As night once again fell upon Innsmouth, the blasphemous and evil ritual began.
The residents of Innsmouth gathered inside the Church of Dagon, holding torches. They stared at the filthy, ugly idol before them and loudly called out the name of the god they worshiped, praying and begging for its mercy and salvation. They hoped that the great god they believed in could free them from this nightmare.
Below the church, inside the cavern, the core cultists gathered and devoutly raised their hands high while chanting ugly, blasphemous incantations.
"In the name of the land of Y'ha-nthlei beneath the sea and its inhabitants, we praise the 'Ruler of All.' In the name of the 'Sign of Kish' and all who obey this sign, we praise the one who made the sign. In the name of the 'Gate to Ye' and all who use this gate—those who have gone and those who will come—we praise the one beyond the gate. In the name of 'He Who Shall Come'…
Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!"
The prayers of the fanatical cultists echoed through the massive underground cavern.
At the edge of the cave, the outsiders captured as sacrifices trembled violently. Their faces were pale as they stared at everything happening before them, completely at a loss for what to do.
At that moment, several cultists walked over and directly shoved the sacrifices at the edge down.
Accompanied by several shrill screams, the outsiders standing at the cave's edge fell into what appeared to be a bottomless black abyss.
Not even the sound of water could be heard.
But the people of Innsmouth did not care about the fate of these outsiders. They did not even spare them a glance.
The ritual continued.
The Flink patriarch exchanged glances with the other important figures, then knelt once more before the altar. Staring at the blasphemous and evil idol, he shouted loudly:
"Great Father God Dagon, Great Mother Hydra!
In the abyss we offer our highest reverence, forging a glorious empire through endless ages!
We shall witness the awakening of immortality!
Ia! R'lyeh! Ia! Cthulhu—fathtagn!"
"Splash! Splash!!"
As the cultists called out, the sound of waves began to appear, echoing in response to their prayers.
Sacrifices were pushed into the abyss like dumplings into boiling water, one after another.
The sound of surging waves grew stronger and stronger.
When the cultists' chanting reached its peak, the once bottomless dark cavern had gradually filled with rising seawater.
Then—
A massive shadow suddenly appeared from within it!
"Ia! Ia!"
Seeing the enormous shadow before them, the cultists became even more excited. They knelt on the ground, trembling with excitement.
They had not expected Father God Dagon to truly manifest!
That meant—
They were saved…
"Clonk."
At that moment, however, a soft sound rang out.
It was not loud at all.
Just the sound of a cane tapping against the ground.
In any other place, it would have been completely drowned out by cheers.
But here—
That single sound was like a tidal wave.
Instantly, it suppressed the cultists' celebration.
Not only that, the cultists who had just been burning with excitement at the appearance of Father God Dagon suddenly felt as if someone had poured a bucket of icy water over their heads.
Their entire bodies froze.
The boiling blood that had surged because of Dagon's arrival now seemed to fall straight into an ice cellar.
In an instant, the once-noisy gathering place became dead silent.
Yet the sound did not stop.
Instead, it rang out again.
"Clonk… Clonk…"
The dull sound echoed once more.
This time, the cultists nervously turned their heads to look behind them.
At the entrance not far away, a tall figure slowly walked in.
He wore a black trench coat and a wide-brimmed hat, holding a pure black cane in his hand. Most of his face was hidden beneath the brim of the hat and the raised collar of his coat.
Only a pair of eyes were visible.
"Finally dragged you out."
Duanmu Huai raised his head and looked at Dagon before him.
Relatively speaking, this guy wasn't that hard to describe.
Compared to those indescribable horrors, Dagon was actually simple.
In short—
He was just a giant Deep One.
A fish-like head.
A massive giant-like body.
Scales covering his skin.
And a heavy fishy smell.
Yeah.
That was about it.
"Not that bastard Cthulhu… but Dagon will do."
Duanmu Huai stared at Dagon.
His voice didn't change, but his presence kept rising higher and higher.
"You lowly evil gods dare bring chaos into the human world. Looks like you're tired of living. Before the Inquisition, it's not your turn to act arrogant, you trash!!"
"—————!"
