Not long after I had accepted the facts about Aki, at least when hearing that others around me might be the same and they were somehow either the reincarnation of various goddesses from the dungeon or their avatars, it unsettled me greatly.
I liked speaking to Lupera and Asteria and would feel a sense of loss if they were to vanish and suddenly never speak to me again.
So, the thought that they might also disappear when fusing was just as worrying compared to losing the human I had met so far.
“That will not happen, Rai.” Eternia and her soft voice were always comforting and supportive, but it wasn’t quite enough to stop my worries.
“You say that, but how can two people fusing not cause one to vanish.”
I felt that my logic wasn’t wrong—for them to become one, didn’t they have to discard one of the personalities?
“They are two sides of the same coin. Take Lupera, for example—as a goddess—she is just the condensed mana and thoughts are left dormant in this dungeon and only awakened after Cassandra was born.”
“Their actions, thoughts, emotions, likes, dislikes are all the same. One is just a flesh body while the other is the mana that belongs to the body taking a physical form thanks to the dungeon.”
My mind tried understanding completely—it really did, and sure, it sounded good on the tin, but what if there was a chance it wasn’t absolute…
I had grown to love interacting and speaking with Lupera, and the way Cassandra liked to make me compete with her was similar for sure.
But what if…
Suddenly, a soft hand wrapped around mine— the feeling wasn’t Aki or Eternia but the human form of Lupera… her soft, flexible, tanned skin and silvery hair were different to the image I had as she hugged my neck, the warmth of her breath and feeling of heat that came from her skin spread through my body as she held me tightly.
“You fool, are you so worried I would vanish like that… What will I do if you make my heart race this badly? I might die of a heart attack.”
Her voice was softer and seemed a little shy and more reserved to the confident and feisty milf wolf speaking with confidence.
“Then what would happen to you…”
“I would just become the person I should have been—this is just delaying the inevitable as this form already died aeons ago, haha.”
“Will she really remember all we’ve spoken about, and you will truly remain?”
“Mmmm, she already does—from the moment you kissed, she started to remember like you and Aki did when we finally fuse. Her skin might tan a little, as was meant from the start, and I will just be starting my new life as Cassandra.”
I began to stroke her back, never noticing that her furry ears and tail were identical to the ones of Cassandra from the other day and then the strange nights drinking and waking up in her apartment. Was that due to her awakening her memories?
Maybe another reason she was so thorough with the office and changes of the gang?
“If you truly don’t vanish, then I don’t have any issues…”
“I’m a little jealous—when did brother get so close to Lupera?”
Aki and Eternia spoke at the same time with a slight blush on their cheeks as they noticed their words and tone were so similar.
“Mmmm, well, she was the one beside me during my toughest fights, supporting me.”
“…”
Lupera was nothing like her normal self and hid her face in my chest with a rapidly beating heart and red face. It was quite adorable to see this side of her.
“Ah, look… Lupera was always like this, following brother’s ass but too shy to speak with him, but she wrote down all the things he liked or did so that she never won whenever something related to him was brought up.”
A slightly bitter tone came from the mouth of Eternia while I felt Lupera shudder in my arms—there was something off, though.
I could feel and see the huge magical aura coming from all the women who were goddesses in the dungeon. It was partly why I knew Celestia and the others were special…
Eternia’s was huge, golden and warm like the sun.
Aki’s was a little smaller but cool and soothing, like watching the ocean tides.
Celetia’s was massive and heavy, seeming like she carried a huge planet on her back.
However, Lupera… her aura was small, barely triple that of a human or the people I met in the dungeon.
Yet her body was muscular and strong—when she grabbed me, I could feel that my bones began to creak, and she could probably tear me apart if she wanted to.
“Eternia, don’t be so harsh towards her—she’s always been so cute and shy due to her low divine power that this is the first time she actually approached him.”
So it wasn’t just my hunch and feeling still this warmth and racing heart was soothing for me as I looked towards the shop’s second floor and wondered who Celestia’s true body was, but somehow it felt like she would tell me when I reached the floor she asked me to reach.
