I Became the Priest of Blasphemy of the Outer Gods

Chapter 95. Priests of Outer the Gods (2)

Lyla recalled the letter sent by her mentor.

It was about visiting an island where an old acquaintance of hers was in seclusion.

Cernun’s acquaintance had been consistently sending his research findings and small updates, but he had gone completely silent two months ago.

Cernun, assigned by the emperor to handle the surge of monsters emerging in the wilderness, found it difficult to verify the situation.

Cernun’s acquaintance, Rovel, was a brilliant mage and the island famous for its beauty was expected to offer Lyla a good experience.

‘Why… why did things turn out this way?’

Upon arriving at the island, Lyla realized that Rovel had not gone silent due to illness or death from old age.

‘I need to get off this island quickly!’

Lyla bit down on a piece of cloth wrapped around her mouth, looked at the hook embedded in her leg, and the blood flowing freely. Then, as if making a resolute decision, she bit hard on the cloth and pulled the hook out in one swift motion.

“Ugh!!”

Lyla writhed in excruciating pain that left her dazed, convulsing violently.

“Huff… huff…”

Her head spun, and her vision turned yellow. Lyla felt the approach of death. Ironically, it was precisely that sound of ‘death’ approaching that brought Lyla back to full awareness.

“Grug… grrrrk…”

The sound was eerie and unsettling, reminiscent of a toad croaking or phlegm bubbling in a sick person’s throat. Some walked staggeringly toward her, while others crawled like beasts on four legs.

‘What?! They’ve already caught up?’

Lyla, lying prone in the bushes, started to crawl slowly across the ground. Even as her consciousness began to blur, she desperately drew upon her strength to survive.

‘If I get caught… it’s really over.’

As Lyla desperately crawled away, the creatures gathered at the spot she vacated. Bipedal creatures stood upright like humans — or at least, they resembled human bodies from the neck down.

“Grurrrrk…”

Yet, where their heads should have been, there was a bubbling, black goo resembling tar.

The mass maintained an amorphous, bubbling form, continually writhing and quivering.

Lyla had seen something similar, releasing a faint scent of decomposition — a mutated arm of Ethnos.

‘How did I end up entangled with an Outer God, even on an idyllic island like this?!’

Lyla felt on the verge of tears. She had sensed something wrong upon arriving at the village.

Even though it was a sparsely populated island village, it was suspiciously quiet.

She should have turned back then, ignoring the urge to stay regardless of the screams echoing from the split skyline.

‘They were skinning people alive! I mustn’t get caught!’

Lyla recalled the ghastly scene — people being butchered primitively with stone knives, like livestock.

A woman hanging upside down screaming as her skin was flayed from her body. People’s arms and legs hung on hooks as if they were drying fish.

Paralyzed with fear at the abhorrent sight, Lyla barely managed to flee from those who had spotted her.

“Ugh…”

The memory of that scene resurfaced, causing Lyla to gag.

‘I need to get to Rovel’s place. Rovel was said to be a 4th rank; he can’t be overtaken yet!’

Memorizing the path, Lyla had been fleeing in the right direction from the start.

There would be barriers all around, so she should easily find it. The real problem was her severe injuries.

‘I hope this works.’

Lyla removed a small thread-doll from a bag of subspace. Although crudely made, the magic imbued in it was formidable enough to deter danger temporarily.

The doll mimicked the owner’s scent, body temperature, and mana — something Lyla crafted herself to trick dangerous monsters and escape.

‘Please… buy me just a moment!’

With trembling hands, Lyla plucked a hair from her head, attached it to the doll, and threw it far away.

“…… Grurk?”

The monsters reacted the moment the doll hit the ground.

Sighing in relief, Lyla began to slowly inch away from there, but her respite wouldn’t last long.

‘What is that…?’

One of the crawling creatures, walking on all fours, had a head that suddenly morphed grotesquely.

A mass of tendrils sprouted like a sea anemone, each tipped with eyeballs of varying colors and sizes.

Judging by the disorganized optic nerves, these eyes didn’t originally belong to the creature.

The monster scrutinized the doll with its myriad eyes before shredding it to bits.

‘It realized instantly!’

Lyla was horrified. It was as if she had glimpsed a foreboding future, which drove her to crawl more desperately across the ground.

“Grurk… Sniff! Grurk…”

Another creature began surveying its surroundings with tendrils fixed with dozens of noses instead of eyeballs.

‘Please, please, please… ah!’

A glint of hope appeared in Lyla’s eyes. A powerful barrier, accessible only by invitation, was detectable.

Soon, a rather elegant mansion came into view, appearing perfectly intact on the surface. Trusting in the barrier, Lyla staggered toward the house.

“Rovel!”

As she burst through the door and entered, Lyla called desperately for Rovel. The interior was clean, yet eerily silent.

Rovel, an emaciated, wrinkled old man, stared blankly out the window.

“You’re hurt.”

