Long-term salvation

During this rapid descent, Rhodes subconsciously wanted to breathe deeply. This was not because of the lack of oxygen, but because of the instinctive fear of the deep sea by land creatures!

The squeaking sound of the metal being squeezed in the diving suit came one after another. After just a few breaths, the rib cage support ring suddenly tightened and broke!

Half of the metal ring lashed Rhodes' side from the side, causing him to groan. The entire right shoulder armor suddenly let out a sharp wail, and the brass surface visibly sank, as if transparent tentacles were kneading the metal coffin through the sea water.

At the same time, Nayako's whispers became more and more erratic and strange. In front of Rhodes, there was a bloody three-legged monster howling and twisting as if it had substance. The next second, it turned into a yellow desert extending infinitely forward. The desert retreated and turned into dark green tentacles that swayed like seaweed.

[Pollution points in the other world increased by 300]

Fortunately, this torture didn't last too long. Before his vision began to blur, he felt that he had stepped on solid ground.

Step into the temple where Cthulhu's daughter, Csira, is sleeping!

The top of the temple's dome is covered with algae emitting a faint blue light, and some jellyfish-like creatures that can float in the air for some unknown reason are also emitting a faint glow. These lights converge together to illuminate this strange creation in the unknown deep sea.

Although the light was dim, it was enough for Rhodes to see the surrounding scene clearly - in the center was a stone gate, which had now opened a tiny gap, revealing a faint dark red light. An unknown species of barnacles that could stretch out a tiny octopus tentacle was spreading out from the gap in the door and spreading to the walls on both sides.

Complete bas-reliefs are preserved on the left and right walls of the gate, depicting the scene when Cthulhu brought his followers to this planet. The era of this relief spans the past and present, and the future is engraved at the very end arrogantly and firmly.

Looking at the relief of a tsunami sweeping across the earth and an octopus's tentacles tightly wrapping the planet, Rhodes felt nauseous.

"Cough cough cough... You almost... cough cough," Rhodes took off his helmet with the help of Nayako. He coughed out a mouthful of saliva mixed with blood and gasped for breath, saying, "How did Paul and his two companions get in?!"

"There's a difference between being let in and breaking in," Nayako's voice came from behind Rhode. Her words were full of fatigue and a little distorted, as if her vocal cords were reorganizing. "We'd better move quickly. Several Deep Divers are already heading this way."

How many are there?

Rhode looked in the direction of the heavy footsteps and saw a swarm of Deep Divers pouring in from the small stone gates on the left and right. They were jostling each other, like bee pupae in a hive, their heads constantly twisting. Furthermore, among them were several large Deep Divers holding anchors, looking extremely angry.

After dodging the anchor thrown by the other party, Rhodes sighed:

"I really wish you could count, Nayako."

"Buy me some time!" Nayako shook the ahoge on her head, her face full of feigned determination. "Private Nayako, start processing the data!"

"Hey!"

She said she was processing data, but in reality, Nayako just threw two crowbars forward, kicked over a few Deep Divers blocking her way, and killed her way to the altar that Paul had mentioned. Under the cover of Rhodes who kept firing and slowly approaching, Nayako spread the book on the stone platform. She quickly flipped the pages, ready to rely on the power of this cult to put Ksira into a deep sleep again.

There was no other way, so Rhodes drew out his flaming sword and slashed it in mid-air:

Golden flames billowed in all directions, vaporizing the seawater and transforming the deep divers into burning torches. A strange, fishy odor, like the smell of rotting fish being roasted, suddenly filled the already murky air.

Amid the resounding screams, Rhodes sheathed his sword to save pollution points in the other world. He then took out a rocket launcher and pulled the trigger at the monsters pouring in from the other side.

Explosions and smoke filled the air. Rhodes lunged forward and rolled over, dodging the spears thrown by the Deep Divers. He then raised his gun and shot down the projectiles shot at Nayako.

"Hold on, hold on, I'm almost done unlocking this thing. Ahhh, damn it, it'll take some time without the Deep One's bloodline..."

Suddenly, Nayako stopped turning the pages of the book. She looked up at the man standing in front of her - Johannes van der Borg - the gentleman in a yellow suit was reaching out and pressing on the page of the book that the girl was about to turn.

