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IBHJ Chapter 559
🕑 Added 2023-11-06 01:46:24 +0000 UTCThe ominous city of R'lyeh was faintly illuminated in an eerie, ghostly blue glow under Shirou's light, evoking an unsettling resemblance to the dark depths of the sea.
It was a city constructed from gigantic, bizarrely shaped stones, with staircases that seemed utterly unsuitable for climbing. Poisonous miasma continuously rose from this twisted cluster of uncomfortably angled buildings.
To Shirou, it resembled some sort of twisted temple.
He scanned his surroundings; the stones appeared convex at first glance, but upon closer inspection, one might feel they were actually concave. The distorted, unpredictable edges on the stones seemed to hide malevolent threats and provoke anxious emotions.
Being inexplicably trapped in what seemed to be the eldritch city of R'lyeh almost convinced Jeanne of Caster's identity.
However, she could not utilize a Command Spell to draw out the Red Caster or kill him directly. Her privilege of the Command Spells came not from being a Master, but from her status as a Ruler class. As a Ruler, she needed to confront the Servant directly to exercise the authority of the Command Spells through their contract.
Caster was clearly avoiding Shirou and Jeanne, naturally unwilling to appear easily.
In fact, there hadn't even been the sound of a voice, only the ominous presentation of R'lyeh.
Shirou looked at Jeanne and asked, "Can you sense where the Red Caster is hiding with your Revelation?"
He was pinning his hopes on her skill, but unfortunately, she shook her head and said, "The Lord has not revealed the answer to me."
"Does that mean Caster used some kind of spell to block your Revelation?" He stroked his chin thoughtfully.
Not having the Revelation skill himself, he could only guess at how it worked and why it wasn't functioning now.
"Hum hum hum."
"Gurgle gurgle."
"——"
Strange noises emanated from the darkness.
Mash shivered, feeling as though she was being targeted by some predator.
And not just one.
It felt as though they were being watched by many, many predators.
She subconsciously leaned closer to him and gripped her shield tighter. Only by doing this did she feel a trace of security.
He asked, “Are you okay? Do you have a clusters phobia?”
“No, I’m fine,” Mash shook her head, puzzled. “Why do you ask?”
“It’s nothing, just make sure your Sanity points don’t drop to zero."
Mash: “?”
Sanity points?
What was that?
With a thought from him, the radiant black mud began to slowly rise from him, soaring towards the sky. It branched out in all directions like an umbrella canopy, shining brightly with an endless radiance, like a mythical Tree of Light.
It was beautiful, Mash thought.
As the light dispelled the darkness, sinister creatures that shunned the light scurried and crashed into stones, toppling columns with loud rumbles and shattering noises. Then came a "gurgle gurgle," as if chanting an ancient, eldritch curse.
And then, even more disturbingly, they began to emerge from the dark soil one by one.
These creatures resembled massive, muddy squids that lived in the shadows below.
Mash was startled.
Clearly her Sanity had taken a hit from these unearthly sights.
These were monsters that defied human comprehension. Even Jeanne, veteran of countless battles, couldn't help but shudder at the sight of these eldritch creatures.
"Lord, my Lord..." Jeanne murmured uneasily.
Shirou, on the other hand, appeared quite composed. If this were a Call of Cthulhu role-playing game, his Sanity points would undoubtedly remain at full. It wasn't that he wasn't scared, but rather he could leverage All the World's Evil to absorb his own fear and negative emotions.
Yes.
If one must make a comparison, he was like a cheater who had activated a hack to lock his Sanity points!
Looking at the monsters emerging from the darkness, he furrowed his brow. "Chthonians..."
These were worm-like creatures from the Cthulhu Mythos - terrifying underground dwellers with long, slimy bodies like octopuses or earthworms.
"Indeed, like me, you are a loyal follower who worshipped the Outer Gods."
A voice came from the darkness.
And this voice, compared to the one heard from the belly of the octopuses before, was clearer.
Before Shirou could react, Jeanne shouted in anger, "Prelati, show yourself!"
"How cold of you after all these years, Jeanne," the voice replied in feigned disappointment. "This is the destiny the Grail has wrought, is it not?"
