When Duanmu Huai set out on his way back, everything in Gion... was perfectly normal.
Well, after Cthugha had been devoured, all Duanmu Huai had to do was use Time Reversal to return to the previous evening, before anything had happened. Thus, Gion, which had originally been submerged by the flood, had once again regained the prosperity of its pleasure district.
Duanmu Huai had naturally obtained Cthugha's Old God Essence, and he decisively chose to fuse with it.
After all, that was exactly what he had come for.
After fusing with Cthugha's Old God Essence, Duanmu Huai also acquired Cthugha's ability—Devouring.
At first glance, this ability seemed to have nothing to do with flames. But that was only natural. Flames were merely Cthugha's form of manifestation, just like the Black Flame from Destined Death that Duanmu Huai had used while he was the God of Destruction. Devouring was Cthugha's essence, while flames were merely the form that Devouring took.
As mentioned before, what Cthugha devoured was the spirit, not the flesh. Thus, when it burned something and devoured it, it was more like eating a chestnut or walnut: using flames to destroy the other's shell, digging out the delicious inside, and swallowing it in one bite.
The only problem was that Cthugha's Devouring ability was effective only against the spirit. Unlike the shadows, it did not extend to the level of information—well, one could say it was the perfect counter to Nyarlathotep.
Against anything else, Cthugha probably would not have been able to devour it so easily. But who could blame Nyarlathotep for loving to play tricks on the mental level? If it did not counter you, who else would it counter?
However, this move was not without problems. Devouring the spirit meant devouring the other's memories and emotions as