#1252 An Evil Voice from the Abyss 

A blinding flash bursts from the holy sword, tearing the sky apart. 

“Ohh, Lord Saint’s light…!” 
“He split the heavens?!” 

The sword’s radiance blasts away the bitterness and malice clouding people’s hearts. 

“Why was I so irritated just now…?!” 
“Look! Beyond the sky Lord Saint just tore open…!” 

Something’s there. 
It looks like a fracture in reality itself. On the other side of the broken sky lies a completely different space. 

Did the holy sword just cut through space itself? 
Does it even have that kind of feature? 
No. It’s most likely just the Hand of Supremacy working conveniently behind the scenes again. 

But more importantly, what’s that colossal, unspeakable thing peeking out from beyond the rift? 
The crack stretches from north to south, cleaving the heavens in half, and yet that enormous thing presses against the gap as if it can barely fit. 

And those… tentacles?  
It’s like a giant octopus, writhing and slithering, dozens upon dozens of them spilling out. 

A few of the tendrils even force their way through, pushing into our sky, prying the rift wider. 

“What is that?!” 
“It’s terrifying! Just looking at it makes me feel insane!!!” 

No kidding. The sight alone carries something that eats away at your sanity. 
It’s like losing SAN points or something… 

I feel my mind being dragged toward that monstrous vision, but then a vulgar, grating laugh yanks me back. 

“Iai Iai Iyaaa! Iaiyaiyaiyaiyaiyaiyaaa!” 

…Was that a laugh? 
It sounds like a parody villain laugh out of a manga, and sure enough, the source is right there in that rifted sky. 

“Iaiyaiya! To think mere mortals would dare drag me from the depths of dimension itself! Thou hast done well, but alas, being a man, thou hold no worth! Hadst thou been a maiden, mayhap I had cherished thee!” 

This voice, this pompous tone… who is this guy? 

“Iaiyaiyaiya! Tremble, O humans! Quake before thy god! I am King of the Gods, Ruler of All, Father of Heroes, Lover of every woman (so long as she be fair), All-Knowing and All-Powerful Sky God, Zeus am I! Iaiyaiyaiya!!!” 

…Wait. Zeus?! 
I’ve heard endless rumors but never actually met him until now! 

Hades and Poseidon both said he was a hopeless trash-god, but I wasn’t expecting… a tentacle-spewing monstrosity?! 

Whatever, hit him with a flash! Hyaa! 

“Gwoaaahhh?! It burneth! It scorcheth! Yet it harmeth me but little! Barely a scratch! Iaiyaiyaiya!” 

What the hell is this monster?! 
And that laugh is unbearable! Since when was he this kind of character? I bet Hades mocks him endlessly for it… 

“Iaiyaiya! Humans, bow in awe! Behold Zeus, whose pastime is to lay with wedded women!” 

Eat this: Holy Flash Dreischwarz. 

“Gyahhh! It burneth, yet I endure! For I am a High God! Hearken, mortals, and learn how unjustly was I sealed away till this day!” 

…Now he’s monologuing? 
I mean, if you got sealed, that’s justice, not misfortune. 
And if you’re sealed, why are you crawling out? That’s the real nonsense here! 

“Such cruel injustice! My own son, the foulest, most misshapen, most ungrateful of all—Hephaestus—did forge the Temple of Dimensional Distortion to bind me! Even after sealing me, still did he add to it, out of sheer spite! What grudge hath he? As mine own son, he ought without question to defy Hades and Poseidon alike to guard me!” 

I don’t need an explanation to know Hephaestus was 100% right to lock you up. 
And how dare you insult the god who gave me his greatest blessing. Right in front of me, no less. 

“Yet I am King of Gods! I falter not! And within that abyss was I met by another, an alien god that slumbered in the deep! By joining with it, I gained new might!” 

So that’s what led to this abomination? 
There’s no divinity left at all; you just fell all the way down. 

“With the power of the Outer God now joined unto me, shall I avenge mine own self! I shall erase this world that dared spurn me, and build anew a realm where Zeus alone is worshipped! And there shall dwell naught but maidens of sixteen to two-and-twenty years! All beyond three-and-twenty art but hags! Iaiyaiyaiyaiya!!!” 

…Every word out of his mouth is offensive. 

So it was you sowing discord among the people, wasn’t it?! 
That subliminal whisper twisting minds, pushing them toward hatred and war? 

