I Became the Priest of Blasphemy of the Outer Gods

Chapter 130. Offspring (1)

“Lightning? Yes, I saw it with my own eyes.”

A small tavern by the harbor.

I had disguised myself as a regular sailor to gather rumors.

Sightings of lightning were extremely rare, yet they shared one common trait: all were reportedly seen from aboard a ship.

“Are you sure it was lightning? Could it have been an explosion or something else?”

“Not at all! The sky was roaring loud, like the bellow of an angry beast!”

The sailor, who claimed to have directly witnessed the lightning, excitedly recounted the story.

“In the blink of an eye, a sea monster was charred black!”

The term “sea monster” here didn’t refer to an ordinary monster.

‘Taking down a Dweller of the Deep with a single strike must have required significant power.’

Considering the suspicion of possessing a divine bloodline, the individual might be of 4th or 5th rank.

Furthermore, Zeus, for a foreign God, is considered to be as strong as Outer Gods.

‘That’s precisely what’s peculiar.’

Despite wielding such miraculous power, their actions were subtle.

The main testimony was about aiding people by hunting down the Dweller of the Deep that attacked a ship.

There were only three sightings, and nothing else was known.

“Did you see who wielded that lightning?”

“How could I? It’s chaos when those sea monsters attack.”

That was the end of the testimony.

There wasn’t much valuable information, but gathering all testimonies revealed an additional common element.

‘These events took place near the island.’

Elion Island.

A small yet picturesque island within the Hagios Archipelago.

Possibly due to its beautiful scenery, it’s a place where a pantheon dedicated to the Olympian Gods existed.

‘It reminds one of Greece with its abundance of olive trees and such.’

Not only Elion but the entire archipelago is a region that worshipped the ancient Olympian Gods.

A fitting place for Zeus’s priest to appear.

“Anyway, thank you.”

I bought the sailor a drink and stepped outside.

Though ships came and went, I wasn’t planning to board one today.

‘There’s not a single ship passing through those waters.’

This was one of the repercussions following the disappearance of the harbor city.

With the city gone, numerous moored ships were annihilated as well.

Thanks to enchantments, travel speed was faster than expected, but it still took months.

When I arrived, the nearest ship was scheduled for two months later.

‘I could arrange a private ship and crew, but…’

After the events of Wave Reach.

To prevent additional Outer God forces from infiltrating, the country had begun to implement stringent controls.

Ender and Cernun were both quite busy and couldn’t assist.

Thus, I finally decided to visit one of the two families I had intended to visit and couldn’t meet while at Academia. The house of Lilybel Offspring.

Though the Ospryng family was in decline, they were nonetheless nobility. They would suffice as a means to secure a ship.

‘Plus, it’s close by, and I’d been wanting to stop by.’

I then joined Eldritch, who had been investigating separately, and headed to the Offspring estate.

“Maybe I should have made an appointment first?”

The place I arrived was in a shambles.

Ivy spread uncontrollably, and the garden was entirely unkempt.

“Looks like it’s already ruined.”

『Maybe they’re really all dead… 』

“The teacher Cernun sent reported back not long ago, and there was no mention of everyone dying.”

While they were a precarious house that could disappear anytime, they should be safe for now. I knocked on the half-broken door.

“Who is it?”

Usually, a servant would answer, but the person who came out to greet me looked like a young master regardless of how one saw it.

“Hello. I’m Professor Simon Magus from Academia.”

“Oh! You’re the professor my sister Lilybel mentioned, right?”

Was this Lilybel’s younger sibling?

He bore certain resemblance now that I looked closely.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Gerald Ospryng.”

The boy who appeared to be in his early teens greeted me with enthusiasm, but there was a deep shadow under his eyes.

‘Just like Lilybel, but slightly less severe.’

“It’s quite mired in neglect, but… let me show you inside.”

Gerald hurried back inside, making clattering noises as he tidied up before opening the door.

“It’s an honor to meet you. My sister spoke a lot about you, professor.”

“Is that so? What did she say?”

“She said you were scary but responsible, knowledgeable.”

I chuckled softly at that. Despite not having taught much for a short time, she had given me such an assessment.

“The other adults… they aren’t able to leave their rooms.”

Gerald spoke in the empty living room as he attended to me.

“They’re awake mostly only during meal times, and about 30 minutes otherwise.”

Apparently, they were now too weak to even sit up due to their deteriorated conditions.

“What did the previous professors do?”

“They used enchantments to increase mana and recover health. They also gave forced nutrient injections and used various potions.”

As a result, some nutritional support was achieved, allowing them to cling to life.

“But still, no one has discovered the cause.”

“That, I know.”

