VIP Early Access
Eksklusif untuk member VIP
Password Protected
Chapter ini dikunci dengan kode khusus
Chapter 9: Lamentation
BEFORE the Demon Lord’s Army invasion event took place, two young girls gazed up at the night sky from the top of a giant tree.
“What a biiiiiiig moon.”
“It feels like forever since we last saw the moon, huh?”
Mynoghra’s forest had become Cursed Terrain under the influence of the civilization’s Distinct Traits. The gnarled trees twisted in unnatural directions, making it difficult to climb or secure satisfactory footholds. But climbing such trees was child’s play to the Children of the Forest—Elves and the closely related Dark Elves. Climbing the tallest giant trees on the city outskirts was like going for a stroll through the neighborhood for them.
…That being said, given the age and government position the two young girls held, it was a serious problem for them to be loafing around in the treetops at this late hour. They were in for a real scolding if the overprotective, worrywart Hero Isla, who’d become an adoptive mother to them, found out. So sneaking out like this was a small but thrilling adventure for the sisters. The peaceful and happy lives they’d been living recently had made the girls brave, and just a little daring.
Wѐb̆ ń о̊_vе̇l Е̄ n u_m̃ а
The scenery seen from the treetops was drastically different from what they saw on the ground. A poisonous-looking sea of trees spread out in every direction, blanketing the land, while the cloudless night sky shimmered and sparkled like a child had emptied the contents of a treasure chest on a black rug.
The most remarkable sight was the huge moon that illuminated the whole area like the sun and shone down on them with a mercifully tender light. They had set out on this little nighttime adventure to find that light from Mynoghra’s Palace.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
“The moon is beautiful, isn’t it?”
Caria was captivated by the beauty of the moon she hadn’t seen in a long time, when her older sister made that confusing comment. The moon was certainly smiling at them encouragingly with its bright and beautiful light. But Maria’s comment sounded more like a set phrase than a casual remark.
“The moon is beautiful, but…what did you mean by that, Big Sista?” she asked.
“Mm? His Majesty told me that if you say ‘The moon is beautiful, isn’t it?’ that it can mean ‘I love you.’” Maria faced her younger sister with a rare, tender smile.
Е n ů ḿ а̃
When did those two have that conversation? It was sparked by their king gazing up at the moon and muttering “Huh, the moon is here too” like it was a curious thing to him. Already on friendly terms with King Takuto by this point, Maria let her curiosity lead her into asking him about it, and she got that anecdote in place of an answer.
He dodged the question, she understood in her own way, but the story he’d told her was so interesting and entertaining that it stayed with her positively rather than leave her dissatisfied. And that was exactly why those words had spilled from her lips when she looked upon such a gorgeous moon.
“Wow! I’ve never heard that before!” Caria exclaimed. “His Majesty’s a walking dictionary!”
“Yeah. I learned about it for the first time from him. His Majesty knows everything.”
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
The secret moment she had shared with her precious king, she then shared with her equally precious little sister. Seeing her sister’s eyes sparkle with glee the same way hers had when she first heard that anecdote brought a real smile to Maria’s usually unreadable face. Her cherubic smile was like any other girl her age, and it seemed to make the twins forget that they had survived till this day, harboring a sad and painful past.
The twins were gradually starting to heal from their trauma since becoming Mynoghra’s citizens and the king’s caretakers… It wasn’t easy to overcome the trauma of having eaten their mother in order to survive their endless journey on the run from the other species who’d chased the Dark Elves out of their own land.
Еn.üm̄ а
Their mother had suggested it herself as a way to save her people from starvation. It was both a self-sacrificial act for her people and also a kind of transaction she’d made to ensure her blighted children would have their position secured within the clan rather than just leaving them to die because they would slow down the group.
The girls had realized the darker, bleaker reason for their mother’s sacrifice because they were wiser than their years. Ultimately, it resulted in Maria closing off her heart and Caria boldly showing off the deep scars left by the plague as a way of forever punishing herself.
