"Phew~ We barely made it. That little pest's resistance was fiercer than expected, taking a tad more time than planned."
"Indeed, just a tad, less than three minutes to seal her."
"Haha, what can we do? We're not in our true forms. These avatars are twice-weakened, feeble compared to our past selves. They're akin to this planet's so-called Grand Servants, but a supercharged version. Thanks to that boy's body as the perfect vessel, even in these frail avatars, each of us Outer Gods wields power surpassing the sum of those seven Grand Servants."
"Though that little UO put up a fight, it was hardly a challenge for us."
In the pitch-black void, where direction was indiscernible, space warped and swelled. Three distinct, terrifying presences erupted, expanding with the darkness.
A voice emerged from the void. A middle-aged man, self-styled Time Lord M'ssiskha, glanced at the petite white-haired girl beside him, irritation in his tone.
"Nyarlathotep, wasn't it you who wanted to play? Had you handed that pest to me, I'd have flung her into the cosmic depths or a time rift to fend for herself. What's the point of capturing her? That level of trash is dime-a-dozen in the universe, unfit even to guard my door."
"Don't be so harsh~ She's the second arc's big boss, at least on the surface. We ought to show some respect." Nyarlathotep replied, waving a delicate fan she'd produced from nowhere, covering her mouth as she answered with a playful smile. "Besides, presenting this little pet as a greeting gift to that boy might delight him. It could soften his stance toward us~"
"Though I doubt it'll work, doing something's better than nothing, right?"
"And if he's not pleased, we can just kill her later. I've used my expertise to split this pitiful UO into countless fragments, weakening her power to the limit. Only a conscious sliver remains, weak enough for any stray cat or dog on this planet to finish off. She's truly a toy now."
As she addressed M'ssiskha's question, Nyarlathotep's fingers toyed with a ten-centimeter figurine, dangling it before her eyes.
She gave a friendly wave to the still-shaken Alien God. "Morning, my little pet~"
"Eeeeek…!!!" The Alien God let out a squeal like a frightened animal, tears in her eyes, her terrified expression belying her role as the orchestrator of the Alienation of Humanity, born in Chaldeas to supplant Gaia as a UO.
"Am I that scary? I quite like this look." Nyarlathotep said, scratching her cheek, mildly exasperated at the pet's near-fainting fear. She tossed the figurine back into her chaotic collection space.
"Avatar fragmentation isn't just your method for handling the Alien God, it's how we maintain our current state." M'ssiskha said. "By crafting suitable avatars and vessels, we infinitely divide our boundless power, barely containing our magnitude within this world's limits. Our power is infinite, undiminished by any reduction. Even your 'Grand Servant sum' is our lowest output. But none of that matters, we just need to avoid accidentally obliterating this planet."
"Fortunately, my proudest child gifted us the most precious key. Without it, your avatar fragmentation would yield mere puppets, not true fragments of us. We couldn't have pulled off this covert maneuver against the Father." Shub-Niggurath, a stunning woman on the right, said, her tone brimming with pride when mentioning Roy.
Her words left Nyarlathotep and M'ssiskha at a loss for a response.
"Gifted" wasn't quite the right term.
"Nyarlathotep, instead of debating your avatar fragmentation, I'm more concerned about the boy. M'ssiskha, you tossed him into your spatial rift. No issues, right? If he's wronged or harmed, this mother won't forgive you~" Shub-Niggurath said with a smile.
Her voice was sultry, her tone calm, but M'ssiskha knew she was deadly serious. This wasn't a jest, if he'd tampered or let the boy get hurt, derailing their plans, none of them would let him off.
No matter how confident M'ssiskha was, crossing the three pillar gods was a fool's errand.
"Hmph, I'm not like you, wasting time on nonsense at a critical moment. I sent the kid back to his original timeline. A slight time-layer shift may have offset the timeline, but it won't affect our plans." M'ssiskha said.
"Oh, I knew the Time Lord was reliable." Shub-Niggurath cooed.
"…" M'ssiskha
One moment, his name; the next, "Time Lord."
Were women with emotions this fickle?
"Enough. Let's discuss the next issue, Nyarlathotep. How and when do we appear? Didn't Yog-Sothoth tell you anything?" M'ssiskha asked.
"Nope. I can't even find Yog-Sothoth. Haven't been able to contact her for ages." Nyarlathotep replied.