As Duanmu Huai roared, the next moment his Fear Aura burst open completely, and black flames erupted from his body.
At that moment, every cultist felt a terrifying pressure descending from the sky.
It was like a mountain crashing down on top of them and smashing them into the ground.
[You used "Fear Aura" on the cultists]
[Cultists resisting Fear Aura… Critical Failure!]
[Cultist A receives instant death check!]
[Cultist B enters hysterical state!]
[Cultist C…]
System notifications exploded like New Year's firecrackers.
Meanwhile, the cultists themselves could no longer endure Duanmu Huai's Fear Aura.
Their mouths hung open as they struggled like fish stranded on land.
Unlike the chaotic knowledge brought by indescribable Outer Gods, the feeling Duanmu Huai's Fear Aura gave them was extremely simple.
Fear.
Extreme fear.
Their hearts pounded wildly, almost bursting from their throats.
Even the blood inside their bodies seemed unable to withstand such terror and began flowing backward.
Even the air they tried to breathe seemed unwilling to enter their lungs.
No matter how wide they opened their mouths and gasped—
Not a single breath came in.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!!"
In the blink of an eye, the cultists collapsed across the ground.
Their eyes rolled white, mouths gaping, eyeballs bulging.
Blood sprayed from their bodies, turning them into grotesque crimson figures.
But Duanmu Huai no longer cared about them.
He stared coldly at Dagon.
The black flames around him rose higher and higher, forming the vague outline of a gigantic figure facing Dagon from afar.
Though…
Why did this scene feel strangely familiar?
Duanmu Huai frowned.
Because Dagon had been summoned inside the cave, only his upper body was visible above the water pouring from beneath him.
Alright everyone, prepare positions, ten-yard spacing, watch the orbs!
Uh…
Wait.
Wrong reference.
Duanmu Huai shook away the distraction and tightened his grip on the cane.
"Prepare to die, heretic evil god!"
The moment he finished speaking, Duanmu Huai charged straight toward Dagon, who was several times larger than himself.
Facing the charging Duanmu Huai, Dagon roared and raised his scale-covered iron fist, smashing downward!
"BOOM!!!"
In terms of size, Duanmu Huai was clearly at a disadvantage.
He was only about 2.5 meters tall, while Dagon stood a full six meters.
Even with only his upper body visible, Dagon towered over him.
But Duanmu Huai had his own methods.
Though he could not use Inquisitor equipment in this world, as a god he possessed another power.
Black Flame.
"RAAAAAAAHHHH!!!"
Duanmu Huai leapt into the air.
At the same time, the enormous black silhouette formed by the flames around him raised both hands high, gripping a warhammer made entirely of black fire—
And smashed it directly onto Dagon's head!
"BANG!!"
The flaming warhammer struck Dagon's skull.
Dagon roared in rage and grabbed toward Duanmu Huai.
But Duanmu Huai jumped onto Dagon's arm, then launched himself forward—
The cane in his hand stabbing like a bee's stinger straight into Dagon's eye!
"OOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
A minor evil god like Dagon had little real ability.
Bullying humans was fine.
But against a true god, he was completely outmatched.
Now that Duanmu Huai had targeted him, his fate was sealed.
In an instant, the entire cavern began shaking violently.
The ground trembled and the mountains shook.
The next moment—
The cave collapsed!
"RUMBLEEEEE!!!"
Rocks cascaded down like a landslide.
Protected by black flames, Duanmu Huai leapt clear of the collapsing cavern.
When he looked toward the sea—
He saw something new.
From another point along the shore, a massive fish-man giant about the same size as Dagon stepped out of the ocean.
Her fish-like eyes glared viciously at Duanmu Huai.
Seeing Duanmu Huai look toward her, the giant fish-woman opened her mouth and let out a sharp, terrifying roar.
The dark sea began to churn.
Lightning flashed.
Storm winds roared.
It looked like the end of the world had arrived.
But such theatrics meant nothing to Duanmu Huai.
Oh?
Beat up the husband and the wife gets angry?
In that case…
Duanmu Huai clenched his fist and glared coldly at them.
"Then you can both die together!!"
(End of Chapter)