I Became the Priest of Blasphemy of the Outer Gods

Lyla Eldenwillow bore the shame of being known as the “Enchanter Who Can’t Enchant”, but she was by no means an incompetent mage.

The “Artificer Guild” strictly controlled the methods, so she merely lacked the necessary materials. However, her analytical and extraction abilities, essential for an enchanter, were solid.

“How is this happening when it has nothing to do with an Outer God…!”

As a result, Lyla was perplexed. The decrepit, broken arrow she had arbitrarily named “Arrow of Corrosion”.

It seemed to hold some curse related to corrosion, but apart from its inherent danger, it had no other special qualities.

She had sealed it away because she couldn’t fully understand the curse, and it required special handling due to its nature.

“No matter how many tests I ran, there wasn’t a trace of an Outer God’s aura. What on earth is happening?”

She could hardly believe her eyes. The arrow was unequivocally reacting to this man named Ethnos, emanating a disconcerting Outer God’s aura. But that wasn’t all.

“All the other sealed items are missing.”

Over ten items had disappeared without leaving a trace. Given that theft was out of the question, the arrow was surely the problem.

“What, what should I do?”

Lyla recalled the days she took pride in her magic, the question she asked her mentor, and the answer she received.

— … Both use mana to create mysterious phenomena, right? Which is superior, magic or miracles?

She had expected the answer to be magic. Her mentor responded to her naive question as follows,

— It’s difficult to determine superiority, but as a mage, be cautious of miracles. The essence of a mage is ‘understanding’. You know this, right?

—“Uh… yes, of course. That’s basic knowledge.”

— But miracles are beyond understanding. Fundamentally, they are beyond the control of a mage.

She had thought dismissively, “If we understand miracles, that’s all there is to it.”

Even until now, she believed it was possible for a mage to analyze and understand miracles. But at this moment, Lyla could understand nothing.

***

“I’m starting to understand.”

I could grasp what it was and what it wanted. The foundation for this understanding wasn’t my accumulated knowledge.

“It seeped in.”

Like the formless residues I had encountered in meditation, this newfound knowledge seemed to be intentionally implanted initially to corrupt me, but this time was different.

“There’s fear etched into the species known as formless residues.”

As I meditated, my comprehension increased, allowing me to analyze everything calmly. The emanating aura of an Outer God ahead of me surely connected to the formless residues or the “Slumberer of the Abyss”.

“And it’s likely a natural enemy of sorts.”

The reason my transformed arm was acting up was also probably due to this.

“Ethnos! Can you hear me?”

Looking back, I saw Lyla forming a protective barrier with her magic.

“Is there a way to handle this?”

“Maybe?”

Honestly, I couldn’t be sure. I only knew I had to act immediately.

“Join me behind the barrier! I’ll reinforce the seal multiple times!”

“It’ll be nullified quickly. Hasn’t it already consumed the other items you kept?”

Lyla nodded tensely.

“Then we need to act now.”

“You said you weren’t sure! Wouldn’t it be better to seal it temporarily and escape?”

I shook my head again. While playing ≪Orders≫, I had once made such a choice. The result was that an entire village collapsed, people turned into zombies, and my character went mad, plagued by nightmares and ongoing mental suffering.

“The hunger of this thing will affect the village as well. No, it might contaminate the entire area.”

“… That’s the power of an Outer God, huh. So, what’s the plan?”

I still wasn’t certain. I could only rely on the knowledge and intuition passed down through the formless residues, coming up with a single possibility.

“I have to… satisfy its hunger.”

“What? Are you insane?”

I moved forward. With each step, the urge to turn around and run away grew due to the overwhelming fear and resistance.

“After all, I am practically walking into its maw.”

I might have died in vain as it was.

‘If I have any regrets…….’

It would be the resolution of my personal dilemmas. There were just truths I wanted to uncover, but I didn’t particularly want to return to my original world.

‘Anyway, I won’t reach those truths without resolving this incident first. And I have nothing to lose anyway.’

Therefore, I could move forward even more resolutely.

“Ugh… my arm…?!”

The mutated arm resisted wildly. Like a separate living creature, it extended tendrils and fiercely defied my will.

“Damn… Why didn’t you just revert back to my original arm sooner?”

If it had, I might not have had any other choice. Grinding my teeth, I repeatedly steeled my will and painstakingly reached out my arm. It felt like inching closer to a cliff edge, looking down below.

“Cough!”

Eventually, I started coughing up blood. Blood flowed from my eyes and nose, soaking my face.

‘Damn it… I’m just a few steps away from that arrow.’

Unlike my agony, the arrow seemed to be rejoicing. Like a starving beast, it salivated at the feast laid out before it.

‘But that arrow… it’s weakened!’

As I got closer, I could tell. The arrow was so starved it was on the brink of death. This was somewhat within my expectations.

