The Prelude to a Counterattack (5)

'Get out.'

Into the darkness.

Once again, Piggy found himself in the same environment.

The only difference was that this time Piggy knew it was an illusion.

'...Ah, is this a childhood memory?'

Piggy looked at his younger self and the middle-aged man standing in front of him.

The face was familiar, but strangely unrecognizable, a face that was shrouded in a haze.

'This scum is not my blood.'

A memory from the distant past, one that even Piggy himself couldn't remember, played.

It was the same vision he'd had when he was a freshman at Colosseo Academy, when he'd nearly died during a midterm exam.

'I seem to be unusually good at seeing visions.'

It was true at the Academy, it was true when he was trapped in the Hell Tree, and it was true now.

He'd gotten used to having strange visions and hallucinations whenever his life was in danger.

...But the sound of his mother's cries that followed was always hard to get used to, and made his heart sink.

And the contempt and hatred that follows.

'How dare you be so lowly, you don't even know the subject.'

'Get him out of here now.'

'... Get rid of him.'

The chatter around him swirls and follows the sobs.

Piggy's vision shifts several times after that.

Fleeing mothers, forests and mountains, pursuers, steep cliffs, raging rivers, hungry wolves, and the startled faces of passing merchants and mercenaries.

Time passes, and so do memories.

His mother, who never smiled and always looked at him with a sad expression.

His stepfather, who was always there to comfort her and give his son the love he deserved, becoming a strong pillar of the family.

In the face of his father's devoted efforts, her mother gradually began to smile.

And then came the entrance ceremony. Colosseo Academy, the best university in the empire.

Piggy wanted to show his mother, who was full of unhappiness, and his father, who had dedicated his life to making her happy.

... But it wasn't all smooth sailing.

At Peggy's first school, he was bullied. This was due to his timid nature.

His relatively frail body, as opposed to his brilliant brain, caused him to fail various tests.

The scenery of Hell Tree continuing after the academy days. Motives who brutally kill each other.

The next scene is a world in flames.

Monsters run rampant, civil wars rage, and the world becomes increasingly desolate.

...However.

Piggy was bravely overcoming all of this.

Despite all the hardships and adversity, Piggy was able to hold on to life and persevere.

'It's okay now.'

It was the voices of his friends who always stood behind him.

It was Piggy's relationships with his friends that always had his back, even when he could have easily lost sight of the world.

The blunt but warm voice behind him made Piggy smile and murmur to himself.

"He's a good guy."

A moment.

'Huh? Come to think of it...'

It was the same voice he'd heard when he'd fought Amdusias the 5th, Cimeries the 4th, and Andrealphus the 3rd.

'A good man.'

An auditory hallucination that embarrassed countless demons.

That was what he heard every time his blood flowed into the demons.

A moment.

…Huug!

A face popped up in front of Piggy.

'Can't you hear me? I said get out!'

That was....

* * * *

"...Huh!?"

Piggy opened his eyes.

The first thing that came into view was a face.

Vikir.

Vikir was looking down into Piggy's face.

"It's okay now, Piggy."

The voice sounded exactly like the one he'd heard in the vision.

Piggy smiled weakly through her fading eyes.

" ...You're a good man, you always were, and you always will be."

"Piggy! Come to your senses, the bleeding has stopped!"

Vikir shook Piggy's body.

But even though the bleeding had stopped, too much blood had been lost.

The Hell Tree Seed had spread like wildfire, lodging deep within Piggy's body and tearing out all of his internal organs.

Piggy swallowed a gulp of blood and answered.

"Closing the Hell Tree is the only thing I'm good at, and even though I can't do anything else, ... I really wanted to help."

"Don't be silly...!"

Vikir opened his mouth, but Piggy shook his head.

"Go."

"...."

"Go kill the demon. Save the world."

Piggy looked at Vikir with all the strength in his eyes.

"If I can't be a hero, but I can be a hero's friend, I'll be satisfied. Go!"

Vikir gritted his teeth at Piggy's shout.

In front of him, the Harvester still stood tall and steadfast with his scythe.

Behind him, this time, Flauros was activating an ultra-long-distance magic circle.

