Earth Elemental 

Dubiously consensual sexual acts between adults and a minor, and human dismemberment. 

The Holy City of Alesandia.
In the capital of Luthra, there once lived a girl who possessed the four powers of hope.
Her beautiful body never aged or decayed, and for endless time she continued to bestow blessings on the world.
To the earth, to the flowers, and to the animals… until the humans born there were consumed by desire.
The humans, who should have revered the Mother Girl as a goddess and received her blessings, forgot their place and craved more.
They wanted the power of hope she wielded.
This spark of desire eventually grew into a raging flame, consuming the world and God itself.

Amidst the turbulent surge, the girl’s divine powers peeled away from her body as four Elementals and were passed on to foolish humans.
The power of fire went to Avenius.
The power of wind went to Möwe.
The power of water went to Salacia.
And the power of earth went to Telseuras.

Telseuras was the catalyst that opened the curtain on this tale of divine power and humans, leading towards its end.
She was filled with love, yet she erred because of that very love.
Telseuras bore the punishment as a price for her sins.
It was about Luthra and the power of the Elemental, something she did not desire.

There can’t be a Luthra without the Fertility Goddess.
In order for the Holy City of Alesandia to keep its title, the vacant throne needed to be filled immediately.
Telseuras came from a long-lasting family of servants, never knowing the world outside the palace, let alone Luthra.
Simply because she possessed the power of the Elemental within her, her path was decided regardless of her own will.
Toward the chair once occupied by the girl she loved…and still loved in the present.
Hiding her blood-stained hands.

The capital of Luthra, the Holy City of Alesandia.
As the holy land where the fertility goddess Nefeshé resided, and one of the continent’s most strict religious nations, it was still shrouded in unprecedented chaos.
That day, Nefeshé fell by a murderous blade before the eyes of the people.
Losing the one who could be called the backbone of the country was a shock so profound it made the faithful question their own existence.
At the same time, without Nefeshé, the land of Luthra rapidly withered and declined.
This stark reminder of how much the goddess had bestowed upon the land only deepened the sorrow.

In response to this situation, the high-ranking officials of the Luthra Central Council acted swiftly.
The Central Council, which held real power in domestic affairs, was the one who had plotted Nefeshé’s assassination. They had already anticipated the country’s descent into chaos.
However, one thing they did not expect was the presence of Telseuras.
That day, it wasn’t the perpetrator they chosen who had assassinated Nefeshé, but her handmaiden, Telseuras.
The elemental inheritance was something they never expected.
With Nefeshé out of the way, only the power of the Elemental remained.
They would not overlook this situation, which seemed as favorable as a tailwind.

“Come on, Telseuras. Show me your power.”
“…”
“Can’t you hear me? I alone can deploy troops at any moment… You haven’t forgotten that, have you?”
“…!”

An elderly man spoke to Telseuras, who looked down. He was the highest-ranking official in the Central Council.
After a brief silence, flowers and grass began to sprout from the stone palace floor beneath Telseuras’ feet, spreading outward.
Seeing this, the high official clapped his hands and laughed.

“Hohoho! That’s the spirit! As long as you obey me, the nation and its people shall be secure. And…Nefeshé will be safe, too.”
“Yes…”

Telseuras had used the very hands that had harmed Nefeshé to help her escape.
She wanted her to live and find happiness somewhere else.
But that scene was witnessed by several people present at that location, including the high official.
He used this fact to propose a deal to Telseuras.
“I won’t pursue Nefeshé if you become my puppet.”
Telseuras’ love for Nefeshé was so pure and twisted that she was willing to sacrifice her own life for her, and so she accepted the deal.

“The disposal of the witnesses outside the Central Council is complete. The time has come for me…and only me! To rule this country!! King… What a sweet-sounding word… How perfectly suited to me…”

A few days later…
Telseuras stood before the Cathedral of Alesandia.
She wore a dress that was far too revealing and vulgar in its coloring for her age and features, its back plunging low enough to reveal her buttocks.
The high official gazed with satisfaction at the dress he had chosen, and proclaimed to the gathered people:

“The new fertility goddess and protector of Luthra is born!!”

Taking this as a signal, Telseuras slowly raised her hand.
Then, the cobblestones shattered during that day’s incident returned to their original form, and the street trees that had been broken and withering once again gleamed green and reached the sky.
It was the same divine power that Nefeshé had wielded.
Startled by the sudden roar of cheers, Telseuras’ shoulders shook, and she raised her head for the first time.
Before her stood the people of Luthra, excited at the birth of a new goddess.
Everyone’s expressions were filled with joy, but no one realized that she was the one who had pointed a blade at Nefeshé.
Born and raised within the palace walls as part of a lineage of servants, Telseuras had scarcely ever ventured outside.
Thus, her true nature was never revealed in that brief moment.
But Telseuras herself accepted this fact with dismay.

