Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 377 The End
Reason is crumbling, but everyone is gritting their teeth and persevering.

People were being dragged through the air, screaming as they fell into the mouth of the "Mother".

Almost every moment, the dragging force from the black threads was getting stronger.

Several times Josh felt like he could barely hold on, but when he looked back at the people of the Secret Order behind him, he inexplicably felt a surge of strength.

These refugees from the North are poor and destitute, but in terms of willpower, they are no less than anyone else.

The pulling force grew stronger and stronger, and Josh's consciousness gradually blurred, with only the obsession in his heart remaining, which even gradually became clearer under the resistance.

As reality faded and consciousness sank into the deep sea, just as I was about to lose my way, a blazing sun quietly burned across the sea.

That was his anchor.

A flood of knowledge inexplicably appeared in Josh's mind, instantly waking him up. He gasped for breath and looked around; the illusion had shattered.

The tugging from the black threads continued, but he found it much easier to handle.

He didn't know much about the extraordinary, only vaguely feeling that something solidified his understanding. When he tried to explore it, he discovered that it was...
"Holy Scripture?"

He turned his head and found that many of the esoteric refugees were subconsciously chanting the scriptures, and this was actually helping them resist the will of the "Mother".

But wasn't this holy book something he made up?
Moreover, the content
Josh suddenly shuddered. This matter must not be known to the lord.

aside.

Zoe was panting heavily; she felt she was about to give up.

A series of memories flashed before her eyes, and Zoe had a bad feeling. Could this be a revolving lantern?
Her parents' faces were still blurry. She entered the Duke's mansion as a maid and read through his privately collected novels.
A jumble of memories flooded back, and Zoe's gaze gradually became unfocused.

Ding!
For a moment, her mind cleared, and she seemed to see another thread tied to her body, dispelling the images that disturbed her mind.

What was that? She didn't know; she only remembered that she was Zoe.

Zoe, a maid in the manor, the first teacher of the banshees, the instructor of the literacy class, the lord's clerk, and a diplomat sent to Bloodharbor.

Which one is she?
The silk thread merely gave her another chance to fight back; to hold on, she still had to rely on herself. Zoe gritted her teeth, looking at those fragments of memories and identities. She needed to make choices, first solidify her self-awareness, and then concentrate her will.

Zoe's consciousness leaped between different identities, and her gaze gradually hardened.

No, none of these are it!

Regardless of her identity, it was not of her own will; she had always been going with the flow, and even the identities and status she had never dared to imagine before were all just luck.

She almost never controlled her own destiny, and never had her own will.

One's own will.
An insignificant memory suddenly surfaced in my mind.

“I want to go to the lower city.” She stood at the door, excited like a child, her gaze passing over Galahad and looking towards the vast Blood Harbor.

Gwen watched from afar as Zoe stood up in the shadows of the alley, a relieved smile spreading across her small face.

The hurricane howled, but neither the rain nor the black threads dared to approach the little girl.

She loosened her fingers slightly, and a thread flicked gently, slipping away from her fingertips.

If Hughes were to see this scene, it would probably look very familiar. This thread was the same one he used to pull the group into the link, and the other end of the thread in Gwen's hand was connected to Zoe.

On the distant highlands.

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

He was an extraordinary being, so dealing with the dragging of these black threads was not difficult for him—as it should be.

But he had just lost control in Castel recently, and his will and cognition were already unstable. He had just gone through a series of ups and downs before he stabilized.

He had just experienced another hallucination while struggling with his will. Of course, for a seasoned superhuman like him, a mere hallucination would not have much of an impact.

Moreover, it was a scene he had witnessed before, the one he saw in the Castel Cathedral, where an evil god was burning in a colossal stellar furnace.

These illusions could no longer disturb his mind.

To Galahad's surprise, his attempt to muster his will to fight against the "Mother" abruptly ended after the illusion appeared.

No, to be precise, the "loving mother" withdrew from the confrontation directly, almost as if she were fleeing.

Galahad was stunned by the scene. He had just mustered his will and was preparing to fight when he found that the enemy had disappeared.

Could there be something on Castel that can subdue evil gods?
He wasn't very knowledgeable about the extraordinary, and after thinking for a while, he decisively gave up his hesitation and turned to look at his lord.

Galahad had no doubt that the prince could withstand this test of will; he had never seen anyone with a more resolute will than the prince.

As he had imagined, the prince, though somewhat disheveled, remained firmly rooted to the spot under the pull of the black threads. He even drew his longsword and shouted something at the port guards, whose condition visibly stabilized.

Galahad breathed a sigh of relief; he should be able to hold out this round.

But his face was still full of worry. He had heard everything Mira had just said: [Motherly Love] would only get stronger and stronger. If he could hold on through this round, there would be another round, and the round after that, without end.

If sacrifice
Galahad sighed and didn't think about it anymore.

At the Blood Harbor docks, on the very center of the battlefield, [Mother] ended this round of devouring.

Mira looked around in surprise. She had thought that this time all mortals would be dragged into the mouth of the "Mother of Compassion," but that didn't happen.

Most people survived the test of willpower. They stood up, panting, their expressions much calmer. The test of willpower is also a kind of tempering, and those who can stand still have their own firm beliefs.

This sight moved both the banshees and Mira.

The banshees ceased firing. With [Mother] now enhanced, the bullets were much less effective; compared to her massive body, these shots were negligible.

Bullets weren't designed to deal with large monsters. Mira sighed, "It's come to this. I wonder how many sacrifices will be required."

