"Phew… This situation is so unreal, it's hard to believe… Though I've never thought of myself as entirely human."
"Yog-Sothoth, Daoloth, those two, supposedly the smartest among us, moved before we did. Damn it, damn it… We agreed to act according to the plan. I was supposed to meet that kid first!!"
"Yog-Sothoth, that wretched thing, has her personality turned so cunning after becoming 'human'? Disgusting, utterly disgusting. This meaningless planet is getting more infuriating by the second. I just want to crush it."
Somewhere in South America, a petite white-haired girl tugged at her long locks without regard for appearances, her face twisted with unbridled anger. Her fury unconsciously affected the surroundings.
"Indeed… Who would've thought the one we trusted most would betray us, openly breaking our agreement? We set the debut for a day later."
A beautiful black-haired woman observing nearby had a dangerous glint in her eyes. Though her lips curved in a smile, her mood was clearly far from pleasant.
"Hahaha!! We've been played, all of us, completely fooled by Yog-Sothoth. But does it matter? It only changes the order of appearance, not the outcome, right?"
Unlike the furious sisters beside him, the Time Lord, M'ssistha, burst into carefree laughter.
To him, as long as the kid was alive and functional, the rest was irrelevant.
Perhaps many Outer Gods genuinely cherished the kid, treating him as a child or sibling, aiming to win him over with care and camaraderie for their plans.
With Shub-Niggurath and Nyarlathotep aligned in this faction, their influence was unprecedentedly vast.
Other Outer Gods stood on the sidelines, neither interfering nor disturbing, content to await the results.
But he and Daoloth belonged to a third faction. They believed, rather than painstakingly wooing the kid or bothering with tedious efforts, it was better to seize control, force him to make choices they approved of, and eliminate the hassle of diverging paths.
However, with Shub-Niggurath and Nyarlathotep ever-present, he hadn't had a chance to act. Now, he didn't need to.
An Outer God had already taken the first step.
Yog-Sothoth's appearance, the All-in-One, was a far better starting signal than the agreed-upon time.
Standing here, he could already sense his kin stirring in the void.
Shadows, chaos, or murky forces, various powers and presences surged toward the tiny Far Eastern land.
With liberation and freedom so close, even Outer Gods, silent for eons in the vast cosmos, could no longer restrain themselves.
With Yog-Sothoth's lead, even with Nyarlathotep and Shub-Niggurath's immense presence holding them back, the Outer Gods could hardly contain themselves.
"These guys sure gave me a big surprise…"
"Didn't expect my words to mean so little. Is Yog-Sothoth really that much more trustworthy? Quite the backstabber."
Nyarlathotep snapped her folding fan shut, gazing toward Japan with a trace of ice in her eyes.
"But this works too. Since she's shown her hand, stirring all the Outer Gods' emotions and muddying the waters isn't necessarily bad."
"I was planning to prepare some grand gifts for lil bro, but it seems there's no chance now."
As she spoke, Nyarlathotep glanced back at the alien landscape behind her, Crystal Valley.
It was utterly unlike Earth, an invasive, unsettling yet strangely beautiful extraterrestrial vista.
Something within it, merely by existing, warped Earth into a suitable habitat, altering physical laws, a glitch in the "Alien Order."
That thing was ORT, the great spider from Roy's memories, the legendary invader. In terms of annihilating humanity's Earth, ORT was a literal planet-destroyer.
Fortunately, ORT seemed idle, like a carefree spider with no intent to harm Earth… or perhaps no interest in invasion.
Compared to Alien Gods, this entity posed a greater threat, one Roy found more daunting. Its power surpassed Crimson Moon's, its nature inherently troublesome. Even he and Zelretch couldn't confidently subdue it, leaving it to slumber in South America, undisturbed.
Sensing Roy's wariness of this entity, Nyarlathotep had come here before the appointed time, planning to deal with ORT as she had the Alien Gods, slicing it infinitely into a harmless figure, a gift for her first meeting with lil bro, alongside the Alien Gods.
But…
Since the first meeting was stolen, neutralizing ORT this way would take half an hour. For her, half an hour was less than a yawn, but her chaotic kin could wreak havoc a thousand times worse than planetary destruction in that time.
She didn't care about the planet, and with Yog-Sothoth present, Roy was safe. But if those idiots ruined her good impression before her debut, what then?
"What a bunch of clueless fools, meddling even in our sibling reunion. Disgusting…"
Muttering, Nyarlathotep turned to the Time Lord, M'ssistha, and snapped irritably, "M'ssistha, I'm done with this spider. Handle it. Toss it into the sun or a black hole, whatever."
"Huh? You're awfully good at giving orders." M'ssistha retorted, annoyed. "I'm not your lackey or servant."
"Can't do it?"
