“How long do you think we have to wait?”
“…I do not know.”
“I know that. That you don't know.”
“…Then why do you ask ?”
“I’m just talking. You’re the only one here next to .”
Having decided to trust U-jin and wait, the two exchanged idle chatter.
Though it was less of an exchange and more of a one-sided attempt at conversation by a nervous Eliya, t with curt, dismissive replies from Jerry.
In any case, that was how it was.
“You’re so inflexible for a person.”
“…I am closer to a Vampire than a person.”
“Still, half of you is human, isn't it? Whether it's your lower half or upper half, shouldn't you have so flexibility?”
“…….”
Still feeling anxious, it seed.
Eliya, who was biting her thumbnail while glancing between the cocoon and the distance, suddenly asked Jerry.
“What do you think the situation is over there? That person, Tom…”
“…He is likely not in a position to resolve anything. The best Tom can do is probably to hold her back so they don't interfere.”
“…So all we can do is wait.”
It was then.
“……!”
The atmosphere of the cocoon changed.
She wasn't sure if 'atmosphere' was the correct term for an object that couldn't be clearly identified as living or non-living.
But in any case, Eliya and Jerry suddenly noticed that the feeling it gave off had changed.
It wasn't just the atmosphere that had changed.
The cocoon, which had been squirming and pulsating in all directions as if it were alive, suddenly stopped its throbbing.
They couldn't explain exactly what it was, but the unusual feeling made Eliya and Jerry focus their gazes, tense.
Soon after.
Crisp—
The squirming outer surface hardened, and a sound like stepping on dry, fallen leaves could be heard.
Then, in an instant, its dark color changed to a grayish-white.
Rustle—
And that small rustling sound.
Crack—
It transford into the sound of sothing hard splitting, along with a single line that cut horizontally across the cocoon.
And from the ring that split open with that sound.
U-jin revealed himself.
“……!”
“……!”
Eliya and Jerry showed expressions of shock at the sa ti.
Even Jerry, who hadn't shown any particular agitation during the chaotic events so far, widened his eyes in alarm.
The reason was simple.
U-jin's appearance had changed.
And to a considerable degree at that.
He looked distinctly different from before he entered the cocoon.
Black horns had sprouted from both sides of his head, the space surrounding his body was filled with a black aura, and he exuded a much rougher atmosphere.
That wasn't all.
‘…Black Wings?’
Black Wings.
If what Eliya knew was correct.
The black wings extending from U-jin's back were undoubtedly Black Wings.
A symbol of authority permitted only to the Demon King's direct bloodline, the Demonic Species, among the Magical Beasts belonging to the Demon King's allied forces, and,
A special organ that served as another criterion to distinguish Demonic Species from other Magical Beasts.
In other words, sothing that should have been attached to a Demonic Species was attached to U-jin.
She couldn't understand why on earth U-jin had those wings.
But from Eliya's perspective, having experienced it once before, sothing did co to mind in the current situation.
‘…A demon.’
What had erged from the cocoon she saw in her childhood was certainly a demon, and U-jin's current appearance was also…
From head to toe, he had the very image of a ‘demon’.
Just as tension began to rise within Eliya, who didn't know exactly what this all was or what it ant.
She was soon able to shake off the tension that had welled up inside her.
The reason was simple.
“Long ti no see.”
Because as U-jin raised his hand with his characteristic, anyti-anywhere greeting, his form returned to normal.
With that one playful remark as he raised the corners of his mouth, the changes to his physical appearance quietly subsided.
“Hoo…”
Letting out a deep sigh, Eliya plopped down on the spot.
Jerry, who was in a slightly better state, perford his characteristic gesture of touching his eyebrow and asked the question she had wanted to ask on her behalf.
“…I'm asking because I'm still not sure how the situation is unfolding, but.”
Rub, rub—
“Was it a success?”
U-jin shrugged once and looked down at the half-sword in his hand before answering.
“Well… for now, it seems so.”
* * *
It went without saying, but the first place U-jin sought after breaking out of the cocoon was where Valencia was.
When he led Eliya and Jerry in the direction where traces of Tom Hardist remained, it seed the other side had also realized that things here were finished, as they were able to et around the halfway point.
“Long ti no see, Tom.”
“…Is it over?”
Instead of answering Tom’s question, U-jin nodded.
Tom’s eyes scanned the area behind U-jin a couple of tis, then he lowered his head with a bitter expression.
“…….”
Valencia's eyes were empty.
As if she were a person who felt no emotions at all.
From U-jin's perspective, it was sowhat understandable.
His encounter with her in his past life was only after her death, so it was an overstatent to say he knew her well.
