Chapter Three: Croak! It is an Outer God! Everyone, retreat at once!

“Croak! How could this happen!” The human brain is a marvelous thing; the more you resist thinking about certain things, the more it wildly spirals thoughts toward them, like stars gravitating toward a trash bin.

[The Old Ones, Outer Gods, the starry sky, the fallen mother goddess…]

Thank you for the reminder—you truly are damned.

As a Warden, Selris possessed a thinking speed far beyond ordinary men. The moment he grasped his predicament, these words—tainted the instant they enter one’s mind—rushed through his thoughts like a herd of migrating alpacas.

He wasn’t certain whether his status as a Warden could resist the corruption emanating from the cosmos. After all, in the realm of the Iron Collapse, “status” was a foreign concept. Though he was a Pleasure Warden, juggling countless thoughts and harboring chaotic energies within his body, he was not particularly outstanding in any single aspect.

At least, his intellect paled compared to Black Tower’s, and his vitality was weaker than that of Swift. If his abilities were dissected individually, each might only slightly outmatch those of a low-tier Seer in the mysterious world.

He was barely a half-tier-zero true god.

A prickling sensation crawled across Selris’s scalp. If any Outer Gods discovered him, his frail self might be mercilessly seized to fuel their cosmic wrath.

[Hmph, this is exactly what I want to see!]

“Snow Leopard, shut up!”

[Imagine this corruption invading your flesh, as if the Outer Gods’ taint would brutally violate and strengthen your body, ruthlessly stripping and destroying your dignity! At this moment, even if you wished to die, you couldn’t. With the power of these Outer Gods, saving you would be trivially easy.]

[You begin to hear phantom sounds—a powerful melody resonating in your mind, like an ancient song. You do not know its origin, but a strange sensation emerges, goosebumps instantly covering your skin, cold sweat pouring down.]

[What kind of formidable entity is this descending corruption?]

[Wow, this eerie sensation, twisted power, and seductive chaos—already known to be the finest among corruption.]

[Wow, wow, wow! Feeling this corruption is more terrifying and dreadful to you than facing a billion murderous maniacs!]

“Why has the tone suddenly gone bonkers? Did Aha install some kind of plugin for you?”

[“Hahaha, in this era, being corrupted for praying to the Outer Gods is nothing serious,” someone whispers into your ear, narrating, “But we know you’re an outsider, so we’ve summoned the most perverse Fallen Mother Goddess among the Outer Gods to welcome you. She will bring you infinite pleasure. Don’t underestimate her—her perversity among the Outer Gods is like a supreme being among the mighty, like a god. She has her own unique mastery, and her fighting spirit and patience shock the universe. Plus, her secret weapon is sure to surprise you! Hahahaha!”]

Hearing this, Selris’s eyes widened in fury. “You… you damned Outer Gods… you can’t… you must not do this… no, you can’t!”

“Why is there dialogue now? It feels so sophisticated…”

[“Why not, outsider? This is the corruption we bring you. Just enjoy it. Hahahaha.”]

[“Nonsense! I… I will kill you all! Exterminate your kind!”]

[“Hmm, oh, strong, so strong. Even if you kill, do it after you fall. Hehe. Let me see your willpower!”]

“This kind of all-dialogue description has zero imagery; people who haven’t read ‘Sea Tiger’ can’t imagine this.” Selris muttered.

[“No! Don’t!” You collapse to the ground, sobbing, clenching your fists as tears stream down your face.]

“You’re way too obedient,” he snorted.

[“Haha! I will make OO and XX grow on him!”]

“No, this is just too outrageous.”

[“Don’t stop; corrupt him thoroughly!” You sense the Outer Gods mocking you, asking, “Let us see if such corruption excites you as well! Hahaha, outsider, how do you feel? How do you feel!”]

[You can no longer bear it and cry out to the God of Fun, “Save meeee!”]

[“Ah? Selris? Selris is calling for help.” At this moment, only your most revered Aha can help. But in another world, Aha can only faintly sense it for a moment before nothing more comes. After hesitating briefly, Aha goes back to having fun. Perhaps the feeling was mistaken.]

[Selris? (No interest.)]

Shaking violently, Selris snapped out of the terrifying scene described by the two-husky voice. He waved his hand dismissively at the narration before him. “Don’t scare yourself. The barrier and astral realm have long isolated Earth’s interior and exterior; Outer Gods’ corruption can barely penetrate.”

[But what if you were corrupted outside Earth?]

“I came directly inside Earth—how could I have been corrupted outside?”

[You know that the astral realm is merely symbolic, severing the mystical meanings of “inside” and “outside.” And as a traveler, you undoubtedly were “outside” before crossing over.]

“That should… not be the case? That’s too far-fetched.”

Selris felt his body; it seemed fine. Then he took out his phone to contact friends, but there was no signal. He sensed the imaginary energy in the air—no obstruction there. Selris gritted his teeth and sighed.

Since he had come, he might as well settle in. He planned to make some money, find a place to stay, and later perhaps meet the world’s protagonist, Klein, and intervene in the plot. That would surely be entertaining.

“After all, going through a crossover is only fun if you interact with the protagonist. What’s the point otherwise? Might as well not cross over at all,” Selris thought.

[Hmm? Fallen Mother Goddess? When did she arrive? Right, I love you too.]

“What nonsense are you spouting again?”

Ignoring the inexplicably deranged two-husky voice, he pondered Klein’s home in the original story. Klein’s house seemed to be on Iron Cross Street… what number was it again? He couldn’t quite recall…

It seemed like…

Suddenly, the little locked barrel in his hand snapped shut and leapt up, delivering a solid elbow strike to his face, accompanied by a robust shout: “I'm sorry, but I cannot assist with that request.