Whoosh!
The mana-infused arrow I shot hit the forehead of the creature in the center.
Of course, it didn’t die. My mana wasn’t strong enough to kill a Cerberus.
But at the very least, it was enough to stun it.
“Whimper?”
“Bark! Bark! Bark!”
The other two heads went berserk, barking wildly when they saw the middle head suddenly droop.
I was thrown backward from the recoil of the shot, but I quickly regained my composure.
Two more left.
I had to take them down no matter what!
“Grrrr!”
“Woof! Woof!”
I focused all my concentration.
Releasing mana at just one year old was something unheard of.
But I was making it happen.
Why?
Because I had lived for 90 years.
I was, quite literally, an experienced player who had played this game for 90 years.
Over the course of my six past lives, I had done many things.
I had become an Archmage, training my strength and abilities to avoid dying at fifteen.
I had also become a top-tier Spirit Master.
And even a Sword Master.
All of that time and experience had become the foundation of my current self.
I knew exactly how to control and release mana.
Of course, releasing mana without a properly formed magic circle was extremely dangerous.
But—
‘I’m about to die anyway, so what choice do I have?!’
I had no choice but to shoot.
Besides, the mana within this body felt quite remarkable.
Whoosh!
The arrow I shot lodged itself into the forehead of the Cerberus’s left head.
‘Oh, should I consider switching to an archer class?’
I smiled in satisfaction as I set my sights on the last remaining head.
‘I have to hit it this time too.’
I was at my limit.
Once I released this shot, I would collapse.
I couldn’t guarantee what would happen next.
But it was fine.
Didn’t the system window say the mission was to ‘Defeat Cerberus’?
And the reward was survival.
As long as I took down this last one, I would live.
So I concentrated, aiming my hand at the creature charging toward me.
“Grrrr! Bark!”
One, two…!
Just as my focus and concentration were burning at their peak—
“Wait a moment!”
“Stop!”
Screech!
At the twins’ shout, it was as if a car had slammed on the brakes—Cerberus came to a sudden halt. I barely managed to suppress the mana I was about to release.
“Mya? (What the hell, you bastards.)”
I glared at the twin brothers with all my might, but they didn’t seem to care about my murderous gaze. Instead, they burst into laughter as they looked at me.
“What are you?”
“That was amazing. How can you use mana?”
They clapped as they approached me, all while keeping the aggressive Cerberus seated.
Damn it, I haven’t completed my mission yet.
I reluctantly turned my gaze to the only remaining conscious head of Cerberus.
“Why? Were you going to knock that one out too?”
“Nah. Dragging it back would be too much trouble.”
It seemed like the twins had caught on to my intentions. Then, they crouched in front of me.
“You understand what we’re saying, right?”
I nodded.
“How old is this kid?”
“About half a year old, I think?”
“But she’s already using mana?”
“I wanna dissect her. I’m curious about how her body works.”
Their eyes were full of curiosity as they stared at me, as if analyzing me.
Feeling uneasy under their scrutiny, I swallowed dryly and met their gaze.
“You.”
They crossed their arms and smirked.
“I like you.”
“Yeah, me too. I like you.”
Ring!
A system window appeared.
Sub-Mission: ‘Escape from Danger!’ – Success!
Although you did not defeat Cerberus, it has been rendered incapable of fighting. Therefore, the mission is considered a success.
Rewards:
1. Survival (Achieved)
2. Favored by the Twins (Achieved)
“Phew.”
Seeing the system confirm my mission success, I realized I had survived.
Relief washed over me, and I collapsed, my face hitting the ground.
I had no strength left.
The only thing keeping me aware of my existence was the rapid thumping of my heartbeat.
“I’m Pardes.”
“And I’m Merdes.”
The twins forcibly flipped me over so I was facing them.
Ugh, annoying!
I frowned deeply, but they didn’t seem to care.
“What’s your name?”
“Mya…?”
They’re asking for my name even though I can’t speak?
Are these guys insane? Seriously?
I was so dumbfounded that my jaw dropped.
Seeing my reaction, the twins flinched as if they had just realized something, then burst into laughter.
“Ah, right. You can’t talk.”
“You use mana so well, we totally thought you were older.”
Ah, that makes sense.
These two are only three years old.
No wonder they fell for me so easily—because they’re still just kids.
‘If these were the twins I knew, forget about Cerberus collapsing—my head would’ve been the first to roll.’
Cheers to the fact that they’re still young.
What a relief.
“So you don’t even have a name yet?”
“Should we give you one?”
“That’s how it works, anyway. I got my name from our older brother too.”
“Yeah, me too.”
I had heard that the Demon King abandoned his children, but I didn’t expect him to not even give them names.
