Epilogue
Part 1
—Finally, the gates of Hell have been opened.
Part 2
—[Kouen, City of Brilliant Flames], Fifth Right Wing of the Palace.
The earthquakes had brought all battles within the Palace to a standstill. The Titans were toppling over in their clusters while the Fire Dragons had also collapsed as their bodies couldn’t handle the strain of the extended periods of flight.
Even those who were far away from the volcano were able to see its re-activity and the district invaders had also started to redraw.
However, the real reason for their fear wasn’t because of the magma[70] that spewed from the volcano peak.
Kuro Usagi, who hid in the Fifth Right Wing of the Palace, was also fretfully watching the volcano that continued to erupt.
(What could this be…… there seems to be some sort of terrifying atmosphere in the air……)
Even Kuro Usagi, who had lost her divine powers, was able to sense the overwhelmingly huge power that seem to contract and stretch like a worm’s tunneling motion under the ground. The volcano that didn’t seem to have an end to its lava flow was the very semblance of the gates of hell opening above ground.
If anyone were to appear from that active volcano—it would definitely be the personification of Hell in the form of a monster that walks upon the land.
(The palace of [Salamandra] would still be fine even with the lava flowing around it……but for everyone else who are battling out there, are they really going to be okay?)
Although Kuro Usagi had lost her Usagimimi, she was still able to tell that the situation of the battle wasn’t going too well.
If only I could use the authority of [Judge Master]. Such were the regrets that were in her heart but she was unable to do anything about the situation.
Looking at the night sky that was overcast with clouds which hid the moon from view, she decided to pray for her comrades’ safety.
—Please hear my prayer and allow everyone return safely.
—Please hear my prayer and allow us to return to those happy times.
—O’ Patron god, please bestow your divine war god’s protection upon everyone.
With fingers interlaced and clasped before her, she prayed for her wishes to come true. That way, it would also make her feel more at ease.
“…..Okay! It should be alright now!”
Kuro Usagi clenched her fists before her chest in a form of self-encouragement. It is not known if it is just due to her mental state being at ease, but the earthquake seemed to have diminished in magnitude. This could have been the answer from Indra.
The overcast skies had cleared somewhat and the moon could be seen peeking from the shadows of the cloud layer—
Part 3
—Before the main doors of [Kouen City]’s Outer Wall.
Due to the eruption of the volcano, the battle at the frontlines were momentarily paused. And this isn’t the work of someone’s order.
The Fire Dragons, the veteran warriors or even the Titans, everyone had frozen in their attacks as they watch the magma spew out of the huge peak. Whether they were of the Titans or even the veteran monsters, they would still meet the same end when caught by the lava flow. The only ones who might be able to survive would be the large sized Fire Dragons. The Titans, who were hemmed between the waves and the oncoming lava, had already fallen into disarray as they realize that they are surrounded, creating the perfect opportunity to be struck down.
Asuka had also stopped in her tracks as she wanted to have a better look at the battle situation that continued to be filled with unpredictability.
And it was just then that she sensed the change—
“—,?”
*Zukuri*
A chill that travelled down her spine.
There didn’t seem to be anything special happening around her but just that chilly sensation along her back. However, it wasn’t a typical chill. It would be more accurately described as the unpleasantness of an icy caress of a Death God’s hand that ran down her back
Similarly, Kouryuu, the Demon Lord of Confusion, Percher and Graiya had turned to fix their sights on the volcano.
“……what was that just now?”
In the midst of the battle, Kouryuu thoughts, on the strategies to capture the Demon Lord of Confusion who was now in the possession of Sandra’s body, were halted.
It was neither a sensation of animosity or oppressiveness.
If one had to put a thumb on it— it would be the sensation of an instinctive reflex of an over-sensitive deer lifting its head in reaction to a lion’s approach.
(What…… is happening……?!)
Unconsciously, Kouryuu’s hands which held the rod were already soaked with his perspiration. He, who had experienced hundreds of battles, was currently experiencing an unprecedented sense of threat that just couldn’t be put into words. Planning to trace the source of the sensation, he closed his eyes to focus upon the active volcano. However, he was unable to find any large sources of spiritual power at the active volcano; hence, he increased the radius to start tracing the residue of the spiritual power.
The formless oppressive sense of presence that is in control of this area……
“…… is in the sky……!”
Almost simultaneously, Yō at the interior area of the palace had also traced the source of the presence. When it came to the skill of scouting, her powers could be ranked at the top few. Having discovered the source of the threat much earlier than Kouryuu, Yō had already turned her gaze skyward. Using her eyes which glinted in the dark, similar to the nocturnal predatory birds, to search the cloud cover. To find the exact location took no time at all.
Because the culprit, did not even bother to hide itself.
“……Uu…!”
Seeming like an attempt to fill up the gap created in the dark and densely overcast skies, the hazy view of the moon had appeared. And a small figure could be seen extending its wings while having the yellowish moonlight draped across its back like a cloak
The figure that had its back facing the moonlight was pure white from head to toe and it had unfurled its crooked wings, which did not seem to have been the result of a natural selection process. Moreover, there was no dragon of that form that could be found within the phylogenetic tree.
