The sweet time that the boy spent with that thing finally began to appear hazy. The thing that was supposed to exist forever began to gradually degenerate and deplete its vitality.

That thing occasionally works a failed magic.

That thing forgets things once in a while.

That thing occasionally hits the ceiling or wall.

'Alas, it looks like the time has finally come......

There was a sad sigh in the thing's words, and it sounded as if it was about to die. Since the boy loved it so much, he couldn't imagine it disappearing from the world. Moreover, it is indeed too difficult for young teenagers to understand the concept of "death".

So the boy asked, "What's wrong with you?" It's okay, is it?"

The thing just looked at the boy intently, and finally said briefly: 'Maybe it's really time......

The thing asked the boy to follow him, leading him into the underground area of the castle that he had never set foot in until now. The thing told the boy about himself along the way. Although the boy could not fully comprehend the narrative, he learned that the thing seemed to have lived on earth for more than a thousand years.

It was originally a human, but it went through countless wars, repeated magical experiments, and finally lost its original body.

Probably because I lived too long and couldn't get the nutrients I needed. ’

That's what that thing says about its own aberration. Hearing it say this, the boy remembered that he had never dined with that thing.

That thing always prepares meals for the boy, but lets the boy eat alone, and he always stays by and watches him eat.

"Don't you have a way to eat?"

The thing didn't respond positively to the boy's question, but continued with a rare rap.

Because he saw that his destiny was coming to an end, he prepared the last meal for himself a long time ago. If he can enjoy this feast without any problems, he can live a little longer.

The excited teenager wanted to help the thing: "Is there anything I can do to help?"

'Hee-hee. ’

The thing laughed, and floated awkwardly without looking back, but still laughed loudly. For the first time, the boy thought it was a little scary. He looked around. Only then did I realize that I had unconsciously walked into a dimly lit hall that I had never seen before, and there was a heavy, turbid air floating around me.

"Hey ......"

The boy couldn't take it anymore and called out to the thing, but still didn't get any response. Just when the boy suppressed the uneasiness in his heart and was about to speak again. 'Okay......'

The thing stopped suddenly. Now let me tell you about my meal. ’

Turning to face the boy, he flicked his fingers.

In front of the young man, a phantasm of a young man appeared as if he was here. Although the young man knew that this was the power of magic, he couldn't help but let out a surprised sound. It was similar to a realistic documentary, and the teenager was quickly attracted to the content of the video without the instructions of that thing.

It was a hunter who hated people.

Although the man was a resident of a certain village, he never spoke to the inhabitants of the village. Live alone. He is cold, opinionated, distrustful, and always has a cold look in his eyes. The villagers also kept their distance from the man, fearing him and not approaching him easily.

Men especially hate children. He believes that children are a coquettish, noisy, and unruly existence. As soon as a child approached, he would deliberately fire a gun into the air to scare them away, which became a daily habit for men. Over time, as soon as the child sees the man, he will immediately turn around and run away.

The hunter, though a skilled hunter, was always alone.

One day, the thing visited the man.

The thing desperately told the man about the greatness of human affection, and advised him to be kind to the villagers. The man was also quite surprised at the sudden appearance of the unidentified object at first.

Then he retorted, and even took out his shotgun to try to get rid of the thing.

Unlike many of the prey he'd faced before. Bullets were completely ineffective against that thing.

The shotgun was snatched away, and the whole person was sent to the bed. Whether it's covering his head with a quilt or running into the toilet to hide, that thing will follow him closely. Tell the man in a earnest tone about the importance of being gentle with others.

The man felt a headache.

It went on like this for a month or two, and I didn't get bored at all. It speaks of how important and delightful human warmth is. However, the opportunity to change the man's mind was when he was out hunting, and his attention was disturbed by the thing that complimented him on the greatness of his love. caused him to accidentally roll down the slope. The badly injured man barely crawled back to his lodgings, lying on the bed and moaning.

A young girl who happened to visit looked at the man's injuries with trepidation and cooked him a pot of hot soup that emitted delicious steam.

It's all for the sake of him, whom the villagers avoid.

Although the man knew that the girl's visit was arranged by that thing. But I couldn't stand hunger anymore. After a fierce battle between pride and appetite, the man reached for a wooden spoon and took a sip of the hot soup. The soup was tastier than anything he'd ever eaten.

The man burst into tears.

A warm current slowly flowed through his body, and for the first time in his heart, he realized the truth of that thing.

After that, the man changed. He began to build a rapport with the villagers, who were wary of him at first, but after seeing him put his heart and soul into the village, they slowly accepted the changed man.

