Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

Castel Cathedral, Hughes, lying on the bed, gradually regained clarity in his eyes and suddenly sat up.

"Re... recovered!"

He had just descended, and not long ago, when he returned, he was still in a severely injured state where even moving was difficult. But now, as Hughes sensed the Symbiotic Contract, he felt an overwhelming surge of vitality.

At the same moment, all the Banshees also sat up, causing chaos in the Soul Link.

『What happened? Why did we suddenly recover!?』

『I was just gravely injured—how am I suddenly healed?』

『This doesn't make sense. Where did all this life force come from? Wasn't the Life Pool just depleted?』

Hughes took a deep breath. He knew exactly what had happened—Monica had passed through the Eye of the Storm and arrived here.

The terrifying vitality within her was like an endless ocean, and in just a moment, she had healed hundreds of severely injured Banshees.

This was the advantage of Banshees—a single Mind Synchronization could save a great deal of time and instantly convince others. As expected, they were a race adept at mental abilities.

After that, they had to cross the Eye of the Storm. Hughes hesitated for a moment and decided to leave the body of Worker Hughes at the seafloor. Bringing this shell to Castel served no purpose, but keeping it here could still maintain a link with Beatrice and the others.

Watching as several Banshees dove, Hughes took a deep breath and chose to return.

Now, it was up to Monica to see how far she could go.

『Silence.』

Hughes spoke through the Soul Link while simultaneously lifting the communication restrictions on everyone.

『I just made contact with Monica. There has been a turning point. We only need to hold off the monsters' attack, and Monica will arrive soon.』

As soon as he lifted the restriction, questions flooded in:

『Who is Monica?』

『She is the one who just provided us with life force. She is another Banshee. I will explain everything later. For now, everyone—prepare for battle.』

The Banshees immediately fell silent. They understood how powerful their enemy was. If they failed to hold Castel Cathedral, there would be no future to speak of. This was a moment of life and death.

After issuing orders to the Banshees, Hughes pushed open the door and stepped out. Zoe was waiting outside, along with an unexpected visitor.

"Richard?" Hughes examined him curiously. "What brings you here?"

Richard was not wearing his usual black trench coat but had donned the red cloak of the Moths Chasing Fire. He seemed surprised by Hughes' healthy appearance but still bowed slightly. "Lord, I come on behalf of the Moths Chasing Fire. Castel is at a critical moment. We have certain forbidden artifacts that might be able to save us."

Something that could save them—only being brought out now?

Hughes instinctively frowned but then sighed. Given the Moths Chasing Fire's madness, anything they classified as 'forbidden' likely had side effects worse than Castel sinking.

"Make it quick. The monsters are about to launch a full assault." Hughes checked with the Banshees through the Soul Link before speaking.

Richard wasted no words and led Hughes straight to the Moths Chasing Fire's hideout.

Pushing open door after door, Hughes finally arrived before a statue.

No—it wasn't a statue, but a figure that seemed somewhat familiar. He had almost forgotten about this person, yet here he was, seeing him again.

"Brother Kaeski?!"

Yes, it was Brother Kaeski, whom he hadn't seen in a long time.

The last time he saw him was before Chloe's identity was exposed, back in the old cathedral.

At that time, Kaeski had been like a puppet, barely able to move. When Hughes touched him, he realized that he wasn't made of flesh and blood.

Hughes had always thought he was some kind of automaton created by the Moths Chasing Fire—similar to the Mechanical Priest that killed Worker Hughes. But now, it seemed his identity was more complex?

"We can activate Brother Kaeski, also known as the 【Chrysalis】, at a certain cost. He can perish alongside the Pirate King's monsters."

Richard spoke succinctly.

"What cost?"

"Souls. A massive amount of souls. And they must be voluntary sacrifices—forced sacrifices won't work."

Hughes fell silent. After a moment, he sighed and asked, "How many?"

"About ten thousand, including at least fifty supernaturals."

Hughes stared at Richard in disbelief. "Ten thousand? You said ten thousand? Even if we decide to use it, where would we get that many sacrifices? Castel itself only has about ten thousand people!"

After speaking, Hughes still found it hard to believe and even doubted himself. "Am I misunderstanding something? Could the souls come from non-humans, like the sea serpents the Banshees summon?"

"No, there's no loophole. It requires exactly ten thousand human sacrifices."

Hughes was speechless. Now he understood why Richard hadn't mentioned this earlier. It truly was forbidden—and it was hard to say whether this or Castel's destruction was worse.

A weapon that required the deaths of all of Castel's people to activate—what was the point? To save an empty island?

Richard also looked hesitant. He knew how absurd the cost was. "Over the years, we have accumulated some. This 【Chrysalis】 already holds around two thousand souls, including a dozen supernatural ones. If we want to use it..."

He struggled to say the next words. "It can still be activated."

The room fell into silence.

In the end, Hughes shook his head. "Let's not use it for now. Even if we kill the Pirate King's monster, it might not break Castel's siege."

"It will," Richard suddenly said. "Killing the Pirate King's monster will cause the Murlocs and the Sea Urchin monsters to retreat. That's what Chief Chloe said."

As he spoke, he handed Hughes a diary, along with a dip pen and a small knife.

"Write in your own blood, and you can communicate with the souls inside the 【Chrysalis】. Chloe is among them."

"Chloe—her soul is inside?!"

"Yes. When we 【Chrysalis】 become supernaturals, our souls are placed into the 【Chrysalis】. The bodies we use are merely shells."

Seeing the light in Hughes' eyes, Richard sighed. "Lord, I know what you're thinking. Chief Chloe is indeed dead. Every person only has one body, and it's almost impossible to find an empty shell for her to revive in. Besides, we are on the brink of destruction."

No empty shell?

Hughes glanced at Richard but said nothing. Instead, he lowered his head to examine the diary.

He measured the small knife against the back of his hand and asked, "My blood has purifying properties. Will that be a problem?"

"Don't worry. Only pure souls reside within."

Hughes took a deep breath and sliced his skin. As his blood trickled out, he dipped the pen and placed it on the diary.

The moment the pen touched the paper, a line of hurried text appeared:

〖Hughes, listen to me. Do not fear using this forbidden power—it might be our last hope.〗