“Oh, it’s you,” the Queen greeted Glenn.
They were in what seemed to be Elle’s private quarters. The interior was more or less the same as the room Glenn had been given, which told him he was being treated like a far more important guest than the other Underworld residents.
Elle sat on her own bed, legs crossed. Glenn was allowed to approach her with Molly present, Cottingley by his side.
“Yes—I will be examining you,” he stammered.
“Fine. I appreciate that you have decided to serve me. However, I don’t think this is anything a doctor can fix,” Elle responded.
Glenn nearly laughed at how much she sounded like Skadi had when he’d examined her once.
“Listen carefully. I am going to show you my right side now. Do not let me see a sour look on your face,” she warned.
Glenn looked at the Queen quizzically.
“I will say it again. The moment I think your face looks sour, understand that I will erase every trace of your soul that ever existed.”
“Y-yes,” Glenn nodded.
With that, Elle uncrossed her legs and took off her right boot. Then she slipped off her high sock. The movements alone were alluring. But then—
“Er!” Glenn opened his eyes wide.
The skin that had been hidden by her sock was severely infected.
“This…”
It was completely different from her left side. It looked like a serious burn. Patches of her skin had formed keloid scars, and there was a clear liquid seeping from her wound. This was the cause of the odor. It even looked like there were maggots amidst the damaged skin—maggots, which were born in festering wounds and ate dead flesh.
What happened here? It’s looks exactly like she neglected a serious wound and wrapped it in soiled bandages. It’s all but rotted away…why is it so infected?!
Elle continued to undress while Glenn sat there, stunned. Next, she took the long glove off her right hand. Just like her leg, her arm was covered in keloidal scarring. She must have been in terrible pain.
“It doesn’t seem that you find it…unpleasant,” she noted.
“May I just ask how it came to this?” he asked.
“Heh heh…how?” Finally, Elle pulled back her bangs on the right side—a rare occurrence. With only the left side of her face showing, she was gorgeous. On the right side, however, her skin was a festering mess, and she couldn’t open her right eye.
He wouldn’t have expected a patient with such severe injuries to even be able to move. Glenn was astonished.
“Because I am the Goddess of Death, naturally. I administer death, and therefore half of my body is dying. Death is ugly, horrifying, and something everyone wants to avoid—my right side simply embodies that concept,” she explained.
“In other words, it is symbolic?” Glenn asked.
“Correct,” Elle nodded. “Gods are symbols. We are concepts. We take on the appearance of what we are. I am the Goddess of Death, so naturally, I must take a form that makes people think of death. That is why I have such a repugnant half, Doctor.”
Glenn was silent again.
“Therefore, this is not an injury or sickness. No matter what sort of treatment you administer, I will remain the Goddess of Death. It is incurable. It cannot be alleviated. If you still want to serve me after hearing that, then do what you like.”
Elle gave him a twisted smile, as if she were looking forward to his reaction. The left side of her lips curved up beautifully. The right side didn’t move, looking burnt and painful.
“I…will do my best,” he answered.
“Oh, so you’re going to give it a try?”
“Yes, of course,” he assured her.
“Good, good. I am a tolerant Goddess. I accept any kind of service. But don’t forget—” She looked directly into Glenn’s eyes. “Now that you’ve seen me like this, I can never let you escape the Underworld. This is my most despicable secret, which I must keep hidden from all. I keep everyone who learns the truth of this very close to me—like Molly over there.”
Molly bowed, although it was hard to tell, since she didn’t have a head.
First, I need to disinfect it!
Elle’s eyes were speaking to him. They were saying there was no way he could heal her. She was grinning and staring at him all the while, waiting to see what kind of treatment he would administer.
I have to at least do what I can.
He looked at her gangrenous wounds and came to a decision.