At this moment, a strong wind blew up in the temple, causing the seabed dust to attack the divers like a dust storm, and eventually turned into a tornado, with the altar at its center!

Without any hesitation, Rhodes kicked the head of the Deep Diver that he had chopped off, making it fly towards Johannes like a football, but the latter dodged it by leaning back slightly.

"Wait a minute, I have a better deal." Johannes smiled a little more. He raised a finger and shook it at Rhode. "Listen, consider it as a reward for my help to you. Let me kill Xira and completely end the possibility of Cthulhu's revival. How about it?"

"..."

"Oh, my friend, don't look so doubtful."

Johannes removed his fingers from the page, and his face immediately disappeared like melting ice, transforming into a figure wearing a ragged yellow robe and a pale mask:

Hastur, the Yellow King, is the Old One symbolized by the wind!

"Cthulhu and I are mortal enemies. As for the origin of our hatred... what's the point in pursuing it now, hundreds of millions of years later? Our hatred is eternal. Because of this, I will not hesitate to extinguish any trace of its fantasy." The Yellow King pointed his pale and slender fingers at his chest. "Recite the spell to open the door before me. Let me enter and poison the daughter of Cthulhu!"

"How about this deal?"

"...Why didn't you do it yourself before?" Rhode slowly walked behind Nayako. He lowered his revolver and replaced the magazine with a new one under the cover of the girl's body. "Even if they are sealed, I don't think those Deep Ones can stop the incarnation of the Old One."

"Of course not, but my old rival can. As this young lady, the daughter of Nyarlathotep, said... there's a difference between being let in and breaking in, and I'm the one who was deliberately kept out. I tried before, but unfortunately the gentlemen and ladies from Brown University failed, and the item ended up in the hands of the Black Young. But then, I received an olive branch from an Outer God."

The incarnation of the King in Yellow floated past Rhodes. He extended his finger, tapped Rhodes a few times, and said with a low laugh:

"I certainly didn't expect that two of the Three Pillar Gods would have descendants who admired Mr. Rhodes so much... Wait, there's another one, right? How interesting. Should I create another descendant to get involved?"

"If all you want to do is care about other people's emotional problems, then get out of the way," Rod said unhappily. "I have work to do."

"Don't worry... So, what do you think of my proposal?"

The Yellow King's voice grew gentler. Hundreds, thousands of faint heartbeats echoed from above, causing Rhode to subconsciously look up.

He saw those of the Shab's sect who were still in the town of Innsmouth, gathered on the roofs of the buildings centered around the old church, clinging to chimneys or other things to protect themselves from the increasing violence of the wind and rain and the rising tide.

Meanwhile, the people of Innsmouth, whose bodies were rapidly reverting to their original state, stood in the sea, shouting and throwing bricks, stones, and metal objects upwards. These hateful faces were now covered with joy, as if their long-cherished wishes were about to be fulfilled.

A beautiful woman with her lower body covered in octopus tentacles opened her arms, begging her brother standing on the roof to jump into the water, while the latter was struggling painfully in the arms of his girlfriend.

"See? They're suffering," the Yellow King said. "I don't have a sect on this planet, nor do I have any descendants roaming around here. I just want to use this opportunity to kill the enemy who hasn't fully revived. If Ksira dies completely, humans on Earth won't have to face the threat of Cthulhu anymore, right?"

Rhodes did not reply. He saw Randolph Carter throwing bricks and tiles with all his strength. The latter looked extremely embarrassed now, except for his eyes which were unusually bright... Suddenly, Carter looked in Rhodes' direction and their eyes met.

At this moment, the knowledge from the stars poured into Rhodes' mind, revealing a possibility for his future - the sky turned into the sea, there was only the sea, only the sea, the sea, the sea, the sea... the sea completely submerged everything!

Countless words with the same meaning from different civilizations penetrated Rhodes' eyes, causing tears of blood to flow from the corners of his eyes.

Yes, Cthulhu will die and Cthulhu's resurrection will be interrupted, but what happens after that? Cthulhu is not dead!

What's more, Ksira may not be killed by an incarnation... The King in Yellow is not friendly to humans, and these ancient gods and great beings are not friendly to humans.

"Do not."

Rod said, raising his revolver amidst a severe headache.

"I refuse you, King in Yellow."

Chapter 341: The Three Pillars, the Patron Saints, and the Old Ones (4/4)

"I refuse you, King in Yellow."