(Pureblood dragons do not exist within the Phylogenetic tree…… But is there really such a living creature……?)
Ruby red eyes that seem to shine like a star of omens[71] in the night.
The strange looking trio of heads had stakes hammered through the top of their skulls which exited through their lower jaws.
The trio of heads that had six eyes in total were sufficient to snuff out any courage in their enemies. It neither had a biological function nor did it have a symbolic meaning to increase its mysteriousness. One can only guess that it is a form chosen to invoke a physiological aversion that would progress into fear in all who see it.
Despite being a length of about three meters— that indescribable oppressive pressure was way above that of the huge dragon.
(I can’t be wrong about this…… It’s definitely the strongest type. And it is stronger than the huge dragon!)
The three headed dragon hovered in the air above [Kouen City] while looking down upon the city with its six eyes.
Each of those individual heads were looking down in a different location in an attempt to get a grasp on the current situation. And that move clearly confirmed everyone’s query— this monster possessed intelligence.
Moving the heads independently and repeating the action of tilting those heads a few more times—-The three headed dragon extended its wings by a few folds and started to fan them.
The three headed dragon fanned its wings effortlessly—Instantaneously sweeping the dark clouds that had been covering the night sky and causing the veil of the night sky to be blown aside.
“—This is bad! Willa, run now!”
“Eh?” Willa tilted her head but sadly, it was all too late.
The casual fanning of the wings by the three headed dragon caused the sea of clouds to split into halves before being dispersed. The impact that shook the very atmosphere became waves of vibration that caused the starlight to be distorted. That same shockwave had also transformed into two huge tornadoes that swept towards the City area, causing the wall of seawater flow created by Kouryuu to be destroyed in an instant.
“Wha……What?!”
But that was not all. The tornadoes may have completely destroyed the seawater phenomenon summoned by Kouryuu but it also gave the same treatment to all that were swallowed in its way without a decrease in intensity.
「UOOOOOOOOOooooooooo—!!!」
「GEYAAAAaaaa！！！」
Be it the glass that lined the corridors, the battle axes of the Titans, the scales of the Fire Dragon or their wings, all of them were sucked up into the skies without any partiality. The game just didn’t matter anymore as the situation had already progressed to this stage. The City region and the Palace were already crumbling into piles of rubble with just the force of its wing beats.
“Kyaah!”
“Willa!”
Following the collapse of the Palace, Yō and Willa were sucked into the tornado. But, Almathea had dashed over in a flash of lightning to pick them up in her mouth, before galloping out of the tornado. Nimbly swinging the both of them by the neck of their clothes, she seated them upon her back and bellowed anxiously:
{“You two, hold on tight! We are leaving this region immediately!”}
“How, How could we do this?! I’m not going to leave everyone here and escape on my own!”
{“I will not allow any objections! That Demon Lord is of the strongest kind! It is the Heavenly armies’ responsibility to subjugate him! Even if it’s you, I don’t think you are that naïve to be ignorant about the power difference between you and that thing, right?!”}
The stern lecture made Yō shut her mouth. Even so, she wanted to retort but that urge had soon disappeared as she spotted Kuro Usagi, from the corner of her vision, lying on the rubble.
“Not good. If she’s alone at that place……!”
Kuro Usagi had not seen Yō and the others as her gaze was fixed upon the three headed dragon. In a daze, Kuro Usagi’s lips were quivering.
“Ah….A, Urk……?!”
The memories of her childhood were reawakened.
The hometown razed by fires, the pitiful cries and moans of pain, the beasts that were numerous enough to engulf the entire forest.
The monster that caused the race of [Moon Rabbit]s to be wiped out within a night.
“That’s not possible……That demon lord, wasn’t it……defeated by Canaria-sama and the others already ……?”
One step and two, Kuro Usagi started to move shakily in a trance-like state and this caused her to attract the attention of the greatest disaster.
It’s not known whether the eyes of that three headed dragon had noticed Kuro Usagi standing on the rubble, but it gave of a howl that did not seem to belong to this world before making its rapid descent.
「————GYEEEEEEEEEEYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaEEEEEEEEEEEEEYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaa！！！」
That cry of absolute might had even caused the magma to be forced back into the volcano and pressure it into a huge depression in the ground. Chandeliers shattered and the fragments scattered like the petals of a glass flower, showering down upon the city.
Kuro Usagi lifted her head to look at the three headed dragon heading in her direction while in her trance and made an observation that seemed to be remote from herself.
—Ah. She will be dying here.
“—away, KURO USAGI—!”
Following the sound of an atmospheric explosion, there were two other shouts.
*Guish*— came the sound of a fist shattering. Blood sprayed and dyed Kuro Usagi in red. Her glossy black hair and pure white skin were given a blood-red layer of foundation as a large amount of blood spewed from the punctured organs. When she finally realized whose blood it belonged to, Kuro Usagi’s eyes had widened to their maximum. Seeming to have seen something that she did not want to believe, she whispered:
“……Iza, yoi-san……?”
He had suffered a fatal injury. The claw of the three headed dragon had ripped open Izayoi’s abdomen, puncturing his organs.
