Chapter - 18 - Devil's Trap [5]

<[A/N: This chapter may or may not contain some disgusting content at the end. It isn't something extreme but don't say I didn't warn you.]>

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Joshua slowly opened his closed eyelids. The first thing that came into his view was a woman's back. He looked around confusedly. When he remembered what happened before he fainted, his vision cleared up. He looked at the woman warily. The woman had long black hair that licked the dust on the floor with a white plain dress. Joshua kept his mouth shut as he listened to the comforting voice of the woman.

<[A/N: You can find the said song below if you search {(Hush Little Baby ♫「Cover」by Mariachan)} on Youtube. I actually advise listening to it for better experience.]>

"Hush little baby, don't say a word,

Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird."

Hearing her voice, Joshua was reminded of his first mother, the one before Daphne. He closed his eyelids and focused on the lullaby as he a memory so distant surfaced back again.

"And if that mockingbird don't sing,

Mama's gonna buy you a diamond ring. "

Just like his past name, he couldn't recall her name either but he could still remember the warm touch of her fragile hands. Every night, she would sneak up on his room on her tiptoes. She was scared of his father for some reason he didn't know but this never stopped her from approaching Joshua, at least that was how it was before she died. After her death, Joshua had to stand on his own foot without anyone's support. His family didn't even recognize his existence, forcing him to eat the leftovers from their food when they left the kitchen and curl up into a ball in the larder room.

Before he was even aware of it, a single tear fell from the corner of Joshua's eye.

"And if that diamond ring turns brass,

Mama's gonna buy you a looking glass. "

Once she made sure she closed the creaking door behind her, his mother would help him tuck into his bed. With a delicate smile on her wrinkled and tired face, she would sing him a lullaby as she caressed his short hair.

"And if that looking glass gets broke,

Mama's gonna buy you a winter cloak."

For a second, the woman's voice and his mother's lip synched before Joshua realized that the versions were not the same. He forced himself up from his stupor. That was when he finally realized that his whole face was wet from his own tears. He checked the place he was sitting on quietly only to notice that he was tied up to a chair with a single handcuff. He tried to cut the rope with his mana but when he saw that he couldn't control his mana, he realized that the single handcuff was actually an anti-magic metal. Though, he didn't know which one. He looked back at the woman's back as she rocked the cradle.

"And if that winter cloak's too cold,

Mama's gonna buy you a pile of gold."

When he looked inside the cradle, Joshua saw a white muslin cloth that seemed to be covering the baby's whole body. Regardless, no matter how much he tried to, he couldn't see the baby's face.

'Is the baby too small for me too see- Ah, no. I think I just saw his/her black hair...'

Joshua turned his attention back to the woman.

"And if that gold was stolen, too,

Mama's gonna go to jail for you."

He didn't know why but Joshua felt his hair stood on end. He swallowed a gulp as he saw the woman's hand fell from the cradle as she got up slowly. Just like an anime scene when the main character babbled on this and that for an hour in a said single second, she took her time which made Joshua feel fearful.

'Damn it! Couldn't it be some kind of a barbaric maniac or a pyschopath who rattles about their love for killing and torture?! I'm fine with every one of them but this! Why did it have to be this kind of creepy- Oh my god, she is turning! No! Don't!'

While freaking out inwardly, Joshua gulped audibly as he watched the woman turn her face to him.

"So hush little baby, don't say a word,

Mama's gonna kill for you the whole damn world."

After muttering the last words, she started to murmur quietly. With her long black hair on her back, she had a delicate face that was fitting her voice. Other than her bluish white skin that was nearly the same snow white colour as the dress and her pupils that were shaped like buttons, Joshua didn't see anything out of ordinary but when he looked closely, he saw some stitches around her body like a sewed torn doll.

He wasn't sure if it was just him but he felt like they caught each other's eye. The four holes in the woman's pupils were making it hard to tell whether he was right or wrong.

As if confirming his thoughts, the woman started to walk to him. At that second, her feet accidentally hit the cradle and the baby in it hit the wood right beside him/her. Without caring about that, the woman kept walking towards Joshua, who was looking at the baby like he was trying to make sure the baby was safe. The cloth covering the baby fell aside from the strong impact, revealing a black cardioid. The cardioid beated like a real human's heart as the woman raised Joshua's chin by force.

"You are here~. Cain is heree~~!"

Unlike the soft voice from before, her voice was like that of a child. Joshua was already scared out of his wits by then but when he looked at the woman from short distance. He realized that it was someone he had already seen before.

"You... aren't you the woman from the elevator?"

"Right! You remember me!"

The woman smiled happily at his response. Her skin on her cheeks ripped a bit as she forced her lips to rise more than it could.

"You... no, you aren't her."

This time, her eyes curled up as she looked even happier.

"That's also right! As expected, Cain is smart!"

Patting his head softly, she grabbed a chair nearby and sat in front of him.

"Then, tell me Cain."

"What?"

"If I'm her and not her, who am I then?"

She smiled creepily as her face rested on her both hands. She seemed to be having fun from whatever was going on.

Even after rocking his head for few minutes, Joshua couldn't come up with anything but the woman didn't seem to be disappointed either. She just tilted her head and looked at Joshua innocently before getting up and taking the black heart-like object from the cradle.

Upon closer look, Joshua saw that the half of the heart was ashen as a black liquid fell to the ground. The woman sat back down as if nothing happened and caressed the cardioid.

"What about taking things one step at a time? It would be easier for Cain."

The woman said with a soft voice like a consulting mother. Surprisingly, her words seemed to work on Joshua as he thought about the things he saw until now chronologically.

"... You are either a soul-eater, a magician with psychic abilities or a transformer."

"Mhm."

"And seeing your level of intelligence, you are probably a demon... or a half, at the very least."

"Smart."

The woman praised Joshua as he kept on talking about the things he went through. He felt like he shouldn't do so but he couldn't stop himself either. It was as if his mouth was working separately from the rest of his whole body as it kept on blabbering.

When he finished speaking, Joshua inhaled deeply. His mouth was already dry.

The woman nodded her head satisfiedly.

"Cain seems to be short-sighted at places but still, Cain is indeed smart. I was right! See, I won the bet!"

'Bet?'

Joshua looked at the woman -who used to be the one who spoke about Nemesis in the elevator- in front of him as he wondered who she was talking to. Before he could even open his mouth, an old, crispy voice reached his ears.

"Ugh... fine."

When he looked at the source, he saw the woman smiling back at him which left him even more confused. Was it perhaps the heart?

Just as he thought so, he saw the woman's back increase in volume like a balloon filled with gas. Once the back of body reached a size it couldn't contain, it burst open as a figure emerged from it. Joshua had to hold himself back from throwing up. Meanwhile, the woman was as calm as ever.

"Ah, I told you about her, right? Meet my grandmother, Cain! Us, three, are going to get along well from now on, after all!"

The woman smiled happily as she took a black cloth nearby and handed it over to her 'grandmother' at her back to cover her naked body. It would be a shame if her Cain were to get traumatized by her grandmother's naked state!

<[A/N: unedited]>