"Move!"

Dropping Piggy to the ground, Vikir swung his sword at the Harvester.

Thwack-!

The Harvester returned Vikir's blow with a casual gesture, as if he was willing to play along to buy time.

…Kwagigigig!

Vikir's blade fell, and the Harvester's scythe picked it up.

A brief confrontation ensued between the two.

"...I know who you are."

Piggy's voice instantly sent a shiver down the Harvester's spine.

Piggy's dying eyes were giving him a contemplative stare.

"...He's the demon, and you're being lied to."

"...."

"And you have the power to see through it."

Piggy coughed and spat out a few mouthfuls of black blood.

Then he spoke with difficulty.

"I don't think you're a bad person, we were friends...."

But Piggy didn't finish his sentence.

His hand fell to the floor as he struggled to smile as he said the word friend.

"Piggy!"

Tudor and Sancho ran crying, but were blocked by the wall of the last poisonous guards.

The Harvester lifted his scythe and parried Vikir's sword.

peoeog!

Blood spurted from his chest and limbs, but the weapon had served its purpose.

Flauros had perfected his Space Traveling Magic Circle.

[Come here, my eldest son-]

Flauros smirked and summoned the Harvester.

For some reason, even in the face of defeat and the loss of all his poisonous soldiers, he was smiling broadly.

[Can I ask you a favor?]

[A favor? You to me? What?]

[...It's about killing a man. If he were alive, he would look like this by now.]

Recalling his past, Flauros exclaimed in a tone of satisfaction, as if he had made a bargain.

[The purpose of coming here has already been achieved! Everyone retreat! Survive on your own!]

Flauros's shout startled everyone gathered at the water source.

"...!"

Vikir recognized the satisfaction and accomplishment in Flauros's voice.

And why the master liar had led his entire army to this water source, his true reason and purpose.

'Oh no!'

Vikir turned his head to see Piggy lying on the ground, bleeding out.

Flauros's smirking gaze was fixed on Piggy, whose eyes were closed and growing cold.

The demon's purpose in coming to Tochka was not to kill the demon hunter.

His purpose was to kill Piggy in the first place!

[Demon Hunter, I'll save the conversation with you for another time, I promise. It won't be long, and you'll soon realize that today was only a taste. For my vials of poison are far more than this.]

Flauros shouted, his magic circle glowing brightly.

...But.

"Piggy doesn't die."

Vikir's words were short, as always.

"Only you will die."

At the same time, eight fierce teeth tore through the circle, tearing at the magic circle.

The attack was fiercer and more vicious than ever.

Vikir's killing intent and determination made even the mighty Flauros break out in a cold sweat.

[Son, stop that!]

Flauros' command was immediately heeded by the Harvester.

But.

"...Weren't we 'friends'? Trusting each other."

The Harvester's entire body stiffened at the sound of Vikir's voice that followed.

For a moment, a glimpse of his face peeked out from beneath the hood he had cut off.

Vikir stared at him with a gaze that stretched straight ahead.

And it was that momentary hesitation that made all the difference.

…Flash!

The fiercely meshed teeth took a big bite of the light pillar emanating from the magic circle.

[kkeu-aaaaaag!?]

Flauros screamed in unexpected shock and pain.

At the same time, the magic circle shook violently.

paas-

Red poisonous smoke and light enveloped Flouros and the Harvester, swallowing them whole.

....

And then a surprising silence descended.

Where the battle had raged so fiercely just moments before, it was now as silent as a tomb.

The demons he had just missed. And the companions who had lost their lives.

The belatedly assembled group was speechless in the face of the devastation.

In the distance, the sounds of the Allied forces slaughtering the remnants of the poisonous soldiers could be heard.

Camus, Aiyen, Dolores, Sinclair, Kirko, and everyone else stood behind Vikir, saying nothing.

....

And then.

Vikir's lips moved, heavy as hardened lead.

"The real fight is about to begin."

Everyone's faces stiffened as they realized that the real fight hadn't even begun yet.

A time when greater and more enormous sacrifices will be required.

The final act of this whole stage would soon come.