C119: The King of All Vicious Beasts (1)
Pantos starred in the direction of the Kunst auction house.
"What are you looking at?"
Alex, who was in the truck loaded with stolen goods, asked when he saw Pantos abnormal behavior.
"I was looking where we left."
"Kunst auction house? Why are you looking there?"
"I felt something there."
'You felt something?'
Alex also stared at the Kunst auction house.
They had already crossed over a few blocks and were blocked by the wall of the building, so he couldn't even see Kunst.
"What do you feel?"
"Huge prey."
"What prey?"
This guy is saying things he doesn't understand again. Is it because he is a Suin?
"But it's dangerous."
"What?"
"From its smell and presence this prey it's not ordinary. It might be even more dangerous than all the preys I've encountered so far in my life.
Pantos shut his mouth as he spoke.
"What? Why did you stop talking? So, it's at the Kunst's auction house?"
"Yes."
What really happened to the auction house since Pantos said that?
There were still their leader, Rudger, and Hans, who went to join him in Kunst. Nothing is going to happen to them, right?
'No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Let's not worry about anything.'
Alex shook his head, dispelling his anxiety.
The day he met Enya he talked with Rudger separately and asked him one question.
"Hey, leader."
"What's wrong?"
"Come to think of it, the leader said Pantos is the second best fighter in our organization."
"I did."
"Who's first place then? Is it leader?"
The answer that came back to Alex, who asked with a playful smile, was completely unexpected.
"The second place in combat power I mentioned is an evaluation given only to personnel in charge of combat. Of course I'm included."
"What? Then who's in the first place? Is it me?"
"Alex, you are third. Even so, you maintained good grades at the Knights Academy, so your skills are second to none, but it's not enough to get first place."
"Is there anyone who can be number one?"
"There is."
"Who's that?"
"When asked so, the name Rudger brought up was completely unexpected."
"Hans."
* * *
Hans suddenly recalled what had happened in the past while he felt his mind disappearing beyond the distant darkness. It was quite a while after meeting Rudger and pledging allegiance to him.
Even though Rudger knew about Hans constitution, he only made him do things that did not include fighting.
One day, Hans couldn't resist asking when he saw Rudger, who handled everything with his own hands instead of asking for help even in battle.
"Brother, I have a question."
"Say it."
"Why did you accept a coward like me?"
Hans still didn't understand why Rudger, who saw his real ability, refused to take full advantage of it. Rather, he thoroughly ruled out the fighting as if to be considerate of him.
"I used to run away like a coward even though I have this ability."
"Is it because it's weird that I accepted you like that?"
"To be honest……That's right."
He said this because he couldn't believe him since he had been chased everywhere his entire life and didn't receive anyone's favor until now.
'Yeah, I'm sure it was.'
What did my brother say?
"It's because you're a coward."
I know it's because I don't like fights, but it breaks my heart when I hear it from others.
" No, it's similar but different."
If it's similar, it's similar. What else?
"Hans, you know very well about your powers. You know how dangerous that power is and how much responsibility there is. Aren't you afraid? I'm afraid you'll hurt someone on your own."
"……."
For the first time in his life, Hans realized that no words could come out.
That's not it. I just don't like fighting, and I'm a coward who ran away because I'm afraid of getting hurt.
I should say that, but the words that came out of my mouth were completely different.
"I was an orphan."
He complained with a pitiful voice.
"When I was a kid, I spent time in an orphanage but I couldn't get along with people there then either."
"……."
"I had a little sister who took good care of me. She was so bright and cute that she couldn't be compared with a guy like me. If she had grown up she would have married into a good family.
At that time, he recalled himself as a loner even in the orphanage.
"I killed her."
"…Hans."
It was an accident. She brought a dog from who knows where and wanted to show it to me.
If the dog hadn't bit Hans' hand then.
If he knew his constitution then.
"If I hadn't accepted her kindness then……."
That wouldn't have happened.
It was a candid remark, but for Hans, what happened that day was a nightmare and trauma that could not be washed away even after a lifetime.
It was the first manifestation of the beast factor and Hans, who was a child, couldn't suppress the rushing wild instinct and killed the girl.
