Chapter 10 – Apocalyptic Flames
Wild Chalice’s intuition kicked in as he looked up at the pitch-black Undead.
He realized that inside it was both Blade Joker as well as a young boy named Tougo. He couldn’t afford to strike back carelessly. That would be the same as doing exactly what the Stone of Stealing—the Master—wanted.
Satsuki and the man that had transformed into Garren were still as unconscious as ever, as if their roles had come to a close.
The boiling anger Wild Chalice held towards the Master began to evolve into hatred.
With just a swing of the pitch-black Undead’s arm, the walls and stone pillars crumbled apart, and the youth named Rikiya and the man named Kojirou screamed.
In order to protect them, Wild Chalice shielded them from the rubble with his entire body.
“Please, Wild Chalice! You have to save Tougo! You have to save Kenzaki!”
Rikiya grabbed onto him with eyes full of tears.
“Wait… I get it now!”
Kojirou shouted in realization.
“The one who made me write that story… is most likely-”
Right that moment, that scornful laughter rang out once again, causing Kojirou’s words to come to a stop in fear.
Of course, Wild Chalice knew it as well. He didn’t know what the “story” was, but both the perpetrator and purpose behind it were clear as day.
It must be the same reason why we were brought here.
But I won’t let this scenario play out as planned. No matter what.
“Don’t worry. I’ll save Kenzaki. Trust me!”
Three hundred years ago, Kenzaki believed in me. Even though I was at the complete mercy of Joker’s instincts, he believed in me to the very end.
And now it’s my turn. I’ll believe in Kenzaki. Kenzaki should have been in control of Joker over these past three hundred years as well, using the same strength that he used to discard his humanity and become Joker. I’ll bring that strength back to him, Wild Chalice swore to himself.
The moment he nodded to Rikiya, wings sprouted out from the pitch-black Undead as if it had molted, and they began flapping with intensity.
The rubble and dust flew in the air from the fearsome wind pressure, and just before the Undead was about to fly up into the air, Wild Chalice jumped up and grabbed onto it.
“You’re not going anywhere!”
But just a second later, he was knocked off and sent crashing into a stone pillar, covering him with falling rubble.
“Wild Chalice!”
Rikiya ran toward him, and Kojirou raised his voice.
“Look! The Undead!”
The massive rising body melted away into the invisible ceiling of darkness.
“It disappeared…!”
“Where’d it go…?”
Shrugging off the rubble, Wild Chalice stood up and stared straight into the darkness.
“Kenzaki…!”
Tougo could see a vision.
The pitch-black Unknown that had consumed Blade and Tougo was flying through the sky, releasing crimson flames that engulfed the remaining islands that had yet to submerge with hellfire.
That included the few islands that still had people living on them as well. They could be seen desperately running in escape, with their screams fully audible.
“Stop… Stop!”
Tougo shouted, but he didn’t know who he was shouting at.
Was it at the Stone of Sealing? Or the existence known as the Master?
Or was it at Blade Joker, Kenzaki, who had fused with the pitch-black Undead after getting consumed by it. Or was it at himself?
He couldn’t sense Kenzaki’s will anymore. Even though he was holding his hand, he couldn’t reach his heart. His heart was far away. Hopelessly far away.
Ships could be seen.
It wasn’t just one or two ships, but dozens of ships across all over the sea. They varied in size, with some of them nearly worn out from age, but they were all jam-packed with passengers.
Tougo knew. They had all departed from different locations, but they all had the same destination.
“The Domed City has fallen… The South Pole welcomes you…!”
The female voice from that radio resurfaced in his mind.
The faces of the passengers were all shining. They had finally found hope at the end of their toiling voyage, their hearts dancing as they headed towards the source of the olive branch, Mount Ararat.
Suddenly the pitch-black Undead made a sharp turn and began rapidly descending. It was heading to the water. To the ships.
“No… Stop! Stop!”
The people’s faces turned to fear as they screamed.
One after the other, the islands went up in flames. One after the other, the ships were wrecked. The horrifying scenes were displayed before the eyes of Wild Chalice and the rest in a hologram-like fashion.
“No… This can’t be happening…”
“This is… horrible!”
Rikiya and Kojirou’s pained cries rang out as they stood in a daze.
The one generating the display of hell was without a doubt the pitch-black Undead.
The monster that had consumed Kenzaki and Tougo.
Wild Chalice’s fists trembled.
I have to stop it. I have to fight it. There’s no other option. Understanding that this was exactly what the Undead wanted him to do, his rage reached a peak.
As if recognizing his resolve, a giant stone slab manifested from within the darkness and silently stood in front of Wild Chalice.
“What is this…?”
“Another Stone of Sealing…?!”
Rikiya and Kojirou were knocked on their feet from the shockwave that was let out.
Wild Chalice held his ground as he glared at the stone slab.
Just like the other Stone of Sealing, it had a bizarre twisted shape, but the color was different. It was crimson red, as if it was dripping with fresh blood.
“I am one who obstructs the Master. One who deceives. One who overthrows. My name is… the Destroyer!”
The echoing voice declared with pride.
