Chapter 65
Translator: penny
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: Don't Defile the Woman in My Memories
Don't defile the woman in my memories.
The moment the word "Abyss" slipped out, the Commander and Reina exchanged a glance.
Literal silence fell.
"Ah, fuck."
Marigold was the first to shatter the stillness.
The childlike innocence she'd shown just moments ago had vanished without a trace.
The playfulness and levity peeled away in an instant, leaving only a hardened expression.
It was as if she'd reverted to the Marigold from long ago.
"......"
The Commander clamped his mouth shut. His kindly mask had shattered into pieces.
The fact that a curse had burst out unfiltered suggested Marigold sensed the situation spiraling out of control, just like him.
'If I'd known it'd come to this, I should've brought more backup.'
The Commander thought to himself.
He'd hoped nothing would happen, but with the Abyss in play, he knew better than anyone that nothing happening was impossible.
Thirteen years ago, he, Marigold, and Esira—everyone except Reina—had survived a tragedy.
Esira gripped the greatsword on her back tightly.
"......"
A flicker of tenderness welled up in Marigold's eyes.
She was reminded of the child left alone after losing her mother thirteen years ago. She'd grown so much since then, but traces of that youthful innocence lingered just a bit.
Marigold slowly shook her head.
This wasn't the time to get lost in sentiment.
She bit her lip hard, shoving aside the memories cluttering her mind, her gaze cooling to ice once more.
Gurgle.
At that moment, bubbles burst from the black liquid pooled on the floor.
It was like a living creature. As if it were breathing.
The slimy puddle rippled.
Marigold furrowed her brow and muttered through gritted teeth.
"......Fucking hell. For real."
She irritably swept her hair back, her fingertips tense with force.
"Commander, who the hell did you call here? It was Arachnoid, right?"
Her tone had shifted completely.
Even as Marigold's true colors emerged, the Commander nodded without flinching.
"Yeah. It was definitely Arachnoid."
"But this is a trap? Does that even make sense? Fuck, does it?"
Marigold roughly raked her hair back. Her eyes locked onto the lab door.
She glared back and forth between the sealed lab door and the Abyss on the floor, her expression screaming disbelief.
"That tin can's Exim. One of ours."
Her spat words dripped with betrayal and confusion.
Arachnoid Type α.
Prioritizes efficiency.
Such a being wouldn't orchestrate something this messy out of personal malice or a prank.
Marigold shook her head fiercely.
"No. No way."
Her breathing grew ragged.
"That blockheaded tin can pulling off something this filthy? No chance. Might as well say the sun rose in the west. It's not the type to cook up a shitty plan like this."
Her eyes chilled over.
"Then there's only one answer."
Marigold gnashed her teeth.
"Arachnoid Type α—that bastard got taken out too."
"......But isn't it Exim Number 2?"
"Yeah. Second in line. But you haven't forgotten why the fourth spot's been vacant, have you, Commander?"
The Commander showed no particular reaction.
Unlike Marigold, he had almost no direct experience dealing with Arachnoid, even if they were fellow Exims.
He could take it as reference, but he'd have to hold judgment.
They'd have to confirm it themselves.
Naturally, they held their breath and stepped deeper inside.
Plop. Drip.
Something fell from the ceiling.
A sticky black mass.
The liquid that splattered at the Commander's feet writhed. As it spread across the floor, it changed shape—like a living slime.
It seemed mindless, yet instinctively repulsive.
"......That."
Marigold grimaced. Her nose wrinkled as if she'd caught a foul stench.
"It's Abyss."
The next voice that followed was markedly different.
"Fuck."
She added through gritted teeth.
"Fucking confirmed."
There was no room for doubt anymore.
Thirteen years ago.
The thing they'd believed vanished without a trace after that hellish day.
The monster they'd thought gone for good was now revealing itself right before their eyes.
"Why the hell are you crawling out now......!"
The moment golden threads threatened to shoot from Marigold's fingertips.
In the next instant, the situation flipped entirely.
The cautious way Esira had been carrying the greatsword like a baby on her back was gone. She had already drawn it, gripping it with both hands, and cleaved down at the Abyss.
Boom!
Fierce wind pressure exploded along the greatsword's arc.