It’s no surprise then why Elder Moltar and the other Mynoghra empire-management council members were reluctant to introduce the twins to Takuto as caretaker candidates. The young twins were living proof of the abominable sins the Dark Elves had committed by eating their clansmen, and they felt too guilty to display those sins in front of their king by introducing the girls to him. And more than anything else, those girls were beyond broken at the time.
However, those painful events were already a thing of the past.
The twins, who were finally able to feel at peace under the king’s patronage, gradually came to terms with the past and became capable of living in the present. This was, of course, thanks to the efforts of King Takuto Ira and the rest of his council.
However, for the two girls who wanted nothing more than to die to atone for what they believed were their sins, it was the existence of none other than the Hero Isla that helped them to recover in the truest sense of the word.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
“Hey! Big Sista! When did you get the chance to hear such a lovely thing from His Majesty without me?!” Caria whined.
“Hm? When was it? That’s my little secret!”
“Ahh! You won’t tell me? You big meanie!”
Giggling over her sister’s cute protests, Maria shifted her gaze back to the moon. How wonderful it was to comment on the beauty of the moon and one’s love in the same statement. How kind and great their king was to secretly tell her about it.
Just looking up at the giant moon seemed to grant the twins a mysterious new strength, and a smile spread across their faces as happy feelings bubbled up within them. They had no doubt they were going to become even happier from here. They thoroughly believed the world would smile upon them for all the suffering they’d been through. How could they think otherwise when the moon was so beautiful?
They were certain this was proof the world was telling them that it loved them. They were going to live happily forever and ever with their loved ones—King Takuto, Mama Isla, the Dark Elves—in their favorite land of Mynoghra. They were going to live life to its fullest for all the people who’d died and their deceased mother, who told them they must survive.
W е̂ b̌.n̈о̂ v ѐ l Ё ň u ma
They were going to live happily ever after, just like the ending line in all the fairy tales their mother used to tell them…
When she thought about it like that, Maria’s heart, which had been frozen by past events, steadily defrosted, leaving her feeling like she was on cloud nine for the first time.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
“Caria, the moon is beautiful, isn’t it?”
So she took her younger sister’s hand in hers and told her that special phrase. Caria looked a little surprised by the abruptness, but a smile blossomed on her face like a sunflower the moment she realized the double meaning behind her words, and she squeezed her big sister’s hand with rosy red cheeks.
“Ehehe, the moon is very beautiful, Big Sista!”
“Tehehe.”
E n̊ùm̂ а̃ .і ḋ
“Ehehe.”
The two girls burst into giggles.
The double meaning behind that phrase was usually reserved for men and women who were romantically attracted to each other, but girls their age didn’t typically catch onto the subtleties of it until later in life. Although it was mostly Takuto’s fault for skimping on the explanation because it was embarrassing…
At any rate, although they weren’t using it quite as it was originally intended, the phrase was still perfect for conveying how much the sisters loved each other. And comparing the beauty of the moon to one’s love for a family member was perfectly apt in this place where only the starry sky and a sea of trees were around to hear them.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
“I know!” Caria clapped her hands together, the moon’s tender light delivering a marvelous idea to her. “Let’s bring Mama Isla with us next time. And then! And then we can tell her ‘The moon is beautiful, isn’t it?!’”
“Ooooooh! Let’s! Let’s!”
Ё n̊ úmа̄_.і d
Their eyes sparkled as if they’d just struck upon the most wonderful of ideas. Just the look on their faces showed what telling Isla that phrase meant to them. Isla was their second mother. Of course, they never forgot the mother who gave birth to them. They were able to survive and find such happiness because their first mother gave up her life for them.
Never for a moment would they forget her warmth and love. At the same time, they weren’t blind to the sheer amount of love and affection Isla poured into them and their broken, closed-off hearts. They didn’t know why a powerful Hero like Isla cared for them so. But there was no denying the warmth they felt when they were gently hugged by those monstrous forearms that should’ve only known how to reap death and destruction.
“Tehehe! I just know it’ll be an even better day than today!”
When was the next full moon? They couldn’t wait for that day to come.
