I Became the Priest of Blasphemy of the Outer Gods

Chapter 112. Resolve

Eldritch felt a sense of helplessness.

Up until facing Charlotte at the Academia, Eldritch had been useful enough.

But as strong individuals and trials, ones he never expected to encounter in a lifetime, began to emerge before Ethnos, Eldritch’s value faded.

“Is this truly the only path…?”

Despite feeling helpless at his situation, Eldritch never worried too much. His goal wasn’t to become stronger; it was to be reborn as a priest.

Proving to his kind, who treated him as a bug, that he was one of them had been his lifelong grudge.

For decades, he had been treated like a bug, living in solitude.

Though he later blended into human society, he could never completely fit in.

—Isn’t it ironic? Why do you even care about those humans?

Lately, confusion had begun to set in.

Whether at the Academia or in the current fortress, he found himself dreading human casualties.

When Ethnos began losing his humanity as a consequence of his battle with Pleroma, Eldritch felt opposed, even though it aligned with his dreams.

“Mary. Buy me a little more time. I think I need to proceed with the Awakening Ritual.”

Had Eldritch pursued awakening as a mage, he could have easily achieved it.

However, he withheld it because he desired to awaken as a priest. The necessary experiences, knowledge, and insights had long been obtained.

“… Understood.”

Mary deftly dodged attacks, drawing Gluttony’s attention.

However, not all attacks could be completely avoided, and her shoulder was pierced as the damage accumulated.

“Current damage: 20%…”

Against an unbeatable opponent who devoured anything upon contact, Mary started to transform her body into a weapon to fight.

Yet even those weapons were soon devoured.

‘Time is running out.’

Eldritch attempted to concentrate by closing his eyes, but he remained ensnared by hesitation and regret.

“Hooo…”

His breath carried his thoughts and feelings.

Feeling affection for humans and hesitating over their sacrifices was, as his kind had said, something only a bug would do.

Eldritch wondered how much he had longed for the glory of serving the Dreaming One of the Abyss.

There couldn’t be anything of greater value in the world, yet was he about to abandon it?

—One thing is certain, no matter what: pursuing it this way will lead to nothing of value, not even you.

The words Ethnos once spoke came to mind.

—A slave… no, less valuable than a bug. Even a bug cherishes its own.

Though these words, which insulted the noble calling of following the will of the Gods, were blasphemous, Eldritch found himself subtly agreeing with them.

Perhaps, as his kin had said, it was because he was born as nothing more than a bug in the end.

However, he resolved to at least cherish what was his.

Though he couldn’t become a great slave, he would become a free bug!

‘… I can finally see now.’

The resolve to abandon a lifetime’s dream was heavier than the resolve for death.

At the end of it, a radiant blue light appeared, reminiscent of the sea Eldritch loved.

He felt it filling and illuminating his soul. His accumulated knowledge and experiences forged this light.

‘It’s more beautiful than I imagined…’

Bam!

The first light filled him as he reached the 1st rank. But Eldritch’s journey didn’t stop there.

A second blue light surged, solidifying at the 2nd rank, and beyond that, he swiftly reached the 3rd rank!

‘I’ve reached this point without even realizing it. If I had dedicated more to this path, I might have even achieved the next state!’

Despite the regret and bitterness, the overwhelming emotion was one of triumph.

It was akin to a prisoner bound for decades being freed to finally witness the sun.

Feeling exalted by the three blue lights embedded within him, Eldritch opened his eyes.

‘I’ve reverted to my human form… perhaps this holds more memories for me than my original form.’

Noticing that he had unintentionally taken on a human guise, Eldritch smiled and faced forward.

“Leave it to me now.”

Mary, her body battered, nodded slightly and disappeared into the tiny crevices of the ground to hide.

“Ethnos, as much as I hate to admit it, you were right.”

Whether it was because reason had faded within it, Gluttony wildly flailed its tentacles towards Eldritch.

“You seem to be in pain.”

Upon ascending ranks, Eldritch saw it: what he perceived as fierce and terrifying attacks were more akin to screams and spasms.

“〈Water Restrain〉.”

Collecting water from the air, Eldritch ensnared the tentacles.

Though Gluttony flinched, attempting to attack even while restrained, Eldritch’s magical water constraints were not easily broken.

“Can you see it? I’ll say it again: you were right.”

Eldritch recognized he was not merely at the 3rd rank.

With his accumulated experiences, sensibilities, and wisdom, he was comparable to a 4th rank.

If he had embraced magic more, he would have instantly reached the 4th rank. He stood at the pinnacle of the 3rd rank.

“So please, come back and boast a little. Like, why didn’t you do it sooner?”

As Eldritch attempted to pull Ethnos’s head free, Gluttony shattered the water bindings and thrashed more violently.

To draw out more power, Eldritch opened his palm and focused.

“〈Piercing Rain〉.”

