Chapter Eleven - Infinity
—
"Suisei!" Sana shouts out as she pushes me to the ground. "Guh!" I exclaim, suprised by the sudden fall. I land hard on my hands and knees, my head ending up facing the ground.
*{!.#]?*
I hear a strange, visceral sound to my right. One I've never heard before. I look up at where the sound came from, only to see Sana's body, just her body. I look down at her feet, to find her severed head floating in a pile of blood.
"Shit..." I exclaim softly, under heavy breaths. My eyes widen in a mix of every kind of negative emotion. Sana just died. Tsukumo Sana, the strongest girl I know, was killed in an instant.
I stand up slowly, knees shaking in fear. No need to summon my axe, it won't make much of a difference anyways. I look forward at the demon who did this, my lips quivering as I try to speak.
"How?" Is all that I can muster. I ask just a simple, one word question, my voice shaking as I do.
"I unlocked this shackle, it's as simple as that." Laplus responds, pointing at the clearly closed shackle hanging on her neck. "It's-"
I barely get a word out before Laplus interrupts me, "Closed? Think again. I obviously didn't want you to know that I've broken out of my shackle, so I left just an atom of space in the opening, and made you believe that it was still closed." Laplus explains with a condescending tone.
"When?" Laplus asks herself rhetorically, reading my mind. "Kovalskia gave Me the key last night, which just so happens to be when she first started forging it."
"I'm the god of knowledge. I figured out when Raora would go to sleep last night, and that's when I had Kaela forge the key for Me." Laplus answers my question before I can even finish conceiving the thought in my head.
"Yes. Kovalskia forged the key in one night. That night being the same night that I entered My [shed] form for the first time in thousands of years." Laplus answers my barely formed question yet again.
"Oh, and Kronii isn't doing anything because she doesn't know that I've killed Sana. In fact, she doesn't know anything." Laplus says, her smile growing and contorting to a disgusting shape.
"Why didn't Panthera tell her!? Because she's dead!" Laplus gloats, cackling wildly. "Huh!? How did she die? Heh!, you know how when your wristbands are touched, you instantly get teleported to Hololive's Japan office? Well... before this little competition began, I altered Kazama's wristband to teleport her straight to Panthera if she ever got eliminated. And viola! The God Eyes have now been taken care of."
"Why am I telling you this? Oho, it's because I like you." Laplus says, smiling as she slowly walks towards me. "If Tsukumo was the hunter pointing a loaded shotgun at Me, then you're the little hunting doggy following her around."
A dog... she sees me as a dog? She thinks that she's so above me... usually I would be pissed off, but right now, I think she's above me too.
I'm scared. If she ever gets tired of playing around with me, will she kill me?
"Yeah. I'll kill you on the spot." Laplus reads my mind, and smiles.
—
~Perspective shift~
—
[ Amelia Watson - Prodigy Detective ]
Me, Cali, Kiara, and Ina are sitting together on piles of rubble, discussing what to do next.
"Good thing we showed up, otherwise we could've lost you too." Cali says, a look of relief on her face. She's leaning on the wall, arms crossed. "Yeah, you were almost fox food." Ina jokes, chuckling softly.
"Too bad Gura's out though." Kiara remarks in disappointment as she tends to my cuts, the wounds catching fire for a bit before closing themselves. "So, what's the plan now?" Cali asks me, letting one arm fall as she uses the other to gesture at me.
"There's no way we're beating gen one at this point, and there's no second place prize." I respond, slightly defeated. "So what? We just... hang out?" Ina asks, fishing for an answer. "Uh, I guess so." I respond half-assedly and throw my hands up.
"Sigh, this sucks." Cali remarks, leaning her head against the wall. "It's ok, It's not like we need the money that much." Kiara says, trying to comfort Cali. "It's not about the money, I just wanna get back out there and bust some heads!" Cali says, smacking her palm with her fist.
Suddenly, we hear Lui's voice coming from the doorway. "I've got a head for you to bust." She says, leaning on the doorframe. "That... sounds wrong." I remark, making a slightly disgusted face.
Lui slowly walks towards us, talking as she walks. "Aren't you guys gonna fight me?" Cali raises her head slightly and replies dejectedly. "Nah, I'm opposed to fighting small fries who are all alone."
Now that I think about it, why is Lui all alone? Didn't Kronii say that secret society likes to stay together?
"Hey, Ina." Lui calls out, still standing. "Hmm?" Ina exclaims as she turns to face her.
Lui smiles gently, and says calmly, "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthullu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn."
My eyes widen after hearing those words. What!? The day the stars would align is... today!?
Cali quickly grabs her scythe and in the blink of an eye,
*Slaaashhh*
*Splat*
She slashes Lui across the chest, killing her instantly with her ability. Her lifeless body slumps down to the floor, falling limply like a rag doll.
I pay no attention to that. Instead, I rush over to Ina, whose frozen in place and staring into the wall with empty eyes. "Ina! Ina! Are you okay!?" I say worriedly, placing my hands on her shoulders. "Ina!" There's no response. Instead, Ina just stands there, her eyes glowing and her mouth agape.
"What's going on!?" Kiara asks, fear and concern showing in her face and voice. But I don't have time to respond.
