I Became the Priest of Blasphemy of the Outer Gods

Chapter 24: Mr. Eldritch (3)

It was an Jelly Octopus.

No, I knew it wasn’t an Jelly Octopus, but…

‘… Except for being a bit big, it’s actually quite cute.’

I was at a loss for words due to the absurdity. The true identity of Eldritch was a member of the most renowned foreign servitor species. Seeing its self-introduced designation and form that recalled cephalopods, it certainly seemed to belong to that species, but…

“M-Mr. Eldritch? Why do you look like an Jelly Octopus? I… I was under the impression that you don’t usually take on this form?”

That species wasn’t supposed to be this cute. Eldritch flinched at my words and then began to respond in a voice that sounded like bubbling anger.

『Did you just call me an octopus? How dare you…! Are you trying to point out that I am a mutant, an abnormal entity?』

… I struck a nerve. Even though that wasn’t my intention, it seemed that his appearance was a complex for Eldritch.

‘A mutant and a problematic entity… It looks like he lives among humans because he is considered inferior compared to his own kind.’

Foreign beings didn’t particularly care for or cherish their servitor species or descendants.

‘He probably didn’t bother to pay attention, whether he was rejected or not.’

Gathering items and scriptures related to foreign beings in such a black market was probably Eldritch’s way to compensate for his inadequacies.

“Um, I didn’t mean to provoke a fight.”

『Then, did you think I would comply if you threatened me about my identity?』

Eldritch squinted his eyes, then crafted a magic circle in the air.

‘… Magic? Not a Miracle?’

It was perplexing. Eldritch, a descendent and servitor species of a foreign being, was using magic instead of his master’s power. It seemed he was more problematic than I had initially thought.

『The price of your foolishness will be servitude under me!』

Eldritch didn’t chant any spells and began attacking directly. From the formed magic circle, bullet-like water droplets, compressed under great pressure, rained down.

‘〈Raining Destruction〉! And he’s using it without incantation.’

Blocking the incoming barrage with Gluttony while my cloak fluttered, I noticed Eldritch swiftly switching to the next spell. This time, it was a massive water lance, 〈Blue Lance〉.

‘Tsk, I can’t block that with Gluttony.’

A spell known for its speed and high penetration, ideal for inflicting fatal wounds. Though I tried to move swiftly as the magic circle lit up…

“Ugh…”

Dodging was apparently too difficult given my pathetic stats, and my side was pierced through. Blood trickled down as I clutched the wound and looked up, seeing Eldritch had already prepared his next spell.

“That’s… 〈Great Waterfall〉.”

Had this place not been by the coast, casting that spell would have taken more time. Here, without the need to convert mana into liquid, the casting speed was incredibly fast.

『According to rumors, you obtained the Scripture of O’tak… Quite unexpected. Why aren’t you using Miracles?』

Had he deduced that much about me? Preparing to launch his attack and not giving me time to answer, Eldritch controlled a massive water mass in front of his magic circle.

*Boom!*

A water hammer with the power to shatter rocks. But the direction was oddly not towards me but towards the sea.

『What is this? Could it be…!』

A moment’s pause. During that time, invisible white threads wound around Eldritch’s magic circle. 〈Threads of Chaos〉, reacting to and interfering with both magic and miracles.

『You’ve joined the Order of the Weaver of Doom’s Threads!』

Eldritch must have known I obtained the Scripture of O’tak. However, his reaction, filled with astonishment, suggested he never expected me to belong to another cult.

『… It’s insane. To have undergone initiation into the Order of the Slumberer of the Deep and yet complete the initiation of another cult?!』

The ridiculousness of what I had done made Eldritch’s short tentacles twitch violently.

『This is why I didn’t want to mess with you…!』

Eldritch decided to abandon the magic circle that had fallen under the “Thread of Chaos”.

『But I won’t retract it.』

Because it was tightly entangled in the Thread of Chaos, Eldritch’s magic circle couldn’t be canceled.

『It would be burdensome to use more mana for additional magic on a forcibly maintained magic circle. Well… the same goes for you.』

However, Eldritch conjured up two small magic circles.

“Three magic circles at once…? Seems like you have quite a bit of mana.”

Of course, I had anticipated this.

Eldritch sensed the delicate thread clinging to his tentacle.

He tried to jump into the sea to quickly remove the thread, but that was exactly what I had aimed for.

『How many miracles does this human have…!』

Spider webs scattered like nets over the sea. Eldritch whipped up a spray with two magic circles, sweeping away the webs entangling him and the ones I had laid as traps.

『You said you didn’t want to fight, and yet you did all this!』

“I was sincere.”

Ignoring my words and clearing off the webs, Eldritch, now half-submerged in water, fired off 〈Blue Lance〉.

Two spears shot forward rapidly.

Unable to block them due to their speed, I found more scars marking my body.

“I’d rather not use 〈Forbidden Transformation〉…”

Horrendous pain and dizziness from blood loss started to overwhelm me.

『No matter how clever you are, you can’t spin webs underwater.』

Eldritch continued to launch spell after spell, and while my cloak managed to ward off some attacks, I still sustained damage.

