Chapter 491

[Translator - Clara]

[Proofreader - Lucky ]

Chapter 491: The Hound Runs (2)

A bloodline of the imperial family, possessing abilities in astrology, astronomy, and various forms of future foresight.

The one who inherited the ability to see the future- passed down from the founding emperor who established the empire, was none other than the first crown prince, Jack.

And now, Andras had taken Jack's body as his host, amplifying that bloodline’s power to its utmost limits.

[Cough!]

From beneath the sagging jaw embedded in the chest, fragments of decayed organs and blackened, dead blood gush out in choked bursts.

Cracks spread across his entire body, glowing a fierce red.

Tsss, tsss, tsss...

Andras’ body slowly crumbled, bit by bit, like volcanic ash that has been completely incinerated.

Yet.

[...I can see it!]

Even in this state, Andras emitted a dark magical energy from his eyes like black clouds.

The flow of mana converged into a crimson vein.

These veins then gathered once more to form the shape of a giant eyeball.

The eyeball, floating high in the air, gazed down upon the ground with a terrifying glare.

As his physical life neared it’s end, this one wicked demon squeezed out every last drop of his dwindling life force, displaying an unprecedented, extreme level of foresight.

[I see it! I see your future!]

And then, an eerily precise vision of the future emerged from the crown prince’s body, so accurate that even a demon would shudder.

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

Up to this point, it was a common sight from the era of destruction, Vikir had seen it several times even within the Abyss Tree.

After all, this was exactly how Vikir’s mental world appeared within the lingering thoughts of Amdusias.

However, the scenes unfolding now were undoubtedly things Vikir had never experienced before.

...An endless, barren desert.

...A giant tower rising in the middle of the desert.

...An old man in black clothes, walking alone and desolately toward the tower.

These fragmented visions pierced Vikir's mind.

They were unfamiliar memories that Vikir had never directly experienced.

Yet, at the same time, they were memories he had indirectly encountered a few times before.

‘...Was it when I faced Amdusias in the Abyss tree? These are definitely the scenes I saw when Figgy’s blood sealed the Abyss. And also when I faced Chimera.’

A burning world, the era of destruction.

The ground melting, and the breath of all living things turning to ash, marking the end of times.

But the future that Andras' blood was showing went far beyond those landscapes.

[I see it! I see your future, where you’ve grown old with time! I see your shadow, left alone in isolation!]

Of course, the scenes Andras saw were also visible to Vikir.

An endless, desolate desert. An old man hastening his lonely steps, with no one around him.

Whenever his long, gray beard and the hem of his black robe fluttered in the dry wind, he coughed dryly.

There was no one, no one at all, around the old man as he crossed the vast desert.

Several fleeting images flashed by behind him, but they passed too quickly to be seen clearly.

[I see it! I see it clearly! You may cherish your relationships with those around you now, but in the end, you’ll be alone! In your old age, left alone in solitude, wandering without roots, that’s your fate!]

Only Andras bursted into maniacal laughter.

Meanwhile, the scenes continued to flow rapidly.

“I will kill the demon.”

Despite the terrifyingly accurate predictions, Vikir didn’t lose his resolve.

He had no time to be lost in thoughts when his comrades were out there, risking their lives in a bloody battle against the monsters outside the palace.

A mere mantis cannot stop the giant wheel of causality.

But even so, he had to do everything in his power to resist the reality before him.

It was a far better choice than to succumb to the demon’s trickery.

But Andras laughed with his mouth wide open.

Even in his final moments, he lashed out with his blackened tongue towards Vikir.

[Think carefully, for all that awaits you at the end is a ‘Tomb!’ A terrifying fate of being torn into five pieces, body and soul, awaits you! But if you change your mind even now, you could alter this future!]

The demon never ceased his mockery of humans, not even at the last moment.

...*Huff!*

Simultaneously, a thick darkness rose from Andras's entire body.

Within that darkness, all the visions Vikir had witnessed so far, including Nymphet, began to emerge.

Comrades he couldn't save, friends who had gone ahead, and the countless dead he had mourned—all were staring at Vikir.

Just as before, they raised their sharp tongues like daggers aimed at him.

But then...

...*Flash!*

The red light radiating from Vikir's eyes pierced through the essence of every illusion.

Nothing but emptiness.

A void as dark as the abyss of dark magic itself.

Vikir suddenly realized.

Andras was nothing in the end.

A hollow being.

Simply a raven, like the one in that eerie midnight visit, preying upon a weary and worn-out soul.

"......."

Vikir, for a moment, hesitated to utter his usual mantra, “The demon dies.”

The emotions boiling within him couldn’t be satisfied by those words alone.

The hatred for demons that had built up over two lifetimes, the guilt towards himself, the regrets over what could never be achieved, the lingering feelings and guilt towards those he had known, and the complex thoughts about his father, Hugo.

All these emotions swelled within him, filling his lungs with a suffocating mix of frustration, anger, and sorrow.

...*Crack!*

Vikir drew his sword, its length glinting in the darkness.

He charged forward, cutting through the illusions before him, and unleashed the old, festering emotions from his chest, expelling them from his throat with a violent roar.

[......!?]

Andras’ eyes widened in shock, as if they would tear apart.

Slash!

Vikir’s sword descended like a bolt of lightning.

The final leap that sliced through the void. The will of a human.

Just before the head of the last demon, the ultimate enemy, was severed from its body and sent flying into the distance...

The hunting dog, who had spent a lifetime hunting down demons, exhaled with a sense of relief and spoke for the first time from a place of personal sentiment.

“Screw you.”

It was the first time he had ever expressed his own personal feelings.

[Translator - Clara]

[Proofreader - Lucky ]