Daily Disposable Persona - CH 85

Before the highest and most central palace in R’lyeh, Zong Yan gazed silently upwards.

The Great Old One Ithaqua was dutifully following the floating city of Carcosa.

The weakest of the Great Old Ones, also called “Wendigo”, he was a subordinate god of the King in Yellow, just as Dagon was to Cthulhu. The two evil gods seemed to be engaged in an unspoken rivalry. Whatever one did, the other immediately copied.

In London, Zong Yan fought the Death-Walker, Ithaqua’s incarnation. He never thought that through a quirk of fate they’d meet again, though Zong Yan had now become an evil god himself, while Ithaqua had switched to his true body.

Not only that, this was the second time Zong Yan had encountered the city of Carcosa, including the King in Yellow.

Only now did Zong Yan realize how many evil gods he’d met. Whether it was their avatars or true bodies, it was like he was a magnet for them.

But it was still a bit unfair.

On Carcosa’s side there were at least two Great Old Ones, while R’lyeh just had one. Cthulhu was away and Zong Yan hadn’t fully mastered an evil god’s power. The situation was grim.

But it was important not to show the slightest hint that anything was wrong.

Inside, Zong Yan felt a little uncertain. In the past he’d had a trump card called Azathoth. On some level, it gave him a sense of security and confidence, so he’d never felt too anxious going into a fight. He knew he could always take down an enemy, even if it meant sacrificing himself. But his superpower hadn’t responded in a long time. If things went south, like he suspected they might… he didn’t know if he could win.

Anyway, there was no point in worrying about it now.

Zong Yan silently called out to his other self for help, but he didn’t know if his big brother was too far away. The message sank like a stone in the sea without a response.

He made himself calm down. “Prepare for battle. Victory belongs to R’lyeh.”

“Yes, Your Majesty! Victory to R’lyeh!”

“R’lyeh’s glory will last forever!”

The Deep Ones raised their harpoons high, and the sunlight left mottled patches on the uneven texture of their skin.

The shoggoths waved thousands of tentacles that stank like tar, rotating and gyrating their bodies like an irregularly-shaped ball of dough, forming themselves into a wall to serve as R’lyeh’s first line of defense. In R’lyeh there were ancient ones who specialized in the enslavement of these shoggoths. The shoggoths hadn’t yet undergone a transformation, so nearly a hundred million more years would pass before their first rebellion. By that time, R’lyeh would have sunk beneath the sea. Today Zong Yan didn’t have to worry about whether these shoggoths would obey their orders.

The Star-spawn were floating in the sky. They were the only air power R’lyeh possessed.

The true body of the great king of R’lyeh resembled an octopus, which affirmed Cthulhu’s inherent mastery over water. The Deep Ones and shoggoths were also creatures with affinity for water, and R’lyeh itself was incomparably rich in aquatic resources. In the past few days Zong Yan had tried a lot of interesting and delicious seafood snacks.

According to the historical timeline, amphibious life on Earth had just evolved. Zong Yan wasn’t sure if it was because so many evil gods had bathed the Earth in cosmic rays while visiting, but the native marine life in the sea rivalled whales in terms of size.

A few days ago, Zong Yan had watched the Deep Ones hunt a rare type of fish. They took a thin knife and cut its flesh across the grain of the muscle, then respectfully presented it to their Lord.

… It actually tasted pretty good. Sure enough, the imagination of intelligent creatures was boundless. They’d come up with a way to eat sashimi on Earth 350 million years ahead of schedule.

While Zong Yan was thinking, the high-altitude city of Carcosa finally emerged from the mist and revealed its magnificence.

The highest reaches of its tower appeared above the clouds. Instead of being austere or gothic in appearance, its architecture was full of the elegant exuberance of ancient Rome.

Like R’lyeh, Carcosa violated Euclid’s laws of geometric angles, but while R’lyeh made people feel disgusted and unclean, Carcosa gave them a sense of holiness and purity, like they were gazing at heaven.

