"Goddess… I've found him."

Cthulhu's words rang within my consciousness, forcibly raising my brow. Goddess? Found me? What was the Goddess? And why was she searching for me? Did the Outer Demons already know who I was? Has news of my ascension already reached the Demon Realm?

There were so many questions to ask. And well, there was only one way to find the answers.

"Cthulhu, you can understand me, right?"

"... Interesting, you're not affected by my presence, and you are able to keep your mind sane when communicating with me… No, I should say, it's expected from the nightmare who plagues the Goddess' dreams."

"Nightmare? Dreams? Explain yourself."

"... You might be the one, but your head isn't all that bright." Cthulhu insulted me with a narcissistic tone. "... Why should I explain anything to my enemy?"

The Demon Lord spread its dragon wings wide and pointed the finger at me. The typhoon moved according to Cthulhu's orders, and trillions of raindrops flew over like machine gun fire while the howling winds attempted to tear my body apart limb from limb. If not for my automatic magic barrier, that one attack would have ended the battle right away.

Cthulhu, clearly dissatisfied with the outcome, dropped its massive arm down and stared me straight in the eye. Winds and rain shrouded the Demon Lord in mist, but I could clearly see its face moving while it gradually approached me.

"... My orders are to return to the Demon Realm right away if I were to find you… But you've destroyed the Gate connecting our worlds, and it will be a hassle to create one from scratch again… And I don't think you'll let me leave and find that annoying flying worm…"

Annoying flying worm? Wait, was Cthulhu talking about Baishe? Don't tell me that Baishe had also invaded our world?

Out of habit, I sent my gaze elsewhere and scanned the entire planet for large pools of magic power. And sure enough, on the other side of the globe, a dense ocean of magic power, similar to that of Cthulhu's, was messing with the balance of the planet.

The Outer Demons had sent two Demon Lords over? Wasn't there only three Demon Lords in recorded history? No, since Eyghon was destroyed, they should have only two Demon Lords left. Yet, they've sent both of them over? Wait, didn't Cthulhu say there was a Goddess they followed? Perhaps there are more Demon Lords we weren't aware of.

Bit by bit, my mind filled in the blanks on its own. The puzzle pieces were sparse, but they gave me enough information to form my own hypothesis.

"... So congratulations, you've left me no choice… I'm going to kill you here…"

Cthulhu wasted no time and summoned a new deluge, this time with enough water to create a thousand tsunamis at once. The water smashed straight into my barrier and submerged me in a sphere and endless running water. Rapid currents collided with Aegis, attempting to rip me free from my protection. And to top it all off…

Cthulhu entered the water globe and swam elegantly like a fish in water. It attempted to break my barrier with its massive arms, but it was to no avail. And when that didn't work, it moved its scaly tentacles and generated whirlpools of energy all around me.

Spell after another was launched at my Aegis as Cthulhu attempted to chip my defences down. Yet, my trusted barrier wasn't going to budge. Fortunately, this gave me the opportunity to examine the details of Cthulhu's power thoroughly.

Interesting… The more I observed this Demon Lord, the more intrigued I got about Cthulhu's origin and power. Using a combination of magic power and faith energy, it could create cataclysmic events and change entire landscapes with a thought. In fact… There was much I could learn from the way Cthulhu fights.

"... Your barrier… It's like Eyghon's shell…"

"You noticed?"

"... I see… So you were the one who destroyed that robot…"

Cthulhu let out a low growl and brought its arms to a halt. Magic power escaped its massive body, further powering the rapidly expanding water sphere.

"... There is truth to the Goddess' words; you are the biggest threat to our species… And if I kill you now…"

Greed flashed within the Demon Lord's eyes as its magic power continually rose. The Mahayana desert gradually turned into a miniature ocean as a category five hurricane descended from the skies. Wind and rain turned the massive dry landscape into a dream wetland for the Matron of the Seas. And even though the Demon Lord had cast so much magic… It still possessed over ninety-eight percent of its magic power.

What a monster.

No, given that it was a spawn of its home planet, this should be expected. If I wished to defeat the Demon Lord, I had to change my tactics. The home-court advantage I had was quickly evaporating, and before long, Cthulhu would gain the upper hand once again.

And to prevent that from happening… I should change the landscape once again.

