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Last Embryo Volume 3 Prologue

Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist

Once again, he was dreaming about a world drowned in the sea of flames, and that was by no metaphor by any means.

The flames of the fires burning all around the city which has been set ablaze in an instant reached all the way to the heavens, dying the clear blue sky black with the masses of dark smoke which hurt the eyes and dried the throat. Not satisfied with only claiming the lives of the living, the flames continued to burn for seven days and seven nights without stopping as they swallowed more and more in their raging inferno, turning even the buildings of steel and solid concrete into dust and puddles of molten metal.

Thunder and lightning rained down like a waterfall on mountains and rivers from the clouds high above, flattening everything that protruded from the ground, and breaking the dams, turning the water all muddy and not fit for consumption anymore. Having nothing that would stop them anymore, the violent currents have burst forward, swallowing everything that stood in their way, making the screaming pleas of the people whose houses were getting flooded die down as they were getting dragged under the water’s surface, never to emerge back again.

The earthquakes that continued to rumble ceaselessly for hours cracked the ground and coated the cityscape with debris and ash, turning it into an uninhabitable wasteland so fast that it was terrifying. Nothing could have prepared the city’s authorities for a disaster of such an unprecedented scale. All of the lifelines were destroyed in an instant, and the once proud metropolis changed into a ruin of fallen concrete towers in a blink of an eye.

Hell… that’s right, what sprawled before him was undeniably a hellish landscape, because the scenes that were unfolding before his eyes could be described as nothing but hellish.

The infants who lost their parents cried for them, but even as they cried their throats until they were all bloody, there was no one there who would come to console them, so they just died on the ground where they lied as their bodies were being devoured by the flames that couldn’t wait to claim the souls of the innocent children. Their tears were vanishing from the unbearable heat before they went down their cheeks, without even getting the chance to hit the ground, and blood was changing from red to black and coagulated the moment it started to drip from their open, gaping wounds.

In the chaos that inevitably ensued, some people tried to run for their lives, trampling the ones who had no strength to move forward to death without remorse. Under such extreme conditions which threatened their lives, everyone was trying to save themselves first and foremost, without showing compassion to anyone else. Now was simply not the time for that, they concluded. And since they have abandoned their humanity along with their dignity, the were no different than a crowd of animals, running away from the incoming calamity without paying attention to anything that happened around them.

「……….」

Unable to bear it any longer, he looked up at the sky.

The sea of clouds that has been dyed black by the smoke swirled like a living being, sending lightning strikes that sounded just like the hooves of the stampeding artiodactyls.As it grew and changed its shape, it really started to look like a magnificently terrifying bull that scratched the atmosphere with its hooved limbs, tearing it open with each and every step it took. However, that was not the only great terror that appeared in this city, which was now levelled to the ground and became nothing more but a devastated ruin.

「The King of Artiodactyls」 wriggling in the sky.

「Giant of the Death Eye」 laughing as he looked at the destruction he has caused.

「Dragon King」 creating chaos with his numerous jaws, claws and wings.

「Monkey God」 hiding his face in shame as his golden fur fluttered, slashing everything around him to ribbons.

All of those Demon Lords roared in triumph as they trampled the Outer World beneath their boots, raising clouds of dust and leaving nothing but senseless destruction in their wake.

It has been said that even if one of the Demon Lords, who were the avatars of death and destruction incarnate appeared in the Outer World he would be enough to drive the entirety of the human race to near-extinction, and now there was several of them wrecking absolute havoc wherever they stood. If that was not a pure nightmare come to life, then I don’t know what else could it be.

They were all baring their fangs and claws and evil intentions towards the entire world indiscriminately, and unlike the natural disasters that they embodied, like tempests, tsunamis or thunderstorms, there was no one who could stop them now…. Aside from a single beast that stood on the sidelines of this nightmarish hell that held no hope for those who were still unlucky enough to be alive and had no other choice but to break down in tears and cover their scorched faces. That one beast alone roared vigoruously towards the darkened heavens as if it wanted to communicate to them that it will not allow it to end like that.

「!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!」

That one roar which seemed to be piercing not only the skies, but also reality itself was enough to make all of the other Demon Lords stop dead in their tracks as they turned their heads towards the source of the sound.

The one who refused to acknowledge the destruction all the others were causing was the Demon Lord who looked like a dragon with three heads. This Demonic Three-Headed Dragon with his blood-red ruby eyes was looking directly at Saigo Homura, and at Saigo Homura only, as if nothing else mattered to him.

「……..」

Even though he knew this was all a dream, it was still a strangely unnerving sensation.

In this endlessly burning hellscape that showed no signs of stopping,the Three-Headed Dragon gazed at Saigo Homura with unrestrained resentment and vehement hatred. His ruby eyes were not looking at the city of the collapsed civilization, oh no. With all of his heads and eyes focused sorely on him, the Three-Headed Dragon asked him about the sin he was now unknowingly committing:

「How long do you plan to just keep watching? At this rate, you really won’t be able to save anyone, and the end of everything draws near without waiting!」

His three heads shared with him the words of warning, bellowing across his entire mind.

The Three-Headed Dragon opened his jaws, so large that they could easily swallow the skies, seas, lands and everything of this world and repeated the prophecy he had heard so many times already, each time with slightly different words.

「Oh 『Child of Zoroastrianism』! Make haste and solve the mystery of the 『Enemy of the world』!If you will not be able to solve it, then instead of a Hero, you will become the very reason why the World Tree would turn to smoldering ashes for all eternity! Now go and fulfill your purpose!」

The flag of the 『Enemy of the World』 continued to sway, moved by the winds of hell.

「If you will be unable to solve it, then you won’t be able to avoid ruination when the appointed time comes to pass!」

He grabbed Homura who was still standing in front of that ominous crimson flag, dumbfounded, and pulled him towards himself while digging his long, sword-like claws deep into his body. Leaving behind those cryptic words, the Three-Headed Dragon tore off Homura’s limbs one by one, gnawed at his flesh and swallowed all that was left of him.

As he was swallowed down into the Demon Lord’s stomach, the words he left behind continued to echo in Homura’s ears like a dreadful curse.

「Solve the mystery of the 『Enemy of the World』, for if you will not be able to do that much, you would be worthless as the 『Child of Zoroastrianism』, Saigo Homura!!!」