Chapter 277: Order and Chaos
After bowing respectfully to the tentacled woman sitting on the throne of flesh, the Great Demon King Ifriil turned to face me.
「I tried reviving a human who bore a grudge against the Hero… Hmph, a failure.」
「Great Demon King Ifriil, humans haven’t fallen as far as you think!」
「Useless. As I thought, humans don’t bend to my will.」
「Just give it up already!」
「Hahaha, give up? Bringing Asama here works in our favor too. Hero of Silesie, it seems you are indeed one who drives the wheels of time forward.」
「You’ll see soon enough. Things won’t go the way you hope.」
「That’s my line. You’ll understand soon too… Now, Mother of Chaos. The vile god of humans, Asama, who defiles our dark world, has finally been drawn out. Please, obliterate this corrupt world along with the evil god!」
「Areh, tentacle oneesan is the Mother of Chaos?」
When I asked that, Ifriil, who had been shouting with arms wide, looked at me in surprise. 「What are you saying? Can’t you recognize the divine presence of the Mother of Chaos? Weren’t you one blessed by chaos?」
「Well, the color’s different, but she just looks like a regular tentacle oneesan to me…」
Looking closely, I could see some differences in the version.
Compared to the usual earthy-toned tentacle oneesan, she looked more human.
Her skin was snowy white and vibrant, her lips were a glossy pink, and her hair and eyes were an impossibly bright, glowing pink.
More like… well, not exactly a Mother Goddess.
It’s hard to say, but since she’s topless, her chest has definitely gotten bigger.
She’s gone up a size from a beautiful bust to a more voluptuous figure.
By the way, the tentacles below are also a bright, glowing pink.
Maybe the bigger chest is the Mother Goddess vibe?
Nah, that can’t be it.
Other than that, she doesn’t look much different from the usual tentacle oneesan.
「How foolish of you not to distinguish the divine appearance of the Mother Goddess from an ordinary ‘Furuki Sha’! 」
「Hey, come on, how could anyone tell the difference?」
While we were bickering, Asama grasped my hand.
Her hand was trembling.
「Asama, what’s wrong?」
「I’m… scared…」
「Of course you are. Are you alright?」
「Yes, I’ll be fine. Forgive me, Takeru. I mustn’t—no, as a goddess, I cannot afford to show weakness.」
I knew Asama was over eight thousand years old, but seeing her in the form of an eight-year-old girl, trying so hard to be brave, made me feel sorry for her.
No one should have to make contact with some tentacled creature like that.
Even I wouldn’t want to.
「If you won’t come to me, shall I greet you instead?」
「Stop it, Ifriil! At least give Asama some time to prepare herself!」
「Heh, no matter. I have waited long enough for this moment… I’ll give you three more minutes.」
Ifriil, that sounds like a death flag if I ever heard one.
But this isn’t the time for snark.
「Asama, are you sure you’re okay?」
「…Yes, I’ll be fine.」
「I’ll be right here, so do your best.」
「Will you not come with me, Sonata? Hey, why are you turning away?」
「I need to stop the Great Demon King Ifriil!」
It’s not just Asama—tentacle oneesan and I don’t have the best history.
I’d much rather fight to hold off Ifriil.
Asama, who now looked like nothing more than a beautiful eight-year-old blonde girl, approached the Mother of Chaos with a face that resembled someone being forced to eat food they hated.
Slithering tentacles slowly reached out, brushing against Asama’s small feet.
「W-W… I am the Goddess of Creation Asama!」
「……」
The Mother of Chaos remained silent. Only her slender tentacles slithered around, wrapping themselves around Asama.
「Hey, Takeru, is this enough already? I’m really, really scared here!」
「No, you’ve got to hang in there until the end.」
「Kyah!」
With a scream befitting an eight-year-old girl, Asama was snatched by a tentacle, pulling her in. Ifriil, smug with victory, laughed triumphantly.
「Fwahahaha! Behold! The evil god of humans, Asama, has finally been defeated, and the age of demons has come!」
「Hmm…」
From the tentacles, Asama’s — or rather, the childlike Pope Anastasia II’s — ornate robes and underwear were being spat out one by one. Oh, she’s definitely been stripped.
「The great power of the Mother of Chaos! She has effortlessly melted and absorbed even the evil god!」
「No, she’s just being stripped. Look for yourself.」
As much as I wanted to laugh about the fact that even the Holy Pope was wearing ordinary bear-print panties, this was no time for jokes. Asama’s face appeared from within the tentacles, and sure enough, she’d been completely undressed.
The Mother of Chaos passionately kissed the naked Asama.
「Mmmph… Mmmnngh! H-Help… Mmmph!」
Asama, being kissed repeatedly, was gasping for air. Then, the silent Mother of Chaos finally spoke.
「Chu… neutral!」
Yeah, I had a feeling this would happen.
「The evil god hasn’t been destroyed… What is the meaning of this?」
Ifriil stood frozen, in shock at what he saw.
