin away and took a step closer.
"You've got a daughter to protect, don't you?"
"......Esira?"
"Yeah. A world worth living in needs a mother."
"......Ha."
"That's the world I wanna defend."
Normally, I'd brush it off as corny bullshit.
But right then, he looked every bit the true protagonist.
'Mother......'
Right. I'm her mom. I told Esira I'm her whole world.
That's why I can't crumble here.
If this weren't Asrania's body, I might've embarrassingly teared up.
Handy, this shell.
I swallowed my tangled emotions and regripped my sword.
"Fine."
Why turn down help from the protagonist?
"Then I'm counting on you."
I pressed my earpiece to cut the static and tuned into his voice.
"Right, 45 degrees. Three steps forward, hold half a beat. Slice the tentacle incoming from 1 o'clock first."
I moved as directed. Like magic, the Abyss impaled itself on my blade tip. I hacked through them like cordwood, pressing onward.
"Now! Two front, one behind!"
I spun my sword.
The tentacles split apart, and a path cleared.
"You see it? That red glow."
A grotesque, writhing red mass loomed in the distance.
'Revolting.'
Sage had rigged it so the heart wouldn't stop even if he died.
A part designed solely to eternally siphon magic power. To the Abyss, Sage wasn't human—he was a battery.
'Time to reevaluate.'
The Abyss wasn't some dumb brute.
It was a chillingly cunning intelligence.
If it could hijack even Exim power, it might be far more dangerous than we'd ever realized.
'What the hell do they really want?'
No need for this convoluted, intricate setup.
Just brute-force it and done.
The fact they'd built this stage meant...
They had goals beyond just killing us.
A chill ran down my spine.
'Please let my gut feeling be wrong.'
The moment I stepped toward the heart's core, a skin-pricking pressure hit me.
I threw out an arm, blocking the Commander.
"Stop. This is as far as you go."
"Huh? What the—"
"Magic density inside's off the charts. Your body won't hold."
An ordinary human steps in there? Veins bursting or mind shattering—pick your poison.
Sage hadn't joined Exim for shits and giggles.
"But I can still help!"
"No. You'd just be dead weight. Don't wanna die like a dog? Listen."
"......"
"Find a blind spot nearby and hole up. I'll wrap this up quick."
The Commander worked his lips, but my steely gaze made him bow his head.
"......Got it. Don't push yourself."
"No sweat."
He shot me one last look full of regret and worry, then melted into the shadows.
Now it was really just me.
I readjusted my grip on the greatsword and plunged alone into the center, where red light leaked out.
'Blow that thing, and it's all over.'
The throbbing red heart pulsed right before my eyes.
"You think popping that solves everything?"
Someone emerged from the darkness.
Sage.
"Don't get cocky. Heart goes, so does the shell you're wearing."
"Shell......"
Sage patted his chest—where a heart should be.
"Doesn't matter. This body's just consumable anyway. Served its purpose."
To treat a former Exim member like disposable trash.
The magic radiating from that heart marked him as no ordinary guy.
No combat skills, sure—but his architectural genius? God-tier. This endless cave and ruined city? Impossible without him.
Any normal person trapped in this labyrinth would've cracked before even facing the Abyss.
Begging to be killed, to end the horror.
Maybe the Abyss understood fragile human psyches better than anyone.
I'm only here because I'm no normal human.
Sage fixed me with an odd look.
"Mind if I ask one thing?"
"You think I'll answer?"
"You really have no memories?"
I planned to blow off any question.
But this one hit different—left me stumped on how to parry.
'......Memories.'
I don't know the Abyss.
Don't know Asrania's past.
Because I'm not this body's owner.
No memories was the truth—and a secret I couldn't let slip.
"What kinda nonsense is this?"
I answered anyway.
No yes, no no. Might as well be a yes.
No point hiding it.
Just me and this monster in the space.
Maybe that's what it wanted. No interruptions. Just talk with me.
"I can tell from how you hold that sword. Your memories are wiped clean."
I steadied my breathing. The Abyss was seizing control. Couldn't let it lead.
"What the hell's my connection to you?"
"......"
Sage bit his lip hard.
Hurt expression on an Abyss? Like a betrayed lover, he shot me a resentful glare, then whipped around.
That's when a red crystal floated up from the floor's shadows.
Blood Cell.
"That's your power source? Siphoning energy from the rock?"
Sage turned back.
"No. Wrong."
"Then what?"
"We don't use Blood Cells. We are Blood Cells."
Felt like a sledgehammer to the skull.
Probably pulled a dumb face. Mouth hanging open like an idiot.
Metaphor? Abyss weird phrasing?
Nothing like that in the original story.
Blood Cell was just a disaster mineral—or an addictive energy drug.
The Abyss itself as Blood Cell?
While I floundered, Sage pointed at my left chest.
"Think you're any different?"
"......What?"
"Feel it. That thing beating in your chest—is it really a human heart?"
No way, seriously?
Horror or shock—couldn't tell—flashed through me.
Sage's fierce scowl melted away like snow, turning impossibly innocent.
"Mom."
"......What?"
"Yeah. You're our mom."
What had I just been thinking? Blank.
"Mom, I missed you."
Sudden childlike whine.
Clueless kid vibe.
Spoiled talk from Sage's face.
Uncanny valley didn't cover it—straight-up terrifying.
Abyss lump mimicking human wasn't enough? Now calling me mom?
"......Claiming biological mom?"
"No way. How could we be born?"
If it'd claimed blood ties, I'd dismiss it outright.
But the Abyss seemed dead serious.
Lips quivering, peeking at my reaction.
Tense as hell, terrified I'd vanish. Pure abandoned kid fear.
'Don't buy it.'
I clung to reason.
It's a monster.
A monster out to kill me.
Just a ploy to drop my guard.
"I..."
I stared down Sage.
The monster in its shell.
"Never had a child like you."
"......"
"You horrific little shit."
Sage's face was a sight.
Soul-shattered, for sure.
Those eyes brimmed with inescapable despair.