(Acknowledge me… As the great sinner who caused Lady Nefeshé’s loss… Stone me, whip me, and… Kill me…)

Even before the highest official had offered the deal, Telseuras’ heart had already begun to shatter from that moment.
The arrogant choice she made out of love was a mistake, and she knew that it was she who had destroyed what should have been.
There was no one to direct her own grief and anger at but herself.
But even so.
The Elemental power she inherited from Nefeshé was certainly here.
There was nowhere to run. When Telseuras realized this, she was no longer able to judge things on her own.
The once-clever girl was no longer there.

After the Central Council used any means necessary to manipulate the situation, Telseuras was elevated as Luthra’s new fertility goddess.
But the people of Luthra were, at their core, devout and fervent followers of the Aterima faith.
Even witnessing the Elemental power of Telseuras before their eyes, their deep faith in Nefeshé could not be so easily shaken.
Despite this unstable situation, the Central Council pushed ahead with the construction of a new power structure symbolized by Telseuras.
The result was a schism within Luthra, splitting the faith into two factions.
The “Old God faction”, who believed Nefeshé was the eternal, one true goddess.
The “New God faction”, who believed the one possessing the power of the Elemental was the true god.
This sectarian conflict bred further strife, eventually escalating from minor skirmishes into full-blown civil war.

“Ugh… ugh…”
“Hohoho! Are you speechless? Or are you pretending to be a virgin to please me?”
“Agh…”
“Do as you please. The power of the Elemental and your body remain mine… Hey!!”

Telseuras collapsed onto the bed, her body drained of strength.
She was letting herself to be toyed with, at his mercy. She was lying there like a doll.
Nights like this had repeated countless times.

The high official paid Telseuras no mind, standing by the window with his aged skin exposed, gazing down at the palace grounds below.
Several flames could be seen rising in the darkness of the night.
People who had been friends until just a short time ago, and even family, were fighting again today over differences in sect.
Even as he witnessed the devastation in the Holy City, the high official murmured with a smile on his lips.

“How foolish… The Old God will not save you…”

The outcome was predetermined the moment the Central Council began worshiping the new goddess, Telseuras.
Once they moved, they could forcibly suppress any rebellion using the national army.
Bloody riots by radicals from the Old God faction were occurring across the land. An excuse for deploying the army was already taking shape.

The high official, clad in a gown, cast a vulgar glance at the naked Telseuras lying there before leaving the room.
Almost immediately, a maid who had been waiting by the door entered and approached Telseuras.

“Ah… Tonight was particularly brutal… Lady Telseuras, are you all right?”
“Yes…”
“Come, let’s go to the bath. I will help you.”
“Understood…”

Telseuras staggered to her feet, bodily fluids dripping from her thighs. The maid supported her and respectfully helped her put on a robe.
Then, taking Telseuras’ hand, she slowly led her to the baths.
She was a maid who served Telseuras. The two appeared to be about the same age.
Serving the fertility goddess who wielded the Elemental power with heartfelt loyalty, she evoked memories of Nefeshé and Telseuras from the past…

“How are you feeling?”
“…”

The maid was accustomed to Telseuras’ silence.
Unperturbed, she lathered her back and rinsed it clean with water from the tub.

“There, you’re clean! The bath is ready, so perhaps you could soak a little today-“

Just as she began to speak, the maid noticed something amiss with Telseuras.
Telseuras was holding a stiff-bristled brush used to clean baths and was scrubbing her hands repeatedly.
She couldn’t tell how much force she was putting into it; her soft skin was swollen and peeling, staining the soap bubbles with red.
The maid frantically tried to stop her, but Telseuras resisted. Only by forcibly snatching the brush away could she finally make her stop.

“Why are you doing this?!”
“It won’t come off…”
“…?”
“The filth won’t come off… All the filth…on my body…”

Telseuras murmured with vacant eyes.
Suddenly, the maid couldn’t hold back the emotion welling up in her chest. She embraced Telseuras like a child and whispered gently.

“…It’s all right. See? I’m holding you like this. You are not dirty, Lady Telseuras.”

Stroking Telseuras’ head as he remained dazed in her embrace, her eyes lit up with determination.

“I’ll always be here for you. I will protect you. So please…rest peacefully.”

The civil war between the Old God faction and the New God faction had reached a stalemate.
The rapidly intensified conflict had cost both sides dearly. Though neither would budge from their principles, they had settled into a state of mutual standoff.

In a corner slightly removed from the heart of the Holy City of Alesandia, lay a tavern frequented by the Old God faction.
Though normally closed by evening, its lights blazed brightly in the night city.
A dozen or so young men were inside, sharing drinks. Everyone was in high spirits, their unrestrained laughter carrying outside as they drank heavily.
Devout Aterima followers only drink alcohol on celebratory occasions, but even in Luthra, some hot-blooded youths were an exception.
These people, who would be considered roughnecks in peacetime, had proven to be a formidable force during the civil war, and so the tavern owner had lent them the place.

“…So I gave that New God cultist a proper kick in the ass!”
“Hahaha! That was a good kick! He could be dead by now!”
“He deserved to die! He abandoned Lady Nefeshé so easily… Damn traitors…!”

At his words, the group clenched their fists in anger.