Jeanne's expression soured, as if she'd heard something deliberately sickening. With rare disgust, she said, "François Prelati, you infiltrated my army disguised as a priest. You deceived Gilles and abused my trust and friendship! You only wanted to spread your vile, mad doctrine and make people worship your false god!"
"False god? What nonsense are you talking about, Jeanne!?" The voice of Caster became stern, saying, "The Lord you worship is the false god. My god is the true Lord of this world! Yours has done nothing - even His existence is doubtful. Your death proves it. My Lord speaks to His loyal soldiers in their dreams - that is proof of His existence and love!"
Caster sounded utterly fanatical, like a zealous cultist.
She said coldly, "That's why many of my men went mad! Your god caused our defeat at Compiègne!"
"How can you call it madness? Their souls accompany my Lord in His true Holy Land. That is the ultimate glory! Abandon your false god, Jeanne. Kneel before my Lord and become His saintess! He will grant you great blessings."
Hearing this, Shirou narrowed his eyes and said, "So this isn't truly R'lyeh after all?"
"Of course not," Caster replied. "This is but a fraction of my Lord's great power - not His true holy land."
"I see now, Assassin. Though we serve different masters, you are an ally. We should join forces to usher in the coming of our lords."
Suddenly, Shirou asked, "What is your relation to Goetia?"
"Goetia? Who is that?"
Shirou exhaled, his expression understanding. "So the Council has nothing to do with you. Then there's no need for further talk."
He had originally thought that this Caster had some connection with Goetia and was very likely related to the [Council] that caused the connection point. But now it seemed that this was not the case.
If so, why should he continue this fruitless banter with Caster?
A glowing lance, Rhongomyniad, appeared in Shirou's grip. He unleashed a beam of light into the dark from where Caster's voice came.
The blast illuminated its path, searing the night like a sun piercing the darkness.
The Chthonians burned to ash in an instant. Stone pillars crumbled too, but no sign Caster himself took a hit.
He raised an eyebrow. "Impressive. I'll admit, I'd love to have a hiding skill like that for myself."
Caster shouted in frustration, "Why? If you're also favored by an outer god, join me! Ally with me and the Holy Grail is yours."
Shirou smiled and shook his head. "Thanks, but no thanks. I'm not interested in the Holy Grail."
He turned to Jeanne. "Can you use a Command Spell?"
Jeanne tried and shook her head. "No. It doesn't meet the activation conditions."
"Fine. Since you refuse to worship my lord, then you shall be buried in my lord's holy land!" Caster was seething now.
And as he grew angrier, the Chthonians became restless, secreting droplets of vile slime.
It was no longer a matter of horror.
It was disgusting.
Caster said with a fanatical tone, "Assassin, I acknowledge your strength. But within this city, the apostles of my lord are endless, and your mana will run out at some point!"
"Trying to win through numbers?" Shirou frowned.
However, this Noble Phantasm that summoned R'lyeh was clearly a significant drain on mana as well.
How did the opponent have so much mana? Could he be using Command Spells to enhance his mana? Or perhaps the creatures were just mana constructs under his control.
If that was the case, then...
Jeanne's gaze was sharp, facing the shambling horde. "Caster, stop hiding! Show yourself!"
Caster cackled, "You're a Ruler, and I'm no fool. Why would I let your Command Spells work?"
She clenched her teeth in frustration.
The horde of Chthonians surged forward, emerging from the darkness toward the Tree of Light.
"Surrender your souls to my lord!" Caster's fanatical voice echoed.
Mash tightened her grip on the massive shield, back-to-back with Shirou and Jeanne.
Jeanne held her banner tightly and whispered to him, "Eternal King, I have a Noble Phantasm that can resolve our current predicament. However, this Noble Phantasm comes at a small price; I am here by possession, and once I use this Noble Phantasm, I will not be able to protect this body I am possessing. So, I will have to trouble you to take Laeticia out of here."
She was tense, white-knuckled on her banner.
The Chthonians were obviously formidable, and their numbers seemed endless. Even someone as powerful as Eternal King could be overwhelmed by such sheer numbers, couldn't he?
More importantly, strange voices had been echoing in her ears from the moment she set foot in this city, like the chants of evil gods, putting her on edge.
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JeanMartin Freites
And this is where things start getting heated.
