Case 230: Cradles.
Case 230: Cradles.
''Hah...''
What the fuck.
This is even more disgusting than I'd imagined. As I stand up and wipe the blood off my face, a surreal sensation washes over my whole being. More than that, looking at the headless corpse of Emy gives me a sense of relief. The brain matter is still quite disturbing, though.
''M-Mama...?!''
Oh, I almost forgot there are these two as well.
BANG—!
BANG—!
And that'll be triple headshots.
Now, I know what someone might think when they look at this scene. Have I turned into a psychopath serial killer?
Certainly not. For one, this isn't even the real world. I don't think the police will catch me if I kill somebody here. The real reason, however, is because I want to get out of here.
Hm? Not that?
Ah, about Emy and my daughters, right?
They're not real. I'm not joking. They're not real people. Look, what normal people would have dark greenish blood like this? Oh, they're starting to revert to their original appearance as well.
After around a minute or so, three headless mannequins remain in the scene, unmoving.
''I swear, these doppelganger motherfuckers...''
Yeah. It took almost four months for me to be sure that these things were imitating Emy and my daughters. In truth, I had my suspicion all the way back when this Emy did it with me. Even if I look like this, I am an apprentice goddess. There's simply no way I couldn't differentiate Emy's semen from something else.
Immediately, I thought of doppelgangers.
However, I was worried that it might not be them, but the more I observed, the more I realized the extremely tiny details that set them apart, from the way they conduct their daily lives to their speech patterns and even levels of lust. Still, I was worried even after confirming that this Emy was a fake.
'How about my daughters?'
I asked myself. Even if I killed this fake Emy, what would I do about these two? Because I wasn't exactly familiar with them, it took a lot longer, and by then, I'd already forged my way to scan their cores directly.
In any case, that's pretty much the journey here.
I hated every second of it, but I'm here, so it's all good.
And... We don't talk about the nights I spent with this thing, alright? There is a reason why I felt so conflicted trying different things with it. It felt so immoral that I had to try them. I'm too much of a pervert now...
''Hah...''
I can't talk about this in front of them. Never.
As I stand still, looking at the night sky, I can feel the world slowly crumble down. All the way from the outer layers, rapidly approaching this place.
"On the overpass, we climbed over the railing, gazing up at the moon aimlessly. Inside of a wide cavern; here is where the world finds its ending...''
Well, I suppose this is it.
Leaving the darkness outside devouring my body, I gently close my eyes. As everything goes dark, the wind that just now was caressing my skin is gone, and I can no longer feel my legs.
In an instant, a distinct smell hits my nose. It smells like the hospital I've been in.
Resolutely, I peel my eyes open, quickly adapting to the faint blue light enveloping the place. A strange ceiling welcomes me. As I lift my head and look down, I see several cords connecting my body to somewhere else. It seems there are two on my head as well.
A brief examination tells me that these are supposed to connect my nervous system to the outside, which... I don't welcome, to say the least. Getting rid of them is easy, as I can just pull them out lightly. It's quite safe, unexpectedly.
Nevertheless, I still need to figure out why I'm lying in a metal cage. It doesn't have a roof, though, so I can just fly out normally.
''Hah...''
Standing on my real feet feels weird now.
As I look around, an eerie yet predictable scene greets me. Neatly organized in rows and filling the room are metal cages identical to mine—with people inside, of course. Even the cords are properly managed. That's nice.
Nevertheless... This is quite unnerving. It feels like I'm looking at a bunch of adult-size cradles.
In the middle of the spacious room is, of course, a giant tube connected to two huge copper pipes—one from below, one from above—and to the cradles. The mysterious liquid inside is the light source, it seems.
While I am curious about this dream machine that that bitch Mermaid Queen cooked up, I need to reunite with my loves first. One by one, I walk around, inspecting the cradles in the room. There are all kinds of people here—starfish, sharks, octopuses, tunas, etc.
But they're not here.
''Hm... Where—Hyah?!''
Suddenly feeling something fleshy touching my shoulder from behind, I quickly pull out my gun and turn around. There, two shades of red and orange stand.
''...Huh?''
''Long time no see, Sylvia...!''
''I missed you!''
Then, I am promptly being hugged by both Tina and Anna. Hit by the distinct smells and the familiar warmth, my mind briefly goes dazed, but I recover right after.
Hugging them back, I feel tears escaping my eyes.
''I also missed you guys...''
After sobbing, cuddling, and kissing for a while, we finally get to the main business.
''So you guys fell into an illusion, too?'' I ask.
''Yes, unfortunately.'' Tina replies, sighing. ''Anna and I were living together with 'you' in a castle. Anna was your wife while I was your secret lover.''
''Although it wasn't really a secret when everybody knew you two were having something together.'' Anna adds with an awkward smile.
What is this? A drama plot?
''We only noticed it after a few days.'' Anna scratches her cheek. ''I thought my instinct was betraying me... But Christina told me otherwise.''
Ah, it only took them a few days? I guess this is why that instinct thingy is broken.
''Good job, both of you.'' I say with a smile as I stroke both of their hands. ''I'm really glad you did that.''
Blushing, Aragon's princess unexpectedly bows her head.
''I am sorry for acting unfaithful, Sylvia. Truthfully, we did sleep with that fake.'' She says apologetically. ''Although Anna didn't get to do much.''
''Don't say it outright like that...!''
''Pfft- Hahah!'' I burst into laughter. ''It's not that serious. We didn't know, and that's fine. I slept with the fake Emy quite a lot as well.''
Predictably, Tina frowns in discomfort while Anna blushes instead. These two really fit together, huh?
Feeling a bit mischievous, I get closer to Anna and whisper into her fluffy cat ears. ''It was quite convincing, you know? I really thought I was going to get pregnant with how much it came inside me.''
''...''
Sensing Anna's heartbeat getting wilder and wilder, I circle my arms around her waist and continue my tease.
''And when it stepped on me—''
''That's enough, you degenerates.''
Right then, Tina promptly pinches our ears and separates us.
''Ouch, ouch!''
''Why me?!''
After getting a lecture from Tina on why we shouldn't go too far with fetishes, which, unfortunately, I have already committed, we are finally released.
''Phew...''
I suppose this story will only be told to Anna. But for now, let's go find the others.