"What is this...?"
Sacagawea stared in shock. Above, below, ahead, and behind, everything had turned into undulating flesh. A chill surged up from the depths of his heart.
"Don't panic! Gather around me!"
Cornelius shouted.
Though he was no expert at sensing danger, he could feel a terrifying darkness closing in from every direction. Scattering now would mean certain death.
At his words, everyone hurried over and clustered around him.
Once they had gathered, Cornelius turned to Tomioka Yoshimasa and Tanaka Shigenaga. "What do we do now?"
They had come to launch a surprise attack, only to walk into a trap. Rattled, he turned to the two of them for advice.
What else? Die a glorious death, of course.
Tanaka Shigenaga, who had swung from one extreme to the other, immediately said, "Ubbo-Sathla has appeared. We fight him to the death."
Cornelius caught Tanaka Shigenaga by the arm, his head aching. He had no idea what had gotten into the Onmyoji. How had he suddenly gone from a slippery politician to a reckless Norseman who charged headlong into every problem?
But he couldn't just watch the Onmyoji throw his life away.
"Wait. That isn't Ubbo-Sathla."
Sacagawea spoke quietly. "Before I came here, I studied both Cthulhu Fhtagn, the Evil God who appeared in the Eastern Isles, and Hastur, the King in Yellow, who appeared in Universe Country. As Great Old Ones, they rank below Ubbo-Sathla. Even so, any human who sees one of them goes mad on the spot."
"But we're facing Ubbo-Sathla right now, and none of us has shown any sign of madness. That means this isn't Ubbo-Sathla."
Everyone nodded, their fear easing a little.
Just then, Ye Men's head bulged out of the flowing flesh, and his low, uncanny voice echoed through the corridor.
"Our Father in