Iris and I leave the cellar where the illusory wall towards the Glitch Zone is hidden. The air is a bit more stuffy than I remember, but nothing else looks different so far.
It is very obvious to me now that Iris in her true form would never fit through the stairway leading up here, with her legs she's easily twice as wide as the passage. But her [Human Form] removes that problem.
While walking onward, Iris tells me impatiently, "Could we move a bit faster, please? I want to get out of here quickly, revert to my real self and stretch my legs. This form is too limiting, I feel cramped..."
"You sound like a defeated demon lord that was reincarnated as a human toddler and became the child of his former killer."
She stops and just stands there confused, looking at me, "Huh? What?"
"Forget it, just trying - and obviously failing - to crack a joke. So did you really get used to your spider-self so fast, or did the change do that to you?"
She thinks for a moment, then we continue on our way, "Hmm... a little bit of both? I mean, aside from the obvious physical differences and the relevant intuitions to control my limbs, I don't feel like I've changed at all."
"And there's the eternal question: do you yourself even notice when you change?"
She replies, "Well, maybe, maybe not. I don't know how it is normally, but you know, I didn't have much to do down there in those three weeks, so I happened to talk to a few people about exactly that topic, well, at least in regards to... the Hybrid changes. As it turns out, some can't tell any difference, some know that they changed but not in what way, and others could tell you in detail what exactly is wrong with them. And a handful of people don't even recall anymore what they were before. It seems to simply depend on the person in question."
"Huh, so it is pretty random. So, uh, how do you feel about humans, specifically those that aren't among my familiars?"
Iris sounds confused by my question, "Pretty ambivalent, I'd say. I don't really wish any harm upon them if that's why you ask. Well, not any more than before at least, some of them were... pretty despicable and deserve punishment. But the others, well, if they asked to be friends, I'd be open to it, I guess."
I just hope she's telling the truth, "That's... reassuring."
Not really what I expected to hear. I'd have guessed that as a partial monster or glitch-infested person or whatever she is now, she'd have a less favorable view of humans. Possibly even see them as food. But it's nice that a form of co-existence is still on the table. I mean, I'm not human anymore myself, but better safe than sorry.
Wait, if technically no one is human anymore... can I even still drink their blood? I was told, that as a higher-ranked vampire, I can only drink human blood, but now that everyone is seemingly part monster... Questions, questions...
After a bit more walking, we're finally outside the military complex. Iris takes the opportunity to change back to her arachne form, "Much better this way, the human shape is so cramped..."
Ignoring her concerning comments, I step on the road-
Splotch
-and promptly sink into the ground, only a small part of my upper body still sticks out of the ground. What the hell!? This is supposed to be solid ground, not some disguised mimic swamp! It still looks like pavement but it feels like moldy pudding. Gross!
But why can everyone else walk on it, why am I the only one that's sinking into the road? What the hell is going on here...
"Hey, Iris, how do you walk on this mess?"
She hurries to me and scratches her head, "Rather, how did you get down there? This is a solid road."
I groan and struggle to free myself, "No clue, nothing about this makes sense..."
"...get on, I'll carry you", she grabs me, pulls me out off the ground and places me on her spider back.
Embarrassed I thank her, "But no word to Lucia."
"Sure thing, I don't want to deal with her jealousy either."
Seriously, if I was a head shorter I would have drowned in the road. Now that's a rare sentence if I ever heard one...
While Iris carries me on her back, I take a moment to take a look around, and I hate what I see.
The medieval-style buildings have red ivy growing all over them and purple-orange striped vines are growing all over the place. If the buildings were slightly more like ruins, this would look like a post-apocalyptic scenery where nature reclaims the lands, just with wildly wrong colors. Luckily, they aren't ruins neither is the place devoid of people. Yet.
On closer inspection, the vines end in a maw reminiscent of a closed flytrap, and they wriggle around slightly. Better be careful to not end up on their menu.
Seriously, with the greenery and swamp-mimicking road, my fortress has become a veritable jungle, just great.
The next oddity is that the sky has a more greenish tint now, and a lot of pitch-black dots fill the air. No idea what those are, but they freak me out. Most of the time, they hang idly in the air, but every so often they split into two, none of them smaller than the original, and then one decides to crash into the nearest person who doesn't even seem to notice it. And no one seems to observe this spectacle at all as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
What the hell, we have no real industry, yet the air pollution has already reached creepy levels...
"Hey, Iris, do you know what these black dots are?"
