Ch.52Chapter 8. About the Future (5)

In truth, I was never someone who believed in luck.

Being an atheist, I naturally thought the world operated according to phenomena that scientists had already explained, with no room for concepts like fate.

Well, if you dug deeper, arguments about the absence of free will or how the world is merely cause and effect would emerge, but I never bothered to delve that far.

My profession didn’t require it. I only needed knowledge about where water flows, how to spray it effectively, or what measures were necessary to make a human heart beat again.

Hmm. But you know what?

“Ah.”

Right now, I was in a state where I almost believed in something like fate.

Well, maybe not fate exactly, but at least it seemed clear that this Kudan fellow could truly read the future.

How much had he anticipated? He probably expected us to follow him. The timing of that falling rock was too perfect.

Did he also predict that the church people would follow? That the two groups would clash and waste time opposing each other, while I slipped away to follow Kudan?

That my foot would hit a rock, causing me to fall forward, tumbling down the slope?

I wondered if he had foreseen me getting bruised all over, rolling down the mountain, slamming my back into a tree, and nearly losing consciousness.

“…”

I realized I didn’t even have a flashlight. I should have grabbed one from the car earlier.

“Ugh.”

I barely managed to get up. My back felt like it was splitting apart.

But I wasn’t dead yet. Though my wounds hadn’t healed.

Wounds that would normally heal instantly recovered much more slowly when connected to Japguras like this. I didn’t know why. Probably because Japguras wanted it that way.

Breathing heavily, I searched my pockets.

Fortunately, my phone was still safely in my pants pocket.

My phone doesn’t have a flashlight. But even in pitch darkness like this, the screen brightness could at least dimly illuminate the ground.

So I shined it on the floor.

My jeans were torn in several places. Blood was seeping through the gaps.

I felt my legs with my hands. Good. These wounds wouldn’t prevent me from walking. Of course, if I were a normal person, I’d worry about infection, but since all my physical injuries disappear once the job is done, I didn’t need to worry about that.

I tapped the ground with my toes. No issues with sensation either. At least my spine seemed intact.

Slowly, I raised my phone.

But you know what?

Thinking about it again, I was still in a pretty bad situation.

If I couldn’t find Kudan, I might die stranded on this mountain that’s only an hour and a half drive from Tokyo.

Damn it—

While thinking this and looking around with my phone.

“…!”

I had to forcibly clench my teeth.

It was a human face.

A middle-aged man’s face.

The face of a middle-aged man with bull-like horns on his forehead and wild hair was staring blankly at me.

The goosebumps on my back made me momentarily forget all the pain in my body. Not that I was grateful for that.

Once again, the word “fate” came to mind.

Whether due to Japguras’s help or Kudan’s prophetic abilities, I had merely run a little but ended up rolling down the mountain and stopping precisely near the forest where Kudan was hiding.

From this distance, I couldn’t see his face clearly.

Have you ever seen a pale man’s face peeking through trees in the middle of the night on a mountain where branches block the light of the moon and stars?

Even knowing roughly what it was, it was truly terrifying. Even as I moved just millimeters at a time toward that face, the goosebumps wouldn’t stop.

No, come to think of it, these weren’t just goosebumps from fear.

But still, this Kudan was genuinely the scariest yokai I’d ever encountered. Not because of his appearance, but his atmosphere.

Ah, should I ask him to make me a sword?

I seriously considered it.

I don’t have Chi anymore. I might not have enough blood to draw out something new.

“Um, excuse me?”

I knew he was born recently. But somehow, I couldn’t bring myself to speak informally. Because his face was that of a middle-aged man? Well, that’s part of it, but…

A cow’s face is naturally larger than a human’s. Even the biggest, bulkiest person I know had a smaller head than a cow.

But if a human head were attached to a cow’s body, how big would that head be?

If he opened his mouth, I genuinely believe my entire head could fit inside without exaggeration.

It’s a bit hard to comprehend. Even for a cow, a calf should be much smaller than this.

