Episode 491: The hunting dog runs (2)

A lineage of the royal family with the ability to astrology, astronomy, and various future predictions.

First Prince Jack is the one who inherited the ability of the founding emperor, who founded the empire, with the ability to see the future.

And Andras is currently using Jack's body as a host, maximizing the ability within his veins.

[Cough!]

Pieces of crushed internal organs and black dead blood are gushing out from under the lower jaw, which has fallen all the way to the chest.

The cracks that spread throughout my body turned red.

Tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk… …

My body was falling apart slowly, gradually, in real time, like the remaining volcanic ash.

however.

[…] … see!]

Meanwhile, Andras was spouting out black cloud-like magic from his eyes.

The flow of mana gathers in one place, creating red blood vessels.

The blood vessels gathered together again to form the shape of a huge eyeball.

An eyeball floating high in the air and casting an eerie look towards the ground.

In a situation where the life of the body had reached its peak, this one evil demon was squeezing out all the vitality that was depleted and showing off his foresight that had risen to an unprecedented limit.

[…] … see! see! Your future!]

And soon, a prediction of the future so accurate that even the devil would tremble flows from the crown prince's body.

A swamp of blood and flesh, a mountain made of piled bones, an atmosphere where all mana has dried up, and a huge mushroom cloud rising over the distant horizon.

Up to this point, it was a common scene from the era of destruction that I had seen several times in Naraksu.

This is because Vikir's mental world, floating in Amdusias' residual thoughts, looked exactly like this.

however. The scenes that unfolded from now on were definitely something that Bikir had never experienced before.

… … An endless dry desert.

… … A huge tower rising in the middle of the desert.

… … An old man dressed in black walking lonely and lonely towards the tower.

Each fantasy pierces Vikir's mind in fragmented, broken pieces.

Those were unfamiliar memories that Bikir had never personally experienced.

But despite this, they were also memories that I had indirectly experienced several times before.

'… … Is it time to face Amdusias in the Maw Tree? These are definitely the scenes we saw when Piggy's blood closed the Maw. And also when dealing with Cimmeries.'

A world on fire, an era of destruction.

The moment of the end when the ground melted and the breath of all living things burned away.

However, the future shown by Andras' blood now presented a much more future scene.

[see! You look old as time goes by! Your shadow is left alone!]

Of course, the scenery Andras saw was also visible to Bikir.

An endless, desolate desert. An old man walking in solitude with nothing around him.

When his long gray beard and black hair blew in the dry wind, he let out a dry cough.

There is no one, no one, in sight around the old man crossing the vast desert.

After that, a few images flashed by quickly, but they were so fleeting that I couldn't see them clearly.

[see! It looks clear! You say you value your relationships with the people around you, but in the end, you are alone! They are all left alone in their old age, wandering around without being able to take root anywhere!]

Only Andras burst into laughter.

Meanwhile, the scenery continued to flow rapidly.

The old man crosses the desert.

The old man, bravely wading through strong winds and quick quicksand, looked solitary and lonely.

[see! You are being chased! You are running away from those pursuing you!]

Long beards blowing in a sandstorm.

The old man stopped for a moment when he noticed something towering over the endless desert horizon.

It's top. A tower sticking out like a sword.

Andras' bloodshot eyes flashed.

[A life where you have to run away from pursuit until the end of your life! Words that reflect on loneliness and solitude! But those who pursue you will find you! And in the end, you will reach where you are! You cannot run away from them! forever! forever! Hahaha - I can see! The angry expressions of those chasing you! Your miserable future will be bound and bound by them forever!]

It naturally made Bikir recall the trauma of his past life.

Memories of running away while falsely accused.

The memory of being eventually caught by the Baskervilles' hounds and covered in blood.

Memories of being dragged to the guillotine, leaving a path of blood on the floor.

I remember having my head cut off in the end.

Cold sweat runs down Bikir's face.

Eventually, Andras predicted Vikir's demise.

[In the end, it will break into five pieces!]

