How should I even describe that sensation? It was far more than a simple chill running down my spine. It felt as though my entire back had been encased in ice—a cold so biting it bordered on physical pain.
I turned toward the source of that frigid aura with trepidation, only to find myself paralyzed.
"Ah, you’re so adorable. So adorable, my precious child... I want to love you. I want to love you so, so much..."
They say a frog stared down by a snake cannot move, and I finally understood what that felt like. In a terrifyingly short span of time, Eden-san had been transformed. Her mouth was curved into an arc so wide and saturated with madness that I wondered if a human face was even capable of it, and the light had vanished from her eyes entirely, leaving them dull and empty.
"Haaah... I’m so happy my child is acting so spoiled. You’re happiest when you’re with me, after all, aren't you?"
"E-Eden... san?"
"I want you... I want to dote on every single part of my child. Yes, that’s right! That’s what makes my child happy too!! Fufu, fufufufufu."
"Hiiieee!?"
I backed away in sheer terror. I suddenly recalled our conversation from when we had first arrived on this planet—the unbelievable claim that she normally lived in a state of constant self-restraint. I hadn't thought it possible, but was there really a level beyond her usual self?
"Come here, my beloved child! I’ll love you so, so much. I’ll hold you tight, my sweet boy. I’ll even make you all clean. Oh, I know! Since we're here, I’ll lick you clean from head to toe. It’s fine, I’m a god, so I don't have bacteria. I can make every single inch of you perfectly clean!"
"……"
Her dialogue wasn't as long-winded as usual, but the sheer madness behind it was incomparable. That broken, manic smile was simply too much to bear.
"Hey, my precious child..."
"H-H-Hai!?"
"Why... are you backing away?"
"——!?"
"Ah, I see~ You’re teasing me. Oh, my child is such a prankster. Fufufu, that’s right! Playing tag on the beach is a classic, isn't it? That’s what my child wants to do!"
"N-No, that’s——wha!?"
This was bad; she was too scary. Even though my instincts were screaming at my entire body to run, I was so terrified that my limbs refused to move. As cold sweat drenched me, a flash of jet-black light cut through the air, followed by a thunderous cloud of dust.
Dazed and unsure of what was happening, I watched as the dust settled. Kuro stood there with her fist thrust forward, caught firmly in Eden-san's grip.
"Why?" Eden-san asked. "Why are you getting in the way?"
"Wh-What in the world is going on, Kaito-kun!? How did this happen? The Earth God has snapped way further than usual!"
"……I’d like someone to tell me why it turned out like this, too."
It seemed Kuro had rushed over after sensing something was wrong, and she looked just as shocked by Eden-san’s state. After a brief silence, Eden-san released Kuro's fist and spoke with a voice that sounded as if it were crawling up from the depths of hell.
"You’re interfering... in my time with my child?"
"For now, could you just calm down a bit? We can't talk like this..."
"Interference... interference, interference, interference! Just vanish! Everything that stands between me and my child—vanish from existence!"
"Ugh... take this!"
Immediately after Eden-san shrieked in a voice dyed completely in madness, Kuro moved her hands, and a Jet-black Dome appeared to envelop the two of them. Right after that, the entire planet shook with a thunderous roar.
I wonder how much time passed. After several tremors like major earthquakes, the Jet-black Dome vanished, and the two of them reappeared, collapsing at the same time.
"Kuro!? Are you okay!?"
Kuro looked haggard; about half her body had dissolved into a dark, nebulous mist. Intuitively sensing that she didn't have enough power left to maintain her usual form, I rushed to her side.
"Yeah... somehow. It was like she was twice as strong as usual. I was surprised, but it seems that in our usual fights, the Earth God was actually holding back to make sure she didn't kill me."
Kuro spoke in a voice heavy with exhaustion, slowly regenerating her body as she pushed herself up.
"But this time, she was really trying to kill me. She didn't dodge my attacks at all; she just kept attacking relentlessly while using Super-speed Regeneration. It was really down to the wire... but I think I somehow won."
"I see... Thank you."
"Ahaha, you’re welcome."
Feeling a wave of relief that Kuro was safe, I turned toward Eden-san. She was also in a battered state, with more than half of her wings burnt off, but she slowly pushed herself up with her hands on the ground.
"I will thank you this once, Half of God. In my love for my child, my reason inadvertently fled... It was my mistake."
"Y-Yeah. Or rather, I’m shocked. I still can't believe it... was that usual state of yours actually you holding back?"
"Naturally. Excessive love is a heavy thing. If I do not show an appropriate level of affection, wouldn't I end up frightening my child?"
"……"
At Eden-san’s nonchalant words, Kuro and I silently exchanged looks. What did "appropriate" mean to her? Did the word have a different definition in the world of the gods?
However, it seemed her claim of normally restraining herself was true, and this incident was genuinely unintentional. Eden-san bowed her head and apologized sincerely to Kuro, whom she usually despised.
"My child, I apologize for frightening you as well."
"A-Ah, n-no, you didn't actually do anything to me, so... By the way, is that way of speaking from just now your true self?"
"That is a difficult question to answer. But let’s see... it is enough for you to simply think of me as being in a 'state where I am not calm' when I use that tone. Since I might ignore my child's will and prioritize my own desires, please call for either the Half of God or Shallow Vernal if I ever become like that again."
Setting aside the question of whether Eden-san was ever truly "calm," it seemed that state was not something she intended to inhabit.
Perhaps it was because I had seen that state, but the fact that she usually respected my will despite her eccentricities made her seem almost sensible by comparison.
Anyway, I ended up seeing a new—and terrifyingly horrific—side of Eden-san, but I was just glad the trip ended safely.
There was just one thing. The fact that Eden-san spoke as if I would be facing that terrifying form again, saying "If I ever become like that again...", left me feeling deeply unsettled.
Form Description:
Eden Maman [Rationality Collapse (Machina) Mode]
This is the state where Maman, who is usually a yandere, completely tips over into madness. It appears when her love for Kaito increases to the point that her rationality breaks.
In her normal state, she is a yandere, but she retains the minimum level of reason required to prioritize Kaito's will. However, in this state, she prioritizes her own desire to dote on Kaito, making her extremely dangerous.
The limiters on both her mind and body are removed. In combat, she is a perfect berserker who ignores any damage to herself in her single-minded quest to erase her opponent.
While she normally recognizes Kuro as someone important to Kaito and fights with the intent to exclude rather than kill her, in this state, she fights with genuine lethal intent.
Seeing this state is enough to make one look at her normal self and think, "Wait, isn't she actually pretty normal?" That is how truly terrifying this mode is.