Chapter 22: Mr. Eldertich (1)
"H-help me!"
The man screamed urgently. His mind seemed to be starting to break at the sight of the spiders surrounding him. But that would be a problem.
"Here, drink this."
I rolled a vial of psychiatric sedative toward him. Now that I’m acquainted with sorcerers and in a coastal city where all sorts of goods gather, getting a supply of psychiatric sedatives was no longer difficult.
'It's a waste, but it would be problematic if this man goes insane right now.'
The man couldn't even muster the courage to reach for it.
"It’s just a sedative. You have a duty to apologize and confess to the emissaries sent by the God. Drink it and pull yourself together."
I smiled, playing the role of a calm and sinister Outer God priest.
The man drank the sedative with a trembling hand. He seemed to calm down a bit, and avoiding my gaze, he cried out.
"Apologize...? And emissaries from a god? What is all this!"
"You don't even know what you've gotten into. 【The One Who Pulls the Threads of Ruin】... is certainly of a gentle nature."
At the mention of their master, the spiders moved restlessly. Poisonous fangs dripping from their mouths burned the wooden floor black.
"At first glance, that god's book seems easy to join, with no particular restrictions or conditions... but it was never intended for the likes of you."
Clearly, this man didn't have this information.
"I-I don't understand."
"You see, that god hates unauthorized individuals offering prayers as they please, interfering in his work."
That was the greatest trait of 【The One Who Pulls the Threads of Ruin】. It was also the hidden trap in the seemingly harmless book.
"But you, in your ignorance, interfered with that god's affairs, however slight it might have been."
"It-it can't be... We—"
"Completed all the initiation rituals, you say? After the third ritual, a thread appears on the back of your neck. A thread connected to the sky."
"Y-yes. I know that."
"You seemed to consider that thread a sign of your initiation... but it is a mark."
"A mark...?"
At my words, the man tensed and swallowed audibly.
"A mark carved on the disrespectful who interfere in the God's work. When the time comes, the emissaries of the God descend and punish the sinner with fang and thread."
The very spiders that wait behind me now.
"K-kill me?"
"Not just kill you. You become an egg sac. Hundreds of the God's emissaries will be born, and the entire area will be covered in webs."
That’s why I, too, had no choice but to kill those poor scapegoats.
"I knew this and was in the process of handling the matter, and I apologize to the God's emissaries on their behalf."
In exchange for eliminating the interlopers who were interfering in their work, they would allow my own initiation. That was the agreement I made with the spiders.
"Normally, you wouldn't be able to escape this responsibility..."
The man let out a terrifying gasp, but I ignored him and continued.
"But if you do a few things as I say, you might be able to save your life."
"I-I'll do anything! Is it money? Or a sacrifice?"
"I don't need any of that. It’s not something like that. First, return the copy of the book you have."
The man reached into his clothes in a hurry and pulled out the book. He seemed to have a bag enchanted with spatial storage magic.
"Here it is—Aaaaargh!"
As a spider approached the man quickly, he had a fit and fell back. The man-sized spider retrieved only the book and disappeared quietly into the shadows.
"The way you obtained this... it was a black market, wasn't it?"
"H-how did you know?"
"I have my ways. You’ll take me to that black market."
The man nodded eagerly.
"Y-yes, I understand. It’s tomorrow."
"Good. Where should I go?"
"Go to the mansion of Baron Roden. If you go there with me... you can enter without any trouble."
I set a meeting time and signaled for him to leave. The man fled, running for his life, but the spiders didn't leave, as if they still had business.
[El-less.]
"So you too call me that. What in the world is it?"
I replied, a headache beginning to bloom from the annoying telepathy the spider sent.
[And you do not know.]
"That's why I'm asking you to tell me."
[Discover it yourself.]
The spider stepped closer to me, staring with its many red eyes.
[The Great One is pleased with your service.]
"That's a relief."
[If you continue to eliminate those who disturb the Great One, your prayers will be answered. If you wish, you too can become a spider of the heights.]
A chance to become a spider, right after a jelly. What a wonderful opportunity. I had no intention of becoming a poisonous human-eating spider from another world's 'Leng' plateau, like them.
"The Apostle of the Malign Star must be of great value then?"
[No.]
No?
As I looked in confusion, the spider ground its fangs.
[Your value is not that. but even that value is not important to the Great One.]
"What do you mean?"
[If you were to become the property of another Outer God, it would interfere with the Great One's work.]
With that web-weaving work? If I became the property of another Outer God, what was supposed to happen to the world?
"Can't you explain in more detail?"
[You are the one who cannot hear it, El-less.]
So it's information that would adversely affect my sanity. I'll have to look into it once I get stronger.
"I have no intention of becoming a spider yet. Instead..."
[...Understood. The Great One has allowed it. But you are strange.]
What does that mean now?
As I stared, the spider made an unpleasant sound and disappeared into the shadows.
[Your plan is the heresy of heresies.]
With those last words, all the other spiders also vanished.
"Heresy of heresies..."