The Kudan before me wasn’t just a calf.

…Could it be something else?

Another yokai living in this forest?

Running away wasn’t an option in this situation. Even if I turned and ran, there was only the steep slope I had rolled down.

And if it was a yokai, it probably wouldn’t try to eat me. They usually spit me out after one bite.

“…Kudan?”

Would it know that’s what it’s called?

Perhaps because I showed no hostility, that pale, large face just stared at me with dark eyes.

“…”

And finally, I managed to get close to it.

Slowly, I shined light beyond the face.

There was—a spotted cow’s body.

…So it really was this breed.

I should have looked it up when they mentioned a ranch.

What should I do?

If it had been just a cow, or even if its face had been cow-shaped, I would have tried petting it.

But… it’s… well… you know.

A face like a flat-faced man.

Petting seems a bit inappropriate, doesn’t it?

“…Can you understand me?”

I awkwardly asked using formal speech.

Kudan just looked at me, then abruptly turned his head.

And walked away.

Since he wasn’t running, I quickly followed.

Is he guiding me? Or is he trying to escape in his own way?

As I followed, I noticed Kudan’s hair was slightly white.

Ring.

My phone rang.

Clearly, despite being in the mountains, we were close enough to Tokyo that the network coverage was good.

I answered the phone.

[Kurosawa!? Where are you now! Are you okay?]

Yuuki shouted in a voice that didn’t sound okay at all.

I moved the phone slightly away from my ear before responding.

“I’m fine. I just got a bit lost.”

[Where are you now?]

I looked toward Kudan.

Kudan had stopped ahead and was looking back at me.

The sight of a cow standing in the middle of a forest with barely any path, turning to stare at me, was bizarre. Especially with a human head.

…

His white hair seems to have increased?

Is that my imagination?

After a moment’s hesitation, I said:

“I found him.”

[What?]

Yuuki was startled. There was a brief commotion on the other end. I could hear Grandfather’s voice mumbling, and it seemed there were several other people there.

Perhaps they had made a deal with the church people? No matter how skilled Yuuki and Grandfather were, they couldn’t win by numbers. Especially if neither side wanted to kill the other.

“I’m following him now. I’ll let you know when I can identify the location.”

I’ll figure out how to tell them when the time comes.

[Wait, Kurosawa! Kurosawa!]

“See you in a bit.”

I answered and hung up.

…Prophecy, alone.

…Does that being already know even that?

As if waiting for me to finish my call, Kudan turned his head again and proceeded steadily in one direction.

I followed him somewhat urgently.

*

A few minutes before Kotone Kurosawa tumbled off the cliff—

“Kurosawa!”

Yuuki was rushing toward the man who had blocked Kotone.

She didn’t intend to fight. She just wanted to somehow break through the situation and protect Kotone.

But before Yuuki could even reach him, the man’s knife was stabbing Kotone.

The tip of the approximately 20-centimeter blade seemed to pierce near Kotone’s neck.

“What—”

The man muttered.

Behind him, someone from the same school, a year above… whose name didn’t matter, was shouting something. It seemed like he was criticizing the man for stabbing Kotone.

But before that, Yuuki was already rushing at the man.

“Yuka! Don’t!”

At her grandfather’s shout, Yuuki came to her senses and quickly turned her body to move the blade away from the man.

But she didn’t slow down.

The man, tackled by her shoulder and back, fell forward.

And that was the beginning.

Bam!

Quickly dodging a flying fist, Yuuki drove the end of her sword handle into the man’s abdomen.

“Gah!”

The man staggered at the sound but didn’t fall.

“…Hic.”

Such a sound came from behind Yuuki.

The man was dropping his blood-stained knife on the ground. The blade was clearly coated in red.

Seeing that, Yuuki’s heart beat violently.

It’s my fault.

That thought occurred to her.

Kotone had been dealing with various troubles throughout the semester. Not just yokai, but other various issues.

