They all call me an Outer God.

Chapter 52 Ode to the Gale! The Abyss!
"Under their influence, the heavy rain is concentrated around the time of the Rain Festival. During these days, they have the advantage of having the weather on their own and begin to prey on humans to increase their food supply."

"And why do they do this?"

It's very simple, the essence of life.

"Procreation".

"Perhaps when people eat 'fish,' more bighead fish will be bred, and those fish-people will use these as food, forming their own trade chain, and even developing civilization."

“I’ve guessed some of these things too… You said it was just a guess, right? Don’t scare me!” Steyr now felt that Ria was much more terrifying than any other supernatural being he had ever seen. At least supernatural beings wouldn’t suddenly analyze so many horrifying and terrifying stories for him.

The essence of terror is the unknown; no one would feel good hearing that they have been treated like livestock, being used to catch bighead carp without their knowledge.

"Speaking of which, haven't you ever gotten caught in the rain? How come you're alright?"

"Drenched."

Without hesitation, Lia made up an excuse: "My condition is too serious. The doctor diagnosed me with late-stage contamination disease. The root of the disease has penetrated deep into my bone marrow. Even if external contaminants want to enter my body, it will be as difficult as navigating a maze."

He rolled up his sleeve to show Steyr an eye on his arm. The golden eye rolled halfway around and met Steyr's gaze. Steyr immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

"By the sun above! Even though I also contracted the contamination disease, all I got on my body were dense, fleshy bumps. So these things can turn into eyes in the later stages!?"

"These things vary from person to person, so don't get excited."

Thinking about it another way, you might not necessarily grow eyes; perhaps the small bumps will turn into fleshy tendrils, or they might ooze yellow pus frequently, or they might even develop into severe shingles…

"Then it would be better to have eyes!" Steyr was not comforted at all; instead, he became even more distraught.

He was clutching his head, desperately needing to solidify his meme: "Do you know how to act more like an idiot? I feel like this illness can't be delayed for a moment longer. Kelcha, you should hurry up and find the next meme too."

"Gero, oh Gero, Gero! Where are you at this time!"

If even a hotel dares to so brazenly serve its guests strange and unusual foods, fattening them up to feed themselves, it's unimaginable what might happen elsewhere.

“I said, how about we take a gamble?” Lia suggested.

"What are you gambling?"

"We're betting something amazing will happen next time it rains. Of course, there's no wager this time; it's just for fun."

“Okay.” Steyr nodded, and they stayed in the tavern, waiting for the next downpour.

This period of time did not last long.

In order to predict the weather in advance, Steyr placed a transparent weather bottle on the table. The bottle was made of clear crystal and filled with a colorless liquid.

When the rainstorm hit, white suspended sediment suddenly precipitated in the liquid in the bottle, and the originally colorless solution gradually became cloudy.

"This change means it's starting to rain."

Ria stared at the weather bottle and said something, but unexpectedly Steyer suddenly stood up and walked out of the tavern without a word.

At this moment, it wasn't just him; many people in the tavern moved towards the door with numb expressions, their shoes making a heavy thud as they rubbed against the floor.

"Wake up."

Ria raised her cane and tapped Steyr's shinbone, instantly jolting him awake.

He clutched his calf, wanting to scream, but stopped himself after seeing what was happening around him.

Those people had cloudy, lifeless eyes, and their pupils were dilated to the maximum—people in the Grani region don't have dark irises to begin with, so any change in their pupils makes them quite clear-eyed.

Now, this group of people walked straight into the street, into the rain, and stretched their hands towards the sky. They seemed to be embracing the rain, their mouths opening and closing, their cheeks puffing out, inexplicably reminiscent of fish poking their heads out of the water on a rainy day.

They formed several circles, some in groups of five, some in groups of seven, and walked around in circles on the street. No one knew where they were going; perhaps they were just simply going around in circles.

"Great Rain Festival, Festival to the Great Rain, Great Rain Festival, Festival to the Gods."

He stopped the storm, He killed the clouds, He dried up the sea, He turned the ocean into a plain.

Who is He?
It's the sun!
It's the sun!
It's the sun!

Several children sang nursery rhymes and laughed in the rain. Silvery-white scales had grown on their faces, and their three-layered gills opened and closed, revealing the bright red contents inside.

Steyr and Ria huddled in shelter from the rain. Suddenly, Steyr looked up at the sky in astonishment, and Ria followed his gaze. For a moment, he almost lost control of his eyes—

The sky was no longer filled with stark white clouds and menacing lightning; instead, there was an endless expanse of ocean, its surface a deep blue with clearly visible waves, from which all the heavy rains originated.

No wonder there are marine fish on the plains, no wonder there has been continuous heavy rain these past few days.

That wasn't rain, it was the ocean, and the seawater in the ocean was overflowing.

No, there is no real ocean above your head.

"Mirage—"

Lia quickly came up with the word: "But how is that possible?"

Nothing is impossible.

As if in response to his question, the children continued to sing new songs, their voices innocent and pure, their faces beaming with the happy smiles unique to children.

"This is a curse, and also a salvation."

Everyone dies, and everyone is reborn.

Died in the flames

Embrace eternity in the abyss

This is His death anniversary, and also their birthday.

It sings praises of the raging winds and the abyss.

The phrase "praising [vague vocabulary]" is used to describe something that is being lauded.

When the last few unclear and extremely difficult words were mentioned, the children laughed even louder, their giggling echoing through the streets and alleys. Everyone's face looked like it was wearing a smiling fish mask. They even deliberately pulled a few big-headed fish out of their gills and handed them to Ria and Steyr when they passed by.

Lia threw the fish onto the roadside, where they were mercilessly trampled into mincemeat by the crowd.

"The situation is clearly more complicated than we imagined. This day is obviously the day of a god's sacrifice, and He should have a deep hatred for the sun."

Ria gripped his cane tightly, feeling a great unease as he looked up at the ocean against the sky. He even wanted to let go of all his worries and stand with everyone else in the street, drenched by the rain, singing and dancing with them to spend this special day.

"Don't go there."

Ria stretched out her cane to stop Steyr, whose eyes had become cloudy again, her whole body staring wide-eyed into the abyss.

Those eyes began to moisten, and soon, rainwater seeped out, making them look as if they were weeping together.

"I don't know what that is, but it's best not to stare at it."

(End of this chapter)