Anyone from this era who heard such secrets would be utterly shocked.
Even someone as well-read and intelligent as Yuzare would be stunned beyond belief.
Events from a previous age — from millions of years ago — were now laid bare before their eyes.
And the ruler of that age, the King of Darkness himself, sat right before them.
But Yu Zhou didn't look particularly surprised.
Instead, he wore an expression that clearly said, "Just as I thought."
Cthulhu found this deeply strange. From the look of it, Tiga wasn't surprised at all.
Could it be that Tiga himself was an ancient being who had survived from that era?
Impossible. Cthulhu searched his memory — there was no such person as "Tiga" in those times.
And with Tiga's level of power, back then he would have been among the strongest of the strong — certainly not an unknown name.
"Well, that was quite a talk. I haven't chatted this much in eons," said Cthulhu cheerfully, his octopus-like tentacles swaying lazily.
"It's the first time in ages I've spoken this much to anyone."
"You say that," Yu Zhou replied, shrugging, "but didn't we already talk outside?"
"That was merely an avatar of mine," Cthulhu said. "Strictly speaking, it wasn't me."
"I see," Yu Zhou nodded. "So that means the duel we had before wasn't with your true self?"
Even if the wager from that earlier fight didn't count, Yu Zhou didn't care much.
If Cthulhu decided to deny it, he still wouldn't lose anything.
He'd already been prepared for this.
If the dark power wouldn't be given — he'd just take it.
Even if his opponent was the King of Darkness himself, Cthulhu.
Yu Zhou couldn't see through the depth of the dark power within Cthulhu,
but he knew one thing for sure — it was far stronger than his own.
If just an avatar had been evenly matched with him, the true body's strength was unimaginable.
But still — to obtain even greater power… he had to try!
"Hahahahaha! Tiga, you really are naïve!" Cthulhu bellowed, shaking the hall with laughter.
"That so-called wager? Of course, that wasn't with me!"
"Is that so?" Yu Zhou cracked his neck, preparing to fight. "Then I guess I'll just—"
"But I'll still give you the power," Cthulhu interrupted.
Yu Zhou froze mid-motion, nearly losing his balance. "Wait… what?"
"Why!?" Yu Zhou blurted out, regaining his stance.
This wasn't right!
He was expecting the usual pattern: fight the big bad boss, get beaten nearly to death, awaken some new inner strength, and turn the tables.
That's how this was supposed to go!
"Director, this isn't in the script!" he muttered under his breath.
Then, out loud, he insisted, "No way! You have to fight me!"
"…Huh?" Cthulhu blinked, confused.
He had just felt in a generous mood, ready to hand over some power — and now Tiga wanted to fight him?
But wait.
Tiga knew perfectly well his strength couldn't match the King of Darkness, and yet he still wanted to battle…
There had to be a trap!
Yes — definitely an insidious scheme!
"No," Cthulhu said flatly. "I refuse your challenge."
"Come on, fight me!" Yu Zhou urged.
"No."
"You're scared."
"I am not."
"Then prove it! Come on, right here, hit me!"
Yu Zhou thumped his chest, taunting him.
Cthulhu, however, only grew more suspicious.
No one just stands there inviting a hit like that.
Tiga was obviously up to something!
"I'm serious," Yu Zhou said earnestly. "No tricks, no traps. You can trust me. Just punch me once!"
"Too cunning!" Cthulhu thought, recoiling inwardly.
How devious — so young and already this manipulative!
Anyone who said "trust me" while puffing their chest out was absolutely lying!
"I've lived for tens of millions of years," Cthulhu declared. "Did you really think I'd fall for that?"
Thank goodness he was clever — he would not be tricked by this man!
No matter what Tiga said, he simply wouldn't move.
Yu Zhou sighed. This was ridiculous.
He was clearly weaker, yet the other refused to fight. Why!?
Could it be that Cthulhu had started to see him as his son and couldn't bring himself to attack?
"Ugh, no way," Yu Zhou muttered, shuddering.
He definitely didn't want to be the octopus-headed monster's kid.
He didn't have that kind of kink.
"Why does this young Tiga seem to enjoy getting hit?" Cthulhu wondered aloud, studying him suspiciously.
"Could it be… that the more he gets beaten, the stronger he becomes?"
Both of them fell silent for a long moment.
"…You know what?" Cthulhu finally said. "Take the dark power and go. Leave this place immediately."
The longer he thought about it, the more convinced he became that Tiga was plotting something.
With a wave of his tentacled hand, he conjured a dark gemstone and tossed it toward Yu Zhou.
Yu Zhou caught it, blinking.
Inside the gem, he could feel the dense, pure pulse of dark energy.
"Just like that? You're just giving it to me?" he asked. "Shouldn't we at least fight for it? This feels too easy…"
"Go. Now. I'm tired. I need to rest," Cthulhu grumbled, waving him away dismissively.
He slumped back onto his black throne, pretending to sleep.
But after a moment, curiosity got the better of him.
He peeked one eye open — only to see Tiga, now in human form, standing in a corner of the hall… mining the floor with a pickaxe.
"…What are you doing?" Cthulhu asked in disbelief.
"Oh, I figured that since these temple floor stones have been here for so long, they must've absorbed a ton of dark energy," Yu Zhou said casually, swinging his pick again.
"So I thought I'd take some home to study."
Cthulhu was speechless.
He was seriously starting to regret ever thinking about taking Tiga as a chosen heir.
"These stones are tougher than I thought," Yu Zhou muttered after a moment, frowning at the barely dented floor. "Even the pickaxe got bent."
"Tiga," Cthulhu growled, his patience breaking. "If you don't leave right now, I will not be polite."
"Not be polite?" Yu Zhou's eyes lit up. "Oh, so you will attack? Perfect!"
He straightened his back, puffing out his chest again like an eager target.
Cthulhu was dumbfounded.
How could anyone be this shameless?
Was he too old to understand modern minds now?
"No!" he thought firmly. "The Great One will not be fooled!"
Without another word, he closed his eyes and ignored Yu Zhou completely.