Guided by the knowledge of the stars in his mind, and based on the chaotic power bestowed upon the bullet by the daughter of Nyarlathotep, Rhodes pulled the trigger, allowing the hammer to strike the bullet's primer forward.

The bullets shot out along the rifling of the barrel, the first bullet grazed the corner of the yellow robe, the second bullet hit the sleeve of the yellow robe, the third bullet hit the shoulder, the fourth bullet hit the chest, and the fifth and sixth bullets all hit the pale mask!

The raging wind tornado surrounding the altar suddenly dissipated, leaving only the Yellow King's loud laughter echoing in the underwater temple:

"You truly are a unique being favored by the Three Pillars. I thought they would just watch you sink into complete depravity here... But will you? Will you accept my proposal? They claim to exist in the past, present, and future, possessing infinite knowledge, yet they still can't be sure of your decision. They can only intervene personally to ensure you choose the 'right' path... How interesting, how interesting!"

Ignoring those voices, Rhode saw more Deep Ones appearing from the stone gates on both sides of the temple. It was as if all the monsters in the entire deep-sea city had gathered there. There were even giant, octopus-like tentacles—Cthulhu? No, Star-Spawn of Cthulhu!

Without the Yellow King's obstruction, these abominable creatures became more and more unscrupulous. They were no longer afraid of the flaming sword, but made strange gurgling sounds, wanting to snatch the evil book on the stone platform and offer the human in front of them to the Daughter of Cthulhu who was about to awaken!

"Nayako!"

Rhodes shouted loudly, reaching out to wipe the blood off his face. He was extremely grateful that these fish-headed creatures living on the seabed did not use long-range firearms. Otherwise, he and the evil god's offspring next to him would probably be a pool of flesh covered in bullets.

The girl whose name was called did not respond, but quickly flipped through the thick cult book in front of her. Her fingers even turned into tentacles to speed up the turning of the book.

Low-frequency vibrations emanated from the depths of the temple, as if some giant organ were beating. The divers' deformed gills trembled violently to produce a harmonious sound. But what made people feel even more crazy and uncomfortable was the dark red light that gradually became clearer from the cracks in the giant stone gate in the center, like the dark red light before an underwater volcano erupted!

"Nyako, you'd better hurry up," Rhode said through gritted teeth. He didn't try to exchange for the heavy vehicle that only required two people to operate. Instead, he continued to use heavy machine guns and rocket launchers to deal with the deep divers. "Otherwise, the two of us will really die with the vacuum implosion bomb!"

"Right away," Nayako flipped through the cult tome quickly, making the pages of the unknown material rustle. "The quest takes time to complete. If I had the ability to pause time, I would have wiped you out long ago!"

"Don't make dirty jokes at this time!"

At this moment, the voice of the King in Yellow rang out again, and it seemed that He did not leave immediately:

“On page 1931.”

Nayako was startled, then turned to that page and began to interpret the strange words on it in a low voice. Rhode stood beside her, glanced at the contents on the page, and said:

"Why are you helping us?"

"No... I just find it interesting. Even if you let Ksira fall asleep again today, it will wake up one day, and you will still need to consider my proposal then. As for my other purpose - do you want to make a deal?"

"My true self is imprisoned on the planet of Pleiades in the Pleiades cluster, in Lake Hali, near the ruins of the ancient city of Carcosa. If you can release me, my family and I will remember your help—goodwill—I never thought I could say this word before! You will receive my goodwill, a covenant, how is it?"

"..."

Rhode didn't reply, but simply put his hand on Nayako's shoulder. Nayako nodded slightly, then picked up the evil book and recited the spell on it loudly -

The underwater temple began to spin, not in a physical sense, but rather in the curling of space itself. At that moment, Rhode's eardrums caught a low hum beyond the human range, the vibration of the giant sleeping in R'lyeh turning over.

At this moment, even though Nyako had finished speaking, the chanting continued, still reciting the forbidden syllables in parallel tones! The air was as thick as a transparent liquid, and the shadows of the two people began to split and multiply on the surrounding walls. The shadow of the petite girl held the "R'lyeh Text" in her hands, which she had long since put down.

The next second, Rhodes fell into the dream of the Old Ones.

The next second, Rhodes opened his eyes in the sticky darkness.

