How to Win Over a Fallen Lady (8)

After finishing our meal, we hurried back home. It wasn't as if the two of us had anything particular to do for fun anyway, and right now we had something far more important than entertainment waiting for us.

"We're h—... what the hell?"

I flung the front door open and had no choice but to freeze at the sight inside.

"Ah, ye have returned."

Nyarlathotep was sitting there, drenched in blood and beaten to a pulp. Worse still, her right arm was gone entirely — cleanly severed, leaving a bloody stump behind.

Fwoosh.

Beside her, Cthugha was burning the remains of her arm, apparently trying to help with the regeneration.

A flame that devours everything... so it can burn away wounds too, huh?

As Cthugha seared the stump, the severed arm quickly regenerated, attaching itself back in place, whole and complete.

"You almost had to live as a one-armed woman for a while there."

"Ye should be thanking me."

Nyarlathotep was swinging her restored right arm around, presumably checking that her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠senses were intact.

"I showed ye a pathetic sight for a moment. Mine apologies."

"No, you don't need to apologize — but what happened?"

I asked the nonchalantly speaking Nyarlathotep, my voice betraying my bewilderment.

What on earth had she done to go from an Outer God to missing an arm?

"I went to fight a certain octopus for a spell. But that is not what matters now."

"It absolutely does matter."

Who was she, exactly?

A god among gods, standing immeasurably above the likes of Constellations.

For someone to leave her in that state, they had to be at least Nyarlathotep's equal — or stronger. How was I supposed not worry when a being that powerful had attacked her?

"...I appreciate the concern, truly, but the truly important matter is something else."

At my words, Nyarlathotep flushed red, but she quickly shook her head and began to speak.

"Before long, the apocalypse shall begin. For that reason, thou must grow stronger as swiftly as possible."

She rose from her seat, apparently fully healed now, and approached me.

"Within a month at the latest, thou must easily surpass what ye mortals call S-rank."

S-rank.

That was not a title to be thrown around lightly.

It was the honored rank reserved only for heroes ranked within the top twenty in the entire world. Korea had the Saintess among others, and the rest were scattered across the globe. But as one might expect, populous and wealthy nations came out on top — the United States alone currently boasted ten S-ranks.

And every single one of them was an Incarnation of a Constellation bound by an Incarnation Contract. Individually, any one of them possessed enough power to grind an entire nation into dust within a day.

And she was telling me — still capped at A-rank at best — to surpass those monsters within a month?

"This calamity is not one that an S-rank's strength can hold back. The rank system, shackled as it is to human imagination, will not suffice."

But Nyarlathotep sounded dissatisfied even with that.

"Slay a Constellation, and absorb its power. Do so, and thou shalt wield the strength of a god in the body of a mortal."

Hearing those words, I flinched.

Kill a Constellation? Wasn't that exactly what I'd just been thinking?

"Funny you mention it, because there's a Constellation I'd personally like to kill..."

"Unfortunately, that will not do. Later, perhaps — but in thy current state, the Constellations thou can slay are limited."

At her flat refusal, I couldn't help rolling my eyes over to check Iris's expression beside me. Her face wore a bitter smile, as if she hadn't dared hope for much anyway.

"The Constellation thou shalt slay is the 'Old Fox of the Back Mountain.' Thanks to the one standing there, we now have a means of drawing the beast out."

The Old Fox of the Back Mountain... wasn't that Iris's Constellation?

How could it match, exactly, the very being we'd been planning to kill?

"That creature is the one we were trying to kill."

"Well, what a coincidence. The reason being... personal revenge, I take it?"

Catching on immediately to our motive for hunting the fox, sharp as ever, Nyarlathotep. I gave a small nod, and she smiled faintly at the sight.

"There is likely no soul in this world but thee who would speak of revenge against a Constellation."

Then she snapped her fingers.

"And none but thee who would succeed at it, either."

The moment she did, the space around us dyed itself in darkness, just like when I'd formed my Incarnation Contract. The only difference this time was that Cthugha and Iris had been brought along too.

"Wh-where are we...?"

Iris looked around in alarm.

"Thou, human — thou shalt serve as the bait."

"B-bait?"

Just as I'd described her moments ago, Iris asked in a flustered voice.

"It means we shall use thee to locate the Constellation."