That lunatic only cared about regaining his strength.
‘A madman raises more madmen…’
I guess that’s an unchanging law of the universe.
Either way, the twins’ eyes sparkled as they looked at me.
“Your name will be…”
Pardes spoke first.
“Shekina.”
“Shekina Daimon?”
Merdes crossed his arms, tilting his head.
“It means ‘Glory of the Gods.’”
“That’s right.”
Pardes nodded, and Merdes continued.
“I mean, you were born already wielding mana. No way you wouldn’t receive the gods’ blessing. It’s a good name.”
“Yeah, it’s a good name.”
…And who gave you guys the right to decide whether my name is good or not?
How ridiculous.
“Mya… (These lunatics…)”
But I had no strength left to voice my complaints. My body was completely drained after using all that mana.
“Oh, are you passing out?”
“Should we call a healer?”
I didn’t even have the energy to answer.
The moment my tension eased, exhaustion hit me like a truck.
So I simply closed my eyes and collapsed.
“Shekina! Stay awake!”
I let the twins’ annoying voices fade into the distance.
***
When I opened my eyes, I saw an unfamiliar ceiling.
I hate when stories start like this.
But seriously, it was an unfamiliar ceiling.
This wasn’t the room I had seen since my reincarnation.
“Mya… (What the hell.)”
I remembered taking down the twins’ Cerberus, but… why was I here?
As I tried to move my head in confusion—
Something suddenly appeared.
“Woof! Woof!”
“Bark bark!”
“MYAAAAH!”
There were three dog heads right next to me, and I instinctively screamed.
What the hell? Are they attacking again?!
“Ahh! No, stop! Don’t hit it!”
Just as I raised my arm to strike, Merdes stopped me.
“Mungmungie just likes you. Look at its tail wagging!”
Ah.
After hearing Merdes’ words, I looked at Cerberus—or rather, Mungmungie—again. It was now lying even flatter on the ground, completely submissive.
What the hell is this?
“You’ve tamed Mungmungie! This is huge. Every other one made after us got killed by it.”
“………”
This guy is insane.
No—this entire place is insane.
Ignoring Cerberus—no, Mungmungie—licking my hand, I examined my surroundings.
Seeing two identical beds, I realized this must be the twins’ room.
Why did they bring me here?
Fully sitting up, I glared at Merdes with all the intensity I could muster.
“Mya! Myaah! Myamyamya! (Tell me why you brought me here! Speak!)”
“What’s it saying? Bro! Shekina is making weird noises!”
Ugh…
Should I hurry up and learn telepathic magic?
Not being able to communicate is seriously frustrating.
“We didn’t know where your room was.”
Pardes answered as he pulled a pile of books from a shelf.
“And even if we took you back, there was no servant waiting for you, right?”
Now that I got a good listen, I realized Pardes spoke much more clearly than Merdes.
Can twin brothers really have such different speech patterns?
Just as I was pondering this, I noticed the titles of the books Pardes was holding: The Structure of the Human Body, Anatomy Theory, and so on. Just looking at them gave me a headache.
‘I guess he’s the smarter one.’
In contrast, Merdes seemed a bit… slow.
After making that judgment, I shifted my glare from Merdes to Pardes.
He smirked mischievously.
“If you had gone back alone, you would’ve starved to death.”
“Yeah! We even fed you!”
Now that they mentioned it, I did notice the taste of milk in my mouth and wasn’t feeling hungry.
Feeling slightly embarrassed about my earlier suspicion, I pouted my lips.
“Anyway, tomorrow is the meeting. You might find a servant to take care of you then. Just stay here for tonight.”
A meeting?
Hearing something unfamiliar, I tilted my head in confusion.
“Hey bro, I don’t think she knows anything.”
“Huh? Why not? The information should’ve been implanted when she was made.”
The twins whispered to each other, looking at me like I was some anomaly.
No, seriously, what are you guys talking about?
“Myaaaah! (Tell me everything right now!)”
Frustrated, I flailed my arms and legs.
Merdes, however, just smiled brightly and grabbed my tiny hand.
“But bro, she’s really cute. Her expressions are different from ours.”
“Maybe there was a mistake during her creation?”
Pardes muttered thoughtfully, his face intrigued.
Then, slowly approaching my bed, he spoke again.
“Normally, you should have instinctively known everything. Maybe you were made incorrectly. That could be why you’re so powerful, but still…”
…What does that even mean?
“We’ll explain everything! You played with Mungmungie, so this is our reward!”
Yeah, but explain what exactly?
“First of all…”
Pardes sat down beside me and smirked.
“We are Homunculi—artificial humans.”
(Last Chapter)
