My youth story cannot be a knight war

"They've already appeared during this period? And you, Lindo, and Gurongi, actually live so close to each other??? Aren't you afraid of something happening?"

Zaimokuza spoke in disbelief, his eyes shifting between the mountain and the hunting scene before him.

According to his observations, the distance between the two groups was only about ten kilometers. Even in ancient times, when travel was limited to carriages and walking, this distance wasn't considered significant. And knowing the Gurongi's temperament, the Linduo people living nearby were like a plate of braised pork delivered to your door.

"That's something for the future. Right now, we're still—cough cough cough!!!"

Before he could finish his words, a cough erupted from his throat. Miou covered his face with his hands and began coughing violently, nearly bending over.

[“Miou!? This is——”]

Zaimokuza was immediately horrified and quickly bent down to support her, but the next moment, what happened before his eyes caused his pupils to shrink suddenly.

[Under his gaze, Miou's originally solid form suddenly flashed with a mosaic-like blur, and then her body began to become translucent and solid, accompanied by tiny fragments of light floating around.]

「W-What the hell is going on!? Are you okay? Hey!」

Zaimokuza quickly supported Miou's body and half-knelt. The girl in his arms trembled slightly as the strange phenomenon occurred. Then, she reached out with the hand that had been covering her mouth to grasp his arm and spoke in a whisper.

[“It seems that the time for me to wake up is almost here…”]

【"Time? What happened to you???"】

After hearing what she said, Zaimokuza's heart tightened, and he asked anxiously.

[“It’s nothing, I’m just running out of energy.”]

Miou raised her head, revealing her pale face. She looked at Zaimokuza's face, which was very close to her, and smiled.

"I completely underestimated the severity of your injuries, Zaimokuza-san. I thought I could still spend some time with you, but I didn't expect my strength to be depleted to this extent... It seems like I'll lose consciousness and continue to sleep in the near future."

"Have you already expended so much energy healing my wounds?"

[Looking at the girl's body flickering in and out of focus in his arms, Zaimokuza opened his mouth and spoke after a moment, his eyes complicated.]

"Then you should still—"

"Let's just leave this topic at that. Time is almost up, so I need to explain everything to Zaimokuza-san before I fall asleep."

Miou playfully made a "pause" gesture with both hands and winked. Zaimokuza was choked by her modern and fashionable language, and he remained speechless.

"...Are you really from an ancient time? Why do I feel like you understand modern women better than I do?"

"That's because I saw that girl's memories, and Zaimokuza-san—a woman's age is a secret~"

【"Well……"】

Looking at the girl's half-smile, Zaimokuza suddenly felt a chill. This expression was very similar to the one he had when he was late for school and wanted to climb over the wall, only to find Hiratsuka Shizuka standing on the other side, looking up at him. Even with a smile, a terrifying murderous aura flowed between her eyebrows that could not be concealed.

"Don't interrupt, and listen carefully to everything the adults say. That's what a good child should do~"

Miou reached out and pressed Zaimokuza's cheeks, squeezing his embarrassed expression. She couldn't help but laugh at his funny pout.

[Yoshiki Zaimokuza: "..."]

Looking at the girl's bright smile, Zaimokuza's mind suddenly flashed back to Kousaka Kyousuke's face for some reason, and a strange feeling of defeat washed over him, as if he had lost somewhere. It was indescribably awkward.

"...It seems you finally understand how I feel when I see you."

Looking at the embarrassed expression on the light curtain, Kyosuke Kousaka outside the light curtain inexplicably felt an extreme sense of joy. This was what he had always wanted to see!

God knows how much resentment he has accumulated in his heart as he has been watching his future self suffer the endless persecution of this white-haired rabbit from a third-party perspective. Every time he thinks of it, he feels gloomy and wishes he could find a sandbag with the other person's photo on it to beat him up to vent his anger.

Even though he knew the situation was extremely urgent, seeing the same expression on the other person's face that he would always have in the future, Kousaka still felt refreshed and refreshed both physically and mentally. It was almost like the first day of the new year when he put on new underwear and slept naked, then opened the window and the morning sun shone on his skin!

