Yog-Sothoth.
When that name slowly escaped Lei Ruiya’s lips, Tunzuo’s pupils constricted violently.
The entire witch froze in place, as if unwilling to face a plot twist that was far too bizarre.
Tunzuo’s throat went dry.
She swallowed hard, her gaze fixed on the rune composed of multiple concentric circles on Huanye’s umbrella surface, her voice dripping with disbelief.
“Wait, Professor Lei Ruiya, are you saying… Yuge is actually Lord Lovecraft’s familiar? One of the three pillars of the Cthulhu Mythos?!”
Lei Ruiya nodded slightly, her tone calm as she pronounced the already settled truth to Tunzuo.
“Exactly.”
“That rune on your umbrella is the imprint engraved on the cover of The Compendium of Spirit World Familiars — the symbol of the Key of the Gate. I would never mistake it.”
Lei Ruiya’s words left Tunzuo’s mind blank.
She stared blankly at the spot where Yuge had just dissolved into specks of light, feeling dazed and unsteady.
“But Yuge is so ordinary!”
Tunzuo flailed her hands incoherently, as if trying to argue for Yuge’s identity a little longer.
“He’s just a skeleton in a suit that talks, walks, and helps me carry things! How could he be Lord Lovecraft’s familiar?! I… I don’t believe it!”
Tunzuo’s voice was full of resistance.
She simply could not connect the genteel Skeleton Gentleman who had just been by her side with the mad entity that controlled time and space and peered into truth, as Lei Ruiya described.
Lei Ruiya did not rush to refute Tunzuo’s doubts.
Instead, she stared at Tunzuo’s face and spoke calmly.
“Miss Tunzuo, matters should not be judged by surface appearances.”
Lei Ruiya walked slowly up to Tunzuo, extended a finger, and lightly touched the surface of Huanye’s umbrella.
Her fingertip traced the concentric circle rune as she asked Tunzuo, word by word.
“Miss Tunzuo, can you be certain that the Yuge you saw is his true form?”
Lei Ruiya withdrew her finger, folded her hands in front of her, and looked at Tunzuo with deep, penetrating eyes.
“One of the greatest characteristics of the Cthulhu Mythos is its ineffability.”
Lei Ruiya’s question left Tunzuo momentarily speechless.
She could only lower her head and choose to remain silent.
“Their true forms often exceed the cognitive scope of ordinary beings. If they appeared in the mortal realm in their true shape, their mere existence would drive most living creatures mad.”
“Therefore, they usually choose a relatively mild form to manifest themselves, to avoid causing unnecessary harm to their summoner.”
Lei Ruiya’s explanation made Tunzuo heave a long sigh.
Tunzuo remembered now.
When she first summoned Yuge, what surged out of the summoning circle was not a Skeleton Gentleman at all, but a bizarre conglomerate of countless rainbow-colored illusory bubbles mixed with mist.
Inside those bubbles, countless eyes were blinking and staring at her, looking extremely sanity-draining.
Yuge said those were his entrance effects, and Tunzuo had believed him without a second thought.
Now it seemed that was probably Yuge’s true form, and the Skeleton Gentleman was merely a disguise.
“I was tricked…”
Tunzuo pouted, looking a little displeased.
She felt like her own familiar was treating her like a fool.
After accepting the fact that Yuge was one of the three pillars of the Cthulhu Mythos, Tunzuo raised her head and met Lei Ruiya’s gaze.
She took nine deep breaths, steadied her roller-coaster emotions, and asked Lei Ruiya with some trepidation.
“Professor Lei Ruiya, why are you telling me all this? And what does it mean that I can summon Yuge?”
Lei Ruiya did not answer immediately.
Instead, she slowly began to circle Tunzuo.
Her footsteps echoed in the empty classroom, each step landing on Tunzuo’s nerves.
“There are only two situations where a hereditary familiar can be summoned through projection.”
Lei Ruiya spoke slowly as she paced.
“One is if the summoner is a direct descendant of the original owner. The other is if the witch has been authorized by the original owner.”
Lei Ruiya walked behind Tunzuo, her tone flat, but it made Tunzuo’s skin inexplicably crawl.
This feeling was all too familiar.
A sense of foreboding surged through Tunzuo.
“Throughout history, only two witches have been able to summon Cthulhu Mythos familiars.”
