Chapter 253 – Immortal Centipede – 3

“Ugh……”

The moment I grasped immortality, a fierce headache crashed down on me. I staggered and even knelt down on one knee; it was excruciatingly painful.

Nix embraced my head tenderly as if she expected it. My head sank deep into the soft flesh of her two mounds.

Her chest supported my cheeks and forehead. Warmth radiated from the skin where we touched. And I could faintly hear a heartbeat too.

“It’s alright. I’m here. I won’t go anywhere.”

Her arms tightened around my head. My nose burrowed into the warm, slightly damp valley of her chest. A unique scent reminiscent of sweet milk wafted around.

Her very small palm patted my head. Nix’s scent flooded my nostrils. Strangely enough, staying like this made the headache gradually fade away.

Then, the void left by the headache was filled with memories.

All the experiences from Blnak 3, my relationship with the soul guardian, and finally the conversation I had with the goddess in soul state. Every single memory spread throughout my mind.

How long did I bask in warmth buried in her chest? All the memories returned. My body, which had been trembling in pain, regained its stability. My mind became clear again.

Even after the tremors subsided, Nix continued to embrace me, her gentle and soft touches still patting my head.

“You’re alright now. The headache is gone.”

“No, let’s stay like this a bit longer. I need to make sure the symptoms are fully suppressed.”

Nix tightened her hold on my head even more. Of course, the strength she used was such that I could easily shake her off if I decided to do so.

But I didn’t. Right now, I wanted to let Nix have her way.

Time passed again. Finally, the pressure pressing down on my head disappeared. I lifted it. The massive chest that had just been rubbing against my face came into view.

She must have held me tight, as a bright red mark was left on her upper chest. Nix seemed flustered as she tenderly caressed the mark as if it were some emblem.

“All done.”

“Yeah. Thanks, Nix.”

“There’s no need to thank me; this is what I should do. Are you feeling more like yourself?”

“Yep. All my memories have come back. Every single one from the time we spent together.”

“That’s a relief.”

Nix smiled lightly. It was a smile that felt natural and warm, unlike the shadowy or naïve smiles from her split personalities when she couldn’t express herself.

“Now, that your memories are back, let’s have a little quiz. Who am I? If your memories truly returned, you should know what that means.”

“You’re Nix.”

Thud, thud, a small fist tapped my shoulder. There was no force behind it at all.

“Not that. I asked for my name. If you answer Nix again, I’ll hit you. If you say you forgot, I’ll hit you ten times.”

The pitch-black eyes were fixed on me with a pouty expression. She smiled as she spread her knees. Naturally, Nix ended up looking up at me.

“I didn’t forget, so don’t worry, Flor.”

“I barely heard that. Well done. You have no idea how long I’ve waited to hear you call my name.”

The pouty expression transformed into a beaming smile.

The fact that Nix’s soul guardian name was Flor didn’t come to light in the game; Eclipse probably excluded it intentionally.

After I committed suicide using immortality, she must have whispered it as a farewell; a memory she wanted to keep just between us.

“No, I know.”

I pulled Nix close. Her face looked flustered as she looked up at me.

“Thanks for coming all the way here, Flor. And for waiting for me all this time.”

“……”

The pitch-black pupils widened. Nix, blushing, looked down and muttered.

“I never thought of this… Anyway, I’ve only gotten better in that regard……”

“I can hear you. What do you mean by ‘that regard’?”

“……Nothing at all.”

Nix quickly changed the subject. I pretended I didn’t hear it. I wasn’t dumb enough not to grasp what it meant.

“I – can we please let go now? We still have things to do.”

“No, let’s stay like this a little longer.”

I returned Nix’s previous words and hugged her tighter. Nix seemed to pause for a moment but then, resigning, wrapped her arms around my waist with a smile.

Despite the awkward position due to her imposing chest, we both didn’t mind at all. The hug continued for quite a while.

When I finally released our entangled arms, Nix’s face was noticeably flushed. Nix, who had been fanning herself, pointed toward the Black Flame Waterfall.

“What about that?”

“Don’t worry. I can handle it just fine.”

“That’s true. You’ve slain dozens of those before, so taking down one should be a piece of cake.”

Nix snapped her fingers. The Black Flame Waterfall vanished into thin air like a puff of smoke. Below it, the struggling Immortal Centipede rose up immediately. Its lower jaw clacked irritably.

The Immortal Centipede lunged at me with crazed movements, but when it saw the sword in my left hand, it froze in place.

Come to think of it, I hadn’t switched hands. I put the Wingless Nightmare into the sheath and wielded immortality in my right hand. I wasn’t a dual-wielder, after all.

Seeing my sword, the creature instinctively realized that it could be utterly killed. Its previously aggressive stance vanished as it backed away, maintaining its distance.

It even moved back as I approached.

“Fine. Do as you wish. I’ll take care of it.”

I kicked off the ground and charged in. I gently twisted my body to the left and brought my right arm close to my left side, lowering my stance to be ready to swing at any moment.

Realizing it couldn’t regenerate if it was cut by immortality, the creature attempted to escape by retreating.