Rovel was alive. But judging by his frail voice, it seemed he didn’t have much time left.

“Rovel, the village is!”

“Look at the brown desk. There’s a wooden box with emergency potions inside; they should help.”

Lyla put everything else aside and immediately looked for the wooden box.

‘A potion!’

Seeing a potion that appeared to be made by Rovel himself, Lyla felt a glimmer of hope.

Drinking the potion and applying it to her wounds, she was able to escape some of the dreadful pain.

“Hah… Rovel. Please, tell me what on earth is happening.”

“The well.”

Rovel answered without any movement.

“They were in the well. How long have they been there? Maybe since the beginning….”

Lyla sensed something unsettling in Rovel’s unemotional voice. Looking again, she realized he hadn’t blinked once.

“Are you okay, Rovel?”

“I merely took the treasure from them.”

Rovel spoke as if in a soliloquy rather than a conversation. Despite the chilling fear mounting within her, Lyla could not leave Rovel, her sole ally and only source of information.

“It’s in my hand. A small orb. An orb filled with black filth. Whatever it is, it mustn’t fall into their hands. Take it with you.”

“Me?”

“Bring it to Cernun.”

Lyla felt a moment of relief when Rovel mentioned Cernun. Though his condition seemed dire, he could still be trusted, it seemed.

“Alright, I’ll take it.”

Lyla reached for Rovel, but he did not hand the orb to her.

“Take it swiftly. Bring it to Cernun, or to someone trustworthy, who can take on the role of guardian.”

Lyla had to forcibly pry open Rovel’s hand to retrieve the orb.

Feeling the enormity of its danger the moment she held it, she carefully wrapped it in a cloth woven with countless sealing spells prepared precisely for such an encounter.

“Head west. Flee in the opposite direction of the village. If you keep running, you’ll find an unused dock with my boat.”

Rovel spoke like an old man reminiscing from a distant past. As if his consciousness was waning, Lyla shook Rovel’s shoulder in desperation.

“Rovel, you must escape too!”

“It’s too late for me.”

“It’s too late? What… do you mean?”

Lyla staggered backward on shaky legs.

“I fought tirelessly without rest. Never once resting.”

Flies began to crawl out of Rovel’s mouth. Black liquid started seeping from his eyes. His throat began to gurgle ominously.

“No, not you too, Rovel…?!”

“Why did they not try harder to seize the treasure from me? Why did they not touch the barriers?”

Without looking back, Lyla began to run. Rovel did not respond to her departure, only muttering to himself whether or not anyone was around.

“I finally understand now.”

The black liquid consumed Rovel’s face, causing it to melt. His skull, which had maintained a semblance of form, shattered and fell to the floor.

“In the end, I too am just like them….”

That was the end of Rovel’s mumble.

“Grurk… grrrrk…”

Afterward, only the sound of phlegm bubbling in his throat remained.

* * *

‘How on earth did Lyla become entangled with such creatures…?’

I clicked my tongue inwardly. From obtaining an arrow imbued with an Outer God’s energy to this; is she cursed with bad luck?

“Originally, this was a trap set to deceive Cernun. It was expected he’d come to investigate in person, but what a shame.”

Johan, who had observed Lyla’s entire escape, let out a low chuckle. What Lyla carried was remains encased within the orb — a remnant from the divine war, a fragment of the 5th rank formless residues.

“However, his disciple has caught my interest. Such exceptional talent… impressive….”

Recalling Lyla brought Johan quite a bit of joy, though it was for rather sinister reasons.

“I intend to craft her into my new masterpiece. Under the banner of Eldenwillow, a new lineage surpassing Lancers will emerge, as my finest creation.”

Johan rattled on with fervor, twisting and thrashing as if overcome by spasms. The black cloth wrapped tightly around Johan seemed to serve as a restraint, though it was gradually coming undone.

“Eventually, she too shall transform into residues, and must be found. But I cannot wait that long! It’s hard to contain this excitement!”

Once the restraint slightly loosened, a face wriggling with dozens of eyes became visible.

A head resembling a black heap of formless residues, with a mass of eyeballs protruding from a skeletal lower jaw. Its perplexing appearance was both chaotic and ghastly.

“To the one who brings her to me swiftly, I’ll offer gold or Divine Relics, whatever they desire! My soul yearns for this new creation above all else!”

The one intrigued by this was Cahoon.

“I can observe all who traverse the waters I command. If you wish, finding the girl is a trivial matter.”

“The seas are undoubtedly yours. So, what do you wish?”

Despite my own bewilderment, the trade seemed on the brink of conclusion.

‘If Lyla falls into their hands…’

Imagining the turmoil and losses that would result, I couldn’t just stand by.

“But Cahoon, have you considered…”

I spoke up in an attempt to disrupt the exchange. I held crucial information that others likely weren’t privy to, information that could turn Cahoon against them.

“With the Dragon’s Gate so close… do you really have the luxury?”

In that instant, everyone’s eyes zeroed in on me.