Ina's tentacles have grown, they're now spreading across the room like vines. I feel a force resisting my hold on Ina, she's beginning to float up in the air.
"Where's Kronii? Why isn't she doing anything!?" I ask in frustration and confusion, though it's not really a question, it's more of a cry of anger.
"One way to stop Cthullu's revival is to kill the vessel." Cali says, sadness in her voice as she makes that suggestion. "There's no way in hell we're doing that!" I shout, overcome with rage and feelings of betrayal. "I know, sorry, I just... don't know what to do... and I panicked." Cali apologises, regret already showing on her face.
I look back to Ina, only to see her covered in black sludge. The only part of Ina I can even make out are her glowing eyes, as they pierce through the sludge.
I hold Ina tight, trying to remove the black substance as I hold her face. "Ina, please, come back to us." Ina grabs my neck and responds, "It is too late now, mortal."
*Woooshhhh*
*Boooommm!*
'Ina' had just punched me in the chest, sending me flying into the wall. "Blergh!" I spit out a fountain of blood, my head violently moving down to face the ground.
Already looking down, I decided to assess the damage to my chest. I attemp to place my hand on my chest, but it ends up going in. I don't think I even have a chest anymore.
I look up at the monster who did this to me. Cthullu's completely taken over Ina now, they're floating in the air, their tentacles now around twenty feet long. Black sludge covers the walls, it seeps and seeps and seeps and seeps from every crevice and hole, spreading across the entire building.
I breathe heavily and hold my head. Just being around them is making me go insane. I can't-
My thoughts aren't clear anymore, and the giant hole in my chest doesn't even hurt. No, it's more like, my mind is so full of thoughts... that I don't even have room for the feeling of pain in my head.
"The time has finally come for me to claim my throne at the top of the universe." The eldritch being says, looking down on me... us all. "The first of action necessary, is to crush this universe's pre-established order. The council." They say, clutching their fist.
"Shut up! I'm not letting you take Ina!" Cali shouts, pointing her scythe at the god floating above. "This woman is my priestess. I do not need to take her body, for her body belongs to me." Cthullu states, her tone..? No, their tone void of any emotion.
Cali stares... glares at her opponent with a look of pure anger and hatred. "[shed]!" Cali shouts, her body violently morphing into her [true] form.
*Ruuumbbbbleee*
The whole world shakes and shakes and shakes as Cali transforms. She had morphed into a giant hooded skeleton, her scythe growing into a size... growing in size to match its owner.
"I suppose you will suffice as a warm up. I will dispose of you first, and then I will destroy the council." Cthullu says, summoning two, Uhm... two giant hands.
"Cali, I'm not gonna let you fight alone. Whatever it is that's taken a hold of Ina, we'll beat it, together!" Kiara says determinedly, placing her fingers towards her face. I... ugh! I can't make out Cali's reaction.
"[shed]" Kiara triggers her transformation, summoning the mighty pho..? Phoenix. It's bigger than when I saw it in Onikashiba..? Oni... oniga-
*Fwoooommmm!*
Kiara blast Cthullu with a giant column of fire, but they easily block it with a wall of spinning tentacles. "Immortals truly do not know the feeling of fear." Cthullu says...
...their tone emotionless once again.
Cali swings her giant scythe at Cthullu, the scythe being so large that it swings through the walls as it makes its way towards Cthullu.
*Booommm!*
*Ruuummmmbbbllleee*
But with just a simple swag... swat, Cthullu deflects Cali's attack and sends her scythe flying in the opposite direction.
"All of your efforts, futile." Cthullu says, summoning two more hands, these ones as big as the entire first and second floors.
*Ruuuummmmbbbllleee*
The two hands quickly move towards, towards each other, threatening to... ugh. To sandwich Cali and Kiara in betw...
...
...
I wake up. Cali and Kiara lie motionless on the floor. Kiara should really... yeah, Kiara should have revived by now. Cthullu must have done... something.
"It is time for the council to fall." Cthullu says, reaching out its arm.
My watch... I need to... In need to... I...
I want to go to sleep.
...
...
...
...
—
~Perspective shift~
—
[ 3rd Person ]
"Looks like the show's just started." Laplus says, looking at the decimated building at the centre of the venue.
"What the hell happened over there?" Suisei asks, staring in disbelief at the building covered in a black liquid. "Cthulhu's been summoned, Hoshimachi. Meaning, you've failed. And the council will soon meet their end." Laplus says jovially, flashing a smile at Suisei.
'Cthullu's been summoned..? How did everything go so wrong, so fast?' Suisei thinks to herself, clutching her fist in frustration.
"My prophecies are never wrong, Hoshimachi. The council was foolish to attempt to prevent one." Laplus remarks in response to the thought Suisei just had.
Laplus then walks towards Sana's body, splashing around in her blood like a grade schooler playing in some muddy puddles. She bends down and picks up Sana's head by the hair, bringing it up close to her face.
"Oh, Tsukumo Sana. Bet you never imagined that you're life would end so quickly. Don't worry, you'll get a new vessel in about sixty-or-so years. And then you'll get to die all over again." Laplus cackles loudly, her sickening laughs echoing across every single rock and tree in the vicinity.
Suisei gags, holding back the urge to vomit. She looks at Laplus, her eyes twitching in anger. 'I wanna crush her skull between my fingers.' Suisei thinks to herself, her clutched fist shaking in anticipation.