Who would have thought the king who lived in this city was also an evil god?

Zong Yan sighed to himself.

He finally understood why Hastur, the Lord of Interstellar Spaces, had so many believers.

This guy wore a ragged yellow robe year-round, and while his posture was incomparably graceful, his face was completely hidden, which made him seem aloof from the world. For an evil god, he was very fond of art, not just opera or musical instruments, but also architecture and aesthetics. Hastur was millions of light-years ahead of his evil god peers in terms of style. He was a genuine trendsetter and might even be called a fashion demon.

If you compared such an aesthetically pleasing evil god side-by-side with a tentacle monster like Cthulhu, it was clear at a glance who’d have more followers.

Zong Yan, in modern times, had never heard of any Cthulhu devotee who wanted to return R’lyeh to the surface, even though a crowd of talented but crazy artists had created works with the theme of deep sea cities. Meanwhile, the King in Yellow and his Order of Feasters was in full swing in the U.K. And not only did they have their own website, their high priest also regularly livestreamed his sermons on YouTube. From the British royal family to ordinary people, Hastur had untold numbers of followers.

Really… If Zong Yan were forced to choose, among all the evil gods he’d met, in his opinion Hastur was the easiest to deal with.

Hastur had given Zong Yan an artistic ability that didn’t make his brain explode, and he’d also agreed to Zong Yan’s request and released Edward, his sacrifice destined from birth, without even asking for payment. In Zong Yan’s internal ranking of favorability for evil gods, Hastur took first place.

But now—

Given the relationship between Cthulhu and Hastur, a truce was obviously out of the question.

The moment the city of Carcosa appeared in the sky, a swarm of dark yellow Byakhee veered down from the clouds, with sharp, hooked claws and fangs stretched wide, sounding the horns of the first wave of attack.

These Byakhee had bat-like wings similar to those of nightgaunts. Their bodies had other traits that resembled birds and insects. At first glance they were ugly, but no matter how ugly they were, they were extremely capable in combat. When flying at full speed, they could reach hundreds of times the speed of light. One by one, the Byakhee dove through the air. On Earth, where the laws of physics were enforced, this was equivalent to a series of nuclear blasts.

“Deploy R’lyeh’s shield—!”

At the Deep One elder’s command, a dark green glow began to rise from countless towers and temples in the second level of R’lyeh. One after another, runes inscribed on the stone pillars lit up with a strange and unsettling light.

The glow converged over R’lyeh all at once, as if someone were holding a mirror in mid-air to reflect the light. In the places protected by the shield, no intruder could set foot.

The Byakhee plunged down at the speed of light, and a series of loud booms rang out from the protective cover. As a result, these creatures were contaminated by the green venom that coated the shield. They fell from the air with a scream. A flurry of scarlet blood rained down, which was immediately devoured by the shoggoths stationed on the surface of the sea. The creatures danced wildly as the blood entered their gelatinous mouths.

The city of Carcosa had air superiority, which made it difficult for the more passive R’lyeh to fight back from sea level.

But thanks to the alchemical array that Cthulhu had scavenged from higher civilizations in the universe, together with the power of the evil god and various precious energy sources, the base of the city was protected.

Unfortunately, Carcosa had come prepared.

During previous raids, the other side invaded through a spatial rift. This time, the entire kingdom had moved into the clouds, and the King in Yellow was personally in charge. They certainly hadn’t come for a chat.

Speaking of which, Hastur and Cthulhu had a long-standing grudge.

Cthulhu had moved to Earth from his home planet. Unfortunately, the Earth happened to be where Hastur had set the spatial coordinates for Carcosa. Of course, Cthulhu was deliberately making trouble. A fight was inevitable.

The first few attacks were just exploratory, but this time they were serious.

The Lord of Interstellar Spaces stretched out a pale hand from beneath his ragged yellow robe. The tip of his finger lightly touched the air, and the terrifying force of a thousand tons tore apart the unbreakable shield.