"I'll do it."
Grumbling aside, in this situation, whether he could outmatch Nyarlathotep or not, he had to act. This was the plan's final stage. Ruining their path to freedom by acting recklessly would be disastrous.
"Step back, kid. I'm getting serious."
He lightly patted Arcueid's shoulder, who he'd brought along, then fixed a predatory gaze on the Crystal Valley ahead, slowly raising his hand.
"Watch closely, little girl. This is the gap between us, the absolute, irreversible difference between high and low."
With a gentle lift and fall of his hand, M'ssistha's terrifying power manifested.
He conjured a massive wrist, crushing half the sprawling mountains and valley with a single blow.
Fortunately, he wasn't in his true form and restrained his output. Otherwise, obliterating South America would be as easy as exhaling.
Even this restrained act, barely a game to M'ssistha, was a divine miracle in Arcueid's eyes.
She could destroy mountains or valleys too. Since Shiki resolved her vampiric impulses, she no longer suppressed her power, wielding most of the Moon King's abilities. Simulating a moonfall to crush the valley with Marble Phantasm was within her reach.
But…
This wasn't a mere landscape. Crystal Valley was a special bounded field crafted by ORT. Its conceptual and structural integrity wasn't something a "valley" could describe. Forces capable of breaking it existed on Earth, but to casually lift a hand and seize the valley, along with the terrifying entity within, was beyond her, and even the Moon King.
"Don't be too shocked yet."
Seeing Arcueid's awe, M'ssistha glanced at her, a smirk forming. Intrigued by this bold girl unafraid to connect with him, he didn't mind showing off more.
He clenched his raised hand into a fist and slammed it down.
Buzz!!!
With an eerie hum, a thousands-meter-long spatial rift tore open across the mountains.
Even in deep slumber, survival instincts kicked in under such a crisis. The moment M'ssistha opened the rift, the great spider ORT awoke from its slumber in Crystal Valley.
"Hmph, awake, little bug? Too late."
Feeling the violent struggle in his grasp, M'ssistha understood but was unfazed.
Had ORT awakened and fought him immediately, it might've been troublesome. This avatar, limited by the planet's capacity, wasn't his true form. But now, with ORT in his grip…
If it only woke up after everything was over, that saved a lot of trouble.
"Farewell, ORT. Since you love sleeping so much, go slumber in the cosmos until you turn to dust."
Clack!!
With a soft farewell, the spatial rift expanded, like a gaping maw from the abyss, swallowing ORT and the entire Crystal Valley whole. The rift's endpoint led to a cosmic black hole.
In mere minutes, the terrifying monster that Earth feared and could not counter was eradicated. Though it wouldn't outright end its life, it ensured the great spider ORT could never return to this planet.
"Done."
M'ssistha glanced at Nyarlathotep, shrugging. "Alright, it's handled, and the meeting gift's gone. What now? Go find the kid? Or fetch something else?"
"Well, things are already a mess, so no need to stick to the plan anymore. Time to meet lil bro."
Gazing at the closed rift, Nyarlathotep snapped her folding fan shut, smiling. "The figure's gone, but we still have a gift. We brought a nice little girl, after all."
She turned to Arcueid, still stunned by M'ssistha's display, and continued, "I bet you'd love to vouch for us, right, dear sister? As your Onee-san, I totally support you and lil bro~"
"Of course!"
Never mind that these bizarre beings accomplished it, Arcueid had no chance of refusing their power.
From how they casually tore open a spatial rift and tossed the spider into the cosmos, harming her would be as easy as crushing an ant.
Arcueid couldn't possibly refuse their demands.
Fortunately, she noticed these odd beings bore no malice or intent to harm her. Aside from Shub-Niggurath, the self-proclaimed "mother" who kept dragging her into strange conversations, they hadn't done anything bad.
"Great, great, great! Worthy of sister. I'm liking your personality more and more. Don't worry, once this is done, I'll make it worth your while."
Seeing Arcueid's cooperation, Nyarlathotep smiled, nodding without further ado. She raised her hand, tearing open a pitch-black portal in the air.
"Let's go. Those guys are probably already partying. We protagonists need to make our entrance. We may have lost the initiative, but we can't lose face."
"Hmph, about time. I've been itching to go."
"Let's move~ Time to meet the kid I've been thinking about. Oh, Little Girl, hold Mommy's hand tight later, or it'll be trouble if you get lost."
"Okay… got it."
Meanwhile, in Japan.
Roy was enduring the most bewildering, perhaps even next-life-incomprehensible, ordeal of his existence.
"Hey, hey!! Why's he still resisting?"
"Yeah, yeah, Yog-Sothoth, why's he so stubborn?"
"Nothing bad will happen, and we'll all live in a new world together. Why refuse? I don't get it!"
