"That lass… She's grown this much in just two years…"
Up in the stands where members of the Everwinter House could spectate the occurrences of the Winter Hunt in real-time, over a hundred Vampires watched as Irina summoned an iceberg out of nowhere to one-shot a mere Yzhigesh.
Among those in the audience were members from each of the three main factions. In particular, those that had sworn their allegiance to Damien Everwinter.
"That's the power of the Winter Sovereign Aspect," one of the elites amongst the Vampires spat with a mixture of disgust and envy. "She can perform feats that no one else in the Everwinter House can. There will be no bottleneck in her abilities, and the only limitation she will have is her magic pool. However, her growth rate will surpass everyone else in the Everwinter House, Master Damien included."
"Surpassing Master Damien, huh? As expected, shouldn't we get rid of her?"
The Vampires frowned as a surge of bloodlust overcame them. In their opinion, anything that stood in the way of their master becoming the next leader of the Everwinter House needed to be purged. Alas, nothing in life was so easy.
"No, we can't do that. The Matriarch would likely annihilate our entire faction if we disobeyed her orders."
"Fuck! This is getting irritating!"
One of the Vampires cursed in a fury. Although they were part of the three most influential factions, their entire existence paled in comparison to one finger on the Matriarch's hand. If she so chooses to, the Matriarch could make half of the Everwinters disappear, and no one could question her decision. That was the being that protected Irina.
To aptly describe their feelings, it was like watching a train coming towards them from a thousand kilometres away, yet they could do nothing to stop it.
"I heard that she'd even incapacitated her own brother that we'd sent to invite her. She's clearly hostile to our group."
"That's not exactly right." The calmest Vampire in the group shook his head. "The person who took down Trent wasn't Irina, but the boy toy she'd brought home."
"That thing?"
With Irina holding onto Jin's arm so hard, it was evident who that Vampire was talking about. Watching the display screen with interest, the elites examined the young man.
"Well, he looks good, but is he really strong enough to take down a fifty-year-old True Vampire? I know that Trent isn't all that powerful, but…"
"Yeah, we have witnesses that can testify to that," the lead Vampire folded his arms and sighed. "Apparently, he used some mysterious Soul Armament which enabled him to use Telekinesis. Trent was unable to react, and thus he was taken out."
"Hoh… Telekinesis, huh?"
The members of Damien's faction fell into deep thought. While Irina had immense talent and would one day become strong enough to contest for the throne, she was still a baby in their eyes. Not to mention, she didn't have the requisite number of backers, plus her influence in the clan paled in comparison to the other major factions.
However, if she started to gather powerful followers…
"Hey, there was a ban on touching the girl, but not the people around her, right?"
"... You're right," the leader amongst them smiled sinisterly. "We can't hurt Irina now, so we'll have to make due."
The Vampires smiled in response as one of them reached for a transponder, a device that allowed members on the outside to communicate with those who were participating in the Winter Hunt in case of emergencies. However, it was used for a far more nefarious purpose in this case.
"Lads, we have a job for you…"
❖❖❖
After eliminating our first Outer Demon, our group proceeded through the hunting grounds with next to no disruptions. Evidently, the earthquake that Irina had caused scared many Outer Demons and Vampires away, making our hunt seem like a stroll in a snowy park.
My parents, who were initially on high alert, even got bored after a while. But we couldn't actually just leave in the middle of the hunt. In the end, to pass the time, I decided to ask some questions.
"Luminita, could you explain what kinds of Outer Demons appear in the Northern Pole Gate?"
"Oh? Are you interested, Master Jin?" The silver-haired maid looked at me as her face lit up in joy. "What do you want to know about? Is it the Okhiocnash? The Iautejh'xu? Or is it the Xythloss? There's just so many to choose from!"
"H-Haha, there's no need for specifics…"
I didn't expect that this maid was such a nerd about Outer Demons. Still, that actually worked in my favour.
"Could you tell me why most of the Outer Demons we've seen so far all possess tentacles?"
Of all the questions I had, this was the one that I was most curious about. Although each Outer Demon thus far was unique in its own way, they all possessed the same feature. It didn't matter if it was in the shape of a deer, an ape or a giant eyeball; they all had some form of tentacles protruding out from their bodies. While it was disgusting in the beginning, my curiosity now overruled my disgust.
"Oh? That's because of the Outer Demon's habitat, we presume." Luminita calmed down a little and began to explain calmly.
"Every major Gate is defined by the monsters that come out from it. Although we can't enter the Gates, we know that they lead to another world or dimension. And just like our world, the Outer Demons must have evolved to fit into their habitat. But well, that's not the only reason…"
The maid paused for a moment to catch her breath before continuing.
"Have you heard of the first time the Northern Pole Gate appeared?"
"No, I can't say that I have." Shaking my head, I turned to my parents to see if they knew anything. Unfortunately, just like myself, their faces were blank.
