I Became the Priest of Blasphemy of the Outer Gods

Chapter 113. Formless Residues (1)

After regaining my physical strength, I checked my mental state and found it hadn’t deteriorated further.

The number noted on my character sheet was 21.

Surprisingly, even if only slightly, my mind was on a steady path to recovery.

The effect of the Golden Blood Elixir was certainly contributing, but it seemed I had also absorbed some knowledge in a special manner.

Of course, it wasn’t as if there were no aftereffects at all.

“…… Damn it.”

When I looked at what I had been jotting down on parchment, I realized I had unwittingly written praises for an Outer God.

I had initially intended to write fake scripture content to read to people.

“What’s wrong?”

Mary appeared out of nowhere and asked.

Following the previous commotion, Mary’s height seemed to have shrunk by about 10 centimeters from usual.

However, her verbal skills became notably more proficient.

Like a malfunctioning machine fixed with a hit or two.

“Could you deal with this for me? Just completely burn it…….”

Mary took the parchment I held out and simply stuffed it into her mouth.

“…… How are the others doing?”

“No problem.”

“And Eldritch?”

“With the most recent human arrival.”

It seemed Eldritch, who recently underwent an Awakening Ritual on the magic system, was conducting some research with Lyla.

At least it was definitely better than when he was idly in the 0th rank.

‘The problem is actually me.’

The mere visit from the entity of the White Night had caused immense damage.

The Gluttony was nearly reduced to nothing but threads, and recovering it was going to take quite some time.

Not to mention the loss of Sharl’s thesis…….

‘This religion I created is quite a dilemma as well.’

Forming a religion was largely influenced by the madness rather than my true intent.

People failed to resonate with the call to break free from Gods, using a nonexistent Outer God.

‘After all, religions of this era aren’t just mere religions; they play essential roles by being involved in administration and more…’

I found myself drawn into a scenario resembling an anarchist speaking to victims of corrupt officials.

Although I’ve only been hunting down the corrupt priests, it’s not like there aren’t any decent priests within Church of Hayat.

It was difficult to label the entire Church of Hayat as corrupt, which explained why people struggled to accept the doctrine I propagated.

‘Maybe I should create something a bit more harmonious to reduce hostility?’

As I scribbled a thought down, I frowned and put the pen down.

The act of writing the scripture itself seemed to be the problem, as I unconsciously started jotting about human sacrifices.

Clearly, this required addressing before I could continue.

“Sigh… I also need to reconnect with Sevika.”

I wanted guidance on the contact with the White Night entity and the involuntarily acquired knowledge—particularly the latter, hoping that Sevika could find a way to remove it.

“Why not go now?”

“Because of the White Night entity, really.”

The entity had directly influenced and intervened with me.

Even now, when I attempted to sleep and connect with Sevika, I would see the white night sky and subsequently wake up instantly.

Though Zeus should have blocked the skies, the way it affected me was beyond my comprehension….

‘…… The rift?’

Blood gushed from my mouth as the implanted information surfaced.

This world originally had a veil that blocked the intervention of the Gods.

Gods broadened breaches to exert influence, which led to the Holy War.

Zeus had patched it up again, albeit not perfectly.

“Gasp… Wheeze…….”

Recalling this forcibly implanted knowledge caused me to cough up blood but wasn’t a substantial injury.

However, it was apparent that my mind likely contained much more perilous information.

“…… But Mary.”

I turned my attention to Mary, who was sampling my spilled blood on the ground.

“Why do you keep drinking my blood?”

“Checking.”

“Checking what? It’s not like you’re monitoring blood sugar.”

“Checking that too? It’s normal levels.”

Her brazen words made me snort.

Though Mary lacked extensive language skills, she possessed a remarkable advantage as a conversation partner over others—the knowledge of modern concepts.

Thanks to Dowol, she understood things unknown to the residents of this realm.

“Stop kidding around. What exactly are you confirming by tasting my blood?”

“Can’t say.”

Mary pointed upwards with her finger.

The sky…?

Was it something she couldn’t divulge, fearing divine retribution?

“Someday you’ll know.”

“That’s frustrating.”

Though I couldn’t press further on what she claimed was unspeakable, the very fact that something about my blood was being monitored led to concerns I couldn’t ignore.

“You’ll let me know immediately if it becomes something you can talk about later?”

“Yes.”

Realizing I could only be satisfied with that for now, I eventually stood up.

“Where are you off to?”

“I think I should check on Belido.”

“Oh, him.”

Mary made a distasteful face, though it was unclear why she disliked him so much.

“Do it from a distance.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

I finally made my way to a nearby forest to settle down.

I barely managed to drag out a corpse I had stored inside the shrunken Gluttony, and then I immediately invoked the miracle.

“〈Audience in the Torrent〉.”

A black pool formed as a voice began emanating from within.

“You really are something. Don’t treat divine revelations like some summoning spell.”

Belido appeared sharply dressed in perfect human form, though his expression was far from pleased.

“Do you truly not find this somewhat disrespectful, despite knowing that I appear solely in response to your summons?”

