Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

Reason teetered on the verge of collapse, everyone clenched their teeth and endured.

From above, people were constantly dragged away, screaming as they fell into the mouth of 【Compassionate Mother】.

Almost every moment, the pulling force from the black threads grew stronger.

Josh felt several times that he could hardly withstand it, but when he looked back at the Cult of the Hidden members behind him, an inexplicable strength arose in his heart.

These refugees from the Northlands were weak and impoverished, yet in terms of willpower, they were not inferior to anyone.

The dragging force grew greater and greater, Josh’s consciousness gradually blurred, yet only that obsession within his chest remained. In resisting, it even grew clearer.

Reality slowly faded, his awareness sank into the deep sea, and just as he was about to lose himself, a blazing sun burned quietly beyond the seawater.

That was his 【Anchor】.

Knowledge inexplicably surfaced in his mind, and Josh suddenly became sober. Gasping heavily, he looked around—the illusion had shattered.

The pull from the black threads still continued, yet he could handle it with much greater ease.

He did not understand much about the supernatural, but vaguely felt that something had stabilized his cognition. When he tried to probe further, he discovered it was—

  ‘The Holy Text?’

He turned and saw that many of the refugees from the Cult of the Hidden were subconsciously reciting the Holy Text, and it truly helped them resist the will of 【Compassionate Mother】.

But wasn’t that Holy Text something he had made up?

  And the contents—

Josh suddenly shivered. This matter absolutely must not be known to the Lord.

At his side.

Zoe gasped heavily, feeling she was close to her limit.

Countless memories flashed before her eyes. A bad premonition welled up in Zoe’s heart. Was this her life flashing before her eyes?

  Her parents’ vague faces, becoming a maid in the Duke’s manor, flipping through secretly hidden novels...

Disorderly memories surged forward, and Zoe’s gaze gradually dulled.

Ding!

  Her heart suddenly grew clear for a moment, and in a daze she seemed to see another thread tied to her, driving away the scenes that clouded her mind.

What was that? She did not know. She only remembered that she was Zoe.

Zoe, the maid in the manor, the Banshees’ enlightenment teacher, the literacy class instructor, the Lord’s secretary, the envoy who had gone to Blood Harbor.

Which one was truly her?

  The thread only gave her another chance to resist. To endure, she had to rely on herself. Zoe gritted her teeth and looked at those fragments of memories, those many identities. She needed to choose, to first stabilize her sense of self before gathering her will.

Her consciousness leapt between identities, but Zoe’s gaze grew firmer.

‘No, none of these!’

Whichever identity it was, none had come from her own will. She had always gone with the flow. Even if she now had statuses she once never dared to imagine, it was all just luck.

She had hardly ever ruled her own fate, had never had her own will.

Her own will...

An unremarkable memory suddenly surfaced.

‘I want to go take a look at the Lower District.’ She had stood at the doorway, excited like a child, her gaze looking past Galahad toward the vast Blood Harbor.

Gwen, hidden in the shadows of an alley, looked from afar at Zoe as she stood, her small face breaking into a gratified smile.

The storm howled, but neither the rain nor the black threads dared approach the little girl, as if kept away by fear.

Her fingers relaxed lightly, and a thread twanged softly, slipping away from her fingertips.

Had Hughes seen this scene, it would have been familiar. It was the very same thread he had used to link the few of them, and the other end in Gwen’s hand was connected to Zoe.

On the distant high ground.

Galahad let out a long breath, his expression slightly strange.

He was a transcendent. Dealing with the pull of these black threads should not have been difficult—ordinarily.

But recently, he had lost control once at Castel. His will and cognition were unstable, and only after much struggle had he managed to stabilize them.

Just now, during the clash of wills, he had fallen into hallucination again. Of course, for a seasoned transcendent like him, a mere illusion could not have much effect.

And it was even a scene he had already seen before: the giant Stellar Furnace in the Castel Cathedral burning with a Heretical God.

Such illusions could no longer disturb his mind.

But what surprised Galahad was that when he had been about to rally his will against 【Compassionate Mother】, at the moment this hallucination appeared, the struggle abruptly ceased.

No, to be precise, 【Compassionate Mother】 had directly withdrawn, almost as if fleeing?

The sight left Galahad dumbfounded. He had just summoned his will to battle, only to find his enemy vanish?

Could Castel harbor something capable of restraining a Heretical God?

  His knowledge of the supernatural was limited. After pondering briefly, he decisively dropped the thought and turned toward his liege.

Galahad never doubted that the Prince could endure this clash of wills. He had never seen anyone with a more resolute will.

And reality proved him right. Despite being pulled by the black threads, the Prince, though disheveled, still held fast where he stood. He even drew his sword, shouting toward the Harbor Guard, and the soldiers’ morale visibly stabilized.

Galahad breathed a sigh of relief. They would likely endure this round.

But worry still clouded his face. He had heard Mira’s words clearly—【Compassionate Mother】 would only keep growing stronger. If they endured this round, there would still be the next, and the next... endlessly.

If sacrifices had to be made...

  Galahad sighed and cut off the thought.

At the docks of Blood Harbor, in the very heart of the battlefield, 【Compassionate Mother】 ended this round of devouring.

Mira looked around in some surprise. She had thought this time all mortals would be dragged into 【Compassionate Mother】’s maw. Yet they were not.

Most had survived the clash of wills. Panting, they stood once more, their expressions calmer. Indeed, a clash of wills was also a kind of tempering. Those who remained standing all held their own determination.

This sight moved both the Banshees and Mira alike.

