Chapter 61: Whispers of the Love God (Part 1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 61: Whispers of the Love God (Part 1)
An finally stood before the door.
The man’s sheer terror suggested that whatever lay inside was nothing good. Yet, much like a button labeled "Do Not Press," human curiosity and a natural streak of defiance drove her to stand there.
No, it wasn't just that.
There were other small, inexplicable reasons.
For instance... her intuition.
From the moment she stepped into this village, An had felt that something was profoundly wrong. In the shadows, she constantly felt a presence, yet whenever she looked, there was nothing there.
After meeting Eluka, that sense of wrongness had only intensified. It was as if something was hidden beneath Eluka’s lively, cute, smiling face—something far more terrifying than anything she let on.
But that "something" only made one more desperate to peer inside. Like the serpent tempting the first children to eat the apple.
"I’ll just... take one look."
An placed her hand on the doorknob.
The cold touch helped her regain some composure. She held her breath and listened for a moment, confirming that Eluka was still busy in the kitchen.
Then, she pushed.
With a faint sound of friction, the door opened.
An cast her gaze into the room.
Then, her pupils shrank.
*
From the moment she entered the house, a faint floral fragrance had lingered in the air. An recognized it as a type of perfume, one she occasionally used herself.
But as she opened this door, the scent became overwhelming. No—it was pungent.
It was as if several perfume bottles had been smashed simultaneously; the suffocating floral scent was almost enough to choke her. Yet even so, An could not help but smell the odor hidden behind the flowers.
The smell of blood.
A metallic tang so thick it felt inseparable from the air.
An saw it.
In the cramped room, a dim light flickered. A few moths fluttered around the bulb, ready to hurl themselves into the flame at any moment, only to be blocked by the cold glass shade.
Beneath that light, lying upon an iron bed, was a young girl.
She was completely naked.
And on her body, from her rounded chest down to just above her private area, was a hideous, massive wound. Mangled viscera spilled out from the opening. It seemed as though her blood had long since run dry; one could even see the blackened fascia clinging to her internal organs.
The girl had been eviscerated.
"Ugh—"
The sheer shock made An’s stomach churn. She covered her mouth and instinctively took a few steps back, only to step into a liquid that splashed onto her clothes.
It was blood.
The floor of the entire room was flooded with it. This was the source of the stench that even the heavy perfume couldn't mask.
It was impossible for this much blood to come from a single person. But if so, where did it all come from?
"Ah... gurgle..."
While An’s mind was in a state of total chaos, she suddenly heard a raspy sound squeezed from the depths of a throat.
It sounded like a vengeful ghost.
An’s neck felt stiff as she forced her head up.
To her horror, she realized the eviscerated girl was still alive. But her organs were scattered across the bed—how could she possibly be alive?
Disturbed by the noise An had made, the girl slowly turned her head toward the maid at the door.
"Gurgle..."
The girl’s face was as pale as paper, her eyes vacant. It was impossible to tell if she could still see anything, but she faced An, her lips twitching feebly. Like a dying person, she seemed to be using every ounce of her strength to cry for help.
But it wasn't a plea for help that she uttered.
Instead...
—"I... love you..."
With a distorted expression, she squeezed those words of supposed affection from her parched throat.
"I love you..."
"I love you..."
"I’m sorry... I love you..."
"Uuu... I love you..."
The girl’s voice echoed through the room like a chilling wind. It was enough to make one's skin crawl.
But just as An was about to flee in desperation, a familiar voice rang out.
"Oh dear, Master found out."
The wailing stopped instantly. Like a crying infant suddenly encountering a man-eating monster, the girl shut her mouth at once.
"Eluka..."
An slowly turned around. The movement felt so agonizingly slow that she thought she could hear the bones in her neck grinding together.
"Sigh, why did Master have to open this door?"
Eluka was holding a tray of tea, sighing with the helpless air of a young girl whose little secret had been discovered.
"According to my plan, Master was supposed to come in much later."
"Later? What... what do you mean by that?"
"It means... everyone has to... come and receive my vast, boundless love. Just like them."
Eluka casually tossed the teacup aside. Then, smiling, she lifted her shirt in front of An, revealing her abdomen.
There, on Eluka’s fair belly, beneath her cute pink underwear, was embedded a dark, swarthy human face.
Without needing to think, An recognized the face. She had seen it not long ago.
It was Eluka’s mother, looking exactly as she did in the painting.
"I love you..."
"I love you..."
The face wailed in agony, yet the words it cried out were still those three words of "love." It was as if she could no longer speak any other syllables.
"And this one too."
Eluka turned around.
On her back was another dark face.
Her father’s face.
"I love you..."
"I love you..."
The aged face was covered in tears, seemingly enduring unimaginable pain, yet the corners of his mouth were curled high. As he repeated those three words, his face beamed with a smile.
It was a sight so twisted it was terrifying.
"What is going on..."
An instinctively backed away, wanting to get as far from Eluka as possible. At this moment, she finally realized that compared to the eviscerated girl behind her, the smiling Eluka in front of her was the true source of horror.
"First it was my beloved father and mother, then dear Ade, then the neighbors who always looked after me, and after that... it’ll be your turn, Master."
Eluka turned back around. She counted them off on her fingers one by one, like a child counting her favorite candies, her eyes shining with pure joy.
"You see, Master? I have so many people to love. I’m so happy."
"Eluka, snap out of it! These things..."
"I am perfectly sane."
Eluka interrupted An with a smile.
"In fact, I’m very grateful to you, Master."
"Grateful... to me?"
"That’s right. It was you, Master, who taught me what true love really is."
"What—" An’s mind went blank for a split second. "I taught you?"
"Yes. That day by the lake, didn't you teach me, Master?"
Eluka raised her hands high, her expression ecstatic.
"True love is above all else! It knows no taboos! It allows one to possess the object of their love as a matter of course! Isn't that what you told me?"
"After I came back, I told the Great Deity about your teachings. The Great Deity really appreciated your ideas too."
"Deity?"
"Yes. The one who gave me the power to love—the Great, Merciful Love God, who governs all the love in the world."
Eluka reached her hand out toward An and smiled. "So, will you accept my love too, Master?"
"Love... Deity..."
An’s mind was a whirlwind of chaos. Too many things, too many unexpected developments—every single one was battering her sanity.
Yet, relying on her years of training and experience, she managed to piece together a single thread through the confusion.
The worst possible thread.
"Eluka, you..."
An lifted her face, looking at Eluka with a dazed expression. Then, in a trembling voice she didn't even recognize as her own, she whispered:
"Have you... been corrupted by an Evil God?"