But considering the general context and circumstances, he could roughly guess what Allen Tigris III's Thought Form ant to her.
Above all.
‘…I’ve seen it a lot.’
He had seen it countless tis before the regression.
People with eyes like that.
The eyes of soone who has lost a loved one.
Or, the eyes of soone who has lost everything.
In U-jin's mory, all those who had such eyes delivered news of their passing not long after.
Regardless of whether they were strong or weak, a person whose spirit was broken could not hold on for long.
As U-jin stepped forward and made a gesture to say sothing.
“That…”
“It’s fine.”
She cut him off before he could say anything.
It was clearly directed at U-jin, but her eyes were not looking at him, but rather staring into the empty space as they had from the beginning.
“There’s no need for an apology.”
“…….”
“I knew he couldn't last much longer anyway.”
…She was talking about the Thought Form of Allen Tigris III.
“It would have been the sa even if you hadn't co.”
Indeed, as she herself said, Valencia had an inkling that his state was not normal.
No, in fact, she was more than just suspicious; she was quite certain.
It was impossible for his state to be maintained for so long, and it was even more impossible for that impossible state to be maintained permanently.
And.
That the end was more or less imminent.
If her guess, based on the worsening headaches and their increasing frequency over the years, was correct, he probably wouldn't have lasted beyond this year even if U-jin hadn't arrived.
Therefore, at a glance, her words might sound as if she had accepted and understood everything.
But from her following words, U-jin knew that was not the case.
“…It was impossible from the start. To live happily.”
It wasn't acceptance, but resignation.
It wasn't clear whether she was giving up on 'happiness' or 'living'.
But from U-jin's experience, the look in Valencia's eyes right now seed a little closer to the latter.
And from Valencia's perspective, that was sowhat natural.
‘…….’
The reason she had been able to endure without her spirit breaking after losing her country and fleeing to a foreign land was because the Thought Form left by her father had existed by her side.
It might have been different if it had never been there from the start.
For the object of her reliance for over 100 years to disappear in an instant was no different from her world, which had already collapsed once, collapsing all over again.
Moreover.
— …Gasp!
— That thing…
Through the various windows of the dark room, the villagers had seen the entire situation unfold.
Even if they didn't know the specifics, it would be hard to say that no one had seen the mont she first revealed her true form through tamorphosis.
It would be difficult to continue living in this village any longer.
She had nothing left, and thus, no lingering attachnts.
“I’ll just… now I…”
Just like that.
The mont she was about to resolve herself to die.
Ssh—
U-jin held out a sword.
And it was a half-fragnt, with only the hilt remaining, the blade having been lost sowhere.
“……?”
At the abrupt action, Valencia looked up at U-jin's face.
“I didn't co here to apologize or anything.”
U-jin answered curtly.
Then.
Shrug.
“Try holding it.”
He made a sudden, incomprehensible request.
Valencia wondered if he was perhaps playing a joke.
But for so reason.
Though the man's attitude had been consistently playful up until now, at this very mont, there was no hint of playfulness at all.
And as if captivated by that unknowable atmosphere, Valencia accepted the sword hilt.
The mont she held the hilt, just as U-jin had said.
“……!”
Sothing began to fill her once-empty eyes.
* * *
Since it was my first ti absorbing a fragnt of a Primordial Demonic Beast, there were naturally more than a few things to figure out.
But the most imdiate problem at hand was the succession.
‘…….’
There had been all sorts of unexpected events, but the fundantal reason we ca here was for the revival of the Beastkin forces.
No matter how you looked at it, among the beings rooted in this land, Valencia was the only one who could lead the Beastkin.
And for her to properly ascend to the throne of the Beastkin, the succession needed to proceed completely.
And right at this point, a paradox occurred.
The reason Valencia's succession hadn't proceeded completely until now was because the Thought Form of Allen Tigris III still existed in this land.
But the reason I had gone so far as to use my second chance was because I needed the knowledge that Thought Form possessed.
Just as fire and water cannot coexist, a complete succession could not occur as long as the Thought Form existed.
That was precisely why, even after hearing about the dragon, I couldn't imdiately think of using my second chance.
Because I wasn't sure if it was possible to do both things at once.
However, that didn't an no thod had co to U-jin's mind.
If that were the case, he would have never thought of it, or even if he had, he wouldn't have executed it.
The thod U-jin ca up with was simple.
Shim Cheong.
And the sword of the first Heavenly Demon, passed down through her ancestors for generations.
‘Chiyou.’
In that, U-jin had found a faint clue that could allow Valencia to receive the full succession and save the Thought Form of Allen Tigris III at the sa ti.
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