“The Central Council… I want to throw stones at their palace.”
“Don’t even think about it. I know the security at the gates. Try anything weird and the national army will kill you.”
“…Damn it! That little brat can’t be the fertility goddess! She’s just pretending to be! If I had the chance, I’d expose her true colors with my own hands…!”

The young man spat these words, then downed the cup in his hand in one gulp.
He bit his lip in frustration for a moment, then took a deep breath and stood up.

“Hey, where you going?”
“Seems I drank a bit too much. I’m going out for some night air.”

The young man stepped outside the bar and shook his head lightly as if to sober up, when he noticed a figure approaching him.
Emerging from the darkness, faintly illuminated by the light from the tavern, was a woman.
She appeared slightly younger than the man. He didn’t even need to look closely to know she was beautiful.
The man couldn’t help but swallow his saliva.

“Why is such a beautiful woman here, so late at night?”

As if sensing the thoughts running through the man’s mind as he stared, the woman spoke with a smile.

“Things seem quite lively in here. Is this some kind of gathering?”
“Ah, yeah. An Old God faction meeting…sort of thing. You’re not one of the New God faction, are you?”
“Heh heh, who knows? If I said I was, would you get rough with me? In all sorts of ways?”
“You…”

The man instinctively reached out toward the woman, who spoke with a delightfully seductive smile.
The differences between sects were no longer on his mind. He couldn’t resist the clear invitation in her actions.

“Hey, it’s bright here. Shall we talk over there?”

This time, she invited him clearly with words, and the man nodded vigorously several times.
He stumbled along behind her, and when they reached a dark alleyway, he couldn’t hold back any longer and embraced her from behind.

“Oh…don’t be impatient. You can follow a proper order, can’t you?”

With that, the woman unbuttoned her dress with her hands behind her back, and let it fall to the ground in one swift motion.
She had probably walked all the way here dressed like that. She was wearing no underwear.
To the man’s eyes, accustomed to the darkness, her body appeared pale.
Her limbs possessed feminine curves yet retained the thinness of a young girl’s frame.
It held an almost divine quality, simultaneously stirring in him a sadistic urge to defile it with his own hands.

“It’s okay, right? Right? You can’t tell me you don’t want it, you know?”
“Hehe. Even if I said I didn’t want to, I won’t forgive you, you know?”
“Hehe… I wouldn’t say that. Ah, such a exquisite woman… It’s like a dream…”

The man’s eyes were bloodshot, yet wearing an ecstatic expression as he devoured the woman’s body.
He must have been extremely aroused, as it took him a moment to notice something strange happening to his own body.

“…It’s too early for dreams. Well…you’ll be dreaming soon enough.”
“Huh…?”

Feeling unfamiliar pain, the man looked down at his abdomen.
There was something sharp and stake-like stuck deep inside.
Only later did he realize the warm liquid flowing down his lower abdomen and into his legs was his own blood.
“What the hell!?” his confused thoughts were running wild, but he knew who had done it by process of elimination.
The man raised his head and looked at the woman’s face.
There was no ecstatic expression there. Only a face twisted and contorted in terror.

“N-no… Stop…”
“Haha… I told you I wouldn’t forgive you!!”

The moment the stake-like object was pulled off from the man’s stomach and he fell to the floor, it was swung down at his throat.
Unable to even scream, his body was hammered again and again, transforming into something that could no longer be called human, but a piece of meat.
Eventually, the woman stopped her hands and muttered with satisfaction.

“I have to protect her… No one else but me…”

The woman began walking calmly, heading this time toward the tavern where the man’s companions were drinking. Still naked, she flung open the door.
The men’s voices of joy erupted without pause, but those voices soon turned to screams.

“It seems a terrible incident occurred in the Holy City last night. Word is many members of the Old God faction were killed.”
“…”
“They say it was the work of the New God faction, but that’s disrespectful. Those who believe in Lady Telseuras would never do such a thing.”
“…”
“How foolish for fellow countrymen to fight each other. If only everyone would follow Lady Telseuras’ guidance right before their eyes…”
“…”

Telseuras stood in front of the dressing table, not showing a single reaction.
Unconcerned, the maid continued combing Telseuras’ hair as she spoke.

–The horrific incident that occurred in the tavern last night shocked the people of Alesandia.
More than a dozen bodies were found inside, and one in the alley outside. All were believed to be men, and were discovered in a horrifying state.
The floor was covered in pools of blood, mixed with flesh so severely mangled it could only be described as shreds, making it impossible to determine the exact number of victims.
But above all, there was another macabre reason that inevitably piqued people’s interest.
The bodies bore marks that looked as if they had been torn off by teeth.
The bite marks confirmed human involvement, and their sheer number suggested deliberate intent.
Such a grotesque crime could not fade from memory. As wild speculation grew, it spread explosively not only throughout Alesandia, but across all of Luthra.