The slashing gale tore the Abyss to shreds first.
The sticky slime couldn't hold its form, scattering everywhere before dispersing into black mist in the air and weakly settling.
The viscous liquid slumped, no longer twitching.
Esira swung the greatsword once.
The black residue on the blade splattered into the air and plopped onto the floor.
"......"
Her eyes burned with murderous intent, as if ready to bite into something.
She swallowed her boiling emotions and her ragged breath.
"The kid who could only cry back then, like thirteen years ago—she's dead."
I'm not weak anymore.
As if to say.
The black liquid clinging to the ceiling retreated inward immediately.
"......What."
Marigold gnashed her teeth.
A normal Abyss would've lunged recklessly. But now it fled without fighting.
No—retreated was more accurate.
The black liquid pulled back a certain distance down the corridor, then stopped, rippling in place.
"It's luring us in?"
Marigold let out a hollow laugh.
"Ha, insane. A blatant trap. There's a limit to toying with people."
Reina reacted instantly.
"High chance it's a trap. The enemy wants us to go inside."
"Probably."
The Commander sighed in response.
"But we don't have a choice."
The Commander gestured behind them.
The corridor entrance was now shrouded in a massive Abyss curtain.
Abyss pouring from the ceiling had completely sealed the exit.
"Better odds pushing forward than breaking through that."
The Commander gave a bitter smile as he looked ahead.
"We're already in it. Right in the heart of the Abyss."
The four moved without a word.
No one needed to take the lead.
They followed the Abyss's trail naturally.
The black slime spread thinly along the corridor, as if deliberately marking a path.
Faint lines trailed along the walls and floor, leading inward.
Esira held her greatsword low.
To keep it from touching the floor. Ready to swing at any moment.
Marigold stopped leading and fell in beside Esira.
Her earlier rage had subsided, but her eyes were sharper than ever.
"......This is definitely guiding us on purpose."
Reina nodded.
"Yes. We need to stay ready for an ambush at any time."
The end of the corridor came into view.
A massive door of reinforced alloy. The kind only seen in the core research sector.
Esira steadied her breath and stood before the door.
"......I'll open it."
The Commander nodded.
Despite its hefty thickness, the door slid open with embarrassing ease.
Precision machines and observation equipment filled the walls, smashed as if a giant beast had rampaged through.
In the center of the floor, above a cracked circular pattern, the Abyss undulated.
An oppressively thick aura that choked the air.
Marigold clicked her tongue irritably.
"What happened to Arachnoid Type α? It really dead?"
That was when it happened.
In the middle of the pool, a shadow stood.
Esira instinctively adjusted her grip on the sword.
Definitely human.
Esira's eyes narrowed. Veins bulged on the hand clutching the greatsword.
"......A person?"
"It's a person. But how is it there......"
Reina's voice trembled at the end.
The silhouette took a step forward.
At the same time, the lights flicked on.
Darkness receded, exposing the face hidden in shadow in stark clarity.
The Commander's breath caught.
Marigold's eyes widened, and Reina parted her lips a beat late.
"......Impossible."
No one knew who said it.
She looked unchanged by time, exactly as remembered.
Thirteen years ago.
The person killed by the Abyss.
"You've grown so much I almost didn't recognize you, Esira."
Asrania.
Standing in the heart of the Abyss, she cut a striking figure in her ornate attire, radiating true beauty.
Esira said nothing.
Instead, the greatsword in her hand began to tremble faintly.
Veins stood out on the back of her hand.
Breath leaked through her tightly pressed lips.
The memories she'd sealed away to survive came flooding back.
"At least you survive."
It matched the last voice she'd heard, perfectly.
How could she forget?
"I'm sorry, Esira. I was too late."
She gave a wistful smile.
"......There were circumstances. Hard to believe, I know. Where do I even start explaining this?"
Thirteen years ago, she'd always thought a day like this might come.
The worst scenario that flashed first when the Abyss reemerged—this was it.
No, she couldn't believe it.
Esira took a step forward.
The tip of her greatsword pointed straight at the figure. All hesitation from before was gone.
"......I'm not falling for it."
I'll kill you.
Don't defile the woman in my memories.