Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

This prayer seems a bit strange? Hughes frowned.

As Chloe recited the chant, the fuel-filled boiler instantly ignited with blazing flames, causing Gaia, who was holding the fire basin ready to pour it in, to stumble.

The dark red burning coals from the basin fell onto her body.

Monica’s expression shifted, and she activated her Flesh Magic.

Her entire body twisted, using her snake tail to block the falling embers for Gaia.

Chloe quietly withdrew her hand and let out a sigh of relief.

Then, she looked at the steam engine that had just started running, her eyes filled with joy. ”It actually worked! We succeeded!”

Monica and Gaia, still in her arms, were stunned. The two of them widened their eyes. ”S-Success?”

”It really worked! Anou! Anou responded to me! Wuuu... it finally acknowledged me!”

Monica threw herself onto the steam engine’s boiler room, hugging the machine and crying uncontrollably. Gaia also stood up, revealing a heartfelt smile.This was the first time they had successfully communicated with the Machine Soul.

”Hooray!”

”Wow, little Monica is amazing! She actually did it!”

”Gaia! Incredible!”

”As expected of the chief!”

”Ohhh!”

A wave of cheers erupted from outside the house, startling Gaia, who shrank her neck.

Hughes took the lead in clapping, and soon, the small room was filled with enthusiastic applause.

Gaia’s face turned bright red. Only then did she realize they had been watched the entire time.

A deep sense of embarrassment crawled from her toes to her scalp, and she squatted down, covering her head.

Beside her, Chloe acted like a stage performer taking a bow, dramatically saluting the crowd.

She then placed her hands on her hips and lifted her chin, a smug grin on her face.

The applause of the spectators surged like a tidal wave, lasting a long time.

Half of them were merely hyping up the moment, while the other half genuinely admired the feat.

In reality, many people in the test site had attempted to communicate with this ”living” steam engine, not just the three of them.

Anou ignored everyone equally, except for Hughes.

No one was surprised by this. After all, Hughes was the designer of this steam engine.

Calling him Anou’s father was not an exaggeration.

A steam engine with a living characteristic, everyone saw immense value in this, yet it refused to respond to anyone.

It was like discovering a treasure trove but lacking the key to enter, making people itch with frustration.

The applause finally subsided after a long while.

Hughes stepped forward and congratulated them. ”Congratulations. You have successfully communicated with the Machine Soul. This is something worthy of being written into history books. But I’m curious, where did these rituals and prayers come from?”

”Oh, this? Actually, it’s a standard steam engine prayer from the Mechanical Cathedral.”

”Mechanical Cathedral?”

”A fanatical organization that worships machinery and technology. They, uh, have some ties to me.”

Hughes blinked, revealing an expression of realization.

The reputation of Moths Chasing Fire was terrible, so he hadn’t openly acknowledged their identity.

Chloe was likely implying that Moths Chasing Fire had connections with the Mechanical Cathedral.

It made sense when he thought about it. Moths Chasing Fire pursued knowledge, which aligned with the goals of the Mechanical Cathedral.

Having some hidden connections was normal. Also, why did this name sound familiar to him?

”The Mechanical Cathedral has some ties to the royal family. The Empress secretly supports them,” Chloe whispered.

Ah, that explained it. No wonder he had some impression of them.

A large portion of the Empire’s army equipment was secretly supplied by the Mechanical Cathedral.

As Duke Cohen’s illegitimate son, Hughes had heard whispers about it.

However, since the organization had religious elements, the royal family kept them hidden to avoid direct conflict with the Church of Candlelight.

Speaking of which, that priest who had killed the worker Hughes before, why did he seem to have some connection with the Mechanical Cathedral?

He was covered in gear components.

”By the way, why are you all here?” Chloe curiously looked at the large crowd squeezing in at the door.

Hearing this, Gaia also peeked out through her fingers, still covering her face.

Hughes’ expression darkened.

”Monica, you’ve already blown up two toilets, collapsed half a factory building, and just the other day, killed an entire pack of coyotes during your pollution experiments.”

Monica gave an awkward laugh, mumbling a small defense under her breath.

”Gaia, not only did you not stop Monica, but you also provided her with nitroglycerin.”

Gaia quickly covered her eyes again.

”Chloe, you… you… you’re fine.”

Chloe had summoned an Outer God and nearly lost control of it.

Last time, she had dragged him into an experiment that also went wrong.

And she was still part of the crazed Moths Chasing Fire… Unfortunately, none of this could be said out loud.

Chloe tilted her head.

”The three of you together constitute a state of emergency for Castel. Who knows if you were actually trying to communicate with the steam engine or just planning to pour explosives into the boiler?”

Looking at the three troublemakers in front of him, Hughes finally sighed helplessly. ”From now on, if you want to conduct any experiments, you must report them. It’s not too complicated, just inform the Sirens on duty at the entrance. Or, Monica, you can contact me directly.”

The Sirens had a Mind Link, allowing them to communicate with Hughes at any time.

Theoretically, Hughes had strong control over the test site, but these three were just too efficient at causing chaos.

”Actually, I’m curious, why did you think to use the Mechanical Cathedral’s ritual? And why did the Machine Soul actually respond to it?”

In Hughes’ memory, the Mechanical Cathedral had only one defining characteristic, insanity.

If Moths Chasing Fire pursued, learned, and used knowledge to the point of madness, then the Mechanical Cathedral saw machinery and technology as something completely beyond human comprehension.

They worshipped machinery as something sacred and strictly prohibited others from studying or understanding it.

Instead, they followed an entire set of elaborate operating procedures, from prayer chants to ritual tools.

Though they did not claim to be a religion, their fanaticism for machinery surpassed that of many religious sects.

In his previous life, worker Hughes had been killed precisely because he was unaware of these things.

Hmm? Wait, wasn’t he killed by the Church of Candlelight?

That mechanical priest seemed to be wearing the Church’s Sacred Emblem, right?

Hughes rubbed his forehead.

Rhine’s power dynamics were truly complex.

Even if he managed to infiltrate the upper levels of the Empire through the Church, he might still be inexplicably eliminated.

”Come to think of it, I always thought these rituals were stupid, but they actually work,” Chloe mused, rubbing her chin.

”The Mechanical Cathedral really does have something, this ritual can indeed please the Machine Soul.”

”Do they have a Machine Soul themselves?”

Chloe fell silent. After thinking for a long moment, she finally answered, ”No.”

Hughes was speechless.

The Mechanical Cathedral was truly insane.

”Alright, since we’ve successfully awakened the Machine Soul, let’s proceed to the next experiment.”

”Give it some pollution to burn.”

•••••••••••••••

[Editor Note: Fishmen would be changed to Murloc we are sorry for that. And what do you think Moth Chasing Fire to Moth Chasing Light. If you think this is right let us know in discord.]