The damp chill was creeping up his ankles along his bare feet. Rhodes looked down and saw the sea water flooding over his feet, while all around him were gentle waves without a single bulge or foothold.

Rhode looked up and saw the starry sky melting. The Milky Way, like syrup stirred by a child, quickly twisted into the glowing gill slits behind the neck of that obese body. His bony back pierced the sky, and the hurricane stirred up by the stretching of his wing membranes carried a roar that had lasted for hundreds of millions of years, but now it had transformed into a whisper of sleep.

A huge monster looms in the darkness, its name is "Cthulhu".

This disgustingly bloated and obese creature twisted its body with difficulty, lowered its massive octopus head, and stretched its tentacles toward Rhodes... Suddenly, it stopped squeezing the little thing in front of it, raised its head, and saw—

A collection of trillions of spheres that constantly change shape and size, radiating rainbow-colored light, twinkling like stars.

Countless chaotic faces randomly overlapped and condensed into a dark human figure that kept squirming and emitting a low, strange laugh.

The huge mass of flesh covered with tentacles and like a black cloud moved with goat-like hooves and opened its huge mouth dripping with slime.

Cthulhu: “…”

After a few seconds of silence, the huge fat body turned around and continued to lie on the calm waves. After a few seconds, the giant curled up slightly again, looking very helpless.

Rhodes: “…”

What's going on? Why does it feel like this fat guy is being bullied?

Just as this thought came to his mind, Rhodes felt something squeezing his chest, nearly breaking his ribs. The pain and muffled sound of broken ribs immediately flooded into his brain. He suddenly opened his eyes, only to see Nayako's mouth moving closer and closer.

Without resistance, Rhodes was kissed lightly by Nayako, and then he said unhappily:

"I really hope you can press my heart gently...I can't breathe?"

"It's been more than half a minute." Nayako's expression relaxed. She knelt beside Rhodes and sighed, "Your heart almost gave out just now!"

"Um...what happened?"

"I was so close to attacking you and replacing your heart with mine!"

Is this the problem?!

Rhode glared at the idiot in front of him, then endured the pain in his chest and slowly stood up with the support of Nayako - the underwater temple was in ruins. The deep divers had disappeared without a trace, leaving only monster corpses everywhere.

Looking at the giant stone door in front, the gap on the door had been completely closed, locking the dark red light escaping from it inside.

The drowsy dream dragged Ksira into darkness again, and Rhodes felt that he had been watched by some existence for a moment... It was hard for him to say whether it was a good thing or a bad thing, but if the system did not respond, then there should be no problem.

In other words, there is no problem for the time being.

"Okay, how do we get up now?" Rhode said with difficulty while being supported. He could feel his broken ribs slowly repairing under the power of the system. "This diving suit can only take us down, but there's nothing to pull us up... Tsk, I did something stupid too."

"Little things, little things."

Nyako gave Rhodes a thumbs-up again, her cute fangs flashing with a deliberately created light. Then, the girl put the diving suit on Rhodes, and stuffed herself and the "R'lyeh Text" into it.

"That guy must have been impatient for a long time... If he doesn't come, I'll transform my legs into tentacle propellers... What's that expression on your face?! Don't underestimate the comedic abilities of the Nyarlathotep clan. The comedians are the best!"

Hearing the girl's complaints behind him, Rhodes forced a smile. He saw the sea water rolling in in front of him, as if the deep divers were trying to protect their temple in this way.

In the dark and churning sea, Rhodes saw a woman with long black hair slowly swimming towards them.

"Qian Ye?"

++++++++++++++

At this moment, the rain clouds covering the town of Innsmouth gradually dissipated, and the long-lost sunlight penetrated the clouds and shone on the faces of those who survived the disaster.

It also hit the faces of the people of Innsmouth who were heading towards disaster - the Deep Ones had returned to the underwater city, tasting the hatred and fear of that moment, waiting for the next opportunity to come, but the descendants of the Deep Ones whose bloodlines had not yet reached a sufficient concentration were terrified. They stood there in a daze, not knowing what to do.

Some Innsmouth residents jumped into the still-receding seawater, but since they hadn't yet grown gills on either side of their necks, they drowned. Some more mutated individuals were able to swim freely in the water, attempting to dive deep into the sea to seek the protection of their ancestors...