Arthur didn't know what he was thinking.
This intelligent species, who looked like a man but wasn't necessarily male—not even human at all—stood still. Because Azathoth showed obvious resistance, he didn't try to approach him. He simply stood there and said, "You look reluctant and a little surprised. It seems you didn't receive the message I left on the spacecraft. I also sent 'people' to invite you, but you always refused, so I had to come out myself."
Azathoth made up his mind to put his hood back on as soon as he got home. He said coldly, "Just tell me your purpose."
The bug paused.
Then, his long, thin eyebrows knitted together, he continued complaining in a tone that seemed a little affected in reality: "You're still like this... Once you abandon something, you never try to pick it up again. When you're gentle, you give us infinite confidence, but when you turn cold, you stingy with even the slightest kindness. But what will become of those who believe your favor will last forever? They're used to being cherished by you, so they keep standing there, waiting for you to change your mind, even if there's no hope at all."
"Isn't there a saying among humans that goes, 'I could have endured the darkness if I had never seen the sun'?"
"Whether you admit it or not, that light has indeed warmed us."
"Oh." Azathoth responded calmly, "Are you finished?"
"I bet you don't remember at all." Arthur looked at him with a smile. "Then does your current pet know how cruel and ruthless his master is? This time you chose humans, so does he know about your beautiful past with the Zerg? What about before the Zerg? This universe is so vast, where can you go in the places he can't see—"
A tentacle emerged from the thick fog and wrapped around his mouth and nose. Since insects don't use these mimicked organs to breathe, Arthur struggled briefly. Then, another tentacle clamped down on his limbs, hugging him like a python embracing its prey. The previous tentacle then entered his mouth and moved down relentlessly.
The insect's body finally began to tremble reflexively, tears of reason flowed from his eyes, and an indistinct whimpering sound came from his mouth.
But Azathoth remained unmoved.
"Where is your heart?" he asked softly. Arthur jerked with a sharp pain inside him. "Is it here?"
“Hmm—”
The other party let out a dying gasp, then fell to the ground like a broken doll, motionless. The tentacles were pulled out of the insect's mouth, carrying a strong smell of blood and internal organs, dripping all over the ground, earning a disgusted look from Azathoth.
Tsk, I was impulsive.
It’s better to cut off this tentacle; it will grow back soon anyway.
He stared at his innocent tentacle and fell into deep thought, wondering at which angle to chop it off so Igor wouldn't notice anything was wrong. But he soon looked up, because another person walked out of the thick fog, this time a woman dressed elegantly, with a delicate appearance but a slightly nervous expression.
"I thought you might be more kind to women," the man said quickly, "though I'd prefer to be a human male."
He... or should I use her now, looked at the bloody tentacle that had just killed him and asked, "Are you considering abandoning it?"
Well, although it was unpleasant, Azathoth discovered that this bug really understood him.
As if knowing what he was thinking, Arthur smiled and said, "You've thrown away so many things. If something doesn't suit your taste, you'll even discard your own body without hesitation. You used to say I was too willful, but in my opinion, you're the one who can be called willful... No, no, no, I apologize. Please forgive me. I don't want to die again."
Azathoth looked at her in silence.
"You want to kill me," Arthur said suddenly.
Azathoth was a little irritated and impatient: "Have you finished your nonsense?"
The bug asked persistently, "For humans? For that human? You want to kill me completely?"
Azathoth wasn't sure how to completely kill this cockroach-like creature, but it looked like a parasite, and there was always a limit to how many Zerg bodies it could control that weren't its own. It would be troublesome, but if necessary—his expression was veiled in a shadow—he could deal with them one by one, and there would always be a solution.
Arthur found the answer in his eyes. She looked petrified, standing there stupidly.
But Azathoth had completely lost his patience. He hated going around in circles with people he was not familiar with.
One tentacle pierced through the other's heart cleanly and efficiently.
"Don't come to me again," he said coldly. "I have no interest in your schemes or ambitions. If you stay out of my sight forever, I can pretend that the turmoil on the celebration day never happened."
When he reached the intersection and turned the corner, he took another look at the spot under the street light.
Another person was half-crouching beside the two overlapping bodies, with his head lowered. After noticing his gaze, Arthur raised his head and looked over.
"Deal with them," said Azathoth.
He walked into the dim morning light without looking back.
**
"How are you?"
Around five in the morning, Igor took a shower. While brushing his teeth with a towel wrapped around him, he realized he hadn't checked his mobile device for text messages. He went back to his room to retrieve it, put it on his wrist, and flipped through it as he walked. On his way, he saw Wendy, in her pajamas, peeking through the crack in the door to peek at him. The moment she saw Igor raise his head, she quickly retreated.