But she drops her fist. She knows that in any instant, Laplus could kill her. In fact, after hearing the thoughts she's having right now, Suisei knows that Laplus will probably kill her where she stands.
"Oh, don't worry about that Hoshimachi. I won't kill you just yet. No, you're not gonna die until you see the council fall." Laplus says as she pats Suisei on the head, spreading Sana's blood along her hair.
Suisei's eyes widen in disgust and anger, but she knows that she can't do anything about these emotions. So she just stays put, and waits for Laplus's next action.
"Are you ready? To see the order of the universe get overturned?" Laplus asks joyfully, her eyes crinkling in glee. "What are you talking about?" Suisei ask, fearing whatever sadistic thing Laplus might say next.
"Why don't we see for ourselves?" Laplus says cheerfully and snaps her fingers.
*snap*
They were now inside of the centre building, Suisei taking a quick look around to see the walls covered in black sludge, and long tentacles spread across the floor.
"Ah!" Suisei holds her head in pain, "What is happening... to my head..."
"It's Cthullu's presence. Just being in their presence alone fills your head with an infinite amount of thoughts, making you go crazy. I would be suffering too if my brain wasn't used to storing large amounts of information." Laplus explains, causing Suisei to look for Cthullu. Just a simple look up brings them into view, the god looking down at her and Laplus.
"So you are the mortal who initiated my awakening." Cthullu says, pointing at Laplus with a giant hand. "That's right, I'm the one to thank for your awakening." Laplus says arrogantly, placing her hand on her chest.
"What do you wish for mortal? I will be sure to compensate for your assistance." Cthullu asks, opening the giant hand's palm to reveal many valuable jewels, a crown, a kingdom and many more lavish items.
"I don't desire for any worldly possessions, Cthullu." Laplus says, closing the giant hand using a purple aura. "All I want is to to be able to stand beside you when you take your rightful place at the top of the universe." Laplus says with a smile, bowing cordially.
"Then your wish shall be granted today." Cthullu says, reaching its hand out. A mass of energy courses through the god's arm as five circles appear on the ground.
The ground crackles as those five circles light up. Suddenly, beams of light shoot out of the circles, the beams being powerful enough to shoot holes into the ceiling.
The lights soon fade away to reveal the council standing in the circles. "Ugh!" Suisei's face contorts in disgust after seeing Sana's body again. 'Why did her body have to be summoned too?' She thinks to herself.
The council look around the room after being summoned, their eyes automatically locking onto Cthullu and Sana's body.
"Cthullu!" Kronii exclaims in suprise, backing up in fear.
\
"Sana!" Fauna shouts in disgust and disbelief, covering her mouth with both of her hands.
"Today the council will fall. And I will crush the order of this universe." Cthullu says as more hands and tentacles form behind them.
Immediately, Kronii snaps her fingers, causing time to come to a halt, every single atom in the universe freezing in place.
Kronii focuses, the clock above her head spinning rapidly counter clockwise. Her time reversal takes a while to activate in her base form, so she activated time stop to protect her from any attacks that may happen during time reversal.
Suddenly, a tentacle flies at Kronii and pierces the clock above her head, and another tentacle slams into her body, sending her flying backwards.
Kronii lies on the floor, anger in her face. 'Cthullu's a being above time...' She thinks to herself as she clutches the ground in frustration.
"Petty tricks like that will not work on me." Cthullu says, retracting the tentacle it used to attack Kronii.
"Kronii!" "Are you okay!?" Fauna and Mumei rush over to Kronii, concerned. Kronii ignores them, and instead looks to Sana's body, and then to Suisei.
"Suisei! What the hell happened!?" Kronii shouts at Sana's chosen, glaring at her in frustration as she slowly stands up and regain her balance. "I don't know..." Suisei replies meekly, slowly stepping backwards in fear. "Kaela-" Suisei tries to speak before Laplus interrupts her. "Kovalskia forged the key for Me last night. Don't blame Hoshimachi, Ouro. It's not her fault for falling for My plan, anyone would. You included." Laplus says smugly, making sure to place emphasis on that last line.
Kronii places her hand on her sword and scowls at Laplus. "Laplus! You-"
*Bang!*
*Boom!*
One of Cthullu's large hands tried to crush Kronii under it's fist, but Bae deflected it with two dice she launched at high speeds. The dice being fast and powerful enough to drag the giant hand along their trajectory, and into the wall.
"No time to be distracted, Kronii. Cthullu won't wait for you to finish chatting." Bae says, grabbing two more dice from her pocket. "Tch!" Kronii exclaims in frustration, drawing the swords behind her back.
"Attention all remaining members, we need you're help. Please make your way to the building at the centre of the venue. Anyone who's weaker than Hoshimachi Suisei, don't bother coming, all you'll do is die meaninglessly. I repeat-" Mumei calls for help with her wristband, fanatically repeating the message in hopes that everyone will receive it.
Fauna raises both hands, targeting Cthullu. Two giant roots are created under Cthullu, growing in size as they make their way towards the god.
*Crunch!*
*Ruumble!*
Both roots are easily grasped by two of Cthullu's giant hands, and are dragged out of the ground and thrown away.