“The Master… and the Destroyer…? Would that be like God and the Devil…?”
Kojirou’s horrified voice slipped out, and he quickly backed away.
And then, Wild Chalice saw a vision.
The crimson stone slab consumed him, transforming into a giant crimson Undead.
“Rikiya, Kojirou! Take care of those two!”
Wild Chalice looked down from within the crimson Undead at the still-unconscious Satsuki and Tachihara.
Rikiya and Kojirou looked up and nodded with surprise.
At the same time, the crimson Undead sprouted wings and flew up into the darkness in pursuit of the pitch-black Undead… In pursuit of Blade Joker, Kenzaki.
It was flying through the raging blizzard.
Even though he couldn’t even see himself, he could somehow clearly see the pitch-black Undead that had consumed him, flapping its sinister wings.
He didn’t feel cold or chilly. He only felt the speed. He felt as if he was about to melt into shards of ice.
The ocean cut off, and a gray continent appeared.
Tougo found himself taken aback in awe upon seeing the giant dome at the center, along with the large walls that supported it.
“Wait, you’re going to attack the South Pole…? The Domed City?! Stop! Stop it, Kenzaki! That’s our last hope!”
But Kenzaki did not reply, and the pitch-black Undead began to quickly descend.
He could feel the crimson Undead surpassing the speed of light.
Contained within it, Wild Chalice suppressed his Joker and became one with it of his own volition.
The blizzard grew stronger, signaling that he was approaching the South Pole.
Tougo could do nothing but watch as the pitch-black Undead dived towards the Domed City.
Just as he was about to close his eyes, a crimson flash appeared.
The intense shockwave sent the pitch-black Undead crashing to the ground.
Standing before the Domed City was another Undead of crimson color.
“That’s as far as you go!”
A familiar voice rang out over the blizzard.
“Is that…?”
Is Wild Chalice inside that crimson Undead?
But unlike Kenzaki, his consciousness could be clearly felt. It was overflowing with boiling anger. There was no doubt about it. Wild Chalice was acting of his own will.
Suddenly the pitch-black Undead responded.
Gushing out from the hand Tougo held, from Kenzaki’s heart, was a deluge of sinister emotions.
“Stop this, Kenzaki!”
He quickly shouted, but it was too late.
The pitch-black Undead lunged forward at the crimson Undead.
A section of the seemingly hastily-constructed gate opened up, and residents of the Domed City peeked their faces out with curiosity over what could possibly have been happening.
Azumi could be seen standing at the very front.
“Stay inside, Azumi! Close the gate!”
From within the crimson Undead that dodged the pitch-black Undead’s attack, Wild Chalice shouted out.
Azumi looked up in surprise at that voice.
“Hajime…? Is that you, Hajime? What’s going on…?!”
“Hurry up! Close the gate, Azumi!”
The crimson Undead was binding the pitch-black Undead in its arms from behind, holding it back from charging into the open gate.
“All right! Everyone, back inside!”
The gate that closed upon Azumi’s instruction managed to intercept the flames of the enraged pitch-black Undead at the very last second.
Tougo recognized the voice of the woman who was referred to as Azumi.
It was the voice that had announced to the world that the South Pole was liberated. It was the voice of hope.
Invasion into the Domed City had been just barely denied, but the pitch-black Undead’s frenzy was reaching its peak. It struggled violently, scattering flames in all directions.
However, it wasn’t acting purely out of insanity.
Kenzaki was clearly suffering from within it. He was desperately trying to fight back against the suffocating curse of the Joker.
Tougo could feel Kenzaki’s suffering through his hand to a painful extent.
“Don’t lose… Hang in there, Kenzaki! Kenzaki!”
Suddenly, the bound pitch-black Undead soared high into the sky.
It flew past the blizzard, reaching all the way into the stratosphere where the three moons could be clearly seen, and then it quickly flipped around and began descending with the crimson Undead beneath it.
The counterattack wasn’t calculated, but rather just a result of its instincts.
However, Wild Chalice did not run.
As he rapidly dropped through the blizzard, the frost-covered crimson Undead shouted. It shouted at Blade, at Kenzaki’s heart.
“I had told myself that we couldn’t meet again, but I missed you! I missed the one who shared my suffering! But the truth was that my suffering was nothing compared to yours. Unlike me, you had to discard your humanity! This was all because of my weakness. If I was manipulated by that weakness, then that is my sin! Punish me right now! Make me atone for my sin!”
Tougo noticed that Blade Joker… that Kenzaki was crying.
And the moment he noticed, he began crying as well.
They were still dropping. Dropping at an incredible speed. The cold earth was approaching. But even so, the crimson Undead, Wild Chalice, did not run.
“Bring me with you alongside that suffering that went as far as to make you wander until you lost your memories! Bring me with you to the same seas, the same wastelands! Don’t suffer on your own! Let’s suffer together! Drag me down to the same purgatory you’ve been suffering in!”
Kenzaki roared.
A roar not of insanity, but of a distant sadness borne of writhing agony.
Suddenly, three hundred years worth of Kenzaki’s memories flooded into Tougo’s mind.