Grandfather thought that Kotone had handled the man-eating yokai that had disappeared suddenly before Yuuki arrived.

It wasn’t an unreasonable deduction. Yuuki had already seen that child immediately cutting her wrist to make a sword and going out to eliminate that being after seeing an article in the newspaper.

A good child who, even in terrible situations, quietly helped people in the ways she could.

And that method was making her already terrible situation even worse.

There was a sound of wind being cut, followed by the clash of metal against metal.

It wasn’t swords clashing. Grandfather had shot an arrow to knock away the sword the man had drawn. Yuuki used that opportunity to leap backward and create distance.

Then she looked in the direction Kotone had run. Kotone was already out of sight.

I need to go.

She didn’t even have a flashlight. If she got lost on the mountain in this situation…

But as she tried to run forward to follow, there were those who blocked her path.

“Move!”

Yuuki pointed her sword at them and shouted.

“Everyone stop!”

At that voice, the men froze.

Yuuki looked back.

The senior quickly approached where the man had dropped his sword.

And bending down, she picked up the sword.

The sticky blood on the sword dripped down.

Her face was also covered in blood, making her look like someone who would definitely be reported to the police if a passerby saw her.

“…”

Yuuki glared at that woman too.

What on earth happened?

Did Kotone spray blood? Or did that woman also…?

“Why did you do that?”

The woman asked.

“What I stabbed—”

“You pointed a knife at her.”

“You were holding one too.”

At Yuuki’s words, the woman looked at her.

“You were holding one too.”

“I had no intention of stabbing. And I didn’t. I just blocked whatever… balloon? Anyway, what she threw at me.”

She spoke to Yuuki in a cold voice.

“More importantly, did you guys hurt that child like that? Why? Is that prophecy so important? Important enough to make a child… cut her wrist?”

“…”

At those words, Yuuki felt like she’d been hit on the head again.

“That child was bleeding profusely. In this situation, she would have collapsed soon. We need to find her first. We don’t have time to fight.”

The woman spoke calmly.

“But Kudan is—”

“…”

At those words, the woman stared at the man’s face.

The man closed his mouth.

Yes, that’s right.

It was Yuuki herself who had called Kotone.

It was Yuuki who made her cut her wrist. She even prepared a first aid kit and bucket in the car.

When Kotone got in the car, she placed the shopping bag she had brought as if it were something precious at the edge of the seat. As if she didn’t want it to get dirty with blood.

And she even mentioned having an appointment on Thursday.

…She had come knowing everything. That she would bleed, and might even end up hospitalized.

Knowing all that, she followed Yuuki’s words without being told what to do or how.

Why had she thought that way? Why was Kotone the first child she thought of when she heard about the “disaster”?

Did Yuuki think that stopping the massive disaster took priority, even if it meant sacrificing Kotone?

…

No, that’s not it. Rather—

She had thought of it as something that just naturally happened.

Goosebumps rose on her back, like when facing a yokai.

Who exactly was the monster here?

“Yuka.”

At her grandfather’s words, Yuuki finally returned to reality.

“Let’s first check if we can contact her.”

At her grandfather’s suggestion, Yuuki immediately took out her phone from her pocket.

She quickly found Kotone’s name and called.

“Kurosawa!? Where are you now! Are you okay?”

Kotone said she was fine.

She even said she had found Kudan.

But she didn’t say where she was, and the call ended.

The men’s gazes changed when they heard about Kudan, having looked somewhat dubious before.

But in Yuuki’s mind, the existence called Kudan had long disappeared.

Yuuki started running. She could hear people rushing after her.

Things had gotten completely tangled. Perhaps the church would kill Kudan before hearing the prophecy, which might provoke a reaction from Miura’s side.

But—

Now, none of that mattered.

Because the thought that she had driven her friend into such a situation with her own hands was much more significant.

But when she ran following the blood trail to that place,

There was a steep downward slope that seemed like unprepared people shouldn’t go down.

