They all call me an Outer God.

Chapter 423 The Great Race
“No.” Ria shook his head. People should feel fear when faced with the unknown, but he still looked calm and showed no fear whatsoever.

Perhaps he has become numb and can no longer feel fear.

Since conventional methods are ineffective against them, it's better to build a defensive line first to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Thinking this, countless golden eyes appeared on Ria's body. Shamir looked at Ria and suddenly noticed that his body was trembling, and he was trembling with excitement.

"what happened to you?"

“I found that the barrier didn’t work on them.”

"Isn't this a bad thing?"

“There’s something even worse. We might not be able to escape. Those guys have also built a barrier in the sky.”

"So what's making you excited?"

"Please understand, I've lost control of my emotions since my meme level increased. But we can reveal some of our methods first, so we can see what these guys are up to."

As she spoke, Ria suddenly transformed into a cloud of black mist. Then, the black mist spread out and rapidly transformed into huge and flamboyant black tentacles that attacked the hostile phantom.

The eyes on these phantoms gleam with golden light, and just one glance is enough to cause a hundred times more mental pollution than the creatures seen on the beach before.

The moment the tentacles appeared, one of them lifted Shamir up to the top. The pointed-hat men around them, instead of feeling fear or apprehension, retreated quickly as if they had seen something worth studying. They then formed a circle and chanted unknown incantations.

"If you use the power of trade, you might be able to influence these people."

Shamir had a bad feeling: "These people come from another dimension, and maybe even from other planets in the universe. Do you know how much danger outsiders pose to this planet?"

"It doesn't matter."

Ria comforted him, saying, "For this planet, not many of the gods and supernatural beings are natives. It seems like everyone is just here for team building."

“Even the gods are not local residents.”

"How come you still have the leisure to joke around now?!"

Now that Shamir has merged with the consciousness of the human and the King of Death Dreams, he is naturally not as calm as before. He is afraid that Ria will not be able to withstand the attacks of those guys, and then they will be trapped in the alternate dimension together.

If it were the original Geragi, it would be fine, but the problem is that its true form has not awakened. It is now just a fragmented consciousness. If the consciousness dissipates, it may not have much impact on the true form, but if it dies, it is truly dead.

The red moon in the sky still shone with an eerie light, while the people in pointed hats on the ground continued to approach Ria with their arms crossed.

Suddenly, as their incantation reached a certain point, countless black and red chains surged from the seawater, wrapping around the dark tentacles. No matter how the tentacles struggled, the chains remained unmoved, as if firmly embedded in their flesh.

Trapped at the very top, Shamir was already shocked by the sight below. He saw that the tentacles resembled a huge whale being targeted by numerous whaling ships, struggling but unable to escape the clutches of the whalers.

Even though he knew that Ria was most likely doing it on purpose, he still couldn't help but feel worried for her.

"Boom!!!"

A tentacle slammed heavily onto the ground, kicking up countless grains of sand, as if the entire beach was trembling.

The chains were meant to drag the tentacles into the sea. Everyone stood on either side of the chains, as if eagerly anticipating the completion of the ritual. Their devout faces resembled those of someone performing a grand sacrifice, with the tentacles bound by the chains as the offerings.

Shamir could have remained aloof at the top, appreciating the tentacles' desperate resistance, but soon he noticed that the tentacles binding him were loosening.

Samuel was immediately terrified: "Don't let go! Don't let go! No!!! Throw me out, or I won't play with you anymore—"

However, it was too late. The powerless tentacles landed motionless on the ground as if paralyzed, as if they had suddenly lost all life. Shamir also fell from a height of several hundred meters in an instant. Fortunately, he landed on one of the tentacles, which prevented him from being killed by the fall.

But in that instant, he still felt an unbearable pain coming from his internal organs and bones.

The eyes on the black tentacles had all closed, and soon they disappeared, leaving Ria and Shamir lying on the beach. The black and red chains instantly bound the two of them, dragging them into the ocean.

At this point, the men in pointed hats smiled with satisfaction and walked together toward the sea until the water completely covered their bodies.

……

"Hardek?"

"..."

"Hardek! Hardek, wake up! Have you forgotten what an important day today is?"

Who is Haddock?
Ria woke up groggily to find herself in front of a strange woman who looked at her anxiously, muttering the name Haddock.

Just as Ria was about to ask if the person had called him by the wrong name or mistaken him for someone else, he suddenly felt a consciousness that didn't belong to him appear in his mind.

This consciousness desperately wants to speak, but for some reason, it cannot utter a sound.

Not only is he unable to speak, but Lia can also sense that his emotions are extremely unstable, filled with negative thoughts, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he is on the verge of collapse.

So while Ria focused on dealing with the woman in front of her and exchanging pleasantries, she also engaged in friendly communication with that consciousness in her mind.

He had warned Geraki before that if consciousness were to infiltrate one's own consciousness, it would lead to a very miserable outcome, and it was not advisable to try it unless one's consciousness was beyond that of an ordinary person.

He has to endure all sorts of different voices in his mind every day, and it's already his limit to keep his mind from collapsing.

Every day, whether awake or asleep, Ria could hear a multitude of voices calling to him. Perhaps those voices were his followers, perhaps they were Hephaestus, bored and looking for amusement, wanting to see if he had any new entertainment for them, or perhaps something else entirely...

Unfortunately, the consciousness named Haddock fell into a pile of consciousnesses.

When Liya finally found him amidst the cacophony of voices, he was already overwhelmed by a group of consciousnesses called Hephaestus. The moment he saw Liya, Haddock couldn't help but shout out in excitement.