As Belido voiced his complaint, I remained largely unfazed.

“There’s something significant that might interest you.”

“Sounds like another summoning spell… Fine, what’s the matter?”

“It’s about Johann.”

At the direct mention of the name, a dramatic change crossed Belido’s face.

Though fleeting, it unmistakably bore deep-seated hatred.

“How did you end up crossing paths with that fellow? Befriended him by any chance?”

“There was a meeting among the priests of the Outer Gods. He wasn’t exactly a pleasant fellow.”

“Isn’t that an understatement?”

I pulled out a sphere before the visibly tense Belido.

“That abomination?!”

An abomination…

Though of mixed heritage, Belido was still part of the formless residues.

Why did he despise it so?

“It’s the remains of a 5th rank formless residue. Recognize it, don’t you?”

“Of course I do. The issue is, why are you in possession of it? Johann won’t stand idly by.”

“Yes, he definitely won’t. I intercepted the piece he intended to create and am safeguarding it.”

Belido staggered slightly, with a look of disbelief as if he had misheard.

“I’ll fill you in on the details.”

I briefly recounted the incident involving the rescue of Lyla, omitting key information such as my alliances and the Dragon’s Crown.

“This is rather… So what do you intend to do?”

“What else could it be? I’m going after Johann eventually, though maybe not right away.”

“He’s a monster unlike any of us.”

“And yet, you seem to harbor intense hatred and take a vested interest in ending his existence.”

At my pointed observation, Belido touched his own face, realizing that a hint of murderous intent and madness had instinctively surfaced.

“…… It seems I quite embarrassingly laid bare my intentions at this age. You’re correct.”

Belido exhaled an admitting sigh.

“That man destroyed my family.”

Though Belido spoke calmly, his words were dripping with hatred—a story likely entangled in long-standing grievances.

“If we form an alliance, I promise to deliver Johann’s head to you.”

“It’s a nice-sounding offer, but can you substantiate it? Speaking of using sheer skill, from what I recall, you once couldn’t possibly match Johann.”

“Thinking of my past self, you’d be right though. However, I’ve changed quite a bit since then.”

Belido raised an eyebrow.

“Well, you do seem confident.”

Boom!

In the next instant, my body was lifted into the air.

“Go on, prove it then.”

Out of nowhere, Belido had produced a combat hammer, having already transformed his body.

“Another one fond of hasty eruptions……!”

I formed a sign with my hands and countered with a newly integrated Outer Magic.

“〈Decaying Strike〉.”

An ominous energy dispersed from the void, concentrating thinly in a specific trajectory.

Slash!

A dull gray strike flew sharply through the air.

“This is indeed… a peculiar attack.”

Adeeming calm tone, Belido was helpless before the unfamiliar strike that severed his body. He must have thought he’d recover easily, but…

“Body regeneration…?”

The slash imbued with the energy of decay caused the severed parts to decompose.

Even for something as resilient as the formless residues, it wasn’t an attack easily recovered from.

“Ugh!”

However, I was hit as well, by a slash quick enough to almost escape detection.

His dark form extended swiftly, delivering a debilitating blow.

‘〈Forbidden Transformation〉? No, it’s different.’

Were it 〈Forbidden Transformation〉, it wouldn’t have been able to respond to a remote attack like that.

“Seems you’re unfamiliar with this miracle. Now, why don’t you-”

Thwack!

A cross-shaped spear unexpectedly pierced through Belido’s body.

Belido watched the spear in silence for a moment.

“… I wonder how you’re familiar with this tactic as well.”

He caressed the spear that had run through him, his eyes reflecting a sense of nostalgia.

“The technique my father wielded was much more than this.”

Belido began absorbing the spear that impaled him.

It was an unexpected situation where my very body was being forcibly absorbed.

“〈Imprisoning Torrent〉.”

The pool formed at my feet whirled around, engulfing me to immobilize my movements completely.

“I hope you now grasp the situation. 〈Black Hands of the Abyss〉.”

Boom!

The earth trembled as a gigantic hand began forming beneath me.

A hand composed of countless black hands.

It corrupted the air into a dark mist, polluted the ground into a black swamp, with the overwhelming size to grasp and crush a house.

“But you, of all people.”

I formed a hand sign.

“〈Beginning Star〉.”

A bright, ominous star emerged in the sky.

In the middle of the day, a distinctly visible star glowed with a bluish hue.

Life sprouted in every place touched by the starlight.

Even within the black hands and Belido’s form, vivid blue weeds started growing.

“What on earth is this…?”

“〈Falling Star of the End〉.”

The star shifted to a bloody red and began descending toward the ground.

In its wake, all budding life lost its vitality.

Naturally, the black hands and Belido were included.

“My life force…?!”

Belido’s body started to wither.

As the star descended, life fled from his countenance, wrinkles forming over his skin, and the parts composed of residues crumbled.

Just before the star touched the earth, Belido collapsed onto his knees.

“How… Have you now grasped the situation?”

I smiled quietly at Belido’s facial expression, which showed resignation.