And near the path leading to that downward slope, there were marks where someone had been dragged.

And further down, continuously.

*

It’s about time I acquired a different ability.

Come to think of it, it’s a sword “made” from my blood. Perhaps I could follow a form other than a sword.

For example, a gun.

Isn’t it just a hard material? I think it would be plausible if I imagined having a portable 3D printer.

…No, but I quickly rejected that idea. Guns have too many parts. Above all, our great and noble outer god Japguras wouldn’t allow such a cheat ability.

Isn’t it a being with thoroughly bad taste? It would probably reject even just sprinkling blood on my wrist to summon something.

In ancient Aztec times, they offered living sacrifices.

Well, I don’t think the gods the Aztecs believed in actually existed, but they stubbornly adhered to that method. They didn’t even consider killing or preparing the sacrifices beforehand. And the reason was probably “to please the gods.”

And Japguras is an outer god. If it’s not the way it wants, it won’t listen, or it will demand an enormous penalty.

Then how about a bow?

If I could shoot a bow, it could be a great help before facing Raiju.

And there might be a way to utilize the blood I keep spilling.

…Though the fact that I had no reason to be in that harem meeting was a big problem.

“…Ah.”

Kudan stopped walking, so I stopped too.

“Where is this?”

It was a cliff.

Much higher than where I had rolled down earlier. The kind where if you misstep and fall, they’d have a hard time finding your body.

The scenery wasn’t very visible at night. But it would probably be spectacular when the sun is up.

Judging by the absence of railings nearby, it doesn’t seem to have been developed as a tourist attraction.

And above all else—

“The sea.”

I could see the sea.

The sea at night is beautiful.

The moon hung in the sky above the sea. And there was also a moon floating in the seawater.

The horizon stretching far away was surprisingly visible even in the darkness.

“Did you come to see this view…?”

At my words, Kudan, who was already crouching near the cliff, turned toward me.

And I was startled again by that face.

Kudan’s face had completely aged. During our walk together, he had become an old man. The white hair growing from his head wasn’t just my imagination.

“…”

I silently went over and sat down beside Kudan.

Perhaps this is what he wanted from the beginning.

There was no need to get rid of me. Unlike others, he didn’t try to capture me to hear prophecies or kill me beforehand.

What I wanted was just a few words before he breathed his last.

A peaceful death, not confined anywhere, not disturbed by anyone.

Since he was going to die today anyway.

We sat in silence for a long time.

There was no need for me to explicitly state what I wanted. If he knew this would happen.

The goosebumps on my back were gradually subsiding.

Thud.

Kudan’s face fell limply to the ground. Completely relaxing his legs, resting his chin on the ground, blankly staring at the sea stretching far away.

It would be nice if he could hold on for a few hours to see the sunrise.

“…It’s time now.”

Kudan spoke.

It was an old man’s voice.

“Yes.”

“I wanted to see the future that only appeared in my head.”

“…”

“Having opened my mouth, I must speak the prophecy. I must speak and die. Otherwise, those who will soon follow will kill me.”

“…I’m listening.”

“You don’t have to listen. Just stay far away.”

“But it will happen anyway. And I promised. I need to hear it.”

“…”

Kudan hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“You will die.”

Death comes to everyone.

Death is the final destination of all life.

Strangely enough, no living being is born to die, but.

“By the hand of the one you trust most.”

Yes, that seems likely.

“I heard you well. Thank you.”

“Mm.”

Kudan replied.

And after that, there was no sound.

The goosebumps on my back had completely disappeared.

Even after that, I sat alone, thinking quietly.

Kudan’s prophecy is not directed at an individual.

The way to avoid the prophecy is to hear the prophecy of the female Kudan born together.

…Combining those two.

Does it mean that my death will bring disaster to this world?

Or conversely, is it telling those who try to save me to reconsider?

Slowly, the pain in my left wrist subsided.

I remained sitting in that position, hugging my knees, for a long time until I fell asleep.