Chapter 190 – Tentacle Mushroom (1)
A few days later, four people – me, Jenny, Aris, and Lena – went to the cathedral after being called by the saint. Her saintess was waiting for us in her own office.
“Zion. How have you been?”
“Yes. I was doing well thanks to Saint Seren’s consideration. Prince Thorkell, thank you.”
“Yes…”
The saint responds with a bitter look on her face that reflects her guilt. The day after Prince Thorkel was brainwashed by me, he asked for understanding from the Sun Church and immediately returned to the Empire. It is said that the faces of Thorkel and his men looked very happy. It is quite unnatural for a person who previously criticized the Church of Fortune so much and asked the Church of the Sun to join them to return with a bright expression without hearing the answer from the Church of the Sun. Of course, Saint Seren guesses the dark truth hidden behind it.
‘Saint Seren will be stressed, so we should stop talking about Thorkell.’
“Saint. “What did you call me for?”
“It was called because of the tentacle mushroom.”
“Did the Pope say he would help?”
“No. The Pope strongly opposed it.”
“I already guessed it, but can I at least know the reason?”
“First, I have to explain why the Tentacle Mushroom is sealed underground in the Sun Bridge. Approximately 2,000 years ago, all the people and livestock in a settlement were transformed into hideous monsters with tentacles sprouting from their skin. The tentacle monsters moved to nearby villages, attacking other creatures and corrupting them into tentacles. Fortunately, because the settlement was deep in the forest, there were not many additional casualties until the Sun Church priests and paladins purged the tentacle monsters. According to the investigation, the starting point of the tentacle monster was a cave about 4 km away from the village. The interior of this cave was covered with tentacles, and it is said that if a creature was exposed to the spores emitted by the tentacles beyond their limits, they would turn into a tentacle monster. The Sun Church at the time had priests purify the cave little by little and went inside and found a purple mushroom that seemed to be the main culprit.”
“That’s a tentacle mushroom.”
“That’s right.”
“But why did you seal it instead of destroying it?”
“The Tentacle Mushroom was not destroyed by any means and was said to release a significant amount of spores whenever it was attacked. It was only after several priests who had been exposed to the spores for a long time were transformed into tentacle monsters that the Church of the Sun gave up trying to destroy the tentacle mushrooms. The saint and the Pope at the time declared the Tentacle Mushroom a national disaster, sealed it in a sacred sphere of light, and imprisoned it in the basement of the Church of the Sun to prevent it from falling into the hands of the evil one. Of course, it also prevented the spread of rumors about tentacle mushrooms.”
“Wow… That’s a really dangerous mushroom. Sister Saule told me to eat those mushrooms?”
“Well, that’s right.”
Saint Seren answers in an uncertain tone.
‘Sister Saule. ‘This is okay, right?’
Honestly, it’s scary, but I’ve come this far, and I can’t go back.
‘Okay. ‘I’m going to go as far as I can.’
I gathered my courage and spoke with a serious face.
“Saint. Tentacle Mushroom. “Let me try it.”
“You have decided. Let me guide you to tentacle mushrooms. “I can’t break through the seal on my own, so you need to help me.”
Haha. “Don’t worry about that.”
‘The seal can be easily broken through with Lena’s magic knowledge and Aris’ space sword.’
When the saint stood up and opened the door to her office, her ten loyal followers followed her. Among these was the priest Bernard, the saint’s right-hand man. The saint led us to a tightly closed iron door in the corner of the first floor of the cathedral. The iron door looked rough and not particularly rusty, but it was emitting a strong scent of death that made the fur stand on end. When the saint placed her hand on the iron door and recited her incantation, the iron door creaked and opened automatically. Below the iron gate was a long dark staircase. Bernard created light using holy magic and went down first, and we followed him.
Kwiik boom
After descending a certain distance, I heard the sound of the iron door closing and locking itself behind me. The sound of our footsteps echoed on the stone steps.
Toggak Toggak Toggak
The saint began to explain in her calm voice.
“The darkness of the Sun Bridge lies here.”
There was a door at the bottom of the stairs, and when I opened it and went in, a rotten, bloody smell hit me, it stung my nose, and I heard screams of pain.
“Aaaaah!!!!”
“Stop! Oh, no! Kwaaaaa!”
“Kwaeuuuuu us us us
“Say it again. “Where did you get the sacred relics of the Apocalypse Church?”
This was a prison and a torture chamber. Behind the bars are prisoners with gaunt looks, some of whom have lost their senses or have parts of their bodies damaged. Inside a cage, a torturer wearing a black mask is torturing a prisoner. A prisoner nailed to a cross. A prisoner who is fixed to a wooden frame with ropes and has his limbs extended. A prisoner whose legs are cut off with a saw. The torturers carried out their torture in silence, not paying much attention to our passing.
When I glanced at the saint, tears were falling from her eyes.