Furthermore, while it remained unclear whether the culprit had specific motives, this incident reignited the civil war between the Old God and New God factions.
The Old God faction declared the crime was the work of the New God one and retaliated with violence.
The New God faction responded to this retaliation with further vengeance born of resentment.
Ultimately, it escalated to the assassination of a high official from the Central Council, the foremost authority of the New God faction. The country of Luthra continued to become so divided that its collapse seemed imminent.

“…Alright, I’m done. You look beautiful, Lady Telseuras.”

The maid spoke cheerfully after combing Telseuras’ hair, applying makeup, and skillfully adorning her.
Yet, contrary to her tone, she clenched her fists tightly, holding back her frustration.
Soon, a high official would be arriving in Telseuras’ room.
The maid’s task in adorning Telseuras was to please that hideous old man.

On the day Nefeshé fell and the chaos in Luthra began, the maid had witnessed the entire event.
The Central Council had thought they had eliminated everyone except for the high officials who had learned the truth, but she was the only one who escaped.
Telseuras’ relatives, who served Nefeshé, were exiled; when a new Central Council was formed, a girl from outside with no blood ties volunteered to be Telseuras’ maid.
Living within the palace walls, she could feel the Central Council’s unsettling schemes seeping into her very skin.
Moreover, if her status as a witness were exposed, her life would surely be forfeit.
Even though she understood this, she wished to remain by Telseuras’ side.
This was because she was deeply infatuated with Telseuras, who had stained her hands precisely because she loved Nefeshé, the girl she saw that day.
No matter what the outcome, it was an act of boundless purity and arrogance born of love.
Inheriting the Elemental power meant nothing for her; she simply worshiped the woman named Telseuras more than a goddess, and thus desired to serve at her side.
That very desire made her feel so frustrated.
As a servant, she must obey orders. But the fact that doing so would mean participating in the defilement of her loved one tightened her heart.

“Ho ho! Today you’re…already aching so soon, eh?”

As if timing it perfectly, the high official entered Telseuras’ room.
With a vulgar smile on his face, he no longer made any attempt to hide his depravity.
As the maid bowed respectfully yet shot him a cold stare before leaving the room, the high official embraced Telseuras, who remained seated before the dressing table, and whispered.

“I’d devour you right this instant, but first, I’ll have you fulfill one divine duty.”

With that, he took out several documents.
With the nation in utter chaos and an assassination attempt targeting the Central Council, there was already ample justification.
In order to quell the violence, they would use even greater violence. The documents were permits authorizing the dispatch of troops for full-scale civil war suppression.
Telseuras reigned supreme over the country, even if only as a formality. Her signature would finalize the documents.
For the first time, Telseuras, who had not changed her expression until now, widened her eyes.
If troops were deployed, many people would lose their lives.
This signature was, in effect, the same as Telseuras pulling the trigger herself.
The high official forced her to grasp the pen, but her hands trembled and refused to move.

“Indeed, people will die. But if we do not act now, even more will die, won’t they? Even the country Nefeshé loved might vanish. Now… You understand what truly wise action is, don’t you…?”

After some silence, Telseuras signed the documents.
“Dispatch of the army.” And one document promised to “wield the power of the Elemental if necessary”…

That night…
Sitting alone on the floor of his chamber, Telseuras’ pallid face glowed even whiter in the moonlight streaming through the window.
She clutched a dagger in her hand.
Her unfocused eyes stared fixedly at a corner of the room. Then, slowly, she re-gripped the dagger in reverse, and with force, brought the tip down toward her own chest.
It was a precise stab to the heart, without hesitation.
This supposedly fatal act was nullified against Telseuras’ will.
Just as the blade was about to touch her body, the dagger instantly transformed from its tip into wood shavings, and finally, even the handle crumbled apart and fell from her palm.

The Earth Elemental residing within Telseuras rejected her choice.

“I’m not even…allowed to die…”

Her will, her body, even her own life and death… None belonged to Telseuras anymore.
She was merely a doll, used, violated, unable to even atone for the sins of hurting the one she loved.
For the first time since inheriting the Elemental that day, Telseuras cried out loudly.

The Luthra national army’s suppression operation against the rebels did not proceed as smoothly as the Central Council had expected.
The devout believers of the Old God faction repeatedly clashed with the military, resolved to choose death rather than reject Nefeshé.
Houses collapsed, cobblestones were torn up, corpses littered the streets – a hellish scene that could never been cleaned up.
In less than a year, the benevolent country of Luthra that Nefeshé had built had become unrecognizable.

Amidst the bloodshed that grew worse each day, those bizarre incidents began to multiply again, as if mingling with the blood.
Men of Luthra from both factions, and even soldiers of the national army, were being brutally murdered indiscriminately.
Amidst the bloodshed that grew worse each day, those bizarre incidents began to multiply again, as if mingling with the blood.
All previous victims had been killed without fail, leaving no witnesses. Yet, as the number of victims grew too large, a survivor emerged, for better or worse.
It was a soldier who had managed to escape desperately, his intestines hanging out of a gaping wound in his side.
As he was treated and interrogated, a vague picture of the culprit and their modus operandi began to emerge.

