"The game is Kamen Rider," Kawashima Toya said with a faint smile.
Nyaruko's emerald eyes immediately lit up with interest.
"Wait! I want to play too!"
She shouted, darting into the room protected by the Sealing Box.
She made sure to leave the door open by a mere sliver.
This small gap was necessary to maintain her connection to her true body outside.
Toya looked at the controller in her hands.
"What character are you picking, Nyaruko?"
"Kabuto!" she exclaimed, her fingers hovering over the buttons.
"I'm going to go through all of them. Prepare to witness my mastery."
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
Outside, the global temperature remained oppressively high.
The influence of Cthugha had plunged the world into a state of collective misery.
At high noon, a massive rift tore through the center of the clear blue sky.
Under the gaze of those who could still stand, a radiant orb descended.
It was as brilliant and scorching as a second sun.
The moment it appeared, waves of heat and searing winds swept across the land.
The earth parched and cracked, turning fertile soil into a dead wasteland.
Water sources vanished instantly, creating a living purgatory on earth.
Toya stood within the agency, his azure eyes fixed on the distant light.
"System, activate the Cognitive Barrier. Isolate the supernatural from humanity."
[SystemNotice: Cognitive Barrier deployed. Masking all non-mundane phenomena.]
[Cost: 5,000 Origin Points.]
Toya didn't hesitate at the cost.
Without the barrier, the impending clash would shatter the human psyche.
The avatar of Cthugha emitted a natural mental pollution that few could survive.
The barrier utilized Toya's status as the Savior to rewrite the public's perception.
Memories of the rift and the second sun were wiped from the collective mind.
"So, the white tailcoat," Toya sighed, looking at the garment Nyaruko held.
She presented the elegant white suit with a proud, radiant smile.
"Put it on, Darling. Your first formal debut should be against Kuuko."
"This suit was designed to highlight your refined and graceful nature."
"Fine, I'll wear it."
Toya knew he had no choice given the intensity of the heat outside.
As he changed into the tailcoat, he noted the immaculate craftsmanship.
The fit was perfect, as if it were a second skin.
It felt divine, possessing a comfort that surpassed anything he had ever worn.
Every detail was polished to perfection, custom-fit to his exact measurements.
Surprisingly, he felt none of the "eldritch" discomfort he had feared.
The suit effectively nullified the scorching pressure of the Great Old One.
"Don't leave just yet, Darling," Nyaruko whispered.
She stepped closer to meticulously straighten his collar.
"You look truly handsome today, like a prince from a distant land."
"Go now, carry my love with you, and defeat Kuuko."
Toya gave her a look of mild disgust.
"Don't make it sound so dramatic. It's just work."
He grabbed the Star-Holy Sword from the display and vanished in an instant.
.....
The Scorched Wasteland
A sphere of light hung silently in the center of the parched desert.
This was Kuuko, the avatar of the Great Old One, Cthugha.
Her mere presence brought ruin to the surrounding environment.
Desertification and plague roamed freely across the dead earth.
From within the radiant orb, a chaotic, ethereal voice echoed.
"The one has arrived. The trial shall now begin."
"If you wish to face me, you must first survive my legion."
Toya adjusted his sleeves, his expression calm as he faced the Outer Deity.
"Then start your trial. I'm ready."
In this era, he could confidently claim to be peerless in the mortal realm.
As the Savior of this world, he was effectively invincible against its laws.
However, the Old One was an entity that existed outside those very rules.
Unless he attained godhood, he could not truly "kill" a deity.
Even with his Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, he remained a mortal.
"Followers of Cthugha, descend!" the voice boomed from the orb.
Dozens of spatial rifts tore open, spilling torrents of flame onto the sand.
As the fires touched the ground, they surged upward, sealing the area.
A massive, blazing battlefield now blotted out the horizon.
Any ordinary human would have been reduced to ash in seconds.
"Only the victor leaves this place," Toya noted, glancing at the firewalls.
This trial was a test of absolute slaughter.
If he failed, he would be roasted by eternal flames until nothing remained.
In the sky, orbs of shifting fire began to rain down upon the desert.
They manifested into towering giants, each three stories tall.
Every flame giant emitted a twisted, maddening aura.
The chaotic whispers of the followers seemed to mock Toya's presence.
"The trial begins!" the indifferent voice boomed once more.
The legion of fire giants surged forward like a tidal wave.
"Compared to Nyaruko's city, this is much more straightforward," Toya mused.
"One made the world a trap; the other simply brings an army."
Toya's eyes grew cold as he purged all emotion from his mind.
He became a living weapon, a cold executioner ready to clear the path.
The giants thundered toward him, their footsteps shaking the earth.
"I'll have to thank Nyaruko later," Toya whispered to himself.
"Without this suit, the heat alone would have ended this before it started."
"But now... I ask only that you grant me your deaths."
Gripping the holy blade of the stars, Toya charged into the sea of fire.
His silhouette was a mere speck against the towering monsters.
Yet as he moved, the very air began to scream