Apocalypse Forecast

Chapter 488 - 425: Tin Soldiers_1

A soft click sounded from behind Matthes.

He stood frozen, dumbfounded as he looked down.

He saw the wound that had suddenly appeared at his chest, blood slowly trickling out from it.

But more terrifying than the wound itself was the bullet that had entered his body from behind.

The Numbered Curse Bullet.

Sequential ST-173.

A convenient weapon meticulously crafted by the Astronomical Society for high-threat targets, each bullet pursuing extreme lethality and power at any cost, willing to raise the price tenfold, even a hundredfold, to increase its might by a minuscule degree.

Now, the bullet filled with cursed poison shattered in his chest, causing the skin around the wound to rapidly pale, dehydrate, and turn into a handful of snowflake-like ashes that fluttered down.

Even if it hadn't killed him, it still left a gruesome, gaping hole in his chest.

The transformation of the Secret Ritual was interrupted.

Instead, due to this sudden attack, an unnecessary vulnerability was exposed...

As he turned around slowly, he saw two figures struggling out of the surging black mire behind him.

The first to emerge was a tireless silhouette, akin to steel. As the nightmare's muck slid off, the metallic body beneath was revealed.

Underneath the traces of rust, there was a shimmer of silver.

He resembled the indomitable tin soldier from fairy tales.

Having penetrated the lengthy nightmare, he carried his companion's arm, walked out of the erosion of the Rotting Dream, and returned to this world.

He had completed his final mission.

And beside him was a figure that could be described as emaciated.

The black mire slid slowly off her hair and suit, revealing a pale face and the heavy breathing apparatus she wore.

She had not slept in the nightmare, nor had she hidden in defense, but chose to face the coming nightmare clear-headedly, contending with the erosion of despair and pain with her reason.

Behind her goggles, her eyes remained calm, free from collapse and madness.

As if the one eroded by nightmares was an unknown A-Cat or A-Dog, completely unrelated to her.

She simply aimed calmly, steadily raised her arm, exerting all her reserved strength without a tremor, and pulled the trigger.

In the most crucial moment, she delivered greetings from the Astronomical Society.

As the rust-stained pistol fell from her fingertips, she lifted her hand, removed the cumbersome breathing apparatus, and waved goodbye to Matthes, hoping they would never meet again.

In that instant, the roar of the giant cannon surged skyward.

Mad thunder converged into a beam, erupting forth like a spear of thunder thrown down by a God Spirit from the clouds.

It brutally shattered multiple layers of barriers and carved profound cracks on the intercrossing double helix pillars, undeterred by diminishing forces and deflections, forging straight ahead in a desperate gamble.

In the end, it carved a shallow trace within the blockade of the Double Helix Secret Meter.

Just a line.

But it had completely broken Golden Dawn's blockade, reconnecting Group Star with the outside world once again.

In an instant, rainbow light descended from the sky, whistling down.

The Rainbow Bridge, erected in the Current Circumstances, reached out with a sliver of strength towards this place, instantly embedding itself inside Group Star. Countless lights then soared up, whisked away by the bridge's pull.

At this moment, atop Group Star, all passengers, staff members, members of the Astronomical Society, and even those in the deepest parts of the Rotting Dream—a combined bubble of dreams—vanished from Group Star under the transport of the Rainbow Bridge.

When countless figures emerged on the vast transport platform at the Kyoto border, the staff on-site and in the command room could not help but shout in excitement.

Even in the Central Decision Room of the Jurisdiction Bureau, many finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The hostage rescue was successfully completed.

Now they could launch an "Offensive" without any reservations.

A slight imperfection was that, only later, when the personnel in the dispatch department were checking the lists and numbers, did they notice something wrong in the report from the Kyoto subsidiary.

Excluding the six unlucky souls confirmed dead, as well as the 402 passengers who disembarked early and the members of the Good Evening Club, everyone on Group Star should have appeared here by now.

"But why is one missing?"

The clerk wrinkled his forehead in confusion as he looked at the lone name on the empty list of those left behind.

Astronomical Association Investigator in Xin Hai.

"...Huai Shi?"

「Five minutes earlier.」

At the moment Jupiter's lightning erupted, the Steel book slowly closed.

"Get ready," Beelzebub looked up and said. "It's time to go."

"Eh?" Huai Shi was taken aback. "So soon?"

"After all, it's the Astronomical Society. No matter how disorganized they might seem now, their foundational strength is undeniable," Beelzebub told him. "It won't take long before the Rainbow Bridge links here and then takes us away. After that, what happens here has nothing to do with you and me anymore. By the way, how's your place? It must be quite big, right?"

"Pretty big, I guess?" Huai Shi thought for a while, scratching his head as sparks flew. "There's also a small yard. Why do you ask?"

"Do you have a bookshelf? It might be difficult for me to maintain this form once I leave here," Beelzebub sighed regretfully. "You don't seem to like reading much. Just get any old shelf, and put me on it when I'm not needed. It would be nice if you could also hook me up to WIFI."

