Unbeknownst to Arthur and his two companions, the fall of the kingdom and the end of the parasite's reign reached their allies in less than a day. Such a large scale explosion and the death of more than a million people was a noticeable event which forever is recorded in history, if Riarravar is destined to have one, that is.

One full day after they fell unconscious, the three woke up by an explosion occurring a few hundred meters from that devastated valley. After spending a few moments, they swiftly got up, appearing quite healthy despite their near-death experience yesterday.

Only Leiu seemed a bit tired than the other two, who has an insane recovery power. The first thing the trio noticed was the ominously red sky, vastly different from the usual blue and clear sky.

The temperature rose by a few dozens degrees and an unsettling aura loomed over the whole land, making them feel uneasy and slightly weakened.

"Is it because of the explosion?"

Leiu asked The Joker who was looking at his cards with a serious expression. The Magician shook his head and explained

"No, something more dangerous was summoned here. The heat is from a nearby fire."

"Must be those dark-skinned monsters."-Arthur

The three walked for a few minutes only to be met with a sea of dangerous flames which scorched a third of a nearby forest and didn't show any signs of stopping. The fire was red like blood and some of it was dozens of meters tall, threatening to burn even the clouds.

No matter how much they tried, they were unable to find a suitable path to tread as the fire seemed to cover everything. Furthermore, the Joker's magic didn't work on this fire, which seemed to be eternal and inextinguishable.

When they finally found a path that has close to no fire, another obstacle barred their, a rather hostile obstacle…

"It's those fuckers."

The Joker clicked his tongue and glared at the hideous-looking monsters patrolling the area. They several arms and were taller than any human, their skin ranged from dark brown to black and their faces were uglier than pigolos.

They were none other than the Cthulhu, the same savage and evil race that invaded Astria.

"What the hell are they doing here?"

Dark Magic revolved around Arthur and in an instant, several Dark Spears flew straight at the Cthulhu, impaling them and ending their life once and for all.

They weren't a worthy opponent and were vulnerable to Dark Magic, however, despite their individual weakness, they had an advantage in numbers.

Literally every minute, the trio stumbled upon a group of Cthulhu either chasing after helpless humans or checking the area. They already took control of this whole area and claimed it as their own.

"It'll take forever if we kill every single one of them."-Leiu

They had no clear destination in mind but they decided on 'visiting' the underground city again.

"Got a better idea?"-Joker

"We can try sneaking through."-Arthur

His suggestion was quickly rejected as not only the road is too narrow, the numbers of the Cthulhu was simply overwhelming.

"I say we get rid of all the vermin in our way."-The Joker

"I second that."-Leiu

"*sigh* Alright."

To minimize the energy they expend, especially Leiu and Arthur, they decided to only rely on their physical strength and save their special abilities for powerful opponents.

In the course of ten minutes, the three killed 128 Cthulhu and their numbers showed no signs of decline. At some point, they reached a crossroad which had an astronomical number of Cthulhu but that wasn't what made Arthur and his companions stop.

No, it was the small mountain of corpses just next to the Cthulhu. Just like Arthur saw in Bucama's world, the Cthulhu already started creating living statues of the captured humans.

In fact, one of them was a familiar female whose eyes became hollow and full of despair. She was naked and her body had bruises all over it… heck! Even one of her organs was hanging down, a gory and unpleasant sight.

She was on the brink of death while the Cthulhu were enjoying this show, grinning amongst each other and poking the female, causing her to groan from pain.

She was none other than the S-ranked mage who fought the Joker and miserably lost. While it's true she was arrogant, she still didn't deserve to be treated like this, no one deserves to be toyed with in such a cruel and inhuman manner.

The mage wasn't the only one who was put like a statue, there were two other men next to her, each in a disgusting and shameful position.

"So it wasn't just anyone… they 'value' the strong humans like this…"-Arthur mumbled to himself while the other two silently stared at what's happening in the crossroad.

Excluding the hundred or so Cthulhu, there was a tall figure, sitting right at the center of the intersection. From its appearance, it was a Cthulhu but had six arms and a jet black skin, its eyes were tightly closed and legs crossed.

"That one seems to be a bit of a problem."

The Joker pulled three cards and said

"We'll divide our roles. Whoever draws a blank card will deal with the small fry and the other two will kill the leader."

Arthur and Leiu didn't object, they complied and each stretched a hand and pulled one of the cards. In the end, the Joker was the one who was left with a blank card and although unsatisfied, he simply grumbled.

Before they showed started their assault, Arthur asked:

"What of the survivors?"

In response, the Joker retorted:

"Survivors? Do they look like people who want to live? Finish them if you have a chance… and if they're used as meatshields then don't hesitate."

After taking a couple of seconds to regulate their breathings and prepared themselves, the trio initiated their attack.

The first one was Leiu, who swung down Anduril, causing violent tremors that reached the crossroad and caused half of the Cthulhu to fall down but it also alerted the leader, who opened its eyes and stared right at the pale youth.

Still using the thick trees as a cover, the Joker would throw four to five cards a second, each one accurately hitting its target and killing one enemy.

As for Arthur, he joined Leiu and used [Golden Lone Sheath], sending a blinding sword arc at the tall monster, who clutched raised his hand and clutched the flying golden light, disintegrating it so easily.

Unfortunately, this was only the beginning of the joined combo as Anduril was swung down again, splitting the earth and sending a burst of Darkness at the leader.

The Cthulhu retaliated by stretching his hand again, this time releasing a purple miasma which stopped Leiu's strike but only for a split second. The miasma was made of Void Magic, however, even such a powerful attribute wasn't strong enough to resist Anduril, which pushed the enemy and severely wounded the pigolo.

Before it could raise its injured body, a creepy jet black skull came flying down from above, crashing directly into the leader and devouring it in just a few seconds.

Arthur's Heavenly Slash ended the short fight and sealed the Cthulhu's fate. From beginning to end, the fight lasted for eleven seconds but the Joker was able to finish the small fries in merely nine seconds, an amazing feat considering he only used his cards.

Each Cthulhu had a card stuck deep into its skull while their leader served as a meal for the hungry Makaze. The awakened dark blade no longer distinguished between swords and living beings, its ability evolved, allowing it to devour anything it wanted, including souls. The downside, however, is that it'll constantly become hungry hence the need to feed it on a daily basis.

Fortunately, it got to devour all the corpses scattered around except for the lifeless humans. The Joker wasn't as talkative as before, he swiftly ended the lives of the still-living yet suffering humans and buried them using his magic.