I let out a short laugh. To escape the influence of 【The Sleeper of the Underworld】, I chose a path to be influenced by other Outer Gods. The more Outer Gods affecting me, the less likely I am to be strongly affected by just one of them.
'In other words, I’m making the Outer Gods watch each other on me. I suppose that is a deed worthy of being called heresy.'
I drank a potion, transformed into someone else once more, and headed out to the street.
"Aaaah...! I-it's horrible!"
When I brought a psychiatric sedative to Talia who was breaking out in a cold sweat, she swallowed it without even breathing.
"Spiders crawling everywhere on my body... aaaaah."
"From now on, if you see someone with a thread hanging above their head, make sure you run away. I had you do that so you could see it."
I had Talia perform the initiation ritual to the first stage so she could avoid danger in the future. I was worried something dangerous might happen from the ritual, but it seemed to have ended as a normally terrifying experience.
"Sir, are you going to keep doing things like this?"
"That's right. It's necessary, so I have no choice."
"Is that why your face is so pale?"
My complexion wasn't great because I had returned to my room at dawn and performed the initiation rituals for the second and third stages consecutively.
'To think I’d experience the hallucination of becoming a spider and eating people.'
The sensation of liquefying, rotting, and sucking out the insides seemed to still be lingering. A faint auditory hallucination of spiders creaking also remained. But I couldn't complain, considering the abilities and miracles I gained in return.
"This is a good thing, right? You said something terrible happens if you do all three stages. Even if it’s only the first stage, it’s still a miracle from that terrifying Outer God..."
I shook my head at Talia's concern.
"To be honest, the first and second stages can't even be called miracles."
"Huh...?"
"You only offer a prayer to the God in the third stage. The first and second stages are merely preparation."
That’s why the spiders only punish those who complete the third stage, as they interfere directly with the Outer God by offering a prayer. After reassuring Talia, I began to pack my luggage.
"Can't I go too? You've been going out alone all the time lately."
Seeing me getting ready to head out, Talia grumbled a bit.
"It’s a dangerous place, full of things related to Outer Gods."
And we agreed to part ways from the beginning anyway.
"A black market can only exist because the tools are stored or sealed safely, right?"
Clever girl. It was impressive that she figured that out, but I was still hesitant to take her.
"It’s hard for you to even drink potions now. Just rest quietly or go job hunting."
"Dammit... alright."
Talia didn't insist further, but she looked disappointed. I wonder if she had become less wary of Outer Gods because of me.
"Try to make some friends. You never know. You might meet some decent kids."
"I don’t really like kids who lived easily."
I left the grumbling Talia, drank a potion and headed out. In the form of an ordinary young man who wouldn't raise anyone’s suspicion, I headed to the Baron's mansion.
'The streets are crowded today too.'
There were a few "Luminaris" around, and I could see some "Stigmata" members talking in an alley. They must be on high alert due to the disappearances caused by "Eitnos."
'The Baron's mansion... so this is it.'
Passing them by, I arrived safely in front of the mansion and found the man, now wearing what appeared to be expensive clothes instead of a robe. He was easy to distinguish, with dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep and his eyes bloodshot.
"Did you sleep well?"
"What, who are you to talk to me—"
"I introduced myself last night. Do you need another introduction?"
"E-Eitnos?"
When I nodded, the man dropped his nervous attitude and tensed up immediately.
"So this Baron's mansion is used as a black market?"
"N-no. This is just one of the entrances."
When the man raised his hand, a servant from the mansion approached, opened a gate, and began leading the way. We followed the servant, arriving not at the mansion, but at a tree in the middle of the garden.
"Don't tell me... is this a 'Living Passage'?"
I saw through its identity at once. Magic related to dimensions, said to have been created from knowledge granted by an Outer God. It’s a first-rate magic that uses a cup made from human bones and five liters of blood as a medium to turn a tree into a living passage.
'I expected a great deal... but it seems some very big players are involved.'
"L-living passage? What is that?"
"If you don't know, it doesn't matter. Just lead the way."
The roots of the tree twisted and opened, and we stepped into the darkness inside. After walking for some time on the muddy ground, a sudden flood of light revealed that we had arrived at a different space.
'...It’s massive.'
A floor decorated with marble and ornate statues. Above all, the space was enormous.
"Do you see those boxes over there? The tools inside them are for sale."
On one side, stone boxes were lined up as if for display. In front of them, parchment seemed to describe the contents inside.
"You said this is where you bought the book, right?"
"Y-that's right."
"And the person who recommended the book?"
"A man named Eldertich."
Eldertich...
A fitting pseudonym for an Outer God expert.
"He’s usually busy guiding important guests, so he should be busy... ah, there he is now."
"Hmm... so that's the man."
The man named Eldertich was wearing rather ornate and expensive clothes. A European medieval-style suit, complete with gloves and a hat. He was even wearing a crystal monocle. He had the appearance of a gentleman or a noble. As if he were feeling my gaze, Eldertich glanced in my direction.
'...Hmm?'
Then, he averted his eyes and suddenly began walking in another direction.
'That man... did he just avoid me?'
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