That night, the soldier was on patrol in Alesandia with his squad.
The city bore no trace of its former glory as the capital of Luthra. With the military crackdown and the evacuation of civilians, including the New God faction, the capital lay eerily silent.
Was it the cold wind chilling his body, or a moment of carelessness? The soldier, needing to relieve himself, sent his comrades ahead and stepped into an alleyway.
By the time he caught his breath and ran back to catch up, his comrades had already been reduced to piles of flesh.
Leaning forward, the Central Council official conducting the interrogation pressed the soldier, who spoke calmly despite his anguish.

“What did the culprit look like? How old? What was their gender?”
“Ugh… It was a woman… A beautiful young woman, at that…”
“A woman!? Killing that many people… I can’t believe it.”
“I couldn’t see clearly…but I’m certain… She was so beautiful that everyone turned around…”

That soldier and his comrades had encountered a woman.
He witnessed it. The ritualistic crimes were not yet over.

“She was eating them… Not just tearing them apart like a beast… Chewing them as if savoring dinner…”
“Wh-what…”
“I was so stunned by the sight… But before I knew it, my stomach was… Ugh…!”
“…I understand. You can rest now.”

If the soldier’s testimony was true, then the culprit was no longer thinking like a normal human.
A sheer number of bodies was mutilated beyond what seemed possible by a woman’s strength.
And then there was the utterly abhorrent act of eating human flesh.

“A monster…?”

One official murmured involuntarily.
Events straight out of an entertainment novel, filled with monsters and inhuman creatures, were happening in real life.
Had such beings been lurking in this country all along, or had this tragic civil war spawned them?
Much remained unknown, but thanks to the testimony, countermeasures could be taken.
Word was spread the word to the soldiers of the army, and to the people of Luthra, not to approach unfamiliar women so easily.
After that, they needed to capture all young women in the country and thoroughly interrogated.
Although this was a clash between the Old God faction and the military, the disparity in strength was incomparable. Seeing how the Old God faction was growing weaker by the day, the civil war shouldn’t last much longer.
It wasn’t long after an official advised the others to “conduct a full-scale investigation as soon as the civil war is over,” but another victim had already appeared.
It wasn’t in Alesandia’s tavern or a back alley, but within the great palace that symbolized Luthra, where the Central Council’s high officials and Telseuras lived.
Only select individuals were permitted to enter the palace.
This meant the culprit was, at the very least, someone connected to the Central Council.

“Capture her at all costs! The Fertility Goddess… No, I myself may be targeted!!”

The high official, having gathered not only the royal guards but also troops in charge of suppressing the Old God faction, shouted in a rage.
This series of bizarre murders was not orchestrated by the high officials. If it originated within the palace, it was highly likely a rebellion aimed at overthrowing the current Central Council, which held real power.
Feeling as if a blade were pressed to his throat, the man clearly lost his composure, continuing to yell without regard at those around him.

Based on testimony, every woman within the palace was forcibly isolated, subjected to relentless interrogation throughout the day.
Yet no suspect was found, and the palace remained shrouded in a tense atmosphere as night fell.
“Next we might be tortured,” the isolated women thought, trembling in fear as they huddled together.
The men were also mentally exhausted from having to suspect familiar faces and women who were their own relatives.
In the dead of night, enveloped by this abnormal atmosphere, the high official walked down the palace corridor.
He brushed aside the guards who repeatedly tried to persuade him, walking alone without any guard.
Despite the situation, he was heading towards Telseuras’ room.
Even for a despicable man like him, the civil war had escalated beyond expectations, leaving him swamped with duties these past months.
He intended to drown out the pressure and fear by indulging his lust.

“Heehee… There’s no way I, who has even a goddess under my control, would fall in a place like this…”

He muttered this to himself, his ugly, aged face contorting into a vulgar grin.
Eventually, he reached Telseuras’ room and noticed someone standing at the door in the dimly lit hallway at night.

“…Who's there?”
“What brings you here at this time, Your Highness?”

Hearing that voice, the man breathed a sigh of relief.
Long golden hair, white servant clothes. The familiar figure was none other than Telseuras’ maid.
Since Telseuras was no longer able to care for herself, she alone had been exempted from isolation.

“That’s my line. What are you doing-“
“You always wake me at this hour. I brought fresh water.”
“Hmph… Very well. You may go.”

Though dismissed, the maid remained, a smile still on her lips.
The high official’s words were absolute. As he frowned at her defiance,

“Won’t you…play with me?”

Saying this, the maid grabbed the hem of her skirt and began to slowly lift it.
She looked directly at the high official, as if to provoke him.

“You want me to embrace you…? Know your place.”
“I know this is disrespectful. But…it’s because I want to.”
“Do you even understand what you’re babbling about?”
“Yes, of course… But since Your Highness seems unaware, allow me to enlighten you.”

And with that, the maid pulled her skirt up all the way to her waist.
The legs revealed were not the pale skin visible on her face or shoulders.
They were a dull color reminiscent of a tree trunk.
It was instantly clear that they were not human.
The color, texture, joints, and even their number. Eight legs that were far removed from human form.

It was…a giant spider.