Rain poured from a magic circle created in the sky. Each raindrop was akin to a spear made of water.

In its frenzied state, Gluttony neglected its defense and rampaged.

‘They said it had the intelligence of an insect.’

Swinging its tentacles fiercely enough to create wind, but Eldritch’s newly conjured water barricade blocked it.

Nonetheless, Gluttony sprouted new spider-like legs — a staggering twenty of them emerged.

“〈Phreatic Explosion〉.”

The compressed water barrier exploded with a powerful shockwave. Even Gluttony, who had raged ceaselessly, hung limp momentarily.

The relatively thin and weak spider legs were obliterated as soon as they emerged.

Despite the perforations and tears all over it, Gluttony charged again towards Eldritch.

Splat!

He threw a cross-spear fashioned from Ethnos’s remaining body.

Despite its fearsome momentum, such an attack was easily blocked.

“〈Wall of Wave〉.”

Rising like a towering wave, a barrier blocked the incoming cross-spear.

“If this isn’t enough…”

Realizing the necessity to further disable Gluttony, Eldritch extended his hand, conjuring a familiar azure spear.

“〈Blue Lance〉.”

But there were 50 of them.

Vroom!

The Blue Lances continually pierced and incapacitated Gluttony’s tentacles.

Enhanced versions of 〈Blue Lance〉 weren’t merely increased in number.

Unlike before, even after launching them, the forms remained intact, allowing Eldritch to control them freely and continue attacking.

“〈Bubble Chain〉.”

While the lances were embedded in Gluttony, they transformed. Stretching like vines, they became chains of bubbles binding Gluttony.

Having sustained extensive damage, Gluttony, unable to rampage further, was thoroughly subdued. The chains quickly ensnared Ethnos’s head.

“Now, finally… get rid of that disgusting cloak!”

With that, Ethnos’s head was pulled free.

***

Do you feel it? They’re struggling outside. A foolish creature has remarkably evolved. Thanks to your help, I’ll give you a round of applause.

“Ugh…”

Did you like her so much that you embedded her advice deeply within your subconscious?

Commendable though your attempt at suicide upon meeting me was, naturally, that wasn’t all.

After receiving the information I gave, you worked diligently to recompose your psyche and recover… I’m glad I chose you.

“What’s your aim…?”

This thesis.

It’s a bit early for you to read it now, especially the later sections.

It wouldn’t be fun if you knew beforehand, so I came to reclaim it.

In exchange, I provided you with some information, did you like it?

“Why do this? Why me? How long have you been involved…?!”

You’ve already recovered your linguistic abilities!

But your questions are rather mundane now.

Wouldn’t it be more fun not knowing yet?

Of course, sometimes I reveal things in advance, like today.

What was it like having true knowledge about those beings you’ve encountered through novels and stories?

“Don’t remind me… Sreuk! Gaaaaah!!”

I hope when I visit again, you’ll be better prepared to receive a guest.

“White Night…!”

I called out to that presence painfully, but already, not a trace remained.

The presence of White Night had departed just like that. Frighteningly enough, this was merely a ‘visit’.

“Damn it… I need to get out of here.”

Even after the being had left, I had no time to breathe easily.

‘If this keeps up, immersed in this thick aura of an Outer God, my consciousness and identity will dissolve away.’

That presence wasn’t even White Night’s true form, nor even an avatar.

It was just a residue, an echo.

A message left behind ages ago, unbound by time, to enable real-time communication.

A ‘miracle’ so profound its fragments were beyond comprehension.

Yet this space, just with that, even though it was a space formed within my own mind, was suffocatingly filled with the aura of an Outer God.

Normally, I couldn’t feel such things, yet even I was threatened with the dissolution of my identity.

‘How do I get out of here?’

In a dream, you wake up. But how do you leave from within your own mind?

‘I need to grab something to get out… what?’

Absentmindedly, I looked at the ceiling. Hanging from the plain, undecorated white ceiling was something.

It was a chain formed from blue bubbles.

‘Did Eldritch’s magic connect to this mental world?!’

In attempting to pull me out of reality, it seemed to have affected my mind as well.

I could escape by grabbing it… but the problem was, it was too far to reach.

‘I can’t transform here…’

It seemed impossible to escape like this.

‘… No. There is a way.’

I concentrated while looking at the back of my hand. The dice tattoo on my hand, which I forcibly learned how to use.

‘Dice Roll. Success check for escape.’

Clatter.

『12』

I succeeded in rolling the dice with my own will, and barely managed to achieve successful results.

The moment I grasped the elongated chain, I opened my eyes.

“Ethnos! Are you conscious now?”

I only had my head left, and a bit further away, the tattered Gluttony lay sprawled.

Slap-!

Eldritch urgently slapped my cheek.

“Get a grip!”

“… Enough. I’m awake.”

With a sigh of relief, I let out the words I had been holding back.

“See, I told you to awaken sooner.”