The Everwinter Estate was under attack.

The ground shook violently, and the winds were howling as if the apocalypse had arrived. All members of the Everwinter House, be they True Vampires or Blood Servants, rushed out from their comfortable abodes and charged straight at the core of the earthquake.

Ancient Vampires arose from their century-long slumbers while youngsters who barely learnt how to use their magic gathered in uniform as they marched together. Elders with the power to match entire militaries flew up to the skies with their magic power, ready to fire at any moment.

Make no mistake, the Everwinter House may have its problems, but there's a reason why they've kept one of the top spots of the Ten Guardian Houses. Besides the Blackburn House, the Kings of the Arctic circle were the undisputed leading military House amongst the Vampires.

For hundreds of years, they guarded the North and even built their base on top of a Major Gate that Outer Demons used to invade our world. And now… Everything was going to be tested once again.

"Everyone to the Winter Graveyard! An overflow is happening right now!"

"Lieutenants, please gather your men! Everyone to your stations!"

"Elders, please head towards the Matriarch! She has summoned you!"

Loud voices echoed over each other as every Everwinter Vampire was mobilised within seconds. I wandered the floor with Irina by my side, watching the carnage unfold with curious eyes. As a guest, I wasn't required to join the battle against the Outer Demons, particularly since it was the duty of the Everwinter House to man the Gate themselves. But, as a Progenitor and a man who had been attacked by an Outer Demon before… I couldn't stop the burning urge from rising up.

"Irina, have you experienced an overflow before?"

"Yes, but…" Irina watched her former family members rush into a frenzy and sighed: "I've never seen the House act like this before. This overflow must be special."

"So you feel the same way…"

From what I understood about the Everwinter House, they would open the seal in the Winter Graveyard every year to prevent such overflows from happening. I'd even participated in one of them during the past Winter Hunt. Overflows on this scale shouldn't happen unless something seriously wrong has transpired.

Even as we spoke, the ground continued to tremor wildly, and the screams of Outer Demons and Vampires fighting didn't stop. I looked towards the Winter Graveyard and saw numerous powerful Vampires hovering above the icy dome. Most of them were Everwinter executives, all known Vampires in their prime. Some were using magic to stop the Outer Demons from escaping, while others stood by and observed the entire situation unfold.

Yet, there was one who stood out amongst them all.

"Let's get some answers."

Holding Irina's hand, I warped the two of us straight above the dome of pure ice.

"Progenitor! Irina! You've arrived!"

Matriarch Innocence welcomed us, though not with a smile on her face. She interchanged her eyes between us and the situation within the Winter Graveyard, all while grimly holding back her tone. If even the mighty Matriarch Innocence felt uneasy… The situation must be much direr than I'd thought.

"What's going on?"

"We're experiencing an overflow."

"I know that much," I scoffed and folded my arms. "Tell me what's really going on."

"... Can I count on you to help us?"

"That depends," I raised my brow and gave her a curt answer.

In my position, I had no obligation to help the Everwinter House. Yes, I was the Progenitor, but my relationship with the Everwinter House wasn't on the best of terms due to recent and past events. After all, Irina's abuse was still fresh in my memory, and less than a week had passed since Damien had schemed against me.

And while reparations were being paid, I would be a fool to help the Everwinter House without having my own benefit.

"Hah… Good enough."

Matriarch Innocence realised all of those points and didn't press me to join the battle. Still, she did her job and honestly relayed the information she had.

"Around two hours ago, we noticed a change in the Northern Pole Gate. It absorbed magic power like never before and rapidly expanded past its known limits. We promptly stopped the expansion of the Gate with our seals, but it was far too late. An overflow had begun, tearing through the first few layers of the Winter Graveyard."

The Everwinter Sovereign glanced down at her prided structure and held back her urge to spit.

"All of our defences were engaged instantly. Traps and magic spells were launched by our sentries while Elders on standby reinforced them the best they could. However, while our seals and magic were effective, we couldn't hold back the expansion of the Gate. And before long, the Outer Demons had overwhelmed us with their numbers."

I see… So rather than break the Everwinter House's defences through skill and technique, the Outer Demons threw bodies at it.