Cthullu quickly summons five tentacles to counterattack, but before they can move,
*Boom!*
Mumei launches an explosive, disintegrating all five tentacles instantly.
*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*
Mumei doesn't relent, continuing her attack by spraying Cthullu with bullets from the two massive firearms in her hands and eight turrets behind her. Cthullu has no choice but to block the onslaught by raising a shield of black sludge with its left arm, leaving it with one less free limb.
Seeing the opportunity, Fauna and Kronii both rush to Cthullu's right side. But they're intercepted by Laplus, who teleports in front of them.
"Remember My [shed] form, Kronii!? I'll make you pay for ousting Me from the council!" Laplus says as she creates a long string of her atom splitter on her finger, the same attack she used to kill Sana.
But before Laplus can strike, a die flies past Laplus, moving so fast that even the god of knowledge is suprised.
"Are you ready to get sealed again, Laplus?" Bae asks tauntingly, holding more dice between each finger. "Ha! Let's have the rematch of our lives, Anti-Council!" Laplus shouts excitedly, wrapping more of her atom splitter around her arms before teleporting behind Bae.
Now that Laplus is out of the way, Fauna and Kronii make their way around Cthullu. Kronii ending up on Cthullu's right, while Fauna is behind them.
Kronii uses her swords to cut through the air, sending a flying slash towards Cthullu, while Fauna summons a giant, twisting tree from under Cthullu.
"Pesky mortals, you fight like pests." Cthullu says, annoyance in their words, but delivered with their regular flat tone.
Cthullu teleports behind Mumei, simultaneously avoiding Kronii and Fauna's attack, and catching Mumei by suprise.
Cthullu punches Mumei with one giant hand and sends her flying at the wall.
*Thud!*
*Boom!*
"With those hands and the teleportation, it's almost impossible to hit Cthullu." Kronii tells Fauna frustratedly. "We'll either have to overwhelm them to the point where they can't avoid getting hit, or find a way to remove Cthullu from the vessel without hurting it." Fauna explains, Kronii then thinking over her response for a second.
"The second option's impossible. There's no way we know of to remove Cthullu without force. We'll have to kill the vessel." Kronii says, sounding somewhat reluctant. "Amelia won't like that option." Fauna remarks sorrowfully. "She's the one who failed to stop Cthullu's awakening, this is her punishment for messing up." Kronii says, a hint of sadness in her voice, stemming from the little guilt she feels in hurting her only chosen.
"Kronni! How did Cthullu awaken!?" Shiori asks, shouting from the entrance on the left. She's accompanied by Miko, Haato, Fubuki, Coco, Kobo, and Shion.
"No time to explain! We need to kill the vessel now!" Kronii shouts hurriedly. After hearing Kronii's command, Shiori, Miko, and Haato make a look of suprise, having suddenly been told to kill someone they know is Ina.
But after a bit of processing, they all eventually take up battle stances, ready to face infinity.
"Who is this enemy?" The witch says, flipping her book to search for spells.
[ Murasaki Shion - The Arch Magus ]
"I don't know, but if the council says they're dangerous, then I'm gonna beat the crap outta them." The dragon replies, placing her hand on her shoulder and rotating her arm.
[ Kiryu Coco - A Mother-effin' Dragon ]
"You shouldn't be here, Kobo!" Haato says concernedly, attempting to grab her hand. "No!" Kobo shouts as she pulls her hand away from Haato's. "I need to help auntie Ina!"
Haato recoils in suprise. "How did you know?" Kobo looks at Haato, her eyes showing the determination in her soul. "I heard dad talking about it with Mrs. Fauna! She said that auntie Ina might get controlled and destroy the world. That's why I need to make auntie Ina go back to normal!"
"But!" Haato tries to retort, still concerned about Kobo. "Let the kid fight." Shiori says, placing her hand on Haato's shoulder. "Are you serious!? She's still a kid!" Haato shouts, swatting away Shiori's hand. "Yeah. The death god's kid. She's probably stronger than any of us here." Shiori assures Haato.
"Can you really do this Kobo?" Haato asks the child reluctantly. "I can! After all, I can use [it]!" Kobo says confidently, raising her hand to show Haato.
"Let's go." Fubuki says determinedly, bringing out her claws. "Be careful everyone, this guy's really powerful." Miko says, clutching her gohei cautiously.
"More pests, I will dispose of you quickly." Cthullu says, summoning three more hands to face the girls standing by the entrance.
"[shed]"
\
"[shed]!"
Coco and Fubuki says in unison, transforming into their [true] forms.
Fubuki's hair turns pitch black, and her eyes glow a piercing red. Her facial expression becoming more savage as she reverts back to an animalistic state.
Coco's dragonic form is enormous, completely destroying every floor above her as she grows. Taking flight, the ginormous dragon flies above us, casing a shadow over everyone.
While Coco charges up her fire blast, Fubuki blitzes towards Cthullu. Swiftly dodging every one of the hands Cthullu sends to intercept her.
*Ruuummbbllee*
*Boom!*
Fauna summons a giant root leading straight up to Cthullu. Fubuki quickly runs up the root, getting close enough to hit the god with her fists.