I pointed my middle finger straight to the heavens and channelled my magic power into my Spacetime ring. Azure light overpowered the dark skies as my Vampire Aspect drained a large chunk of my magic power. Cthulhu sensed danger and rapidly moved to stop me from casting the spell, but alas… I was a tad bit faster.

"Imperium: Skyfall."

With one clench of my fist, the world stood silent. The winds of Cthulhu's hurricane dissipated, and the vast amounts of water stopped flowing. It was the calm before the storm, a peace before all hell broke loose. And then…

"... Insane."

Cthulhu's voice sounded in my mind once again. It stared at the heavens with a stupified look, and its massive wings spread wide. Ah, so even Demon Lords will behave this way when faced with a calamity.

I chuckled to myself and raised my chin up to the darkened sky. And as expected, my spell worked. The overcast clouds split open and made way for the true sovereign of the skies. A mountain-sized meteor fell from the heavens with a contrail of flames following close behind.

Perhaps it was due to its long lifespan; Cthulhu knew the damage such a meteor could cause. It would flatten the entire Mahayana desert, instantly vapourise all of its water, and revert the wetlands back into the barren landscape it once was. No, it would become far worse than a dry desert. It would literally turn the place into hell on earth.

Additionally, Cthulhu could feel that it was the epicentre of the massive impact. Therefore, without hesitating, the Demon Lord flew up and summoned all its water into one spot. Magic power flowed from its scaly body, and almost instantly, the Demon Lord was drained of a percentage point of its power. And the result of expanding that much power…

Thousands of water serpents rose to meet the meteor while millions of whirlpools cushioned the impact. Dousing the flaming mountain with unimaginable gallons of water, Cthulhu somehow managed to slow the descent of the space rock, but only by a bit. It couldn't stop the pure destruction of my spell, and with a devastating explosion, the meteor evaporated over half of Cthulhu's created water.

Mist descended down, obscuring Cthulhu's vision of the broken pieces of rock from the meteor, but it didn't matter. The Demon Lord had stopped my spell. The spell that would have flattened the entire Mahayana desert and the spell that no other living entity on the planet could stop… was broken down by Cthulhu.

"... You're insane…"

"Why? Because I'm willing to destroy my own planet just to kill you?" I scoffed with my arms folded. I didn't think a Demon Lord would feel bad for the well-being of my planet. The same Demon Lord invaded without regard for our planet's safety and caused innumerable lives to be lost over the years.

"Don't get it twisted, Cthulhu. You're the invading menace. I'm just taking care of the pest infestation."

"... You're calling me a pest?"

"Aren't you?"

Since the beast wouldn't answer my questions, I'd thought of triggering the Demon Lord. In anger, Cthulhu might unveil critical information about the Demon Realm and its mission.

And sure enough…

"... Pest! You're the pest who the Goddess is obsessed with! If not for you, why would we even waste our time here?!"

Oh god… Does that mean… I'm the reason why the Outer Demons invaded Earth?

Now, this is a revelation… I'd heard from Sora, the spirit of the World Tree, that I was the promised one prophesied to lead the World Tree into eternal life. If that's the case, perhaps the Outer Demons also had a similar prophecy.

World Tree… Eternal life… Progenitor… Outer Demons… Prophecy…

They were all related somehow. Was there indeed a higher power guiding the fate of the world? Like a Chessmaster who viewed everything as pawns on a chessboard, was I just following the higher power's will?

How interesting… Even after becoming a Progenitor, I still have much to learn! After learning the true face of the Holy Church's God, I thought the world would become boring. But… The world possessed far more mysteries that I've yet to uncover!

"... What's so funny?"

Cthulhu saw the disgusting smile on my face and let out an annoyed groan. Quite possibly, it felt insulted by my lack of regard. Well, I didn't care much about its pride, but…

"I'm just thinking since you've managed to stop my meteor so easily…"

I pointed my middle finger, this time not at the heavens but at the Demon Lord, who stood dumbfounded. Unknowingly, my lips curled into yet another smile while azure light split the sky once more. And this time, another space rock bolted down from the atmosphere at speed far beyond the first. At the same time, it was nearly twice as large and possessed far more destructive power.

Cthulhu stumbled off its feet and let out a sky-rending screech.

"Could you stop a second one?"