It was an effective method in games, but I'd never thought I would see it live in person.

"They can only do so because of their overwhelming numbers. If I'm not mistaken, over a hundred thousand have passed through the Gate, and they've successfully weakened the Winter Graveyard. Now, our defences are at their most vulnerable point. And because of that…"

Matriarch Innocence looked straight into the Winter Graveyard, prompting me to do the same.

Thousands of Outer Demons were battling against the Everwinter Vampires. They were engaging in combat above a mountain of corpses, one so high that it almost covered the entire Winter Graveyard. Most of the dead Outer Demons were low-ranked monsters with no sentience. In layman's terms, they were sacrifices that served no purpose than to lay the bedrock for the invading army.

And what of the invading army?

"They've sent their most powerful troops over. The weaklings have broken open the Gate. Now, the elites are here to reap the rewards."

"How crude…"

The Outer Demons sent over a hundred thousand of their kin on a suicide mission just to breach the Gate the Everwinter House had spent so much time and effort sealing. While it was a crude method, it had done the job spectacularly. The Winter Graveyard was on the verge of being completely overrun and eventually collapsing. Hundreds of Vampires were dying within the mountain of death, and the ice dome could not contain the vast number of dead bodies.

That being said, the Everwinter House was holding out very well, given the circumstances.

A surprise attack that crippled the Winter Graveyard. All of its defensive mechanisms had been spent, and every seal, spell and trap was now deactivated. The only thing holding the Outer Demons from escaping the ice dome were the elites of the Everwinter House.

Skilled Vampires used beautiful Winter magic to freeze the invaders before breaking them apart like an ice statue. Summons created numerous sharp weapons, and icicles viciously reaped the Outer Demons' bodies apart, leaving behind nothing but blood and bone.

Every combatant of the Everwinter House proved why they were the undisputed Lords of Winter and why they were unbeaten in the North. All the Outer Demons still alive were elites who couldn't hold a candle to the mightiest beings the Everwinter House could provide.

"What is their objective? I doubt they're sacrificing these many of their kin for nothing."

"That's our concern," Matriarch Innocence's face turned dark. "In the history of the Everwinter House and our guardianship of the Northern Gate, this phenomenon has never happened before."

As the Everwinter Queen's voice contained tremors, so did the ground beneath our feet. A mini-earthquake resonated through the Winter Graveyard with every passing second, slowly corroding its unbreakable ice away.

"The Outer Demons have never been so desperate. Even they wouldn't sacrifice so many of their kin without good reason. If I had to guess, there could only be one reason for their sudden rise of activity."

"You mean…"

"I'm afraid that's so…"

I immediately came to a conclusion that I wholly didn't like. The Outer Demons always had one objective when crossing the dimensions. To cause as much carnage and chaos as they could. While no one truly knew their real motives for invading our lands, their objective was clear.

And which Outer Demon could cause the most chaos in the world?

"Demon Lord… They're going to force the arrival of Cthulhu?!"

"I'm afraid so…"

Matriarch Innocence bit her lip and held her hand to her chest.

"I have lived thousands of years, and only two events have shaken me to my core. The first time I'd met Dracula and became a Vampire, and… The time I fought against Cthulhu. We'd barely managed to push it back into the Warp Gate, but… That monster… If we let it come through, it'll end the Everwinter House!"

??

Deep in the waters of the Demon Realm, where no light could reach, and no human had ever tread… One gigantic monstrosity stood in front of a magical portal. It was accompanied by legions of tentacle monsters that stood silently behind it. Each one possessed magical energy equivalent to that of an A-Ranked Hunter, yet there were thousands of them.

But of course, the strongest one of them was the gigantic octopus head that stood far above its subjects.

It waited patiently as the portal continued to expand in size. Bit by bit, the whirlpool of energy grew stronger and stronger until eventually… It reached the size of the monster itself.

"My Lord… It's time."

One of the monsters bowed down to the greater Demon it served and gestured with its tentacles.

"Good… Let's complete our mission."

And for the first time in hundreds of years…

Cthulhu made its way back to the human world.