Within the pitch-black valley, there was not the slightest trace of light.
The cries of night hawks echoed throughout the valley, as if filled with furious wailing. Yet Duanmu Huai remained completely unmoved. Holding his cane, he simply followed that path step by step, walking toward the summit of Sentinel Hill.
At the same time, he was quietly thinking in his heart.
What Duanmu Huai was about to do next was somewhat different from what ordinary player investigators would do. When ordinary player investigators encountered something like this, they certainly weren't without methods to deal with it. However, they usually relied on external forces. For example, the three Miskatonic professors who had once banished an Outer God's offspring here had relied on incantations from the Necronomicon.
But the incantations in the Necronomicon were obviously not meant for humans to use.
If Duanmu Huai had to say it, the humans in this world were actually quite miserable.
After all, this world was not without gods. There were Outer Gods, Great Old Ones, star-spawn and all sorts of other beings.
Yet among them, only humanity had no divine protection whatsoever.
Even the Deep Ones could find Dagon and Cthulhu as their backers.
But humans had nothing.
That was truly absurd.
So Duanmu Huai intended to change that situation—starting tonight.
He was going to tell the other gods that this world, and the humans of this world, were under his protection!
Nyarlathotep, Yog-Sothoth, Shub-Niggurath, Cthugha, Hastur—
All of you move aside!
From this point of view, Duanmu Huai had completely overturned the Emperor's teachings and walked down a path entirely different from what the Emperor envisioned.
The Emperor demanded that humans not worship gods, but instead rely on themselves, believing that no gods existed in the universe.
But that didn't work!
Objective reality would not change just because of subjective will.
Just like this world, most people still uphold scientific values. But when they actually saw an evil god, their worldview shattered instantly, and they collapsed, sometimes even defecting to the enemy.
Why?
Wasn't it because humanity had no great tree to shelter beneath?
Look at this world.
Cultists could worship the King in Yellow or the Black Goat of the Woods.
Deep Ones could worship Dagon or Cthulhu.
These bloodthirsty, twisted, filthy, corrupted bastards all had someone backing them.
Yet those righteous, strong-willed investigators who fought and bled for humanity had no one protecting them.
How could that possibly be fair?
Was it really just "good people die young while disasters last a thousand years"?
Cultists could use blasphemous spells to summon monsters from the Warp and wield boundless evil power.
Meanwhile investigators could only barely survive using their brains, their weapons, and dice rolls.
Was that reasonable?
The thing Duanmu Huai could never understand most about the Emperor was exactly this point.
What was wrong with humanity needing the protection of a god?
As long as it wasn't a false god but a true god, why couldn't it work?
What—if you insisted that humanity must rely solely on its own strength, then you should climb down from that golden throne and roll away as far as possible.
According to your own philosophy, humanity wouldn't be missing much without you.
Even if you disappeared, humans could still find another path forward, couldn't they?
Yet you protected humanity while simultaneously demanding that humanity not worship you.
That left humanity completely lost.
And the final result wasn't already obvious?
If the Imperial Cult hadn't appeared, the Imperium would probably have collapsed eight hundred years ago.
The most important thing was to uphold one's own principles and stance.
"As an Inquisitor, our duty is to protect humanity and eliminate all threats to humanity."
Duanmu Huai muttered softly while walking forward.
Each of his steps was slow yet firm.
The cane in his hand struck the stones with dull echoes.
"Any existence that dares threaten humanity will be reduced to ashes by the fury of the Inquisition."
Duanmu Huai raised his head.
Black flames emerged from his body. The cold wind howled violently, as if the entire world were resisting his arrival.
"The weak-willed and indecisive have no place to stand. Only through resolute action and unwavering faith can humanity survive. No sacrifice is too great to be unacceptable, and no betrayal is small enough to be forgiven."
Duanmu Huai's voice was not loud.
Yet it pierced through the ghost-like howling wind emerging from the forest and echoed across all of Sentinel Hill.
"Humanity continually sacrifices itself. Sacrifice allows the human bloodline to endure. Generation after generation after generation. Not for any grand ideal. Because sacrifice itself is greater than any ideal. Yet perhaps everyone secretly holds a hope deep within their heart: that someday there will be a generation that no longer needs to sacrifice. A generation in which humanity endures forever in peace and tranquility."
Duanmu Huai looked up at the rolling black clouds ahead.
His expression did not change.
Even the torrential rain falling like hail did not alter his steps.
"Burn the heretic. Kill the alien. Purge the daemon. We are an unbreakable shield before the approaching darkness, and a blade forged in defiance of fate."
Duanmu Huai's voice grew louder and louder, even suppressing the raging wind and rain.
"Destroy every enemy of humanity—erase their existence completely!"
With those words, Duanmu Huai stepped onto the summit of Sentinel Hill.
"RUMBLE——!!!"
Thunder roared through the clouds.
Before him stood a strange circular pile of stones at the summit.
