He knew that when a person's power reached that critical point, a qualitative transformation would occur—the comprehension of a new realm called "Ultimate Power"!
Like leveling up in a game, once Absolute Domain reached maximum, one needed to transcend and unlock a new tier entirely.
The Cloud before him was only a single step away from that realm!
"Now do you believe?" Cloud asked, looking at the shell-shocked Goenitz.
Goenitz fell silent. The faith in his heart was violently shaking. But a thousand years of loyalty still wouldn't let him bow his head easily.
"Unless... you can truly comprehend Ultimate Power." He spoke through gritted teeth, stating his final condition. "Only then will I... Goenitz... acknowledge your identity as the Divine Son!"
"Deal." Cloud knew that with stubborn old fossils like this, rushing wouldn't work.
He changed the subject, suddenly revealing a mysterious smile. "By the way, Goenitz, a lot of interesting things happened while you were sealed. For instance... I met a very interesting little girl."
With a wave of his hand, an image constructed from spiritual energy appeared before them both.
The projection showed scene after scene: A beautiful, saintly girl praying for villagers in a church. Cloud healing the sick alongside her, helping villagers repair their homes...
Goniko sitting on a swing, with a familiar figure beside her—Cloud himself. He was gently pushing her on the swing, the two of them talking and laughing, the scene warm as a painting...
When Cloud was leaving the church, Goniko in her pristine nun's habit, holding a black umbrella, quietly seeing him off in the rain...
The moment he saw that girl, Goenitz's eternally unchanging "priest face" completely melted.
His eyes overflowed with endless tenderness, love, and... a deep guilt.
"Goniko..." He murmured in a daze.
"Oh? You know her?" Cloud feigned surprise. "She really likes me. She sticks to me every day, asking me to tell her stories, even says she wants to marry me when she grows up..."
"You... what are you trying to do?!" Goenitz's gaze instantly turned razor-sharp, full of warning. "Cloud! Leave family out of this! If you dare touch a single hair on her head, I, Goenitz, will make you pay—even if it costs me my very soul!"
Watching Goenitz's explosion of protective instinct, Cloud was laughing inside.
Aha! Found it! So you're a secret daughter-doting fool!
He had finally discovered the fatal weakness of this seemingly invincible priest of the gods!
"Relax, how could I ever hurt her? Can't you see what kind of relationship we have?" Cloud dismissed the projection, his expression benevolent. "I just wanted to tell you—I met her a long time ago."
"And half a year ago, the person who stopped you from killing Maki Kagura was also me."
"Including this KOF tournament—every development was actually... part of my plan."
Cloud's voice was like the whisper of a devil, each word striking at Goenitz's heart.
Goenitz's body began to tremble slightly.
Looking at this man who maintained that composed smile throughout, a terrifying thought surfaced in his mind.
From saving Maki Kagura, to making contact with his daughter Goniko, to displaying overwhelming power at the KOF tournament, and finally entering the Yata Mirror as a "Divine Soul" to turn him...
Was all of this... a scheme he had laid out from the very beginning?
This man—since when had he been treating the entire world as his chessboard?
In this moment, Cloud's image in Goenitz's mind completely transformed.
No longer a powerful "human." No longer a suspected "Divine Son."
But a true "Demon God"—one whose schemes were beyond the grasp of gods and devils alike!
When Cloud's Divine Soul shot out from the Yata Mirror's watery vortex like a golden streak of light—biu—and returned to his body, the Kagura sisters' hearts, which had been suspended throughout, finally crashed back down like an overloaded elevator.
"You're... you're back!" Chizuru rushed forward in one stride, wanting to punch him and hug him at the same time. Her small face showed worry and annoyance mixed together, finally condensing into a classic "tsundere" greeting.
"You jerk! What took you so long! I thought you'd fallen in and couldn't get out—I was about to liquidate all the skins in your game accounts!"
Cloud opened his eyes, feeling the solid reassurance of his physical form. Looking at Chizuru, who was nearly in tears, his heart warmed—but his mouth remained irreverent. "Ah, the signal was terrible in there. Chatted a bit too long with old Goenitz and lost track of time. He asked me to pass on a message—says the living conditions need improvement, hoping for WiFi and an en-suite bathroom."
"This isn't the time for jokes!" Chizuru stamped her foot in anger, though her eyes had reddened.
Maki gently handed over a cup of hot tea, asking softly, "Cloud, are you alright? What was it like inside...?"
"Fine, everything's under control." Cloud took the cup and drained it in one gulp, his face showing that mysterious "all according to plan" smile. "Goenitz is stubborn, but his faith is already wavering. It won't be long before he understands who the real answer to this meta is."
Watching Cloud's unfathomable expression, the sisters didn't know what "pro gamer moves" he'd pulled in the mirror, but the soul-deep sense of security let them finally relax.
The following days felt like the calm before the storm.
Cloud settled into a life at Kagura Shrine worthy of a retired senior official—practically divine.
Using "consolidating his realm" as justification, he openly subjected the Kagura sisters to "hellish" special training.
"Chizuru, when your Style 212: Shingo no Norito connects to Tenzui, your energy circulation isn't smooth enough. Come, I'll guide you hands-on—help open up your meridians." As he spoke, his hands naturally settled onto Chizuru's soft waist.
"Maki, your Foundation of Zero is perfect, but it lacks killing intent. Come, look into my eyes—feel what a death stare really is." As he spoke, he started a "whoever blinks first loses" intense eye-contact game with Maki.
Under the guidance of Cloud—this "head coach" with 96% Absolute Domain and the "god's eye view" cheat active—the Kagura sisters' power rocketed upward.
In just a few days, Chizuru reached the major threshold of 85% Absolute Domain, while Maki broke through directly to 90%.
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