Five body divisions. A terrible punishment that began to become popular during the Warring States Period by the emperor of the Demonic Suzerainty.

Bikir, too, had almost suffered this before being sentenced to the guillotine, so naturally he couldn't help but feel wet.

"… … ."

The hound gritted his teeth.

I'm out of breath. Along with the cold sweat, both lungs were shriveling and I was losing consciousness.

'Cradle' and 'Grave'.

… … The time between these two places, located at either end of the timeline of life, is life.

What kind of life was that?

And again, 'grave' and 'cradle'.

Bikir recalled the middle link of memory that connected the end of his first life and the beginning of his second life.

Bikir.

He struggled.

It was a life of constant struggle.

bastard. A concubine's child.

So my middle name is also half.

He was not born with surnames such as 'Ra' or 'Le', which were given to him for free by his half-brothers in the family, and because of that, he had to work hundreds of times harder than others.

But the ending wasn't so good.

He has crossed countless lines of fire so far, but in the end, luck has failed him.

The moment when he was accused of being a spy for the demons and was falsely accused and executed.

The Hound thought intensely.

I want to live.

I want to come back to life.

… … And a miracle happened.

Mite-

The flapping of wings of a butterfly that occurred in a past life. A very small and insignificant change.

And the end of that change changed the world dramatically.

… … Of course, the hunting dog did not achieve it alone.

The countless faces who worked hard to help him get to this point.

Even at this very moment, when I think of them fighting bloody battles with monsters outside the imperial palace, I can't just sit here and break out in a cold sweat.

"The devil kills."

Despite a series of terrifying prophecies that came true out of every hundred, Bikir did not give up.

Considering my colleagues, I cannot afford to be sentimental here.

A single praying mantis cannot stop the gigantic wheel of cause and effect.

But even so, we must do our best to resist the reality we face immediately.

That was a much better choice than being swayed by the devil's tricks.

But Andras smiles with his mouth wide open.

And until the end, he teased Bikir with his black tongue.

[Think carefully, all you see in your words is a 'grave'! Only the terrible fate of having your body and mind cut into five pieces awaits you! If you change your mind even now, you can change this future!]

The devil does not relinquish his grip on toying with humans until the very last moment.

… Phew!

At the same time, a thick darkness rose from Andras' whole body.

All the illusions that Vikir had ever seen, including the nymphet, were blooming there.

The comrades who could not be saved, the friends who were sent away first, and the countless dead who expressed their condolences are looking at Bikir.

As before, I lifted my dagger-like tongue and aimed it forward.

however.

… Flash!

The red light emanating from Vikir's eyes was clearly seeing through the reality of all these illusions.

A void without anything.

A being like the dark nothingness that forms the abyss of magic.

Bikir suddenly realized something.

In the end, Andras is empty.

Nevermore.

It was simply a being like The Raven that visited a weak and exhausted body in the middle of a dreary night.

"… … ."

Suddenly, Bikir was about to say the words he always dogmatically repeated, 'The devil kills.'

It seemed like the emotions boiling up inside me could not be relieved with just those lines.

Hatred of the devil accumulated over two lives, self-blame toward oneself, regret for things he could not achieve and things he could not do, lingering feelings of regret and guilt about past relationships, and complex thoughts about his father, Hugo.

The frustration, sense of isolation, resentment, and anger about all of these things swell greatly with each inhalation.

… Pak!

Bikir drew his sword long.

And as I broke through, past the illusions in front of me, I vomited all these old, stale emotions that had been stored up in my lungs out of my crusty throat.

[…] … !?]

Andras' eyes widen as if they are about to tear.

Cheok-

Vikir's sword fell like a bolt of lightning.

The final leap that cuts through nothingness. human will.

Just before the head of the last enemy, the last devil, falls off from the body and flies away.

The hunting dog, who had been biting and killing demons all his life, opened his mouth with a sigh of relief.

"Fuck you."

It was a personal feeling revealed for the first time.