Those horribly massive legs, so repulsive they could provoke reflexive disgust, moved irregularly with a rustling sound.
The man stumbled backward, condemning the creature in a trembling voice.

“I-it was you…”
“My, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

As it spoke, the spider lifted one of its legs.
It hooked the razor-sharp tip onto the man’s clothing, then sliced through it in one swift motion, like a well-honed knife cutting paper.
Suddenly, something unreal appeared before his very eyes.
It had the upper half of a human carrying the soft skin of a young woman, and the lower half of a spider with multiple legs.
The spider’s mouth could be seen wriggling and squirming where the human’s lower abdomen.

“You, you monster…!”
“How cruel.”
“What is your purpose… I did nothing to earn your hatred-“
“Hatred, huh?… It’s not hatred, I just wanted to protect her. But that seems impossible now. I’m merely doing as I please.”
“…H-Help! Someone help me!!”

As if snapping back to reality, the man screamed, then fled down the palace corridor, gasping for breath as his aged body struggled to keep up.
The spider chased him, repeatedly extending its sharp, pointed legs.
Each strike, a piercing thrust cutting through the air with a sharp whistling sound, was powerful enough to easily bore holes through the stone palace walls.
The spider’s legs were the same deadly weapon that had turned countless people into pieces of flesh.
The aged body of the high official stood no chance. Yet the spider deliberately avoided direct strikes, reveling in the sight of its prey fleeing in terror.

“AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”

The spider let out a maniacal laugh, like a child playing tag.
Terrified by that ear-splitting sound and the clattering footsteps closing in, the man found himself running while wetting himself.
But soon, the old man reached his limit.
Collapsing onto the floor in the great hall, he was looked down upon by the spider that had reached him.

“Are you done already.”
“No, stop… Don’t kill me…”
“I’m sorry, I can’t do that. My body demands you be killed more brutally than anyone else.”

With that, the spider swung its leg down on the man’s arm.
Before he could dodge, the leg pierced his arm, impaling his body to the floor.

“GYAAAAAAAAAAH!!!”
“Your screams are hideous too. Shall I silence that mouth first?”

The next strike aimed to crush his throat. Just as it was about to fall, the spider froze.
It was midnight in the palace. Telseuras’ room was located on a floor separated from the others. Had the high official’s cries for help reached anyone? In truth, no sound of soldiers rushing came.
It was a space where nothing but the spider and the old man should have existed.
Yet a figure appeared there.

“What…is this…”

A certain girl glanced at the confused high official, then fixed her gaze on the strange-looking one standing beside her, with their back to her.
The spider was almost certainly a dangerous presence, but she continued to question it, her legs trembling.

“W-who are you…?! What are you doing here?!”

As if in response, the spider, which had been facing away, slowly began to turn.
Moving its legs deftly, slowly.
Eventually facing forward, the two stood directly opposite each other.
A human upper body and a spider lower body.
What spilled forth wasn’t fear of that monstrous form, but a question of contradiction.

“…Me?”

With long golden hair and clad in a white servant uniform, the girl was Telseuras’ maid.
And she spoke with the same face as the spider’s human form.

“Huh… Why do you…have my face…”

A being with the exact same face as her stood before her. Yet this was no reflection in a mirror.
Only its upper body was identical; the lower half was that of a hideous insect.
Faced with this nightmarish sight, the maid’s breathing grew increasingly ragged.
Her body trembled uncontrollably. Yet she couldn’t help but ask.

“What are you?”
“W h a t a r e y o u ?”
“Why do you have my face?”
“W h y d o y o u h a v e m y f a c e?”

The same voice, the same tone, the same rhythm. The mirror-image repetition, identical in every detail, filled the maid with even greater dread, her face stiffening.
Conversely, the spider maintained its smile and let out a soft chuckle.

The maid pondered.
Seeing the spider’s leg still embedded in the high official’s arm made it clear the creature was hostile.
Was it an assassin aiming to overthrow the Central Council? Or perhaps a monster cursed by a witch?
The spider’s true nature was unknown, but after killing the high official, it would surely kill her too.
If that was the case, something was wrong.
It should have acted quickly while she was distracted, yet the spider stared intently at her, as if waiting for something.

“What are you doing?! Kill this thing!! This monster is the mass murderer!!”

The high official, losing patience, screamed while writhing on the floor.
But still, the maid didn’t act.
She was just a human who had never even held a sword. There was nothing her thin arms could do.
Still, she couldn’t just sit back and let herself be killed.
The maid didn’t care whether the high official was alive or dead.
What mattered was preventing it from harming Telseuras after killing them.
To buy even a little time, the maid’s next desperate move was to attempt dialogue.

“I’m aware of the incidents you caused. What’s your purpose?”
“My purpose… How should I put it…”

The spider took the bait of the offered dialogue.
At this definite advance, the maid held her breath, careful not to give herself away.

“…I just wanted to protect her. That’s the only way I can put it.”
“Protect? Her?”
“…Telseuras. That pitiful doll you all put on a pedestal.”

