Unaware of the identity of the entity standing at the other edge of this forsaken world, Arthur gazed at the looming shadow far away and the moving tentacles, his brow raised and his expression indecipherable. The being was talking to him telepathically, its tone wasn't hostile, quite friendly, in fact.

As he heard the first words of Timos, Arthur took a few moments to collect his thoughts before opening his mouth.

"Who might you be, honorable Sir."

At this point in time, Arthur could only feel fear, the shaking of his body, his alert bestial instincts and his unstable Soul, which was trying to distance itself from that massive entity. He couldn't afford to die here, not after all that happened. Lucy and Saly were still out there, in imminent danger and in desperate need of immediate help.

It's rare for him to speak so respectfully to a strange, and a monster, at that yet he did, his back straight and his gaze unwavering, trying to hide his emotions.

Again, using some sort of telepathy, Timos replied:

"Honorable? Hahaha, now that's a first!"

His absurdly thick and long tentacles danced in the air, indicating that he was in a good mood, or so it seemed from his voice.

"My Honorable guest, as you can see, this world is ruined, devoid of any kind of entertainment, so, your arrival is much-welcomed, even desired. Finally, someone has come to relieve my boredom and elevate my spirits. So, fancy a little game? Nothing harmful, just something to pass time."

Arthur, ignoring the approaching armies of Cthulhu and giants taking big strides towards him, answered:

"I will have to decline, unfortunately. I am in a bit of a hurry and would like to leave, if that doesn't bother you."

The parasite was growing more and more nervous, he felt suffocated and inexplicable thirst, however, not for water but for blood. The aura of Riarravar was affecting him negatively and seemed to be perfectly compatible with his current Race. It wasn't threatening, yet, nevertheless, a long stay may affect his mentality.

After a long silence, Timos let out a sigh and expressed his sadness over Arthur's 'unexpected' reply.

"Too bad, I was craving for a game. Nothing I can do about it, I guess… go on, then, I'll just sulk in my corner and wait for another visitor."

Just as he finished talking, a white figure appeared from behind Arthur, stopped next to him, her dress dyed red and a nauseating smell of blood reeking out of her. Her right arm was in a horrible state, her face pale and her breathing uneven. She coughed a few times then glanced at Arthur, her eye pulsating with a sky-blue light as it scanned his body, searching for any fatal injuries.

Only when she made sure he was unscathed did she face the enormous monster far, far away. Her pupils constricted and her body twitching, noticeably.

She controlled her voice and stopped her trembling lips then asked Arthur:

"What is that?"

"Beats me."

The red gate a distance vanished for good, leaving in its place a red fog which dispersed in the air, turning into nothingness.

Standing back to back, the couple faced the incoming enemies, black flames burst from the parasite's body and a bone-chilling coldness froze the ground and petrified the air, stopping dozens of madly running Cthulhu, transforming them into crystalline, unmoving statues.

Two giant monsters wielding red clubs came at Arthur, both shrieking and speaking with a foreign, incomprehensible language. A mixture of Dark Magic and Vermilion flames burst forth, enveloping the giants and pushing away, one of them consumed by Darkness, fell to its knees and wailed in pain, the other, scorched by the orange flames, waved its hands and swung its club, magically dispersing the sea of fire.

Lucy made great use of her elemental skills, she turned the unsteady ground into mud and oil then unleashed a torrent of golden flames which spread into the ground, causing various explosions and igniting the earth, resulting in vast amount of bright flames which rose into the bloody canopy, piercing it and illuminating this area, shrouded by the Timos' shadow.

Hundreds, if not thousands of Cthulhu were turned into ash yet not even this torrent of golden flames were able to stop the advancing army, which didn't care about the fire and headed straight into it. Their superior numbers allowed them to sacrifice much of their own to build a relatively safe path toward their two sole enemies.

"Ah! Another guest, welcome to my humble abod-, well, technically, it's not my abode but I've resided here for a long time so I consider it my home, but I digress. Cherished visitor, care for a little game? If you agree, I can spare you the effort of dealing with these senseless abominations."

Lucy gave no reply to the chatty monster, who wiggled its over-grown tentacles and gazed at the graceful figure of the silver-haired woman, who was bombarding the Cthulhu, not letting them get close to her or Arthur.

