Ubermensch – Chapter 170

Chapter 170

Cthulhu’s roar shook the entire world. No, the entire dimension.

Cthulhu, the evil god created by a single human and brought to life by the faith of countless others. His power was immense and terrible. Anyone with even a shred of spiritual power trembled in fear.

It didn’t matter if they were near or far from him, the mere fact of his existence sent chills down their spines, a palpable sense of pressure and dread.

Naturally, Izzet, Randy, and Mason felt this overwhelming presence as well.

The moment Mason heard that roar, he realized.

“You harmed Michael.”

The wicked faith directed towards Cthulhu had already reached its critical point. Even without Michael, Cthulhu would have been born eventually, by someone else.

However, the fact that Michael was the catalyst was an undeniable truth.

Izzet, her eyes twitching, nodded.

“Yes, Oztalon. I ordered my companion to do it.”

“I see. So it was you.”

Mason shed his disguise and manifested as a giant clad in armor. He gazed across the Pacific Ocean, towards R’lyeh.

“I will go out and buy some time as a stopgap measure. Pray to Goddess Bastet and inform her of this. Ask for help from other gods as well.”

Cthulhu was a terrifying monster in his own right, but he was also the starting point and figurehead of the Cthulhu pantheon. Even atheists who had never believed in Cthulhu would now believe in the Cthulhu mythos upon seeing him, and their fear and anxiety would bring other gods of the Cthulhu pantheon into existence.

They had to act as quickly as possible.

Before other Great Old Ones were born.

“You were right, Oztalon. We shouldn’t have harmed him.”

Izzet said, her head bowed low.

“Are you not going to rebuke me?”

“I showed him mercy not because I believed he would repent. You didn’t kill him knowing Cthulhu would be born, did you? So I will not rebuke your intent just because the outcome is unfavorable.”

“But I brought about this disaster. I disobeyed your order, Oztalon!”

Izzet lamented, sobbing.

“If I hadn’t hated him, this wouldn’t have happened. My hatred has stained your mercy, Oztalon. Please, rebuke me for my sins.”

“What will change if I rebuke you?”

Mason said in a calm voice.

“No matter what I say, I cannot rebuke you more harshly than you are already rebuking yourself. So rise and fight. For the sake of those we can still protect.”

Leaving the sobbing Izzet behind, Mason turned to Randy.

“Randy. Will you help me?”

“I don’t know what I can do to help, but I will try if you command me.”

“Good. Let’s go.”

Mason took Randy’s hand and took a step forward.

And in the next moment, they were hovering high above the Pacific Ocean.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa?”

Holding onto the flustered Randy, Mason cast a spell of flight on him.

“Find a ship nearby. They probably have a communication network among themselves. Convince them to withdraw from this area and protect them with your magic.”

“What about you, Oztalon?”

“I will…”

Mason’s body plummeted towards the ocean.

And in the next moment, a colossal, radiant figure of a god began to rise from the depths.

A gigantic god, as tall as a mountain range, clad in massive armor and wielding a colossal hammer.

It was Oztalon.

“…try to stop Cthulhu.”

In the distance, a sinister shadow was approaching.

Perhaps because he was a being formed from the thoughts of humans, the green-skinned Cthulhu bore a vaguely human-like silhouette.

He had a bipedal form with limbs, and his arms and hands also resembled those of a human.

However, the similarities to humans ended there.

His head resembled that of an octopus, and his face, with countless writhing tentacles, was grotesquely eerie.

His rubbery body, covered in scales, seemed to be entwined with numerous cephalopod limbs, and long, narrow wings sprouted from his back.

As Randy inadvertently tried to look at Cthulhu, Mason shielded his eyes with light.

“Do not look at him. Even if you are a great mage among humans, the mere act of perceiving Cthulhu can drive you mad.”

“Yes, yes!”

“Go.”

Mason stepped forward, gripping his hammer.

Cthulhu approached, shrouded in dark clouds, and Mason walked towards him, enveloped in radiance.

And then, Mason and Cthulhu clashed.

“Uwaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

Thud! Crash!

The clash of hammer and tentacles!

Rumble…

Just the impact of the two gods’ collision and its aftermath created tsunami-like waves that churned the sea.

The massive cargo ships beyond the horizon tossed and turned as if they would capsize.

Cthulhu took a step back, and Mason stumbled six steps back, falling to one knee.

“Ugh…!”

This exchange wasn’t simply a battle of physical strength as it appeared. It was a clash that mobilized all their divine powers and various spells.

However, as the result showed, he was utterly overwhelmed.

‘He’s strong. Transcendentally strong.’

Excluding the Destroyer, who wasn’t even a viable opponent, Cthulhu was the strongest being Mason had ever encountered.

Moreover, the anxiety and fear spreading across the world as news of Cthulhu’s birth spread was feeding the evil god even greater power.