‘How desperate it must have been to cause such a ruckus.’

There had to be a reason why the creature, which had been hiding silently enough to avoid detection by mages, had initiated such turmoil.

‘It’s so desperate it would devour enchanted items; imagine how badly it wants my arm.’

My luck was incredibly rotten. The worst possible circumstances coincided, the chaotic arrival of an otherworldly energy drew aggro, the arrow granting itself a burst of final strength, all aligned at this moment. Just my luck.

‘None of that matters now.’

Regardless of how unfair the situation was, it wouldn’t change anything. I could only make the best use of even a bad situation.

‘If I’m successful, it might not just end at simple suppression…….’

Resolving myself, I finally reached the arrow and cast away my last remnants of fear.

“Ugh……!”

The moment I grasped the arrowhead with my blackened hand, it began to split, disintegrating as if it were rotting away.

“Gah… Aaaah!!!”

It was agonizing. Horrifically so. I was being devoured and corroded alive. I felt strength draining from my body and fell to my knees.

‘Now…!’

The blackened arm had weakened significantly. With my other arm, I grabbed the blackened arm, forcibly pulling it off. My intact hand started to sizzle and burn as if it had touched acid.

‘Pull off! Come off! Damn it, come off!’

Crack! My blackened arm, weakened beyond its limits, was torn off, and blood—not black liquid—poured out from the severed end. I threw the arm away and quickly retreated.

‘It’s done.’

My arm was being devoured by the arrow yet desperately tried to suppress it while regenerating. The mutual attack of the two otherworldly energies focused on each other, sparing the surroundings from further damage.

“Potion! Healing potion!”

Lyla appeared to be paralyzed, not knowing what to do as I ran towards her. More accurately, she seemed to be in a panic, mentally shocked by the horrible otherworldly energy, unable to take any action.

“Darn it, blood…”

I felt dizzy and weak. Even though I tried desperately to run, my body staggered and couldn’t move properly. Since all parts of my body that had turned into formless residues were plucked out, it was questionable how much blood I had left.

“I am…”

Lyla kept muttering. Was Talia still upstairs? Damn it, I couldn’t even reach the door. My body gradually succumbed.

“Hey… you need to stay conscious!”

Lyla shook her head fiercely and used some kind of magic on me. My mind had already begun to blur, so I couldn’t hear the spell properly. Was she trying to end me? … No. My body was being dragged.

“Ugh…”

My vision blurred. I couldn’t distinguish anything properly. The next moment, something was being poured into my mouth, and I heard urgent shouting.

* * *

‘…Seems like I’m not dead.’

As time passed, I regained a sense of clarity. I felt my mind gradually growing stronger.

‘But why can’t I open my eyes? And why can’t I hear anything?’

Though it seemed I wasn’t dead, I couldn’t move my body at all. Surely, I hadn’t become a vegetable.

‘What a crude method I used…’

I had done something crazy by offering the arm imbued with the power of an Outer God as bait. While it devoured my arm and became defenseless, I had planned for Lyla to seal or destroy it.

‘In a worst-case scenario, I would have to summon the residues to deal with it.’

If that had been the case, it would have demanded much from me. The essence of that fearful power, even dreaded by and capable of consuming its own kin—the Outer God—besides its connection to corrosion and destruction, I knew nothing more.

‘Anyway, I suppose I succeeded to some extent. If I waited until the power of the arrow weakened considerably, Lyla would be able to take action.’

As I pondered, sounds gradually began to reach me. I thought my body was recovering, but it was somewhat different. It wasn’t the voices of Talia or Lyla. The myriad of sounds was more like noise. It felt like being in the middle of a crowded street where numerous people were speaking simultaneously.

‘Why is it so noisy?’

The noise was deafening beyond imagination. It felt like my mind was going to be destroyed from the pain. I couldn’t bear it any longer, but there was nothing I could do. I couldn’t cover my ears, call for help, or identify the source of the sound with my eyes.

‘Please shut up! I’m really going crazy…!’

Just when the noise was so loud I couldn’t think, I heard a small but very clear voice amidst the chaos.

“Shh.”

The clamor ceased abruptly, and I was able to rise. I opened my eyes. It felt as if what had just occurred was merely a dream.

“Talia?”

Talia set down a half-empty potion she had in her hand and nodded. She turned her head briefly to wipe away her tears with her sleeve, as if not wanting me to see.

‘What was that just now…’

I glanced at the back of my hand absentmindedly but saw nothing. Literally nothing. It made sense, though.

“Your arm…”

“I know. I tore it off and left it in the basement, so of course, it’s not there.”

Instead, I saw a stub tightly wrapped in cloth to staunch the bleeding, stained a deep red. It was bitter, but… at least the residue problem was resolved.

“That’s that, but… it’s still alive.”

“… What?”

“Lyla said so. She said the arm is still alive. It’s still fighting against the arrow.”