If you look from the top, a bird's view, you would see an outrageous amount of Cthulhu, the normal ones or the giants, which were a stronger, tougher variation, superior in every way. Even with infinite Stamina, devastating skills and heavenly spells, no one is able to get rid of them. This world became infested with Cthulhu, to the brim, and that is an understatement, its cities burned to the ground, its forests scorched and turned into ash, its earth infertile and corrupted, its inhabitants are long gone, erased from history.

Minutes felt like hours, the nonstop use of skills, the suffocating aura and the uncomfortable feeling surging from his soul took a great toll on Arthur, whose movements were becoming a tad slower, noticeable by no one, except the silent Timos, who watched the unfolding events, his thoughts known to none but him.

At first, it was going well for the couple, however, as time went by, the situation reversed. The whole area was divided by a clear black line, one part was covered in a raging blizzard and the other was an eternal, ominous, and malevolent encroaching darkness. The Cthulhu which entered the darkness couldn't be seen anymore and they never came back either, however, their hoarse cries of agony couldn't be clearer.

Unfortunately, due to the battle against the specters, the couple wasn't in the best shape, especially Lucy, whose arm was crippled and her body was visibly weak. Basically, she was holding onto a thin thread and barely able to use her Yin power. Were it not for her special Physique, which greatly supported her, she would have fallen unconscious already.

It reached a point where the two of them became practically cornered, meters away from their enemies, which crazily wielded their weapons, attempting them to defeat them, but not kill them. The Cthulhu were notorious for apprehending their targets, torturing them in all kinds of ways then letting them rot in some hell hole.

At last, one of the two received a frontal blow, albeit not devastating, it caused some damage. Arthur staggered a few steps and used his Life energy to heal the injury he just received. With a cold glare, he lifted both of his hands and released countless white thunderbolts which stunned all nearby enemies and scorched the giant which hit him a second ago.

Just a few paces behind the parasite, Lucy was grazed by a sharp two-handed axe wielded by a brown-skinned giant with multiple arms. Just as she was about to dodge another of its slow yet dangerous attacks, a lengthy arrow pulsating with a bloody light pierced her shoulder and sent her flying a couple of meters away, landing in the midst of several Cthulhu, who maliciously grinned and lunged at her.

Arthur reacted in time, using [Faster Than Death], teleporting next to her, then raising a Dark Barrier while his Quad Spirit used its Gravity Magic to slow down the enemies.

Though its attempt was splendidly successful, the arrows coming from far away were unaffected by anything, even the Dark Barrier, as they made their way toward the couple, hitting Arthur's back and temple.

Arthur spat some blood and wrapped his hand around Lucy's waist, pulling her in his embrace and tightening his grasp, in a futile attempt, the parasite tried to rip the Space to deflect more of the arrows but the result remained almost identical to before, arrows rained down on them, mainly hitting Arthur, who shielded his companion.

Semi-conscious, Arthur coughed a lot of blood and glanced at the Dark Barrier, which was bombarded by all the grotesque monsters around the duo. He felt his vision becoming blurrier and his body turned unusually cold.

Actually, he wasn't worried about himself but about Lucy, after all, he was a Soul Parasite so even if this body perishes, he can still live. However, Lucy was a totally different matter, which is why he's trying his best to protect her from any critical or fatal damage.

When all seemed lost and death grew nearer… amidst this total chaos, weapons clanking, shields raised and arrows fired, the loud noises of the mad monsters and their joyful yet unpleasant cheering, it happened.

To the surprise of these hideous creatures which were about to strike Arthur and Lucy, after finally getting rid of his barrier, there was a bright radiance that blinded everyone and anyone near it, including the parasite and his wife.

This light, although harmless at first glance, had an astonishing effect on these grotesque monsters, who dropped to their knees, their skins melting and their eyes burning. Before he could react or try to open his eyes, a swift figure bypassed the motionless Cthulhu and darted toward the couple.

This silhouette was as fast as lightning, grabbing hold of Arthur and magically melting in the air, pulling the two the ground. A somewhat empty field miles away, the same silhouette sprung from the ground, carrying both Arthur, who was tightly holding Lucy.

Upon a closer look, this person had face full of dirt and a few permanent slash marks, under all this filth, you could see young facial features and clear eyes. Without his beard and the totally changed countenance, Arthur would have recognized this person, who was cast out from Green-Leaf and through an unfortunate coincidence, ended up here. He was none other than Vyncent.

A few seconds later, the source of the blinding light hurting all the Cthulhu appeared next to Vyncent. She had a thin, frail body, as if a simple breeze would take it away, a long hair, as black as ink, and a frosty expression. Once a fall God, now a mere mortal, Lissandra.