Men learn to be gentle and loving.

He also began to like the children he originally hated so much, and began to know how to protect them. Once upon a time, the man finally knew what love was, and married the girl who came to him that day and cooked soup for himself.

That thing was very satisfied.

The man was quite grateful to that thing, and the thing just shook his head modestly: "Oops~~ You don't need to thank me. ’

The boy looked at the video played by the thing and asked happily, "Your job is to help others, right?"

In the face of the teenager who shouted loudly with joy, the thing just smiled in return. It snapped its fingers again, and the apparition in front of the boy continued to play the man's life story.

The man was quite happy.

Not only did he marry his beloved wife, but he also gave birth to a son. He had lived alone before, and he could not have imagined that he could get such a satisfying situation.

The trust of the villagers and the smile that everyone showed to him made the man work harder to hunt. And use your free time to dedicate to the whole village.

One spring, a bear that had just woken up from hibernation attacked a villager. Since it was a rather ferocious and large bear, it had to be eliminated.

The hunter volunteered to take on the bear hunt, and his wife, who was worried about it, wanted to do his part for the peaceful life of the village.

So the man gathered his equipment and set out for the mountains.

He walked through the trees and across the valleys, and finally found the bear-infested beast path. The man set up a camouflaged camp in the depression in front of the beast road, and then stayed here to lay in ambush. However, the bear did not show up for a long time, and the man stayed in the camp for three days and three nights, relying only on dry food and water at hand. Just when fatigue and lack of sleep are intertwining. The thing appeared in front of the man.

'Oh, it looks like you're working for people's happiness. Very good, very good. ’

The extremely tense man, though he felt a little in the way of the thing's visit, couldn't let that mean anything bad about it. Because that thing was simply his benefactor of reinvention to the man, so his mind was blank, and he said a few perfunctory words casually.

The thing that rapped said a lot to the man, and the exhausted man finally couldn't help but fall into a half-asleep coma, but sometimes he would wake up.

Whenever he woke up, he would always find the thing whispering in his ear in a shrill voice.

Not long since. The line between reality and dream became ambiguous in the man's mind.

'Oh?'

The sound of the thing startled him.

'Here we are! Isn't that the bear you're going to kill?'

Without a trace of doubt in the man's heart, he aimed at the black shadow that suddenly appeared in front of him.

'Come! Hurry up and shoot! It's for everyone! For love! Fast! Hurry!'

Pull the trigger, and "Touch!" sounds around. The crisp sound of gunfire followed by "Smack!" The sound of falling to the ground. The excited man ran briskly towards his prey. There was no doubt about the sound of the fall that was too light just now......

"Ahh

What happened in front of him suddenly made him unable to move. He saw a young woman lying on the ground, blood pouring from her chest. The empty eyes looked up at the sky, and at a glance it was clear that she was dead.

"W-How can this be ......?"

He couldn't help but fall to his knees. It's a nightmare. Because what the man hit—

"How can this be ——!?"

It is the wife whom the man loves from the bottom of his heart.

Why would she be here?

Why would she run into such a deep mountain alone?

The man desperately denies reality.

'Hehe......'

The thing suddenly laughed.

'Hehe ’

I laughed very funny from the heart.

'Aha By the way~~ I forgot to tell you one thing, your precious son was eaten by the bears that attacked the village after you left the village to protect everyone. That's why this woman is desperately looking for you everywhere?'

On the face shaped like a crystal ball, a large black mouth of blood appeared.

The deranged, crazy man continued to scream.

The screams resounded in all directions.

Ah, it's delicious! It's so delicious! It's worth waiting for so long. This is the delicious food I aspire to!'

The thing was still laughing loudly.

The boy's whole body stiffened and he could not move. He couldn't believe what he had just seen.

His body trembled, and it became difficult for him to breathe. He felt the man's intense despair, as if it had turned into scorching molten iron, slowly flowing into his body. He felt his heart ache, and the thing floated in front of the young man, and said to him in a sharp and piercing voice:

It's a real problem, because I can only play with human cause and effect, and turn the "despair" that takes a lot of time and mental connection into the nourishment I need. ’

“…… For what?"

The boy looked up at the thing.

"For what?"

Tears flowed down my face, and I felt remorse and sadness in my heart. The thing simply replied, 'Because I want to live.'" ’

Then he started laughing again: 'And it's so much fun!'

Everything that I believed in the past is now crumbling and disappearing in front of the young man.