*Bam!* *Thud!* *Slap!* *Thud!* *Thud!* *Slap!* *Bam!* *Slap!* *Thud!* *Slap!* *Bam!*
Fubuki launches a flurry of jabs and slashes at Cthullu, but the god effortlessly parries each strike with just a single hand.
"Foolish mortal, you think you can touch me?" Cthullu says, seamlessly transitioning a parry into a flick of the fingers. That simple action sending Fubuki flying into the ground close to the entrance.
*Boom!*
Now that Fubuki's no longer in the way, Coco launches her blast at Cthullu.
*Fwoooom!*
*Bwouh!*
The entire area is engulfed in heat and smoke as Coco's attack hits. Everyone setting their eyes on the area where the attack hit, waiting for the smoke to dissipate.
But Coco doesn't care for the suspense. She smashes the area where Cthullu had been with one of her claws.
*Boom!*
*Phwoom*
The hit causes debris to fly everywhere as air and smoke blow violently across the area. The smoke dissipating as it flies away.
The smoke clears to reveal Coco's arm on the floor, separate from the rest of her body. The giant arm swimming in a bloody pool in front of Cthullu. "AAAAAARRGHHH!" Coco screams in pain as she lifts up her arm. Afraid of the power that took her arm, she hastily flies upwards and retreats into the sky.
"What did I say about touching me." Cthullu remarks rhetorically, summoning a massive hand pointing towards Coco.
Cthullu launches the hand upwards, the hand piercing through Coco's near impenetrable scales and puncturing her chest.
A rain of blood descends onto the ground below as the dragon's corpse falls from the sky. But before Coco's body can hit the ground, an energy envelopes the corpse and teleports it away.
"I cannot have that getting in my way." Cthullu says, recalling the hand that flew into the sky.
"I hate it! I hate that I can't do anything without my time abilities!" Kronii says frustratedly, slamming her sword into the ground. "Maybe I should..." Kronii utters to herself as she raises her hand to her face.
"Kronii, I get how you feel. But our [shed] forms are our last resort. You know what happens to the universe when we use them." Fauna says, placing her hand on Kronii's and pulling it back down. "I know. But I have a feeling that we'll need to use it soon."
Laplus repeatedly swings at Bae, but the rat swiftly dodges every hit, carefully weaving past Laplus's atom splitter.
"Too slow!" Bae taunts, sticking her tongue out at her enemy. "Damn chaos! I can't predict her movements!" Laplus scoffs, coating her fingers in purple aura, preparing another attack.
Laplus launches a net of her atom splitter, threatening to shred Bae to pieces. But Bae quickly dodges, running behind Laplus.
Bae jumps in the air and flips her body, twirling rapidly to deliver a powerful roundhouse kick to the back of Laplus's head.
*Thud!*
The force of the impact sends Laplus flying, but she quickly teleports behind Bae to kill her momentum.
"The last time we fought, I was already weakened by Ouro and Tsukumo. This time, you'll get to face Me at one hundred percent." Laplus says, raising both arms in preparation for another attack.
"Yeah, yeah, keep saying stuff like that. See where that gets you." Bae says, retrieving a pile of cards from her pocket.
Laplus brings her arms together, enveloping Bae in two massive nets of glowing purple string.
*Schlick*
*Splat*
The nets slice Bae into pieces and the bloody chunks splatter onto the floor.
"Sike. That was just an illusion." Bae says cheekily, now being under Laplus. "What!? Those atoms that I sliced were definitely yours." Laplus exclaims, dumbfounded.
"Guess even the 'great' god of knowledge can fall for my illusions." Bae smiles playfully as she slams her fist into Laplus's gut.
*Bam!*
*Bam!*
*Bam!*
Bae sends two more punches, her fist drilling into Laplus's stomach. "Blergh!" Laplus forcefully coughs up blood as she pushes Bae off of her. Laplus backs up hunched over, holding her stomach in pain.
"Really? You're what we were so afraid of?" Bae remarks snarkily. "You're just as weak as you were all those millions of years ago." Bae taunts, looking down on her opponent.
"Don't look down on Me!" Laplus says furiously, true murderous intent in her eyes. With just a quick flick of the finger, Laplus sends an invisible tread flying through the air.
Noticing Laplus's finger movement, Bae quickly jumps back. But the invisible thread manages to reach Bae's right hand, swiftly and cleanly separating it from her wrist.
*Schlick*
*Splat*
Bae brings her arm up and stares at where her hands is supposed to be, blood trickling down from her wrist. Looking at the wound, she chuckles to herself. "Hah. I'm screwed."
Shion swiftly flies through the air, swerving and swivelling her broomstick to avoid oncoming tentacles.
"Lightning strike!" Shion chants, causing electricity to form along her hands. In an instant, the electricity crackles as it builds up, before growing into a large lightning bolt.
*Crackoom!*
The blistering hot bolt flies through the air and makes direct contact with Cthulhu's head. The lighting bolt manages to melt part of the sludge covering Ina, revealing some parts of her face, but the sludge immediately grows back in place.
"So there is one pest versed in the arcane arts." Cthullu remarks, touching the area on its face that was struck by the lightning bolt.
"Tch. This one didn't work." Shion says frustratedly as she hastily flies backwards, dodging a counterattack from Cthullu.
