Chapter 66: Eden, the Garden (5)
"Mister, hurry!"
"Hassle."
"Aw. What do you an, hassle! We just started walking! Where should we go?!"
The girls grabbed Nike’s arms and tugged. His sheer strength was no joke, so it wasn’t easy for them to pull him along.
They were stronger than ordinary girls, but they were no match for Nike.
"Huh?"
"Eeeeeh?"
"Wait, ugh, you guys! Grab him!"
"Mister! Mister! This way’s dangerous! Mother forbade anyone from going near it!"
"Forbidden to approach?"
"Yes. Let’s go look at the fallow deer instead! Please?"
"That makes even more curious!"
The girls broke into a nervous sweat. When they ca to their senses, five of them were hanging from Nike’s arms, getting dragged along.
It was an alien fissure in a dreamy, hallucinatory landscape.
Nike strode forward.
Where the girls had warned him not to go, there were many structures woven from flowers and trees.
So looked like round bird nests. Others had the shape of jars or geotric forms.
Crowds filled the place.
A lively tune flowed, and blue petals scattered on the wind. The fragrance was sweet enough to make you feel drunk for no reason.
"Mister! Mister! We mustn’t co here!"
"Mother will be angry. I’m scared. We’ll be scolded."
"Quickly, let’s go back. Please?"
"Hurry! Hurry!"
"Ugh. Why is he so strong? Is he even human?"
Despite the girls’ pleading, Nike stepped into the festival grounds. Inside, there weren’t only girls.
n and won.
Young and old.
Every human present was an adult.
All of them, without exception, danced naked.
So held hands and ford circles. Others stumbled as if drunk and tapped out a dance.
"Flower garden~ flower garden~ land of illusion, eternal paradise, garden of dreams~ Let us all play together, until the green hill becos Eden~"
"Flower garden~ flower garden~ land of death, eternal breeding, garden of blood. Let us all play together, until the witch’s hill becos Eden~"
The humd lyrics were rather strange. Nike committed them to mory and flicked his eyes quickly about.
"I know every face here."
He murmured under his breath.
They were all villagers he had t just before.
There was the old fruit seller and the crone beside him. The hunter was there too.
There was also the coachman who had driven Nike’s party here. He gripped a man’s severed head by the hair and danced with a cheerful laugh. His body was drenched in blood, and with his other hand he wrapped an arm around a woman’s waist.
Tears stread from the woman’s eyes while her mouth sang and laughed, lost in the revel.
It was an artificial festival scene stripped of all naturalness.
Nike’s gaze sharpened.
The air had felt wrong ever since they’d co to the Holy Land. It had grown stranger after they left it, and even on guard they’d fallen into this.
‘Hestia. Elena. They all vanished.’
In a single instant, as if bewitched, he’d let go of his senses.
When he ca to, everyone was gone.
‘But I can feel their presence.’
They were all still alive. Nike clenched his fist.
He waited for the prey to show itself. The Witch of Motherhood was more cautious than any witch he had t so far.
If he rushed in clumsily, she would never reveal herself, so he had kept his hands off until now.
The Archbishop and Hestia were in danger, but witch-hunting always ca with risk. Nike kept his head cold.
‘Exploits. Triumphant return. Wealth.’
It was about ti to make his move.
Nike focused and widened the range of his senses.
‘Elena?’
He realized Elena’s presence was very close. Not far at all. She was right here.
He searched for her with eyes and nose. As soon as he brought sight and sll to bear, he found her. He had caught Elena’s distinctive body scent.
"Mister!"
"Annoying!"
Nike shook off the girls. With one sweep of his arm, the stubborn girls clinging to him were flung aside. It was humiliating for them.
Nike vanished in an instant. The girls looked around in a panic.
"Uh… W-What do we do?"
"…Mother will be angry…"
"Split up, now. If you find him, report it at once!"
"Okay…"
"We won’t manage it the easy way! Should we kill him? Maybe cut his ankle ligants…?"
"No! Mother said to bring him back alive no matter what. If we damage the good, we’re all dead."
"…Okay. Sorry…"
"Get up quickly. We have to find that crazy mister before he does sothing."
The girls scattered, with their faces tight with worry.
* * *
‘Success!’
Nike used space magic to shake off their surveillance. He’d vanished through a needle hole in a blink, so the brainwashed children had no way to find him.
He could sense the girls searching frantically for him in the distance. Before the children found anything, Nike intended to take the Archbishop and get out.
"Elena."
Nike found the Archbishop. She was dancing naked with elegant grace. No one stood near her.
Even in a brainwashed state, they sensed instinctively the difference in rank of her existence and couldn’t approach.
Alone, the Archbishop moved without emotion. Her dance was truly enchanting and beautiful. Nike stepped toward her.
"I’m here to save you! Elena!"
"…Ah. And who may you be? What a handso man you are."
Elena slid toward him. Her lithe waistline stood out. She pressed herself against him.
‘This is making dizzy.’
As her sculpted body swayed against him again and again, Nike’s stomach lurched. Standing still made his head start to spin.
Sothing was wrong.
Has Elena done sothing to him? As he tapped his head to clear it, her lips pressed against his.
"…Mmph!"
Elena’s tongue slipped into his mouth. Loose and soft, her tongue writhed.
With the tip of her tongue, she tapped at his teeth.
"Get … please. I’m excited…"
She begged in a breathy voice, yet her eyes were empty. Her reason was gone.