This was the power of a Great Old One.

Zong Yan’s eyes darkened. At the same time, the towering anger of an offended evil god welled up inside him.

Persona cards could influence the user’s mood and ways of thought. Zong Yan had confirmed this countless times.

As the Child of the Wind, Zong Yan dared to leap from the roof of buildings; as the Night Watchman, he possessed the reserved elegance of an aristocrat in the foggy city; as the King of Clouds, he was noble and remote; as the Sun God, he was passionate and fearless; as Azathoth, he was mentally vacant.

This card was no different. Probably the foremost trait he’d inherited was the arrogance of an evil god.

Zong Yan lifted his hand and a violent storm erupted on the sea. Thousands of high-pressure water funnels rose into the sky from the ocean, piercing the bodies of countless invading monsters.

With an evil god’s power, wasn’t dealing with these creatures all too easy?

The young king of R’lyeh raised his head and his long, deep green hair streamed behind him. His dark golden eyes were full of fierce tyranny, like a raging star that never dimmed.

Obviously, an evil god’s nature was inherently cold, but it could also blossom into red-hot heat and seize the light.

In an instant he surged up from the majestic palace. Thousands of chaotic, sinister shadows manifested behind him. Without the slightest hesitation he collided with the detestable King in Yellow.

Of course, the Lord of Interstellar Spaces couldn’t be defeated with so little power.

As the Lord floated in his ragged yellow robes, countless shadows appeared behind him too. His eyes that were fixed on the sky seemed to fall at last on the young god.

“You are not Cthulhu.” His words were simple, concise, and astonishing.

Zong Yan’s heart leaped. He forced himself to pretend to be calm, saying coldly, “Really? You’re wrong—I am Cthulhu. It’s impossible to distinguish between us. We’re half-selves of each other.”

It was the first time anyone had so bluntly pointed out to him the difference between a persona card and the original. In an instant, countless thoughts flashed through Zong Yan’s mind, but in the end, he just clenched his fists in his long sleeves. His fingertips were white.

Had this person seen through him?

Then even this identity was… It hadn’t been easy to come back to life. Would he have to do it all over again as someone else?

Despite his calm exterior, Zong Yan felt like he’d been stabbed in the chest. A tide of confusing, complex emotions flooded his mind.

Because Zong Yan had known for a long time—he wasn’t actually the grandson of Grandma Zong. He was just an orphan, a child who’d been picked up. Even his surname “Zong” had been given to him by his grandma. He hadn’t known about it at first. It was only later, after his grandma passed away unexpectedly and he was taking inventory of her things, that he found the adoption certificate.

It was hard to describe Zong Yan’s feelings at the time. He knew she’d done it out of good intentions, but humans weren’t creatures who were good at controlling their feelings. Discovering the truth only made him more solitary and lonely.

“No.” A soft laugh came from the impenetrable hood of the King in Yellow. “You are not Cthulhu’s half-self. You’re mine.”

He lifted a finger and pointed directly at the center of Zong Yan’s forehead. Only then did Zong Yan remember this was the place that had been touched by one of Hastur’s indescribable tentacles.

“Here… You bear my scent.”

—

The author has something to say:

Feeling surprised? Caught off-guard?

Two evil gods fighting over a half-self while another evil god is on the way. Here comes the Bai Xue scene

TL Notes:

take down an enemy even if it meant sacrificing himself – 玉石俱焚 – jade and stone burned together; A fire knows no moral; destruction of good and bad alike

Bai Xue scene – 白学现场 – “White Analysis scene” – This term refers to the 2D game White Album 2 (JP – ホワイトアルバム2 / CN – 白色相簿2) which features a chaotic love triangle that has been endlessly analyzed by fans. If you’re familiar with the term “Shura field”, this is similar, but it refers more to a scene where one party suddenly discovers the existence of the love triangle, or sees the other two together, and experiences intense and intricate feelings

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