Chapter 255
Inside the complex maze of the cave was a shabby altar.
Since the inside was so narrow, they couldn't make any grand decorations.
They had simply laid down one wide stone and carefully enshrined something indescribable on top of it.
"Is that... Idra?"
[I can't say for certain, but it's very similar. Believer, I don't know how the humans found it, but it's not ordinary.]
What could be seen beyond the people who were frightened or wary of the sudden intruders.
Black liquid that repeatedly flowed down and clumped together as if forcibly maintaining its form thanks to weak surface tension.
At first glance, it seemed like viscous slime, but looking at the roughly undulating body of 'that thing,' it was bizarre.
And the moment he saw it, he intuitively realized.
This was neither something unhatched like Shaguna Fan, Nor something with will like Idra's other avatars.
The being that remained in such an unpleasantly writhing and disgusting state was.
"...This is garbage."
Definitely utterly useless garbage.
It wasn't even at a level that required borrowing Aphoom-Zhah's hand.
It was a being that would end if he, who had never learned to fight, approached, reached out his hand, grasped it, and applied force.
Even if this thing struggled desperately, it would at most break a few of his finger bones.
At his words, Aphoom-Zhah chuckled.
[You're right, believer. Though it resembles Idra, garbage is garbage. It doesn't even have self-will yet. Though divinity has faintly settled in it.]
"I was so shocked to hear Idra's name, but that's a relief. Where on earth did they find something like this?"
Mother of Sorrows, the disgusting avatar of Idra.
They shared one mind while moving with different bodies.
How many of Idra's avatars had he killed so far?
The first black woman who had infected Tika. The avatar that enchanted creatures with beautiful sounds. Then the giant bird that had been hiding on a mountaintop.
And after that, he thought he had definitely eliminated several more...
[It seems there were some among those you killed that managed to preserve their lives. If not that, then they failed to be reborn as avatars.]
"Is that so?"
[That's right, my believer. Do you think it's easy to acquire the status of an avatar just by feeding them part of Idra?]
"Anyway, this worked out well. To discover it in this state."
In other words, this guy who had failed to become Idra's avatar right now
Meant he was chaos that had also failed to acquire complete status as a god and was squirming around as a half-wit.
But no matter how low-grade this guy was, there was still danger.
Even if it was only half-formed, if proper sacrifices were offered and believers served it with utmost sincerity for a long time, it might become a god.
When he glanced around, the people who caught his gaze flinched and stepped back.
Look at this.
"Eibon."
"Yes, Yesung."
"It seems like there's someone familiar among these people. Am I mistaken?"
"I don't think you are."
Even Eibon, who always wore a habitual smile, was rigidly frozen just this once.
She stepped forward in front of him and Aphoom-Zhah and walked toward one person.
He was the one closest to the altar, trembling pale and shaking each time Eibon pushed through people and approached step by step.
In his hands was a staff long enough to reach a person's head.
It was a memento that Eibon gave to disciples when they finished their training and left,
And a sign of encouragement delivered to those who would wander far roads for a long time.
Eibon stopped. The man who had once been her disciple pointed the end of his staff at her with trembling hands.
It was a clear expression of intent to attack.
But even in front of the staff, Eibon spoke calmly in an even voice.
"Was it 14 years ago? The staff I gave you when you finished your training and left as a mage. I thought you were quite dignified then."
"Ma-master, Master. This is, this is."
"I told you that if you were going to use it as a magical auxiliary tool, you had to feed it your blood well. It was something I always said, are you taking good care of it?"
"So-"
"You must be."
Eibon's white index finger slowly stroked the roughened surface of the staff.
Her finger sliding along the wood grain stopped.
Eibon's blue eyes glinted coldly.
"Only then would there be even a slight chance for you to survive."
"Master- gah!"
-Crack!
As soon as Eibon's words ended, cracks formed starting from where her finger touched, and the mage vomited blood.
At the same time, two or three people nearby flew into the wall and were crushed.
Seeing the people crushed against the wall, the believers screamed and ran toward the only exit,
But the maze that the only mage hadn't touched didn't open a path for the believers.
The man shouted.
"Stop! Everyone... don't go!"
"You should concentrate."
Eibon spoke as if nothing had happened, but blood vessels bulged from both hands of the man gripping the staff.
Even as the whites of his eyes burst with blood vessels and turned bright red, the man couldn't let go of the staff.
Fine vibrations occurred on the cave floor, and squelching sounds could be heard from under the man's feet.
Stone dust flew and small stones shot out.
The man who barely stood on trembling legs while spitting blood,
And Eibon who quietly watched this scene with just one finger touching.
-Bang!
-Crack, crackle crackle crackle...
The floor the man stood on made a crushing sound, then cracks spread like spider webs in all directions as it sank down.
The moment Eibon slightly narrowed her eyes.
"N-no!"
-Snap!
The upper part of the staff that had been slowly crumbling due to cracks completely shattered, revealing bright red flesh inside.
The moment the staff that had been fed blood for a long time was destroyed, the man screamed and collapsed on the spot.
Literally Eibon's overwhelming victory.
The people watching could only tremble silently in fear.
In the silence, the floor was soaked with blood.
Eibon looked down coldly at the man who had sunk into the shallow pool of blood and muttered icily.
"To serve another being other than the Lord of the Extreme Realm while using magic that comes from him. There are limits even to shamelessness."
"Ma...ster..."
"I never even brought up serving the Lord because it might burden you. I only said that since all my magic comes from him, you should have respect for him. Was that so hard to listen to?"
"No... not..."