"…"
"Gone missing? That's worrisome…" Shub-Niggurath mused.
"Worrisome? Are you worried about her, or that Yog-Sothoth might trip us up behind our backs?" M'ssiskha pressed.
"Hmm… why don't you guess?" She teased.
"Heh, no need. It's obvious." M'ssiskha said with a cold laugh, devoid of mockery, merely stating harsh reality. "That enigmatic one, after eons of clashing across time and space, I still can't fathom her goals. Trip us up or not? To her, it's a mere thought. Her intellect crushes us, leaving no defense."
"A grim reality, but you're right. Yog-Sothoth is an enigma even among Outer Gods. Neither Shub-Niggurath nor I grasp her nature. Even with humanity, emotions, and a body, her actions and thoughts are incomprehensible." Nyarlathotep agreed.
"Instead of fretting over Yog-Sothoth's schemes, let's find my boy. Whatever she's plotting, sticking close to him should thwart her, right? I doubt she can act under our noses." Shub-Niggurath said.
"You're not wrong, but… Shub-Niggurath, no, Nee-san now. Calling him so fondly without meeting him, really? Your smothering affection aside, how will he react to the truth? His uniqueness and memories stripped, left with a useless rank, his body divvied up. I doubt this will go smoothly." M'ssiskha cautioned.
"Who knows? If he wants to kill me, let him. We've got backups. If he needs to vent, I'll indulge him until he's satisfied. We're mother and son, family, there's no irreconcilable hatred~" Shub-Niggurath said.
"Aren't you too deep in character?" M'ssiskha muttered.
"Enough, M'ssiskha. No need to dwell on this. The path to the boy's location is open. Let's go." Nyarlathotep said.
"Hmph, fine by me." M'ssiskha agreed.
The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young, Shub-Niggurath, the Messenger of Chaos, Nyarlathotep, and the Time Lord, M'ssiskha turned, satisfied, toward a point in the boundless darkness.
With their will, direction emerged from the void.
Direction birthed a path; a path led to an end, and that end was…
Crack!!
A shattering sound echoed as the real world's void, devoid of medium, splintered like a mirror, crushed by an unseen, unknowable, incomprehensible force.
First, Nyarlathotep spoke in a singsong, mischievous tone.
"Good morning, tiny blue planet."
"Hello~ Gaia."
"Greetings, my imminent true freedom."
"Hahahahaha!!!" M'ssiskha's booming laughter followed.
Last was Shub-Niggurath.
"Hello~ My dear child, your mother's here~"
Simultaneously, the world's great powers, those like Zelretch who could observe its inner workings, or natural spirits sensed the planet's upheaval.
The planet trembled in fear, its foundations shaking, physical laws and magecraft quivering.
What was happening?!!
Their minds reeled, unable to comprehend the event.
"So boring~ Shiki's at school, Fujino's busy with work, and Roy hasn't returned in over a year. What a liar, he said he'd be back soon." Arcueid grumbled, perched on a rooftop in Misaki City, munching a hand-pie while gazing at the scenery, muttering a name she missed.
"But… a year isn't that long, I guess. Still, it's lonely…"
Suddenly, Arcueid's eyes widened, her expression shifting dramatically.
Startled, her hand-pie slipped from her fingers. Her crimson eyes fixed on a distant point, disbelief etched in her gaze.
"The planet's terrified, wailing, even… begging me for help?!"
Deep in Egypt's Atlas Mountains, at the Alchemist Academy known as the "Giant's Pit." countless observation instruments in the Atlas Institute detected an anomaly.
On an otherwise ordinary day, screens blazed red, flashing wildly with piercing alerts.
Alarms flooded the institute, sparking chaos.
Observers, witnessing the eerie scene, turned toward Japan, shouting in unison, "Contact Director Sion at once! What is this?!"
"The planet's third apocalypse has arrived!!"
Hysterical wails echoed endlessly.
…
…
Meanwhile, on the other side of the planet:
"This is my original timeline? Why was I sent back?"
On Fuyuki City's streets, Roy surveyed the familiar surroundings, bustling traffic and a gaudy billboard funded by the Fujimura Group's transformation efforts, advertising their shift to electronics, designed at Roy's suggestion.
The Fujimura Group's small-scale success, evolving from a yakuza syndicate to Fujimura Corporation, confirmed this was his timeline, not a parallel world.
What was going on? Why was he abruptly back here?