At first, I didn’t decide on any destination. I simply wandered without thinking. Upon staying at a single location for a while, I noticed that my age hadn’t changed, that my body had become stuck in time. That’s why I continued to wander from place to place. Endlessly. The suffering didn’t take long to arrive. The suffering of not being able to die. I arrived at a region with prolific criminal activity in hopes of running into a violent criminal. I in fact did end up getting attacked numerous times. I suffered grave injuries and left myself on the roads. Everyone pretended not to notice me, but I still wouldn’t die. Worn-out asphalt. The smell of my own blood. Not red, but blue. Proof of my immortality. I took on life-threatening jobs such as dousing oil field fires and salvaging sunken ships, taking on missions that any other person would’ve hesitated towards. The smell of sand. The smell of oil. The smell of burning flesh. The smell of salt mixed with oil. Of course, I never died. Even though I knew it would never happen, I still held onto the hope of possibly dying somewhere. I continued to wish for my death. I continued to beg for my death. At the very end, I finally arrived at the most natural solution. I threw myself into war. I became a war cameraman and took photos of death. Lens. Death from freezing. Chopped-up corpses. Maggots. Identification tags. Bullet marks. I told the tragic tales of war as a war correspondent. I brought himself to even more dangerous places, delved further towards the front lines, and spread news of the horrifying scenes. Once my reputation grew large enough, I changed location. I enlisted in a foreign army, volunteered to take on dangerous roles such as being a scout, headed across minefields, and even got blown up. I suffered life-threatening injuries. But of course, I didn’t die. I couldn’t fight alongside my fellow suicide applicants. The grim reaper avoided me. I was hated. Even though it was something I wanted, all my war comrades had left me. People were disgusted by me. I was feared. A lone soldier. An invincible soldier. A soldier that jumped at the opportunity to head to regions with terrorist activity or conflict in order to dispose of landmines or UXOs. The Hurt Locker. I was tempted to make a mistake on purpose, but I knew I wouldn’t die. I lived right alongside death, but that only further increased my suffering. Someone kill me, please. Let me die, I shouted. Everything was in vain. What made it worse was that, for the whole three hundred years, the flames of war never ceased to engulf the Earth. The battlefields never went away. Death never went away. And despite that, death would not arrive for me. No matter who dies, no matter how they die, I survive. Only I don’t die. Kill me. Let me die. I walked to the ends of the Earth, praying, pleading, and shouting. I continued to wander. I begged to at least go mad. But I didn’t. I wasn’t even granted the mercy of insanity. The temptation of suicide. The taste of a muzzle. The taste of iron. The taste of blood. Coffins. Gravestones. Chunks of meat. Corpses. Destruction. Damage. Organs. Broken hearts. Suicide bombing. Body bags. Chopped-off limbs. Chopped-off hearts. Regret. Repentance. Rotten hearts. Rotten corpses. Corpses. Corpses. Corpses. Corpses. Then, within a small country stuck in the thick swamp of civil war, I found myself put at gunpoint by a child soldier. The boy who was at most ten years old seemed to be clinging to the rifle as he pointed at me. He was a tiny combat machine, taught nothing but guerilla tactics and murder techniques from a very young age. Dangling from his necklace were chopped-off fingers. Fingers of the enemies he had killed. War trophies. There was no point in running. I won’t die even if I get shot. I can’t die. That’s why I allowed myself to get shot. But right that moment, the boy started crying. That’s what it looked like. But I was wrong. He was laughing. He was crying while laughing. He had gone mad. He was out of his mind. Seeing him cry and laugh in insanity, I decided to stop waiting for the trigger. I took away the boy’s gun and embraced him. I just silently embraced him. The boy within my arms continued my smile in my arms. And then he died. He died in insanity. I cried. I cried while shedding tears of blood. No. No. No. Stop it already. This shouldn’t be happening. This isn’t right. That’s what I thought. That’s what I swore. And then I once again returned to wandering. I didn’t think, I didn’t feel, I didn’t see, I didn’t hear, I simply wandered. My inner voice begging for me to die eventually faded away as well. Along with the rest of my memories. Slowly but surely. Ahh, I’m at peace. I’m finally at peace. The suffering is disappearing. The sadness is disappearing. Everything inside me is disappearing. Maybe now I’ll finally be able to die. That’s what I thought. That’s what I expected. And even my own mind slowly began to fade away. I was picked up by a caravan crossing the desert, and then by a small fishing boat crossing the sea. I got caught in a storm and was shipwrecked. I sank under the sea, floated back up again, and was picked up by the Ark.
Just before striking the land, the pitch-black Undead switched places with the crimson Undead so that he would act as a cushion.
Kenzaki’s clear mind could be felt in Tougo’s hand, reaching all the way to his heart.
“I remember… I remember now…!”
Kenzaki’s voice could be heard, and then Kenzaki’s face could be seen.
“Kenzaki!”
“Kenzaki!”
Tougo shouted, and the crimson Undead on top, Wild Chalice, Hajime, cried out in joy.
The very next moment, the South Pole disappeared.
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