Chapter 243: Chaos in the sect
I expected to see a chaotic scene where people went crazy with panic, but what I saw was an earthquake drill in a good elementary school in Japan...
People moved in an orderly fashion to evacuate the unprotected areas of the Buddhist sect, no one shouted demanding preferential treatment, and both the disciples of the sect as well as normal people were respectful of the rules.
There was fear and worry, but everyone followed the directions of the guards who were escorting people to move to the shelters assigned by the sect.
Although this territory is ruled by a faction of Higher Entities, a large part of the population is made up of 'mortals' who cultivate the Buddhist Dao.
Higher Entities are normally entities with high status even if the combat power is weak, an example is System Goddess.
If she was willing to give in to the requests of some conceited idiots, she could have a luxurious life in some sect of Eternal Heaven Immortal.
On the other hand, there are mortal entities that also have high status due to having great combat power, an example was the ancestor Ichijo who managed to gain the respect of many powerful entities even though he was a pedophile.
If I have to make a comparison, Higher Entities are kings while strong warriors are presidents.
Both can be rulers, but mortals need greater personal merit and fame to gain status.
In Higher Entity territories there are also cultivators who have not ascended in addition to 'normal people' without cultivation energy.
Normal people are in charge of miscellaneous jobs such as cleaning the temples, cultivating spiritual plants, or simply meditating to strengthen the spiritual power in the sect.
Although I call the last group of people 'normal', the truth is that the spiritual energy in the environment has improved their bodies so that their bodies are comparable to Hayato Furinji while the life expectancy of these people can reach 500 years.
Sure, these people are not true warriors as they lack proper training, especially in Buddhist territory where inner peace is more important than combat power.
The reason why people could remain calm was not only because the spiritual energy in the environment had calming properties, but the really important thing was that the sect's territory was covered with a golden bell-shaped golden barrier which prevented Azathoth's energy from destroying all living things.
The 'Distortion Madness' was affecting the Laws of reality and spatial cracks were randomly appearing on the sect's ground, but the Buddhist cultivators were reciting mantras to stabilize the Laws of this world.
To clarify, the entire Buddhist sect was a world millions of times larger than Gaia.
To think that this place is only a fraction of the entire Immortal Eternal Heaven... This place is stupidly big.
Even though Azathoth's energy didn't fully enter this place, some of the chaos managed to seep through the barrier, but every time a building turned into something resembling an abstract painting or every time a person began to mutate into a creature made of paint, the Buddhists channeled the mantras into that person managing to stabilize reality.
In the sky I could see a monstrous creature whose form could not be described in words but, if I tried, I could only say that it was the embodiment of horror.
Teeth and tentacles, the creature was just a giant mouth destroying everything in its path like a blind predator looking to destroy a rabbit hole.
The barrier had a powerful mental filter so that people would only see a blurry shadow as people without powerful mental skills will have their minds totally destroyed if they see Azathoth's current form.
[Reader's Madness] protected me from mental destruction as a single glance at Azathoth's Nightmare Form was enough to give me more of a headache than the Samsara Cycle.
Now I understand why Nyarlathotep is so afraid of the most unstable Outer God...
Azathoth was fighting ten thousand monks who were reciting the same mantra that injured Nyarlathotep.
Leading the army of monks was the son of a bitch I wish to destroy.
Although the shitty monk was not the absolute leader of the Buddhists, his position was very important and his power was not something that could be underestimated.
I am literally witnessing a war between entities capable of wiping out a universe in a matter of seconds.
Although Azathoth is millions of times stronger than the army of monks, she is at a great disadvantage as she does not have a single ally and the Buddhist mantra is specifically designed to remove the effects of Madness energy.
The other problem is that Azathoth has a nickname that describes her perfectly, 'The Blind Idiot God'.
Azathoth wasn't strategizing or evading attacks, she was simply trying to destroy the barrier protecting the sect while the monks managed to evade totally predictable attacks.
While Azathoth had such devastating power that her mere presence was destroying the souls of some monks on the galaxy level, she was still too impulsive that her body was being destroyed every second.
