Episode 492: The hunting dog runs (3)

When I close my eyes, I can hear the sound of the waves.

Neither the sky nor the sea are stained with darkness, but you can clearly feel the rough grains of sand between your toes.

When the waves hit the sandbank and break, my slender wrists flail.

Even the little bit of sand I was holding in my hand was swept away by the waves.

I cry and hold on, but I get nothing back.

Waves too. Sand too. Even tears.

I ask through my stitched mouth.

-God. Can't you hold them tighter?

-Isn't it possible to save even just a handful more from those cruel waves?

-What I'm holding right now, or maybe I'm holding on to.

-Is all this just a dream within a dream?

My beloved looks down on my wailing from the sandbank.

I speak with a mouth sewn shut.

-Honey, when I disappear, don't sing sad songs.

-Do not plant red orchids or green marigolds next to my head.

-Just leave a sword in front of the grave to cut off the elements and time.

-And if you have some spare time sometimes, please remember me.

-But even if you forget, it's something you can't do.

-Because I won't be able to hold your congested heart or listen to your bruised uvula.

-Just follow the cry of an owl screaming in sorrow.

-I fell asleep in the early morning dusk, dreaming.

-At some point, suddenly, by chance, I might remember the face of the person I loved.

-Or you might forget it.

* * *

"… … !"

Bikir straightened out his lost mind.

At that moment, my legs lost strength and I almost fell.

Did you say that the heaviest thing in the world is the eyelids?

Vikir felt the mana from his entire body draining away like an ebb.

I get chills. Her toes and fingertips were so cold they felt like they were about to fall off.

Never before had the magic sword Beelzebub sticking out of my wrist felt so heavy and scratchy.

… thud!

The vibration transmitted to the floor, this heavy feeling.

It was not created by Bikir's body.

That's because Bikir never kneeled on the floor even in this situation.

What fell to the floor was the devil's head.

Andras.

Ilbeonsi (一番尸). Marquis of Discord. The final enemy. The last devil.

It had the head of an owl and fell to the floor, spraying thick blood.

Vikir's Type 9 was so powerful that the severed part of his neck showed no signs of regeneration.

no.

Damn it -

If you look at the petrified and crumbly cut surface, it shows no regeneration at all.

Andras was really dying.

Neither the soul nor the body can go anywhere, it is eternal death.

"… … "Did you do it?"

Bikir muttered without realizing it.

Moment.

[human! Don't say such ominous things! Survive again!]

Decaravia hurriedly covers Bikir's mouth.

Vikir chuckled dryly.

The moment you foreshadow the end, what follows is also a story that sells well and is an obvious cliché.

But this time, such an obvious incident did not occur.

Andras poured out all of his strength and, as a result, self-destructed from within.

Moreover, since he suffered Type 9, which is said to be the ultimate of the Baskervilles, his soul must have been torn apart.

… … Of course, that didn't mean Andras was instantly annihilated.

[Hahahaha - Is this what happens in the end?]

Andras was emitting darkness from his two black, dead eyes.

Even though only the severed head remains, the tongue still moves.

Although it got a lot stiffer.

[You won. Demon hunter. The Gates of Destruction will soon close, so you and other humans will not encounter the remaining demons.]

"… … ."

[But. Is that ever a good thing? Did it turn out right? For all of humanity.]

Andras continued speaking with a grin.

[In a way, it's as if you've blown away the opportunity to indemnify humanity's original sin... … ]

But Andras' words did not last until the end.

Because Bikir lifted his foot and trampled on the severed head.

… Slurp!

Andras' body and head turn into spicy, fine ash and flutter.

Soon, the prophecy left by Andras lingered in Vikir's ears and then disappeared.

[A life where you have to run away from chase 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.]

[see. The angry expressions of those chasing you. Your miserable future will be bound and bound by them forever.]

Trauma lasts a long time.

Vikir, who in the past had to suffer a long chase after being accused of being a traitor and a swindler, gritted his teeth and endured the prophecies, or rather curses, left behind by Andras.

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

That was the last time.

Andras completely shattered and disappeared.

Vanishing even from the world beyond the threshold of death, literally complete immortality.

At the same time.