From the day I gave up my human body, I became a "desperate" that could only devour human beings. Doesn't the magician always have to rely on some kind of gap or price to survive? In this regard, the "despair" of humanity. In particular, the "despair" caused by falling from the top of happiness to the abyss is the most suitable source of nutrition for me. ’

The thing shook its black cloak and laughed loudly:

'The expression of the white soul is the most charming, and the heart that sees its own future is the most beautiful. There is nothing more delicious than the grief of a man being betrayed by something he sincerely believes in, or of the eternal disappearance of a man who is regarded as more precious than life. ’

The boy couldn't even make a sound.

Coupled with the fact that I am a glutton, I would not have been able to whet my appetite if it weren't for the unblemished desperation...... However, the recent desertion of people's hearts has given me a lot of headaches, and I have no choice but to cultivate it from scratch on my own. Do you know what a painstaking process it is for the hopeless, lustful human beings to learn love and justice, and to maintain an upright and beautiful heart?'

The thing raised his finger, and the boy raised his tearful face and looked up at the thing: "That's why you raised me to grow up?" Just so that I can be your food someday?"

The boy's voice was hoarse. With a tearful smile in his eyes, he asked, and the thing replied with a big smile:

That's right! You are worthy of being my "son of despair", your comprehension is really high! That's right! That's why I took you away from your family and taught you everything from scratch!'

The thing shook for a moment, cracks appeared in the crystal ball, and the black cloak faded.

'Ha, ha. That's right...... Now I've become a kind of person who can only rely on ...... Devouring the ...... of "despair" to provide the nutrients I need. ’

The thing's body trembled in anticipation, and it glared at the boy with a terrible look:

'I prepare this delicious dish in advance as a precaution against the worst of the moments that will come...... The purpose is to enjoy being with you every day and teaching you compassion, love, and righteousness. The absolute "despair" that comes from the blink of an eye when everything is denied. ’

Everything was denied, and the heart was destroyed.

'Come on, utterly "despair"! Shout! Cry!'

Looking at the thing that roared like a demon and a monster, the boy was not crushed by his actions. Instead, he showed strong and clear eyes, and said with tears in his eyes:

"I don't cry, I think you're pitiful. I feel sorry for you and for the sacrifices you have fallen prey to. ”

He cried and laughed, but his tone was firm: "Teach me people who have this kind of belief." Isn't that you?"

'Ha Ha

The thing went crazy, and let out a high-pitched, shrill laugh of madness. I saw it spinning in place, and at the end it was like a kite that had lost its wind power and fell to the ground.

Struggle.

The thing tried to float again, though. But there was not much power left.

'Hahaha...... Ha ......'

The thing said in a voice that was not human:

'May your future be plagued by evil.' ’

'May your future be filled with damnation. ’

The boy was too frightened by the cold, pure evil to move, and the thing continued to say in a frantic voice:

When did it start? Even if I snatch your memories with my own hands, there is still extraordinarily strong and unyielding blood in your heart. Since I found out about this, I can somewhat predict that this will happen in the future...... Although I am unwilling, this is my worst fate. Therefore, as a great magician, known as the "Evil Star", I have used my last remaining strength to inflict many curses on your future. ’

Syllable......

The crystal ball continued to crack and began to crack.

I've never mentioned it before, but the two people you've been looking for are ahead, and you can go and see them and talk to them. But with your current strength, you probably won't be able to help them much. ’

Aha

The thing laughed out loud again.

'I will give you a prophecy at the end of the day, and it will concern your most important future, so you have to listen carefully. One day, you will be turned against by those who value and cherish in your heart, and throw stones at you and "despair"; One day, you will face the relentless rebellion and "despair" of the people you love, and one day, you will be depressed and frustrated by these blows, and finally disappear from this world completely. Hopelessly 'despair' is unavoidable about ......'

The thing began to destroy, the cloak on its body turned to dust, and its hands faded away.

'......Ahh

This is the last thing that has lived for thousands of years, and it is the last thing left in the world.

Juvenile!!

From that moment on, the teenager who was alone with all the "despair" could only stand in place.

It took a long time for the boy to recover from the blow.

It can be seen that he was originally lively and strong-willed, but how strongly he was impacted. The boy spent more than half a day, sitting still and not moving, trying his best to face the complex emotions that came and went in the depths of his heart.

When he figured out how to deal with the situation and digested it, he calmly made up his mind.

He decided to stand up and fight "despair".

PS: Undertake the unforgettable thoughts of two hundred and two chapters (to be continued......)