"You insulted me. You insulted the Lord of the Extreme Realm that I serve, and you insulted the source of my magic. Without any proper way to defeat me, you hid in a place like this and worshipped something evil. Do you have anything more to say?"
He was seeing Eibon's cold side for the first time.
She was affectionate toward him and the Lord, and paid considerable attention to the disciples she raised.
But seeing her now, he recalled the title by which her disciples addressed her with respect.
'Grand Mage Eibon.'
It was both reverence for her who had raised all existing mages,
And fear of someone who possessed magical power at a level that disciples couldn't dare follow.
Mutant, variant, one who heard the language of the universe from birth.
All these things made her worthy of the title Grand Mage.
And Eibon in this cave was truly acting befitting that name.
He thought that mage would probably die too. Considering Eibon's temperament, he would definitely die.
If it had been Tika or Shan, they probably would have shown mercy. While he was thinking such things, he saw Aphoom-Zhah covering his mouth with one hand.
"Aphoom-Zhah?"
[This is not good, believer. Not good.]
What wasn't good?
Before he could ask that, a strained shout came from ahead.
"But I wanted to live, even if it meant doing this!"
"You wanted to live?"
"Master wouldn't know. You wander freely without belonging anywhere. Don't you enjoy everything to your heart's content under the protection of that Lord of the Extreme Realm! But what about mages like me? What about those who had to see all the carnage that happened when they returned to their tribes?"
What was he talking about?
Even as he looked on in confusion, the man's heartfelt plea continued.
"You said that once we became mages, we shouldn't be bound by trivial things and should only pursue truth, but what about my tribe? Master, the tribe I belonged to has collapsed. Another tribe seized the lake and forest that belonged to no one and took away the people of my tribe."
"Is that your fault?"
"If I have any guilt, it's only the guilt of not becoming a mage faster. Master, they unite and rule various tribes by force. At their center is said to be a ruler who commands mysterious and frightening things. That's why no one can defeat them. They absorb other tribes with that power and expand their territory."
"So you worshipped something evil to eliminate them?"
"Not at all. I just,"
The mage spat out saliva mixed with blood and said.
"I only hoped that my tribe's people, who hid and barely avoided being dragged away, wouldn't be hungry. I only hoped that wherever they went, they would head to places with fertile land and plenty of pregnant animals."
Ah.
He was beginning to understand what Aphoom-Zhah's 'not good' meant.
He didn't feel good. Really didn't feel good.
He didn't know the reason. He just felt cold sweat and his heart was unpleasantly pounding.
Why? Without any proper reason, why was he so irritated?
Even as he gripped his chest and resisted the inexplicable displeasure, the dialogue between Eibon and her disciple continued.
"I understand your intention, but."
"Then-"
"That doesn't justify your insulting me. I'm not a person of your tribe, and they are not my people. I have no responsibility toward them."
"Master!"
"All I know is the single fact that you insulted the Lord of the Extreme Realm."
The disciple's face gradually contorted.
He picked up the remaining fragments of the shattered staff and staggered to his feet.
"Master, you are... truly consistent... You were always like that... Detached from everything, always viewing the world with detachment..."
"......"
"Master, do you remember? I once told you about my tribe. I spoke about dried-up streams and trees that didn't bear fruit. Do you remember what you said then?"
"What did I say?"
"'Don't dwell on such trivial matters.'"
A single tear flowed from the man's wide-open eyes.
"'It has been proven that you are already a different life from them. Since mages are not human, your only responsibility isn't to avoid starving, but to pursue truth.'... That's when I realized. That you and your god have no interest in people."
"I don't see what's wrong with that. Did you ever ask me to help? But I have no such memory."
Eibon truly seemed not to understand.
He felt the same way.
The person in front of him and the starving people were different individuals.
Though it was pitiful, even if he heard such words from a third party, it didn't mean he had to immediately go and help those people.
Moreover, he didn't know their location, and they hadn't directly asked him for help.
But when Eibon asked back, the man stiffened.
He muttered.
"I don't understand how someone like you, a being with no interest or sympathy for people, is called a Grand Mage."
"Really?"
"Indeed, my choice was right. I was correct. We must create what will save us ourselves. That's the only way."
He muttered.
And then he raised the broken staff with its red interior showing.
No way. No way!
"Don't!"
"[Great Idra, I offer you the blood and flesh of the living! Our wish is only one - unceasing abundance! Be reborn as one who rejects death and calls only life!]"
The sharp end of the staff pierced through his thin belly.
Blood pooled on the floor, and clothes turning red.
The man who had briefly let out loud laughter collapsed limply with a lifeless face.
After he fell, what was on the altar finally became visible.
"Eibon, eliminate that thing on the altar! Right now!"
As soon as Eibon heard his words, she reflexively reached toward the altar.
But the fallen fragment of Idra, the incomplete avatar, was shown slowly falling into the pool of blood first.
-Splash.
Ripples formed in the calm puddle.
Something soaked in fresh blood. Something that absorbed the mage's magical power and only then began to awaken its ego.
The fragment that received the mage's wish for 'abundance' and the life he offered until the end was.
"This is."
Eibon muttered.
Viscous slime slowly swelling within a pond of blood so dark it looked black, and a somehow familiar form.
Festering flesh and the endless cycle of life and death of infinite animals and plants sprouting from within.
The gaze of the survivors turned toward it.
Disgusting yet beautiful, beautiful yet eerie.
Like a slowly blooming flower, growing slowly upward and crying out sticky slime and the cries of all newly born life forms from every cross-section.
"That's not Idra. It's completely different, that's-"
It overflowed all at once.
Just before sweeping away everything in the cave, the last name that came to mind was.
"-Shub-Niggurath, the primordial stage of a god!"