Yusaku Kudo's focus remained locked on the previous passage.
The Lionheart Baron, never yielding to evil...? Just that one sentence vividly portrayed a stubborn and unyielding old man who saw himself as a crusader.
However, what exactly was "evil" in this context? The demons described in the biblical Book of Revelation? The vengeful spirits and devils people once imagined in folklore? Or was it something far more tangible? Tonight's impossible encounters had led Yusaku to make many horrifying guesses about the reality of these evil monsters.
He continued translating the next passage from Old English.
> [I can't offer you much help, my child. Every generation of the Lionheart Baron has its own mission! Don't feel lost, my child. We will not go to the land of death; God will accept each and every one of us.]
Upon translating this final paragraph, Yusaku noticed something physically unusual about the page. The parchment felt rather thick, lacking the suppleness of the previous leaves.
After consulting Cliff with a gesture, Yusaku used his pocket knife to carefully slice open the edge of the human-skin paper. There was a hidden layer sandwiched between the skin, and written on the inside of that layer was only one cryptic sentence:
> [Those who obey my will shall be sacrificed with blood.]
Yusaku looked directly at Cliff. His detective's wisdom told him the solution instantly.
"This is likely a bloodline test," Yusaku deduced softly. "Only the blood of a true 'Hahn' can unlock the truth hidden here."
Having come this far and survived the entity at the door, Cliff naturally wouldn't dawdle. He took Yusaku's razor blade, sliced his thumb without hesitation, and dripped a few heavy drops of dark blood directly onto the hidden interlayer.
VZZZT—!
In an instant, their vision blurred violently.
It was as if the axis of the world had shifted. Their eyelids widened, and their gazes became slightly dazed as they looked around.
They were no longer inside the cramped, dark cabin.
They were… outside. Standing in the middle of Cliff's overgrown yard.
Looking up at the sky, it was suddenly bright, glaring daylight.
'This… how could this be?' A chilling sense of existential dread washed over Yusaku. Goosebumps rose all over their bodies, making their lips tremble. 'An illusion? Did the blood release a localized hallucinogen? Or is this a lingering metaphysical image triggered by some blood-magic mechanism?'
"Old Hahn…" A hoarse, disembodied voice suddenly echoed around them.
The three men looked frantically around the sunlit yard, their gazes finally settling on a hunched, weary figure standing in the distance near the tree line.
Cliff was completely incredulous.
'That's my father? That's my father from ten years ago!'
"Calm down!" Yusaku grabbed Cliff by the shoulder, holding him back.
Yusaku observed their surroundings with a detective's hyper-focus and realized that the owner of the hoarse voice was nowhere to be seen. It was as if only that hunched figure—Hahn Rasford—existed in this recorded pocket of time.
"Old Hahn…" The eerie whisper echoed again, seemingly right next to their ears, making all three men tense. Who was it? Who was calling Cliff's father?
"Pah! Shit! I haven't even lived to see those three brats grow up!" the hunched figure suddenly yelled, clearly exasperated, cursing at the empty void in front of him.
The rough, bitter tone perfectly matched Cliff's childhood memory of his father.
"But our time is running out…" the disembodied voice replied smoothly. "And your children are also the inheritors of Lionheart. They will endure…"
This sentence silenced the hunched figure.
Rasford lowered his head. "...You're right, old man. It's just a pity I won't be able to see them grow up."
"No. The volcano, the forest, and the sea will all become your aid; you will return to their side eventually."
"...Perhaps," Rasford sighed heavily. "But many will die if we fail, and I need to do something for them. It's my duty."
With that solemn declaration, the hunched figure turned to walk into the tree line without looking back.
This made Yusaku breathe a sigh of relief. 'Sure enough. It was just a metaphysical shadow left behind in the blood…'
!! !! ??
He turned around! The hunched figure in the distance abruptly stopped and turned back around! And his gaze seemed to lock directly onto the three of them standing in the yard ten years in the future.
No. To be precise, his eyes were locked entirely on…
"Cliff…" the phantom whispered softly.
