The sudden sound of heavy footsteps filled Maki with a strong sense of unease.
Sure enough, when Maki looked back, she saw more than a dozen enemies, identical to the ones from before, appearing from all directions.
Maki moved immediately, taking advantage of the fact that they had not yet completed their encirclement.
The ancient building in the center of the island was clearly suspicious at first glance.
When exploring it, the best approach would be to stay hidden and proceed carefully.
Therefore, Maki had to shake off these persistent pursuers as quickly as possible.
However, the ground covered in slime greatly affected Maki's speed.
In contrast, the Octopus People moved even faster in this environment.
"Do I have to deal with them first?"
Maki looked back at the Octopus People relentlessly chasing after her.
The next second, the familiar sensation of dizziness appeared again.
"Could it be that just looking at them causes the curse?"
Remembering the previous bout of dizziness, Maki came to a conclusion about the Octopus People's method of cursing.
Maki stopped focusing on what was behind her and relied entirely on sound to judge the Octopus People's positions and movements.
However, the dizziness did not disappear.
Maki gritted her teeth and decided to knock down all the Octopus People behind her before moving forward.
"Explode."
A familiar voice rang out.
The gentle voice carried a powerful echoing force.
The next moment, the more than dozen Octopus People behind Maki all exploded.
"Nice work, Inumaki."
Maki smiled and looked up in the direction of the voice.
There, a young boy with snake eyes and fangs tattooed on his face was waving at her.
Meeting a companion in a place like this was a very welcome thing.
"Okaka?" [Are you alright?]
Toge asked with concern.
"I'm fine. If I had my cursed tool, those guys would've been dealt with long ago."
Maki waved a hand, telling Toge not to worry.
Toge, however, grabbed Maki's hand.
"What's wrong?"
Maki looked at Toge in confusion.
Following Toge's gaze, she saw that the back of her hand had already turned a pale color completely different from her original skin tone.
Maki pulled up her sleeve and saw that half her arm had developed the same sickly pallor.
Toge grabbed Maki's hand and ran toward the edge of the island.
The two quickly reached a frail-looking man.
"Who is this guy?"
Maki felt that the man in front of her looked somewhat familiar.
"You're that Assistant Supervisor who went missing, Inoue?"
Maki remembered the identity of the man in front of her.
"Oh my god, finally, someone I can communicate with normally. If I didn't have anyone to talk to, I felt like I was going crazy..."
It seemed he had truly been holding it in for a long time. Although Inoue's voice was weak, he kept expressing his joy.
The white-haired boy who had found him earlier kept talking about strange food.
Not only could the two not communicate properly, but the more they talked, the hungrier they became.
"That's enough. Save it until we get out of here. First, explain what's going on."
Maki impatiently cut off Inoue Hao's nonstop chatter.
"Sorry, I've been trapped alone in this rotten place for a whole day. I really needed to let it out."
Inoue scratched his head apologetically.
"Um, let me ask first, are you two Jujutsu Sorcerers?"
Inoue looked at Maki with hopeful eyes.
"Yes."
Maki nodded.
"That's good."
Inoue let out a breath of relief. Since they were Jujutsu Sorcerers, there was a chance they could take him out of here.
"Before I explain what's happening here, let me ask, have you heard of Cthulhu?"
Inoue asked curiously.
"Never heard of it."
"Salmon roe?"
The two answered briefly.
"I see."
Inoue scratched his head.
As an adventure enthusiast who loved seeking thrills, Inoue was especially fond of mysterious and exciting works like Cthulhu.
"Then I'll start with something more basic."
Inoue organized his thoughts and began his introduction to Cthulhu.
"Cthulhu is one of the most famous Great Old Ones in a new mythology created by H. P. Lovecraft in the last century. This mythology is also known as the Cthulhu Mythos."
"According to the mythology, Cthulhu sleeps in a sunken city in the South Pacific. Because of certain external factors, it occasionally connects with unspecified humans through psychic perception..."
It seemed he was either under too much pressure and needed an outlet, or, after seeing the beautiful Maki, wanted to draw her attention by showing off his knowledge.
Inoue began continuously recounting everything he knew about the Cthulhu Mythos.
At first, Maki and Toge listened carefully.
Later, they gradually realized that something was off.
Inoue first gave a simple explanation of Cthulhu's origins, which was fine.
Then he talked about beings with many tentacles and eyes, similar in appearance to the Octopus People outside.
That was also fine.
After that, however, the topic began to drift away from their current situation.
For example, the Three Pillar Gods of Cthulhu.
What did those have to do with the predicament they were in now?
Could the beings appearing here really be the Three Pillar Gods?
If so, how were you still alive?
And why had you suddenly begun speaking in an emotional, contemplative tone about how human value was meaningless in the universe?
That the exploration of mystery would ultimately lead only to disaster.
"Get to the point."
Maki interrupted unhappily.
Inoue also realized that he had annoyed Maki.
He immediately brought the conversation back on track.
"Everything I said just now was actually to introduce Cthulhu's appearance and characteristics.
Because, according to my deduction, the Cursed Spirit here is most likely an imaginary Cursed Spirit born from the Cthulhu Mythos."
Inoue spoke seriously.
"Explain in detail."
The impatience disappeared from Maki's face, and she began listening intently.
"Normally, if we want to defeat an enemy, we have to understand it, but the Cthulhu Mythos is different."
Inoue looked up and met Maki's eyes.
"In the Cthulhu Mythos, the more you understand them, the deeper the infection becomes. In the end, only destruction and madness await you."
After speaking, Inoue lifted his shirt.
What was revealed beneath it was not a human body.
Instead, it was skin like an octopus's, covered with countless eyes.
Seeing this, Maki instinctively tensed up.
Toge's hand also moved to his zipper.
"Don't be nervous, I'm still fine."
Seeing the wary expressions on their faces, Inoue immediately raised both hands in surrender.
"I just wanted to tell you not to try to understand it. Otherwise, you'll become like me, and like the people outside."
Inoue's tone was somewhat dejected.
As an adventurer, this was not his first time encountering a Cursed Spirit, but he had never expected to encounter one like this.
He should have known better than to enter the village and search for a Cursed Spirit just for that tiny reward.
"Are you saying those Octopus People were all humans?"
Maki suddenly asked.
"They should've once been human."
(To be continued.)