"It was the first murder of my life."
He still feels dizzy when he thinks about what happened then. His bloodied figure, his dead friend and the taste of flesh and blood in his mouth.
That miserable memory was also a sin he had to carry for his entire life. So even with this ability, Hans kept running away without fighting anyone. He couldn't stand the power of this filthy beast that had trampled on a girl's miserable life.
"Hans in life, there will surely be a day in your life that doesn't go your way."
"Are you cursing me?"
"It's not a curse but advice. You may one day run into a reality you don't want to face and if you had that power, you might be able to."
"What if I run away then? Throw everything away."
Hans replied with a forced smile, as if deliberately joking. Perhaps he wanted Rudger to rebuke him but he didn't.
"That's your choice."
As has been the case so far, even if such a moment comes, it's enough to run away.
"Hans, if that moment comes one day and you run away, I won't blame you."
"What?"
Rudger didn't say such a thing as "I trust you" or "You can do it if it's you." It only slightly relieved him of his anxiety that he would not hold him responsible for running away.
Hans grumbled about what it was, but he couldn't answer with confidence that he wouldn't.
'I guess it's time for me to die. I don't want to remember the past anymore.'
Hans scoffed at his own pitiful plight.
He thought he had done something worthwhile by meeting a good person after only running away all his life even if it was something that wouldn't be appreciated in the public.
For him, working with Rudger was a haven to escape from the trauma of the past.
'It wouldn't be so bad to die like this.'
But since it's the last time, let's burn everything.
* * *
Rudger headed into the auction house through the crowd flowing outside. The inside was still a mess with people who had not been able to evacuate and intruders who made even more chaos.
"Kill! Kill them all!"
"You damn people!"
In Rudger's eyes, the forces that attacked the Kunst auction house began to appear one by one.
'The first people to attack the auction house were criminals who came to rob the valuables.'
They didn't think of fighting the guards and just packed the valuables. However, some were blinded by greed and tried to take away the ornaments and jewelry worn by the ladies.
Black magicians also used black magic in the back.
There were also many valuable artifacts at the Kunst auction house. It's something that black magicians would drool over, but even those who protect it disappeared, so it made sense for them to come forward.
'The most problematic thing is those guys who don't aim for things or anything else, and they're purely trying to kill everyone.'
Those guys who purposely fight even though they don't have to fight. No, they're not fighting, they want to kill the nobles.
Rudger had met such men once before and immediately guessed who they were.
'They're the Liberation Army.'
Since rich aristocrats and businessmen gathered in one place, how can the Liberation Army just let it go? They don't hesitate to bomb themselves if they can kill their enemies.
"You're going to die!"
Then the door of a hall opened, and a Liberation Army soldier with a hood on its mouth rushed at Rudger.
Rudger, who already felt the enemy used [source code] and shot out a white light at him. The second-tier lightning magic [Burning Thunder] penetrated the Liberation Army's soldier solar plexus.
"Cough."
Glancing at the fallen Liberation Army soldier, Rudger wondered how they could come here.
Liberation forces will not be able to fight easily where [the silence of fire] is maintained because most of them use gunpowder weapons.
Have they brought a wizard? But I think they lost a lot of power in the train terror incident.
'Come to think of it, these guys…….'
Rudger was about to approach the fallen Liberation Army soldier when he sensed something and hurried back.
His judgment was correct because the body of the Liberation Army soldier, which had fallen just before, exploded with a strong flame.
Rudger, out of the radius of the explosion, frowned at the sight before him.
'Is suicide bombing something normal among Liberation Army soldiers?'
In addition, Rudger, who was once subjected to this suicide attack, was naturally aware of their ways, and was fully prepared for it.
'There was an explosion in a place where the silence of fire was maintained?'
He had also spread the [Silence of fire] around him, keeping it active all the time but there was still an explosion in this zone where a magic that suppresses gunpowder action was active?
'It's not a magic artifact and I couldn't feel the lingering scent of the unique mana. That means it's a bomb made of pure gunpowder.'
There was only one such case in his memory. It was a special powder that [Silence of fire] doesn't work on.
'The rebels have it?'