Certain lower-ranked Constellations nested on Earth and lived out their existences there. The Old Fox of the Back Mountain was no exception.

She was hyped up as the only Constellation sponsoring a shaman or some such, but as her name made plain, she was just a fox. No matter how high a fox might fly or crawl, it could never defeat a being whose rank was exalted from the dawn of creation.

Her name literally contained the words "back mountain" — you'd have to be an idiot not to realize she was on Earth. The real problem was that no one in the world knew exactly where she lived. The fact that even Nyarlathotep needed Iris as bait meant she was hiding in a spot that was practically impossible to uncover.

"From this moment, I shall strip away the blessings that beast bestowed upon thee, one by one."

"S-strip them away?"

Confiscating blessings bestowed by a Constellation.

That was an act beyond common sense — one even the granter of the blessing couldn't perform. If blessings could be reclaimed, that backwater fox would have long since taken back everything she'd ever given Iris.

"At thy level, thou shouldst barely feel the system's recoil at all. Then thy blessings can be taken without incident."

But then again, who was she?

The Outer God whom every Constellation opposed and feared, wasn't she? For her, seizing the authority of a low-rank Constellation nesting on Earth was well within her grasp.

"Once I begin, the fox, provoked by mine actions, shall exert her power to resist. Trace that resistance backward, and her location shall reveal itself."

"???"

Iris tilted her head, wearing an expression that said she understood absolutely nothing.

Which was only natural. Even I, who knew what Nyarlathotep was capable of, honestly found it staggering. Expecting Iris — who had no idea who this woman even was — to follow along was asking far too much.

"Wh-what exactly are you?"

Unable to contain her curiosity any longer, Iris finally stammered out ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the question.

"The Crawling Chaos. Lord of a Thousand Forms. Ruler of the Ultimate Void. I may be a wine bottle shattered upon the floor, or a blade honed to razor sharpness."

Nyarlathotep answered with hollow, distant eyes.

"Beyond the universe, in the outer dark, I seek eternal amusement — and I am, at once, the messenger of the Outer Gods."

And then, with a gleaming smile, she spoke her final words.

"My name is Nyarlathotep..."

Tup!

The moment that impossible, unplaceable pronunciation left Nyarlathotep's lips — a syllable my mind simply could not parse — I instinctively realized the name itself was dangerous and clapped my hands over Iris's ears.

It cost me 125 SAN points, but it prevented the worst-case scenario of Iris going insane on the spot.

If it hit me this hard, an ordinary human like her hearing it directly would have been swallowed whole by madness without question.

"...Damn it all. I spoke it in the tongues of the Outer Gods without thinking."

As she stretched out her hand, the mental fatigue that had been coiling around my entire body vanished in an instant.

So down to 50, I can handle it now, huh.

Having repeated training to endure even as my SAN value dropped, I could get by fairly well at 50 these days. But below that... I couldn't make any promises, even for myself.

"Wh-what just happened?"

Iris, whose ears I'd covered, asked in shock. I must have slapped my hands over them too hard — her ears had flushed bright red.

I moved too fast, so I guess I put some force into it. Hopefully her hearing isn't damaged or anything.

"I'm sorry. But that name is one you absolutely must not hear right now."

"Wh-why not?"

At those words, her pride apparently wounded, she asked with tears welling in her eyes.

Had she interpreted it as, "A nobody like you doesn't deserve to hear that person's name"?

"It's not that you lack the qualification. The name itself is a curse upon humanity — hearing it can cause serious damage to your mind."

"Wh-what?"

Iris stared at me, aghast.

Just a name. She was stunned that the mere utterance of a name carried the power to drive a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠person mad. No Constellation had ever driven anyone insane just by being named, after all.

But contrary to my expectations — and hers — the world turned out to be infuriatingly vast. Beings standing above even Constellations swaggered freely through it. Now that she'd become one of my people, there was nothing to do but accept it.

"A minor mishap, nothing more. I shall simply call myself Nyarlathotep as before."

Having switched to a name pronounceable by human tongues, she beckoned to Iris.

"Now I shall reclaim thy blessings. Come hither."

At that, Iris glanced back at me with a faintly frightened look, and I told her it was fine before sending her over.

"Fear not — it shall not hurt."

Nyarlathotep placed her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hand on the crown of Iris's head and murmured something under her breath.