After running all sorts of tests, something seemed to be weakening their bodies. But it was neither poison nor disease, not even a curse.

So, what on earth could it be?

“Is there anything you can tell me about the Ospryng family? A strange incident with an ancestor, or acquiring relics from somewhere?”

“Those were all sold off long ago…”

Merely a fallen noble house in name. With Gerald as the sole functioning member, their financial situation was evident.

“Did Lilybel buy any research materials or items related to an Outer God?”

“No, none at all. My sister worried about there being ties to an Outer God, but our family has no connections at all.”

“No ties to an Outer God, you say…”

If even mages can’t resolve it, it might involve an Outer God’s influence.

But…

‘I can’t sense a trace of an Outer God.’

Given the lack of such energy, I could only consider another cause.

“Gerald, this might be an odd request, but could I take a look at Lilybel’s room?”

“Her room?”

“Yes, I assume it hasn’t been organized.”

“How did you know that…”

The one most invested in solving the family’s problems was Lilybel. Her room should be filled with the results of her research and investigation.

“One wrong dusting, and you could lose everything she tried to record.”

Lilybel was a student who left records in her hair, after all.

“She told us not to let anyone in…”

“You can trust me.”

Despite hesitating, Gerald led me to Lilybel’s room.

“… Gerald.”

“Yes?”

“This may be a strange request, but could you go to the room with the adults with Tako?”

At my words, Eldritch used 〈Mind Link〉 to communicate.

『What’s the matter?』
『I sense a familiar presence in here.』

Focusing on the back of the masterless room, Eldritch also felt the energy and flinched.

『I will watch here.』
『Good, keep an eye out.』

After sending the perplexed Gerald away with Eldritch, I sighed and opened the door.

“You’re finally here?”

Disheveled hair and a tired-looking face.

A clumsy and shabby beauty.

Lilybel Offspring.

“Is that your true form?”

I raised the tendrils of Gluttony.

“Was wondering if this appearance might be more favorable. Seems you don’t like it, though.”

Piercing through Lilybel’s skin emerged Charlotte.

“What’s going on here?”

I watched quietly, bewildered.

“If it was to provoke, I can understand.”

“I thought returning this body to the Ospryng family was the right thing to do, so I put it on while at it.”

Charlotte said with a chuckle.

“Is that so? Then I suppose I can kill you without issue.”

I drove the tendrils into her.

Dozens of layers of barriers sprang up from Charlotte’s items.

Crack.

Gluttony broke through them, penetrating deeper. Even the blades of wind Charlotte summoned left no mark on Gluttony.

“… Very different from before?”

Ultimately, Gluttony shattered all barriers and wrapped around Charlotte.

“Hah… Playing with corpses again?”

I knew the moment I seized the body.

It was a fake made from a corpse.

“If you came in your true form, it would have been troublesome. What happened in the meantime? How did you become so immensely strong?”

This damnable being was unchanged.

What? Because it’s not her real life on the line, she acted curious without concern. And playing friendly as if we were acquaintances…

“That’s none of your business.”

Just as I was about to squeeze Gluttony tighter, Charlotte urgently shouted.

“Wait! There’s an ambush! An ambush is coming!”

It seemed she spoke of important information, but without being at least 4th rank, it wouldn’t pose a threat now.

“So? Killing you and them all should suffice. You talk a lot, despite not being in your true form.”

“There’s an ambush coming here! The Ospryng family… is connected to an Outer God!”

I paused Gluttony’s tightening.

“Continue.”

“I was investigating too. Ghouls are targeting members of this house. Why they do has me curious.”

Charlotte’s eyes gleamed with her usual mad curiosity.

“If it were any other race, I wouldn’t care. But ghouls only having an interest in corpses?”

It was an unexpected race.

“The only certain thing is, this family is their target. It can’t just be for a meal, right?”

Looking at her, it was puzzling how this one always gathered so much information, and I couldn’t tell how much she knew about me as well…

“Where did you get that information?”

“I can’t tell you that. Ladies have many secrets, you know.”

“… So why were you secretly hiding in this room?”

Charlotte fiddled with some parchment as she responded.

“There were no clues in other rooms. This room is the only one left, but there still haven’t been major findings.”

No idea when she arrived, but seemed she had already rifled through everything.

“So, how about we search together?”

Charlotte clapped her hand with a bright smile.

“The ghouls are eager, so there’s no time. If you let me investigate with you, I’ll feed my curiosity a bit and leave-”

Bam!

I crushed Charlotte without hesitation.

“All of a sudden, ghouls, huh…”

As Gluttony devoured the remains of Charlotte, I scanned through Lilybel’s room.

“You’re entangled with too much unpleasantness indeed.”

I sighed and began investigating alone.