episode_0341

Yog-Sothoth.

The de facto leader of the demons, he doesn’t actually appear properly in the original Akasto. He’s only indirectly mentioned by a few apostles; he never directly appears in the game itself.

There are many reasons for this. From an in-game perspective, a being who is like the ruler of the vast universe has no reason to interfere in human affairs. From his standpoint, the clash between humans and Tenebris is a trivial matter, like dust colliding and scattering.

Externally, there’s no merit in bringing such an insane otherworldly god into the game. Adam’s stats are around the top 10% in the Akasto universe, so even if you gathered all the rankers together, Yog-Sothoth would undoubtedly kill them all with a single cough.

In my case, I was able to meet him because I contacted the administrator directly and opened my own path to the universe.

Furthermore, even Akasto’s ‘Administrator’ couldn’t have directly spread the demon leader, Yog-Sothoth, to Earth.

Most of their energy was focused on defeating Tenebris, properly observing him was difficult, and he was an exceptionally large being capable of influencing Earth.

Returning to the main point.

Ultimately, information about Yog-Sothoth isn’t revealed in Akasto. Here’s one thing that makes me laugh, while thinking about fate—

—it’s because his existence is already well-known in the human world.

Yog-Sothoth, having already appeared many times in the Cthulhu Mythos, showing off his bizarre being. Even though he doesn’t appear in the Akasto game, users speculated that this worldview also uses that mythos to create him.

As someone who spent a long time playing the game and frequently wrote guides, I naturally frequented the community as well. A powerful being beyond the final boss is bound to attract a lot of attention, and the bait regarding the demon forces was always rolling around as a popular thread without even looking for it.

The head of the Outer Gods, the ancient one, the path-opener, the lurker at the threshold… the nicknames for it are countless.

Among them, the especially famous one is “the All and One” or “the One and All.” This means that within its gate, everything is connected as one, regardless of past, present, or future.

Entering one gate and exiting another could take you to the past, and retracing your steps could send you to a distant future. The community was filled with such myriad conjectures.

I couldn’t help but laugh as soon as I discovered the black gate in space and perceived the being beyond it…

because I realized that the descriptions overflowing the community were simply the closest words they could find, since no language in this world could properly express it.

Noise. That was the first thing that came to mind. Its appearance is indescribable, and its voice, which made my ears ring, was the first thing to overwhelm me.

The sound of a train passing, a bomb exploding, an airplane engine— anyway, it oppressed my body with sound alone. The sound of a battlefield… it’s a bit of a stretch, but that’s the closest feeling for me right now.

So, did the community members actually know this appearance? Did they witness it?

Perhaps… their words themselves created the current Yog-Sothoth. The god considered to have created humans was ultimately created by human pens.

I don’t know. I can’t properly explain it. Which came first, the chicken or the egg? I don’t know at the moment. It’s not even important.

Anyway, it’s not dead yet. I’ll meet it again soon. As a conceptual being, what I need to keep in mind now is—

‘Never lose your reason.’

—that’s it.

My limbs have finished regenerating, so I guess I’ll get up slowly.

. . .

I first opened the shadow subspace and pulled out the six wives, huddled together like baby kangaroos.

“U-Unni…!! What happened…”

“Come out first.”

After getting them all out, I suddenly felt hot gazes. And then I realized my clothes hadn’t regenerated.

Whoaaat—

I doubt anyone would get excited in this situation, though, I quickly made clothes with ether.

To the expectant gazes seeking an explanation, I gave a very simple and clear answer.

“I self-destructed and destroyed it all. The black gates that filled the surroundings.”

Self-destruction; that includes the meaning that I risked my life. So how am I alive? You’re still a fool who doesn’t understand me properly.

I used the fourth of the Extreme Arts, the Black Hole, to tear apart the tentacles and black gates and swallow them all. Completely emptying my insides is dangerous, but it’s fine if I fill it again.

The moment I entered the event horizon, the attack was already confirmed. Since all actions occur faster than light, the moment of my death is almost non-existent.

