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MMMS 45
🕑 Added 2025-04-30 00:51:18 +0000 UTCRyuuto had a dream—one so vivid he couldn't tell if it was real or not. When he finally came to his senses, the city before him was engulfed in flames. A burning city, orange-red sky, people screaming, and bodies everywhere.
"So in the end, I couldn't control myself, even after I promised Mom I would."
After killing countless people without even trying, he gave a self-mocking smile. That hint of sadness only lasted for a moment before turning into a cruel, twisted grin.
Looking at the hellscape in front of him, what rose up inside him wasn't regret for losing his normal life, but a craving for a dark future. This was who he really was. Sometimes intense, sometimes sweet, drawing people in and driving them mad.
During all those lonely nights, the Beast had been wondering—why should it hold itself back? It caused such sadness, such pain. Born into this world and raised by Mother, it was something more powerful and noble than any living thing.
"You, more beautiful than flowers, stars, or even gods, must be a gift heaven sent to me." That's what Mother had told him. But he knew perfectly well that he was actually disgusting. This body like mud, giving off a horrible stench. Nothing in the world was uglier than him. After all, his body was made from the evil desires of humans from past, present, and future.
A creature like him had an important mission: to kill all humans as if he were a god. For the Beast, nothing else mattered. To wipe out all goodness and beauty, along with evil, from the planet. Unlike those doomsday weapons, what the Beast wanted wasn't just to end one era, but to erase every trace of human existence. The real enemy was human understanding itself.
But since meeting Mother, the Beast had changed. She was too beautiful, too bright. Mother never cared about his ugliness or his dark nature.
The time he spent with her made him so happy that he forgot all about his mission. But even though she was so kind, the world always treated her cruelly. Late at night, when she thought he was asleep, the mother who held him close would put aside her usual bright smile and look completely hopeless. By accident, the Beast heard some troubling rumors. His beloved Mother might leave him and this city. Would that mean he'd end up alone again?
Unthinkable. Unbearable. All of this was because of humans. Humans who hurt Mother, humans who tried to take Mother away from him, humans who were born sinful. Looking back, he should have killed all humans from the beginning... Ryuuto grinned, his eyes glowing blood-red. Without thinking, he lashed out with a tentacle, smashing a powerful man to pieces.
"Hahahahaha! See? Humans are nothing but trash!" The Beast continued breathing fire. After all, nothing killed more effectively than heat. In the flames, everyone was equal. Men, women, children, animals, houses, streets... everything he could see was swallowed by fire as he danced among the destruction.
"Hahaha... hahaha... hahahahahahaha!" With his mind overcome by a spinning sensation, the Beast kept evolving. With each person he killed, his body grew a little heavier. With each feeding, he lost a bit more of his ability to speak. Just a few more meals, and the seven heads with ten mighty horns would finally take form.
Just then, a girl emerged from the flames. She had delicate features, graceful limbs, and bright eyes. A rare flower, a one-of-a-kind talent. It was Mother.
"Welcome back, Mother," he said, quickly moving toward her. "While you were gone, I killed all those people who were against you. I rounded them up with their parents and burned them alive. Oh, and I tore their children open and ate their souls. So tell me I did good, Mother."
"..."
The girl's mouth hung half-open, with a look on her face he'd never seen before. "Why... would you do something like this?" she asked, biting her lower lip, her eyes filled with despair.
"Mother...?" Why was she looking at him that way? Had he done something wrong? "I'm sorry, Mother... I'm sorry."
Hanging his head as low as possible, the Beast put on a pleasing expression for his mother. "I'm sorry... will you hold me, Mother?"
"...Yes." The girl lowered her eyes and wrapped her arms around the Beast's neck. "I'm really sorry for being so harsh with you before."
The fire that had burned for six days and seven nights slowly died down as the Beast calmed down. Soon, crowds of people gathered in the square. Those who survived the disaster, those who lost their homes, those who lost people they loved. People holding weapons glared at Ryuuto as they closed in on him.
"This guy is the cause of all the evil that's happened to our world!"
"He's the monster that destroyed our city!"
"Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!"
"Mother..." The Beast trembled slightly as he showed his glowing claws and fangs to the crowd. He needed to kill these people, or they would surely hurt Mother. But the girl hugged him, smiling and shaking her head. "It's okay now, sweet child. From now on, I'll carry the number 666 with you."
After saying this, she let go of him and turned to face the angry mob. No. The Beast instantly knew that Mother was about to leave him. No, Mother. Stay with him, don't go.
But—
"I will always, always love you... Ryuuto." The girl had her back to him but wore a smile like a rose on her face.
She boldly told the crowd: "This child had nothing to do with it. I'm the one who set fire to Rome."
This lie that fooled the world was the final confession from the girl who was his mother.
...
"Ugh...!" Ryuuto woke up from the endless, sad dream with tears streaming down his face.
"Haa, haa, haaaa..." As he regained consciousness, he felt a crushing sense of loss that felt like it would break his chest open. He now knew the truth about the Great Fire of Rome from history. It was Nero who took the blame for something she didn't do to protect her child.
Was this dream just now a memory of Beast VI from two thousand years ago...?
But back then, Nero had actually called his name—
"Ryuuto?" A voice he knew all too well pulled him back from the past to the present. He looked up to see Manaka's face above him.
"Manaka? Why are you... wait, I remember I was at..."
"Tokyo Bay. You washed up on shore with the waves," she calmly explained.
"!!!"
He immediately stood up and looked toward the city. Tokyo, glowing in the morning light, was alive and thriving. Thank goodness, everything was as it should be.
It seemed that Manaka's phone call had come just in time to stop his rampage. Then, when he disconnected from the sea demon, his old memories had surfaced in his subconscious. This time, he hadn't made the same mistakes.
But after all that, what happened to Nero...?
Shaking his confused thoughts away, he decided to put these questions aside for now.
"Manaka, let's go home," he said quietly.
"Okay," she replied, taking his hand and holding it tightly in hers.