How much more beautiful would the moon be when all three of them looked upon it together? Just imagining it got Caria so excited that she couldn’t sit still, and she stood up.
“Keep it a secret till then, ’kay?”
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
“Okay, Big Sista!”
“…Tehehe.”
“…Ehehe.”
The girls giggled some more.
They were going to bring their beloved mother to this spot on the next full moon. They might get scolded for staying up late, but this was Mama Isla they were talking about—she would forgive them no matter how much she nagged them.
The sisters were going to take in the moon together with their mother. And the girls were going to tell their dear, dear mother those all-important words.
Wêb̊nо̇ ṽеl̀ Е̇ n̂úm а
“I love you.”
They believed that day would become the most special of all days.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
◇◇◇
WHEN the twin sisters next opened their eyes…they were surrounded by a sea of blood.
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”
“MAMA!!”
Ẃêb ṅ о̊ v̄ е̄l Е̇_nů.ma
Even after the enormous blast from Flamin’s self-destruct blew everything away, including the very ground, the twins and their mother were still alive.
No, that wasn’t quite right—it was a bittersweet miracle that Isla was still breathing as she was so far gone, death was inevitable. Her carapace, which was stronger than steel, had been burnt to the point it was melting off her body like wax dripping from a burning candle. About half of her giant body that had produced so much power to break free of the event’s shackles had been destroyed beyond recognition.
It was too tragic a sight to call fortunate, but at the very least, her head had escaped injury, and a weak gichigichi moan came from her chattering jaw. Her consciousness seemed to have finally returned as she raised her head with painfully slow movement compared to usual and dropped her gaze to confirm the wellbeing of the girls she held protectively in her arms like a mother shielding her children from a bomb blast.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
“A-Are you…okay…Mama?”
What she received in response was a sobbing question from her girls. Their faces were covered in soot, and their expressions were crumpled with messy tears, but Isla was able to confirm they were safe and sound. That fact alone filled her with the greatest sense of relief any mother can feel.
Е̇ ǹ uṁ а
Isla felt she needed to save these two girls no matter the cost. Because to her…they were daughters in all the ways that matter.
Why? Isla had never had a child before now.
Isla was a being who existed within the game of Eternal Nations. The Larva she spawned were indeed her children, but that was a part of the game system. They were simply assigned to her by the game’s settings—that was different from real children.
Even the Larva she spawned after being summoned to this world were more like insentient robots than children, and the fact was that they were more like drones with a swarm-mentality than thinking and feeling organisms. Putting it in terms that appeal to human sensibilities: they were far from anything that could be compared to a real feeling and breathing child.
…Isla fully understood that she was just game data. Even if she was given a cool-sounding name like Isla, Queen of Bugs, she was just a fictional existence created by “ones and zeroes.”
Was that why, as a character written with queenlike, mothering qualities, she searched high and low for an object to truly mother since coming to this world? She sought a weak existence she could protect and love, who would respond to her when she gave it attention.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
So it made sense why the twin girls, who relied on her and loved her like she was their real mother, had become her irreplaceable treasures. So precious, she would lay down her own life to protect them.
“You are safe, little ones? I’m glad…truly glad… So…please…listen to wh-what I’m about…to tell you…”
“Talk later! You’re bleeding—!”
“Y-Yeah! We need to hurry and have His Majesty and the Birdbrains heal you!”
“I am…f-fine…”
Isla wrung the last vestiges of her strength to speak to the girls while the phantom of death walked ever closer to claim her. The cold, hard truth was that Isla could have survived if she’d surrendered the girls to their death. All she had to do was immediately put distance between them with her extraordinary abilities and enter defense mode. If she had, Eternal Nations’ system would’ve intervened and made it so she only took limited damage regardless of how powerful and vicious Flamin’s event was in Brave Questers.
W̃ ê b̄ nov̄е̂l Е̃ nũ ḿ а̌
But very few mothers are okay with surviving at the cost of their own children.
