I Became the Priest of Blasphemy of the Outer Gods

Chapter 25. Gateway

“I don’t know much about that girl either…”

Eldritch, tied up in webs, began to answer my questions.

“I’ve been active in this black market for about 100 years, but I’ve never met her even once.”

“Not even once in 100 years?”

“Yes. All I’ve heard are rumors that she’s female and only grants audiences to a few select individuals.”

“How does one get her permission?”

“I do not know.”

… He’s more useless than I thought.

Seeing my frustration, Eldritch hurriedly added that he knew a method worth trying.

“Although it’s unclear what the criteria are for granting an audience, I hear that entering a special room called the ‘Room of Dream Flowers’ might give you the opportunity.”

“Could you explain in detail?”

“That’s all I know. No one knows what happens inside.”

So, how does anyone know whether they had an audience or not?

I frowned at his vague explanation, and Eldritch shrank back.

“Most people die horrible deaths, but a few survivors have returned. Even those who did meet her said they couldn’t give any details.”

“Is there any commonality among those who successfully met her?”

“No, if we knew such details, I would have attempted to contact myself long ago.”

That makes sense. In the end, the only way was to visit the Room of Dream Flowers without any information.

“It’s practically suicide. Are you really planning to visit?”

Without answering, I snatched Eldritch’s monocle. Eldritch’s face instantly fell into a forlorn expression. He didn’t utter a word of protest, only watched helplessly as his monocle was taken away.

“You probably can’t do your work properly without this, can you?”

“That’s true but… Why are you doing this to me?”

“It’s because you carelessly recommended and spread the scripture of the Outer Gods.”

“That was all done by that fool who ignored my warnings and did as he pleased!”

Eldritch was indignant, but I had no intention of listening to him.

“I’ll consider what to do with you.”

He wouldn’t be able to move for a while due to the webs and the paralyzing poison. If he somehow managed to untangle himself and came after me bearing a grudge, it would be troublesome. But I couldn’t just kill a significant figure of the black market at my whim.

“Stay quiet and wait.”

Considering my limbs had turned black and noticeable, I drank another transformation potion. Once I transformed into someone other than Ethnos, I stepped outside.

‘It would be reckless to visit the Room of Dream Flowers right now.’

Since it was an unknown space, entering without a plan would be dangerous. I needed to tell Cernun and gather more information.

‘…… What?’

Speak of the devil; the entrance to the Room of Dream Flowers came into view. I memorized the names of the adjacent rooms to remember the location and continued walking.

‘The black market, Room of Dream Flowers… All new information to me.’

The more I contemplated while walking, the stranger it seemed. So far, the incidents I had encountered were mostly those that Dowol had previously dealt with. However, this time, every element was something new, never mentioned before. Neither Eldritch nor the girl called the master.

‘Could it be that Dowol didn’t intend this? But then again, there’s no evidence that Dowol intended everything from the start.’

Although Dowol was the most suspicious, I still couldn’t be sure of anything.

‘This is frustrating…’

As I sighed, I noticed it again. A door with the inscription “Room of Dream Flowers” adorned with multicolored floral patterns.

‘The location is different from before.’

Could there be multiple Rooms of Dream Flowers? As I looked around, I realized it wasn’t that simple. There was another Room of Dream Flowers in the direction I was looking at.

‘… Damn it.’

The doors to the Room of Dream Flowers kept appearing in the direction I was facing. This bizarre phenomenon felt like an invitation.

‘Is this the invitation from that girl?’

It could be a trap. Anything related to the Outer Gods couldn’t be trusted; I had to be suspicious and cautious.

“If I refuse, what will you do?”

I asked out loud, seemingly to the door, and an unexpected situation occurred.

‘What… it disappeared.’

The doors that had appeared everywhere vanished, replaced by blooming flowers in the direction where I had first seen the Room of Dream Flowers.

‘Flowers…’

Feeling bewildered, I followed the flowers and found myself standing in front of the Room of Dream Flowers again.

The door opened slowly and carefully, as if a timid child were opening it. It had an inexplicable softness, distinctly different from any phenomena caused by foreign entities that I had experienced so far.

‘Why are they not being forceful? It must be stronger than me.’

The fact that it kindly gave me a choice was highly suspicious.

‘… Should I accept this?’

Perhaps, I needed to accept kindness when it was offered. Given my current state, I had no means to respond if the other party turned hostile.

‘Should I brace myself to fight, or take the risk of meeting them?’

I chose the latter. If either option was risky, at least matching their mood seemed to be the safest course of action.

“Then, excuse me.”

After a light greeting, I entered the Room of Dream Flowers. The interior, decorated like a garden full of flowers, seemed unremarkable except for a single door leading elsewhere.

“Another door?”

I clicked my tongue as I turned around. Instead of the door I had entered through, two closed doors had appeared. I could tell them apart by their distinctly different decorations.

“… Let’s go forward first.”

Walking along the flower-adorned path, I opened the door, revealing another space. Although nothing particularly strange stood out…

“These trees… feel odd.”