She looks at me clueless, "What dots do you mean?"
"Uh, the ones that hang in the air everywhere."
She looks around but seemingly finds nothing, "Sorry, but I see no dots. No idea what you mean."
I can only scratch my head over this situation. Am I the only one that can see those things? Are maybe just my eyes defective after the glitch bath? That would explain a few things like the dots and strangely colored plants...
"I guess it is just a side-effect from whatever happened when we left the dungeon... Would explain the purple-orange striped vines everywhere..."
Iris corrects me, "No, they are really colored that way. Also, make sure you don't wear anything green around them. They are, uh, 'vegetarian', they call it."
What nonsense did I just hear, "Excuse me, what the hell?"
"You heard me right. Their favorite dish is anything colored green. You're safe as long as your color scheme is anything else. Mostly."
BRB, gotta reboot my brain.
"I'll... keep that in mind... Say, aren't you a druid now? Can't you tell them to leave us alone?"
"I am, that's why I know that they love their greens. Excessively."
I better ignore this topic, "Moving on..."
So everything I see is correct except maybe the black dots? I don't get-
Cough Cough
Suddenly I'm overcome by a coughing fit.
What the? Since when can undead get sick? ...yeah, this pollution is clearly not natural. I hope the others know what is up with that, and preferably have a countermeasure to it. I don't want first-hand experience with a literal black plague.
After calming down a bit, I look around some more and happen to watch how one of the black dots rushes into me. I don't feel it at all which worries me even more. What if that is how the glitch infection spreads?
I want to reload the save file I wasn't allowed to make, the world has gone crazy... or rather crazier. It wasn't sane to begin with, not even close with the System and Devas and everything being what it is. I wonder what Elly said to this madness. Speaking of, where are my spirits anyway?
