Crack… Crack… Crack!!
A low, grating sound erupted, followed by a piercing shatter, like glass breaking, echoing in Roy's ears, no, resounding across the skies of the Wandering Sea.
Boom!!
The sound of mountains crumbling reached them, and the dimension and phase they occupied collapsed abruptly.
A jagged fissure tore through the empty void like a cracked mirror, revealing a scarlet, terrifying hound's eye, disrupting time and space uncontrollably. The meticulously crafted magical barriers of the Wandering Sea shattered entirely.
Amid the hound's gnashing fangs, a man in a black suit materialized silently atop a faux mountain by the artificial lake, facing Roy with a menacing grin.
"Hey there, kid."
"That's…?"
"Oh, that's M'shithra. We left in such a rush we forgot him in South America, but with his speed and nose, he caught up quick, didn't he?"
"M'shithra?"
"Lil bro, let me introduce you. The Hound of Tindalos, from the nightmare city of Tindalos, a far-off dimension beyond conventional spacetime, with twisted, spiral towers no one's returned from. Among the Tindalosians, there are high-ranking beings called Tindalos Lords, and the strongest is M'shithra, often dubbed the 'Lord Above Tindalos.' I call him the Time Lord."
"Don't let his dumb look fool you. M'shithra's power is immense, far beyond those second-rate Great Old Ones. He can tangle with Yog-Sothoth, can't win, but annoying her is feat enough. They're locked in an eternal rivalry. They say M'shithra represents angular spacetime, while Yog-Sothoth embodies curved spacetime, so they clash."
"His spacetime mastery is second only to Yog-Sothoth's. He can toss any object or being into temporal chaos, leaving them to fend for themselves. ORT and Sefar's bodies? He dealt with those for you. And it wasn't the Alien God who flung you from Chaldea back to this timeline, it was him."
Nyarlathotep elaborated.
"But he's with the other faction, not exactly friendly toward you. With Yog-Sothoth here, things are bound to get lively. Maybe they'll spark a temporal storm."
Roy:
"Is this the time for jokes?"
"Isn't it?"
"Are you kidding?!"
The surrounding space and dimension, struck as if by a sharp hammer, sprouted countless horrifying cracks. Spacetime fragments peeled away, exposing the essence beneath… nothingness.
Roy's grasp of the unknown domains, powers only Outer Gods wielded, was rudimentary. But no deep understanding was needed. Any sane person witnessing the sky fracture in layers would be shaken, unable to remain indifferent.
This sensation, though tied to spacetime and dimensions, was predominantly a temporal issue.
As cracks resounded, the quivering lake water flowed into divergent temporal rifts. No one knew their destination or what worlds lay at spacetime's end.
Not just the surroundings, Roy's own body, even the invisible sword conjured from his status, trembled under spacetime's pull.
Fortunately, Roy had some strength left. Gritting his teeth, he swung the sword, halting the cracks' spread.
But their location was no longer the Wandering Sea's mountains. They stood in a void, world fragments floating around, reflections of parallel worlds glimmering like mirrors before them.
And then…
In this shattered world, within the broken temporal fault, the master of this place, the ruler of the Tindalos Hounds, approached. Clad in a black trench coat, a middle-aged man with a ferocious demeanor walked a bizarre path of spacetime shards toward them.
As the fractured spacetime and boundless void roared toward them like a greeting, Roy's eyelids twitched.
These damn, melodramatic Outer Gods, couldn't they take a cue from Yog-Sothoth and show up quietly for once? Always with these terrifying, grandiose entrances. Such bad taste.
The dreamlike void world loomed close, within arm's reach.
Such beauty, such mesmerizing power.
A mere touch of the gate could unveil all spacetime. Surely no one could resist?
Probably… no one…
"Roy, it's M'shithra-jisan! He's here too!"
"Ha? M'shithra-jisan? You two close or something?"
Roy glanced in surprise at Arcueid, who seemed excited rather than scared.
"Yeah, he's actually nice. He took me to tons of weird, creepy places, gave me gifts, and even asked if I'd like to work in his domain as a lord or something…"
Roy stared, speechless, at the golden-haired girl who, despite knowing the enemy's scale and status, remained calm and chummy.
His lord…
Did she even know what that place was?
Never mind, she probably wouldn't get it even if he explained.
Was it because hounds and golden retrievers were kindred spirits, so they got along?
Though the man looked menacing, if Arcueid trusted him so much, maybe he was someone you could reason with, talk to… right?
As if!
Only a fool would engage a shady guy in a place this eerie!
"Nyarlathotep, Yog-Sothoth, get us back to the real world. You can do that, right?"
Yog-Sothoth nodded. "Yes."
Nyarlathotep, puzzled, said, "Why run, Lil bro? With me here, he can't hurt you, no matter how many show up."
"Outer Gods aren't supposed to fight each other, it risks breaking the dream's balance. But that doesn't mean I'm weak. The gap between Outer Gods is wider than between humans and ants. Numbers don't decide strength."
"Stay by me, and Onee-san will keep you safe."
Roy raised an eyebrow at Nyarlathotep's smug words. He knew that.
As the Three Pillar Gods, they could suppress all Outer Gods. But the real issue was the world's stability. A fight here, even if it didn't shatter the dream-universe, could crack Earth. Not what he wanted.
He doubted these Outer Gods were dumb enough to go that far, but better to avoid it, figure things out, and send them away.
