Most of the time, the Red-Haired Girl merely listened quietly, occasionally responding with a nod or a shake of Her head to the most direct questions, remaining noncommittal toward Greg's trash-talk and jokes.
Yet Greg could feel that the invisible pressure seemed to have... lessened by just a tiny sliver.
As they continued talking, Greg lost himself a bit in the moment.
Perhaps he was numbed by this eerie, quiet atmosphere, perhaps he wanted to paint a grand vision for both himself and Her, or perhaps, deep down in his subconscious, he simply felt a flicker of sympathy for this lonely Outer God.
In a moment of madness, looking at that desolate dark red silhouette, he blurted out as if possessed:
"Ah, don't be too discouraged! So what if you're trapped here and can't get out? If I manage to get out alive, then if I ever get the chance in the future, I'll definitely take you out with me!"
The moment the words left his mouth, Greg wished he could slap himself hard across the face.
Fuck! What kind of stupid crap am I saying?!
Getting an Outer God out of here?!
Nightmare specifically said that once these entities break free, the whole world might be finished!
He immediately wanted to backtrack, forcing an awkward smile onto his face as he prepared to speak:
"Ahahaha, I was just joking! Don't take it seriously! With my current state, I can't even move while soaking in your bathtub, let alone rescue you! That's just a toad yawning—a big mouth! Just pretend you didn't hear that, okay..."
However, before his attempt at damage control could leave his lips—
Ahead of him, the Red-Haired Girl, who had hitherto only given gentle nods or shakes of Her head, reacted completely differently this time.
She still didn't turn around.
Instead, She nodded Her head firmly.
"..."
All of Greg's words and facial expressions froze instantly.
With his mouth agape, he stared at the back of Her nodding head, his mind instantly short-circuiting.
No, wait! I was just talking nonsense, lady!
A chill far sharper than when his identity had been exposed rushed up his spine straight to the crown of his head.
This feeling didn't resemble being sentenced to death; it felt more like... accidentally signing a soul-binding contract that was completely impossible to fulfill, with consequences potentially far worse than death.
On second thought, Greg managed to force himself to calm down slightly.
"Wait, there's no need for me to scare myself."
"I just said it off the cuff without making any formal pact. What binding power could plain words possibly have?"
"Besides, I can barely save myself right now. Whether I can even leave this godforsaken place alive is a question, let alone rescuing an Outer God."
He tried to use various reasons to convince himself and suppress the unease in his chest.
Yet just as Greg finished building up his mental defenses and slightly relaxed his tense nerves—
Ahead of him, the Red-Haired Girl, who had remained motionless, suddenly moved.
She bent Her right hand and made a light slice across a finger of Her left hand, tossing it into the dark red lake water beneath Her feet as if discarding some trivial trinket.
"Plop."
A splashing sound rang out, nearly swallowed by the noise of the waves.
What is She doing?
Greg's eyes widened, completely unable to fathom the meaning behind this.
Before he could think any further, the blood-red lake water, which had only been rising and falling rhythmically, suddenly surged.
A gentle yet irresistible current pushed a pale, unnaturally beautiful severed finger, slowly floating toward Greg as he soaked in the lake.
The waves pushed it gently until, finally, the severed finger bumped softly against Greg's face.
It felt cold, carried a delicate fragrance, and had an astonishingly elastic touch.
"Holy shit!!!"
Every hair on Greg's body stood on end as his scalp went completely numb. He nearly leaped straight out of the water.
"W-What is the meaning of this?!"
The Red-Haired Girl didn't turn around, nor did She make any other move.
However, the waves in the lake surged once more, pushing the severed finger rhythmically toward Greg's lips.
The force wasn't heavy, but the intention couldn't be clearer.
Greg's face turned deathly pale. Clinging to his final thread of hope, he probed cautiously:
"C-Could it be... you want to... pinky swear with me? To make a promise about getting you out?"
Slowly, the Red-Haired Girl shook Her head, rejecting his guess.
Greg's expression instantly became uglier than if he were crying, his final thread of hope shattered.
Staring at the pale severed finger repeatedly pushed toward his lips by the waves, his voice turned as dry as sandpaper:
"Then you... don't tell me you want me to... eat it?"
Under Greg's desperate gaze, the silhouette of the Red-Haired Girl's back gave a crystal-clear nod.
"!!!"
Greg's vision went black; he almost passed out on the spot.
Eat it?!
Eat a raw severed finger of an Outer God?!
Can a guy even digest something like this?!
Won't I explode and die instantly?!
Or mutate into some eldritch monstrosity?!
"T-This isn't good... boss lady..."
Greg forced a smile uglier than crying as he tried to make one final struggle:
"Eating it raw... is so unhygienic... Besides, I've been living on a soft-food diet lately—freeloading off women, you know—so my stomach is pretty weak and prone to indigestion... How about we try a different way? I swear, I swear I'll find a way to get you out! Really, I swear on my noble character!"
However, his bargaining was clearly rejected.
"BOOM—!!!"
A blood-red wave, far more violent than any before, reared up from the lake's surface without warning. Like a crimson wall, it crashed down on Greg, covering the sky!
This time, it was no playful splashing—it was complete submersion!
Before Greg could even cry out, he was thoroughly swallowed by the thick lake water, heavy with the stench of rust and sweet blood.
The force of the wave slammed him relentlessly toward the lakebed. Cold lake water flooded into his nose, mouth, and windpipe.
In the agony of breathlessness and the suffocation of drowning, he struggled in vain. Yet he felt a cold foreign object, mixed in the salty blood-water, being forcefully shoved into his pain-gaping mouth by an invisible power, quickly sliding deep down his throat.
That bastard set me up—!!!
However, the moment that severed finger entered his body—
The dark mana that had been suppressed by the blood-red lake water erupted into a frenzy, like dry grass doused in boiling oil!
This force originating from the Mother of Fragmentation's severed finger reacted violently with the shadow mana from Nightmare within his body in an indescribable clash!
Colliding, tearing, and then... under some overbearing rule, they were forcefully merged, devoured, and converted!
He could clearly feel the dark mana within his body rapidly mutating at a terrifying speed!
It was as if shackle after shackle were breaking, opening a gateway for him into the true abyss.
Before he had the chance to feel it in detail, his final thoughts and senses were once again ruthlessly swallowed up.
...
The blood-red lake restored its calm once more.
Gentle waves continued to lap, again and again, against an imperceptible shore.
There was no longer any sign of Greg on the lake's surface.
Only the dark red water slowly rippled, as if nothing had ever happened.
Only now did the Red-Haired Girl, who had stood motionless facing away from the lake's center, tilt Her head ever so slightly.
Her dark red hair slid across Her pale shoulders and neck with the movement.
A voice—exceedingly faint yet extraordinarily pleasant, echoing with a strange rhythm and a touch of helpless amusement—softly resonated in this dead-silent crimson space:
"Dummy~"
Rate on N.U.
