I Became the Priest of Blasphemy of the Outer Gods

“Mister? What do you mean by that?”

Talia looked bewildered, but I didn’t have the luxury to consider her feelings at that moment.

“Has anything else strange happened? Did light suddenly come from somewhere, or did you hear strange noises? Or did anyone try to touch the scripture as if they were possessed?”

At my rapid-fire questions, Talia flinched and then her eyes widened as if a thought had struck her.

“Theo and Jeremy tried to go down to the basement a few times. They got caught by the director and were scolded, but I thought it was just out of curiosity back then…”

Talia’s complexion began to turn pale.

“Now that I think about it, I was the only one who overheard about the scripture, and they were outside at that time. How could they…?”

“Sigh…”

I couldn’t discern the exact intent, but that Priest of Hayat had placed something very dangerous in the basement here. My intuition told me it was undoubtedly a relic related to an Outer God from the Cthulhu Mythos.

‘Given they specifically called it a scripture, could it really be a scripture of an Outer God?’

If it were a scripture of an Outer God, everything would make sense. Because of my trait, 〈Apostle of Calamity〉, my body was suited to become an apostle of an Outer God. And such a suspicious thing existing where I woke up…

‘There’s no way such a deliberate coincidence could happen.’

Is it you, Dowol? Were you the one who put me in this situation?

“Uncle… Just what is this situation?”

“A very dangerous one. What’s the director like? Is he or she unbaptized like you kids?”

“Pardon? Yes, that’s right. He hasn’t been baptized.”

I barely restrained myself from cursing out loud. Rather than anger at such impudence, I needed to control my emotions and determine my next course of action. The most logical, yet in some ways obvious choice was…

‘…To just run away.’

I could just warn them and flee far away, ensuring I wouldn’t get entangled in this mess.

Getting involved with the Cthulhu Mythos was foolish; even if I somehow solved the incident, it was likely to end with an unpleasant conclusion.

‘But it’s easier said than done. I don’t even know the geography, have no one to help me, and with this conspicuous red hair, where could I possibly go?’

I didn’t know how similar this world was to the one I used to live in, but red hair had a history of being as discriminated against as black people. Who would welcome a stranger with an unknown origin?

‘And perhaps this is the right choice. Checking whatever is in that basement.’

Another option was to investigate what was in the basement, getting tangled up in the incident in earnest. As mentioned before, avoiding involvement was the best, but disregarding all these carefully prepared schemes didn’t guarantee a good outcome.

‘Because this is likely not a mere coincidence.’

It was like jumping into a waterfall to gain an opportunity, but following this situation that seemed arranged for me might actually be the safest course.

‘Whether the being who dropped me into this world is Dowol or not. It depends on what they want.’

It wasn’t an easy decision to make. My life depended on it and possibly, there could be consequences worse than death.

“Is the director out right now?”

“Yes, it’ll take some time before he comes back from the village.”

Talia’s eyes sparkled as she asked.

“Mister, are you going to check it out?”

“Unfortunately, that seems to be the correct choice.”

“Correct…?”

“…It looks like the right answer.”

As I rose from the bed, Talia stepped back, watching me. Although she seemed scared a moment ago, her eyes now looked resolute.

“Shall I guide you to the basement?”

“Make sure none of the other kids come. The director too.”

Talia nodded earnestly.

“Whatever happens, don’t come in. If possible, persuade the director to run away with everyone to somewhere far away.”

“They revere the priests of Hayat so much, I don’t know if they’ll believe me. But I’ll do my best!”

Feeling slightly emboldened by Talia’s determined demeanor, I made my way to the old and damp basement with her guidance.

The building was already old and shabby, and as I descended to the basement, the interior became even gloomier.

“There it is. There’s a storage room where they keep things like potatoes and onions. It’s in there.”

“Alright, thanks. Now get back upstairs quickly. This place is going to become dangerous.”

I was somewhat relieved that this wasn’t a suspicious cult’s dungeon, but just an old, dark storage room.

“Damn… Am I doing the right thing?”

Everyone is the protagonist of their own life, but unfortunately, that doesn’t mean they are the hero of a magnificent story.

“Am I just caught up in delusions, doing something crazy?”

Sometimes, it might feel like one accomplishes nothing significant, to the point where life seems meaningless. There are even cases where one meets a miserable end without leaving a will or even a trace of their body.

I might die tomorrow, or even today, in a futile manner.

“…… I should trust myself. Trust my instincts.”

I had some insurance for this crazy act. That was Ethnos’ mind. If the stats were applied as they were, it meant having the maximum mind that a human could possess.

“Even if the mind stat is superhuman… I can’t say it’s safe.”

Despite having strong mind, I couldn’t be reassured in front of the Cthulhu mythos, known for destroying human minds.

“Hmm… Is it that?”