*Bang!*
On the ground, Shiori fires at Cthullu with her little substitute revolver, each bullet inconsequentialy deflecting off of Cthullu's skin. "Damn, this little piece of crap can't do anything." She says, smacking her weapon in frustration, but loading six more bullets in the chamber anyways.
"O great Ceres Fauna, please lend me your power." Miko chants quietly, closing her eyes in prayer. She twirls her gohei around before drawing a circle in the ground with it in a ceremonial dance.
Once the circle is fully formed, the ceremony ends and Miko is filled with the power of the Kirin's blessing.
"I've never did the ceremony so close to Fauna before! The power increase is crazy!" Miko says excitedly, letting the power of the Kirin flow within her body.
"Are you ready Miko!? I'll give you cover!" Shion asks, flying just above Miko. "Yeah! Let's do this!" Miko says determinedly, pointing her gohei at Cthullu.
Shion flies ahead of Miko, heading straight for Cthullu. "This one will get them! Telum Arcana!" Shion shouts, launching five white missiles at Cthullu.
The missiles fly at blistering speeds, homing in on the tentacled god. Cthullu raises its finger, sending a giant hand to block the missiles.
*Boom!*
Some missiles penetrate the giant hand, continuing on their trajectory. "Three hands made it through! That's enough." Shion says confidently as she flies forwards, following the missiles' flight path.
While the missiles make their way towards Cthullu, Miko waves her gohei in the air, building up the energy to summon a powerful attack.
The three missiles make it close to Cthullu, the god having to quickly raise its arm to create a shield of sludge.
*Boom!*
Two missiles are destroyed by the shield, but one manages to break through, piercing through Cthullu's right shoulder, bringing down the god's arm before being destroyed itself.
"Yes! I took out its arm!" Shion celebrates, quickly retreating to dodge any retaliation attempts. "It's your turn now, Miko." Shion says, looking towards her in anticipation.
While Cthullu is still caught off gaurd, Miko raises her gohei powerfully, summoning a large pillar of stone under Cthullu.
The god immediately notices Miko's attack and flies upwards to avoid it, when a large boulder falls from the sky and crushes Cthullu.
*Booooom!*
Miko immediately looks at Fauna in suprise, the Kirin giving her chosen a smile and a thumbs up.
*Booooom!*
The giant boulder is destroyed, and Cthullu emerges from the rubble. "You think that a measly mineral is enough to end me?" Cthullu asks, stretching out their newly regenerate arm.
*Snap!*
Cthullu snaps their freshly reformed fingers, teleporting the debris and dust away.
"Are you serious..." Shion exclaims in disbelief, staring at the god who is now back to perfect condition.
Cthullu swiftly flicks their outstretched fingers forwards, sending a large tentacle flying at Miko.
*Bam!*
*Splat!*
Miko's body is sent flying, part of it, at least.
"Miko!" Fauna and Haato exclaim. Fauna stretches out her arm, sending a boulder of similar size to the one she summoned just moments before flying at Cthullu.
Cthullu catches the boulder with two giant arms and sends it flying back at Fauna.
*Thud!*
Fauna catches the boulder in a net of roots, protecting her and Kronii.
"Okay... it's time..." Haato says, holding a playing card. Her hand trembling in fear as she slowly brings the card to her neck. "Gulp. It's your turn now, Haachama."
*Slice*
Haato's head falls to the floor, but Haachama catches it in her arms and holds it close to her chest.
[ "Haachama! - Chama!" ]
"Ahahahahahahahahaha! I never thought you'd let me play, Haato!" Haachama laughs like a lunatic, holding Haato's head up to her own. "So, whose my playmate?" Haachama asks, moving Haato's head to the side to bring Cthullu into her sight.
"Oooooh! So it's you, Mr. Tentacles!" Haachama shouts playfully, pointing her finger at Cthullu.
Cthullu's movement suddenly halts, Haachama laughing upon seeing her frozen opponent. "Ahahahahahahahahaha! Guess even the great Cthullu got caught in my illusions! But it makes sense, I mean, I am the strongest after all." Haachama says arrogantly as her laughing fit continues.
"Ahahahahahahahahaha!" Haachama laughs wildly when, Cthullu raises its finger and points at Haachama.
"Huh!? So you got out of my- Aaaaaaaargh!" Haachama screams painfully as Cthullu keeps its arm raised and pointing at her. "...Aargh! ...Agh! What... are you doing to me!?" Haachama asks in bewilderment, clutching her head tightly. The pain being so intense that drool starts to leak from her mouth.
"I am overloading your brain with information until it implodes on itself." Cthullu says, keeping it's finger pointed at Haachama, whose writhing around on the floor.
Fauna summons a large pool of water behind her and guides it with her hands, launching a powerful spout of water at Cthullu.
"Enough with you." Cthullu says, blocking Fauna's stream of water with the palm of a giant hand. The hand then clutches into a fist and flies towards Fauna.
*Boom!*
Fauna defends by summoning a stone done around her and Kronii, intercepting the hand.
*Boom!*
*Boom!*
The hand continuously pounds on the stone structure as Fauna constantly repairs it, the dome being perpetually destroyed and restored.
"That will take care of her for a while." Cthullu says before turning back to Haachama.
She's passed out on the floor, eyes white and foam rolling down her mouth.