Her hand slid downward.
Nike flinched in shock.
"Elena! Are you crazy!"
He shoved her away. She fell backward into a round nest woven of flowers and branches.
Petals drifted down across her round breasts.
The petals beca dots. The dots spun round and round.
Elena made a small circling gesture with her hand.
"Nike… my love. My shepherd. Could you co hold , please?"
"I’d rather not…"
But contrary to his words, his steps carried him toward her.
"Co into my arms, Nike… I want you. When I think of you, I beco heated."
"…No thanks."
But Nike drew closer. Stepping into the blue nest, he sank smoothly to his knees. Branches grew and sealed the entrance.
Elena wrapped his waist with her legs and tore open his clothes with her hands.
"Ugh…"
Nike groaned from the dizziness and the wave of nausea. Shaking his head and pinching his cheeks didn’t clear the fog.
Her skin felt soft as silk, and her body scent was more fragrant than any flower.
The air heated up.
Elena panted as if she couldn’t hold back any longer. She squeezed with her legs, and Nike couldn’t break free.
She pulled down his trousers. His eyes went unfocused. His body held no tension at all.
"Alright, now… Nike. Beco my man. Take my purity."
Thrill and excitent.
Ecstasy and lust.
Instinctive desire mixed with saliva.
When the excitent peaked, Elena grabbed his hair roughly and whispered in his ear.
"At last… I have it. The Vessel."
The voice that ca out wasn’t Elena’s. Her mouth gaped and fangs slid down. Just as she was about to bite his nape,
"Found you. Prey."
Nike seized her cheeks.
His endlessly red eyes stared into what lurked inside Elena.
From the cheeks he held, a blue energy rose in wisps. It looked like blue blood vaporizing from heat.
"…You’re fine?"
"Hee—"
Nike grinned crookedly.
He had been acting from the start.
Pretending to be dizzy, pretending to be drawn to her scent.
He had seen through the magic spread over the flower garden at a glance. The Witch of Motherhood knew nothing about Nike, so of course she was flustered.
All she knew was that he was the Vessel for the fragnts.
That if all the fragnts were gathered and poured into the Vessel, the Ascendant would descend.
‘On the fated night when the pale moon waxes full, I’ll return as a star.’
The Witch of Motherhood recalled an old saying.
It was the prophecy of Kyseraelin, third of the first three witches, the Ascendant, the Witch of Sin.
Kyseraelin had foretold she would return as a god to all who followed her, then rose into the sky.
Fifteen years passed after that. No one knew whether she had beco a star in the heavens or been extinguished.
There was no news, no revelation, no trace.
Naturally, the Sin was forgotten.
Her worshipers sought out the Sin.
The witch lieutenants she had commanded began to harbor other intentions.
On the fated day they were supposed to gather the fragnts and perform the descent rite, as the promise and prophecy decreed.
Instead, they began to hunt for the pieces of her body shattered at ascension and make that flesh their own power.
It was open betrayal, an act of revolt.
All the traitors set their sights on the Vessel. They struggled to gather the fragnts and pour them into the Vessel to seize the incredible power the Witch of Sin had once held.
The Witch of Motherhood was one of those traitors.
She stood on the verge of her grand dream.
Until she learned the Vessel possessed a will and power of his own.
The Vessel was able to use magic.
Soone unknown had clearly lifted the “Prohibition” that had been placed on him.
"You bastard… A re Vessel dares to use magic?"
"I heard that too many tis now.”
Nike tightened his grip. The witch’s vermilion seal inside Elena’s body lted under his power.
The instant he touched her, the influence cracked.
"Amusing… This is unexpected."
"You’re not."
"Do not talk back, child. How insolent."
Through Elena’s mouth, the Witch of Motherhood raged. Her voice mixed curiosity, scorn, and anger.
Nike squeezed harder. His red eyes pierced Dionea’s image. The Witch of Motherhood’s true body beca surprised.
From afar, she couldn’t suppress the Vessel. He was stronger than she had imagined.
"…Child. I’ll wait in the deepest heart of the grove. Co find . I’ll embrace you with generosity."
Nike snorted.
"Prepare to die!"
"…I will prepare a bath for you."
Fffft.
The vermilion seal carved below Elena’s navel withered and flaked away.
Color returned to the Archbishop’s eyes. She ca to, drooling heavily.
"…?"
"Elena. Are you awake!"
"…Nike? Eek."
Elena scrambled to cover herself. Flesh bulged below where her forearms couldn’t hide it. There was too much to cover and not enough hands.
"Put this on."
Nike took off his black cloak and handed it to her. He wasn’t particularly embarrassed, and he didn’t avert his eyes.
It was literally how you’d treat a naked creature that needed clothing. Flushing, Elena snatched the cloak and wrapped herself in a hurry.
‘…I’m wet? What on earth happened?’
She twisted her legs together. It felt slippery down there. She couldn’t rember what had just happened.
One thing was certain. Nike’s scent was left on her body.
‘…’
Elena breathed heavily and smiled quietly. She didn’t know the details, but it didn’t feel that bad. It was clear that they’ve gotten closer.
"Nike. Did you co to save ?”
"Ah? Of course."
"How co?"
"It’s the mission!"
"That’s true too."
Whatever his answer was, Elena decided to co up with a conclusion of her own. To her, Nike was the prince on a white horse and the black knight.
The problem ca next.
"…By the way, what was I doing? And where is this place?"
The truth was always sothing to fear.
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