I Became the Priest of Blasphemy of the Outer Gods

Chapter 141. The Endurance (6)

『〈Piercing Rain〉! 〈Water Restraint〉!』

The magic circle gleamed with a blue light.

『Tch… Magic, really. Does being born like that mean you have no pride as a race that serves the foreign God?』

The Dweller of the Deep had several small wounds on his body.

There were some fairly bleeding scars, but none were fatal, and even those healed quickly.

『〈Torrent of the Deep〉.』

The Dweller swung a fist enveloped in dark blue water at Mary.

『Urgh…….』

The punch shattered the barrier Eldritch had erected and sent Mary’s upper body flying in a single blow.

The dark blue seawater infused in the punch was more than just an enhancer of damage.

‘My body… got sucked in.’

It swept away the parts of her body that had flown off, making recovery impossible—turning Mary’s main advantage of being able to regenerate immediately after taking damage into a severe disadvantage.

At least its duration seemed short, but even when the miracle ended, the vanished body parts wouldn’t return.

『〈Great Waterfall〉!』

Before the next attack could land, Eldritch’s magic exploded, causing the Dweller to pause momentarily.

『Lyla!』

At Eldritch’s shout, Lyla activated an ice magic that was set on the deck. The falling waterfall was frozen completely, but…….

『The vermin certainly struggle.』

Crack!

The Dweller emerged from the ice unscathed, making Mary grimace.

She and Eldritch had indeed reached the brink of the 4th rank, but there was a noticeable difference compared to their opponent, who had long lived as a 4th rank.

‘He’s both experienced and incredibly durable.’

Mary considered various methods to turn the situation around.

Among the knowledge imparted to her by Dowol, there was information on the Dwellers of the Abyss.

The problem was that, despite combing through the information, there was no other solution but to overwhelm with sheer power.

Unless they turned the ship into a desert to exhaust him, there was no apparent weakness to target.

‘…… There’s no answer.’

Mary calmly reached a conclusion.

Though Eldritch was putting forth effort, his compatibility was poor.

Lyla was barely managing to protect the ship and occasionally assist with spells when the Dweller rampaged.

And she herself had no strategic advantage against the Dweller in front of her.

『Mary! Are you alright?』

“I’m alright.”

It was a lie.

The damage from having parts of her body obliterated was extensive.

‘I need to hold out until we reach Ethnos.’

But Mary was not sure if that was possible.

『Worthless beings.』

When the Dweller jumped to launch magic, Eldritch wove multiple layers of defensive barriers.

Boom-!

As the Dweller collided, the barriers shattered one by one.

『〈Phreatic Explosion〉!』

Eldritch exploded all remaining barriers. Despite the tumultuous sound and the ship trembling, the Dweller’s arm broke through the blast.

『Kuhak!』

Eldritch’s body was flung away. Mary caught him, but Eldritch coughed blood from the hefty impact.

『This one stung a bit.』

The Dweller’s body was severely injured with visible bone, yet even those wounds healed swiftly.

Mary tried to dig into those injuries swiftly, but once again, the Dweller was faster.

『Going somewhere!』

Bang!

Mary came dangerously close to being crushed, but was fortunate to lose only an arm in escaping.

『Honestly… not a fallout. What the hell are you? Now die—』

Kapow!

Eldritch’s magic struck the Dweller’s wounds.

The Dweller roared, charging at Eldritch, who managed to buy time by barely maintaining distance with magic.

“Lyla, contact Lord Ethnos.”

There was no other means. If Ethnos didn’t arrive, they would be surely annihilated.

“I’ve been trying! But there’s no connection!”

The 〈Mind Link〉 ring itself was unresponsive. Mary could guess the cause.

‘Miracle…….’

Cahon’s or Johann’s lingering miracles.

She wasn’t sure which, but it was disrupting the enchanted items from working correctly.

It might simply be isolating Ethnos from external contact, or worse, potentially negatively impacting all magical workings, including enchanted items.

‘That would be a disaster.’

Currently, Eldritch’s and Lyla’s spells, as well as the enchantments on the ship, were mostly working fine.

The issue might be at the heart of the sea basin where Ethnos was.

As they neared that core, it became increasingly likely they’d experience magic malfunctions.

“Lyla, reduce the speed.”

“What? Are you crazy?”

“The deeper we go into the center of the basin, the harder it might become to use magic.”

If that happened, they’d be annihilated outright.

“Send any signal you can.”

Mary reshaped part of her body into a weapon and returned to assist Eldritch.

Fwoom!

Lyla fired magical fireworks, attempting to send signals in any way possible.

『〈Torrent of the Deep〉.』

Bam!

Meanwhile, Mary’s body was pierced by a punch.

『Give it up. Over in that priest’s location, there are two warriors more experienced than me, plus one who can wield miracles. All are 4th rank.』

“There should be no spare forces for that.”

The Dweller sneered at Mary’s words.

『Capturing that priest alone would be worthwhile, no matter how many of our kin fall. With that woman the residues desire on board, missing this opportunity would be stupidity.』

Mary’s body was torn apart by the dark blue sea current, leaving only a third of her original form.

Turning her head, she saw Eldritch standing, covered in blood.

‘Am I…. reaching the bad ending?’

Mary quietly closed her eyes.

As the Dweller gave a creepy laugh and opened his mouth wide…

Boom!

The Dweller was knocked backward.

