I'm the Only One With a Different Genre - Chapter 175
Chapter 175
Then, a dinosaur appeared.
***
A pitch-black void, endless in its depth.
It was a familiar sensation for Iris, but the emotional wounds that had once been bearable because of Lian now stared back at her.
[ See? I told you this would happen. ]
“…”
The voice that always broke Iris’s spirit whispered softly, this time with a hint of kindness. The tone was warm, like a parent cradling their child, but the barely concealed mockery lingered beneath the surface.
Iris hugged her knees, just as she had done in the cold, damp prison, unable to say a word.
Creak.
Even though she showed no outward reaction, her heart was visibly falling apart. The voice, aware of this, continued with even more cruel words.
[ You should have parted ways back in the village. You should have stopped yourself from trying to save the Duchess. What’s the point of thinking about it now? It’s already too late. ]
[ You shouldn’t have hoped for anything in the first place. None of this would have happened if you hadn’t. Isn’t that right? ]
[ You always blame others, don’t you? But you’re the one who stabbed him, and you’re the one who led him to his death. ]
The voice, as if waiting for this moment, unleashed all the words it had been holding back. As Iris’s heart crumbled, the emptiness inside her grew larger.
[ Ha, yes, this is it. ]
The ‘darkness’ inside her—or rather, the Outsider that had latched onto her like a parasite—smirked as it circled around Iris, who was curled up in the darkness of her mind.
[ If it weren’t for that damned man, I would have taken full control of this body by now. ]
The Outsider scowled as it recalled the face of a man with white hair and golden eyes.
[ He should’ve known how to share. He wasn’t even going to take this body, yet he kept getting in my way! ]
The Outsider cursed Lian, labeling him as ‘another Outsider,’ and continued to spew insults internally.
[ He knew I was inside this body all along… Hmph, well, it seems like he’s gone now, so it doesn’t matter anymore. ]
The Outsider grinned as it watched the darkness slowly creeping up Iris’s body, filling the space around her.
[ Not much time left now… ]
In just about a day, the Outsider would finally gain control over the precious body it had been working on for so long.
[ Once I have this body, I’ll wipe out those damned fools too. After all, this is the body of a ‘Hero.’ ]
Surprisingly, the Outsider had long known that Iris was a Hero. It also knew that among the numerous Outsider factions hiding within the dark fantasy world, the Demon King’s faction was the largest and strongest.
The reason it had endured inside Iris’s body for so long was precisely because of this.
[ To oppose the Demon King, a Hero’s body is the best weapon. ]
With a sly smile, the Outsider approached Iris and gently wrapped its arms around her shoulders. As it did so, its once faint form dissolved, and the surrounding environment blurred.
Screech. Clank.
Before long, the surroundings changed into a place that was all too familiar to Iris, and she found herself standing on her own two feet, facing forward.
“Where… is this…?”
The smell of dry sand, the rough sensation beneath her feet, the cheers from outside, the bright light seeping in from the end of a dark tunnel, and the hazy smoke drifting in.
Someone familiar brushed past Iris, who was staring blankly ahead.
“…!”
White hair that swayed with each step, golden eyes filled with unwavering determination.
Her past self, much smaller than she was now, was walking briskly toward the end of the tunnel. It was then that Iris realized what scene was unfolding before her.
“No, stop!”
She screamed, reaching out to grab the younger version of herself who was moving toward the tunnel’s exit, but her hand grasped nothing. As her hand sliced through empty air and fell limply to her side—
Squelch!
“A… Ah…”
Before she knew it, Iris was holding a sword, her hands drenched in blood.
The familiar smell of blood.
The familiar smell of blood.
The familiar smell of blood.
Her mind went numb, unable to function properly, and a ringing sound echoed in her ears. Her breath caught in her throat, and she scratched at her neck with her blood-soaked hands, gasping for air.
“No, no! My brother… My brother is still alive!”
