Chapter 67
Translator: penny
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: The Fake Mother's Illusion
If it was truly Mom's corpse, the Abyss would eventually hand it over.
Marigold spoke with a complicated expression.
"......What a shame. Esira."
"Yeah. Did they think that by desecrating even Mom's body with this pathetic trick, I'd break down and surrender on the spot? If they knew this wouldn't work on me, they should've just given up sooner and returned her."
If it was truly Mom's corpse, the Abyss would eventually hand it over.
This despicable ploy wouldn't work on me.
That way, the Abyss would discard this card and toss Mom back to me.
Clinging to that possibility, I pushed even harder on purpose.
To fool the Abyss, I had to fool myself first.
Thirteen years ago, I'd seen Mom's final moments with my own two eyes—clear as day. There was no way I could fall for it.
I'd watched exactly how Mom met her end, and how the Abyss had created a fake Esira to toy with her.
If I let myself get caught up in the same trick after witnessing that horrific scene firsthand, I'd be the world's biggest fool.
I won't play their game.
If I fell for it, I'd deserve to die for being such an idiot.
Mom's last words came back to me.
"I'm scared you'll get hurt, so I turned into a coward."
I hate that so much.
Under the tender excuse of protecting me, Mom ended up going off alone.
She died alone.
I was the burden.
I'd held her back from reaching even greater heights, farther distances.
'Mom, watch closely. I'm not that weak little kid anymore.'
I have no weaknesses left.
See?
I'm grown now—strong enough to spit out such cruel words without batting an eye.
So don't worry about me anymore.
I'll make sure my revenge succeeds.
The Abyss is a monster that desecrates Mom even in death.
I repeated that to myself thousands of times to hold on.
Until the fake Mom appeared right in front of me.
"......Esira?"
Every time that voice reached me, my heart felt like it was being shredded.
I barely held it together.
The moment I gave in to that voice, I'd revert to being a pathetic burden.
Still, I couldn't bring myself to ignore those tear-filled eyes staring at me.
It was a face I'd never seen before.
I'd never once seen Mom make that expression.
Maybe that's why.
It felt like I had twisted her face into that, and guilt welled up from deep in my chest.
A sudden thought crossed my mind.
Just once. If only just one more time.
I wanted to cling to Mom's embrace like I used to.
Without a single thought.
Letting go of everything.
Just running to her, calling out "Mom."
I nearly stepped forward without thinking.
I almost really ran to her.
I gritted my teeth and endured.
If I broke here, I'd never recover Mom's body.
Whether it was a hallucination conjured by the Abyss or a monster parasitizing Mom's body.
I couldn't tell in the end.
One thing was clear.
Either way, it was utterly cruel.
If the former, it was trampling on my memories.
If the latter...
It was defiling Mom—who was sacred to me—in the filthiest, ugliest way imaginable.
I spat out words I didn't mean, picking them like weeds.
You're the worst.
You deserve to die.
The time we spent together was hell.
With each one, something inside me crumbled away.
What child in the world could curse their own mom to be killed and stuffed?
Every time I opened my mouth, it felt like swallowing shards of glass, tearing my throat.
But I couldn't stop.
I had to stare straight at the Abyss wavering before my eyes.
'That's not Mom anymore.'
A wicked monster trying to drag me down.
If I didn't keep telling myself that, I'd collapse first.
I bit my lip hard.
Hard enough to taste blood.
I had to.
Even the slightest waver, and I might never recover.
If I could just drive out the Abyss possessing Mom's body, maybe I could finally give her a proper funeral.
In the end, I had to strike down the Mom standing before me.
Make her bleed.
Only then could I end it.
I had to.
"Esira, you've grown so well. I'm sorry."
How could it say something like that?
How could the Abyss mimic such a desperate voice?
I never imagined it'd burrow this deep into my heart.
It finally clawed its way inside.
For a moment, a cowardly thought flashed through.
So what if it's false warmth?
Even if those hands lead to ruin, I don't care.
Just for this instant.
I was going mad with longing for that embrace.
Ever since Mom vanished.
If the Abyss appeared as Mom again.
If it would just let me hold her one more time, even like this.
The more I resisted, the more I tried to look away.
That's why, maybe.
Where are you going, Mom?
The moment Mom turned away, my hand shot out before I could think.
Don't go.
Don't go.
Mom walked away with the Abyss.