The Banshees ceased their firing. 【Compassionate Mother】, having grown this strong, was hardly affected by bullets. Against such a massive body, the shots were far too trivial.

Bullets had never been designed to deal with monsters of such size.

Mira sighed: ‘So it has come to this... who knows how many sacrifices it will take.’

Then she suddenly frowned: ‘What are you looking at?’

The Banshee standing before her... was distracted on the battlefield?

  【Compassionate Mother】 was at Her strongest, yet the Banshee across from her seemed unconcerned, staring blankly as though lost in thought.

Nini blinked. Seeing Mira’s sharp look, she grinned mischievously: ‘Oh, oh, just ran into something. Sorry, mind saying that again?’

Mira drew in a deep breath: ‘Do you realize what situation we’re in? 【Compassionate Mother】 has already grown beyond the point where your miraculous firearms have any effect! You must immediately choose who will be sacrificed!’

Seeing Nini’s careless look, her eyes suddenly widened: ‘You... don’t tell me you’re planning to flee!?’

Indeed, fleeing was something transcendent beings like them could absolutely do.

Even many mortals could escape in part. 【Compassionate Mother】, for all Her strength, was not adept at pursuit.

But fleeing would only allow 【Compassionate Mother】 to grow further. And Her growth had no upper limit.

  More would die, more cities be razed. Perhaps some Church would finally stop Her with all their might—or perhaps the world would ultimately be destroyed by Her.

Mira suddenly realized her mistake. She had always thought to shoulder responsibility, to resolve the calamity of this Heretical God’s descent. But... it was not the duty of these Banshees.

They had said they came from Castel, a distant island unrelated to Blood Harbor. They were not even human.

Why should outsiders bear the burden of human folly? Why should Castel pay the price for Blood Harbor’s disaster?

  What right did she have to force others to shoulder responsibilities that were not theirs?

‘So that’s how it is. My apologies.’ Mira murmured. ‘If you wish to flee, then flee.’

Then she saw Nini wearing a baffled expression.

‘Flee? I just connected the link and was surprised, that’s all.’

‘Connected to what?’

‘To the Celestial Behemoth, of course——’ Nini raised her hand and pointed overhead.

Mira, puzzled, looked up at the sky—and froze.

It was raining in Blood Harbor.

As though ink had been spilled across the clouds, the heavens were dark, rain lashed down in torrents, and the world was shrouded in gloom.

But now, those heavy clouds seemed lower still.

No, the storm clouds truly descended, as if pressed down by something, bulging into a massive oval shape.

Moments later, the clouds could no longer contain what lay above. The sky split open, and a colossal shadow forced its way through, filling all sight.

From below, Mira could not make out its full form. She only felt the massive shadow pressing down, as if the heavens themselves were falling.

Giant propellers descended with the beast, drawing wisps of cloud. Its ring-shaped tail rudder was like a gate to another world, protruding from the clouds.

And at the fore, sharp, jagged shark-teeth paintwork emerged first, as if tearing a hole in the sky, a grim smile spreading across the horizon.

【Compassionate Mother】, vast as a mountain, made humans seem like insects beside Her. Yet beneath this skyborne beast, even She was like an insect.

The heavy clouds were torn apart. Above was a pure sky and warm sunlight. Just steps away was the storm, yet sunlight fell upon Mira’s face.

In storm-shrouded Blood Harbor, 【Compassionate Mother】 was bathed in sunlight, and above Her loomed the Celestial Behemoth, tearing apart the heavens. The scene left all present in awe.

Mira looked up at the clear sky, then down at the storm around her. It was as though she looked up from Hell at the Kingdom of God.

Was this a god descending upon the mortal world?

  ‘Sorry, sorry, they just entered the link range. I was guiding the descent coordinates——’ Nini said as she waved toward the Airship. The giant beast overhead blew its whistle in response, a thunderous hum echoing across Blood Harbor.

Faintly, a few Banshees could be seen inside the Airship, operating machinery with hands that had once held weapons—yet even at this, they were skilled.

What kind of beings were they...

The Banshees at the docks packed away their weapons, retreating orderly into the sea. Nini too turned to leave.

‘Miss Mira, it was a pleasure to meet you, though we must part. Don’t worry, I’ll write a special report to remember you by.’

Mira stared blankly after the retreating Nini, then raised her gaze to the beast in the sky. Realization dawned in her eyes, and they grew clearer.

She placed her hand upon her chest and bowed gently toward Nini.

The next moment, from the clear sky fell another rain—a rain of countless black specks, bombs pouring down from beneath the Airship.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion.

Nini looked back at Mira one last time, only to see her figure silhouetted in the blossoming flames.

The orange glow lit her gaunt profile. For the first time, her face bore a smile, as though she had become once more the little girl who had received food aid.

In the distance, the Prince stared at the Airship cleaving through the clouds, dazed.

His hand pointed at the Celestial Behemoth, his finger trembling. He staggered, looking toward his knight.

Galahad had already rushed to his side, forcing him down to the ground, shielding his liege from the shrapnel of the bombing.

But the Prince stubbornly raised his head, his eyes locked upon the falling bombs, crimson fire blooming wildly within them.

Gwen sat on the rooftop dome of the clock tower.

Her friends gathered around her, staring silently at the Celestial Behemoth above. Their faces showed fear, dread, awe.

But Gwen looked on with interest, her legs swinging in the air as though watching fireworks.

With friends by her side, there was nothing to fear.

The wind swept up her snow-white hair. Not a drop of rain touched her sleeves.