Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 28 Desperate Situation
"I gained the ability to survive on land from your contract, so only a small section of the sea in the middle required the activation of flesh and blood magic. We ascended quickly when we came up, so you didn't feel the life force drained from the contract."

In other words, as long as you descend into the Abyss once, you can use flesh magic to forcibly maintain normality? Zeus understood. No wonder the banshees back then believed their tribe was cursed. There must have still been normal banshees at that time, but as soon as they stopped using flesh magic, they would immediately turn into bloated monsters and even explode and die.

The newly born banshees had no chance to dive into the abyss and were born as bloated monsters.

The banshees gradually disappeared, and the cursed lingered on in this world.

Until Zeus led them back to the abyss.

"So, how are your people doing? Is your new home okay?"

"Not good." Ash frowned. "In the past, we only heard that the Abyss was a forbidden place for life. With your guidance, we learned about the water pressure. We thought it was the water pressure that kept other creatures away, but later..."

At this point, Ash was a little stuck. She tried to gesture with her six hands, but the effect was not very good.

"Are there enemies inside?" Xius asked tentatively.

"It's not just an enemy, it's an indescribable existence. Whenever it passes near us, my people feel oppressed, nauseous, out of control, and crazy."

"Can it be driven away?"

"No, we can't see it."

Ash thought for a moment and then spoke again, "Lord, we've heard that the Abyss was polluted. That's when we lost our home. Furthermore, we're not at the very bottom of the Abyss. No one knows how deep it is. It seems the pollution came from down there."

pollute?

“What does pollution mean?”

Ash shook his head, "I've only heard that before, and I don't understand it."

Xiu Si pursed his lips. He didn't quite understand what pollution was. From the literal meaning, it was some harmful substances mixed into the environment, causing the normal conditions to be distorted to the point where survival was impossible.

But what can be called harmful?

There are indeed many things that can cause hallucinations and nausea, but these things are closer to "substances."

In Ash's description, the pollution her people suffered was closer to "living things."

Is it some kind of living creature that has become the source of pollution, or is it that the pollution has become "alive"?

If pollution came to life, would it seek food or would it seek to pollute more organisms?
Zeus shuddered unconsciously. The temperature was not cold at all, but he seemed to feel a cold gaze coming from the deep sea.

He had a vague feeling that if the Banshees continued to be "polluted", big problems would arise.

No, we can't go on like this.

"Ash, can you please let the Banshee leave the Abyss?"

Ash showed a troubled expression. "I've thought about this before, but only the Abyss can have such deep water and such high water pressure. Once we come up, we must maintain our flesh magic at all times. Then..."

Then it turned back to its original appearance. Zeus saw a hint of determination in Ash's eyes. She probably would rather die in the abyss than become a cursed person like a swollen monster again.

But beneath the Abyss, the Banshees' condition was clearly deteriorating. One day, they would cross a certain boundary and be completely assimilated by the "pollution." Hughes paced in circles, thinking of various solutions and then rejecting them. The Banshees' living conditions were too demanding. Where could he find such high water pressure?

Water pressure, water pressure, water pressure
Zeus suddenly stopped, looked at Ash floating on the sea, and slapped his forehead.

How could he forget that there was also the symbiotic contract option?

"Can you survive on shore through a contract?"

Ash's expression darkened. "We can sign a symbiotic contract with the humans on shore, extracting their life force to maintain our flesh and blood magic. However, every Siren offers the same contract, but each party is different."

Xius was surprised and only understood what she meant after asking carefully.

When the symbiotic contract is signed, both parties are placed on the two ends of the scale.

The abilities provided by the Banshees are fixed, and the abilities obtained by signing a contract with each Banshee are the same.

The symbiont on the other side of the scale, however, provides random contract abilities, randomly acquiring certain abilities of the other party.

According to Ash, she has never seen two identical symbiotic contracts, even if the other party is of the same race.

The symbiotic contract between Ash and Zeus provides Ash with the ability to survive on land, but another Banshee, who signs a symbiotic contract with other humans, gains other abilities.

Similarly, the probability of acquiring the ability to survive on land is close to zero.

"So you were at that time..." Xius thought of something and asked in surprise.

"Yes, Lord. My idea at the time was to return to my people immediately after signing the contract, tell them about the water pressure, and then terminate the contract."

"What will happen if the contract is terminated?"

"Die," Ash replied simply, "and then all my life force will be transferred to you through the contract."

Zeus opened his eyes wide and didn't speak for a long time.

He didn't expect Ash to be so determined. When he signed the contract, he felt it was a scam, but he only gave it a try because he had the supernatural power that descended into the body.

Unexpectedly, the other party decided to sacrifice himself without hesitation. If it weren't for his good luck and the ability to survive on land, Ash's departure at that time would have been a farewell forever.

Then perhaps a new race would appear under the Abyss and worship him as a god, but he would be completely unaware of this and continue to manage his Castel Island.

Is this fate? Hughes is a staunch materialist, but he couldn't help but feel lost for a moment in this fateful coincidence.

After calming down, Xius asked again: "Can other banshees sign a contract with me?"

Ash shook his head, a trace of sadness in his eyes. "Your body is too weak. You fell into a coma just by signing the contract. If the other banshee and I were to drain your vitality at the same time, you would definitely die."

The banshees have not tried to have multiple banshees make contracts with one contractor at the same time. The main reason is that the only ones they could contract with before were murlocs, and murlocs were quite weak. One banshee could drain all of their vitality, let alone multiple banshees.

As for humans, Ash didn't want to belittle the human race. Her lord, Zeus, was the most knowledgeable and benevolent being she had ever met, even comparable to a god. However, in terms of physical strength and vitality...
Humans are even weaker than murlocs.

(End of this chapter)