Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

Hughes’ eyes widened.

He had indeed stockpiled pollution, but that was only because he was trying to find a new fuel source. He could accept being misunderstood for that.

But summoning an evil god?

When had he ever summoned an evil god? Clearly, it was those Moths Chasing Fire who were summoning an evil god!

Chloe didn’t speak. She had an expression that seemed to say, ”If you say you didn’t summon one, then you didn’t summon one.”

Hughes took a deep breath, calmed himself down, and asked, ”You said I summoned an evil god. When did you see that happen?”

”A few days ago, over in the east. I remember you even detained a group of people there and wouldn’t let them leave. I almost thought you had sacrificed them.”

A few days ago? Detained a group of people?

Hughes recalled the situation, his expression gradually becoming serious.

Could it have been… the day of the Type-II machine’s test run?That day, he had spent the entire day with the trainees assembling the Type-II machine. In the evening, they excitedly fired it up. Back then, the steam engine wasn’t talking yet; it was just operating normally.

Then—

Then, the pollution within his body had inexplicably erupted.

Even now, he had no idea what had happened. It was as if he had done nothing, yet the pollution had suddenly appeared inside him.

And it had appeared internally.

Wait, an evil god?

He seemed to have experienced an evil god’s descent before.

The first time he had descended into the corpse of Worker Hughes, he had discovered a massive amount of entity pollution inside that body.

Some of it had even solidified into strange substances. It had taken him half a day, with his purification ability at full power, to clean it all out.

Could it be that the descent of an evil god was marked by a large amount of pollution appearing within the body?

Thinking about it carefully, if he hadn’t had the purification ability, no one would have been able to withstand that situation, pollution appearing inside the body and continuing for hours.

If he hadn’t purified it, would that pollution have kept accumulating and solidifying, eventually turning his body into something like Worker Hughes?

Then…

Then he really might have actually summoned an evil god.

No, to be precise, he had been descended upon by an evil god.

Of course, he had easily wiped out that evil god, but that was beside the point.

But why did this happen? Was it really related to the steam engine?

That shouldn’t be the case. The Type-I machine hadn’t caused any problems before.

Hughes rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.

”It must have been a misunderstanding. Don’t look at me like that. I don’t know the exact reason either. All I can say is that the evil god has already been dealt with. There are no evil gods in Castel now.”

”Alright, alright. Can I leave now?”

”Of course. Thank you for telling me about the Church of the Sea God today. I’ve already arranged for people to prepare the soap. We can discuss cooperation later. Before that, I need you to unify your cult’s stance. No problem, right?”

”Of course not. I’m the chief of Moths Chasing Fire. I can represent the cult in agreeing to cooperate with you, so long as you’re also willing to share knowledge.”

Hughes’ eyes lit up. Sharing knowledge?

At first glance, this seemed like a loss for him. After all, the knowledge he held was genuinely useful and had already been applied to Castel’s development.

Meanwhile, the knowledge of Moths Chasing Fire was more chaotic, with much of it unverified.

But he understood that what he was doing now was just minor work. It wouldn’t matter even if he gave it all away, let alone just sharing it.

And the esoteric knowledge possessed by Moths Chasing Fire was incredibly valuable.

Just one example, if he had known about cognitive interference earlier, he wouldn’t have gotten himself into so much trouble.

That was just one benefit. Even without considering the direct advantages, Hughes was willing to share knowledge from the bottom of his heart.

Scientific and social progress had never been achieved through stagnation and secrecy.

Only through sharing and exchange could advancements be made.

That was the foundation of technological accumulation and breakthroughs.

”I am willing to share, to share equally. This is not just an intention; it is a promise: I am willing to share knowledge with you on equal terms.”

Chloe’s eyes lit up, no, this wasn’t just a metaphor. Her eyes literally glowed red, and her breathing became rapid.

”Good, good, this is wonderful. I didn’t expect to find a fellow seeker here. With those words alone, you have earned the friendship of Moths Chasing Fire. The world sees us as madmen, but if you ask me, the real lunatics are those who only keep their heads down to eat. Such a great truth is right above their heads, yet they refuse to look up.”

”If this is madness, then let us be mad. Perhaps only madness is worthy of the truth.”

Hughes frowned. What Chloe said wasn’t wrong, but it was too extreme. Her current expression of near hysteria was somewhat distorted.

There was a reason why Moths Chasing Fire was labeled as a heretical cult. It was best to remain cautious.

”Alright, then how should we stay in contact?”

”You can come to the church directly to find me, or talk to Brother Kaeski. He can’t reply, but we will hear you. You can also directly call the name of the Lord of Moths. I’ll give you a ritual shortly, so long as you follow the instructions precisely, we’ll be able to hear you.”

”Don’t worry, it’s very safe. The Lord of Moths is an evil god, yes, but as long as we don’t summon its descent, it won’t respond at all.”

The Lord of Moths…

Hughes recalled the Worker Hughes he had seen on the Golden Throne.

At that time, it had only made simple movements and had no reaction to anything. Could that have been the Lord of Moths’ true nature?

Were all evil gods like that? Or—

Had Moths Chasing Fire specifically chosen this one as a ”safe” evil god?

Wait, hadn’t he already purified the Lord of Moths?

Thinking along those lines, Worker Hughes…

Hughes took a sharp breath. An extremely troubling thought surfaced in his mind.

”Could I have become the Lord of Moths?”

He could hear the prayers of its followers. Chloe even referred to him as an ”Outer God”…

His scalp tingled.

This wasn’t something he could just ask Moths Chasing Fire about. If they found out he had erased the Lord of Moths, who knew how they would react?

Tch, even after learning the truth about the Church of the Sea God, he only felt more ignorant.

There were more and more mysteries to explore and understand.

Hughes accompanied Chloe to the manor’s entrance.

Ash handed over a few boxes of soap, looked at Chloe with a blank expression for a moment, then turned and left.

”She doesn’t seem to like me?”

”Who does like you? Didn’t you say everyone wants to get rid of you?”

”That’s true.”

Chloe shook her head, took the soap, and slung it over her shoulder.

”Then I’ll be going. Remember to try out the ritual, the offerings are easy to find.”

”Alright, I’ll give it a try.”

Chloe waved as she walked away. After a few steps, she suddenly stopped.

”Oh, right. Something seems to have happened on Nora’s side.”

”Nora?” Hughes raised an eyebrow.”

(End of Chapter)