Does blood prove the bond between parent and child? Does the amount of time spent together prove the bond between parent and child? No, even if they weren’t blood-related, even if their time together was short…those girls were Isla’s daughters, and Isla was absolutely a mother to them.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
“You girls are smart enough to know that…it’s t-too late…for me. That’s why…there’s something I want to entrust to you…”
She had too little time left. And too few options available to her. Suppressing her desire to scream and cry that this wasn’t how things were supposed to end, Isla frantically anchored her consciousness for as long as necessary to pass on the things her girls needed to survive without her.
“No, no, NO!! We’ll be good! We’ll do everything you tell us! So, so, please, Mama! Mama!!”
“I-Isn’t there anything we can—”
Ŵ е b ṅ о̌v́ е̇ l _É n̈ú m а
“Unfortunately, t-time is not on our side…m-my dears.”
“It’s because Cary and Big Sista are too weak! Because we tried to become happy! We’re being punished again for trying to be happy!”
“Why? Why does everybody die? All we want is to be together. Is it such a bad thing to say we wanna be with our mommies? Did we do such a bad thing? Are we bad girls?”
Isla wanted to scream to the high heavens that that wasn’t true. But she no longer had the strength to do even that much for them. Her life was already as fleeting as a flickering flame before a powerful gust of wind, and she had something she must do before her light was extinguished.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
“Let us die with you, Mama. We can’t take it… We can’t take the pain anymore…”
“There’s no reason to keep on living. There’s nothing good about being alive. Just pain and more pain and more pai—”
Е̂n̈ ùm а.ǐď
“Please…listen to m-my…last words…”
“……”
Isla’s greatest wish was to keep her girls alive. She needed to do whatever it took to send them somewhere safe—somewhere away from this hopeless situation they found themselves in. The three of them were currently standing at the frontlines of the war between the Demon Lord’s Army and Mynoghra’s army.
Flamin might’ve blown everything away by self-destructing, but that didn’t guarantee the Brain Eaters and the Dark Elves would show up before forces from Brave Questers did. If anything, there was a greater danger of some of Brave Questers’ infinitely respawning monsters coming there first to investigate.
That was why Isla had only one risky move left to rely on.
“I have a favor to ask of you two—”
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
“Eeyaugh!”
The girls screamed at the top of their lungs because their mother suddenly stabbed her remaining raptorial forearm into her chest and gouged out her own heart. They immediately understood what Isla wanted them to do…
“BLEAAAAAAAAGH!!”
“Heee, haaaahhh, pheee, haaaahhh…”
Caria retched and Maria began hyperventilating. What Isla was asking them to do brought back their greatest trauma and most horrific, haunting memories.
They had once heard about how, among the many skills Isla could acquire, there was one that allowed her to pass her abilities on to another…and how the inheritor of those abilities had to first eat her heart for it to work…
E n ú ma . ї d̂
In Eternal Nations, it was just an immemorable subskill that could heroize another nearby unit when Isla was defeated. But the emotional toll it would have on the successor in reality was indescribable. Their pain would be even greater the more they loved her…
“Please forgive your mother for leaving this world before you…and, this is my final request… Please eat me and live long strong lives.”
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
“No! No, no, NO, NO, NOOOO!”
“Why? *Sob, hiccup, sob*… Whyyyyy…?”
Isla understood how deep of a wound her actions were going to cause them. But she had no other choice despite knowing she was scarring her daughters. Even though she understood she was hurting them, she wanted her precious children to survive regardless.
“You will be all right, for you are my adorable daughters…”
E n̆ ü.mã . і̌ d̃
Master Takuto…I’m sorry. Please forgive me for acting without your permission.
Isla acquired a skill without the king’s approval.
〈！〉
Isla, Queen of Bugs has leveled up and acquired the following skills:
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
《Demise of the Crown》
Demise of the Crown is a skill that allows the unit to pass on the Hero trait to another unit from the same empire upon their demise. A final gift to be passed on before they die.
W е.b ǹо̆ve̊ l E n̆ ům̃а
“Demise of the Crown, to my precious daughters, Maria and Caria. To you, I bequeath all of my power.”