I mentally call out to my summoned spirits, maybe one of them happens to be close by, (Hey, Elly, Maria, Lydia, can one of you hear me?)
While waiting for an answer from my spirits, I listen to what the people around us say. I can hear some strange noises among them but can't make out what they are, Ĥ̷̬e̴͛͜y̷̢̓,̸̯̈́ ̴̼̀I̷̡̾ ̵͕̔t̷̫̋h̶͉͘i̷͎͂n̷̞̅ķ̵́ ̷̠̀t̷͚̆h̵̞̑à̷̙t̶͓͛ ̴̖̆i̵̜̎s̶͈̽ ̴̳̆o̴͚͊n̵̘͠ẽ̵̞ ̷͕̉o̶̧̍f̴̧́ ̶̎ͅt̵̰̂h̶͇͠é̷̤m̵̦̓ ̵̹͒ö̷̺́v̴̫́e̸̲͛r̵̝̚ ̷̟̄t̵͉̊h̵̫͛e̶̘͌r̷̯͋e̴̝̒.̷̙͝
Y̴̬̑e̶̡̔a̴̺̍h̵̝̅,̴͓̋ ̷̪̑s̸̫̽ö̷̰́ ̶̘͐w̴̹̎ȟ̶̬ä̵͙́ẗ̸̡́?̸̲̄ ̵̫̓Ț̶͋h̵̖͗e̸̯͛ŷ̵̭'̸̜͆r̴̟̋e̸̯͛ ̸̟̊b̷͚͑o̷͓̓ṛ̴̔i̴̢̛n̶̺͐g̷̣̔,̵̲͋ ̶̳͒İ̴̼ ̶͌ͅd̷́͜ò̷̥n̷̳̊'̵̙̔ṭ̴̆ ̶̘́u̵͉̅n̵͙̂d̷̮̄ĕ̷̹r̵̞̓s̵̘͒t̸̰̉a̶̢͘n̴̢̋d̵̛̖ ̶͇̆ẅ̶̝ḧ̴̰́ä̵̻́t̵̩͠ ̶͕͂ỵ̸͊o̵͓̿u̷̥͗ ̶̪̈́ŝ̷̙e̸͚͊e̷̦͠ ̵̮̀ȋ̶͉n̵̙̉ ̶̆ͅt̸̺́h̵͓̄e̶̼͒m̴̘̽ ̸̝̈ǎ̶̧t̵̪͑ ̵̝͋á̸̧l̶̜̅l̴̺̈́.̷͎̈́
Ỵ̵̑o̷̬̅ü̸̫ ̸͖̾s̸̹̑h̵͖̚ő̶͍ŭ̵̝l̶̥͐d̵̲͆ ̷̬̑b̶͚͝ḛ̷́ ̸͎͝ḿ̶̩ö̸̻́r̷̫͘e̴͋͜ ̷̢̎g̷̬̿r̸̠̀a̶̠͐t̴͓̽ë̵̗́f̷̖͗ū̴̟l̷͙̇,̵̙͝ ̴̱͆t̷͔́h̴̝̃ẽ̷͓ỷ̴̢ ̴͉̒c̷͐ͅr̷͍͆ȇ̷̱ǎ̷͎ṭ̴̽ȅ̴̯ḋ̸̩ ̴̲͝a̸͍͌ ̵̪̕n̵̻̒ĩ̸͍č̵̻ë̴̱ ̷͓͐n̷̞̈́é̶̘ŵ̶̼ ̸̪͘h̸͎̐o̷̹̽m̴̨̛ḙ̸̀ ̵͍͝f̵̉͜o̶̧͋r̷̖͝ ̷̛̘ű̴̱s̷̱̉ ̸̖̈́F̷̬͐e̶̫̓a̸̤͛t̸̢̓ų̸̅r̴͍͒e̶͙͛s̸͇͑.̷͖͌
B̵̰̽a̶͍̋ḫ̵͒,̵̨̄ ̴̌͜Ḭ̸̑ ̶̩͒ẅ̵̠́à̶̭s̸̨̛ ̴̞̒d̴̰͒o̸̼͐i̶̡͝n̵̲̕g̷̹̉ ̷̡̌w̸̳͘e̶͚̒l̶̛̼l̴̳͂ ̶̻̎ǫ̸͐ṋ̸͌ ̵̦̊ḿ̶͖ẏ̸͈ ̷̈́͜o̸̻͆w̸͇͊ǹ̵̬.̸̩͛ ̶̥̓Ï̸͜ ̷̺̓s̷͙͠w̸̭̽e̴͈̊á̸̼r̸̥͌,̸̫̅ ̶̮͂y̸̧̓o̴̼͠ú̷̼'̴̺̾r̸̙͒ḛ̸̽ ̸̌ͅw̶̠͛a̷͆͜y̶̗̓ ̴͜͝t̴͂ͅǫ̶̅o̵̞̽ ̸̺̈́c̴͉̚ú̵̧r̵̩̎i̴̞̿o̶͚͑ǔ̴̪ŝ̵̗ ̶̺̍a̵̹͆b̶̦̆ǒ̵͕ṵ̵̄t̸̞̎ ̷̝̏t̴͓̆ḫ̶̏o̵̻̎s̸̠̾e̵̤̓ ̵̰̄S̵̟͒ò̴͎l̷̘̎i̷͎͋d̴̫̆s̵̢̏,̶̡́ ̸̻̔'̸̙̈́M̴̬̍o̶̥̿m̸̛̩'̴͇͐.̸̖̉
W̷̛̲h̸̗̚ǎ̵͜ṯ̸̒ ̷̼̆d̵̾ͅi̷̤͌d̷̲͋ ̸̗̓y̵̮̕ȯ̵̠u̸̖͆ ̷̨͠l̸̞͝i̵͉̾t̴̻͋t̴͉̐ļ̶̈́è̴̝ ̷͇̆m̸̫͗a̴͈͒l̵̳̈f̵̖́û̸̱n̴̯̾c̶̙̍t̸͖̃i̴̱͝o̷͖͌n̶͖͝ ̶̮̂j̵̼̑u̴̧̓s̶̠͌t̷̗̔ ̷̫̄c̸̭͝ȁ̸̼l̶̖̆l̶̞͒ ̷̢̋m̵̛̫e̴̫͂?̶̡͊ ̵̬̓S̶̪͝t̴͍̿ọ̸́p̵̢̀ ̷͐͜l̵̦̊ĕ̵͓a̴̡̓r̶͖͠n̷̜̐i̸̾͜n̴̈́ͅg̴̜͠ ̸͓͑n̸̫͊ȁ̸ͅs̸̯̿t̸͉͊y̶͓͌ ̷̯̓w̸̠͌o̶̬̐r̶̼̉ḓ̶̇s̷͈̎ ̴̗͊f̴̰̔r̶͎͛o̵̲͐m̵̰̊ ̷̺͆t̵͓̿h̶̢̑o̴̭̾s̵̬͐e̷͚̊ ̶̟̄S̵̠͐ô̵ͅl̶͍͊ȉ̷̜d̵̗̍s̷͚̾!̸͓̋
Probably just an error with my ears on the same level as the black dots no one else can see... I should let a medic have a look at that later.