The unexpected name startled both the maid and the high official.
Could Telseuras, who had lost his mind and fallen silent, have been connected to that monstrous abomination?
Suppressing the urge to scream that it couldn’t be true, the maid waited for the spider’s words.

“The people of Luthra, the national army, the high officials of the Central Council… I thought I could save her by eliminating those who tormented her. But that wasn’t the case…”
“Was that…what Lady Telseuras wanted?”
“I could say, and I could say no. It was what she wanted, and what she rejected…”
“…”

The maid fell silent, unable to grasp the spider’s incoherent words.
It was the spider who broke the silence filling the great hall.

“…It seems the end is near. It’s time for me to wake up.”
“…What are you saying? I haven’t understood a word you’ve said since-“
“You’ll understand soon. So… Come here and take my hand…”

Before she knew it, the sinister murderous intent she’d felt had vanished.
The spider removed its leg from the high official and began to slowly step toward the maid. Then, as it reached right in front of her, it held out its palm.
Its expression was so full of compassion, one might almost forget it was a monstrous creature.
The maid cautiously extended her own hand, hesitantly placing it into the spider’s grasp.
The spider gently grasped it with both hands and spoke.

“You care deeply about her, don’t you?”
“…Yes. Lady Telseuras is my light.”
“Then I ask for one promise. You will fulfill her wish, without fail.”
“…If that’s what Lady Telseuras wishes.”
“I’m glad…”

As soon as it said that, the spider’s body began to transform.
Its upper body, which had the same face and skin as the maid, turned a muddy earth color and instantly hardened.
It became soil, then rock, then tree bark.
It rapidly changed its nature, finally turning to sand.
That sand flowed smoothly down, following the force of gravity.
Like an insect shedding its skin, a new body emerged there.
It hadn’t the form of the maid, but of a certain girl.

“Lady Telseuras!!!!”

The spider’s true identity was Telseuras.
The thought it might have took Telseuras’ appearance crossed the maid’s mind, but it quickly dissipated.
Her hair had been combed countless times, her skin was washed clean. It was Telseuras herself, the one she knew so well.
But more than that, she knew instinctively. She was undoubtedly her beloved master.

“Why… Why do you look like this… Ah, where do I even begin…?”
“I’m sorry to startle you…but there’s no time left.”
“Time… What are you saying…”
“The ugly desire deep within my heart… The Earth Elemental has granted it… But each time, my heart shattered further… A broken vessel cannot be mended…”

The spider was the Earth Elemental, and it had been eliminating those who corrupted Telseuras, the vessel it protected.
But the heart is not as simple as a scale.
The more it killed, the more her heart broke, at the thought of having killed herself the people of Luthra, whom Nefeshé loved.
It was her own will, yet it wasn’t.
Trapped in an endless hellish cycle, Telseuras’ spirit was nearing its limit.
She had long since lost her attachment to this world.

“Lady Telseuras…”

Leaving the maid speechless, Telseuras walked to the farthest corner of the great hall.
The walls were adorned with traditional Luthra art. She retrieved one of the two rapiers hanging on a cross and handed it to the maid.

“You promised, right? Use this… to kill me.”
“Eh…”
“Please… I can’t even kill myself… Save me from this world where I am nowhere to be found…”
“But…”

The maid grasped the sword as it was offered to her. Yet, she could never kill her beloved Telseuras.
Behind her, the high official, who had collapsed to the floor, cried out.

“S-Stop! If you do that, what will happen to the Elemental’s powers?! My power…my Luthra! Y-Yes! What about Nefeshé?! I can send out search troops on my own authority!!”

But she paid him no mind.
Pursuers had been sent out from the beginning. The high official had kept this secret, deceiving her all along.
Telseuras knew the truth. She had accepted her role as a doll precisely because, paradoxically, it allowed her to know Nefeshé was safe.
Over half a year had passed without word of Nefeshé’s capture. That meant she must have escaped the Luthra soldiers.

As the high official yelled, the maid realized something.
She didn’t want to kill Telseuras. She didn’t want her to die. She wanted her to live.
If she lives, there must be countless ways to do so.
The moment that thought struck her, emotions burst forth like a dam breaking. With tears welling in her eyes, the maid pleaded with Telseuras.

“Yes, just live!! Please live, Lady Telseuras!! There is no need for you to suffer and die!! Abandon this country and your duties as a goddess and let’s go somewhere far away!!”
“…”
“Or, I’ll kill those who are tormenting you!! That ugly old man screaming over there, I’ll kill him right now with my own hands!!”

Glancing at the high official retreating with a pitiful cry, Telseuras slowly shook her head and spoke to the maid in a gentle voice.

“Please… Don’t kill him…”
“Why not?! Considering what that scumbag did to you, killing him would be more than enough!!”
“But… He is necessary…”
“Why…”
“And abandoning the country… I can’t do that either… Because I have no hope left in this world…”
“No…”
“Please… fulfill the promise…”
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!”

The maid already knew.
And it was only she who understood.
For Telseuras, happiness could only be achieved through death.

