Jean had always been careful, but was still pulled into this space without any warning.
Based on her experience with multiple spatial movements, her physical body hadn't moved at all; this was a type of mental space.
Being in a mental space deep within a sea of fire made Jean's head ache with a swelling pressure.
This was even with the Stardust Wind and the mental defense techniques from the book active; if it were an ordinary person, the hallucinations would have burned their brain to a crisp by now.
"Who are you?" the Little Girl in front of her asked again. "Who are you, and whose child are you?"
"I am Jean. If I have to say, I suppose I belong to 'D'," Jean replied. Although the environment was extremely uncomfortable, the Little Girl before her showed no hostility.
"'D'? A name I haven't heard. An existence from the Outside of the World? Is this place also the Outside?"
Before Jean could answer, the Little Girl began talking to herself again:
"But you recognize me. This form is the way you perceive me. It's strange, but not bad. That detestable existence, Nyarlathotep, often appears in this form as well."
"Are you Cthugha?" Jean asked. After all, this Little Girl looked exactly like Kuuko from that famous evil god anthropomorphism series.
"Indeed. Although the pronunciation is slightly off, that is the method by which ritualists usually summon me."
Then, Cthugha changed her appearance again, turning into Consort Yang from FGO.
"This is also an appearance from your perception." As a veteran 'LSP', Jean naturally felt that this look was much better.
"If I may ask, why did you appear in this world, and why did you bring me here?" Jean inquired.
"Someone is calling me, using a ritual containing that fellow's aura. So I responded, intending to annihilate everything related to it. Then I discovered you—an existence with some of the same elements as me, yet completely different."
According to Cthugha, Talulah's ritual was a massive trap. Summoning Cthugha using Nyarlathotep's aura? How wicked.
"So, is the existence you are looking for in this world? Are there any others?" Jean tried to ask.
"Beneath the deep sea, the Sleeping Lord; high above the sky, the King in Yellow. Yet he does not exist; it is all a scam."
It's hopeless, goodbye. This Terra World is even more dangerous than the Cthulhu Mythos Earth.
"Since that person isn't here, can you spare this region?"
"The core has been destroyed; I no longer have the power to interfere with that world."
Hearing this, Jean breathed a long sigh of relief. With her trump cards exhausted, if another wave came, she would have had to rely on the return function upon contract completion to escape immediately.
"However..."
The sudden pause made Jean's heart jump into her throat.
"You want this, don't you?"
She pulled out a red orb of light, within which was the image of a dragon girl.
"This is the body used as a sacrifice, and also a top-tier vessel that just carried my power without breaking."
"What do you want?" Jean asked. Whether it was a normal god or an evil god, sacrifices were special things; they almost never gave them away for free.
"Information. Child of an evil god from beyond the world, since the world you reside in has his aura, he must have already escaped the confines of a single world. Find him, and tell me."
[evil god contract · Designated 1]
Objective: Find traces of Nyarlathotep and inform Cthugha.
Description: Find him! Find him! Find him! Find him! Find him! Find him! Find him...
Reward: Vessel (Talulah) (Prepaid), Living Flame.
Client: Cthugha
The resentment was so strong that Jean could feel it just standing there. As for what Cthugha would do once she found him, Jean didn't know and didn't dare to ask.
"Just the body? Where did her soul go?"
Cthugha tossed the red light orb to Jean: "A sacrificed soul finds it very difficult to penetrate the world barrier anyway. Besides, compared to the vessel, the soul is not even worth mentioning."
The contract was established, and the prepaid reward was delivered. Cthugha no longer maintained her hold on Jean; it seemed that pulling people across worlds was also very difficult for her.
In an instant, everything changed again, and Jean's consciousness returned to its original place.
According to her observation, only two or three seconds had passed.
Fortunately, it wasn't like the legend of Wang Zhi at Lanke Mountain, where watching a game of chess meant centuries had passed back home; she'd have nowhere to cry then.
The once solid core in front of her had shattered. The lower half still floated in the air, looking like solid ground.
Then the orb of light began to expand, turning into Talulah's form, lying there as if dead.
Jean performed a close-up inspection of Talulah's body.
The soul had been sacrificed, the life force burned away by the fire. The body that was once filled with two conflicting souls now had nothing left.
She thought of the kind dragon girl who had originally fought for the Infected with her youth and shed her blood—only to have her body occupied by the person she hated most, forced to harm her own loved ones and friends.
And in the end, meeting such a fate made Jean feel a bit heavy-hearted and sad.
Just as Jean was agonizing over whether she should return the body to the family, a page of paper suddenly drifted down from the sky.
[evil god contract 15-1]
Objective: Kill Talulah.
Description: Please do not let my hands hurt my brothers and sisters anymore.
Reward: Everything I possess (Note: Her only possession is her own soul).
Client: Talulah
Jean looked at the large red words marked on it: COMPLETED. She suddenly felt like cursing someone out.
Then, through the back of the paper, there seemed to be words. She flipped it over to see: "Remember to bring the body back. By: 'D'"
"Lungmen Profanity" The newly learned Lungmen curse escaped her lips, but then the corners of her mouth curled up slightly as she stored Talulah's body into her spatial pouch.
Next came the harvest time. Here, the outer walls of the core that formed the ground were entirely made of the concept of flame condensed into a solid state.
All the heat was locked inside the crystals; they felt neither cold nor hot to the touch, only radiating a sense of surging energy and life force ready to burst.
This was Living Flame, a projection of Cthugha, imbuing the concept of 'living' into fire, forming an incomprehensible state.
Though she couldn't understand it, it didn't stop her from taking it. She filled the remaining space in her spatial pouch as much as possible, even discarding her motorcycle to make room.
Unfortunately, even with such effort, the 27m³ spatial pouch couldn't hold much. A large amount of flame crystals mixed with life force and energy remained.
Although Jean wasn't an expert in politics, she instinctively felt that these crystals couldn't be left behind—not even for the Infected.
An innocent man gets into trouble because of his wealth; moreover, the Reunion Movement's current position wasn't exactly 'innocent'.
She picked up a crystal and examined it closely when suddenly an idea flashed through her mind.
She began to use the Stardust Wind to touch the crystal. Sure enough, after a moment, the crystal transformed into something similar to the Stardust Wind, containing life force and stardust crystals.
The silver wind the crystals had turned into was now the best medicine for treating the Infected. While it couldn't remove Originium deep within the body, it could at least significantly alleviate their symptoms, prolong their lives, and ease their pain.
At this thought, Jean's lips curled up. Stirring up trouble was more pleasant than anything—whether it was the Sonic Skateboard or freezing the Imperial Capital, those were for destruction, but this was for salvation.
This made Jean even more excited. The Dragon Wings constructed from stardust crystals unfurled once more, and a vast amount of wind swirled around following Jean's will.
Gradually, the crystals on the ground began to resonate. Having lost the original will poured into them and encountering the Stardust Wind, it was like ink dropping onto white paper, spreading rapidly.
The entire wreckage of the fireball floating in the sky began to pulse with the rhythm of Jean's will.
-------------------------------
Hope you enjoy this fanfiction if you do and would like to read the next 50 chapters in advance, pls do check out my Patreon:
patreon.com/MariaLight
Also don't forget to give me a Power Stone if you do like this fiction. Your support really motivates me to continue doing my best in translating, Thanks!!