I Became the Priest of Blasphemy of the Outer Gods

Chapter 86. Four

“Count!”

A crone, half of her face melted away to reveal bone, while the other half remained spider-like, rushed forward.

“The young lady!”

“I know. Hold my staff and outer garment for me.”

Levant spoke calmly, but his heart was not at ease.

‘It’s too early for her to be rampaging. What on earth…’

“But Count, the young lady sees you as…”

The crone dared to block Levant’s path, joined by the devoted old butler and other elders.

They were the vassals who had supported the Freurutus family, pledging lifetime loyalty. The nannies who cared for the child hesitated because they had seen the child longer than Levant himself. The child would surely never want to see Levant.

“A father is going to see his child. Do not stop me.”

“Count…”

“The time has come. It’s early, but commence what you have planned.”

His words caused the staff to stir with surprise at the unexpected timing, but also with joy that the long-awaited day had finally arrived.

“Glory to the Freurutus house. Eternal glory.”

“Indeed.”

The staff dispersed. They would not return to the mansion again.

“In exchange, we shall usher in an era of glory. Our Freurutus shall surpass even the Emperor. Through four generations, at last!”

Clutching the frayed family emblem pinned to his chest, Levant ascended the stairs towards the room.

The cradle filled with threads.

Inside, the sound of an awful child’s cry echoed.

“I shall enter.”

Inside, it was horrific.

Broken cocoons were scattered everywhere. The humans within, both large and small, met equal deaths, leaving behind only remnants.

“It’s not enough!”

A frail girl, the only living being in the space, clawed at the cradle of threads stronger than steel.

She looked at Levant, a pitiful smile spreading across her face, only to be erased quickly by pain.

“Daughter, what has provoked you? Is it that priest again? Has his blood ripened already?”

“As I thought… nothing…”

The girl struggled with painful breath, then paused to catch it.

『I don’t know anything, right?』

“All I know is that the time has come, my poor child. Despite giving you everything, you suffer from endless hunger…”

Levant gazed at the girl with eyes filled with sorrow and love. The closer he got, the more he could discern the extreme frailty of her outline.

“I had intended to prepare more, but since things are thus, everything will be expedited.”

『It’s still far from enough! My hunger isn’t sated at all!』

From a certain day, Levant’s daughter could no longer gain nutrients from any food.

Only those cocooned humans, those corrupted by an Outer God, could somewhat serve as sustenance for her. But even that could not satiate the child. It always felt insufficient.

“Do not worry. I have prepared a feast for you.”

Levant quietly knelt in front of his daughter’s bed. The child let out an innocent laugh.

“Enjoy the feast. Don your crown and usher in the new era. If you kill that priest, you shall become the ruler of the era. The Freurutus shall finally meet supreme glory.”

The girl slowly descended from her bed. Her pale hand gently caressed her father’s cheek.

“My naive and foolish father.”

“To you, my only child, I have given everything. Now, I bestow upon you the world. That is this father’s joy.”

『… Only child.』

The girl’s hand stopped.

『Do you remember, Father? When you slit open the stomach and inserted the divine relics.』

Levant nodded with his eyes closed. He had sewn the stomach up himself so that the divine relics would be absorbed by the child within the womb.

“Your mother willingly accepted it.”

Levant remembered his beloved wife. Tears streaked down his cheeks—a noble sacrifice and true love for their child.

『What was mother’s name?』

Levant’s thoughts came to a halt. The countess… His wife’s name eluded him.

『How many times did that hand slit open the stomachs to fill them with divine relics?』

Four times. Once 12 years ago, and then subsequently…

『Whose were the abdomens that were slit open with that hand?』

“My wife…”

Was it really so? A sense of disharmony arose. Surely, he held her with one hand, slit open her abdomen to insert the relics.

“… With one hand?”

『I’m not the only child. What number am I? You don’t know, nor does Mother. Neither do I.』

It couldn’t be. Everything was dedicated to a single child.

『The children who perished and slumbered in mother’s cradle. Four relics in the womb. Among them, who am I? How many times have I been killed?』

“I, I am…”

『Why was I born this way? Why was I made to suffer, so painful and difficult? Forever hungry, carrying unwanted roles and knowledge?』

Levant’s thoughts stopped there. He heard only the sound of her chewing rhythmically but could remember nothing.

Neither the child’s name nor his wife’s name, nor how an ordinary man like him rose to the 4th rank. In the end, the child didn’t wish to listen, and thus, Levant was consumed.

『Four children slumber with four relics, awakening eight eyes.』

The girl let out a peal of laughter, her eyes flashing. They were beautiful eyes, glowing in a deep crimson Hue.