After seeing the state Haachama is in, Cthullu lowers their finger and turns towards Fauna's stone dome.
*Boom!*
*Boom!*
The fist continues to pound the dome, while Fauna continuously rebuilds it, neither side showing any sign of stopping.
*Bang!*
*Bang!*
*Bang!*
*Bang!*
*Bang!*
*Bang!*
Shiori unloads every bullet in her revolver, each bullet doing an irrelevant amount of damage to the unflinching god. "Damn it!" Shiori cries out in anger, tears trickling down her face.
"I forgot about you." Cthullu says, looking down at Shiori, who's frantically loading her gun.
Cthullu snaps their finger and,
*Snap*
*Boom!*
*Splat!*
"Not you too... Shiori..." Suisei softly utters the name of her fallen friend while tears slowly roll down her cheeks.
She clutches her fist in anger. Anger directed not just at the enemy that killed her friends, but at herself, for not being able to gather the courage to support them in battle.
Suisei can't help but think to herself. 'If I joined in the battle, would they have lived?' But she knows better than that. No matter how strong she is, there's just no going against Laplus and Cthullu. They're too powerful for anyone to handle. She wouldn't have made a difference in battle.
But still, "Damn it!" Suisei slams her fist into the ground, feelings of guilt and anger overcoming her. Her tears start flowing even harder, the sound of her weeping almost being loud enough to drown out the voice of the girl behind her. Almost.
"How long are you gonna keep acting like that?" Fubuki asks with a sort of teasing tone. "What?" The teary-eyed girl asks as she turns to face the fox behind her.
She's slumped over on the wall, one of her arms bending in the wrong direction, blood flowing from her mouth. She had sustained these injuries while fighting Cthullu, something Suisei viewed as a testament of the god's power.
"So you're just gonna let them kill all your friends like that?" Fubuki asks, a look of disappointment on her mangled face. "What am I supposed to do? There's nothing I can do against Cthullu. If I go out there, I'll just be killed immediately." Suisei argues, trying to justify her inaction.
"That's not something the Suisei I know would say." Fubuki says meekly, struggling to push her words out of her throat. Upon hearing those words, Suisei is a little taken aback. 'This really isn't like me.' She thinks to herself. She's never felt this kind of fear before, never abandoned her friends before. But ever since she saw Sana die right in front of her eyes, a lingering fear stuck to Suisei's soul.
Sana was the strongest person she knew after all, her patron god that she looked up to. And Laplus killed her just like that, in an instant, like she was nothing. How could Suisei beat someone like that?
But how could she just let Laplus get away with killing Sana? Why didn't she protect Coco, Miko, and Shiori? How could she let Cthullu be awakened in the first place?
She wouldn't let this guilt build up anymore, her conscious wouldn't allow it. She stands up and wipes the tears from face. She would make Cthullu pay, even if she dies in the process.
As lightning bolts and magic missiles fly all around her, Kobo hides in the rubble next to her auntie Amelia, hugging her legs in fear.
She had all that big talk about wanting to help her auntie Ina, but she soon learned that what Haato said was true. She wasn't strong enough to fight Cthullu.
But she knows that she can't hide forever. Her allies are slowly being wiped out, and the council is struggling to fight back. Even her dad, the strongest person she knows, was knocked out before she even knew about Cthullu's awakening.
If she doesn't act now, there'll be no one left to fight Cthullu, and then she'll lose everything.
Kobo takes a deep breath and brings her fingers up to her face. Despite what she told Haato earlier, Kobo has never used her [shed] form before. She's unfamiliar to the feeling of having her body morphing and growing like she's seen her parents bodies do.
It's scary, the thought of that is scary to the young phoenix. But she has no choice, she has no other option but to use [it]. Otherwise auntie Ina dies, everyone dies.
She brings her fingers up to her face once more, and with deep breaths, she contemplates again.
Shion artfully ducks and dodges the onslaught of tentacles Cthullu sends at her, but they're multiplying and getting harder to avoid.
The tentacles quickly grow and grow as they encroach on her broomstick. "Get away from me!" Shion shouts, reaching her hand out, her hand glowing a bright red as she gets ready to cast a spell.
*Slick!*
But before Shion can chant her spell, Suisei's axe cuts through the tentacles chasing her.
"So you finally decided to join us." Shion remarks sarcastically as she flies towards her ally. "I'm gonna make Cthullu pay." Suisei says determinedly, reaching out her hand to catch her axe that's flying towards her.
"Hah! Let's slay this god!" Shion cheers confidently as she rushes forward, Suisei following suit.
Once she gets close enough to Cthullu, Suisei cocks her arm with her axe as far back as possible, and twists her body as far she can without losing stability, all to deliver a powerful throw, the strongest she's ever had.
The axe quickly flies through the air, cutting through every tentacles or hand that dares get in it's way. As the axe nearly makes contact with Cthullu, they swivel their head to the left, narrowly avoiding Suisei's attack.
The axe flies past Cthullu, swiftly changing direction midair and returning to Suisei. "Stalic Dragon!" Shion chants, summoning a giant dragon shaped column of fire.
The dragon flies towards Cthullu, but it's intercepted by a giant hand. The hand grasps the fire dragon and curls its fingers, setting the fist ablaze.