"Don't worry, Border broadband, five thousand gigabytes, everything downloads in a flash!" Huai Shi asked, "Any other requests for your accommodation?"

Beelzebub thought for a moment, then shook his head calmly.

"But is it really okay to just leave like this?" Huai Shi asked again. "Just walk away like that?"

Beelzebub was amused. "Should I settle down in the Rotting Dream then?"

"To say it's a Rotting Dream isn't entirely accurate, is it?" Huai Shi shook his head, looking intently at him. "Before Group Star was corrupted by the Rotten Dream, whose dream was this, Beelzebub?"

"..."

Beelzebub did not answer.

"It was Auden's dream, right?" Huai Shi sighed softly. "The very thing you've been trying so hard to maintain, isn't it what he left in this world in the end?

"Otherwise, you could have just left. After being endowed with life, even without long legs, you wouldn't have been trapped in the Power Cabin for so many years, right?"

Beelzebub was silent for a long time, then replied calmly, "As the central control system of Osiris, I must follow the user's commands."

"But what about as Beelzebub?" Huai Shi gazed at him sharply. "After gaining self-awareness, you're no longer just a tool, are you? Tools don't name themselves, Beelzebub. Tools also don't feel sorrow and shed tears for others, or challenge Golden Dawn—

"Did Auden command you to harbor resentment on his behalf? Or did he order you to stay alone on Group Star, just to maintain a residual dream?"

In the silence, he unfolded his palm, conjuring the projection of the Book of Fate, and displayed it before the blond young man as he asked sternly, "Answer me, Beelzebub, what was Auden's last command?"

Beelzebub closed his eyes, sighing helplessly.

He remembered again the Contractor who still smiled at him as he neared death, his face smeared with ignoble blood, yet seeming to radiate sunshine.

He reached out, his hand resting on its cover.

Exhausting his last bit of strength, he released it from its bindings.

As it first opened its naive eyes to the world, what it saw was that unregretful and disheveled smile.

"I'm sorry, this must be very cruel for you, right?" Auden studied the glow on the cover and murmured softly. "After I die, there will be no more commands to bind you, "Lord of the Flies". Will you feel anger or relief?"

Gently embracing his last companion, he whispered, "If you're confused, then follow your own wishes first, give yourself a new name... and then, go make new friends and embark on adventures with them."

As if he could see such a future.

The man named Auden, yearning with a hopeful smile, issued his final command.

"From now on, you are to live freely..."

Since the moment of its creation, Beelzebub never cried out.

But when Auden closed his eyes, it began to harbor resentment—resentment against itself for not being able to cry.

From that day until today, it has been constantly repenting for its own birth.

If Auden hadn't entrusted his last strength to it, no, if Auden had instead taken the power it had accumulated, he would surely have been able to hold on, right?

Perhaps there was a one in ten thousand chance, a possibility of rescue.

For the first time in its life, and the last time, "Lord of the Flies" went against the Contractor's orders.

It stayed in Auden's last dream, never beginning the new life that the Contractor had hoped for.

Instead, it used all its power to maintain everything's existence.

Longing for the day when those distress signals scattered in the Abyss would be received and companions from Utopia would arrive. Then, it would send Auden's final dream back to the Heavenly Kingdom. It would proudly introduce this noble and faithful friend to everyone, telling them that even in the end, his noble ideals and character never wavered.

To recount to those who would follow all about him, the legend named Auden.

But in the endless passage of time, no one ever came.

The Heavenly Kingdom had abandoned them.

Only it remained alone here, preserving the last traces of Auden.

Day after day, year after year.

Waiting quietly.

Until one day, a youth from afar set foot on a journey fraught with perils.

It opened its eyes from a Deep Sleep, filled with joy... and yet, it began to fear the impending departure.

"Now, answer me, Beelzebub," Huai Shi asked softly. "Really, is it okay to just leave like this?"

Beelzebub wanted to tell him it was okay; that as a tool, it didn't really matter where it was. But he knew it was not okay, not fucking okay at all!

He didn't want to leave.

He didn't want to abandon all the memories of the past here, to watch helplessly as his most precious treasures faded into the dust.

Just the thought of it made him feel like he was about to break down and cry.

If only he could cry to express the Sorrow of departure, maybe the guilt he felt when leaving would be a little less? Then he could shamelessly forget Auden and begin a new life.

But really, is it okay to just leave like this, Beelzebub?

"I'm sorry, Huai Shi, I don't want to leave..." He choked up, lowered his head, and pleaded awkwardly, "Please, help me... even if it's meaningless, at least let me do something for Auden... for him..."

"Alright," Huai Shi nodded. "I'll help you, Beelzebub."

He didn't wait for him to finish speaking.

The Dragon of the End raised its claw tenderly and placed it on his hair, telling him, "Because you're my friend."