“In a war of attrition like this, I’ll lose, but…”

I hadn’t yet revealed my trump card. With no time to drink a healing potion, I decided to go on the offensive.

『What are you planning now…!』

The moment he saw me touch the ground, Eldritch instantly fired 〈Blue Lance〉.

As my hand got punctured, a wave of excruciating pain hit.

“Argh!”

I felt like I was going to faint.

As blood continued to flow, I became increasingly dizzy and weak. Raising my hand with great effort, a spider thread soaked in blood stretched out beneath my palm.

“What is that…?”

〈Wave of Web〉.

As I slammed my hand back onto the ground, a wide web concealed in the soil erupted like a shockwave.

『You chose the wrong miracle entirely!』

Eldritch arrogantly countered my web with waves conjured by his two magic circles.

『It looks like I need to shatter your limbs. Such a wretched human!』

Eldritch had been wary of my next moves all along. But it seemed that even he had reached the limit of his considerable mana, given that he was now ready to finish me off.

『Hey, that again…!』

Eldritch noticed that his two newly conjured magic circles were also entangled in the Thread of Chaos and halted his spell.

『In such a short amount of time… But you’ve used far too many mana-consuming miracles. No matter how much you wield, this is beyond your limit.』

Indeed, I had a large mana pool and an efficient rate of mana usage thanks to my unique attributes. The issue lay in the excessive mana consumption of the miracles of Outer Gods.

『To have exhausted this much mana…』

Eldritch had drawn the fourth magic circle.

Though the circle had noticeably shrunk, it still looked potent enough to finish me off.

“Heading to the darkest depths…”

I hurriedly began to recite my prayer. It was too dangerous a situation to endure without using it.

『Finally, that miracle!』

Four water lances darted toward me with a fierce momentum.

“Bless me with your grace. 〈Forbidden Transformation〉… Grrr!”

The miracle triggered only after the 〈Blue Lance〉 had blasted away my limbs. 〈Forbidden Transformation〉 couldn’t heal any damage inflicted before the miracle was activated. However, it reacted to the continuously flowing blood, forming the shapes of my limbs from the black liquid oozing from the severed stumps.

『I’m out of mana, but… I still have items left.』

Eldritch reverted to his human form to finish the job. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a single dagger, as if under a space storage spell.

“It’s an incredibly dangerous item, one I didn’t wish to pull out, but there’s nothing better for recovery.”

I recognized that dagger. The hilt resembled a twisted fetus, and its blade was a disturbing yellowish-white, like old bones.

“Is that… the ‘Pale Decay’…?”

It was a dagger imbued with the energy of the 【Corrupting Destroyer】, infamous for causing living beings to rot.

“Impressive. How did you know it in one glance? I find it hard to analyze without these glasses.”

“Those monocles must be items that let you see through magic too.”

“Exactly! It’s an incredible treasure. Thanks to these glasses, I…”

Puffed up like a collector eager to boast about his possessions, Eldritch suddenly froze upon seeing ‘them.’

“What… how?”

On the sand, on the sea, this space had already been taken over by giant spiders. The spiders blinked their numerous red eyes like ominous and grotesque constellations.

“How did you summon so many ‘Leng Spiders’…?”

The Leng Spiders were the servile species of the 【Weaver of Destruction’s Threads】. At the sight of dozens of these enormous spiders from another dimension called ‘Leng’, Eldritch backed away in fear.

“Th-that…!”

Eldritch finally turned his gaze toward me and spotted the immense webs extending from my shadow. His glasses must have just allowed him to see them.

“Since when…?”

“The door has been open from the beginning. The spiders started emerging in earnest after you transformed.”

“〈Door of Reinforcement〉 consumes absurd amounts of mana! Even I could hardly manage such a feat…”

“I happen to be a bit special.”

〈Door of Reinforcement〉 normally required immense mana, needing numerous sacrificial offerings in a ceremonial form to perform the miracle. However, I utilized the 〈Transcendence〉 trait to use it without consuming mana. Maintaining the door open without closing it used up a lot of mana, making it difficult for me to use other miracles.

“I had planned to work stealthily without you noticing, but you couldn’t perceive it without the monocles.”

Initially, I was wary of magic or miracles that could pierce through hidden things. Realizing it wasn’t that, I orchestrated this situation.

“In order to secure a perfect victory, I stalled until this space was veiled in spider webs.”

“Those traps were to divert my attention so I wouldn’t realize…”

As the spiders, once fixated on Eldritch, spewed webs to bind his hands, the vicious dagger fell to the ground, corrupting the surface to an inky black.

“Even though you could overwhelm me from the start… you waited this long to ensure definite victory…”

One of the Leng Spiders sank its fangs into Eldritch. He convulsed violently and collapsed to the ground, paralyzed and wrapped tightly in the spider webs. Once their task was complete, the spiders receded into the shadows and disappeared.

“P-please let me go! I’ll tell you anything! I’ll cooperate with you, just don’t kill me!”

“That’s a very good attitude.”

I picked up the dagger from the ground with a tentacle from my cloak and aimed it.

“Now, let’s talk about that young lady, shall we?”