Wait, are you saying my grandmother is a lady of the underworld?
[It's just as I said. Remember when your aunt told you how your parents met? Well, it's because your mother worked for your grandmother.]
And my father met her through her... Strange family, to say the least.
[Is that good luck or bad luck for you?]
... Now that I remember, how can I suppress the pheromones I release?
[You can't naturally, but something like perfume would work. Although the semi-beast population would avoid you more thoroughly.]
Ugh... There's nothing that doesn't come with a side effect.
I put my worries aside and relaxed. I spent some time talking to the goddess, and for the first time, I felt "comfortable" with her. Of course, I never stopped paying attention to my surroundings.
My concern grew by the minute, as several explosions could be heard behind the wall, accompanied by screams and shouts. It's normal on a day like this.
"Hey... Taren."
Contrary to what I thought, the paladin spoke to me herself. I feel strange knowing that my body is causing her discomfort, but in this circumstance, there is nothing I can do.
"What's wrong?"
"Your nose is bleeding."
What...? Surprised by her words, I touched my nose and it was true, my blood stained my fingers.
"Oh... Don't worry, it must be a side effect of using so much mana."
I tore off a piece of the remains of my robe and used it to wipe myself clean. I didn't want her to worry or cause more problems, not more than we already had.
"What's your name?"
I asked her. I was getting tired of being the only one whose name they knew, and in this place, it would be best if we got to know each other and she stopped being so tense.
I could see in her face how she hesitated, unsure of whether to tell me.
"My name is Marie."
"Marie, huh? Nice name."
Accompanying my words, I smiled at her in an attempt to lighten the mood.
[Mana 40000 / 800]
Huh? In front of me, a system notification popped up... What does this mean? Before I could investigate, Marie screamed in horror.
"Taren, your eyes...!"
What's going on this time? Curious, I touched my eyes and... they were also stained with blood. I was instantly alerted and used healing magic, but this only made the situation worse. As soon as I used the spell, I lost my sight. Everything in front of me was black.
[Mana 100000 / 800]
Another notification appeared, and at the same time, Sera's screaming voice became choppy and disappeared, and my ears were ringing loudly. I tried to stand up, but I couldn't feel any of my limbs.
[Mana 99999999999999999999 / 800]
Suddenly, everything went quiet. No matter how hard I tried to scream, nothing came out and I felt nothing coming out.
[I didn't expect this]
Goddess!
As soon as I heard the goddess's words, I felt as if my whole body was falling apart and turning to dust. Then it reassembled itself again.
I opened my eyes with all my strength and found myself in a completely white place. I wasn't in the cave, I wasn't with the group, and I wasn't with Hernesto.
[I'm here]
Alerted, I turned toward the goddess's voice and found something unexpected. A woman with white and gold hair tied in a braid, with small angel wings on either side of her head, was looking at me. Her clothes were nothing more than a long dress that trailed along what appeared to be the floor.
[Well, hello Lukas]
Goddess...?
I couldn't understand anything, I didn't understand why the goddess was in front of me and where I was.
My body!
Frightened, I began to touch my body, but everything was in order. My clothes were destroyed and my skin was still pink.
[What are you doing?]
Ah... No, I thought I would have my earthly body.
[Why would you think that?]
No, it doesn't matter. More importantly, what happened, where am I?
[...Yes, you see, you just died.]
...What did you say...?
[Just as you heard, you just died. Because of a mistake I made.]
I was completely silent at the goddess's words. I died? That easily? Why? At that moment, the goddess sat down in front of me, looking me in the eyes before looking away, embarrassed.
[You see, to create the rewards for the roulette, I was guided by your knowledge. Both the good and bad things come from your memories or imagination. That's how I created the rewards for this roulette, but I overlooked something obvious.]
W-what?
[The world you are in is a sea of mana, and thanks to the ability I gave you, your body became a sponge. Basically, you took in more than you could handle, and your body disappeared from existence.]
I disappeared? This can't be, it can't be possible!
Angry, I yelled at the goddess before standing up. Mori! I disappeared from existence because of an ability that was supposed to be good!
[I understand that you are angry, but calm down. I took a fragment of your soul and put the rest together before you disappeared completely.]
I-is that so...?
I collapsed on the floor again. Tears were streaming down my face at the thought that there might be no turning back. Fortunately, my fear was unfounded.
So, can I go back?
[Of course, I'll send you back to the world of Celynndra. But... there's a small problem.]
Sure, nothing can be perfect, but I'm sure it's nothing serious. Nothing I can't fix... right?
[...]
G-goddess, tell me, it's nothing serious, right?
[Your body was completely erased, you broke down into several particles and vanished into thin air. There is no trace of you left.] .....
[But don't worry! There is a free oni body, its carrier died and now you can occupy it.]
What are you saying...?
[I'll send you there with your system, plus some bonus stuff. You'll get the [High-Rank Oni Body] back, but not your stats. Hey, it's better than nothing!]
said the goddess, before giving me a big thumbs up and a huge smile. At that moment, my body started to slowly disappear.
Goddess...
[Yes?]
Before my body disappeared completely, I lunged at her and threw a punch at her face. But my fist was turned to dust before it made impact.
[Have fun, you'll meet the 3rd pillar of the world, don't cause any trouble!]
And just like that, everything went black once again.
<<<<>>>>
"Cough! Cough cough"
I woke up with a start, standing up as quickly as possible and looking around me. Everything was dark and covered in weeds and trees. I was in the middle of a forest.
"Damn it, goddess..."
Before I could think any further, a loud screech came from behind me. When I turned around and saw it, I found something terrifying.
"What the hell is that!?"
In front of me was a kind of white amalgam with multiple mouths and arms devouring a huge black dragon. Each arm tore off a part of the dragon and brought it to its mouth to devour it.
As if that weren't enough, a strong presence appeared behind me. From the undergrowth emerged a small woman with green hair and eyes of the same intense color. With a wave of her hand, all the trees in the area rose up and struck the amalgam with force.
The amalgam released the dragon and lunged at the woman before being blown up in a sea of blood.
[Alert! Alert! High-ranking creature within short distance of user! Flee!]
Following the system alert, a second window opened.
[Champion of Nature: Daughter of Life]
[Daughter of Life Rank SSR+]
[******************]
[******************]
[Weakness: None]
[Recommendation: Flee]