I Became the Priest of Blasphemy of the Outer Gods

“… Ugh!”

I coughed up a handful of blood from my mouth.

After spitting out a few bloody bubbles, I finally managed to steady my breath. The bizarre woman was facing in my direction.

‘How much has my mind deteriorated?’

In the worst case, I might have completely lost my sanity, reaching an irreversible state. My head felt like it was spinning, but how could I be sure I was thinking straight at this moment?

As that thought crossed my mind, I realized my body was not in a normal state either.

“Argh…”

Attacked by the wraiths, my body further transformed due to the effects of 〈Forbidden Transformation〉. Not only my limbs but also the inside of my body, the blood flowing throughout, had turned black and sticky.

‘Even my brain feels sticky. This is dangerous…’

While contemplating whether I had no choice but to accept transforming into a monster, the woman approached me.

‘… What is this?’

The sense of incongruity I felt for a moment was due to the way she moved. Normally, when a person walks, their body bounces a bit. However, this woman glided towards me as if she were on a conveyor belt. Approaching me like that, she performed a strange act of slightly lifting the hem of her skirt.

‘Ah, it’s because of her legs.’

Her legs were made up of something resembling the tendrils that covered her face. They appeared to burrow into the ground, giving an impression similar to tree roots.

*Crack.*

I was so distracted by her inexplicable actions that I noticed the changes occurring beneath me too late. The ground was splitting, and something was trying to burst out. But it was too late to react, and my half-liquid limbs couldn’t dodge it anyway.

“Argh?!”

A horrible sight unfolded. Out of the ground burst countless baby-like hands, hundreds of them. The tiny hands grabbed and covered me, starting to tear at my body.

“Ah… Aaaah…!”

The excruciating pain blurred my mind and induced dizziness. My black blood and flesh were torn apart. Not satisfied with just that, the hands delved into the open parts of my body, digging inside, and began to tear me apart from within. Gradually, I lost the strength to resist.

‘Am I going to die without even being able to put up a fight?’

Though the actions of this female monster were puzzling, I didn’t have the energy to voice my doubts. All I felt were the unpleasant and violent touches of the small hands that had entered my body.

‘Ugh…’

One of those hands eventually reached my heart. The feeling of something gently grabbing and slightly squeezing my heart from within was both unsettling and alien.

‘… Is this the end?’

I quietly closed my eyes. It might seem meaningless, but in this world, such occurrences were common—

“It’s over. Would you like to try getting up now?”

An unexpectedly clear and fine voice, so fine that it made one question if it was human, echoed. It was beautiful but carried a strange darkness and mystique, like a moonless night sky.

“Huh…?”

At last, I found myself able to rise. My body had reverted to its human form, and the transformed parts that had poured out of me were being dragged into the ground by the small hands.

“Did you… Did you heal me?”

“Heal? Oh, you could say that. Since I removed your transformed parts and turned you back into a human.”

So that horrifying act was considered a treatment… Hearing her say that, I found it wasn’t completely incomprehensible.

“Uh, excuse me.”

I had mistaken her actions for an attempt to kill me. The woman laughed, seemingly finding my words amusing.

“It’s all right. I actually prefer it if you don’t worry about things like manners.”

She was an enigmatic woman, but one thing was certain—each of her actions was elegant and dignified. Yet, she said she didn’t care about manners.

“… May I ask a few questions?”

“You want to know where we are and what just happened, right?”

She was spot on.

“We are in a dream. As for what just happened… It’s hard to describe it precisely. An illusion and a nightmare. A memory and a dimension. The afterlife and the mortal world?”

“What on earth is that?”

Amidst the confusion brought on by the cryptic words, one keyword stuck in my mind.

“This is my dream?”

“Hmm… In a way, yes.”

What did she mean by half a dream? A dream is a dream, not half of one. Sensing my confusion, the woman slowly explained in a gentle voice.

“A dream is another dimension. Moreover, this place where I am cannot be reached simply by dreaming.”

The woman placed her hand near her chest.

“You were invited here because I am dreaming of you.”

So, this place was the dream of the woman who was dreaming about me? It was all too convoluted.

“Confusing and strange, isn’t it? But that’s not what’s important.”

If that wasn’t important… ah.

“Who are you?”

“So quick to ask. I am ‘Sevika embraced by dreams.’ The one who manages dreams connected to this world. A devoted follower and priestess of the heretical 【Witch of Dreams】.”

As Sevika smiled, I felt dizzy. The moment I heard the title 【Witch of Dreams】, even though it was just a name, a slight nausea set in.

“I am an independent entity, a promised incarnation free from constraints. Feel free to call me Sevika.”

Dangerous. The entity before me was extremely dangerous and powerful. I realized this as I listened to her introduction.

‘No doubt, the heretical 【Witch of Dreams】 is an Outer God.’

Heretical Gods are divided into two types.

The primordial beings from beyond this world, the Great Old Ones. Encountering these living disasters alone is enough to shatter the minds of humans. And then, above them, are the Outer Gods. Cosmic transcendents. Gods that affect the universe and dimensions beyond human comprehension and absolute despair.

—Why does it even matter?

I once asked Dowol. Even after listening to the explanation, it was hard to grasp the extent of the difference between the Great Old Ones and the Outer Gods.

—Hmm… Let’s say the Great Old Ones are the final bosses in a game that you can never defeat, essentially the unavoidable bad ending itself.