"You've come to this day, Zaimokuza!"

"Ha-ha Qiu!"

Zaimokuza, who was far away at Sobu High School, suddenly felt an itchy nose and couldn't help but sneeze violently - and he just turned around to consult his best friend about the content on the screen.

Hikigaya Hachiman: "..."

He felt his face become slightly moist, and the corner of his eye twitched violently. His right hand, with its veins throbbing, clenched tightly, and became hard, his fist became hard.

"Even though they've separated, Lindo and Gurongi still originate from the same tribe. We couldn't possibly be on guard against them... because no one could have imagined that things would develop to that extent."

That smile seemed like an illusion. As Zaimokuza lowered his hands from his face, Miou's voice became deeper again.

"Unlike the Lindo, who had always adhered to farming and animal husbandry, the Gurongi, after learning to hunt, quickly gained access to sufficient food sources in this vast, resource-rich land. This adequate nutrition made them strong, and pregnant women no longer faced the same food shortages after giving birth, significantly improving their survival rates."

"Their ideals and achievements quickly attracted those members of the tribe who had previously been wavering. More and more people began to leave the Linduo tribe and join the Gurongi tribe. They quickly grew stronger and surpassed us in just ten years."

"Even though our philosophies differed, we still shared the same origin, and they had always been helpful to Linduo. Therefore, during that period, the relationship between the two groups was actually quite pleasant."

[“…Until that day, everything changed.”]

The blazing sun above the sky suddenly sank westward at a speed visible to the naked eye. Countless brilliant stars, long invisible in modern society, dotted the black night sky. Countless bonfires lit on the ground, and animal hide tents stood one after another at the foot of the mountain.

At this moment, all the Gurongi people, dressed in animal skins, gathered in front of a tent. Many men spontaneously took up arms and stood guard around it. Everyone looked at the tent with a mixture of nervousness and reverence.

The dim light from the tent cast three figures on the surface: a woman lying on the ground, a strong figure holding her hand, and finally a thin figure squatting between the woman's spread legs.

[One after another, a woman's groan of pain echoed from the tent. Hearing this sound, the men guarding the tent tightened their grip on their weapons.]

Anyone who sees this scene knows what is happening. The world's greatest chemical reaction is taking place in the tent. It is the most noble mission of all natural life on this planet, namely the continuation and birth of life.

[…The one who is giving birth is the priest who left the tribe.]

[The tent surrounded by flames was reflected in Miou's eyes. A look of longing and joy, common to women, filled her eyes—but mostly sadness.]

["Ten years after leaving the tribe, she finally gave birth to a child with her lover. That lover is now the original leader of the Gurongi tribe."]

["Not only in the Lindo clan, but even in the Gurongi clan, priests hold a special status. This is because this priest's abilities are almost unmatched among all the priests of the past."]

"Not only can she predict the past and future, she possesses eyes that see through the present. She can also sense and communicate with the various forces in this world, commanding these diverse phenomena to her advantage... She used her innate power to help the newly formed Gurongi clan overcome numerous difficulties. Her dedication to their growth is indispensable, and for this reason, her fellow clansmen hold her in deep reverence."

"For the Gurongi, the birth of a priest's offspring is a truly significant event, as it signifies that after the priest's departure, another person will inherit the responsibility of protecting the tribe. This strength is indispensable."

[“Finally, the priest successfully gave birth to her own child.”]

The baby's loud cry interrupted Miou's words. At the same time, everyone who heard the sound began to cheer, hugging each other and talking to each other in a language that Zaimokuza couldn't understand. Everyone's face was filled with ecstasy and excitement that was beyond words.

"That's a good thing, then."

Looking at the smiles on those faces, even though he knew they were most likely the ancestors of the future evil Gurongi clan, Zaimokuza couldn't help but be moved by the pure joy and smiles, and spoke with mixed emotion.

[“No… This is the biggest mistake.”]

[Unexpectedly, Miou, who, as a woman, should have been most moved by this scene, shook her head, her eyes filled with indescribable sadness.]

[“The birth of this child completely changed the fate of two races, and even the entire world.”]

