Chapter 9: Gorgon Begins to Doubt

The dark purple flesh squirmed. On the walls, the floor, and the ceiling, countless clusters of glowing purple spheres were tightly packed together, emitting an eerie light.

Twisted faces pressed against the translucent surfaces of the spheres, their expressions filled with agony and terror. Gradually, their bodies began to dissolve and deform.

Their limbs were forcefully twisted, their hair and skin peeled away bit by bit, and even their bones corroded to the point of breaking. Overwhelmed by excruciating pain, they were denied even the ability to scream.

In the unnerving silence of the temple, they were injected with venom and fused with flesh, their forms disintegrating into grotesque shapes. Soon, they swelled to monstrous sizes, towering two or three times the height of a man.

Their heads transformed into the human-faced, dog-headed monstrosities known as Uridimmu.

Their torsos and upper bodies became serpentine creatures with lion's forelegs, eagle's hind legs, scaly hides, and scorpion tails—Mušḫuššu.

From the waist down, they turned into red-bodied, eyeless draconic beasts with flat teeth—Ušumgallu.

One by one, the vicious monsters broke free from the purple wombs. As soon as they landed, they stabilized their bodies and ran outside. Immediately, new wombs sprouted from the flesh walls, with new humans being delivered to their horrifying fates.

This immense, unceasing factory of monster production was none other than the temple of the Beast Goddess.

After destroying six of Uruk's twelve fortress cities, Gorgon had constructed this terrifying temple of sin and suffering from stone and human bodies, churning out monsters day and night.

The monsters consumed humans to reproduce, then attacked human cities to drag more humans into the temple, where they were transformed into even more monsters.

This was the brutal truth of the Absolute Demonic Front—a ceaseless cycle of slaughter between humans and the warped remnants of humanity.

Surely, a being like Gorgon, who hated humanity so deeply, would delight in such a scene?

But she did not.

They were her children. Whether born of humanity or birthed directly by her own hand, they were all her children.

And yet, another child had died. Then another. And another.

The pain in Gorgon's heart grew.

So many of her human-converted children had perished, and now two of her own children had fallen as well. She would never mistake them.

But she had not birthed those children.

As the Mother, as Tiamat, the Beast Goddess, she should know every single one of her children.

That was how it should be. That was how it must be.

But she did not recognize that child.

She could not remember that child.

She had not given birth to that child.

This was an impossibility, yet it had happened.

Her child—a child she did not know—had turned against humanity and killed its own siblings. This was a grief far greater than merely losing a child.

She recognized the scent of that child, faintly recalled its silhouette. But who it truly was—no matter how hard she tried—Gorgon could not remember.

Her enormous body coiled in on itself as she lowered her head. A shadow passed over her pale purple eyes.

Who am I? Tiamat… is that me?

Am I really…?

No. That couldn't be. That mustn't be true.

It wasn't true.

Kingu… what exactly have you…

Thump. Thump.

Amid the faint squelching of flesh writhing in the depths of the temple, soft footsteps approached. They should have been drowned out by the sounds of pulsating tissue, yet Gorgon heard them clearly.

Her nerves tensed. She looked toward the source, the serpentine heads at the tips of her hair writhing anxiously in response to her pounding heartbeat.

"Mother."

Kingu emerged from the shadowy entrance, his face illuminated by the faint glow of the surrounding wombs.

From Gorgon's vantage point, looking down at him, she could not quite make out his expression.

Uneasy, she pressed her lips together, lowering her gaze. "What is it, Kingu?"

Kingu tilted his head back to meet her eyes, concern evident in his expression.

"The monsters we've produced recently have grown weaker, and the efficiency of production has dropped compared to two days ago. It's not obvious, but I noticed and wanted to ask—Mother, is something wrong with your body?"

He gazed directly into her eyes.

"Or is it because of that fragment? Has it caused some sort of rejection? I've told you before, that so-called King of Magic has been ill-intentioned from the start."

Gorgon's gaze fell.

"There's no such issue, Kingu. Don't worry about me. The fragment of Rhea is fine. It may cause some pain, but it's not harmful. As long as I endure it, there won't be any problems."

She lowered herself to the ground, leveling her gaze with his.

"Kingu, with the current monsters, it's impossible to break through the Absolute Demonic Front. This is preparation for birthing stronger monsters. Until then, I ask that you work a little longer and deal with the remaining cities."

Gorgon spoke with an uncharacteristic gentleness, surprising Kingu.

"Understood, Mother. I will bring back more 'resources.' Please rest assured." He nodded and turned to leave, but halfway out, he stopped and turned back, making Gorgon's heart skip a beat.

"Also, one more thing."

Kingu's face twisted into a strange expression.

"There's… a human crossing the wasteland in front of the temple, heading toward the goddess on Mount Elbif."

"That person has already killed quite a few monsters. I watched from a distance for several hours. His skill improved at an unimaginable rate. At first, he fought barehanded, taking several minutes to deal with a single Uridimmu. But within an hour…"

Kingu's expression grew serious.

"He changed completely. Now, he only needs ten seconds to kill an Uridimmu. After breaking off an Uridimmu's fang to use as a weapon and practicing with it a few times, he could kill in one strike."

"Before I returned, he was fighting an extraordinarily powerful Ušumgallu. By now, he's probably defeated it. What should we do, Mother? Shall I deal with him? No matter how skilled, he's still only human. As long as we overwhelm him with numbers, killing him won't be difficult."

Gorgon listened and shook her head.

"Let him go. That wretched woman on the mountain will deal with him for us."

"Understood." Kingu nodded and left.

"…"

Gorgon watched his retreating back, a faint golden light flickering in her vertical pupils.

Ah… Echidna… what should I do?

"Ah, I see… thank you, Echidna. It's amazing how you understand me, even though you come from a completely different place."

She murmured with a smile, placing her beast-like right hand over her heart.

"Is it because you, too, are a great mother? Either way, thank you… truly."

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