'He will never again have to live such a painful life of being hung by a thick chain during the day and having the rope pulled by him at night.'
-Park Young-hee (Park Young-hee) from 『The Hunting Dog』-
* * *
Hugo Les Baskerville.
The head of the Baskerville family, the Iron Blood Sword Family, was there.
The body that transformed into a Death Knight was covered in jet-black armor forged with the flames of hell, and the dark red aura was completely changed to black.
Lives held as collateral are flowing away like the ebb and flow.
The skin changed from white to bluish, and just as the horizons of life and death were reversed, the black and white of the eyes were also reversed.
A contract that gives one's life and draws power in return.
In the final battle, Hugo's entire body's mana exploded beyond its limit, and he surpassed the threshold of Type 9, which he had only looked at from afar for a long time.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwak!
The flames spewing out from the Gate of Destruction clash with the aura emanating from a single Death Knight.
Even the world-famous sword Balmung, which was close to the edge, could not overcome the rebound damage and began to slowly melt.
That Balmung.
That sharp and sturdy knife.
The core was colder and sharper than anything else in the world.
slowly. hot. It melts. It falls apart.
Bikir looked at it and asked without realizing it.
"… … "Why is that?"
A voice that slowly and hotly melts like a blade in a furnace.
The tone was indeed heavy, but it made even the slightest tremors feel even bigger.
Unlike before, this is the first question I asked because I was truly curious and hoping for an answer.
Unreasonable paternal love? A false sense of responsibility? A bit of guilt? Belated atonement?
What on earth could it be? What made him make the choice he did now?
… … .
Hugo didn't look back at Bikir's question, which omitted many things.
As always, he just silently moves forward while looking straight ahead.
Its broad back slowly melted into a blinding halo of light.
Suddenly, Bikir felt a very small voice fluttering in his ear, far away and faint.
'I do not know.'
… … Was there something in the world he didn't know? Bikir subconsciously thought that way.
And again, I looked at Hugo's back with a dazed and unfamiliar feeling.
I've passed several lives, so I'm definitely older than my current father... … Why? I can't understand him. I still can't figure out what's going on in my mind.
The back, which goes out of reach, is wide and solid.
It soon became black and hazy, as if it was sinking beneath the surface of lava.
And soon.
… Pot!
My vision cleared.
What is visible is a black sky and a red portal.
The primary impact that emitted from the Gate of Destruction was dissipated.
The one who blocked it in front of everyone.
The Supreme Swordsman of Baskerville and the master of all hunting dogs.
… … And in fact, he himself was a hunting dog who had lived his entire life hanging on a thick chain.
Hugo Les Baskerville. Hangnyeon 64 years old. Burning white and discolored on the battlefield.
There was nothing to say other than that it was truly a Baskerville-like end.
Even Director Orca and the Marquis de Sade were left speechless by Hugo's struggle and destruction.
"… … That is definitely Baskerville Type 9. "Was it really possible?"
"I can't believe it. Cane Corso, that old man wasn't senile?"
Truly overwhelming solemnity and ferocity.
Hugo's final spirit made everyone in Tochka grit their teeth with a heavy heart.
In the end, Tochka Fortress survived. Bikir too.
"… … ."
Bikir looked at the white ash blowing in the wind.
White burnt ash. Complete combustion that burned everything.
He didn't know if it was something Hugo had left behind, but Bikir somehow thought it was.
… … but.
Of course, Hugo's sacrifice did not end the whole situation.
… Rumbling!
The Gate of Destruction, which Flauros summoned at the cost of his life, still remained firmly in the sky.
Only the firestorm that occurred when the door was first opened had died down, but the monsoon storm that would follow was still there.
Soon, small bright red drops began to fall from inside the huge door.
Patter-patter-patter-
It's a spark. They were small sparks, like those that would fly when metal collides with metal.
They soon began to fall, gradually, in groups, and in countless numbers.
"It's rain of fire!"
Someone among the refugees shouted.
It was as he said.
Countless fire droplets rained down from the sky, fell to the ground, and began to burn the surroundings.
No one dared to confront this hot shower that fell in a red-hot path.
The end. It is clearly casting a deep shadow, starting here at Tochka.
Screams started coming from all over the place.
Refugees gathered on the wall bowed their heads and fled down the stone wall to avoid the rain of fire.
Anything that could burn, such as tents or wooden poles, became prey to the flames.
The ground was already forming a red haze.
"… … It's over. "There's nothing we can do about this."
"Pusssss- as expected. "I was destined to burn to death."
Orca and Sade also looked up at the red raindrops falling and spoke in despair.
Right then.
Sammua, the girl who was standing next to Tudor, wiped the raindrops that fell on her face with her hand.
"uh?"
There was no pain or despair on the girl's face.
There was only surprise and joy.
"Is this water?"