He vividly recalled toying with Team A's Crypters in the mental world, stringing them up and overwhelming them.
Their magecraft was impressive, their teamwork solid, but against absolute power, their tricks were futile.
The mental space lacked celestial bodies, rendering Kirschtaria Wodime's magecraft useless.
Kadoc, the weakest Crypter, was intriguing, his ideas creative. He devised a combined magecraft to stall Roy, buying time for others to flee.
But when Kadoc steeled himself to sacrifice, his hidden trump card was shattered by Roy's single strike, useless.
Ophelia Phamrsolone, seeing Kadoc and Kirschtaria fail, tore off her eyepatch, using her Mystic Eye to restrain Roy. But Roy possessed a Jewel-ranked Mystic Eye, amplified by the Third Magic's synergy, far surpassing its original potential. Ophelia's attempt to match his gaze ended in her instant defeat.
Hinako Akuta, revealing her spirit-like nature in a life-or-death moment, engaged Roy in melee.
Her unique composition allowed rapid regeneration, but Roy excelled against immortals.
His Third Magic-infused fists struck body and soul alike, reducing the near-True Ancestor spirit to a twitching heap after a few rounds.
Scandinavia Peperoncino, reading the situation, raised his hands in surrender, relinquishing his Great Command Spell without resistance.
He knew fighting meant instant defeat.
Beryl Gut, sensing Roy's fixation on non-human entities, assumed he was doomed.
Drawing a knife, he transformed into a werewolf, launching a desperate counterattack.
The outcome was predictable. Roy seized his throat, stripped his Command Spell, and crushed his heart with a fist, obliterating his soul and body with a magical blast, leaving him utterly dead.
Daybit Sem Void didn't resist.
His unique nature let him perceive Roy's soul's singularity and superior rank. Recognizing Roy as a non-human with greater authority, he surrendered.
After several rounds, the Alien God never appeared, and Roy's patience waned.
Kirschtaria, seeing the futility, surrendered, offering to reveal all plans and intel if Roy spared his surviving comrades.
Their lives meant little to Roy, his target was always the Alien God. These tools were irrelevant.
But considering Kirschtaria, Marisbury's direct disciple, might know Chaldeas' secrets, Roy spared him for interrogation. He agreed, stripping all Crypters' Great Command Spells, implanting restraints in their bodies, and refraining from a massacre.
Under Romani's astonished gaze, Roy used the Third Magic to seal their magical circuits, healed their bodies through soul manipulation, and pulled them from the crYog-Sothothenic caskets.
All but Beryl Gut survived.
Before he could interrogate them…
The void behind him tore open a spacetime rift without warning. An invisible force yanked him, hurling him into the rift before he could react, ejecting him from Chaldea.
When he opened his eyes, he was in Fuyuki.
"What's going on? Why was I bounced back to this timeline? Was that rift the Alien God's power?" Roy muttered, grappling with his situation.
If she could casually rip spacetime, she was formidable…
He mentally elevated the Alien God's threat level.
But if she had such power, why not trap him in a dimension? Why return him to his timeline?
If that force was the Alien God's, was Romani, left in the crYog-Sothothenic chamber, in danger?
Not good!!
Worried for Ritsuka and Romani, Roy didn't hesitate. He touched the white bracelet on his arm, attempting to use the Second Magic to return to Chaldea.
Zzt… Crackle!!
A jarring electrical snap rang out as the silver bracelet emitted black smoke and shattered.
It was utterly destroyed by some force.
"Are you kidding me? It breaks at a time like this?!" Roy exclaimed, smacking the bracelet. No matter how much mana he poured in, it wouldn't function.
He didn't panic. He knew fretting wouldn't help, and he knew the bracelet's maker. The solution was clear.
Pulling out the spacetime letter kept in his pocket for contacting Zelretch, Roy scribbled:
Zelretch, I'm in Fuyuki. Urgent need for Second Magic aid! Come quick!!
Unbeknownst to him, the jewel geezer was struggling to escape a void.
Likewise, Roy was unaware that the special communication paper Zelretch gave him had fallen into the hands of uninvited guests invading the planet.
"Hehe, still worried about that side? Such a fretful child~ Don't worry, Mommy's handled everything." Shub-Niggurath chuckled, writing reassuring words on the paper to ease Roy's concerns.
I understand the situation. I'll handle things there. No need to worry.
You worked hard this time. Rest well.
___
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