“One is Lord Lovecraft herself. The other is the current Grand Sorceress of the Witch Council, Lady Antuxi.”
Lei Ruiya circled back to face Tunzuo, her eyes blazing as she fixed her gaze on Tunzuo, as if examining a priceless treasure.
“Miss Tunzuo, combined with your identity as a Lost Witch, I can deduce — no, I can be certain.”
“You are Lord Lovecraft’s direct bloodline, left behind in the outside world.”
“Therefore, on behalf of the Summoning Faction, I extend an invitation to you. I hope you will bring Lord Lovecraft’s legacy and return to the embrace of the Summoning Faction.”
Lei Ruiya’s voice became immensely loud and solemn.
She bowed slightly and performed a standard Summoning School salute to Tunzuo.
“But now, that number has become three.”
Lei Ruiya raised her head to look at Tunzuo, her eyes full of expectation and fervor.
Lei Ruiya’s words were like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, stirring a thousand waves in Tunzuo’s heart.
Tunzuo felt a tingle on her scalp.
She looked up at the sky, her mind racing as she tried to digest this information she had half-expected.
‘Ah, as expected… a faction invitation…’
In fact, the moment Lei Ruiya had spoken, Tunzuo had guessed she was trying to recruit her.
‘Samotush and Anne tried to recruit me into the Shadow Faction before, and I haven’t even decided on that yet. Now Professor Lei Ruiya comes knocking with the Summoning Faction!’
‘I’m just a tiny, lazy witch! Why can’t they just let me rot quietly in some dark corner?’
Tunzuo thrashed internally, putting up a futile struggle.
If she could help it, Tunzuo really did not want to get involved in those so-called factions.
They were troublesome, and she hated the hypocritical social games where people said one thing and meant another.
Right now, Tunzuo was living a comfortable life — eating, drinking, sleeping, and occasionally teasing Sally and Huli, or bickering with that perverted Golden Dragon Olivia.
It was great.
Besides, Tunzuo still had a question.
How could she be Lord Lovecraft’s bloodline? She had been transformed by that bad mommy Antuxi’s blood.
‘Huh? No, wait…’
A sudden flash of insight struck Tunzuo.
She had caught a tiny detail in Lei Ruiya’s words.
“Professor Lei Ruiya, did you just say that Lady Antuxi can also summon Cthulhu Mythos familiars?”
Lei Ruiya confirmed it, looking at Tunzuo with some confusion, not understanding why she suddenly asked that.
“Yes.”
Tunzuo’s eyes turned as sharp as an eagle’s.
She felt like she was repeatedly testing the edges of some dangerous taboo.
“Then… what is the relationship between Lord Lovecraft and Lady Antuxi?”
Tunzuo’s question caused a rare flicker of subtle expression on Lei Ruiya’s usually expressionless face.
She looked at Tunzuo, her right eye shifting back and forth, as if weighing her words.
“Lord Lovecraft and Lady Antuxi publicly claim to be a teacher-student relationship.”
“However… no one really believes that.”
‘Hehe, as expected, bad mommy, I’ve got you by the tail now~’
A gleam of what could only be called gossip instantly shone in Tunzuo’s eyes.
She stared eagerly at Lei Ruiya and urged impatiently.
“Professor Lei Ruiya, tell me quickly! What stories are there between the two Grand Sorceresses?”
Tunzuo’s gossip soul was burning fiercely.
‘Forget the faction invitation, forget the bloodline inheritance! All I want now is to hear some juicy gossip about that bad mommy Antuxi!’
Lei Ruiya looked at Tunzuo, who was far too excited about the Grand Sorceress gossip, with a slightly exasperated expression.
She sighed softly, then spoke in an extremely serious tone.
“Miss Tunzuo, are you sure you want to know the secrets between the two Grand Sorceresses? Speaking frivolously of the Witch Council’s head is a grave offense.”
“Yes! Absolutely sure! Nothing could be more certain!”
Tunzuo nodded vigorously, stars of anticipation shooting from her eyes.
Tunzuo and Lei Ruiya stared at each other for a long time.
Finally, both witches’ lips curled up slightly, their eyes revealing barely suppressed smiles.
‘Aye heh! Gossip! Gossip about the Grand Sorceresses!’
Tunzuo and Lei Ruiya hit it off immediately.
They sat down cross-legged and began to discuss today’s Grand Sorceress gossip.