Mom's gone.
Just the three of us left.
The Commander hesitated for a long while before finally speaking.
"......Looks like the Abyss has started moving again. To borrow even Ms. Asrania's form... I can't even guess their intent."
I clenched my fist tight to hide the trembling. Squeezing until my palm throbbed, I barely held on.
"......I'm going insane."
My voice cracked.
"Really, I feel like I'm losing my mind."
The Commander approached cautiously.
"You held up well, Esira. How hard it must have—"
"Mom."
I cut him off.
"How... how could they ruin Mom like that?"
My throat tightened.
What had Mom ever done wrong?
"......I'll kill them all."
The Commander reached out to comfort me, but I twisted away roughly, shoving off his touch.
"I'll rip every last tentacle to shreds."
"......Yes. I'll help you."
That was when it happened.
Someone approached.
Marigold, the Commander, and Esira all turned their heads at once.
Arachnoid Type α.
Marigold furrowed her brow in disbelief.
"......You're still alive?"
"I got lucky. It seems I wasn't a priority in the Abyss's computational algorithm. I survived because it ignored me."
He approached the wreckage of the shattered Arachnoid Type β.
"A pitiful state. This outcome was a variable beyond my calculations. Sensor module completely destroyed. Regrettably, recovery is logically impossible."
"......What the hell happened here?"
Marigold asked, unable to hide her confusion, and Arachnoid Type α's sensor flashed red.
"Arachnoid Type β. He was originally my creator. Fearing death, he sought eternal life in a mechanical body. My design purpose extended from that—to revive him as a machine even after his flesh perished."
Arachnoid Type α tapped the dented head component.
"In the end, he didn't get the immortality he craved. Just turned into scrap metal."
Marigold stood speechless in shock. She'd fought alongside him on countless battlefields but had never heard this story.
"First time hearing this. Why keep something that important secret all this time...?"
"It wasn't a secret. Access permissions were always open."
"......What?"
"No one ever requested to view the data, so there was no reason to mention it. You asked for the first time today, so I answered accordingly."
"Data access request? Are you kidding me right now? We're not some bureaucrats waiting for paperwork approval... Ugh, whatever. Pointless talking to you."
Marigold shook her head. She knew arguing over this was a waste of time.
The Commander eyed Arachnoid Type α's red sensor.
"Just one question. Why did the Abyss attack you?"
Arachnoid Type α emitted mechanical whirs as if running computations, then responded politely.
"I can't be certain, but there's one hypothesis. There's a chance it's recreating the records of Ms. Asrania purging Exim. This might just be the first step."
Marigold cut in.
"That's ridiculous. It only purged those who accessed the Blood Cell. Besides..."
Marigold raised her voice, recalling Asrania vanishing into the Abyss moments ago.
"What we just saw wasn't the real Asrania. It was a fake made by the Abyss. How could that be a recreation of the past?"
"Whether real or fake doesn't matter. What matters is that 'Asrania' has started swinging her sword again."
Esira pondered deeply before speaking.
"You mean it's the Abyss's will, not Mom's?"
"The Abyss is borrowing Ms. Asrania's power. It feels like the prelude to a massive storm ahead."
This isn't the end—it's the beginning. How many more incidents are coming?
"Wait, Arachnoid Type Alpha. You haven't answered my question yet."
"What is it?"
"Why did the Abyss attack you?"
Arachnoid Type α paused briefly, its red sensor flickering.
"My creator, Arachnoid Type β, left behind some peculiar log files. He yearned for immortality to overcome the limits of organic life. To implant a soul into machinery, he tried to steal the Abyss's life-replication principles."
Marigold frowned, struggling to follow.
"I can't make heads or tails of what this tin can is saying. Can't you explain it simply? Commander, do you get it? What the hell does that mean?"
"In simple terms, his master tried to steal the Abyss's technology to avoid death."
"......For real? But the Abyss is a monster to begin with."
Arachnoid Type α replied in a flat tone.
"Not certain. Needs further investigation."
She lay flat on her back, covering her eyes with her arms.
Right now, she didn't want to see anything.
It felt like the Abyss was talking to her.
No words, but it had to be curious about her state.
"Guys, if I say I'm not struggling, it'd be an obvious lie, right?"
In the end, she couldn't become a good person.
"......If I ever make you uncomfortable or cross a line, tell me right away. Got it?"