The battle in Tacoma City had barely begun.
From the moment they laid eyes on the enemy, the entire Black Feather Knights seemed mentally controlled, their minds dazed. Some went completely mad at the first sight, babbling incoherently, utterly unable to fight. Freya and a few other wizards resisted for a long time but ultimately succumbed to the enemy's numerical advantage...
"Get up, witch. It's not time for you to sleep yet..."
Freya felt a cold, slithering touch on her face, and something like suckers clinging to her neck, tickling. She shook her head and finally opened her eyes.
"What is this?"
"Your operation has failed, witch. You and your subordinates will become sacrifices for the great Father's return," the other said.
Freya stared at the creature before her!
A humanoid body, one arm like a tentacle with multiple limbs, and a head resembling an octopus. When it spoke, the tentacle-like whiskers on its neck writhed with suckers. She had never seen such a monster. Beside it stood another fish-man creature, whom Sean had called a Deep One. The goat-men stood behind as guards, surrounded by a crowd of similar humanoid beings.
"Who are you? Why have you come to Tacoma City? What happened to my team members?" Freya tried to suppress her unease and fear as she spoke.
Around her were a few wizards she recognized, but none of them could speak normally...
"Who are we? Hahaha..."
"Haven't you been searching for answers all along? Why not take a guess?" The octopus-headed man didn't answer, just kept laughing.
"I originally planned to wait until the Father appeared to show you his great power, but I didn't expect you to launch an attack at this moment... Quite bold, but it seems you've overestimated your own strength and underestimated us."
His tentacle-like arm easily grabbed Freya's neck, slithering cautiously beside her ribs.
Freya had tried many times to use her magic, but under the immense mental pressure, she couldn't even gather her strength. It felt like being drunk, the world spinning around her.
"Stop wasting words with her. Throw her in now, let her be buried with the other wizards!" said the Deep One beside the octopus-head.
"No..."
"Haven't you noticed? Everyone else can't resist the pressure of the Father's arrival, but she's still trying to stay awake," the octopus-head said.
"She's just a spent force."
"The key isn't her resistance. Though her power is outstanding among this group, it's insignificant among us, and even more trivial before the Father... But her bloodline is more useful. If I'm not mistaken, she carries the blood of a Dragon-Taming Witch, which will be very helpful to us." He looked at the Deep One and the other fish-men behind him.
The Deep Ones were secreting slime, but once it was used up, they'd need to return to the water.
"Her bloodline has powerful vitality. If combined with yours, it will birth stronger Deep Ones, allowing you to roam the continent freely without restraint."
Their words made Freya feel fear for the first time.
A mix of shyness and anger from her maiden days... but she couldn't even muster the strength to be angry.
She struggled to move, but a goat-man behind her kicked her hard.
Ah!!
"Kill me if you dare. Your schemes won't succeed..." she said angrily.
"Give it up, witch. You should be grateful that your bloodline lets you live a little longer, to contribute to the Father's return!" The octopus-head looked up at the sky again.
"Look, the stars are aligning. And it will awaken... It will return to the world."
"I'ai'acthulhu fhatgn!"
But just then, the moving stars suddenly stopped.
Hmm?
"What's going on? Why have the stars stopped moving?" The octopus-head and Deep Ones exchanged bewildered glances, all shocked.
It was incomprehensible. The stars, about to converge, suddenly halted and began moving in the opposite direction. Ten stars instantly became nine... eight... and kept decreasing.
"What is this!!! Quick, bring up the sacrifices and summon the Judgment Star again."
The Black Feather Knights had nearly three thousand captives. A direct confrontation would have been hard to win, but in Tacoma City, it was different... A tentacle of the Father had already emerged from the ground, and with just that sliver of power, it could drive anyone who faced it mad and chaotic.
But everything was ready—why the sudden change now?
"Where are the others? Bring them all here."
"No need to bother! No matter how many you use, it's meaningless. The stars have already moved away!"
"Who?" Everyone turned to look at the mist...
A man walked out.
..............................
Sean had struggled to travel from the military fortress to Tacoma City. With no horses to ride, he could only walk. Upon entering the city, he saw the Black Feather Knights in their dazed state and the citizens still conscious.
Following their trail, anyone who tried to stop him was killed by the power of the Doom Star. Now he stood at the city center, the heart of the ritual summoning...
A massive tentacle had just emerged from one corner, surrounded by countless Deep Ones and octopus-headed humanoids.
"Who are you?!" the octopus-head asked, looking at Sean approaching.
"And who are you?" Sean asked back.
Before him, the other's status appeared—
Favorability: Hatred. As for the other Deep Ones, it was just Favorability.
"Sean!! Why are you here? Didn't I tell you to go back?" Freya said urgently from the side.
"It's you. I think I remember that face..."
The octopus-head looked at Sean again after hearing Freya's words.
"As expected of Baron Sean Weger, not only lucky but always accompanied by beauties wherever you go..."
"Is that so? I think so too. As expected of Mr. Weissman, tenacious as ever... After such a commotion in Koga City, you still managed to escape here." Sean wasn't sure at first, but when the other called his name, he confirmed it.
This octopus-head was Weissman, the one who killed Count Hamilton in Koga City.
He never expected to find him here, turned into an octopus-headed mutant!!
"Hmph, even if you recognize me, so what? You won't be so lucky this time. I've gained unprecedented power from the Father. You won't escape this time."
Sean smiled.
"Though the circumstances are different, I have something I want to show you... Also, your ancient god might never awaken again."
He looked at the sky as the stars vanished one after another, leaving only one.
"You used so many sacrifices to summon the Doom Star, but did you ever ask if the Doom Star was willing?"