Kill me! Kill me, please kill me!

Haddock asked Ria to give him a quick death right now and kill him.

The Hephaestus began to comfort the man.

Why are you so young and so reckless, courting death? Young people these days shouldn't do that.

Just think about your parents.

I have no parents.

Think about your wife.

My wife ran off with someone else.

[You still have brothers] [They're the ones who ran away with my brother]

【…】

Think about your child.

The child is theirs.

"...Die! Your life has no value anymore."

One of Hephaestus roared, while another group disagreed with his point of view.

【Don't kill him! If you kill us, the show will be ruined. We can keep him alive and torture him slowly.】

No, no, no, he's already suffered enough, let him go.

Are you still Hephaestus? If you continue to oppose everyone, we'll have the Lord silence you, then kick you out, and beat you every time we see you outside.

Ria: "..."

"cough."

Ria asked them if they knew what was going on. He only remembered being dragged into the sea, and when he woke up, there was a consciousness in his mind called Haddock.

Moreover, his body was still the same as before, and had not changed, yet the woman in front of him firmly believed that he was Haddock.

So, who exactly is this person who has this awareness?

[They are Is] people.

The Hephaestus were generous in telling Ria about a group of beings in this world called the "Great Race of Is," who live through a long river of time and can project their consciousness across time, thereby exchanging bodies with other beings.

Their history is so long that it can even rival that of the Yandalos Hounds, but the great race of Yith was once tragically wiped out by the flying hydra, and since then these creatures have been forced to leave their homeland and wander far from home.

They possess other creatures in order to continue the civilization of their race, and this person named Haddock is a projection of the consciousness of a great race.

"No wonder normal attacks can't affect them; they are consciousness projections that transcend the dimensions of time."

Lia seemed to be deep in thought.

The Hephaestus also said that the consciousness of these races could be projected onto any living being, most commonly insects, but rarely onto humans. Perhaps even they are unconsciously drawn to human civilization in the vast universe.

[Haha, of all people to choose, you had to possess Faceless Man. Are you trying to make us all laugh to death, you unlucky fellow?]

They continued to reopen old wounds in Haddock's body.

Who is that woman in front of you? Is she your wife who ran off with your brother?

Can you please stop talking about him?

Why haven't you been kicked out yet?

【…】

I said, "Why don't you stay and keep us company? We're bored anyway. All you have to do every day is keep us company, chat with us, and help us relax."

[I won't speak to the Chaos Messenger's avatar! Get me out of here right now, I don't want to stay here anymore!]

Getting in is easy, but getting out is hard.

Don't think we don't know what kind of wicked schemes your race is plotting. You actually targeted Faceless and captured him like prey!

They even captured that slug. I must say, your achievements today are enough for your entire race to boast about for a trillion years. Of course, this matter could also bring you utter destruction.

Just like when the flying hydra found you, we could do the same thing to you if He gave the order.

The Hephaestus were viciously threatening Haddock; if Haddock had a tangible consciousness, he would probably be terrified.

The Hephaestus continued to mock it, and by extension, mocked Ria.

[And you too, in such a short time, you've already been outmaneuvered by these small fry. If you feel your brain isn't working properly anymore, we don't mind adding an idiot to your meme list.]

From now on, we will be in charge of safeguarding the divine status.

Having witnessed Delos's attitude toward the beach, Ria knew that these Iss were not as simple as Hephaestus and his ilk casually made them out to be.

These clones are so active now, they might just be chatting in their minds, they only need to move their lips, there's no need to worry about a real fight, and if a fight really breaks out, they have the numbers and the power to fight, they can even call on the main body if they can't win.

This race is far more complex than they describe. Their ability to project consciousness across time proves they have a talent for time. So why would such a race appear here?
Ria was curious about what they wanted to do, and the Hephaestus were also intrigued.

【Then why don't you temporarily impersonate Haddock and see what these Is people want to do? As for that poor kid Haddock, we'll treat him well.】

As they were talking, the Hephaestus fell silent. Ria couldn't help but guess that the consciousness of the War Knight that had attached itself to him had probably been disturbed many times, but even so, it still stayed in Ria's mind for quite a while, which showed how resilient its consciousness was.

Thinking of this, Ria continued to look at the woman in front of her. Her name was Mafa, and she was Haddock's neighbor. The room she was in was not Haddock's room, but a cage.

The ground was covered with damp straw, insects and ants crawled in the corners, and there were even half-eaten remains of rats.

"So what is this important day, Mafa? I've been locked up here every day and I'm starting to forget things. Can you say it again?"

"I think you've been locked up for too long and have become senile. Have you even forgotten why you were locked up here in the first place?"
As the most outstanding artist in your tribe, you promised to paint the most perfect portrait of the king, but instead you painted him as an ugly, twisted monster, and you insist that that's what the king actually looks like.

If you can't produce a work that satisfies him, you'll soon be on the execution rack—they'll chop off your head!

Is there such a thing?
He couldn't help but ask Haddock in his mind, "Why did you depict the king as a monster?"

"I can't help it. Everyone says the king's appearance is unparalleled, but in my eyes, it's just a filth hidden under the yellow robe. As a realist artist, I can't go against my artistic beliefs."

I have always believed that art transcends everything; it is the sanctuary of the soul, a sacred creation that should not be touched. Anyone who dares to tamper with art is a sinner, and I cannot go against the conscience of an artist!

"You actually have such ambition."

Ria looked at him with awe: "But you are about to be beheaded... no, it is I who will be beheaded."

"Forget it, it's not like I'll die from having my head chopped off, it's not a big deal."

(End of this chapter)