Kudddddddddd-

The floor began to shake violently.

The imperial palace was collapsing.

The starting point of the collapse was probably the intense naval battle taking place outside.

Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwak!

The roof and pillars behind him collapsed and a huge tentacle fell down.

Pieces of the Kraken's leg, completely torn and burned, flew out.

"… … "It looks like the outside is slowly being cleaned up."

Bikir turned his head.

Beyond the collapsing ruins. There was still one portal left open there.

And the person standing in front of the portal is Piggy. A comrade who was with me through two lives.

"great job. really."

Piggy smiled sadly at Vikir.

Bikir asked.

"… … "What happens now?"

"It's simple. "Once I close this final portal, it's all over."

The gates of destruction are closed.

There is now only one door left leading to a world where the door to destruction is open.

"I can only close doors, not open them. So if you just close this door, all doors will disappear. forever."

"… … ."

Vikir nodded quietly.

The end of an arduous journey, a tired hunting dog. Can I now relax my crusty body?

… … no.

There was still one thing left to do.

No, in some ways it is the biggest thing. There is clearly a task that truly needs to be done.

Coo-

Bikir stood up, clutching his knees with his hands.

And then I looked at Piggy with eyes that didn't waver at all.

Eventually, Piggy asked Bikir.

"I'll give you a choice before I remove the last door."

"… … ."

"Are you going back? "To the world you originally lived in."

Yes.

The world beyond the portal is a world where Vikir is not dead.

The hunting dog, which has acquired a new body in this world, is preparing to cross over to the other world again.

But Piggy didn't seem to want Vikir to go to the other side.

"Once you go back, you can never come back here again. The string of ties is broken. "It's goodbye forever."

This world has already almost regained peace.

The monsoon season ended as quickly as it began, and the deluge will soon disappear as well.

The demons were annihilated.

Many people survived, and all demons and monsters will perish.

"Now all you have to do is spend the rest of your life happily with the people who follow you. "There's no need to go back to the barren world you originally lived in, right?"

Piggy is right.

The world over there is swarming with as many as 62 powerful demons that far surpass the Tensangssi.

A world overflowing with destruction and apocalypse far more terrible than the worst times Vikir has ever experienced.

It would be like hell unfolding in front of you.

Piggy said urgingly.

"Some of them haven't yet let go of their attachment to this world. "I can feel them rushing towards this one remaining portal."

The last portal created by Andras before his death.

Thick malice was rushing through this passage.

If we don't close this door quickly, a truly terrifying demon may come through.

Something much stronger and more evil than all ten combined.

Bikir was conflicted.

Right then.

-annihilation! Total annihilation!

-I can't hold on any longer!

-retreat! Retreat!

- Damn it! There is no place to retreat now!

-God, save my child in danger... …

.

.

Desperate screams were heard from beyond the door.

It was the death cry of the comrades left behind in the era of destruction, the last remaining handful of humanity.

And there were a few familiar voices mixed in there.

-Morg power! Imprisoned here!

-Don't lose your faith until the end, everyone!

-haha… … Now neither money nor gold are of any use.

Bikir made a decision of either yes or no.

"We can't end it like this as long as we hear the voices of our comrades who are still alive."

Let's move on. To the original world. go back again

We will have to walk once again along the thorny path we have walked so far.

No, it was clear that it would be a much longer and harsher pilgrimage than that time.

But still the hound goes. Even though I was covered in blood and limping.

After hearing Bikir's words, Piggy closed his eyes as if he had expected that to happen.

"okay. "I knew you would do that too."

In response to Piggy's answer, Bikir didn't say anything and just nodded once.

yet.

Bikhir climbs the stairs.

The throne was half-ruined, and the stairs were on the verge of collapsing.

Eventually, the last remaining portal in this world comes into view.

What you see beyond is a world with a severed head.

A timeline of shame filled with blood and stains.

Vikir turned his head and made eye contact with Piggy.

Piggy nods with a sad smile.

Hounds of the night. Vikir van Baskerville returns to his original world.

Now it was really time to move on.

Right then.

"Where are you going!"

There was a voice that grabbed Bikir by the back as he was about to cross the threshold.