Selim and her companions followed the winding path, passing through layers of fleshy membranes, until they finally arrived at a “Temple” built from twisted, scarlet branches.
Or rather, it was a blood-red Flesh Fruit, hanging upside down in the air, its form grotesque, like a gigantic, exaggerated human womb.
A middle-aged man who had been waiting there for a long time, his face twisted with sickly fanaticism, couldn’t wait to shout the moment he saw Selim: “Saintess! You’ve finally arrived! Look, this is the supreme feat we are about to accomplish!”
He spread his arms wide, as if wanting to embrace that monstrous creation.
“Our eternal savior, Kindred Soul Heaven, will descend right here!”
As if responding to the man’s call, the crimson branches enveloping the Flesh Fruit slowly unraveled, revealing a sphere wrapped in a semi-transparent membrane, within which floated a murky liquid.
Curled inside, completely naked and seemingly unconscious, was a woman.
“Selim! That’s Sharn! My wife!” Bart instantly recognized the woman he’d been longing for and cried out uncontrollably.
The middle-aged man wasn’t a fool; upon seeing Bart’s outburst, he realized the reason for Selim’s group’s arrival. Yet his rabid faith had long crushed all reason.
“Oh? This woman is your wife?” The middle-aged man looked at Bart with a flash of envy in his eyes. “Our Lord Kindred Soul Heaven will bestow upon her the highest of honors.”
“Bart? I’ll remember that name.” He continued, “To follow the Saintess here before us, you too are one blessed by our God. Come, join us in worshiping our deity!”
“I believe your m—…” Bart’s pent-up fury instantly overwhelmed all reason. Roaring, he lunged forward in a desperate attack.
Smack!
Bart was pinned to the ground, unable to move, by a Skinless Monster under Selim’s control.
“Keep talking,” Selim’s voice was eerily calm. “What sort of great deed have you accomplished?”
Her gaze swept over Sharn, floating inside the womb-like organ. Unlike the ending in the game, where Sharn became a withered skeleton, she was still alive, though her condition was unknown.
Selim wasn’t sure what this hidden story event entailed. She decided to first extract information from the fanatic in front of her—Bart couldn’t be allowed to ruin things.
The middle-aged man was startled, but upon seeing Selim standing with him, his mood quickly shifted to delight.
“Yes, Lady Saintess.” He laced his words with flattery. “This world is riddled with wounds, and though our merciful savior Kindred Soul Heaven wields supreme power, that power cannot be fully unleashed.”
“God loves all mankind!”
“The era of our God walking the mortal world will surely come.”
“Sharn? She is the key to ushering in the age of the God walking this world.”
“Mortals give birth to the Godchild. The Godchild bears the divinity. The God reshapes the world. In the end, all becomes one, all suffering ceases—this is the supreme ascension!”
Listening to him, Selim couldn’t help but sigh inwardly—so he was from the Descender Faction after all?
If she hadn’t seen the devastation of the entire Lupine Heart Kingdom during her time playing the game, she might have almost believed him.
“Why her?” Selim asked without betraying any emotion, her face an unreadable mask.
“Only an already-pregnant transcendent can possess the purest motherly love, able to embrace other souls and serve as the finest adhesive—the perfect cradle for the birth of the Godchild.”
“She is my friend.” Selim’s voice remained even. “Can’t someone else take her place?”
“Impossible.” The middle-aged man shook his head and went on, “Once this process begins, it cannot be reversed. Either the Godchild is born and breaks the shell, or both vanish together.”
“All great things are forged with sacrifice. The world may not understand, but they will obey!”
“Fine, I understand.” Selim let out a soft breath, dropping her mask. “Is there anything else to your so-called great cause?”
“No, please, Lady Saintess, witness the advent of the Godchild.”
“Sigh~” Selim couldn’t help but let out a sigh. “No wonder it’s called the Mother of Lustful Souls.”
“To make a monster, you actually need the purest mother’s love as nourishment? What an extreme irony.”