“Do not hate your torturers. They don’t torture to have fun. Even among the most faithful followers of the Church of the Sun, those who are loudmouthed are chosen as torturers. These are martyrs who chose to commit the sin of torture and smell the foul smell of heresy for the greater good.”
‘It’s not my place to say anything, but these people are crazy too.’
The eyes of the saint and her followers were full of pity and pity for her tormentors. In one of the cages, several priests were sitting close together in a small space, and they said that they were reflecting because they doubted God.
When we reached the end of the torture chamber, an iron door with various magical designs appeared.
“The plague god is coming back 15 years after sealing the ‘plague-inducing necklace’ made from his own fingernails. Behind this door are sealed evil things that we have not been able to remove. Be careful not to be corroded by evil.”
When the saint placed her hand on the door and pushed in her overwhelming divine power, the patterns on her iron door glowed brightly, and the door opened, and at the same time, a black energy that looked evil to anyone was pouring out.
“Wooweee!!”
“Ugh… Ugh!”
People around me start sweating like rain and nauseating. Some people have severe headaches and hold their heads and frown. Bernard, an excellent priest, is also seen biting his lip as if he is feeling a little tired. The only people who were okay here were Saint Seren, me, and her wives.
‘Huh? Let’s say it’s okay because the saint has a lot of divine power, and her wives are mentally immune because of the blessing of being a girl in true love. But why am I okay? Is it because he is a world champion?’
My worries were forgotten along with the saint’s cry.
“The sacred ring of purification!”
As her bright energy spreads out around her, people regain stability. Perhaps it is an aura-type magic, but the bright energy stays subtly in the saint’s body and continuously pushes out the black energy.
“Let’s go in.”
After passing through the door and going down the dark stairs, I found myself in an underground hallway of a reasonable length, with several iron doors on either side. There was a small iron bar on the top of the iron door that allowed you to see inside. It was reminiscent of a prison or a mental hospital ward where violent criminals are imprisoned.
“Saint. What are these iron gates?”
“Evil things are sealed inside.”
“Among these are tentacle mushrooms?”
“Yes.”
The saint walked forward with an expression as if she did not want to stay here even for a moment. She wrote in detail what was sealed in front of each iron door.
「Bochu Staff: The God of Pervert can turn a man into a Bochu with a staff made by grinding his own soul. It is so dangerous that the order created by the Sun God will collapse if it falls into the wrong hands. Since it cannot be destroyed, it is sealed here.”
Beyond the iron door, a magic girl wand with a heart is placed in a sphere of light.
‘And. ‘Isn’t it a blessing to someone?’
「Fragment of Tentacle God Kyle: A mass of tentacles from a divine being that came from another dimension. By maximizing the desires and malice of surrounding intelligent beings, it causes crimes such as rape, murder, and orgies, and is the cause of the destruction of the Kingdom of Giorelle and Sohra. When it touches the tentacle mass, it is sucked in and fused together. Since it cannot be destroyed, it is sealed here.”
Beyond the iron door is a mass of pulsating tentacles wrapped in chains of light.
Similar evil things are sealed inside the surrounding iron gate. There was also an iron door at the end of the hallway, which was the most rusty and seemed to have the most evil energy coming out of it. Suddenly, I heard a voice crying out for me from there.
“Come here…”
“I waited…”
“You…”
A neutral voice that resonates directly in your head rather than through your ears. I don’t think other people can hear it.
“Wear it…”
“Once again…”
“Together…”
There doesn’t seem to be any malice in the voice. Rather, the emotions felt are deep longing and joy. I approached the room at the end of the hallway as if possessed.
「Evil God’s Jjoljjol: I, Hero Christopher Robin, defeat the evil god whose name I don’t even want to mention, and seal the evil god’s only keepsake, this impure and corrupted suit, here. This clothing tempts and corrupts the surrounding intelligent beings, and is restored even if destroyed. From now on, this place will be named the Underground Sealing Center and will be managed directly by the Sun Bridge. This item must never be leaked outside.”
Beyond the iron gate, you can see a blue Jjoljol standing in a sphere of light. The chest area has ‘J’ written in red inside a yellow inverted triangle, and the buttocks area is painted to look like she is wearing red panties. There is a round hole near the crotch, so when you wear it, your dick sticks out like a natural. Among the Earth hero movies, it seems to be a pervert version of someone super powerful from outer space.
‘That Jjoljjol. I’ve seen it. Ah! When I ate the Plenty Mushroom after killing Piglet, the evil spirit in the fantasy was wearing it.’
“Nice to meet you…”
“I’m lonely…”
Jjoljjol’s emotions flow in. Looking at Jjoljjol, I feel a sense of familiarity, as if we were one body.
‘That Jjoljjol. It may look like an asshole, but it’s the best armor on the continent. I can just tell. I want to wear you…’
That Jjoljjol was originally mine. It was a part of my body. I want Jjoljjol back. No. We need to get it back.
In order to get to Jjoljjol, I grabbed the handle of the iron door and gave strength.