Faced with the person who had always had a carefree and nonchalant face now twisted in agony and pain, with his breaths coming shallow and rapid, Kuro Usagi had turned pale as blood drained out of her complexion. His fist had made contact with the three headed dragon’s skull before receiving the strike from the claws but the reaction alone was enough to cause that fist to bend and fracture.[72]
Staring at his fractured right hand, he had the first experience of uncertainty in his life.
(……This doesn’t seem to be a good situation.)
—I can’t win. It wasn’t an excuse. But Izayoi’s heart had accepted that harsh truth.
Kuro Usagi fell into a deeper trance but the opponent wasn’t one who would allow her that sort of slack. Izayoi gripped the claw that penetrated his abdomen as he shouted with all his strength.
“Gu…ah…… bring Kuro, Usagi…… and run, Almathea!”
{“Uu, Understood!”}
Responding to his determined shout, Almathea’s hooves flew into activity. She was also a warrior and one that was battle hardened. Reading the meaning of Izayoi’s shout, and the accompanying confused thoughts, came easy to her. At the instant before Almathea took off with Kuro Usagi in her grasp, she gave a bow to Izayoi:
{“—Wishing you a triumphant fight.”}
“……aah. I will leave them to you. This dragon…… I will be the one to delay it……!!!”
That choice of words and that sort of figure that faced away from her. It all seemed to overlap with Kuro Usagi’s memories of her parents.
“No…..No, Ah…… don’t……!”
She knew it clearly in her heart. She knew the sort of determination that was symbolized by that back view and understood what the result of that determination would be. Kuro Usagi leaned out from the back of Almathea as she desperately reached her hand towards Izayoi’s back.
Seeing her actions, Izayoi forced out a smile with a pained expression as he gave a light shake of his head.
“—Sorry. About the promise to retrieve the flag…… I don’t think I can keep the promise anymore.”
It was the first time in his life that he apologized without any disguise to his words. Kuro Usagi gave a soundless cry and wanted to lean out her body further, but was stopped by Almathea. Tears flowed like a broken levee down her face as she tried her best to reach out to him, but her hands weren’t able to reach anything.
His figure gradually faded into the distance and disappeared from view as the black scrolls started to rain down from the sky. The three headed dragon did not even bother to look at the escaping people as it quietly measured up Izayoi with its six eyes.
“……hoho, are you betting your life for your comrades? No matter how long it has been for me, the sight of hell on earth sure makes my blood boil with excitement as always.”
“……Ha. Same here….. What an earth-shaking…… revelation. I didn’t expect you to be capable of speech.”
“Of course. Actually, I do not use speech since that would allow me to be elevated higher in the spectrum of monstrosity—but when it comes to those that are dying, it would be a different matter. I guess it can be called a parting gift before sending them on their way.”
Giving its huge wrist a flick, it flung Izayoi off its claws. At the same time, a large volume of blood spurted out from the puncture wounds but the flow was forcefully staunched by the power of his muscles.[73]
Izayoi wiped the blood at the corner of his mouth and took a fighting stance as gave a condescending laugh.
“Oh my, that sure is thoughtful of you. Well, there’s this something. I just really want to know no matter what. …… May I ask a question?”
“Oh?” The three headed dragon gave a quizzical response in its surprise. It wouldn’t have thought that there would be someone who would ask in that sort of dire circumstance.
Izayoi readjusted his breathing before looking straight into the ruby red eyes as he questioned.
“Which mythological group would you belong to?”
The seriousness of the tone caused the three headed dragon to lose his smile and be stumped. But the reaction was also reasonable. In the span of two hundred years, the residents of Little Garden had feared his name and the fear continued to exist till today.
“There’s actually someone who asks for my name…… Okay… Since this is a battle that has been halted for over two hundred years, reporting my own name wouldn’t be too much a request to fulfill.”
The three headed dragon pointed to his back where the flag emblazoned with the original character of [Aksara]—[Evil] was worn for full display.
During the time that the world was still a formless mass that hasn’t been actualized, when heaven and earth was separated, light and dark were born, lines of good and evil were clearly drawn. Those were all the smallest units of the world that made up the oldest cosmology.
Swiveling the top half of its body, the three headed dragon reported his name:
“A third Digit of Little Garden, one of the gods of Zoroastrianism—Demon Lord Azi Dahaka. Having accepted the Flag and the Third Digit status from the Sovereign Lord, I’ve pledged to spend my life as a Demon Lord, to become the incarnation of an implacable vengeance towards all existence!!!”
A hot fiery wind picked up from the active volcano. Blown by the wind that was similar to that found in the Mountains and Rivers of Hell, it caused the Flag of [ 恶 ][74] to billow out behind him as the pure white body and ruby red eyed Demon Lord gave a roar.
“Give it your all, O’Hero born after the wait of hundreds of years!
Exhaust all your strength!
Muster all your resourcefulness!
Show me your recklessness—Become the glorious sword to pierce my chest!”[75]
This night, the stars were shaken and a wind that whipped through the three worlds had started to pick up.
The once silent gears of the world have now started to turn and move in tandem with the unrest and raging spirits.
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