Igor methodically rinsed his mouth, dried his hair, and put on his shirt before knocking on Wendy's bedroom door and asking.
"I'm fine." Wendy said glumly.
"Can I come in then?"
Wendy trotted over and opened the door for him.
The brother and sister stared at each other near the door for a while, but Wendy was more than two heads shorter than Igor. After a while, Igor felt that she was tired of looking up at people, so he dragged a chair to sit down, and motioned for Wendy to sit on the bed as well. "What happened?" he asked gently. "I can help."
Wendy looked at the brown-red floor and said after a while, "Brother never spoke like this before."
Igor asked with a bit of amusement: "Then what did I say?"
“It’s a bit like that now,” Wendy said. “It’s more lively and relaxed.”
“…”
She shifted her gaze, looking worriedly at Igor's abdominal muscles. The young man had just finished showering, still shirtless, and the texture was clearly visible, dripping with water. There was a long, narrow, old wound that spanned his entire waist, making it look like he had been cut in half.
But once she opened her mouth, Wendy didn't ask questions like, "What happened these past few years?"—she already knew more about it on Starnet (Hugo had contributed greatly to this), and hearing it from her loved ones in person would only open up the wounds in vain. Crying bitterly would obviously not help. She felt that what she had just said was unnecessary, abrupt, and sad, so she immediately changed the subject: "Brother went out with the God last night?"
This was the name she learned from Erica.
The little cultist didn't actively promote anything. Erica was actually very polite to anyone with a different belief, but the fanatical signals she unconsciously emitted were really terrifying.
"Yes." Igor said, "Why did you wake up so early? Did you have a nightmare?"
"My back hurts." Wendy looked listless. "That bone always has an immune response...is that its name?"
Igor nodded. "It may not be possible to take it out for the time being." His tone softened. "But I will find a way."
Wendy looked at him, then her gaze fell to the bedroom window. This room, originally a storage room, didn't have much light. Although the sun had gradually risen, the sunlight still looked hazy through the morning mist. Outside the window was a leafy tree, common on the capital planet. Now, its leaves had mostly fallen, and the withered branches drooped, swaying left and right in the wind.
“…Is there a way?”
At this moment, Igor almost thought that what he saw was not an underage girl, but a dying old man.
He blinked his dry eyes uncomfortably and answered in a steady voice: "Yes. You should believe me."
He didn't say Wendy should trust Azathoth.
The relationship between trust and distrust is never determined by simple verbal statements.
"And maybe you'll be able to go to school after a while."
This sudden news surprised Wendy: "What? Me?"
"It's you." Igor nodded her forehead in mock seriousness. "My sister can't be uneducated. After all, I, your brother, graduated from one of the top five universities in the capital, and you only have an elementary school diploma."
"I haven't graduated from elementary school, but I've read a lot of books on my own," Wendy said happily. "But what should I do? Can't I go out without a mask? Or can I disguise myself like you, brother? But my skin color might not be easy to change..."
"Well," the young man said with a hint of a smile, "maybe you can go to school openly."
Wendy stared at him in amazement.
A few seconds later, she suddenly understood: "Did the God tell you? What is He going to do?"
She was both frightened and excited, her golden eyelashes trembling. "Kill the Vatican and the federal government, kidnap the Pope, and then we'll be safe, right?"
“…”
Igor looked at her without saying anything.
Wendy's shoulders slumped. "I'm sorry."
Igor couldn't help but raise his hand and rub her like a child, then said ambiguously: "Erica may have many half-brothers and sisters."
Wendy grinned again: "Hahahaha! Then can I join the church?"
Her brother said in surprise, "What did you say?"
"Can I join the church?" Wendy asked, swinging her legs. "My brother is a favored one of the gods. According to the standards of the Church, can I also become a bishop?"
"Actually, you don't have to..."
"I'm not really afraid of Him," Wendy said, feigning indifference. "Besides, since you trust Him so much, I think I can listen to you."
Igor looked at her quietly and gently, and after a moment he said, "As long as it doesn't harm yourself, you can believe in any existence you think is worthy. Neither I nor Mr. He will interfere with this."
He didn't discuss the topic anymore and took out the skirt he had bought for Wendy. "Before that, you can disguise yourself and go out for a walk. Where do you want to go?"
Wendy thought about it for a long time and realized that she had not been anywhere at all.
Finally the question was thrown back to Igor.
Igor flipped through the reviews on Starnet and finally asked, "How is the Capital Zoo?"
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