There was already a clear disparity in strength, and yet Cthulhu was growing even stronger!

“So what?”

Mason grinned wryly.

Oztalon, the Guardian Deity, was… born for this moment.

To stand before humanity and fight when an overwhelming force threatened them!

“Haaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

Mason charged.

Towards the calamity named Cthulhu.

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The city was in complete chaos.

“Kyaaaaaak!”

“Aaaack!”

Cthulhu’s existence itself was a problem, but the more pressing issue was the terror attacks by the cultists who had emerged in solidarity with him. Heavily armed and brazen, they shot and detonated explosives indiscriminately.

It was a day of celebration for the birth of their god.

They reveled in violence as they pleased, convinced that they were the masters of the world.

Samantha, a tennis instructor, was hiding in the sports center, trembling in fear. Along with the young students she was teaching.

A cultist had appeared at the entrance of the sports center, carrying out a massacre. The security guard tried to fight back, but the cultist, armed with an assault rifle, eliminated him with overwhelming firepower.

All Samantha could do was turn off the lights, run, and hide.

Hoping that no one would find them on the tennis court…

Thump. Thump. Thump…

Footsteps were approaching. Her heart pounded in her throat, and the children whimpered, covering their mouths.

And then, the door to the tennis court opened.

A cultist in a blood-red robe grinned wickedly.

“Cthulhu! Taste the souls of these innocents and bless me with your wicked power!”

“Kyaaa!”

The moment he aimed his assault rifle at Samantha and the children…

Thud!

A cat claw pierced his throat.

“Gurggh…”

Izzet pushed the collapsing cultist aside and wiped the blood off her cat claw.

“Eek!”

“Don’t worry. I’m on your side.”

Izzet reassured the terrified Samantha and the children, summoning her cat.

“Follow the cat. It will lead you to safety.”

“Yes, yes!”

As Samantha and the children fled, Izzet bit her lip. There were about a hundred people in the sports center. Even including Samantha and the children, she had only managed to save a dozen or so.

Too much death, too much fear was overflowing.

The sands of time slipped through her grasp. Lives she could have saved were flowing away between her fingers.

But what truly terrified Izzet was that their efforts might be in vain.

‘Oztalon…’

The Elder Gods were gathering to help, but it wasn’t easy for a divine being to descend in their true form.

Even if they sent avatars or projections, they wouldn’t be able to significantly alter the outcome of the fight between Cthulhu and Oztalon.

If Oztalon, the most skilled fighter among the Elder God Pantheon, were to be defeated, who would be left to save the world?

Izzet knelt and prayed.

“Goddess Bastet, please protect Oztalon, and this world.”

There was no answer.

So Izzet sobbed.

“Anyone, please… protect this world…”

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Thud! Wham!

The fight between Mason and Cthulhu was a clear display of overwhelming inferiority. Cthulhu moved towards the continent, swatting Mason away like a nuisance every time he charged. All Mason could achieve was to slightly delay Cthulhu’s advance.

But he had to do even that much.

Even if all he could do was something insignificant, he had to do it if he could.

“Come at me, Cthulhu!”

Cthulhu turned his gaze towards the battered Mason.

At the same time, an infinite number of tentacles erupted from the sea, entwining Mason.

“Ugh!”

Exhausted, Mason couldn’t suppress Cthulhu’s wicked divine power.

Mason tried to burn the tentacles by igniting his body with flames, but despite the flames, the tentacles’ regenerative ability bound him tightly.

It was a desperate situation.

“Yaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

Amidst the raging waves, an oil tanker charged towards Cthulhu at full speed.

Sensing a familiar presence within the ship, Mason gritted his teeth.

“Stop it, Randy!”

Even though it was a massive tanker, hundreds of meters long, it was no more than a tiny boat compared to Cthulhu’s colossal body.

“There are 80,000 tons of oil in this ship. If I can just detonate it…!”

“It’s pointless. You’ll only risk your life!”

Divine power was a force that could make the impossible possible. Even if he detonated it, Cthulhu’s divine power could block the explosion.

No, if he wished, he could even prevent the explosion from happening in the first place.

“Then… you have to make it meaningful, Oztalon.”

Randy was telling Oztalon to use his divine power to penetrate Cthulhu’s defenses. He was asking to be detonated, to be used as a stepping stone for a reversal!

“Randy, do you think I would blow you up?”

“Ah, I don’t know. I’m going to ram into him, so use it wisely.”

“Don’t do anything foolish!”

Randy grinned and grabbed the steering wheel.

“If I was smart, would I have believed in a god like Oztalon, who doesn’t distinguish between big and small things and only throws away his own life?”

“Randy!”

Randy grinned.

“My god, accept my life!”

The oil tanker crashed into Cthulhu’s leg.