After saying that, she suddenly frowned: "What are you looking at?"

The banshee standing in front of her had actually lost focus on the battlefield?
[Mother] was clearly in her strongest state, but the female demon opposite her didn't seem to care much. Instead, she stood still, lost in thought.
Nini blinked, and seeing Mira's unfriendly gaze, she said with a grin, "Oh, I just ran into something, sorry, could you repeat it again?"

Mira took a deep breath: "Do you know what's going on? [Mother] has grown to the point where even your amazing firearms are useless! You need to immediately decide who should be sacrificed!"

Looking at Nini's nonchalant attitude, she suddenly widened her eyes: "You guys...you're not planning to just run away, are you!?"

Indeed, they could absolutely escape if they were to do so.

Even ordinary people were able to escape, and although the [Mother] was powerful, she was not very good at hunting down enemies.

But running away would only allow the "loving mother" to continue growing, and there is no limit to how strong she can become.
More people will surely die, more cities will be razed to the ground, perhaps the "Mother of Love" will eventually be stopped by some church with all its might, or perhaps this world will ultimately be destroyed by Him.

Mira suddenly realized she had gone astray. She kept thinking about taking responsibility and solving the disaster caused by the arrival of the evil god, but... this wasn't the responsibility of these harbinger witches, was it?

Mira remembered them mentioning that they came from Castel, a distant island with no connection to Bloodharbor, and that these extraordinary beings weren't even human.

Why should alien races sacrifice themselves for the troubles caused by humans? And why should Castel bear the consequences of the disaster brought about by Blood Harbor?
What right does she have to force others to bear responsibilities that are not hers?

"I see, I'm sorry," Mira stammered. "You... you can run away if you want."

Then she saw Nini make a strange expression.

"Run away from what? I was just a little surprised when I connected."

"What cable?"

“It connects to the Heavenly Veil Beast—” Nini stretched out her hand and pointed to the top of her head.

Mira looked up at the sky, puzzled, and then froze in place.

It's raining in Blood Harbor.

Like ink splashed into the clouds, the sky darkened and turned black, and the wind whipped up a torrential downpour, making the whole world gloomy.

At this moment, the dark clouds seemed to have gone even lower.

No, those cumulonimbus clouds were indeed descending, as if being squeezed downwards by something, bulging out a huge oval shape.

A moment later, the clouds could no longer contain what was above, and the entire sky seemed to crack open as a huge shadow squeezed in, filling the entire field of vision.

Mira, standing below, couldn't see its full form at all; she only felt the enormous shadow pressing down from above, as if the sky had fallen to earth.

As the giant beast descended from the sky, its massive propellers stirred up wisps of smoke, and its circular tail fins seemed to emerge from the clouds, like a gateway to another world.

At its other end, sharp and menacing shark teeth paint emerged first from the clouds, as if biting a hole in the sky, instantly filling the view with a sinister grin.

The colossal Mother, as large as a mountain, makes humans appear like insects standing beside her, and beneath the giant beast that appears in the sky, she too is an insect.

The heavy, dark clouds were forcefully torn apart, revealing a pure blue sky and warm sunlight. A storm was just a few steps away, yet sunlight streamed down Mira's face.

In the storm-shrouded Blood Harbor, the entire [Mother] was bathed in sunlight, and above Her head was a colossal celestial beast that tore through the sky, a scene that left everyone present stunned.

Mira looked up at the clear sky, then down at the wind and rain around her, as if she were looking up at a divine kingdom from hell.

Is the person before her a god descended to earth?
"Sorry, sorry, they just entered the link's range. I'm guiding them to the descent coordinates—" Nini said, waving to the airship. The aerial behemoth responded with its horn, and a huge hum echoed throughout Blood Harbor.

Several banshees could be vaguely seen controlling the machinery inside the airship; their hands, which were usually holding weapons, were surprisingly adept at manipulating the machines.

What kind of creatures are these?
The succubi on the dock put away their weapons and retreated back into the sea in an orderly fashion. Nini also turned and left.

"Miss Mira, it was a pleasure to meet you. It's a pity we have to part ways soon. Don't worry, I will write a special report to remember you."

Mira stared blankly at Nini as she walked away, then looked up at the giant beast in the sky. Suddenly, she seemed to understand something, and her eyes cleared a little.

She placed her hands on her chest and bowed slightly to Nini.

The next moment, another rain fell from the clear sky, and countless black dots fell from below the airship like raindrops.

Everything seemed to slow down.

Nini glanced at Mila one last time, but all she saw was Mila's back in the flames.

The orange light illuminated her thin profile, and for the first time, a smile appeared on her face, as if she had transformed back into the little girl who had received the food.

In the distance, the prince stared blankly at the airship piercing through the clouds.

He pointed at the Sky Beast, his finger trembling, and staggered as he looked at his knight.

Galahad rushed to his side, pinned him to the ground, and used his body to shield the prince from shrapnel from the bombing.

But the prince stubbornly raised his head, his eyes fixed on the bombs falling like rain, and bursts of crimson flames bloomed wildly in his eyes.

Gwen sat on the edge of the clock tower's dome.

Her friends stood around her, silent before the enormous celestial beast, their faces showing fear, dread, or awe.

But Gwen watched with great interest, her legs swinging in the air as if she were watching fireworks.

When you're with your friends, there's nothing to be afraid of.

The wind whipped her snow-white hair, and the torrential rain didn't wet her sleeves at all.

(End of this chapter)