Yusaku and Gray involuntarily took a terrified step back. The tension and pure shock on their faces were impossible to hide. 'Was this a recording, or something else entirely!? Is he conscious across time!?'
Just as Cliff opened his mouth to excitedly respond to his father, the sunlit scene before them shattered like glass.
They were back.
Back inside the small, rotting cabin in the suffocating darkness of the present night.
Chief Gray involuntarily shivered, stumbling back against the wall. He was somewhat unable to distinguish between reality and illusion anymore. Looking down at the book on the table, it was clearly just an ordinary—albeit gruesome—object.
Where was the holographic projector? Where was the recording device?
There wasn't one.
So, a few drops of blood really had awakened the past stored within the artifact? And was it truly just the past? The hunched figure's gaze had been so tangible, so piercing, it was not a mere illusion. They could feel the weight of it. Old Hahn had truly been watching them from across the decade…
For a long moment, whether it was the terrified Chief Gray, the deeply regretful Cliff who hadn't been able to speak with his father, or the fiercely pensive Yusaku, none could remain calm in the face of the "Record."
This was far too fantastical… the kind of occult madness no one would ever believe if told.
After a period of frantic, careful contemplation, it was as if a lightning bolt suddenly struck Yusaku's mind, and he found it difficult to breathe.
'No!! The "record" wasn't just a simple emotional goodbye!' Yusaku realized, his eyes widening. 'It contained extremely important tactical information!'
What had that unknown, disembodied being said to Hahn Rasford?
The volcanoes, forests, and the sea will all become Old Hahn's aids. And these three domains were clearly manifestations of the authority of the "God" Old Hahn worshipped, as written in the diary's first prayer.
But…
"What about humanity…" Yusaku muttered aloud, his voice trembling.
What about humanity!? Weren't humans also supposed to be part of this "Master's" authority, according to the text?
Furthermore, Old Hahn clearly hadn't wanted to leave his children. But he had mentioned that some unknown calamity was going to occur, and many people would die! So Old Hahn left. He left as if he were bravely walking toward his execution to stop it.
Therefore, this apocalyptic threat was the truth behind Old Hahn's "departure from home"!
Of course, this realization wasn't Yusaku's main concern. He was just gritting his teeth, suppressing a certain, horrifying urge to scream out his ultimate deduction. A chilling conjecture had arisen within his brilliant mind.
'Does God truly exist…?' Yusaku thought, his analytical framework collapsing. 'If He exists, then who or what caused the calamity that a crusader like Hahn had to fight? If He doesn't exist, and is merely an occult metaphor for a powerful syndicate, then is it possible for mortal humanity to avert the calamity alone?'
Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Gods do not exist! Nor can they exist! If they truly existed, then the geopolitical aftermath of this vortex would mean the end of secular human civilization as they knew it.
Just thinking about that terrifying possibility sent icy chills down Yusaku's spine. Anything related to a true God is rarely a trivial, localized matter…
He picked up the human-skin book almost obsessively, holding it up to the dim moonlight. His eyes fixed on the four corners of the cabin's wooden walls, where the frantic charcoal illustrations had been drawn.
A volcano. A forest. An ocean.
And… an anatomically correct, tainted human heart.
He stared blankly at the illustrations on the wall, comparing them to the translated prayer in the book. He had finally discovered the terrifying discrepancy.
He had always thought that this "Lord's" authority lay in the volcano, the forest, the sea, and humanity itself. The first three were correct. But humanity… was humanity truly His authority…?
Perhaps, the fourth domain was not humanity at all.
It was something else generated by humanity.
'What could a tainted, bleeding heart represent?'
This horrific question made Yusaku's scalp tingle and his face turn stark pale. He even staggered a few steps backward, unsteady on his feet.
'Human evil? The innate malice of the human heart? Or just the collective, psychic negativity of mortals?'
Whatever it was, it was probably not some benevolent, abstract concept.
'So... the upcoming vortex of calamity that Hahn went to fight... is a literal confrontation with the physical manifestation of Human Evil? A confrontation with the Authority of the Gods...?'
This despairing, cosmic deduction caused Yusaku's vision to temporarily go black.
God... Earth... please tell me this isn't true...
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