Dowol used ≪Orders≫ to explain.

—You can’t kill them, and you can’t fight them. If you’re incredibly lucky, you might escape, and that would be a miracle. They are, in essence, the strongest beings.

—Then, are the Outer Gods the strongest among the strong… something like that?

Dowol shook his head. He then got up and brought over a chair.

—If the Great Old Ones are the strongest entities within the game, the Outer Gods are right here.

Pointing to an empty chair beside the table, Dowol explained.

—They exist outside the game. If an Outer God were to shove the desk, the ≪Orders≫ on the desk would be in disarray, right? It’s something like that.

‘To think she is an incarnation of such a being.’

Even if I didn’t know what kind of Heretical God the 【Witch of Dreams】 was, it was enough to be wary of the entity in front of me.

“You were seeking me out, and I was interested in you, so I invited you here.”

Sevika continued her explanation, seemingly unfazed.

“You ignored the path I provided and turned back on your own. Are you not familiar with the story of Orpheus? When moving to another dimension, you must not turn back or go back.”

So then… was it an accident caused by my mistake? The other party didn’t seem to have a reason to lie, and if it were true, it was deeply disappointing.

“To enter such a place again.”

Sevika laughed teasingly. But ‘again’…?

‘Ah! It seems similar to what happened at Lyla’s house before.’

So, it was Sevika who saved me back then.

“Since it’s too difficult for you to stay here long, let’s get to the main point.”

“The main point… As I expected, you want something from me in return for inviting me here.”

What could the priestess of a powerful Outer God possibly want from me? Sevika tilted her head slightly.

“No? I wish for nothing. I simply called you to foster an acquaintance and to give you a gift.”

That couldn’t be right. The mention of a gift only made me feel more uneasy.

Sevika’s appearance seemed friendly, but she was associated with the Heretical Gods.

There surely lay some darkness to be wary of behind that facade.

‘The space itself is one example.’

The space was filled with blackish-red roses, identical to those adorning Sevika’s body. It looked like a greenhouse, but the overwhelming number of dark roses created an eerie and unsettling atmosphere.

‘Perhaps the Witch of Dreams possesses powers related to plants. Or is it just dreams? I can’t know for sure.’

“Are you lost in thought again? You always seem to be.”

“… What do you expect in return for these gifts?”

Sevika sighed.

“You’re truly… Don’t you know the concept of a gift? It’s just something given freely.”

Nonsense.

Based on what she just said, it seemed she had been watching me for some reason.

“There are three gifts. Two I wish to give you and one you can choose.”

Sevika waved her hand in the air in a somewhat sulky voice.

The vines filled with roses unraveled, revealing two gift boxes.

“The first gift is a scripture I can write for you. Though it only contains a single miracle for now, as you interact more with me and withstand more miracles, I will inscribe new ones for you.”

Sevika lifted the gift box and handed it to me. Although hesitant, I accepted it and placed it inside my cloak.

“The second gift is an invitation. Anytime you wish, you can come to this dream. You have my permission to visit.”

This gift box was quite small. I put that inside my cloak as well.

“The last one, you can choose among these three items. I don’t even need to explain…you know what they are, don’t you?”

As more rose vines unraveled and revealed the items, I momentarily doubted my eyes.

‘My God… they’re all relics.’

Relics of the Heretical Gods. These powerful and rare items… and there were three of them?

“Can you guess why these items are here? And if this is truly all?”

I pondered deeply. Combining Sevika’s shown traits and circumstantial evidence, I postulated a hypothesis.

“Are you perhaps… managing these dangerous items to prevent them from spreading in the black market?”

The avatar of a Heretical God involving herself with a trivial black market. My hypothesis seemed accurate.

“Correct. So, what will you choose this time?”

What should I choose? I looked at the three items.

One was a chalice made of gold, resembling a collection of human hands clumped together—a grotesque shape. The second relic was a long jade needle; it was like a wedge. The last was a black censer, made of gemstone rather than metal.

“… I’ll take this.”

“The ‘Chalice of the Red Ceremony’. You always make good choices. Excellent.”

Sevika handed me the golden chalice.

“To use it, just smear a drop of blood to break the seal. To seal it again, draw a hexagram on the surface with blood.”

“Thank you.”

As I accepted the chalice, Sevika, showing signs of reluctance, gestured towards a door in the center of the dark wall.

“It’s time for you to return. Next time, come directly to avoid wasting precious time.”

“I will remember.”

I bowed my head and walked towards the door. Sevika did nothing but wave her hand at me. As I opened the door to leave, a last question crossed my mind.

“The language you used when you visited me, it sounded somewhat familiar, but I couldn’t place it. Is it the language of the Heretical Gods?”

Sevika paused momentarily and then burst into bright laughter.

“My goodness… You even heard my muttering in that instance? Your mind is truly strengthened.”

My body started to be drawn into the slightly ajar door. It was somewhat surprising, but as Sevika didn’t comment on it, I assumed this was the method of leaving.

“So, what language was it?”

“How silly. It was Russian, you know? A language from our home, earth.”

… What?

I felt like I had been struck in the back of my head. I missed the chance to ask further questions and was taken outside. Until the last moment, Sevika was just smiling and waving.

TL’s Corner:
The Witch of Dreams Yihdra. If you’re familiar with RTP, she’s the Outer God Kim Sehan is contracted with.