Silently, several Skinless Monsters moved into position, encircling the middle-aged man.
“Monster? Lady Saintess, how can you blaspheme the god so—” His feverish devotion was cut short by a sudden sense of danger as he saw the cold killing intent in Selim’s eyes.
“Doesn’t the Order of the Blood Players under the Mother of Lustful Souls always boast ‘one becomes a billion, a billion become one’?”
“Then letting you all merge should be just what you want, shouldn’t it?” A cruel and playful smile curled at Selim’s lips as she lightly tapped her mouth.
“No—!!!” The middle-aged man’s screams were swallowed instantly.
A horde of Skinless Monsters pounced, tearing into him. The sounds of gnawing and shrieking interwove, composing a blood-soaked requiem of death.
“Shh… Quiet.”
Selim crushed his soul and invoked Soul Devour, listening to the mingled “melody” while savoring the agony contained in the fragments of his dying soul.
“Uuu….” As Selim reveled in the pain, Bart’s choked sobs sounded from the floor.
After Selim had the Skinless Monster knock him down, Bart quickly realized her intent—to get information and save Sharn.
When he heard from the fanatic that there was no way to save Sharn, Bart could only hold back his tears.
Now, seeing his enemy torn apart, his overwhelming sorrow finally erupted as a wail of utter despair.
“Why are you crying?” Selim’s gaze swept over Bart’s tear-streaked face. She understood the pain but offered no comfort.
“Crying and sniveling—how spineless. Get up and help us think of a way!” Her voice brooked no argument.
She turned and walked to the giant membrane sphere containing Sharn, stretching out her hand to test it.
Suddenly, a change!
Several crimson branches instantly hardened into sharp spikes, whistling through the air as they stabbed at Selim.
“Watch out!” Sophia dashed forward, pulling Selim into her arms as she blocked the attack with her sword.
Having just recovered from the assault, Selim clung tightly to Sophia, took a breath of her scent, and said, “Wonderful, as expected of my Sophia. I knew nothing could happen to me with you here.”
“And you’re proud of that?” Sophia glared down at her, emerald eyes filled with lingering fear and faint anger. “Don’t joke about your own safety. Aren’t you afraid?”
“Mm… As long as I get a little more ‘Sophia energy,’ I won’t be scared at all!” Selim looked up, blinked, and gave a triumphant smile.
“There’s no such weird energy! Forget it…” Sophia sighed helplessly, turning her attention back to the blood-red fruit. “What now?”
“Hmm…” Selim pondered for a moment, then, with a thought, ordered a Skinless Monster to approach.
Squelch!
Even the Skinless Monster failed the foe-or-ally check, instantly skewered by the red spikes and dying on the spot.
Yet the very instant the creature perished, Selim detected something—a faint but unmistakable sensation.
It wasn’t sound, but more like a call from a kindred source, like a dying soldier ant’s final instinctive plea for the colony’s protection.
Though fleeting, Selim was certain it was no illusion.
Could it be?
A bold theory flashed through her mind: if every monster in this fleshly lair was destroyed, would her chances of being considered “one of them” rise to the maximum?
Before Selim could test this, Bart struggled to his feet.
All anger and grief had vanished from his face, leaving only hollow despair.
“Miss Selim, Miss Sophia… There’s no need to try anymore.”
Bart’s voice was dry and hoarse, utterly lifeless. “Just let Sharn and me remain here. Dust to dust, earth to earth…”
Learning there was no cure for his pregnant wife had finally broken him.
All Bart wanted now was to destroy this place, then rest here with Sharn forever.
“Mr. Bart.” Selim’s voice suddenly went cold, a hint of anger in her eyes as she stared at him. “Do you remember? You swore allegiance to me. Is this how you honor your vow?”
“…Sorry…” Bart bowed his head in shame, his voice barely a whisper.
“There is only one person in this world who can save your wife.”
Selim tilted her head and looked at Bart.
“Guess who it is?”
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