A huge roar of anger and a woman's wailing suddenly erupted within the tent. All the tribesmen who had been laughing were stunned. They stood there hugging each other, looking at each other, their eyes reflecting a bewildered expression.

A strange howling wind suddenly extinguished all the torches. Dark clouds, appearing from nowhere, obscured the stars in the sky. The entire world lost almost all light at that moment. Only the flames in the priest's tent still burned tenaciously.

A man dressed in animal skins suddenly opened the tent and rushed out. In his arms was a baby wrapped in animal skins. Judging from the sparse hair on the baby's head, it was obviously a baby girl.

The man holding the baby glared at the surrounding tribesmen with an incomparably furious gaze, gazing towards the distant mountains shrouded in darkness. He barked orders to the tribesmen around him. The expressions on their faces suddenly changed, turning pale and filled with disbelief.

[“What’s going on???”]

Zaimokuza watched this scene, clearly realizing something bad had happened. However, not being able to speak the Gurongi language, he had no idea what the man meant, and cast a puzzled look at Miou beside him.

"They want to escape."

Miou silently watched the Gurongi scattered from her and Zaimokuza, and spoke softly.

"Remember what I just told you about the priest's curse, Mr. Zaimokuza?"

"Now that a descendant of the priestess's bloodline has appeared, certain beings, sensing what's happening, are ready to take the priestess's life... But the priestess, reluctant to leave her husband and newborn child behind, doesn't want to repeat the fate of her ancestors, so she chooses to tell them about this."

"But defying destiny comes at a price. Those former priests didn't fight their fate because they knew they were powerless against those beings. To protect their people and future generations, they chose to compromise, sacrificing their own lives for the survival of those around them."

[“But that was Linduo’s choice, while Gurongi’s choice was to resist to the end.”]

The scene around me changed again at this moment. Endless snowflakes fluttered down, filling the entire field of vision. Huge mountains replaced the plains.

In this white mountain range, people clad in animal skins, carrying their baggage, trudged through the snow with difficulty. The heavy snow that fell on their bodies transformed them into the same color as the snowy plain.

["From then on, the Gurongi clan began to flee day and night. The priestess used her power to guide the clan's direction. During this process, she came into contact with those who wanted to take her life several times, but she was able to escape danger in the end."]

"They did resist, but it was completely pointless. Their skilled hunting and fighting skills were useless against those unimaginable beings. Many Gurongi sacrificed their lives to protect the priestess and her descendants... Perhaps because they had violated their commandments, those beings no longer targeted the priestess's bloodline as they once did. Any Gurongi who dared to stand in their way were mercilessly killed."

[“In this way, the Gurongi clan continued to flee, constantly sacrificing members to protect the entire clan, and this lasted for several years…”]

"What on earth are they? Why do they have to force the Gurongi into a desperate situation?!"

Zaimokuza had never imagined that he would one day be enraged by the disasters suffered by the Gurongi. But as he watched the scenes before him constantly changing with Miou's words, and the corpses and blood that were bound to appear in those scenes, he finally clenched his fists in unbearable pain.

He even saw some of the children from the previous plains hunt in these scenes, now grown into teenagers. But they had all become lifeless corpses lying quietly on the ground, and none of them had closed their eyes; those that were open were empty and dead.

"...This is meaningless to you, Zaimokuza-san."

[Miou said, shaking his head palely.]

"What happened next is the key. In this endless escape, the priestess's role became increasingly limited. As time passed, the various powers she could once draw upon gradually disappeared. In the end, even the 'spirits' of all things in the world refused to communicate with her, as if the entire world were rejecting them... The entire Gurongi clan was completely forced into a desperate situation."

"Despair consumed the souls of every member of the Gurongi clan at the time. The constant sacrifice of their members and the endless flight taught them the true meaning of hatred and resentment. They hated those who pursued them, and even more so, they hated this world that wanted them dead."

"Finally, these pent-up negative emotions underwent a transformation. Realizing there was no place for his clan in the world, the Gurongi leader decided not to flee anymore. Instead, they chose to rebel... In order to reclaim their clan's fate and living space from those beings, he hoped to gain the power to defy fate."

