Epic of Caterpillar

It wasn't as if Kireina was fighting Shub-Niggurath without any power boost aside from her evolution. As the new Ruler of the Maxima Universe, through the special title she acquired from defeating the Ruler using her ability to destroy concepts through Bifrost, she was now channeling and harnessing the power of that whole Universe into her body, or well, an extent of it. Especially this Title.

[Maxima Universe Ruler: Lv2]

A Title only granted to the Supreme Ruler of the Maxima Universe. You gain the ability to exert power and control over the Universe as long as you're within its range, and you can have its energy reserves transferred to your own body naturally and passively.

As the sole Ruler, you gain 0.1% of all living beings within this Universe's Stats passively, enhancing all of your current Stats. This boost increases the closer you are to the Universe (Maximum of 50%).

Lastly, your Maxima Summon Familiars gain a boost of 50% of your total stats into their own stats, and all of their Skills gain a boost to their Power and Effects of +500%, while their Daos and Elemental Comprehension Affinities increase by +1000%. You gain 100% of all their Dao and Elemental Comprehensions, and Elemental Particles, becoming yours instantly.

Kireina could share the stats of all living beings within this Universe, with a minimum of 0.1% and a maximum of 50% the closer she was to this Universe. That, coupled with many other Titles and passive skills boosting her Stats by the thousands, suddenly made her own stats become as high as almost a hundred million each.

A hundred million stat total were already enough to be comparable to a low rank Galaxy Ruler. And that combined with her unparalleled new Skills and Abilities, made it possible for her to fight almost as an equal to Shub-Niggurath!

However, that was becoming clearly not enough.

"Why do you fight so much, Kireina?!" Shub-Niggurath roared. She overcame the deadly golden flames and employed her four Time Spears, piercing space itself with them and creating huge black holes that drew Kireina closer to her through gravitational pull. The black holes, as small as they actually were, shook the entire wormhole, making everything more chaotic.

TRUUUMMM…!!

"Why do I fight?"

As Kireina wondered that, she moved almost robotically and precisely. Evading several dozens of attacks that could end entire worlds with a single strike. Each attack missed helped Shub-Niggurath harness even more Time Flow. Making her faster and forcing Kireina to slow down, even at the level Kireina was, this was still weighing down her offensive.

CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!

Until eventually three attacks landed on Kireina when she warped dimensions and tried to sneak below Shub-Niggurath to attack her once more. Her guts, flesh, and armor exploded into pieces. This time black and gray flames consumed them into ashes, making it impossible for her to use her Metaphysical Manifestation and Partial Dimensional Warping combination properly.

"Did you thought I wouldn't learn how your power works?" Shub-Niggurath spoke. "I learned it very well. And don't worry, these gray flames are Time Flames. They burn through the Time of someone, severely slowing them down and dealing damage based in the time slowed down. If you're completely consumed by them, not even ashes will remain out of you!"

As she spoke, the Outer Goddess unleashed a gigantic wave of gray flames towards Kireina, unleashing all the gathered Time Flow she had absorbed from her own children and Kireina herself. The young Outer Goddess was unable to warp away, and her powerful skills didn't work. She was forced to take on the hit head-on.

"If they consume Time and slow it down until I stop existing…" Kireina said. "Then I should simply not have any time for you to absorb."

"What bullshit are you talking about- Huh?!"

BOOOMMM!!!

As Kireina was consumed by the blazing explosion, which could turn whole solar systems into ashes or make them completely disappear, something incredible happened. Kireina's entire being turned into white mist and dissipated, the flames had nothing to consume, hitting the walls of the wormhole and severely damaging it.

Crack, crack…! CRACK!

Enormous cracks started spreading across the wormhole, Shub-Niggurath panicked, noticing the entire portal leading to Abyss was beginning to break apart. One of the reasons why she had not gone completely all out was because she was being careful!

The other Outer Gods told her that she had to take care of things quickly and swiftly join them back on Abyss, but now, thanks to Kireina, she was taking too long. And this mere snack she was going to take ended turning into a challenge with her life on the line.

But the biggest question here was… Where the hell was Kireina?!

TRUUUMMM…!!

Suddenly, the area where she had vanished broke apart, a huge crack in the dimensions opened, and her insectoid and humanoid body crawled out of it. Unscathed… She had been gone for at least three seconds.

"She moved into the Limbo?! No, that's impossible, the Time Flow would have not allowed her to!" Shub-Niggurath thought. "Then what… did she do?!" Vanishing into thin white mist and disappearing wasn't the same as moving into the Limb through Void Step.

No, it was a completely different technique altogether, a technique fast enough to ignore even Time Flow Deceleration! Shub-Niggurath could only think of a single theory… And it didn't involve manipulating time.

"You… Is that ability…?!" Shub-Niggurath asked with fury. "How is this possible?! Why you?! WHY YOU?!"

With all her rage, she skipped through time using her accumulated Time Flow, appearing in a split of a second in front of Kireina before she could get fully out of the dimensional crack. Her Spears of Time combined into a single, titanic axe overflowing with Gray Flames.

"DIEEE!"

Her axe clashed against Kireina's wings, which were overflowing with a large combination of Authorities, Divinities, Daos, Divine Authorities, and Skill Abilities merged together. Both wings swiftly clashed against her deadly axe, the Gray Flames covering them slowly disappearing as Kireina's Devouring Aura ate it all gluttonously.

CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!

"Why do you keep struggling?! Kireina, your life, everything is pointless. Why do you keep fighting?!" Shub-Niggurath roared. "Go back where you belong and stop pretending this is your life! Your life is with your sisters!"

"That argument… I did hear it from somewhere." Kireina's galaxy-like eyes opened wide, memories of her true self flowed into her.

Her emotions, memories, and her sense of self slowly started to blossom within her as she clashed against Shub-Niggurath. As the Outer Goddess manipulated the power of the Flow of Time, Void, and Chaos to break through her defenses and destroy her weapons, all while Kireina constantly regenerated, disappeared, multiplied, and conjured new weapons out of her own body constantly.

These memories flowed quickly across her mind, she started to overflow with emotions. They shifted her powers and made them stronger. She smirked at Shub-Niggurath. She started to laugh, making Shub-Niggurath even more pissed off!

"You're right. I do have a reason why I fight! It's not only for my own life…" She continued laughing. "It is because I love my family! And I won't forgive you…" She suddenly became incredibly serious. "For taking my daughter away from ME!"

Her Aura erupted, Shub-Niggurath was thrown away by the shockwave alone. Demonic Crimson Flames of Cosmic Chaos surged from within Kireina's entire body. Mammon fused into her body, covering her with an armor of Demonic Energy.

"Glad to see you back, Kireina."