“Miss Tunzuo, let me tell you — the relationship between Lady Antuxi and Lord Lovecraft is definitely not as simple as a teacher and student.”
Lei Ruiya lowered her voice, leaning close to Tunzuo’s ear and speaking mysteriously.
“According to a senior in my Summoning Faction, back when Lady Antuxi was studying under Lord Lovecraft, she was known as quite the problem student.”
“Despite her high talent, she was extremely rebellious and often went against Lord Lovecraft. They were practically a pair of bickering lovers.”
“Lady Antuxi loved playing pranks. Every witch in Dunayala knows that. And her favorite target for pranks was Lord Lovecraft.”
“One time, Lady Antuxi created a Slapstick Curse that could turn anything into a clown. So she cast it on Lord Lovecraft.”
“The result? When Lord Lovecraft was holding a meeting with the Witch Council members, she suddenly turned into a clown with a rainbow afro and a red round nose, making all the council witch councilors burst out laughing.”
“Do you know how Lord Lovecraft retaliated against Lady Antuxi?”
At this point, Lei Ruiya deliberately paused to build suspense, winking her right eye playfully at Tunzuo.
“Oh, come on, Professor Lei Ruiya, just tell me! I’m dying here!”
Tunzuo had no intention of guessing.
She only wanted to know how her bad mommy had gotten the short end of the stick.
In response, Lei Ruiya’s white rose-like eye blinked a few times, as if expressing delight, then she continued.
“Lord Lovecraft used the Slapstick Curse on Lady Antuxi in return, turning her into a clown. In front of all the council members, she used shadow tentacles to hang Lady Antuxi up and spanked her bottom for an entire day and night.”
“It’s said that Lady Antuxi’s tear-streaked, ridiculous appearance left a deep impression on every council member present.”
“Ohhh~”
Tunzuo let out an exclamation of surprise.
She never imagined that her seemingly haughty bad mommy had once been so embarrassingly humiliated.
“Don’t rush. There are plenty more sticky little stories between the two Grand Sorceresses. Let’s go through them one by one…”
“Mm-hmm!”
Ding-ling-ling—
Just as Tunzuo and Lei Ruiya were chatting excitedly, an untimely bell rang.
“Ah! Class is over, but I haven’t heard enough…”
Tunzuo groaned reluctantly.
She wanted to hear more scandalous black history about her bad mommy.
Lei Ruiya looked at Tunzuo’s reluctant expression and raised the corner of her mouth by a few pixels.
“It’s fine, Miss Tunzuo. From now on, we can add this segment to our class to liven up the atmosphere.”
Lei Ruiya stood up, silently straightened her slightly wrinkled clothes, and her right eye showed clear delight.
Then she cleared her throat and delivered a cosmic-level disclaimer to Tunzuo.
“Ahem, Miss Tunzuo, the gossip we just discussed was all hearsay. It has no factual basis. Don’t take it seriously.”
Upon hearing this, Tunzuo quickly nodded, putting on an expression that said, “Don’t worry, I know the drill.”
“Got it! Professor Lei Ruiya, rest assured! My lips are sealed!”
Tunzuo covered her mouth with both hands, indicating she would not say a word.
Then she stood up, picked up her bag, and prepared to leave the classroom.
But just as she was about to reach the door, Lei Ruiya called out to her from behind.
“Miss Tunzuo, regarding the faction invitation, I hope you will give it serious consideration.”
Tunzuo thought for a moment, then nodded solemnly.
“I will consider it seriously, Professor Lei Ruiya.”
Tunzuo turned and walked out of the classroom, closing the door behind her.
However, what Tunzuo did not know was that she had made a fatal mistake today.
Tunzuo had forgotten:
When you call the name of a legendary witch, they really can hear you.
Although legendary witches generally did not bother with the countless calls they received, Tunzuo’s situation was special.
She was under Antuxi’s special attention.
If Tunzuo had called Antuxi’s name once or twice normally, Antuxi would not have minded — she would have just thought her silly daughter was missing her mother.
But this time was different.
Tunzuo had called Antuxi’s name far too many times today, and she had also invoked another name with extremely complex significance for Antuxi.
Lovecraft.
Thus, every word Tunzuo and Lei Ruiya had discussed today was transmitted without omission to Antuxi’s ears somewhere in the universe.