Reincarnated With A Glitched System: Why Is My MP Not Running Out?

Chapter 2176: The Evil Goddess’ Past

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Lolth attempted to step back in pure desperation. What little remained of her limbs tried to scuttle away from me, but she was completely unable to escape. My weight, the crushing pressure of my divinity, and the overwhelming force of my draconic power were simply too vast for her current weakened state. She could not do a single thing to resist me.

"Well, I’m glad you’ll dislike it so much. That only makes it an even better punishment!" I pierced Lolth’s divine core with my hand without hesitation and forcefully forged a familiar contract with her by bending her will itself until it had no choice but to agree under my conditions. "Lolth, for all your transgressions, for your horrible crimes, for the thousands of people you have killed! I sentence you to eternally help mortals prosper!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" She screamed in absolute desperation, completely unable to resist as we suddenly began to see vivid glimpses of each other’s deepest memories.

FLASH!

The world around me warped and twisted for a long moment. I found myself standing inside a room I had only ever seen before in the memories of Nephilim.

This room was filled with sharp edges and strangely plain colors. Everything felt artificial and foreign. Weird items I could not recognize from anywhere else in the worlds I knew filled the space.

This was clearly a room from "Earth," the original world where the Gods themselves had once come from.

In the center of the room, someone was crying with complete devastation. Their appearance matched the portraits and statues I had seen of Lolth’s past form.

So this was... most likely a genuine memory of her distant past.

"..."

Slowly she wiped away her black tears and looked down at something in her hand. It appeared to be a small artifact with a glowing screen that she could interact with by simply tapping on it.

Knowledge reached my mind instantly and allowed me to recognize it as a "smartphone," a device that humans of that era used to connect with one another across long distances.

As I walked closer to see what she was looking at, I realized it was some kind of public tragedy.

What seemed to be a digital newspaper article displayed on her smartphone spoke about a "great tragedy."

It read:

[Tenth Incursion into the Otherworldly Gate ends in a Failure.]

The only survivor, Gabriel Steward, speaks about the tragedy and how he was able to survive only by pure luck alone.

He insists, however, that the incursions to the Otherworldly Gates must continue for humanity’s survival and future, and that a new type of fuel could be found there — one that, potentially, could bring us to the stars themselves.

The article showed a tall man with a weirdly familiar face. He was mildly muscular, with long white hair and sharp blue eyes. He was heavily wounded and still bleeding as a group of paramedics worked to save him.

He was clutching something tightly in one hand — a glowing blue gem — but the article never mentioned it, and Lolth herself did not seem to pay any attention to that detail.

She was crying because she had lost someone precious.

"John..." she kept sobbing brokenly. "No... T-This can’t be happening...! Not you...! John...!"

I fell into silence as I watched her cry. This had to be a distant memory from a time when Lolth was still... somewhat of a person. Someone capable of feeling genuine emotions and deep sorrow. Someone who had lost a person she clearly loved very deeply.

Knock, knock!

"Huh?!"

Lolth slowly stood up, revealing just how beautiful she had once been as a human. She had long dark purple hair, clear white skin, and a slender yet curvaceous body. Although she was rather flat-chested, she possessed a beautiful face and bright eyes full of life... of innocence... of pure humanity.

"W-Who is it?" she asked nervously as she walked toward the door. "...G-Gabriel?!"

She slowly opened the door. The same man from the news article walked into the house in a rather hysterical state, still tightly holding the blue stone in his hands. Without invitation he sat down heavily on the sofa.

"W-What...! Hey! You come back without my John, barge into my house, and sit down like nothing happened?!" she protested angrily, already showing the early signs of the madness that would one day consume her.

"Shut up. Shut up already," Gabriel raised his hand dismissively.

Wait.

That voice.

I recognized it immediately.

That’s...

Him?!

He looked up for a moment, as if somehow gazing directly at me even though this was only a memory.

I instinctively walked back, and he did not follow my movement.

I felt an unexpected wave of fear.

That face... even though he had changed so much over the eons, even though his skin had later turned blue, even though he had gained more eyes, horns, and arms...

That bastard... how could I ever fail to recognize him?

"What?! What the hell is wrong with you?! Bastard! Where’s John?! What happened to him?!" Lolth demanded angrily, almost ready to grab his neck and strangle him with her bare hands.

"He’s alive," Gabriel spoke flatly.

She suddenly dropped the piece of furniture she had been about to throw at him.

"...What?" Her face grew pale as fresh tears streamed from her eyes. "R-Really?"

Gabriel slowly lowered his head and stared at his own reflection on the floor.

This was the first time I had ever seen him like this.

His past self.

So vulnerable, just like Lolth had been in that moment.

So... human.

And yet... that personality he still carries even now? It was already fully present back then.

That cold voice, his dismissive reaction, the way he spoke without true emotion.

This bastard has always been a manipulator and an emotionless prick — a selfish man who only ever cared about himself.

I can already tell with absolute certainty that he has not changed a single bit since the days when he was still human, eons ago.

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