"A spawn of Cthulhu, huh."
Yu Zhou let out a cold snort. "If I weren't sealed here, it would already have been reduced to ashes."
The presence advancing through the cosmos toward Earth was none other than the Ruler of Darkness—Gatanozoa, a direct spawn of Cthulhu.
Beyond Earth's atmosphere, Cain also sensed a surge of approaching darkness.
Strictly speaking, it was not Cain who sensed it—but Guardie.
"Guardie, this is a vacuum. How exactly are you smelling anything…?"
Cain had no idea how to even begin complaining.
"Woof!"
Guardie barked in protest, clearly offended at being underestimated.
"…You're saying you can hear me speak, so sound travels in a vacuum now too?"
Cain froze for a moment, unable to make sense of it.
Even so, the fact that a komainu-type monster like Guardie understood such concepts still left Cain genuinely surprised.
"Forget it. Let's return to Earth first."
Wrapped in light, Cain shot back toward Earth, piercing through the shroud of darkness. Midway, he glanced behind him.
"Huh? The darkness didn't close this time?"
Cain was momentarily stunned. Earlier, when he had broken through the darkness to reach space, it had immediately sealed itself shut. But now, as he returned, a beam of sunlight streamed through the opening in the dark barrier and spilled onto the land below.
He was only briefly distracted. Soon after, Cain and Guardie flew straight toward the Central Capital.
Before reaching the city, a horrific scene came into view.
Outside the capital walls, countless bodies of Giants—both Light and Dark—were strewn across the ground in disarray.
Yuzare, her hair completely white, stood staring at the devastation, her expression vacant and her spirit visibly shaken.
"…Sister?"
Cain undo his transformation and landed atop the city wall together with Guardie, now no more than a dog at his side. Seeing Yuzare's snow-white hair, Cain's hand trembled as he gently lifted a strand.
"Sister… your hair—"
He looked around. There were hardly any people present. More disturbingly, not a single member of the Garrison capable of transforming into a Giant of Light remained.
"They're gone. All of them," Yuzare said, forcing herself to steady her emotions.
"What's gone? The Dark Giants? The Giants of Light in the Garrison?"
Cain grabbed Yuzare's hand, pressing her for answers.
"…All of them. Giants of Light. Giants of Darkness. Completely annihilated."
Yuzare spoke with her eyes closed.
"What…?"
Cain was utterly shaken.
Both sides—completely wiped out.
That thunderous explosion he had heard from space had clearly been tied to this final battle.
Seeing Yuzare's fragile state, Cain pulled aside a nearby Garrison member and quickly asked about what had happened.
"Emergency report!"
Before he could finish piecing things together, another Garrison member rushed onto the wall, shouting.
"What is it?"
Cain's heart sank.
After everything that had already happened, what else could possibly go wrong?
"A plant has suddenly begun growing all across Earth!"
The Garrison member panted as he reported, clutching a device.
Yuzare steadied herself and stepped closer to Cain.
"…Explain."
Cain looked down at the device. The display was filled with red markers—covering the entire planet.
Even the oceans were marked.
"I'll bring up the footage. Please look!"
With a few quick motions, multiple video feeds began cycling across the screen.
Cain and Yuzare both frowned deeply.
Across the world, people were shown clutching yellow flowers, their expressions dazed and intoxicated, as though lost in a dream. Some were even fighting one another over the flowers, bloodied and hysterical.
"What is this?"
Yuzare asked, now fully alert.
"How can a single plant grow across the entire planet?"
Cain was baffled. A flower growing everywhere—even on the ocean floor—was beyond absurd.
"We don't know yet. The data is still being analysed," the Garrison member replied, shaking his head.
"But the most important thing is this—everyone holding these flowers seems to be in an altered mental state. Almost like they're trapped in hallucinations."
Yuzare's eyes sharpened. She could see it clearly now.
Joy. Bliss. Ecstasy.
In the eyes of those people, it was as though they were living in paradise.
"Report! Disturbances are breaking out inside the Central Capital!"
Another Garrison member rushed up the wall.
"What happened?"
Cain demanded.
"Yellow flowers have appeared inside the city as well! Their pollen directly affects human consciousness!"
"What the hell is this thing?!"
Cain grew anxious.
This was no longer limited to the capital. The entire world was being affected.
That meant all of humanity was exposed.
"People under the hallucinations keep repeating the same name," the soldier added.
"—Gijera."
"Gijera… that's the flower's name?"
Yuzare murmured, falling into deep thought.
The fact that those affected knew the name meant one thing—
This was no ordinary plant.
It was conscious.
Not merely something that confused the mind, but something far closer to a living monster.
"…What?"
Cain suddenly noticed something below the wall.
At some point unknown, clusters of golden-yellow flowers had already bloomed beneath the city walls. Carried by the wind, pollen drifted outward in all directions.
Leaping down in a single bound, Cain plucked one of the flowers and climbed back up.
"This is Gijera."
He examined the flower closely as he spoke.
Yuzare also leaned in, studying its structure with a researcher's eye.
"Keshiva—where is Mr. Keshiva? He should analyse this!"
Yuzare said urgently.
But Keshiva was no longer on the wall. No one knew where he had gone.
"Hahahahaha—! A paradise of bliss! Gijera, I love you!"
A gust of wind swept through.
The pollen scattered.
Instantly, the two Garrison members beside Cain and Yuzare began laughing uncontrollably.
Their expressions twisted as they fell into hallucinations.
"I'm so happy!"
"This feels incredible!"
"Ahhh—!"
"Give me Gijera!"
"Give it to me!"
They shouted incoherently, lunging toward the flower in Cain's hand.
Caught off guard, Cain failed to react in time.
The flower slipped from his grasp—
and was snatched away.