In short, I can say that I used my magic as nourishment, and simultaneously protected and regenerated my soul during the self-destruction.

“Is that possible…?”

“It’s me. Want a drink?”

I waited until even Aspi, who was the most injured, fully recovered. Since she has exceptionally sensitive senses, she was more exposed to Yog-Sothoth’s voice.

Once the healing magic was finished, everyone was perfectly fine. My judgment to evacuate to the subspace and use the self-destruct was appropriate.

“Did we… win?”

“It’s not over yet. We haven’t even reached their front yard.”

I gently stroked Lulu’s head, who was trembling, tightly clutching her staff. Her trembling stopped, and she looked up at me intently.

“Don’t worry. I won’t let anyone die.”

“That…”

“Of course, I’ll come back alive with all of you. I’ll absolutely never give up.”

The slightly clouded expression disappeared, and she smiled faintly. Everyone’s will still burned fiercely, and I explained the next plan.

“Yog-Sothoth. We can consider those black gates we just saw as his true form.”

“Would we have done any damage then?”

“There would have been, but… those hundreds of millions of gates are just a part of it.”

After taking a hit from us, it will probably appear again. It will create black gates, open that bizarre space again, and drag us into a dimensional gap.

“Maybe this is the best use. Going right through the gate.”

“If we do that…”

“Right. We can instantly get behind them, but it’s an extremely dangerous idea, jumping into the heart of their base.”

High risk, high reward. The risk is high, but the chances of success are also certain. No matter how conceptual a being it is, my ether-imbued attacks directly capture and strike it. It’s even more effective at cutting souls.

It’s dragging someone like me, a giant bomb, into its own front yard? If it works, we might even annihilate them all.

“However, the risk is too great. We may not know what will happen if we go over there.”

I want to avoid being separated from everyone as much as possible. Even if they were shattered into atoms, I have the power to revive them. But without me, they are useless.

I gathered ether in my palm and shaped it into a human form.

“First, my plan is this. We will actively use subspace to avoid Yog-Sothoth’s interference.”

“Like your magic, attacks that distort space have less impact on this virtual dimension!”

“Thanks for the information. In short, if we just hide our tracks well, we can move freely outside their view.”

The ether doll quickly grew to a size similar to mine. Of course, it looks just like me. It’s a soul clone that I put a lot of effort into creating.

Since I have personally put in my physical information, it will be hard to tell the difference despite its being an otherworldly demon.

“And we’ll use this guy as bait. While avoiding suspicion, we’ll subtly get dragged past the gate.”

“And then, what we did before…!”

“Right. It’s a simple plan, but since we have subspace, we can drastically reduce the risks.”

“We’ll help too.”

We soon gathered opinions and activated mana resonance. If we hide in subspace with overlapping mana waves for everyone except the clone, it would be perfect for stealth.

I held hands with Yuri and blew ether into it.

“Just like back then.”

“Yes, just like that time.”

“Oh, what? Why are you two having a private conversation?”

We laughed and eased the atmosphere; it was the moment when the tension was most eased.

As soon as I sensed magic, I raised my eyebrows.

『Did you think you could hide?』

『How presumptuous.』

“No—”

A creepy sound, like a door opening, was heard.

Creeaak—

I immediately drew up ether to envelop us all, but Yuri had already released my hand.

“Un-”

A huge gate opened, and tentacles that shot out from inside snatched Yuri. In that short moment I perceived as an instant, she was already being dragged into the dimension beyond the gate.

“Kyaak-”

“Kuhht—”

“Your Highness—”

There were six gates. I only hesitated for a moment about who I should protect first, but they were already all dragged into the gate.

Creeaak— Thud—

And it, they… enjoyed eating my wives, then laughed in satisfaction.

『You’re alone now.』

『Next, it is your turn, fugitive.』

I gathered ether in my hand and shaped it into a sword.

“They must have thought I’d be weak if I lost them…”

Wrong.

Having nothing to protect, I can stop anything.