Azathoth's body was similar to mine, she was entirely built by black blood so even though her body was constantly mutilated, she kept regenerating smoothly as she continued to attack impulsively and disorderly.
Azathoth's growls, screams, cries, moans, and wails covered the entire space, but the Buddhist prayers of the sect's disciples were protecting the people inside the barrier.
Despite the efforts of the Buddhists, some people fell to the ground as their ears bled black liquid.
The people who were totally corrupted by the 'Distortion Madness' were killed and their souls were sent to the reincarnation cycle since that Madness was too contagious and a single infected could cause a pandemic within the sect.
Looking at the whole scenario, it can be said that the monks are fair heroes while Azathoth is the final boss that must be destroyed, so joining the monks to eliminate the monster would be the right thing to do.
That said, it would be cruel not to help a partner in distress.
Using [Dissociative Identity] I changed my Concept to 'Fraud' since I don't need combat power right now.
With [Mythomania] I maintained the presence of a normal person to hide among the people who were being gathered by the Buddhists to be taken to a safe place.
The sect disciples took us to an area with several buildings which were covered by multiple barriers.
After we entered the building the place was packed so the disciples left to help more people.
System Goddess took two minutes to analyze the barriers. – "This place was designed to prevent the mental deterioration of Madness, considering that this place seems to have been built recently it seems that the Buddhists were already prepared for the invasion of the Outer Gods"
So they already had preparations... That explains why they are managing to resist Azathoth's attack so efficiently.
I walked among the people and found no trace of cultivators, this place was only inhabited by normal people.
Men, women, children, and the elderly, this place was filled with people with clean souls and no sins.
I never thought to see thousands of honest people without a trace of malice...
Although these people showed that not the entire multiverse was populated by selfish idiots, the lack of cruelty made them naive so with a few minutes of chat I was able to gather quite a lot of information about the structure of the sect.
Although these people did not know the number of troops or the type of defensive measures in the sect, the important locations were public knowledge.
The building where disciples could exchange merit points for resources, the prison where criminals were punished, the residence of the disciples, the sacred ground where the purest spiritual energy was gathered...
Buddhists did not hide secrets as Buddhist barriers and other factors such as indoctrination ensured that there would be no spies within the sect.
That's why it's bad to be too trusting, an idiot can always come with a desire for revenge...
"Luis" - Tsubaki sighed. – "This place is full of good people who are not hypocrites, they are genuinely good people... It would be a tragedy to destroy this place..."
Tsubaki knows me too well, if things go as planned then she won't want to talk to me for a week... It's all for the greater good.
[Rasen] energy began to swirl around the small drill in my hand as System Goddess showed me the specific spot I should hit.
[System Notification: The title 'Free Man' has strengthened the skill 'Stand: Libera Me From Hell']
Tsubaki let out a sigh and closed her eyes, it was depressing for her that a beautiful place like this is destroyed.
It is no exaggeration to say that this Buddhist sect is the closest thing to a utopia, not even the idealists of Paradise managed to create an environment of peace and respect like this.
"Now!" – System Goddess gave me the signal so I hit the core with my Stand and turned my hand as if it were a key opening a door.
As soon as the core was destroyed, I made a space jump to transport myself to a far away place where I left a space mark before.
Inside an empty building, I paused for a moment and looked up at the sky.
Azathoth kept trying to break through the barrier that protected the sect.
The number of monks was decreasing as Azathoth's attacks were capable of destroying souls which were permanent death for a Higher Entity.
It is surprising that the monks continue to fight fearlessly in the face of a fate worse than death. These monks are admirable martyrs, but none of that matters to me.
I looked in the direction of the prison and saw a huge burst of energy.
If this were Gaia, that explosion would have wiped Australia off the map.
The explosion was a mixture of Buddhist energy and a strange type of Buddhist energy that was corrupted by carnal desires and violence.
In the Immortal Eternal Heaven, there is a demonic sect that follows the path of freedom through the fulfillment of carnal desires such as sexual pleasure, greed, and power.