Rather than defeating or destroying Outer Gods, his mantra was: "Prevent their conflicts and absolutely don't fight them."
Seeing Nyarlathotep's unreliability, Roy pinned his hopes on the others.
"Mother, can you get us out?"
Roy called out suddenly.
He drew his sword, slashing the air, dispersing the encroaching spacetime forces.
Yog-Sothoth: "Huh?!"
Nyarlathotep: "What?!"
"You… what did you just call me?"
Shub-Niggurath stared at Roy, incredulous at what she'd heard.
"Mom, help me."
The invisible sword looked dazzling, like a torch in the night, banishing darkness with Roy's swings.
But it was an illusion…
Within three seconds, more spacetime forces surged, pinning Roy and his sword to an invisible plane.
Yet the situation shifted entirely.
Shub-Niggurath, who'd been leisurely watching Roy struggle, perked up at "Mom." The anticipation that had settled since meeting him reignited, blazing at his call.
"Good boy, leave it to Mommy. Take the girl and rest over there."
"If this mutt keeps acting up, I'll skin him and toss him to the Black Goats!"
Appearing before Roy, Shub-Niggurath flicked her hand, shattering the countless spacetime forces, freeing him from confinement. She gently pinched his cheek, smiling.
Theoretically, these forces could pulverize Earth. They overwhelmed Roy effortlessly. But to the strongest Outer God, they weren't worth a glance.
She'd planned to watch, bored.
But that one word, "Mother", pushed her emotions to their peak. In an instant, she acted, forgetting their agreement not to interfere.
M'shithra's eyes widened.
He roared internally: What are you doing?! Didn't we agree you'd play good cop, I'd play bad cop? No real harm, just a scare, and this kid says "Mom." and you lose it?!
Are you treating me like a dog?!
But Shub-Niggurath, elated, ignored M'shithra's thoughts or Nyarlathotep's dissuasion. She wanted to shine for her child.
With another wave, spacetime nodes exploded like pillars, one after another.
The so-called temporal rift was forcibly mended by an indescribable, infinite force.
With the artificial lake as the nexus, everyone, including the newly arrived M'shithra, plunged into the water, their vision swallowed by blue.
"Cough… gurgle… Shub-Niggurath, you-"
Outer Gods couldn't choke or drown, but in human form, M'shithra looked bedraggled.
His grand, imposing entrance was reduced to a soaked dog. Even Arcueid, seeing his sorry state, materialized a towel and offered it.
"Here, Uncle, don't catch a cold." she said kindly.
M'shithra clenched his fists, itching to crush this infuriating world.
These jerks, agreed to play along, then pulled this stunt, humiliating him and landing him Shub-Niggurath's punch.
That motherly, or rather, foolish, blow nearly shattered his avatar.
But seeing Shub-Niggurath's eager, ready-to-pummel-him-again look, he stayed silent, instinctively taking Arcueid's towel.
He shook off the water, banishing the droplets to other timelines.
He held the towel, unsure why.
"What are you even here for?"
Roy eyed the Outer God, wolfish and fierce, now looking oddly hapless after his dunking.
His impression shifted from Fenrir to husky.
Not a bad guy? Approachable, maybe gullible…
A new tool, no, a potential friend for mutual help?
"Hiss…"
M'shithra's wolf-like senses locked onto Roy.
"Thanks to that sword, I can't read your mind anymore, but I feel you're thinking something absurd, brat."
"Nope, definitely not. Just wondering how we can be friends."
"Friends? Don't you-"
Before M'shithra could curse, an ecstatic Shub-Niggurath stepped in front of Roy, cracking her knuckles with a "benevolent" look, silencing him.
They stared at each other, the atmosphere tensing.
"So, what now? Keep talking, with M'shithra?"
Nyarlathotep shrugged.
"I'm fine with it, but something's coming, and this time it's serious."
Yog-Sothoth said expressionlessly.
At that moment, a dazzling light appeared in the distant sky.
Alarms blared, a sense of crisis surging.
Looking up, a blinding spear of light plummeted from the heavens, aimed straight at Roy's group!!
Humanity's Cannon?
The heat and concept reminded Roy of Goetia's great light wheel.
But then he recalled: in this world, not only was Human Order Incineration absent, he'd dismantled Chaldea. No Humanity's Cannon here. So this was…
"Oh, Ghroth, the loudest and most temperamental one. Probably panicked when Lil bro vanished. After Shub-Niggurath's punch shattered the dimension, he found us, thinks we're hiding you, and shot a glare to vent, huh?"
"Pretty childish."
Nyarlathotep scratched her head, her expression mildly exasperated.
"So… my fault?"
Shub-Niggurath blinked.
"Obviously. A phase shift would've sufficed, but you had to flex. Now he's mad."
Nyarlathotep clutched her forehead, feigning distress, though her grin never faded.
"Alright, alright, don't worry, Lil bro. It's no big deal. Watch Onee-san handle-"
"Too much talk."
Yog-Sothoth shot her a glance. As Nyarlathotep rambled, Yog-Sothoth raised a finger. Impossible to discern what it was, but undeniably, spacetime stirred again.
Unlike M'shithra's brute-force spacetime tearing, this was a delicate manipulation.
A faint ripple emanated from Yog-Sothoth's slender fingertip. An unseen force or entity reached the descending light pillar's void in an instant…
In a blink, the terrifying beam, capable of piercing the planet, was swallowed by the ripple, vanishing into unknown spacetime without a trace.
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