Chapter 11

It was my father's voice.

The father is questioning.

The lungs, which were already struggling, suddenly felt like they were being tightened by an invisible hand, making it extremely difficult to breathe in or out.

My father didn't fall asleep.

Discovered by my father.

what to do?

What should I do now?

Why is there a woman in the basement of the Akunela mansion?

Why is she covered in blood?

Why is she calling for help?

What exactly is my father doing?

If you ask him directly, will he tell you?

If you ask him calmly...

Miel's body was as stiff as if he had been frozen in the snow all night.

Reason told him that he had to make a sound as soon as possible, but his throat felt like it was being strangled and he couldn't utter a syllable for a long time.

In contrast to his tenseness, Cthulhu held him horizontally in a relaxed manner, without any intention of turning around, as if he didn't hear the questioning from behind him at all, or as if he wanted to use his body to separate the father and son who were in a delicate atmosphere.

On one side was the scream of a woman. She was like seeing the devil from the nine hells, shouting with all her might before her life came to an end.

On the other side, Miel's father, Bros, quickly chanted a spell.

Miel heard clearly in his dying breath, this familiar spell, this is -

"Ice Sigh."

Bross finished chanting the spell and announced the magic he used in a sighing tone.

As soon as he finished speaking, a biting cold air emerged from behind Cthulhu, quickly filling the entire basement. It invaded the lungs with every breath, freezing not only the internal organs but even the bone marrow.

Before losing consciousness, Miel's last move was to raise his arms and hug Cthulhu's neck tightly, just like a person falling off a cliff instinctively grabbing a straw at hand.

The last action Cthulhu took was to let Miel hug him, maintaining the position of holding him horizontally, and his body quickly secreted black liquid, wrapping himself and Miel.

Miel's consciousness went blank.

He didn't remember what happened after he was wrapped in the black liquid.

All I know is that when I opened my eyes again, my vision was pulled back to that dreamlike world, the place Cthulhu called "R'lyeh".

There are brightly colored tentacles beneath him, and on his body as well.

He used Cthulhu's tentacles as a bed, pillow, quilt, and... a pillow.

A tentacle lay quietly in his arms. Perhaps seeing that he was awake, it poked his forehead lightly with the tip, leaving a little cool mucus.

Miel: “…”

No longer immune to this crazy scene, Miel sat up from a pile of wriggling tentacles and looked at the roots of all the tentacles.

I saw a beautiful male elf sitting there. Although he was beautiful, I couldn't see his face clearly, nor could I tell the colors of his skin, hair, and eyes. The length of his hair was also confusing, but it seemed to be curved in a certain arc.

He was naked and facing sideways towards Miel, sitting on the tentacles like Miel, with his legs crossed, his face looking a little absent-minded, as if he was thinking about something.

All the tentacles extend from behind his waist, making it look like his tail, but they are actually closer to his hands.

"Am I dead?" Miel asked tentatively.

Cthulhu didn't look at him. He just turned sideways to him and said in a low and magnetic voice: "I'm sorry."

This answer... Is he really dead?

"Well... in the end, I still don't know what my father was doing."

Miel sighed, not knowing whether he felt more regret or relief.

The regret, of course, is that he was unable to learn the truth about the missing person's case and died in an unclear manner.

I felt relieved because I had never expected the world after death to be like this. It wasn't scary at all. Compared to that dark and narrow basement, it was like heaven.

Cthulhu maintained his original sitting position without moving, and the tentacles under his body squirmed, moving his entire body like a statue, allowing him to face Miel.

Miel stared at him for a moment, lowering his gaze before his body went strange.

Although he was affected by Cthulhu's beautiful and open body, he still caught the expression of "guilt" on his face.

Instinct took over, and Miel subconsciously said something to comfort him: "Well... there's nothing we can do since he's already dead."

After comforting him, I realized that I was a little too self-indulgent.

Is it wrong to think that a great Old One would sincerely apologize for failing to protect himself?

However, the great Cthulhu sincerely apologized: "I said I would protect you, more than once, but I failed to do so. I have once again violated the oath I made with my own mouth. I am truly sorry."

Miel turned his gaze back to him, this time focusing more on his face.

Cthulhu lowered his eyes, his face kept changing, each one gave people a different feeling, but the expression on each face was the same.

Unconcealed guilt and regret.

"I must admit that the combat power I can provide you in my dormant state is very limited," he said. "You must make more active use of the magic pool I lent you."

"Wait?" Miel felt as if he had heard something extraordinary. "In a sleeping state?"

"Yes, I am still asleep." Cthulhu responded, "I don't know when I will wake up. It may take until the stars return to their original positions. I may never wake up completely. So, don't rely too much on me. Use the magic I taught you more actively."

Miel: "If you are still asleep, then the one talking to me now is..."