Several stones formed a huge ring.
Lightning struck down from the sky, slamming directly into the center of that circular stone ring.
As lightning exploded, a deep, savage roar emerged—something not of this world.
Although nothing could be seen before Duanmu Huai's eyes, he could clearly feel the nauseating aura of the Warp gradually condensing into substance.
"You cannot break my will, you wretched Warp scum!"
Duanmu Huai gripped his cane and roared loudly.
At that moment, his Fear Aura erupted completely.
The instant that invisible terror burst forth, even the world itself seemed to tremble before it.
That fear—capable of destroying all things and burning everything to ashes—was so overwhelming that even nature could not resist it.
For a moment, the torrential rain seemed to halt.
The howling winds disappeared.
The invisible thing within the stone circle appeared to feel the pressure from Duanmu Huai.
It released furious and enraged roars.
Then, in the next moment—
Duanmu Huai felt the world before his eyes begin to change.
Beneath his feet lay countless worlds, countless timelines.
It was as if the infinite universes among the stars had opened their secrets to him.
Duanmu Huai felt his body being stretched and sliced apart like sausages.
At that moment he stood here—
Yet he was not here.
He existed at countless centers across countless worlds and countless moments in time.
Within that boundless universe, a being that grasped the past, present, and future of everything was revealing its power to him.
A power that transcended time, space, and all restraints.
A power vast and free.
However…
"All things must end."
As Duanmu Huai spoke, he slammed the cane in his hand heavily against the ground.
At that moment, the black flames of the Rune of Death burst forth, instantly devouring countless fragments of worlds.
No matter how prosperous, powerful, beautiful, or terrifying a world might be, it would eventually be destroyed.
It would eventually be erased.
No matter what kind of existence—even the greatest gods—none could escape the fate of becoming cosmic debris.
Death.
Destruction.
Absolute annihilation.
Everything was like this.
Without exception.
Duanmu Huai gripped his cane tightly, teeth clenched.
He could feel it.
This was a contest of mind and spirit.
It was not merely an investigator confronting an evil god.
It was a probing between two gods.
Yog-Sothoth had shown him its power—the great existence that transcended the entire universe.
If Duanmu Huai had been another god, perhaps he would have already chosen submission or retreat.
But…
He was the God of Destruction.
Anything that stood in humanity's path would be destroyed by him.
Everything in this world would meet that fate.
No existence could escape it.
Not even Azathoth.
Perhaps Duanmu Huai did not yet possess such power.
But his will was unwavering.
His conviction was absolute.
Everything Yog-Sothoth had shown him could not change Duanmu Huai's belief.
And therefore, everything it revealed would eventually face its moment of destruction.
Duanmu Huai himself represented that moment.
The extinction of all things.
The disappearance of everything.
Total annihilation.
Even Yog-Sothoth could not escape this truth.
It saw the past.
It saw the present.
It saw the future.
Naturally—
It also saw ruin, destruction, and the end of all things.
It could not deny that.
And that was precisely the point Duanmu Huai would stand upon.
Destruction was inevitable.
What remained to be decided was only where the flames of destruction would fall.
"..."
The next moment, everything returned to normal.
Duanmu Huai shook his body slightly and opened his eyes.
The storm of time fragments that had surrounded him like a tidal vortex was gone.
The summit of Sentinel Hill became calm.
The torrential rain had gradually stopped at some unknown moment.
Only within the center of the stone circle did the foul, evil aura of the Warp creature still remain.
Under the pressure of the Fear Aura, Duanmu Huai could feel it struggling desperately, trying to break free from the terrifying restraint.
But it couldn't.
Its strength was slowly fading.
Its once furious and hatred-filled soul was weakening.
"Any enemy of humanity has only one path—destruction."
Duanmu Huai slowly walked toward the center of the stone circle, staring at the seemingly empty ground.
Then he raised the cane high.
At that moment, black flames erupted from it and condensed into a blade of fire.
Then Duanmu Huai swung it downward with force.
"AAOOOOW————!!!"
A shrill and bizarre scream suddenly rang out.
The empty air split open under Duanmu Huai's strike.
It was as if the world before him were a painting, and he had violently torn a huge rip across it.
The tear twisted and struggled in front of him.
Then gradually disappeared.
At the same time, another system notification popped up before Duanmu Huai.
[Special Mission "Source of Fear" Completed]
[Mission Rating: Excellent]
[Even before an existence spanning the universe, you remained true to your heart and successfully completed the trial. Once again you have made this world realize that the fear of destruction is the most primitive fear buried deep within the hearts of all living beings.]
[Fear Aura gained new trait — Fierce Presence]
[Fierce Presence: When the player performs a charge or attack action, all hostile creatures within a 50-meter radius who look directly at the player will lose 1D8 Sanity.]
"..."
Looking at the system notification before him, Duanmu Huai was completely speechless.
(End of Chapter)