"Well, I guess it was aeons ago, and the Everwinter House doesn't really like to spread the word of their biggest ever defeat."
"Their biggest ever defeat?"
Luminita nodded at my words. At the same time, I could see Variel's face twitch a little while Irina was still snuggly attached to my arm. Noting that I would get nothing out of them, I urged my Everwinter encyclopaedia to continue.
"Yes," Luminata sighed. "While the Outer Demons that come out from the Northern Pole Gate are strong, they pale in comparison to the atrocity that emerged on that fateful day. A monster that stood over a thousand metres tall. Its octopus-like head controlled dozens of rubbery tentacles, each one moving independently as if they had a mind of their own. Demonic wings that created hurricanes with every flap. Scaly skin that surpasses any kind of armour. And with a humanoid body that had intelligence that surpassed any of our greatest minds… It was the first time the world had laid their eyes upon Cthulhu."
"Cthulhu? I thought that was a myth?"
At this point, even my mother couldn't help but interject. As a fellow magic researcher, she'd obviously had heard of that monster that seemed so terrible that it was thrown into the annals of fiction.
"Cthulhu is no myth," Luminita shook her head with a wry smile. "The Everwinter House paid an enormous price to force the mighty beast to retreat and the army that came with it. Half of our members got wiped out, and that doesn't include the numerous reinforcements we had to call from the other Vampire Houses and our alliances with the humans."
"So such a battle happened in the past…"
Just as how humans and Vampires could grow more powerful, the same theory applied to the Outer Demons. Most Outer Demons had low intelligence and possessed nothing more than their instincts to hunt. However, as they evolved and climbed up the food chain, their entire characteristics began to change.
They would gain intelligence equivalent to that of humans. They would start to command other Outer Demons to do their bidding. And sometimes, they will surpass any powerhouse that our world has to offer.
We would call those entities by their deserved names…
The Demon Lords.
"If Cthulhu was a Demon Lord, it made sense why the Everwinter House would have suffered."
"That's right. And due to its blessing, we presume that the other Outer Demons that come through this Gate had inherited the characteristics of Cthulhu."
"So that's why they all have tentacles…"
Evolution and a blessing from a Demon Lord. If that's the case, then it all fits. Not to mention, if that monster was still alive and kicking, it could easily spawn new Outer Demons that would do its bidding.
"That's why the Everwinter House emphasises improving the seals and allowing some magic to leak out before it accumulates too much." Luminita continued her explanation, this time with a much more serious tone. "If the magic within the Gate gets too powerful, Cthulhu might reappear once more, and that's a risk that we cannot take."
I can only imagine. If Matriarch Innocence, the full power of the Everwinter House, and their allied reinforcements were only able to repel Cthulhu, one could only guess the ceiling that the Demon Lord had reached.
Demon Lords, huh… I guess I have one more goal to work towards.
BOOM!!! BOOM!!! BOOM!!!
"Hoh… There's another one, huh?"
Just as we'd gotten comfortable, we were once again reminded that we were amid a battle zone. Tremors shook the grounds of the Winter Graveyard as a massive creature emerged from the trees. Unlike the Outer Demons that came before, it possessed an enormous elephant body with tentacles replacing its tusk and trunk. Each step it took sent tremors toward us as its hideous body seemed dead set on flattening us to the ground.
"An Oghythe," Luminita's eyes opened wide for a brief moment. "It's an Outer Demon with tremendous defence and resistance to ice. Young Miss, this opponent will be a little tricky to handle for you. You won't be able to pulverise it like you did with the Yzhigesh."
Oh hoh? An Outer Demon that had resistance to the powers of the Everwinter House, huh? Well, I guess that's evolution at work for you.
"Well, if it's going to be difficult for Irina…"
I peeled my little sister's fingers off my arm, finally giving me some freedom to do as I liked. Five rings appeared on my right hand as the chains that connected the rings to my bracelet started to chime. Without giving any opportunity for it to react, I raised my hand up, channelling magic power into the gem on my middle finger.
Like a mirage in the middle of a desert, the image of the Oghythe began to distort. Several of its wiggling tentacles paused in mid-air while its body began to levitate. Hung by its head, the Outer Demon tried its best to escape from my grasp, but alas, it was far too weak. Its four limbs flailed about as its ears flapped in utter despair.
"Hoh… I guess Outer Demons do breathe as well."
I didn't expect my first attempt to strangle this monstrosity to prove this effective. But I wasn't complaining. Tightening my grip on the Demon, I continued to channel magic power for my Telekinesis, particularly my control over its throat. And within two minutes of its desperate struggle…
"A pity… I didn't expect my first Demon kill to be this easy."
Once the monster had breathed its last, I threw its corpse to the side, losing all of my interest in the feeble creature. An Outer Demon that specialised in defence? A minion of the Demon Lord Cthulhu? It didn't matter.
It was just a mere stepping stone on my path to the top.