Iris turned and ran forward, as fast as she could, her breath catching in her chest. As her tears blurred her vision and fell to the ground, the scenery changed once again.
Caw.
The unsettling sound of a crow, followed by the sickening sound of flesh being torn apart.
The place was filled with the nauseating stench of a corpse disposal site.
Before she realized it, she was standing in front of her brother’s cold, lifeless body.
Thud.
“No, my brother… My brother is still alive. He’ll come back to life.”
Her eyes were filled with anxiety and desperate hope. Just as Lian had miraculously awakened in her past memories and embraced her, she believed the same could happen now. Her mind was consumed by that belief.
Perhaps because she had just killed her brother with her own hands, her obsession and fear had crossed a dangerous line. Iris hugged her brother’s cold body tightly.
Unlike the now-grown Iris, her brother’s body was small and fragile. Iris pressed her ear to his chest.
Only a terrifying emptiness remained.
‘It’ll be fine… It’ll be fine.’
She was aware that she was dreaming, and she knew that Lian’s heart would eventually start beating again. But the heart doesn’t always follow reason, especially not when someone has been pushed to their mental limits, like Iris.
The memories, designed solely to break her, differed in key ways from reality.
“Brother… Brother, please… Please wake up, okay?”
The corpse remained motionless, one of the many unrealistic elements, but Iris had no way of realizing that.
With a desperate look, she shook the stiff body.
Crack.
In doing so, she accidentally snapped his arm.
“A… Ah… Ah…”
She stared blankly at the surreal scene before her.
Snap. Crack.
Her mind crumbled even faster. The Outsider hummed a tune internally and began pulling even more brutal memories to the surface.
[ Once I take over this body, I’ll make sure to get my revenge on him. ]
The Outsider hadn’t expected that Lian, with his ‘gag’ power, was watching through a crystal ball and overheard that statement.
Rumble.
[ Ahaha! Looks like the shock is too much for her? This time, the wound is really—… Huh? ]
That statement gave Lian’s ‘gag’ power the justification it needed to invade Iris’s mind. Suddenly, meteors began to rain down within the mental space controlled by the Outsider.
[ What… What is that? ]
Massive rocks, glowing red, filled the sky. At the same time, the walls separating the corpse disposal site from the outside world collapsed with a thunderous crash.
“Raaaargh!”
Boom!
From the outside, a massive dinosaur with a huge maw and tiny arms burst into the corpse disposal site and charged toward the coliseum, where cheers erupted. The ground trembled as if an earthquake had struck.
Boom!
Crash!
[ Aaaah! ]
The meteors, which had been falling from the sky, finally hit the ground, unleashing a deafening explosion. The scene resembled the aftermath of a typhoon.
[ Who… Who did this…?! Damn it! ]
The Outsider, realizing it was losing control, quickly tried to regain its hold over Iris, raising both hands and spreading its power wide.
“Raaawr?”
“Roooar?”
But instead, the Outsider only managed to attract the attention of the dinosaurs.
[ Eek…! ]
Dozens of dinosaurs roared and charged toward the Outsider.
[ Ugh… Damn it! ]
Cursing, the Outsider had no choice but to retreat. As it did, the traumatic scenery that had been endlessly replaying in Iris’s mind crumbled and vanished. The dinosaurs disappeared as well. The Outsider, regaining its composure, thought to itself.
[ Who the hell attacked me? ]
Logically, only another Outsider could have launched such an attack. That meant there was an Outsider out there who had managed to attack without the Outsider even sensing it.
[ I need to stay alert and prepare for… Huh? ]
The Outsider, bracing itself for the return of the familiar darkness and void, was instead greeted by an unexpected scene.
[ What… What is all this? ]
A pastel-colored amusement park stretched out before it. For the record, the dinosaurs were happily riding the attractions.
A catastrophe that even an ‘Outsider’ couldn’t handle had unfolded.
End of Chapter