Tudor and Bianca turned their heads at the girl's words.
"This is not water, this is fire! "We have to avoid it quickly!"
"Run down the stone wall right now!"
But Sammua still looks confused.
"No, sister oppa! "This is water!"
After speaking, Sammua wiped the raindrops that fell on her face with her hand and reached forward.
Moist bite. It was clearly an ordinary raindrop.
"what?"
"huh?"
"what?"
The people who were fleeing into the castle to avoid the rain of fire raised their heads one by one.
Fire droplets pouring down from the Gate of Destruction.
But before I knew it, more and more water droplets were falling through them.
Push Sisik-
Fire droplets and water droplets meet in the air and turn into white vapor.
The red flowers that were blooming from the ground have already begun to wane.
Suddenly, the rain falling from the sky began to get heavier.
Shootaaaaa-
It was all water.
"be empty! "It's really raining!"
"Woah, water! "It's water!"
"Water drops are falling!"
People looked at the sky with their eyes wide open.
Gate of destruction. And the thick dark clouds that lie above it.
Hwii-ing-
A strong wind blowing from the southeast pushes dark clouds this way.
Gurgling… …
The raindrops, which had suddenly turned into heavy rain, were creating strong streams of water down the steep walls of Tochka Fortress.
A sudden, crazy downpour of rain. It was also a downpour strong enough to overwhelm the rain of fire falling from the gates of destruction.
Camus, Iyenne, Dolores, Sinclair, and Circo opened their mouths as they looked at the sudden heavy rain.
"This is my first time seeing such heavy rain."
"It has never been like this, even in the jungle where it rains a lot."
"Oh my god, it couldn't be this timely... … ."
"The drinking water problem will also be solved!"
"The climate on earth is ever-changing."
The rainfall was so heavy that everyone else was speechless.
Of all the refugees gathered here in Tochka, I can assure you that not a single one has ever experienced rain of this magnitude.
… Gurgling! Push sisish sisig… …
The red-hot Gate of Destruction began to cool down.
The downpour was so heavy that even the monsoon rains were overshadowed.
A wave of great flood that sweeps away the fires that have just begun to ignite on the ground.
"Everyone, return to the fortress!"
Director Orca gave an order.
Tochka is a plateau made of hard rock with no worries about erosion.
Since the ground is very high, there is no need to worry about flooding.
As the terrain is made up of huge rocks and sand in between, the water drains quickly.
"A fortress that can withstand any major flood. Avoiding fire and water... … It's like an ark from mythology… … oh!?"
Dolores, who was muttering to herself, suddenly realized something.
'Fire and water will only avoid this place, and only here will true salvation be achieved.'
That is a false myth that she created and spread.
And the being who had earlier instructed to create that myth.
'There will be a great flood soon, so prepare the ark.'
'Hold on. All I can say is to hold on.'
'If you wait a little while, everything will be resolved naturally. I can promise you that.'
A person who has made a home here in Tochka for a very long time.
Even in a situation where drinking water was running out and demons were running rampant, a person who endured everything alone and waited, and who promised salvation.
Bikir.
He was standing at the very front of the fortress, looking into the Gates of Destruction.
Pushishishisik-
Most of the raindrops evaporated without even reaching the door of destruction, but the raindrops that followed continued to push forward through the heat.
The door, which had been heated by Flauros' mana, was quickly cooling down due to the enormous downpour.
Bikir turned his head.
A star can be seen floating in the southeastern sky.
Seven stars commonly called guiding stars.
It is a special constellation that is visible only from a specific direction and has been a guide for countless people since ancient times.
But now the guiding star's constellation consists of a total of eight stars.
… Qarring!
Vikir quietly gazed at the eighth star, shining exceptionally brightly beyond the pouring rain.
"… … "Poseidon."
The joy of rolling and rolling in the Nouvelle Vague is finally shining.
The monsoon season will unfold in the future. 150 days of showers of fire.
And at almost the same time, heavy rain started falling. A 150-day flood.
It was essentially a declaration of the end of the war, completely cooling down the furnace that would open the gates of destruction.
The Gate of Destruction grew cold and eventually stopped operating.
The wave of mana has dispersed, and the summoning circle that formed the door is also fading.
The era of destruction will no longer come.
Bikir looked down at the corpses of the Germans who had all been swept away, and at the plain below, which had turned into the sea.
And finally, the final command was given.
"Tudor."
Tudor, who received Bikir's call, raises his spear and responds.
As if he had been waiting for just this moment, Vikir immediately opened his mouth.
"We need Don Quixote's fleet."
Everyone who heard that couldn't help but have the same thought.
The destination is Imperial Capital. A symbol of the empire where the emperor resides.
The center of the world where everyone's youth and prime years have been at least once.
… … And the final enemy, Ilbeonsi (一番尸).
The last devil is lurking there.