「You can see it for yourself. The Mother of Chaos has chosen to coexist with the Goddess of Creation.」
Even as I said it, I had to laugh at the sight of Asama, the Goddess of Creation of humans, being covered in tentacles, slimy and sticky, kissed all over by the Mother of Chaos. But this was clearly the will of chaos, and I had no choice but to accept it.
The essence of chaos is to blend together. The Mother of Chaos chose not to destroy the order created by Asama, but to merge with it.
「I refuse to accept this! Mother of Chaos, the evil god Asama and her followers are a blight upon this world. Please awaken to your true nature!」
「The Mother Goddess has made her decision. If you’re a Demon King, it’s time to listen!」
「Stand aside. The Mother Goddess has been deceived, and I will put a stop to this!」
「Oh no, you’re not going to interfere with Asama and the Mother of Chaos’… communication!」
From behind, I could hear Asama shouting, 「Stop it!」 and 「Please, no more!」 But for the sake of coexistence between humans and demons, I pretended not to hear it. With the voice of the Mother Goddess shouting, 「Neutral!」 at my back, I faced the Great Demon King Ifriil, who charged at me with his dark sword, and parried with the Neutral Sword.
「How is it that someone like you can stop me? What is this power!?」
「The fact that my Neutral Sword is overwhelming your dark power is all the answer you need!」
Asama’s voice was growing weaker by the second, and I was starting to worry that I wasn’t getting any of the power from her Sword of Light, but my Neutral Sword was working perfectly. Right now, I could probably cleave through a hundred-meter-tall giant.
「This is impossible… Three years of preparation, and for what? Seven million! Seven million vengeful souls are powering me! Why, Mother of Chaos, why do you not heed their cries!?」
Ifriil’s dark sword flared with even more strength, fueled by sorrow and rage.
From the walls, twisted faces of the ritual’s victims began to emerge in agony.
However—
「Iyaaaaahoooo!!」
Suddenly, a giant, sparkling face of Archbishop Nicholas appeared in the earthen wall. Swallowing up the other faces twisted in sorrow, Nicholas’s face grew larger and larger, ballooning like some grotesque festival mask. Ah, this is purification.
「What is this?! What’s happening?!」
「Nicholas, you…!」
Even after being consumed by chaos, he still held on to his identity as a saint and was purifying the other dead souls. What a saintly example! Well, except for the fact that his appearance was more sinister than the darkness itself, he was pretty much the perfect saint.
「Stop it, you monster! If this continues, my plans will— Gyaaah!」
The Great Demon King Ifriil, who had raised his dark sword, was swallowed whole by the ever-expanding Nicholas.
「Great Demon King Ifriil, you’ve lost because you absorbed powers you never should have!」
I said that, but really, things were far beyond just that.
「Stop it! Do you know who I am?! Gyahhh!」
With an oddly blissful look on his face, Nicholas swallowed Ifriil with a satisfying ‘slurp’.
Evil had been vanquished… or at least, that’s what I’m supposed to say, right?
In the end, Ifriil’s pathetic demise was the result of misunderstanding the will of chaos. There’s nothing else to call this but pure chaos. What even was that ending?
「This is getting out of hand…」
As I stood there, dumbfounded, I noticed something creeping up my legs—tentacles from the Mother of Chaos.
「Oh no!」
Before I could react, I was pulled into the swirling vortex of shockingly pink chaos.
「Phwah!」
Everything was so psychedelic that my head spun. So this is the world Asama saw. When I regained my senses, the face of the tentacle woman—no, the Mother of Chaos—was right in front of me.
「Uh, Mother of Chaos… maybe it’s time to stop this craziness, mmmph!」
And once again, I was kissed.
Beside me, Asama, still entangled in tentacles, was lying there, utterly drained.
「Chu… Neutral!」
Yeah, I was the one who taught her that in the first place…
The world, where humans and demons coexist, where order and chaos have once again merged—what’s going to happen next?
「Huh? Now what?」
「…Takeru, mmmph!?」
Suddenly, the Mother of Chaos grabbed my head with her tentacles and forced me into a kiss with Asama. I have no idea what’s going on anymore.
「What the heck is this?!」
「Chu!」
And that’s when I realized I was repeating the same lines Ifriil had just said. I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity.
I get it now.
The will of the Mother of Chaos is unfathomable, unpredictable, sometimes seeming like good, sometimes like evil, but in truth, it’s neither. Chaos, in its essence, is something no one can ever understand.
Even if I have no idea what the future holds, even if both order and chaos swallow everything, I’ll just have to keep surviving in this harsh fantasy world.
「Mother of Chaos, you’re making this feel like the final moment, so can we please wrap it up, mmmph!」
「Neutral! Neutral!」
Oh no, this isn’t going to end.
「Takeru, I… I can’t take this anymore. The rest is up to you…」
「Asama, Asama stay with me! Don’t leave me alone like this! Oof!」
Asama and I, stripped and drenched in slime, were finally released from the clutches of the Mother of Chaos… three hours later.