“He asked his wife, the priestess, to use a forbidden method passed down through generations of priests in exchange for power… and that method was sacrifice.”

"Sacrifice..."

Zaimokuza was stunned when he heard this familiar word. The words that Kousaka had told him before completely resurfaced in his mind.

"Yes, sacrifice... and the sacrifice is life."

[Nodding, Miou lowered her gaze.]

"For Linduo, who once refused to harm other lives, killing others to satisfy her hunger was already an unparalleled sin, let alone taking lives in exchange for power. That was the most utter disobedience to the teachings of her ancestors... But the priestess ultimately chose to agree, because no matter what, she did not want her children and future generations to repeat the fate of those priests before her."

[“Furthermore, under the circumstances at the time, the Gurongi clan had no other choice: either fight with all their might or wait to be killed.”]

"Perhaps regretting the sin and tragic consequences of his original choice, the priest... chose to sacrifice himself."

The cold, pitch-black cave replaced all previous scenes. Zaimokuza and Miou turned their heads to the side at the same time, only to see a stone altar covered in strange symbols and patterns, emitting a scarlet glow in the darkness.

Beneath the altar, dozens of figures stood scattered around, and in the front was the man from before. His face was unshaven, and his eyes no longer held the youthful energy they once had, instead becoming more mature and steady.

He held a little girl in his arms, his gaze fixed on the top of the altar, tears and sadness gleaming in his eyes.

Kneeling at the very top of the altar was a woman with long black hair, dressed in a robe woven from white cloth and animal skins. She turned her back to the altar and gazed upward, raising both hands. The crescent-shaped magatama on her right wrist clashed with her movements, creating an ethereal sound.

「That’s──!???」

[Looking at the jewelry on the woman's right hand, Zaimokuza's expression changed instantly. He suddenly turned around to look at Miou, who was also looking down and stroking his right wrist with his left hand.]

[And on her right wrist, the stone magatama trembled slightly as if in resonance, and its appearance was exactly the same as the one worn by the woman at the altar.]

[…The priest sacrificed his own life, gaining for the Gurongi clan the powerful force that could defy fate.]

[Looking at the jewelry on her wrist, Miou's expression was a mixture of laughter and tears, too complex to describe.]

"But there's a problem. According to common sense, this ritual can only draw upon the power of this world... But before this, all the spirits of this world rejected her. Logically, the ritual shouldn't be successful."

"The only way is to borrow power from something that never belonged to this world... and that's what the priestess did in the end, and she succeeded."

【"But……"】

Miou tightly closed her eyes, her left hand tightly grasping the ornament on her right wrist, her voice trembling uncontrollably at this moment.

“That priestess had no idea what kind of disaster her actions had brought upon the world…”

"What was originally meant to protect others' 'love' ended up summoning the ultimate 'darkness'."

36. Pluck the Strings of Fate (4k)

[An obscure and complex spell flowed within the vast cavern, its sound waves bouncing off the rock walls and reflecting off them. The entire cavern was filled with this overlapping sound, like an entire choir singing in unison in a large theater.]

Every rune engraved on the altar glowed at this moment. The light was as bright as blood, starting from the bottom and gradually spreading upwards. Finally, the crimson light gathered like clouds at the top of the altar, enveloping the figure of the woman with her hands raised high.

Watching this scene, the man standing at the front of the crowd beneath the altar tightly embraced the young girl in his arms. Tears welled in his eyes, his pupils reflecting the woman at the top of the altar, who was gradually being engulfed by an ominous red light. His dry, cracked lips trembled, but he could not utter a word.

The next moment, a dazzling light engulfed the man's figure and the people behind him. The chanting of the incantation finally ceased, and the woman, who had merged into the red light, slowly lowered her raised hands.

At some point, she turned her head and looked down at the altar. Her most cherished family in the world was standing there, only a few dozen meters away from her.

The woman's face and eyes were completely engulfed by the crimson light. Only her hand, stretched out toward the base of the altar, could be seen, her fingers spread out as if she were trying to grasp something.