Released, Mary glanced toward the source of the booming sound.

‘…… A human?’

It was the crew members who had been hiding.

They were pale as corpses and trembling, yet somehow, they had dragged the cannons from below deck onto the deck.

『These bugs……!』

Furious from the direct hit, the Dweller roared. In response…

“Fire!”

The cannons roared to life.

Freezing and igniting, causing several explosions on the Dweller’s body.

“Hah… Hah…….”

The hands reloading the cannons trembled in fear.

Having witnessed the 4th-rank Dweller, their minds had likely been rapidly deteriorating, yet for some reason, they hadn’t backed down.

“All loaded!”

“Fire!”

Bang! Boom!

The cannonballs thundered as they struck the Dweller’s body.

『Do you think you can kill me with this!』

The Dweller’s voice rang in their heads, causing some crew members to stagger.

Some began foaming at the mouth or their eyes rolled back.

『I’ll crush your heads and drink your brains!』

The Dweller’s bones were exposed, and he was covered in blood.

With his astonishing life force, he endured the assault and stepped forward to massacre the crew.

Crack!

However, Lyla used the ship’s magic circle to freeze his feet, and the cannons were fired in quick succession as they seized the opportunity.

‘We can win.’

Unexpected cooperation. Mary had thought the crew would just cower inside the ship, but contrary to her expectations, their courage opened a path.

“Why won’t it die?!”

Yet, seeing the still-enduring Dweller, the crew was slowly losing morale and succumbing to fear.

Mary and Eldritch staggered to their feet, shouting.

“Keep firing, don’t stop!”

『We can win this!』

Having caught a breather, if only for a moment, the pair launched a renewed offensive.

“Eldritch, there’s a miracle cast on him.”

『Indeed… Is it 〈Reinforcement of the Abyss〉?』

A miracle that strengthens the bodies and enhances the life force of the Dwellers.

“If we hold out just a bit longer, that miracle will end!”

Mary morphed a part of her body into a spear and threw it.

At last, a spear pierced a wound, severing the Dweller’s muscles and nerves.

Though he endured with extraordinary regenerative power, once the effects of 〈Reinforcement of the Abyss〉 ended, not even a 4th rank could survive such injuries.

『Endure until the miracle on me is lifted?』

The Dweller growled while tearing out the piece of Mary embedded in him.

『Fine, try it. I’ll kill you all before then!』

* * *

『Dad! Are you okay?』

Gluttony asked worriedly.

『I’m fine. Eat it faster.』
『Got it!』

A battle had unfolded.

The opponents were three 4th rank Dwellers of the Abyss.

『Quite surprising. Not only did they plan to backstab so soon, but they also sent three of the 4th rank.』

And those three Dwellers…….

『Thinking they could win against me.』

They were utterly defeated by me.

Even underwater, amid flames, this was more akin to my home ground than theirs.

『Unbelievable…….』
『Is this really the same 4th rank?』

Burned and lacerated, the Dwellers were bound by webs.

While they had inflicted minor damage on me, it was no problem to quickly recover.

I refilled my life force and mana using the Blessing of Preservation bestowed by the cluster of webs.

『Tch, I’d love to kill them right now…….』

If the ship and my comrades were entirely captured, they could be used as bargaining chips for an exchange.

‘The 〈Mind Link〉 ring remains unresponsive.’

Dealing with these attackers was more mentally taxing than the anxious anticipation that followed.

『Gluttony, how much is left?』
『Almost finished! Just a little more!』

While I wanted to head straight to the ship, this area was heavily contaminated with the foreign God’s energy.

I couldn’t predict what would happen if I didn’t let Gluttony consume all of it.

『Hmm… Done eating!』

Gluttony’s feast concluded.

Although the sea was still boiling, no trace of the foreign God’s energy remained.

『Let’s fly to the ship.』

Gluttony spread its wings and soared above the water.

The same feathered spider leg form remained, yet the feathers now seemed to be made of blazing flames, possibly having transformed due to the recent consumption.

Boom-!

The roar and explosions were audible even from afar. I could see my comrades fiercely fighting.

“Gluttony, faster!”

The ship grew closer, and I could hear the voices.

“Just one more attack left…….”

The crew, as well as Mary and Eldritch, were all down. In front of them stood the staggering, ravaged form of the Dweller.

『I’ll kill you all!』

At this rate, it would be too late. I was about to form the seals and unleash Outer Magic when…

『Dad, move back!』

A blinding flash, and suddenly the world turned white.

Crack!

A thunderous roar filled the skies.

A lightning bolt descended from the sky, delivering the final blow to the Dweller.

The charred remains of the Dweller disintegrated, leaving behind a small figure cloaked in a cape.

‘A priest of Zeus…?’

The priest who appeared with the lightning bolt slowly approached Mary and Eldritch.

Crackle.

Every step released stray electricity around them. ‘To Eldritch and Mary, they might appear as an enemy.’

I swiftly descended onto the ship, standing before the priest of Zeus.

“Please, hold on. These people are…….”

“Oh?”

As I was about to explain, a familiar, youthful voice interrupted.

The hood that had been covering the face fell, revealing a wooden pendant seen before at Wave Reach.

“Uncle?”

The priest of Zeus… no, Talia blinked, staring at me.

TL’s Corner:
I like it when companion who left comes back. Also, it’s also a plus if the companion isn’t annoying and is somewhat useful, and willing.