『The father who awakened the four lights through the fourth generation becomes a feast himself, forming eight legs.』

Eight massive legs sprouted from the girl’s body. These stark white legs were adorned with feathers that evoked the image of an angel, resembling wings at a glance.

『However…』

The girl ceased her laughter. Her eyes were filled with emptiness.

『It still isn’t enough.』

Her hunger remained unfilled.

『I yearned for the unparalleled something! If only it could make me forget this eternal pain…』

The girl tore the cradle with her newly formed legs and gazed up at the night sky. Her first sight of the outside world. Feeling a sense of liberation, she crawled out.

『Though I never wished for it.』

Father, mother, the staff. And the spiders she secretly communicated with. All imposed countless things she never desired, each with the same wish.

A new era led by spiders.

She was created and raised for that very purpose.

『Yet, I cannot resist. I feel trapped in a spider web.』

Longing for love, she could not choose another path. Spinning a thread, she cast it high into the sky.

『I shall do as you all have wished.』

Hooking her web onto a shining star, the girl ascended to the sky. And thus, disaster began.

* * *

Suddenly, spiders poured into the streets.

Stigmata, faced with spiders corrupted by the influence of an Outer God, prepared for battle, but the spiders were different this time. They rampaged in frenzy and grotesquely twisted, their bodies swelling. When one burst, an even larger spider emerged—disturbing events unfurled.

“Request reinforcements!”

“Why are there so many? We must regroup with Luminaries! We cannot hold them off alone!”

Mercenaries and guards, as many as who could fight, gathered. They were seasoned fighters. Among them, some made a living hunting monsters. But…

“… There’s no end.”

None had ever encountered such a number of spiders.

“Bring fire! We’ll burn them all down!”

One member of Stigmata, appalled by the loathsome spiders, turned to his comrades. Only man-shaped cocoons remained there—he couldn’t remember who it was.

Everywhere he looked, there were only cocoons. Alarmed, he was overwhelmed by the swarm of spiders, and in the sky he saw something other than stars glinting a sinful crimson.

* * *

“Mom?”

A fisherman’s family in Wave Reach. A young boy, born the eldest, looked at his mother. She remained motionless as if frozen in place, looking out the window as if playing a prank, staring into the sky at something indiscernible.

“Why are you acting so scary…”

Her mouth opened. Something white spewed forth. The boy thought it resembled the nets he often saw, only thinner and more shimmering.

Frightened, he retreated, but the webs continued to pour from his mother’s mouth.

Shhh.

As more poured out, his mother gradually diminished. She vanished, leaving only her clothes behind. The house became encased in webs.

* * *

“Why are you fussing so, my dear child?”

In a quiet room, a mother caressed her belly.

“Really… Shall I tell you another story?”

As usual, she began reading a fairy tale. Tales of boys and girls to amuse the child in her womb. Stories about talking animals, aimed at sparking curiosity within.

“And the next story is…”

The method to summon a giant spider beyond the stars. A ritual to make white threads descend from the sky. The tale of a massive spider that devoured people.

The mother, without suspicion, continued reading the book covered in threads. Soon, inhuman sounds poured from her mouth. But there was no cause for concern. The mother’s abdomen had already been opened, with tiny spiders crawling out from it.

* * *

“Didn’t you hurry in bringing it indeed.”

I ground my teeth as I accepted the glass vial handed to me by Len Spider. Inside, the golden liquid shimmered with an uncanny gleam.

Without a word, the spider vanished into the shadows. In a city teeming with spiders, it was better this way, rather than creating confusion by lingering.

“Did you finally get that Golden Blood Elixir or what?”

Ender asked as he wiped off the spider’s bodily fluids from his face. Having killed who knows how many, both his armor and sword were drenched in the substance.

“Drink it quickly and go stop that half-blood!”

Leaning momentarily against the wall, Ender drained his bottle and rejoined the battle.

“You’re the only hope we have left! Hurry!”

Eldritch, beside me, repelled the spiders with magic, while Ansandy and Delion pursued the staff commanding them.

“Lord Ethnos! These creatures, my magic no longer affects them!”

Not only were the spiders multiplying, but they were also growing stronger. Without elevating his rank, Eldritch’s magic was becoming ineffective against them.

“Buy me some time.”

I downed the Golden Blood Elixir in one swig. Blood seemed to freeze in my veins while a chilling clarity overtook my mind. I looked up to the sky.

There was a shadow like a monstrous angel with 4 pairs of wings, or perhaps it was a colossal spider. No—the giant spider hung from a web strung across the sky.

Against what looked like countless twinkling stars as a backdrop, yet, upon closer inspection, they were no stars.

Threads of webs extended from the far side of the universe. Spiders crawled along these threads, heading towards this world.