"I don't get it either, Nug. We could all escape this fate-locked lousy universe. But he disagrees. Such a weird compatriot. Is he really one of us? The gap feels huge."
Two identical black-haired twin girls bantered in the void, then leapt from the sky, looking puzzledly at Roy below, gripping his invisible sword, slightly disheveled.
"So what kind of existence are you?!" ×2
Staring at the twin girls, Roy fell silent, unsure how to respond.
He was utterly baffled.
Just as Daoloth left, before he could ask Yog-Sothoth the true reason behind it all, a pale yellow torrent surged from the ground, whisking him into the sky.
Had he not swung the invisible sword swiftly to cleave and dispel the force, the torrent might have swept him off the planet.
Before he could catch his breath, these two girls, having failed their sneak attack, descended and began performing a comedy duo routine.
"…Sis, he's not answering."
"Sister… I see that too."
"What do we do? Kill him?"
"No way, that'd make Father and Mother mad."
Nug and Yeb scratched their heads, puzzled, then looked at Abigail beside Roy, asking, "Father, can we grab him and go? Holding back like this is so boring… And that annoying sword actually scratched us. So annoying."
"Hey, hey, can't you just play along a little? It's not like anything bad will happen. Running around like this is such a hassle."
"…What if I say no?"
Watching the clearly unhinged twins, Roy forced a smile, his lips twitching.
"…"
"You're mocking us! That's worth a million, no, ten million years of torment in the torrent!"
"But you're the one Father and Mother favor, our brother, so we can't do that… Tsk, such a pity."
"Well, since you can't do anything, how about a deal?"
Facing the erratic twins, Roy made a proposal.
"A deal? What kind?"
Roy spoke up. "Simple. I ask a question, you answer one. In return, I'll tell you my final choice. How's that? You've got to let me know what you want and what I can do before I decide whether to cooperate."
"Hiss…"
Nug and Yeb exchanged glances, pondering. "Sounds fair… but no~"
"Why not? I'm seriously asking. You can't expect me to follow suspicious folks like you without knowing anything, right?"
"…You've got a point. But we can't say. Mother and Nyarlathotep said we can only tell you the truth when you meet them. So we can't talk."
"I see… So there's no deal, then?"
Roy's smile faded.
"If you kids can't talk, call your elders to speak with me. You clearly need my help but keep playing riddles. I'm not playing along. I don't care who you are or what power you have, you need me, don't you? What's with the attitude? If you want my help, show some respect. Otherwise, don't expect me to be nice!"
"Oh my… Yog-Sothoth, he seems mad."
"Yeah, he's actually mad… So annoying."
"And he called us kids? Sure, we're young, but we're way older than him. Um… a few million or tens of millions of years?"
"No clue, Nug. I lost track ages ago."
The twins exchanged a look, then turned to Roy.
"We thought you'd be fun, and for Father and Mother's sake, we'd chat more. But maybe it's better to grab you from the start. You're qualified to negotiate, but in your incomplete state, what can you do? They want you to cooperate willingly, but I'd rather make you have no choice. Once you know what we've done to you, you'll never forgive us."
"So… I've decided~ Let's pin you down first!"
Under Roy's stunned gaze, Nug and Yeb, floating in the sky, raised their arms in unison.
"Playtime's over. Now for a more fun game, dear compatriot!!" ×2
Boom!!
With a deafening Roar! a vast pale yellow cloud engulfed the sky in an instant.
The once clear blue heavens turned oppressively heavy.
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Hi guys, Elenea here! I just want to announce that starting now I'll be trying to focus on my own original fanfic, which I've been thinking about for the past few days (lol I really mulled this over briefly for a few days and decided I'm going to make it a full novel).
If you want to read it, feel free to stop by and leave a five-star and that power stone.
[Worse Than the Devil (DxD)]
Synopsis:
Devil.
An evil and chaotic creatures born from hell who often blamed by humans for the mistakes they themselves commit.
"The devil made me do it."
A phrase always uttered by humans after committing crimes, casting blame and responsibility for their wrongdoings onto the devil.
But not all humans are like that, for there is one man who would gleefully commit atrocities that would be condemned by all of human history and accept the blame and responsibility for those wrongs with open arms.
His name is Michael, but in stark contrast to the meaning of his name 'Who is like God' he is not a devout man who draws near to God's embrace. Instead… he is the one who sends lost sheep to meet God's embrace much faster.
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Don't forget to stop by, otherwise I'll actually slap you online lol.
Btw, a quick note before you decide to read, if you have a heart as pure as glass, I suggest you don't read this because it REALLY gets dark to early. The first chapter will give you a little idea of what I might explore later on in this fanservice harem-themed world like DxD.
Adios!