It has now been a while but still no answer comes from my spirits. Was worth a shot, though they are probably with Lucia and attending the meeting we're going to. I'm curious about who else will be there. Knowing my luck, I'll have to endure Therese there as well, though I'd like to pass on that. We never get along.
On the remaining way to my mansion, we pass by some more people. [Appraise] tells me that all of them have a Hybrid class, but exactly like Iris explained, everyone got different effects or deformations out of it. Some got inconsequential mutations like a few minor monster parts, scales, tails, what have you. For others, the transformations seem more complete. But no matter what, it is always related to monsters. One guy got it the worst, he has fully become a sentient axe. No wait, there's a nearly transparent figure attached to the weapon. So which of the two is "him"? That may forever remain a mystery to me. I don't want to go and ask him, and risk drowning in the road. Again. Urgh...
Now that I think about it, I couldn't even reliably assume that anyone that still appears fully human, elven or whatever isn't infected with the Hybrid class. There are plenty of human-like monsters like giants, fae and managers after all. Though for now, they seem to be just as loyal to me as my familiars are forced to be. The keyword being "forced".
I hate it.
It is a recurring reminder that my free will is compromised by at least the Happily Married title, probably my vampire race or undead nature as well. I wouldn't be surprised if the Demon title or any of my glitched skills would also mess with me...
I'm already not happy with actual slavers running freely around here, and now everyone is arguably worse off... because of me... or rather because of the glitch within me leaking out through the familiar bond. At least that is what I believe is happening.
But then... isn't this kind of what the Devas wanted? They planted this glitch core within me, bullied me into this suicide trip and... It really was inevitable, wasn't it...
But what do they get out of it? The people here worship them, at least one of them, so the heretic angle is out. I doubt they know about the lich backdoor either, otherwise, they would've added that to the mission list, I guess.
Though, I think if the lich gets infected and adds a G and T to its race, the damage to the system will become even worse; by my understanding, the glitches would then have direct access to every feature in the universe, and nothing would be safe from them anymore. This sounds like an instant-lose condition if I ever saw one.
No, that sounds too risky. If they planted the glitch bomb in me and knew about the lich this would be the same as willingly condemning the whole universe to death, and I doubt someone that is so high and mighty that they decide over everyone's fates is suicidal, not to that degree.
I think Eva's bosses threatened some drastic measures in case I fail, it sounded very final, like wiping out this whole planet. So if there is something here that they want to get rid of couldn't they just blow the world up directly? Allegedly they already have recorded enough failed attempts, more than enough to publically declare it a lost cause. Faking a plus-one error in that statistic wouldn't be out of the ordinary; easily 90% of all data politicians present to the public is either fake or misleading on purpose anyway.
No, there must be something else here, something important. Regular destruction of the world is not it, but finding and eliminating the alleged demon artifact is also unlikely. If it was as dangerous as proposed, mixing it with glitches is not a good idea.
Maybe an unauthorized nuclear-adjacent weapons test? Not bioweapons, but soulweapons? That would be... both madness and par for the course.
Hey, we have this ultimate weapon of absolute destruction that may burn the entire universe if used, but we're not sure, so we want to try it. And in case existence survives, we'll keep repeating these "tests" until it doesn't.
No thanks, Mr. Oppenheimer!!
I just don't get it... I can't really think of any sane reason for this entire debacle. And if against all odds they were honest about this whole adventure, there shouldn't be a WMD in my godforsaken soul!!
...
While I'm lost in thoughts, we eventually arrive at my mansion. It looks unchanged, not even covered in colorful vines. It is kinda eerie how the vines that are otherwise everywhere seem to instinctively avoid the place.
I carefully climb down from Iris' back, making sure to not sink into the road again. The short pathway in front of my home seems solid, but careful testing of the road still yields the same result as before; the road itself is not solid, at least for me. Why is that? It makes absolutely no sense, everyone else can walk on it as if it was a regular road and not a swamp mimic. The glitches have done quite a number on reality, haven't they?
As I turn back towards my mansion, Iris fidgets, "Seems like I won't fit in there in this form. Couldn't they have built a bigger mansion?"
I sigh, "What do you expect? It was only ever intended for the use of normal humans."
"Yeah, you're right", she replies in a frustrated tone and then transforms back into her new human form.
With an uneasy feeling, I enter my home.