Of course, it was a futile effort. I swung my arm. The image of immortality cut through the space, leaving a residual shadow behind. In the wake of the blade, a dark sword energy followed closely behind.

The sword energy thickened as it cut forward, drawing a crescent trajectory when seen from the side. It cut through the creature’s lower half with a dark aura.

The lower half, engulfed by the dark energy, was completely severed.

“Kyaaaaaah!”

Although the upper half and lower half were separated, the creature couldn’t recover from its wounds as before. It could only thrash around with the two legs it had left.

I ignored the upper half desperately crawling on the ground and approached the lower half first. I retrieved the severed segment of the Immortal Centipede nestled within it and plunged it in deep.

The twitching movements that had persisted ended completely.

Having finished one, only one remained. I approached the fleeing creature, which was flailing its front legs, and stomped on its head. I also cut off its legs to avoid any interference.

Left with only the upper half, I briefly enjoyed the sight of it wriggling like a maggot in place. It truly looked like nothing much. Especially since I had regained my memories from Blnak 3.

‘I had chopped through dozens like this.’

Watching it made me feel disgusted. I grabbed the centipede’s body and tried to pull it out. The Immortal Centipede thrashed defiantly to avoid being dragged out until the poor host’s body was scratched and torn, spilling its insides. The green liquid flowed onto the floor.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

I tightened my grip. Finally, the Immortal Centipede was pulled out completely. I stomped on its head to hold it down and grabbed the cut surface with my left hand.

I aimed immortality with my right hand. The sword glowed a dark color and shivered slightly, signaling that the ‘True Death’ technique was ready to activate.

Now that all memories had returned, it didn’t matter what weapon I used. I could activate it with the Wingless Nightmare, just like when I faced the Creature that Devours the World.

However, I still wanted to leave killing this one to immortality.

I thrust the sword directly beneath its head. With that simple motion, the ground of the boss room cracked like a spider web. A faint dark light seeped through the split floor.

——!!!!!!

The Immortal Centipede, pierced in its soul, shuddered as if struck by lightning. I moved my arm, ripping apart its body from the head down to the entire torso.

Thwack! The rusted blade sliced through its body, exiting sideways. The squirming stopped. I lifted my foot from where I had stepped on it, and its shell had completely crumbled.

“Finally dead. Well done.”

Nix had approached and stood next to me. I stared wordlessly at her as she kicked the corpse of the Immortal Centipede, and then I softly patted her head.

“What was that for all of a sudden?”

“Nix liked it when I patted her head. I wanted to see if Flor also liked it.”

“Why do you speak of them like they are different people? I’m both Nix and Flor.”

“Just kidding. So, do you dislike it? Should I stop?”

“……I never said I disliked it. You can keep going.”

Nix must have realized this was my little joke as she shot me a side-eye. But as I ruffled her hair, she couldn’t stop her mouth from curving up.

I fondly played with Nix for a bit longer until I noticed her expression changing to one of absolute delight and withdrew my hand. The now-aware Nix’s face turned to sulkiness again.

“So, how’s it feel to have your memories back?”

“Well, it’s not like anything dramatically changed. I just feel the same as usual.”

Recalling the memories from Blnak 3 meant that all the ways I had died were flooding back as well, even the sensations of the Immortal Centipede wriggling within my body.

On the surface, it sounded horrifying, but now it felt like just an event from a distant past. It didn’t matter how many times I had died; at this point, I wouldn’t tremble in fear recalling it.

“You’ve always been like that, haven’t you? After experiencing all those deaths, you shake them off like they’re nothing.”

“I’ve been through it before, way before I met you.”

Particularly during the Blnak 1 era, I must have died as easily as breathing.

Just getting thrown into a chaotic world with only the immortality ability would have meant countless deaths before I could get strong enough to see the ending.

It was notorious that ‘Brightest Darkness 1’ was a challenging game, so if I had to experience it first-hand, dying a thousand times wouldn’t have been unusual.

“Don’t worry about me. Right now, you should be the one worrying. How’s your physical state? You mentioned it’s a temporary merge?”

“I’ll probably split again in a few hours. It won’t last long. So, could I ask you for a favor?”

“Favor?”

“Yes. When my personalities separate again, please just hold me without saying anything. Doing that will significantly ease the backlash of the soul separation.”

I wondered what kind of favor it was, but it was a simple request. I recalled something Nix had said when she acted more friendly and asked playfully.

“Just holding you is enough? Really?”

Nix paused for a moment, her face turning bright red as she glanced away shyly.

“If you want to take it further or not….”

As she spoke, her voice got softer, eventually turning into mumbling.

“……Let’s get out of here for now. It’s rather disgusting to stay in this filthy place.”

Returning to her senses, Nix hugged me. A magic circle was drawn on the ground, and we soon found ourselves back in the makeshift hut we had created.

Both of us sat on the bed, which was comfortably large enough for two people, and Nix looked up at me.

“There’s still some time before my personalities split; is there anything you’re curious about? If so, tell me. Once they separate again, I may forget things like sealing immortality in my soul.”

“Something I’m curious about… Oh, I have one.”

“What is it?”

“Why is your relationship with Minerva so bad?”