novelraw Chapter 932: An Ancient Being Walks the World, and His Light Will Fade
Chapter 932: An Ancient Being Walks the World, and His Light Will Fade
Andrea plunged into the water with a muffled crash, sending waves churning before vanishing beneath the surface.
Seawater surged through the unsealed hatch. As the Andrea tumbled through the depths, the churning water shoved and enveloped Lu Li. The frigid shock and the water flooding his nostrils made it hard to breathe, but in the dizzying vortex, he managed to avoid having his bones broken or being smashed to death.
Thud.
The current slammed Lu Li against the hatch. He grabbed hold, fighting to keep his grip in the torrent, while his other hand fumbled in his pocket for the fluorite stone, refusing to let the darkness swallow him whole.
Something sharp, hidden in the murky water, swept past with a surge, slicing open Lu Li’s forehead. Every wash of saltwater made the pain sting with a fresh intensity.
Soon, the torrent pouring into the passage subsided. The Andrea sealed its hatch and gradually regained control of the vessel.
The water trapped in the passageway sloshed back and forth like wine in a bottle, sending waves washing over their feet.
A damp, hairy, human-like face broke the surface of the foamy water. Coughing and sputtering, it swam toward the faint glow of the fluorite. A scorched, steaming hand then grabbed the back of its neck, and using the wall for support, it made its way toward Lu Li.
The water level in the passage slowly dropped as it drained into the lower compartments of the ship.
“Mr. Lu Li, you’re injured!”Prusius exclaimed, his eyes fixed on the blood trickling down Lu Li’s forehead.
“It’s just a scratch.”
Lu Li had been unlucky—or rather, they had all been lucky, Prusius and Ofelia especially. During the violent tossing of the Andrea, only Lu Li had been cut.
“What... attacked... the Deep God?” Ofelia asked.
The image of giant, scaly hands and tentacles surfaced in Lu Li’s mind. The attackers had concealed their auras, which was why their minds hadn't been warped by the close contact, and why they had gone undetected.
Just then, the pressure on their bodies suddenly lifted. The crushing weight was gone. The hatch slid open slowly, and pale light filtered into the dark passageway.
The Andrea had surfaced.
They could hear the shuddering roar of the storm and thunder outside. Bracing themselves against the still-swaying walls, they approached the steps as water continued to cascade down the staircase.
As they neared the entrance to the cabin, the world outside slowly came into view.
“Don’t... look!”
Ofelia cried out hoarsely.
...
Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang—
A frantic, chaotic tolling of bells echoed over Vinnelag.
The townspeople looked around in confusion; only a few ran for their homes.
Soldiers appeared on the streets, rounding up the people just as they had in the dream. But this time, the destination wasn't the churches—it was the underground shelters.
“You’ve made a mistake!”
Some of the townsfolk pushed their way toward the soldiers, only to be shoved back into the crowd.
“Faster, faster! An anomaly has invaded Vinnelag! Get underground!”
“Bring the exorcist back!”
The citizens’ shouts were drowned out by the echoing bells and the rising cacophony.
Cries, pleas, shouts, and screams mingled as the crowd surged toward the underground passageways.
Vinnelag descended into chaos. Like a herd of sheep, the townspeople thronged the entrances to the shelters scattered throughout the city.
The soldiers’ cries to maintain order—“Don’t push!”—were lost in the tumult.
“What’s... going on... hic...” a drunken, middle-aged man slurred, leaning against his companion.
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s a terrible fog tide?” Potter guessed uncertainly. It was the only reason he could think of that would drive them underground.
They paid no mind to the panicked, hysterical shouts of the soldiers.
“This will last a while, won’t it? A month, maybe?” the middle-aged man asked, the cold and the noise having sobered him up.
“Damn, we didn’t bring anything.”
“Or longer. Doesn’t matter. At least underground we won’t have to buy coal and firewood every day. They won’t let people starve, right?”
Soon it was their turn to enter the passage, and the temperature gradually began to rise.
Looking at the steps crowded with people, Potter sighed.
He should have brought some cigarettes.
Just then, a terrified scream erupted from outside.
...
“Mr. Mayor, it’s time for us to go.”
In the mayor’s office, his assistant, Valendo, anxiously prompted Mayor Matteus, who stood motionless by the window.
Outside the window, a gloom was descending, thicker than ink and deeper than darkness itself.
“Sir, we have to leave!”
The darkness was swallowing the factory on the mountain, and Matteus thought he could hear the agonizing death groans of the workers.
Boom—boom—
The power poles leading into the city flared with bursts of electric light before erupting in flames.
“If we retreat underground, we still have a chance!”
The figure of a Trader suddenly appeared in the office. Matteus whispered slowly:
“Tell Mr. Lu Li that Vinnelag has fallen. The citizens have taken refuge in the underground shelters, and darkness will soon cover the land.”
“Mayor!”
The darkness had already consumed the outskirts of the city; it wouldn’t be long before it reached them.
After the Trader vanished, Matteus took one last, long look at the advancing darkness. He turned away from the window, looking as though he had aged ten years in a single moment.
“I hope Midnight holds... Let’s go.”
...
Ofelia’s warning came too late. Even though Prusius had belatedly shut his eyes, the corruption was already taking hold of his body.
Scales erupted on his skin, followed by writhing tentacles.
Even Ofelia, who had only caught a glimpse, cried out and collapsed in the passageway.
“Seal the hatch and get away from this battlefield.”
Lu Li grabbed Prusius, pulled him away from the steps, and waded into the ankle-deep water, calling out to Ofelia, who had lost control.
The Andrea sealed the hatch and moved away from the affected area of the sea.
Her will was strong enough that she soon recovered from her stupor, remaining deeply silent about what had just happened.
But Prusius did not recover. It seemed two opposing forces were at war within him.
After drifting for nearly half an hour, the vessel suddenly gave an unnatural lurch, and the hatch leading to the deck opened.
The Deep God had returned.
His robes were even more tattered, and the blood dripping from him was like a river flowing into the sea.
“They are contaminated...”
The Deep God whispered.
“Can you... cleanse them?”
Ofelia felt unwell; a whisper in her head was tempting her will.
“I cannot do it...”
The corruption came not only from Him, but from the power of his enemy. To withdraw His own taint would only cause the minds of Prusius and Ofelia to be warped by the other.
The attackers were servants of His sworn enemies, the Deep Ones: their father-god Dagon and their mother-goddess Hydra.
Fortunately, They had believed the Deep God was on the brink of death, which was why their attack had failed.
And there was only one way to isolate the two forces of corruption.
Hell.
...
Sentry Post.
Gades’s cellar.
“Mr. Lu Li, I don’t want to go...”
Prusius stood before the Gates of Hell, his ears drooping, reluctant to part ways.
What had been a hopeful situation had changed drastically in just a few hours. Darkness had shrouded the land, the Deep God was gravely wounded in an attack, and now they, too, had to leave this place.
“I... and Prusius... will wait... in Hell...”
Ofelia, sensing something was wrong, clamped her mouth shut and pulled Prusius closer to the Gates.
“Mr. Lu Li... is there really hope?” he asked, looking back one last time.
“Yes.”
“Is that a white lie?”
“No.”
Prusius and Ofelia stepped through the Gates of Hell.
Gades and the devil’s daughter will take care of them, Lu Li thought as he left the cellar.
In the town, the Deep God, casting a long shadow, muttered quietly.
“I cannot last much longer...”
Then, they returned to Belfast.
There, the Deep God would complete His ancient story.