Rather than being refreshing, these unfamiliar trees had an eerie vibe as if their trunks were slightly wriggling.

“What do you really want?”

I couldn’t ascertain the intentions of the master of the Room of Dream Flowers; I saw only more doors leading elsewhere.

‘An endless series of rooms… Did people die here from their untimely demise? It could drive anyone mad.’

Of course, that wasn’t the only issue. Given the uncertainty of where these doors led, there could be any kind of danger lurking. This time, instead of moving forward, I chose to open the door behind me.

“Oh.”

I fell into darkness. The moment I opened the door and stepped forward, the floor disappeared, initiating a bizarre fall where gravity seemed irrelevant.

『Another failure.』

『What does any of this mean?』

『I should have died back then. I should have died!』

In the pitch-black space, countless voices echoed.

‘These voices…’

The cacophony was spreading an unpleasant resonance.

『Stop pretending to be good.』

『Have you forgotten what you lost due to that foolish sense of justice?』

『What have you even accomplished?』

These voices were mine. Numerous versions of my voice were clamoring.

‘This is just like back then…!’

The overwhelming noise I had heard when I fainted at Lyla’s house. It was definitely the same thing.

‘Too loud. It won’t stop even if I cover my ears!’

All the voices were unpleasant, filled with despair, and unrelentingly self-critical. I tried desperately to ignore them as they gnawed at my mind, but to no avail.

『Don’t pretend you didn’t hear.』

『Are you trying to escape? What makes you think you can look away?』

『Look at us.』

In my thrashing, my foot hit something. A human body. The surroundings were suddenly filled with grotesquely decomposing corpses. These repugnant cadavers were cursing and insulting me with my voice.

“Shut up…!”

Was this the afterlife or hell? Maybe I had made the wrong choice and was now dying again. While the cursed laments and resentments of the dead continued, they reached out towards me.

“Get away!”

As I swatted away the hands, I realized I no longer had my cloak. Moreover, Eldritch’s dagger I had prepared was gone too. I was utterly defenseless.

‘… I have no mana either.’

Such a trap had been prepared; indeed, running away had been the right answer, hadn’t it?

“No use in regretting it now. Seeing what they’ve done, they wouldn’t have let me escape anyway.”

Concluding thus, I desperately struck down the dead who stretched their hands towards me. Gradually, my legs became buried among them, and despite my frantic struggles, their grasping hands began to swallow me up.

“It’s your fault.”

“Always thought you were so great, didn’t you?”

“Pathetic failure.”

I could feel my sanity wavering. The words of the ghosts were no longer just irritating; they began to infect my mind with sickness.

*Clatter…*

‘9’.

The dice rolled.

‘7’.

Red marks continued to appear on the back of my hand. I had failed endless times.

‘6’, ‘8’, ‘5’, ‘3’, ‘4’, ‘4’, ‘2’…

Failure, failure, failure, failure… Failure!

Was this my end? Continuously driven mad by the mental assaults, cursed by those wretched beings with their diabolical voices in my head… Was I to lose so helplessly?

“Grr… Get lost!”

‘1.’

In the end, I even faced a critical failure. Blood spewed from my eyes, nose, and mouth, causing severe dizziness as I staggered. The claws of the dead tore into my flesh, and their teeth sank into my body.

“Just die already.”

“Just give up now.”

“Shut up!”

‘3’, ‘5’, ‘4’…

Countless failures. Could my sanity even survive? Perhaps I had already gone mad, but even so, I had no intention of giving up. Buried under the corpses, I desperately crawled upwards.

“Up there… I need to get up there!”

“Foolish one.”

“Don’t know your place, do you?”

“It would have been better to surrender quickly.”

“How many times have you failed already?”

“Ignore it. Don’t give up.”

The dice continued to roll, regardless.

‘2’, ‘5’, ‘3’, ‘5’, ‘4’…

‘3’, ‘4’, ‘2’…

· · ·

’12’.

“Вы были там?”

At some point, it wasn’t my voice but a woman’s voice that I heard.

“Я долго тебя искал!”

It wasn’t the filthy, repulsive voices of the ghosts but the cheerful voice of a girl.

“What is she saying…?”

I couldn’t understand, but it felt like I had heard it before.

“Surely, somewhere… Ah.”

The moment I recalled that voice, someone seemed to grab my hand, which was stretching out from the pile of corpses, and began to pull me up.

*Rustle…*

Falling black and red petals brushed my cheek. What entered my sight next was a figure dressed in a black dress allowing no light, surrounded by countless blooming flowers.

And skin as white as snow contrasted against the dress.

“You… are?”

I was speechless, forgetting even the noisy surroundings. The upper part of her face, adorned with tentacles and horns, obscured her eyes. Such an appearance, how to describe it…

“…Indescribable.”

Grotesque yet mysterious, like beholding a twisted but enchanting piece of art. The mountain of dreadful corpses transformed into a dark-colored garden centered around her. With her figure decorated in black and red flowers, she gently smiled and raised a finger to her lips.

This time, I heard words I could understand.

“Shh.”

A hush fell over the pandemonium of the dead.