It was impossible because the special gunpowder, along with the status of James Moriarty in the Kingdom of Delica, was burned and the entire factory was destroyed without even a trace remaining.
'I thought we had them all removed, but were there any remnants left? And they even joined the Liberation Army?'
The special gunpowder that the [Silence of fire] does not work on has fallen into the hands of the Liberation Army.
Rudger had a hunch that it wasn't an ordinary problem, but thought he had to find Hans and get out of here quickly.
Then the outer wall of the building collapsed with a rumbling sound and all the lights inside the building went out.
"Aaaaaaah!"
Someone's desperate scream resounded from beyond the hallway like the endless throat of a beast. Before Rudger could prepare for it, a black shadow flew in, rolled on the floor, and stopped at Rudger's feet.
'Person?'
It was a man in a black suit covered with blood. However, the eerie magic that emanated from him hinted that he was no ordinary man.
'Is this the ominous magic power of a black wizard? They're the ones who raided the auction house. But this is…….'
The wounds engraved on the black wizard body were neither from swords nor from magic, it was more like a trail of countless beast bites.
A normal person cannot make such a mark.
'Did Hans make that?'
This was the identity of anxiety that he had felt a little while ago.
* * *
"Oh, my God…….My Kunst auction house……."
Ivan Luke, who completed the evacuation outside, looked devastated as he watched the disturbance inside the building. Black guards were trapped underground, and suddenly black wizards, criminals, and Liberation Army forces appeared and made a fuss.
Perhaps because Ivan Luke had barely managed to escape, his hair scattered and several parts were torn and filled with dust.
"Director, it's all right! The building is still intact and the evacuation of the guests is somewhat over……."
"Guests? Now, wait a minute. Where is she? Where is she?!"
"Uh, uh, I haven't checked it yet……."
"What are we going to do if the princess is harmed? Hurry up and check it out!"
"Yes!"
The moment when the deputy was about to leave in a hurry.
"Oh oh oh oh—–!!!!!"
From the inside of the building, there was a howl of something. It was like the sound of something huge shouting, or a myriad of beasts shouting at once.
The emotions in it were endless hatred, anger and sadness.
People who were watching from the outside shut their mouths and felt tension run over their skin for an instant.
The sudden spread of fear brought silence around.
"What was that?"
"Aww!"
One wall of the Kunst building collapsed.
Considering the 8-story exterior wall and the exceptionally high floor height, it was almost 1.5 times the height of other buildings, so the rubble fell down in an instant.
People screamed and fled.
"What's that?"
Those who escaped spotted a silhouette beyond the hazy fumes of debris.
"Wolf? Is that a wolf?"
It was the head of a black wolf that popped out of the rubble of a broken wall on the eighth floor.
They couldn't understand why there was a wolf in the Kunst auction house, but their astonishment did not end there. The wolf's head, which had only been seen at first, began to protrude outward one by one.
One, two. Eventually, when it grew to more than a dozen, people felt something strange because the body of the wolf was taking the shape of something else.
"Hand?"
It was a huge 'hand' not a wolf.
A huge hand with a beast's head on each finger broke the outer wall again. The debris fell, and a cloud of dust engulfed the surrounding area but the people were frozen in place and didn't think of running away.
He broke down the building of the Kunst auction house and appeared outside. It was a huge black-haired beast with a body height of over tens of meters and had the heads of countless beasts on its body
The head of the body was a terrible shape that looked like the skull of a skinny wolf. Those three heads, one on each shoulder, emanated a red glow from the black pupils.
Along with the twisted horns hanging over his head and the black mane fluttering in the wind it was a horrible heterozygous creature that resembled a hellhound entangled with countless creatures.
"It's him!"
Someone who recognized the monster said in a trembling voice. He has witnessed with his own eyes what happened in that city five years ago.
He couldn't forget that monster that still appears in his nightmares.
He once appeared in the Kingdom of Durmant summoning countless cryptids, and eating even the elite knights of the kingdom. He was the main character of "Blood Night" five years ago and the nightmare of the city where the incident took place.
"The Beast of Jévaudan!"
The king of all violent beasts was resurrected in Leathervelk.