To drag conflict into a world that finally knew peace...what kind of “god” does that?! 

“This, too, is the gift of the Outer God! All who heareth its voice shall be stripped of SAN and lose their wits! Though truth be told, to lack faith in me is madness already! Iaiyaiyaiyaiya!” 

So even the whole “chantless magic” mess was your doing? 
Everyone involved was acting a little off, after all. 

A lurking evil, warping the world from the shadows of the abyss… 
It’s unthinkable that such a monster was writhing unseen all along. 

And now, thanks to him, people stand ready to throw away peace and tear each other apart. 

I won’t let this thing shatter our world! 

“I was never meant to show myself, only whisper from the abyss, to drive men to slay each other. But since thou hast dragged me forth, thou must crave to perish by mine own hand! So be it, I shall grant thee a death so cruel it pierceth beyond madness itsel-GYAAAH!” 

Holy sword, unleash! 

Wicked-Holy Sword Dreischwarz, fulfill your purpose now! 

I declare it: a god who betrays peace must be smitten by justice!!! 

“Owwwowowowow! Fool! Though Hades’ holy sword may howl, it cannot wound one such as I, merged with the Outer Go- GYAAUGH!” 

So much for his smug attitude. His composure cracks instantly. 

“What sorcery! My body seizes! It grindeth apart! From within it crumbles! Nay, was that holy light eating away at me all this while?! I cannot endure another strike...!” 

Holy Sword Strash! 

“GYABAAAAHHHHHH!!!” 

Gods who wreak havoc without care deserve punishment. 
If he can’t repent, then let him suffer. 

“GYAAAAHHHHHH! GHRRRHHHHHHH! Shubr’nigg… Ph’nglui…!” 

Normally, no holy sword could bring down the highest god. 
But thanks to Hephaestus’ gift, the Hand of Supremacy, I can push its power far beyond its limit. 

This light holds the force of a true divine weapon, the kind Hades originally aimed for. 

And since Zeus fused with an Outer God, I tuned the sword to strike especially hard against that taint. 

How’s that, Zeus? This is the power of the Hephaestus you mocked. 
Regret your words as you dissolve into the light. 

“Cthughaaaahhhh! R’lyehhhhhhhhhhh!!!” 

Even so, he’s still the highest god in this world.  
I’ve blasted him with countless strikes, and still he won’t fully collapse. 

It’s exhausting… 

But I can feel it. I can finish this. Just one last push… 

“WAIT!” 

Not listening! Sh-beaaaaam! 

“GYAAAAHHHH! Stay thy hand! I bear thee no more ill will! Let us strike a truce! Let us reconcile! GYAAAHH!!!” 

I’ll stop once you’re erased. 

“What vile cruelty! Hast thou no fear of slaying a god?! What thou doest is sin most grievous!” 
“Nay, ‘tis the opposite. The noblest act there is.” 

Ooh? 
…That voice! 

It’s Hades! 
And beside him is Poseidon! 
The true chief gods of this world stand together! 

“Fallen brother… how low hast thou sunk. Once wert thou praised as the thunderbolt that cleaveth the heavens, yet now no trace of that glory remaineth.” 
“To bind thyself to an alien god and so slip free of Hephaestus’ chains... Aye, cunning craft indeed. Yet dearly hast thou paid for it.” 

The two great ruling gods who appear in the mortal world shine with divinity, standing in stark contrast to the squid-limbed evil god Zeus. 
Holy versus unholy, noble versus base... Two opposing forces lock eyes in confrontation. 

“Curses! Thou art nothing but lesser gods beneath me...!” 
“Now thou art no god, but an evil thing. And when such evil riseth to defile the earth, then must we gods descend to guard our children—mankind.” 

Hades and Poseidon. 
Their eyes are ablaze with absolute resolve. 

“Nine parts of ten hath the Saint already accomplished, yet were we to stand idle, it should shame us. Forgive us, Saint, yet must we take the final stroke.” 
“Aye, and for that end hath all assembled here.” 

Huh? 
A gentle light pours down from the heavens...! 

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• SAN値 (SAN value): a reference to the “sanity” mechanic in the tabletop rpg call of cthulhu, where witnessing eldritch horrors reduces a character’s mental stability. 

• Outer God references: parodies of lovecraftian names and phrases (cthugha and r'lyeh) 

• Holy Sword Strash: most likely a dragon quest reference where avan Strash is the protag's ultimate technique