Drifters #7

"I like it. I like it so much I want to shove you straight into my belly and cradle you there. Normally, I'd retreat by any means necessary... but after so long without encountering a soul as despicably noble as yours, I simply can't hold back."

Niara Nephensis smiled at me with her eyes, her hollow gaze suddenly brimming with life.

"You... no, you wretched thing. I want to devour you and make you part of me. Then, nestled in my womb, I want to reshape you over endless ages."

"What the hell are you babbling about?"

"Become my child willingly. Be reborn and call me mother."

"Bullsh—"

"Such poor manners toward your mother, child. That's what makes me like you even more."

Niara extended her right arm. As it elegantly sliced through the air, reality's seams screamed open, and black matter poured out like a waterfall.

Arachne shouted. At her cry, the monsters swiftly gathered around us.

"Scaryyang!"

[Kyuuu!]

[Duumba! Gather while dancing yot!]

[Oroooorooo! Ruuuun awaaaay!!!]

Arachne quickly spat threads, forming a thread barrier. Before long, the vast chamber filled with the black matter Niara had unleashed. It ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠felt like we'd dropped into another dimension—like drifting through empty space.

[Hmmm. My power's weakened, so manifesting a proper world is tricky. The Ancient Labyrinth's interference makes even creation exhausting... Well, can't be helped.]

Tiny specks of light danced up from Niara's palm. They swelled in an instant, evolving into stars and galaxies far off. The miniature universe floating in the void boasted breathtaking awe and beauty—until Niara's gesture sent it surging toward us at explosive speed.

[Don't threaten Daddy!]

[Suuuung!!!]

Blood Jellyfish Princess. Black Magma Slime-003. The two unleashed massive torrents of blood and magma. They clashed with the stellar stream, sending cracks through reality like shattering glass.

We barely blocked the attack. Debris from the stars scattered everywhere. When our view cleared amid the wreckage...

Niara had clasped her hands, chanting some incantation.

"Come forth, my perfect children."

Her belly split open grotesquely.

[M-Mother...]

[Mooom!!!]

[M-Maaama...!]

Black abominations of bizarre forms poured from her sundered flesh—like ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠escapees from a body-mod lab. Mostly B-grade, with one A-grade mixed in. Their actual threat level? Estimated S-grade to SS-grade.

Necro Puppeteer took them on.

[Block those things.]

At Puppeteer's command, Curse Devil Gentleman, Neo Hyungseok, Jellyfish Queen, Ignis, Lilith—all five puppets lunged, clashing with the black entities. The tangle of death's and creation's spawn danced a grotesque ballet.

Meanwhile, Niara prepared her next strike. Whatever it was, a murky glow from her flesh writhed, forming some shape.

This fight's gonna drag on a bit.

Before the thought could settle—thwack. Unnoticed by Niara or even us, Azeras had snuck behind her and brutally gripped her skull.

"Heavenly Defiance Style... Apex."

Not just erasing her presence—she'd temporarily erased her existence to close in. Heavenly Defiance Style had a technique like that.

"...How did you get behind me?"

Surprise flickered in Niara's eyes. Then...

"Void Ghost Unity."

Azeras murmured softly. As the words spread through the silence, Niara's head—clutched in her grasp—dissolved like mist, vanishing without a sound.

And Azeras's arm vanished with it.

We returned to reality. Everything crumbled with a thunderous roar. The space-turned-universe shattered, distortions snapping back to reveal the original cave. The monsters that had burst from Niara's gut vanished too.

Niara's headless corpse slumped lonely on the cold floor. I left corpse inspection to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the other monsters and hurried to Azeras, now minus an arm, to check her.

"Azeras. You okay?"

"F-Fine... Just lost an arm to erase her head... That's all."

Azeras, now armless on both sides. The latest one couldn't be healed by Medical Mushroom-004's fluid either—it was the price for dissolving a god.

"...Can't fight like this anymore."

"Fight with feet... or head."

"No more scouting for you. Join the headquarters squad."

I'd planned to fold Squad 1 into HQ anyway, after taming more monsters. Timing wasn't right yet, but Azeras joined early—her combat power had tanked.

"Stay at base and focus on recovery. Got it?"

"Y-Yeah..."

"And thanks. We ended this without a scratch because of you. Good work—for real."

"...Just did what I had to."

From now on, Azeras's HQ role was rest. Nothing else. Too low-IQ for command, no arms for mapping. Not forever, though—I'd find a way to fix her arms later.

Come to think of it, there was that machine-type monster that does body mods, right? Gotta form a new scout team soon and hunt it down.

I patted Azeras's shoulder in thanks and headed with her to Niara's corpse.

"By the way, Azeras. You seeing this Niara chick for the first time?"

"Yeah. Heard the name, but first time... seeing her."

We stopped before Puppeteer, who was turning Niara's body into a puppet. Azeras chuckled at the sight.

"Why the laugh?"

"The Creation God we couldn't even look at... we beat her. Back then, unthinkable."

Even losing her last arm, she was satisfied—vanquishing a stronger god.

Like the other gods, Niara Nephensis was reborn as a puppet. The moment new-puppet Niara saw me, she hugged me like a long-lost son.

[My son!]

"......"

I roughly shoved Niara off and turned to Puppeteer.

"Puppeteer. She's soul-less, right?"

[Correct. No soul, just ego.]

"Then why's she calling me son?"

[Her memories and the emotions tied to them are stronger than expected. She genuinely believes you're her son, Gauntlet.]

Puppet-Niara was still batshit crazy. But friendly now, so not the worst. No more "shove you in my gut" nonsense either.

I'd let the title slide.