Moving aside the sack of onions, an outlandish box came into view. It was a box seemingly carved from black, shiny ore. Upon lifting the heavy lid, there was a single book inside.

“Contrary to my expectations, I don’t feel any strange aura.”

The book itself exuded the vibe of an old tome, and nothing happened when I took it out of the box. It seemed like nothing would happen until I read the contents.

“……There’s no use worrying about it now.”

The followers of Hayat were plotting something with this suspicious scripture. They had been proceeding secretly and had chosen sacrificial lambs that no one paid any attention to. Even if I had run away from the beginning, they would certainly come after me if they knew the witness, me, was still alive.

So there were virtually no other choices. I opened the book with tension.

“……I can’t read this.”

It didn’t seem like any language on Earth. The characters resembled hieroglyphs and runes, but I couldn’t understand the meaning at all. Whether this scripture alone was written like this or it was common in this world and I couldn’t read it was uncertain. However, there was no need to read it.

『How fascinating. It came to us. 〈Elise〉 has come.』

Suddenly, a grotesque voice resonated. The voice didn’t sound like it was coming from human vocal cords. Just as a parrot mimicking human words feels off, the words from a monster evoked instinctive revulsion and fear.

Clatter.

Sure enough, merely hearing that sound sent chills down my spine, and the dice rolled automatically. I didn’t know what number appeared on the back of my hand, but a hint of green suggested success.

“This, this is….”

What I saw when I turned my head wasn’t a person nor a creature. If I had to describe it, it was a slime. Not the kind of slime popular as children’s toys, but an unpleasant, massive tar-like blob. Just touching it seemed like it would cause catastrophic events, such an amorphous entity.

“Damn….”

There was nothing to use as a weapon. Not that having a weapon would mean I could handle such a monster. Escaping wasn’t a feasible option either. To pass through the narrow door of the storage room, I would have to get past this creature.

“Where did it come from? Was it summoned when the book was opened?”

Swallowing nervously, I scrutinized the monster closely. They say the more you know about Cthulhu mythos beings, the more your mind deteriorates, but I needed to respond immediately if the monster made any move.

What did that thing call me earlier…?

“Did it say Alice? What does that mean?”

When I received an answer to the question I had asked out of curiosity, I flinched in surprise. I had no idea where the voice came from, but this monster was communicating with me rather than antagonizing me.

“What are you talking about? I am… Ethnos.”

That was my name in this world.

『Elise. No matter how quickly you accept the name given to you. Elise.』

Was it trying to refer to Alice in Wonderland? This bizarre riddle only further unsettled my already chaotic mind. The monster itself was the problem. Its mere existence caused dizziness, confusion, and an instinctive aversion.

“What exactly are you? Why did you appear?”

『I am the herald.』

“Herald…?”

The monster twitched slightly as it continued speaking.

『Apostle of Calamity. Elise. Ethnos. Now that the herald has arrived, you must listen. This is a favor bestowed upon you.』

There wasn’t one voice but many. I tried to back away, but there was only a wall and a sack of onions behind me.

“How many…how many of you are there…?”

They had been here all along. Not just one, but many. From the cracked walls, the floor, the ceiling, and all the shadows, black figures started to emerge.

『Our master promises you.』

『Our master desires it.』

A chilling terror crawled up my spine. Their master? Did these monsters serve some entity? If so, then it must be…

“…an Outer God.”

A being from the world beyond.

‘The Great Old One’ and ‘Outer Gods’. It must be such a creature. Perhaps I should never have touched this book.

“What is promised, and what is desired?”

Even in this situation, ethnos’s strong mind overcame the fear. In response to my question, the monsters began to reply all at once. It was a horrifying and ancient ritual to serve a terrifying being.

『Apostle of Calamity. Elise. Ethnos, listen. The master speaks.』

『He shows you favor. Know that this is no ordinary event.』

『I will grant you wealth and honor. I will bestow upon you the knowledge you seek.』

A sweet temptation. But the cost was the greatest of human sins.

『Offer a child to me, and you will receive gold and jewels.』

The black entities, now covering the ceiling, walls, and floors, began to spew forth horrifying things.

『Offer a newborn along with the mother. You will earn a noble title, looking down on the lowly and reveling in amusement.』

They spat out items like an umbilical cord entwined with gold necklaces, a tiny skull filled with jewels, and a bloated belly stuffed with gold, one after another.

『Offer the innocent, those with your blood, those with noble blood. In exchange, you will gain wisdom and knowledge beyond the imagination of commoners.』

The basement had swiftly transformed into a shrine filled with the corpses of those sacrificed out of greed. The decaying blackened bodies, entangled in bizarre structures, stared at me and spoke.

『Offer blood. Offer flesh. Offer bones. Offer the undead. You shall seize everything!』