Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord-Chapter 165: "How Can Mortal Fire Defile Steam?"

"So, do you understand what I mean? The Mechanical Cathedral merely wrote some prayers and fabricated a few procedures out of thin air. It doesn’t meet the requirements of a ritual at all, so there’s no way it could summon an evil god. You can rest assured, I wouldn’t joke about our safety."

"You’re saying this can’t possibly succeed?"

"Yes, I think those prayers were written with some effort, so I just recited them, thinking maybe it could amuse the Machine Soul." Chloe nodded confidently.

"Then what is this?" Hughes pointed at the steam engine, which was still roaring, burning the pollution, and howling in a language no one could understand.

"."

Chloe opened her mouth, wanting to say something but ultimately got stuck.

This completely contradicted her knowledge of the occult, yet the ritual had actually succeeded.

She had indeed summoned something, something unknown.

The steam engine before her rumbled so loudly that she couldn’t even deny it if she wanted to.

Her expression wavered, revealing a confused look of self-doubt.

"This shouldn’t be possible. I don’t think I did anything, right?"

"Could it be that there were too many people watching, fulfilling the required number?"

"Do you think this is just about headcount? It requires unwavering faith. Do you all have unwavering faith?"

"We do seem to be watching with unwavering amusement." Chloe puffed up her cheeks and turned away angrily.

Hughes scratched his head and approached the steam engine. "So, what exactly is this thing? Where is Anou?"

At the mention of "Anou," Monica suddenly jumped up.

She rushed to the steam engine, her face full of terror. "Right! Where is my Anou? If this isn’t Anou, then where is Anou!?"

Her lips quivered, and tears welled up in her eyes. She walked up to Hughes, grabbing his hand and shaking it back and forth. "Anou, Anou, Lord Hughes, please save Anou, okay..."

Hughes raised a hand to stop the other sirens from stepping forward. He licked his lips. "I actually want to know too. Let me give it a try."

"Lord, don’t go near it! That steam engine is still very dangerous!" The sirens gathered around anxiously.

"It’s fine. If you’re worried, just cast a Flesh Magic spell on me." The sirens exchanged glances and nodded.

One of them placed her hand on Hughes’ shoulder.

With Flesh Magic, minor injuries could be ignored completely.

Even Nini, who had withstood an explosion underwater, hadn’t died instantly.

As long as one was still alive, the Symbiotic Contract could bring them back.

Hughes took a deep breath and gently placed his hand on the steel surface of the steam engine, with Flesh Magic, he wouldn’t even get burned.

Closing his eyes, his consciousness gradually sank. Hughes tried to communicate with the soul within the machine, that light existence within the steel.

"Where @#! is it? *&"

It was still meaningless howling, but Hughes seemed to catch a few fragmented words.

This existence seemed to be searching for something.

And when it noticed Hughes, no, it didn’t actually notice Hughes.

It had no thoughts, no reasoning. It was simply searching instinctively, moving forward instinctively.

Hughes inexplicably felt this in his heart.

The moment Hughes realized this, it seemed to become aware of him as well.

Some kind of connection formed between them.

"If you really are an evil god..." Hughes muttered, eyes widening as he sensed the link.

Sure enough, in the next moment, the howling from the other side became agonizingly intense.

It shrieked as if thrown into the flames of pollution, wailing in a mournful song, crying in pain, lamenting regret, but Hughes couldn’t understand its words.

Well, evil gods aren’t entirely unresponsive after all. At least, they react when they’re being purified.

Hughes had already expected this scene when their connection formed.

Though he didn’t know why, all pollution he came into contact with would be purified.

Now, it seemed that even the evil god’s essence was no exception.

The evil god within the steam engine only howled for a moment before being completely wiped out.

The process was far shorter than when purifying the workers’ husks.

This confirmed Chloe’s theory, the entity within the steam engine wasn’t the true body of an evil god, but rather a fragment of some kind?

Hughes narrowed his eyes.

Chloe had summoned a fragment of an evil god through the Mechanical Cathedral’s ritual?

Does the Mechanical Cathedral truly worship machines?

As the foreign existence was eradicated, the pollution within the boiler instantly went berserk.

It violently slammed against the boiler walls, and the lid seemed about to be blasted off.

But in the next moment, an immense force firmly pressed it down, sealing the lid shut.

"Anou, long time no see."

Feeling that silent yet familiar presence, Hughes broke into a genuine smile. This was the Machine Soul he knew.

Anou still seemed to dislike that name. Its flywheel spun a little faster, producing a creaking sound as if in protest.

The pollution inside the boiler was no longer as docile as before, but the solid and heavy steel tightly contained it, giving an inexplicable sense of reassurance.

"Alright, say hello to everyone." Hughes patted the steam engine and turned to look at the people in the room.

Chloe wore a strange expression as she cautiously stepped forward to touch it, sensing the Machine Soul’s will beneath the steel.

Gaia peeked out from behind a siren’s serpentine tail, looking on curiously. Monica, on the other hand, burst into tears and threw herself at the steam engine.

"Waaah, Anou! I thought I’d never see you again. I was so scared!" She wiped her tears and snot all over the metal surface.

"I almost mistook someone else for you. I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Waaah! Please don’t ignore me ever again. I really don’t want to mistake you for someone else again..."

Huge drops of tears splattered onto the scalding outer wall of the combustion chamber, instantly evaporating into wisps of steam.

Steel does not believe in tears. Machine Souls do not falter or hesitate.

But the roaring exhaust did quiet down slightly, as if afraid of scaring this sobbing creature of flesh and blood.

Can steel long for an embrace too? Hughes found the thought creeping into his mind.

"Thinking about it carefully, there are quite a few suspicious points." Chloe leaned in and whispered, "Do you remember what the Mechanical Cathedral always says?"

Which phrase? Hughes only recalled one, the one Chloe had told him before—

"How can mundane fire defile steam?" Hughes slowly said.

"Exactly." Chloe nodded solemnly.

"I’ve seen their machines before. They had no Machine Soul and none of those strange presences, just ordinary steam engines. That’s why I let my guard down."

She licked her lips. "But look—’How can mundane fire defile steam?’ If they weren’t using mortal fire, then what were they burning?"