Cthulhu: "A tentacle."

Serious tone, serious expression, doesn't sound like a joke.

"It's a little bigger than the tentacles you see now... much bigger." Cthulhu added.

Miel couldn't imagine how big one of Cthulhu's tentacles was, how many tentacles he had, and...

"You mean, the one talking to me now isn't Cthulhu, but just a tentacle of the great Cthulhu?"

——It’s totally unimaginable.

"How can I explain it so that you can understand..." Cthulhu raised one hand and touched his chin in thought.

He didn't keep Miel waiting for too long.

"Let me put it this way. Do you think humans and elves only have one brain?"

"...In my understanding, is this correct?"

"No, two, at least two," Cthulhu responded. "Your left brain and right brain can be separated. Suppose only the left brain is awake, while the right brain is still asleep—that's my current state. However, the sleeping part is a bit more, not just a little bit more. The awake part probably only accounts for one ten-thousandth of the sleeping part."

Miel: “…”

Cthulhu: "I know this is hard for you to understand..."

"No, that's not important to me." Miel interrupted him calmly, "Whether you are a tentacle or something else, the only thing I want to know is - can you represent Cthulhu?"

The answer is: "Of course."

Miel: "Even just a tentacle?"

"Yes."

"Just like your left and right brains represent you, each of my tentacles represents me."

"When you're thinking, you're usually not aware of whether you're thinking with your left brain or your right brain, and that's the same with me."

"It just so happens that only one of my tentacle is awake right now, so I can be sure that my consciousness at this moment comes from this tentacle."

"Consciousness born in different parts of the body is definitely different, just like your left brain tends to be more logical and your right brain more intuitive. My current consciousness is mainly driven by curiosity and the desire to explore."

"I can't guarantee that my attitude towards you won't change as I gradually wake up, because I have tens of thousands of tentacles, tens of thousands of personalities, and too many variables."

"However, I can still guarantee the following three things——"

"First of all, once the contract is signed, even I cannot tear it up at will. What I lend you is not the magic power of a tentacle, but my entire magic pool. I hope you can use it well and more actively."

"Secondly, my dedication to keeping my oath will never change. Since I have sworn to protect you, I will do my best no matter what."

"Finally, my memory of you will not disappear as I gradually wake up. It will only be engraved on my mind with more of my brain."

"I was awakened by the turbulence of time and space, and when I opened my eyes I saw you sinking towards me."

"I instinctively touched you, grabbed you, and dragged you into my dream, thus arbitrarily changing your fate."

"I am amazed by your beautiful face and your body structure that is like a work of art. I have regained my curiosity about humans and then about the world."

"I felt what you felt, your humiliation, your struggle, your silent crying, your suffocation near death."

"—I will remember all of this until the Supreme Azathoth awakens from His chaotic dream and the world comes to an end."

Cthulhu finished.

He was explaining why even if only one tentacle was awake, he was still the great Cthulhu.

But Miel always felt that he was confessing to himself.

"A beautiful face and a body that is a work of art..."

——The Old Ones indeed have an extreme perception and pursuit of "beauty".

"I will remember all of this..."

——Don’t remember my humiliation!

Miel sighed, then raised the corners of his lips in some pleasure: "So, I'm still alive, right?"

If he were truly dead, Cthulhu wouldn't have needed to go to the trouble of assuring him that the contract would remain in effect.

Miel thought of the black liquid he saw before he lost consciousness.

"You protected me? What is that black liquid?" he asked curiously.

Cthulhu raised his eyes and stared at him for a while, with a probing look in his eyes.

He spoke again after a moment and gave a negative answer: "No, you are dead."

"Huh?"

"Your father used the 'Ice Sigh' to turn you into an ice sculpture, and you died from the extreme cold. All I can do is secrete a mucus that can paralyze your nerves and alleviate pain, so that your death will be as painless as possible."

"That……"

"I don't know why you resurrected here and brought me along. I thought you knew... So, you forgot? The first time you saw me, you exploded into a firework, and blood splattered all over me. But you came back to life not long after. After that, I didn't dare reveal my full appearance to you—even though I had shrunk to the size of a human..."

ha?

There is absolutely no such memory.

Well, if you’re blown away at first sight, you won’t have time to remember it.

Wait, so...

"Resurrection, is that my ability?"

Miel suddenly thought of the sentence repeatedly emphasized in the contract - until you truly die.

So that's what happened.

The author has something to say:

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Fun fact: Octopuses have a large number of neurons and memory systems distributed on their tentacles. They are highly autonomous and can perform complex movements independently based on experience.

Cthulhu:?

Cthulhu: I am not an octopus, I really have brains on my tentacles [dog head holding a rose]

Miel: So I have tens of thousands of attacks [question mark]

Author: ...That’s not impossible.