“…”

The maid remained silent. She re-gripped the sword hilt she’d been holding awkwardly in her hands and pointed its tip toward Telseuras’ chest.
Without wiping away her tears, she continued to stare at Telseuras with a crumpled expression, like a child wailing and sobbing, her breath coming in ragged gasps.
Seeing this, Telseuras exhaled softly, narrowing her eyes as if accepting everything.
The high official crawled across the floor, shouting to stop them.

“Don’t do it!!”
“Please!!”
“DON’T DO IT!!”
“Hurry!!”

The voices of the high official and Telseuras echoed alternately.
Hearing this, the maid flashed a moment of anguish before raising her voice as if shaking off hesitation.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!”

At that moment, Telseuras gave a faint smile, then murmured in a voice so soft it was drowned out by the maid’s scream.

“Hehe… I’m glad it was you…”

Blood trickled down from the blade piercing her chest.
The maid reached out to Telseuras, but her hand cut through air without even touching her cheek.
Telseuras’ face and the spider’s body dissolved into mist.
Only one thing remained, something dazzlingly bright drifting in the air.
As if drawn there as a matter of course, the light seemed to be pulled toward the maid, then assimilated into her abdomen.
This light was… the power of the Elemental.
Just as it had happened to Nefeshé and Telseuras that day, the Earth Elemental had chosen the maid as its new vessel.

“Y-you have inherited it! The power of the Elemental!”

The high official shouted, unconcerned with Telseuras’ fate and focused solely on the Elemental’s power.
The maid, still bewildered and unable to comprehend what had happened, found undeniable proof in the lush plants sprouting from the stone floor beneath her feet.

“It seems so… Hoho… With you, there’s no problem… Even if the vessel changes, it remains firmly within my grasp…”

Telseuras knew it. The maid was a potential vessel for the Elemental.
She knew this, and yet she offered her up in order to be freed from the power that tormented her, and from this world.

But that wasn’t all Telseuras left behind.

“…Ugh!?”

The maid, sensing something amiss with her body, curled up on the floor. She had no medical knowledge. Yet, instinctively, she was certain her body was being remade.
She felt a faint heartbeat in her belly that was not her own. As a virgin, the maid had no memory of this. Yet it was unmistakably the very pulse of life emitted by an infant.
Noticing the anomaly, the high official rushed over and deduced one answer from the scene.

“No way…! You inherited not only her power, but also the child she carried?! Damn it! She was pregnant!!”
“Uh, ugh…”
“Hahahaha!! This is my child!! My family has been chosen by the Elemental! The noble bloodline destined to rule Luthra is here! What incredible fortune!!”

It was the delusional rant of an old man in a frenzy, yet strangely, it was true.
A new life had sprouted within Telseuras due to his lust.
That was why Telseuras, despite hating him most deeply within her heart, could not bring herself to kill him until the very end.
She was concerned that killing the man might leave the defenseless child’s life threatened by another high official seeking his position.
It was certainly not maternal love.
No burdens were needed for the journey to the world of salvation called death. Yet she did not wish to be the cause of her child’s unhappiness either.
It stemmed from an ugly train of thought that revealed Telseuras’ true nature: selfish, irresponsible, and narcissistic, who would abandon all responsibilities in order to save herself.
Naturally, the maid was no special existence to Telseuras either.
It was merely convenient to exploit the love directed toward her as a vessel for both the Elemental and the child.
That was all.

And so Telseuras’ final wish was granted, and her story came to a close.
Unaware of her intentions, the maid continued to love Telseuras, and in order to protect what her loved one left behind, she became a puppet of the high official as commanded.
Nothing changed.
It simply continued the chain of sorrow of the girls surrounding the Elementals.
For Luthra, and for this world, this was merely the beginning, but no one knew about it yet…

And so, time passed…
The civil war between the New God faction and the Old God faction was forcibly quelled by full-scale military intervention by the Central Council.
The girl who used to be a maid, who had miraculously achieved virgin conception, gave birth to two children.
When the twin girls, bearing the likeness of Telseuras, could nurse on their own, the high official ordered that they be adopted into two noble houses.
One went to the Ptelea family, and the other to the Crestani family.
The plan was to raise them as nobles, imparting an education convenient for the high official, and then nurture them as vessels to inherit the Elemental.
However, there was another motive behind the adoptions.
The two infants would grow and bear children of their own. And those children would bear children.
By weaving them into the spiraling lineage of these two closely allied families, the high official sought to ensure his bloodline endured eternally in Luthra’s lands, in place of his own rapidly aging life.
Not a shred of faith in God or desire to protect the Elemental’s power motivated this.
It was purely and simply an ugly calculation born of twisted vanity.

Under the rule of the high official, Luthra ironically entered an era of peace.
With Nefeshé remaining a goddess in name only, it became a religious state that controlled its people through an even more firmly established system and faith.
To this day, the people of Luthra continued to worship God and the saint who wielded her power, unaware that their land was being tilled by insane desires.
Eventually, they called the saints who inherited the power of the Elementals Sibyls, and their name spread throughout the world…