Sometimes both sects have conflicts so the Buddhists capture the enemy warriors to try to return them to the correct path of Buddhism, contrary to the demonic Buddhists who humiliate and torture the prisoners.
Although there were also demons, demonic cultivators, warlocks, and other chaotic entities in the prison, the Buddhists' biggest rivals were the Demonic Buddhists so they were the biggest enemy inside the prison.
Now the Buddhists have two problems.
Azathoth is sending me millions of messages to find out if I'm still alive and since I haven't responded she's freaking out which makes her more violent and dangerous.
The sect disciples and other guards are busy stabilizing the Laws so they can't send reinforcements to the prison.
The evil entities are much stronger than the good entities thanks to combat experience and dirty tricks, but the prisoners have been sealed for a long time so it will take a while for them to recover their full strength so the guards can suppress the riot with something of time.
Still not enough chaos...
"Hey Listen! I have an idea!"
I sighed. – "Now is not the time for sexual stupidities"
"Fuck you bitch!" – Navi shouted with joy.
"Senpai~ I have an idea~" – BB's eyes had an intense red color. – "Senpai can use the transmutation circle to establish contact with some Ancient Ones, if senpai can negotiate, some of them will be willing to join this fun~"
"Nope!" - Nyaruko screamed in horror. – "I know you Daoloth! You're going to call Cthugha just to spite me! I hate that damn yuri stalker!"
BB smiled. – "Oh, but she has excellent destructive skills and I am sure she will join the fight if we give her some of your blood to prove that the Buddhists attacked you~"
"NO!" – Nyaruko looked terrified. – "I hate yuri and I hate her! Right now I'm weak and if she finds out she'll try to **** me!"
BB put his hand to his chin. – "Hmmm, right, that would be a problem since you are senpai's property..."
"Exactly!... Wait, I'm whose property?" – Nyaruko looked blankly at BB.
...This girl did not read the contract...
BB smiled. – "Heh, idiot~ Your butt belongs to senpai~"
"What?!" - Nyaruko paled. – "That will not fit in my butt! I'm going to die!"
"..." - Abby simply sighed, it seems that she did read the contract and even so she was willing to accept it in order to silence the voices in her head.
Wait...
"BB..." – I massaged my forehead. – "Did you let them see me when I was with Arisa?"
"...Teehee~"
This damn girl...
"I was going to punish you for two months without dessert, but I think it will be six months" - I sighed internally.
"..."
[System Notification: Lovely BB-chan has died from heartbreak, stupid senpai]
"Anyway, I want to know more about the Ancient Ones" – I kept looking at the unfolding chaos.
"Do you really want to see me get sodomized by that damn yuri addict?!" – Nyaruko was practically crying.
I sighed internally. – "Think of it this way, if she receives many injuries it will be easier to put her under various contracts that will force her to be obedient and thus she will no longer bother you"
"Oh..." – Nyaruko stopped crying and showed a big smile. - "You know? I'm starting to like you"
BB stopped pretending to be dead and flashed a big smile. – "Senpai, is the plan to deal with Cthugha the same as the one you are using for Aazthoth?~"
This girl understands me well...
"Um, I have something to say" – Nyaruko smiled bitterly. – "The other cultivator sects will help the bald monks if the situation worsens so if we are not careful we could end up surrounded by cultivators... It will be hell if they start talking about wells and tigers... Stupid frog lovers, always say the same lines"
"I know" - I agreed. – "This could be the beginning of the war between cultivators and users of Madness so we must make preparations"
"Oh senpai ♥" – BB's eyes were two hearts. – "Will you start a conflict involving the great groups of the multiverse just to protect your pretty kohai? You are so tsundere~"
"This is to help us all" – Abby pouted.
"We adults are talking, get out of here loli" – BB snorted disdainfully.
Every day my head is noisier... But despite the migraine, I am glad to listen to these noisy women...
Damnit, the Samsara Cycle will become a trauma for a long time.