The red-haired girl remained quiet for the most part, only occasionally responding to direct questions with a simple nod or a shake of her head. She seemed indifferent to Greg’s rambling and jokes.
However, Greg could sense that the invisible pressure weighing on him had... eased, if only by a fraction.
As he continued to talk, Greg began to get a bit carried away.
Perhaps it was the eerie calm that had numbed his senses, or maybe he was trying to sell her an impossible dream, or perhaps, deep down, he felt a flicker of sympathy for this lonely Outer God.
In a moment of impulsive heat, he looked at that solitary, dark red back and said something he hadn't fully thought through:
“Hey, don’t be so discouraged. It’s just being trapped here, right? If I can make it out alive, I’ll definitely come back and take you out of here when I get the chance!”
The moment the words left his mouth, Greg wanted to slap himself across the face.
Damn it! What kind of stupidity was that?!
Taking an Outer God out of here?!
Nightmare had explicitly told him that if these beings ever escaped, the entire world would be finished!
He immediately tried to backpedal, plastering a sheepish grin on his face as he prepared to speak:
“Ahahaha, I’m just kidding! Don’t take me seriously! Look at me—I’m currently stuck in your bathtub and can’t even move. How could I possibly save you? I’m just a toad yawning—talking big! Just pretend you didn't hear that...”
However, before he could finish his excuse—
The red-haired girl, who had only been giving slight nods or shakes of her head until now, suddenly had a completely different reaction.
She still didn't turn around.
But she gave a very firm, deliberate nod.
“...”
Every word Greg was about to say, and every expression on his face, froze instantly.
His mouth hung open as he stared at the back of her head, his brain short-circuiting.
Wait, I was just talking nonsense, lady!
A chill far more intense than when his identity was first confirmed surged from his spine straight to his skull.
This didn't feel like being sentenced to death; it felt like... accidentally signing a soul-binding contract that he couldn't possibly fulfill, the consequences of which might be worse than death.
But on second thought, Greg forced himself to calm down.
“Wait, there’s no need to scare myself.”
“It was just a casual comment. I didn’t sign any actual contract. Words are just air; how much binding power can they really have?”
“Besides, I can barely save myself right now. Whether I can even leave this hellhole alive is still a question, let alone saving an Outer God.”
He tried to use every reason he could think of to convince himself and suppress the unease in his heart.
But just as Greg finished his mental pep talk and began to relax his tensed nerves—
The red-haired girl, who had been standing still, suddenly moved.
She curved her right hand and made a light flick against the fingers of her left hand, as if discarding some trivial item, and tossed something into the dark red lake water at her feet.
Plop.
A soft splash echoed, nearly drowned out by the sound of the waves.
What is She doing?
Greg’s eyes widened, completely unable to fathom the meaning behind her actions.
Before he could think further, the blood-red lake water, which had been rising and falling rhythmically, suddenly surged.
A gentle but irresistible current pushed a pale, exceptionally beautiful finger toward Greg as he soaked in the lake.
The waves nudged it along until finally, the severed finger lightly bumped against Greg’s face.
It was cold, fragrant, and possessed a startlingly elastic texture.
“What the hell!?”
The hair on Greg’s body stood on end, and his scalp tingled with fear. He nearly jumped straight out of the water.
“W-What is the meaning of this?!”
The red-haired girl didn't turn around or make any other move.
However, the waves in the lake surged again, repeatedly pushing the severed finger toward Greg’s mouth.
The force wasn't heavy, but the intent couldn't have been clearer.
Greg’s face turned deathly pale. Clinging to a final shred of hope, he asked tentatively:
“A-Are you... trying to... do a pinky swear? To seal the promise of saving you?”
The red-haired girl slowly shook her head, denying his guess.
Greg’s expression instantly became more miserable than if he were crying. His last hope was shattered.
He watched the pale finger being pushed closer and closer to his lips by the waves, his voice as dry as sandpaper:
“Then... you don't mean for me to... eat it, do you?”
Under Greg’s despairing gaze, the red-haired girl’s back gave a very clear, distinct nod.
“!!!”
Greg’s vision went dark, and he nearly fainted on the spot.
Eat it?!
Eat a severed finger of an Outer God raw?!
Can this thing even be digested?!
Won't I just explode and die?!
Or turn into some kind of eldritch monster?!
“T-This isn't a good idea... Great One...”
Greg squeezed out a smile that looked more like a grimace, making a final struggle:
“Eating it raw... it’s not very hygienic... and I’ve been living on soft meals lately, so my stomach is a bit weak. I’m afraid of indigestion... How about we find another way? I swear, I really will find a way to get you out! I swear on my noble character!”
However, his attempt at bargaining was clearly not accepted.
Boom!
A blood-red wave, far more violent than any before, surged from the lake surface without warning. Like a wall of crimson, it crashed down toward Greg!
This time, it wasn't a playful splash; it was a total submersion!
Greg didn't even have time to cry out before he was completely swallowed by the viscous lake water, which reeked of heavy rust and a cloying sweetness.
The force of the giant wave pinned him to the bottom of the lake. Cold water flooded his nose and mouth, surging into his windpipe.
Amidst the agony of being unable to breathe and the suffocation of drowning, he struggled in vain. He felt a cold, foreign object mixed in with the salty lake water being forced into his mouth, which had opened in pain, by an invisible power. It then slid rapidly down his throat.
This bastard set me up!
However, the moment that severed finger entered his body—
The dark mana that had been suppressed by the blood-red lake water suddenly went berserk, like dry grass doused in boiling oil!
The power originating from the Mother of Fragmentation’s finger triggered an indescribably violent reaction with the shadow mana from Nightmare within him!
They collided, tore at each other, and then... under some overbearing rule, they were forcibly merged, swallowed, and transformed!
He could clearly feel his dark mana evolving at a terrifying speed!
It felt as if one shackle after another was being shattered, opening a door to a true abyss.
But before he could sense the details, his final thoughts and perceptions were once again ruthlessly swallowed up.
...
The blood-red lake returned to its previous calm.
The gentle waves continued to lap against the non-existent shore, one after another.
Greg was no longer visible on the lake’s surface.
Only the dark red water rippled slowly, as if nothing had ever happened.
The red-haired girl, who had been standing still with her back to the lake, only now tilted her head ever so slightly.
Her dark red hair slid across her pale shoulder and neck with the movement.
An extremely faint, yet exceptionally pleasant female voice—one that carried a strange rhythm and a hint of faint helplessness—echoed softly through the deathly silent, blood-red space:
“Dummy~”
Rate on N.U.