As for that woman she called mother, it was likely Athena, who was said to be the last surviving sister by the others.
Yet something in my heart and mind told me… Athena had died back then, but she was waiting.
A lonely woman who is waiting for me to become strong enough to meet her—that is her pride as the goddess who protected this dungeon until we were all reborn safely and able to protect it ourselves…
The pair still looked down at me with a clear gaze as if nothing else in the entire dungeon mattered. My eyes fixated on the woman beside her and started to look for similarities with women I knew and had contact with.
It was easy the moment I watched her for a few seconds, her breathing and movements, that slightly droopy gaze and the way she smiled when I pretended to wave…
Mother… or rather Anastasia.
She was Aphrodite.
As I realised, my mind began to form a small diagram using the system’s notepad, drawing their names and starting to match the goddesses to their true bodies using only their features and actions.
I might be wrong, but I hoped I wasn’t.
Aki -> Eternium
Eternia -> None
Anastasia -> Aphrodite
Cassandra -> Lupera
Elizabeth -> Asteria
Haruka -> ???
Flora -> Neliel
Lumia -> Celestia
Somehow, I didn’t think Haruka was one of them… I felt she was the only girl who was just my ex-girlfriend and a girl that I found interesting because I hadn’t yet met Athena, but she seemed the type to be competitive with me and to fight me while hiding her attraction and affection.
In truth, there was a hunch, or something deeper than that, which made me feel that Athena was someone else…
A meeting as if by accident, but that meeting brought us together, and my curiosity and interest were beyond normal…
It was Kana Shimizu. I felt something in her that was different from me, just lusting after her body as if nostalgically wanting to compete with her and feeling there was a different scent about her.
I thought about showing my guess with the women watching me quietly as they started to chat about daily topics like dinner or how the dungeon was doing, but I decided to wait.
Until the moment I saw Asteria and Elizabeth fusing with my own eyes as I looked back to see her figure watching me with her strange look.
Is it wrong for me to be relieved that I don’t have to deal with more than fifteen women at once… knowing that they are mostly the same person?
Leaning back in my chair, I finally let go of Lupera as she looked up at my face with a strange smile.
“Why are your eyes watering? What happened to be the big Mommy wolf.”
“Ah… that…”
“You should go and keep your promise next time we meet; I am sure you can become a real Mommy Wolf when you return to that body. Have more confidence, Luppa.”
“Ah… the name…”
For some reason, she became bashful and more animated when I called her a slight pet name. It just seemed to roll off my tongue, and I felt nostalgic as she hugged me tightly, kissing my cheek before her figure completely vanished with a brilliant spark of silver light, creating a small moon as she vanished.
“Oh… I’m envious—you call her by that nickname again.”
“Hmmm?” I tilted my head, confused at Aki’s words, as she pouted and climbed onto my lap as if jealous of Lupera.
“Ah… just… That was what you used to call her back in the past when she did something, and you wanted to praise her or play with her tail.”
It was quite amusing that, as well as these girls. I, too, was probably going through something similar ever since I gained my Primal Werewolf form. That voice and the strange commanding tone…
It was likely Iranos or the past me, right? Kind of ironic that my planet’s code name is Iranos IX
Sorry thought. I don’t plan to become you—at the very least, I’ll use your name and allow you to live on in their hearts as a memory.
But I am Rai Shibuya, and these women are the ones I love—you should have done better in the past.
While I was speaking to myself in my head like a nutjob, although I really felt like the pressure in my body eased up when I did…
“Rai… The enemy is coming now that more than half of our sisters have recovered. That means that they know the dungeon’s existence, and our defences are weakened.”
“We don’t know when, but they will come… and will attempt to destroy your world.”
I looked at Eternia and Eternium, who looked at me with worried faces, but I didn’t really care about the big stuff.
As long as my loved ones were happy and my business took off, I was content.
So I could answer with these big words:
“Let them come—I will stop them for good this time.”