The Underwater City of R'lyeh

Inside the main hall of R'lyeh, the city located deep beneath the sea.

Morty, who was still in his developmental years, was already shorter than his sister, let alone his grandfather, who towered over her.

Yet, it wasn't his grandfather who made him feel the crushing blow of his height at this moment.

It was the various monsters and freaks filling the hall.

From giant octopuses to Great Toads, to giant bats, and even chimeras stitched together from all sorts of animals.

Each one had a unique form, standing at least several dozen meters tall, and there were so many of them that Morty could have opened a Cthulhu-themed zoo and charged admission.

Cthulhu, as a member of the Great Old Ones faction, had summoned quite a few brothers from his own camp to hold a discussion.

Specifically, how to sever the connection between himself and the child in Cthylla's womb.

Morty felt that this was likely a hopeless endeavor.

After all, the person who had orchestrated this whole thing was the Rick of this world.

As for himself, he had already learned from the grandfather by his side what it meant to be truly unbeatable.

Therefore, this group of monsters was destined to be wasting their time.

The grandfather, who also felt that this bunch was just gathered together to waste time, had finally reached his limit after the journey down to the seabed.

Bored to death, he couldn't take it anymore.

"Morty, although this is your adventure, how about we stir up some real trouble?"

Grandfather's "real trouble" suggestions usually involved various forms of light pollution and toxic gases from burning chemicals.

But Morty was tempted.

He also felt like he was wasting his time!

Instead of sitting here watching these Cthulhu-style monsters—who usually did nothing but sleep and think, Once I wake, the world shall tremble—rack their brains over an impossible task, he might as well take the initiative.

Stirring the grass to startle the snake was better than crouching in the grass waiting for the snake to show itself.

Besides, this wasn't an impulsive move on his part.

The situation had become completely clear.

That Cthulhu-grandfather, who harbored a grand plan, was trying to birth an incredibly disgusting monster through Cthylla's womb while using soul chains to tie all these Great Old Ones to the same chariot.

And judging by grandfather's attitude.

Even if every Cthulhu-style monster on the battlefield died, as long as he could deal with the child in Cthylla's womb, it would be worth it!

"So, what do we do?"

Morty, who had already followed his grandfather to a corner of the main hall, rubbed his hands in excitement, looking forward to seeing his grandfather go on a rampage.

But at this moment, his grandfather pulled the same old trick as before.

It nearly made Morty cough up blood in frustration.

"This is your adventure, shouldn't you use your own brain?"

"Do you think when I take you on adventures, I let you have me build you suction shoes on the spot, or face a hundred thousand Groot-like Aliens alone?"

"Unless I offer to help, if you ask me for help again, our adventure agreement is void!"

Morty: "Fk! You old geezer!"

After the curse, Morty suppressed his anger and fell into deep thought.

When he finished thinking, he raised the Book of Eibon in his right hand.

The reason this magic book could be called one of the artifacts of the Cthulhu World was naturally because it was filled with incantations and prayers.

Beyond that, the book itself was made of extremely special materials.

Otherwise, given the history of the Cthulhu World, which spanned hundreds of millions of years—even in the modern era where stories occurred most frequently—it would have been impossible for this book to be preserved intact for so long.

So...

Take a photo with his phone.

Then set it on fire!

Seeing his foolish grandson actually intending to burn the book to provoke the Cthulhu Rick who might be lurking in the shadows, watching everything, his grandfather seemed a bit embarrassed...

"Morty, you..."

Before he could finish his sentence, the entire underwater city suddenly trembled!

A dull sound echoed, as if some ancient creature buried deep underground was trying to end its long slumber.

The Great Old Ones, who had been in the middle of a heated discussion, stopped simultaneously and turned their strange, varied eyes toward the outside of the hall.

But soon, sensing something, they collectively focused their attention on Morty.

Morty, hiding behind a stone pillar in the main hall, felt the seawater behind him seem to freeze at that moment.

His heart tightened, and his neck felt stiff as he turned back to look.

The "nuclear-friendly" Great Old Ones left all the talking to Cthulhu. Pushed forward, it said in as calm a tone as possible, "Morty, in our world, some items have a connection to certain individuals."

"If you burn this book, while we won't suffer any harm,"

"The energy released by burning it while we are all gathered here could completely destroy this city."

"So..."

Morty listened to Cthulhu's explanation, and the doubts in his heart began to grow.

He didn't know when he had started to become suspicious.

But his grandfather's earlier instigation, combined with Cthulhu's explanation now, made Morty officially doubt this adventure!

Because it was too strange!

As everyone knew, his grandfather's "don't-care-about-anything" personality—though he started to care about some things later on—was currently in full effect!

Why had his grandfather's attitude undergone such a massive shift?

And Cthulhu's behavior was even stranger.

The dignified spokesperson for the Cthulhu mythos had zero cold, aloof presence; whenever Morty asked a question, it would patiently and carefully answer him.

This was clearly a setup!

Plus, with his IQ reduced by 70% due to the Mega Fruit.

Morty had muttered the name "Cthulhu" hundreds of times over the past three days, yet this guy who had crossed into another universe to try and kill him and his grandfather hadn't appeared.

This is probably a trap...

Morty, who had completely begun to suspect he had fallen into a pit, looked at the group of Cthulhu-style monsters in front of him with suspicion.

The dignified Great Old Ones were all silent, not even making a small movement while he was quiet?

When his sister talked to him, if he replied even a second too late, she would scold him.

Are you Cthulhu-types really this good-tempered?

Morty looked at his grandfather again.

He stood with his arms crossed, hadn't had a drink in at least half an hour, and looked quite spirited.

Morty asked in a hollow tone, "Grandfather, tell the truth. This so-called adventure has been a setup by you from the very beginning, right?"

"Otherwise, how do you explain how the Cthulhu family of four could cross the universe to find us, but couldn't find our home?"

"Or in that wooden cabin, I only did a small favor for an AI Cthulhu Rick, and he stuffed two artifacts into my hands."

"And then, every time I need you to help with a small thing, you immediately declare that this is my adventure and I have to be self-reliant."

"But when things reach a stalemate, you step in to push the whole thing forward."

"So this whole thing must have been planned by you from the start, right?"

As Morty slowly spoke these words, the grandfather's face, which had been stoic for ages, gradually showed surprise.

"As expected of Jerry's own son!"

"You kid!"

"Ever since you were little, I've thought you were incredibly smart!"