The giant flaming fist flies at Shion. She quickly turns around to avoid it, but the fist manages to strike her broomstick, hitting her out of the sky.
"Tardus Fall!" Shion chants frantically as she plummets to the ground. The spell manages to slow her fall, allowing her to carefully glide down to the floor.
Cthullu summons two more hands and send them at the now grounded Shion, but,
*Boom!*
Suisei destroys the two hands with her axe, the weapon quickly flying back into the hands of its owner. "You're fighting me now!" Suisei shouts, pointing her axe at Cthullu.
"Very well. I shall crush you where you stand." Cthullu says, raising their spread out hand. As they do, a giant replica of the god's hand appears above Suisei.
Cthullu drops its arm, causing the giant hand to fall.
*Boom!*
The hand falls, the strike leaving an imprint of the hand's palm on the ground. But with a quick dash, Suisei was able to dodge the hands strike.
She rushes towards Cthullu, the god sending an onslaught of hands and tentacles to intercept her. But she swiftly dodges each hand, jumping on top of one before leaping from one hand to another, until she's in ground pound range.
Suisei jumps off of the hand she's standing on, and holds her axe over her head. Seeing her quick descent from the sky, Cthullu raises their hand above their head, summoning a shield of black sludge.
*Craaaash!*
Suisei's axe collides with shield, the added velocity from the fall allowing it to completely destroy Cthullu's protection.
Now within striking range, Suisei uses the ability Sana taught her and stops her fall, allowing her to walk on the air. Now being able to hit the flying god, she swings at Cthullu's head, the god dodging her axe with a simple swivel of the head. Not wanting to lose momentum, Suisei launches a punch with her left hand.
*Thud*
Cthullu catches her hand and,
*Crunch*
Crushes it between their fingers. "Argh!" Suisei shouts in pain as she retracts her hand. "Guh!" Suisei exclaims as Cthullu grabs her by the neck and lifts her up. "Let us hope that you are the last. I am tired of exterminating you pests." Cthullu says before throwing Suisei forward, her body flying across the room before she's suddenly caught by a mass of branches.
*Rustle*
After landing softly on the leaves, the branches lower Suisei down to the ground. "Fauna?" Suisei asks as she gets up on her feet. "That's right. She managed to get rid of that hand." Fauna says, pointing towards the giant hand that lays destroyed next to the stone dome her and Kronii where hiding in before.
"Who's she?" Suisei asks, and Kronii responds by pointing towards Cthullu. "Her."
The skeletal phoenix flies through the air, dodging tentacles and shooting columns of smouldering heat. It's bony wings cutting through Cthullu's attacks.
"The daughter of death and the immortal phoenix. Truly a perplexing existence." Cthullu says, creating a ring of hands behind them.
"Caaaaw!" Kobo screams as she beats her wings, launching a blast of fire at Cthullu. The hands rotate to create a gust of wind, dissipating the flames.
The hands fly at Kobo, and the phoenix responds by cutting each hand down with scythes that make up her wings.
"Pesky phoenix, I shall swat you out of the sky." Cthullu summons a giant hand, this one being three times as large as the average one.
The hand flies towards Kobo, but slams into a giant tree Fauna created instead.
*Boom!*
Fauna gives life two gryphons and the beasts take flight, flying towards Cthullu. The god creates eight hands in defence, but one is shot down by Suisei's axe.
"Why dont you just stay down." Cthullu says, summoning a ring of tentacles around Suisei. Her axe flies back to her and cuts down some of the tentacles, but the sheer amount of them overwhelms Suisei and binds her to the floor.
Two hands grab the gryphons out of the sky and throw them at Kobo, who's charging towards Cthullu.
*Rattle*
*Splat*
The gryphons collide with Kobo, but they are cut down by the phoenix's bony body. Kobo blitzes past Cthullu, managing to fly into, and cut off it's right arm.
Kobo circles around Cthullu, the god reaching out its left arm in an attempt to counterattack. However, Fauna grabs onto the god's arm with a mass of vines, keeping the limb in place.
Circling back to Cthullu's front, Kobo halts and charges up another fire blast. Fire emanating out of the phoenix's skull as it builds up power.
"Foolish pests. Did you think that I needed to use my arms to attack?" Cthullu taunts Fauna and Kobo as they summon a giant fist above Kobo.
*Boooom!*
The fist punches Kobo into the ground, crushing the mighty phoenix into a pile ash.
"It was amusing at first, but I am tired of playing this game, pests." Cthullu says, irritation almost seeping into their words.
Two hands appear in front of Kronii and Fauna, grasping them and lifting up to reach the level of Cthullu, who had teleported in front of the two.
"Ugh, Guh!" Kronii and Fauna struggle, trying to get out of the hands' chokehold.
"Now you die." Cthullu says, raising its finger at Fauna. "Aaargh! Aaaaagh!" Fauna shouts in pain as her eyes roll back into her head.
She struggles, wiggling around in the hand's grip, her mind being overcome by infinity.
Cthullu keeps it's arm raised and pointing at Fauna, when suddenly,
*Voooom!*
A white light envelopes Cthullu's arm and completely erases it. The god quickly looking to the source of the beam in suprise. After seeing the person who launched the attack, Cthullu remarks in acknowledgment,
"So you are the one they call Omega."