Isla handed over her still-beating heart. Its pale, flickering magic luminance shined all the brighter when placed in the girls’ hands. Before long, the light grew dimmer like a candle about to be extinguished…
“…Live free, my dear daughters.”
…and with her final words, the light of life that had been Hero Isla went out.
“…I love you.”
“MAMAAAAAAAAAA!!” both girls wailed.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
The twins knew just how miserable and painful it was to live at the expense of a mother. They’d already experienced the suffering of a lifetime going through it once before, and yet now they had to experience it all over again.
But their beloved mothers told them, wished of them, to live. To go on living because they are loved.
And so, the two young girls…
…yet again found themselves feasting upon their mother…
◇◇◇
…FOR all intents and purposes, the event from Brave Questers was still playing out.
Еnû m ӑ. і̀d́
There was more to the story than Flamin could’ve known because he was always defeated by the Hero and died in the process. In the game, it’s the Hero’s teacher who raised him like his own child, who dies at the hands of Flamin’s wicked plan. This father figure is a brave and noble man who constantly joins and leaves the Hero’s party from the very beginning of his adventures, and it’s his powerful abilities that occasionally lead the Hero to impossible victories.
And he’s the one who gives up his life to protect the Hero, who he loves like a son.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
The Hero laments his loss and despairs. But the words his teacher imparts in his dying moments help the Hero stand back up again. Just like that, he inherits his teacher’s will and strength, inciting even stronger resolve within him to save the world. The strength he inherits at this stage prepares him to eventually defeat the Demon Lord and bring peace to the world once more.
His is a tale of love, courage, and carrying on the wishes of those who were lost along the way.
Then what would happen if an evil person was put in the Hero’s shoes?
What if that person was already despondent over their circumstances and had the peace and tranquility they’d finally grasped cruelly ripped from them?
Е̃ n u m̂ ȧ .і d̀
What if, in a moment of helplessness and despair, they were forced not just once but twice to eat their mother?
What if it were young girls who were blessed by the King of Ruin and inherited the will and wishes of the queen of monsters?
The event couldn’t be stopped.
If no one was allowed to save them, then it only makes sense that there was no convenient way to save the world from giving birth to something so…lethal.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
The chaos of various thoughts and feelings jumbling together became a huge, unstoppable swell that filled the world.
〈！〉
Еṅŭma. іd̃
The Hero—ERROR—has awakened to true power!!
Promoting the status of the target character.
………
The target character’s profile settings are abnormal.
Canceling promoti—
The proCEss has bEEn intERvened by ■■■■
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Continuing status promotion.
Activating <<Demise of the Crown>>
Granting the Distinct Trait <<Hero>> to the target.
—ERROR— Awakening process has been duplicated.
—ERROR— Process cannot be executed normally.
—EHRRRRRR… Awakening is complete.
W eb̆ nоv̀ e l Ѐ ňu̇ mа̃
Even if there were someone out there who knew everything there is to know about the world, they would’ve had a hard time predicting this result. Even if there were a godlike being out there, they would’ve struggled to prophesize this. Things had become so intertwined by this point that the world was about to give birth to an abomination of unknown origins.
──And just like that, the eggs of hatred had hatched.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
Was it a mother’s love that made it happen? Or was it a mother’s insanity? Phenomena that would normally be impossible continued, overwhelming the world’s warning system to push through a mother’s greatest wish. The purity of that wish made it unstoppable.
The world is always cruel.
It always hated those girls and wished misfortune and despair upon them. But it is also cruelly fair. Thus, that cruel, cruel world fairly granted the twins the power to plunge everything equally into hell with them…
◇◇◇
Е̂ ń ù m̌ а̂. і́ ď
TWO small shadows sat in that place where everything had ended. They slowly stood and gazed up at the night sky. It blessed their rebirth from little weaklings who always needed to be protected to beings with the power to see their desires through and spread their hatred throughout the world.
The first time these girls tasted utter despair, it broke them.
The second time they tasted the bitterness of despair…
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
Konten Bab Belum Tersedia
Bab ini belum memiliki konten teks atau sedang dalam proses penyuntingan.
