I didn't believe in luck.

Being an atheist, I naturally thought the world operated according to phenomena that scientists had already explained, with no room for concepts like fate.

Sure, if you dug deeper, you might hear arguments about how free will doesn't exist and how the world is just cause and effect, but I never bothered to delve that far.

My job didn't require it. I only needed to know where water flows, how to spray it effectively, and what measures were necessary to restart a human heart.

Hmm. But you know what?

"Ah."

Right now, I was in a state where I almost believed in fate.

Well, maybe not fate exactly, but it seemed clear that this Kudan creature could truly read the future.

How much had it anticipated? It probably expected us to follow. That stone falling with such perfect timing suggested as much.

Had it also predicted the church people would follow? That the two groups would clash and waste time arguing while I slipped away to follow Kudan?

I wondered if it had foreseen me stubbing my toe, falling forward, and tumbling down the slope.

Getting bruised all over, rolling down the mountain, slamming my back into a tree, and nearly passing out.

"..."

I realized I didn't even have a flashlight. I should have grabbed one from the car earlier.

"Ugh."

I barely managed to get up. My back felt like it was about to split in half.

But I wasn't dead yet. Though my wounds hadn't healed.

Wounds that normally healed instantly were much slower to recover in this situation where I was connected to Shub-Niggurath. I didn't know why. Probably because that's what Shub-Niggurath wanted.

Breathing heavily, I searched my pockets.

Fortunately, my phone was still safely in my pants pocket.

My phone doesn't have a flashlight. But even in this pitch-black darkness, the screen's brightness could at least dimly illuminate the ground.

I shined it at the floor.

My jeans were torn in several places. Blood was seeping through the tears.

I felt my legs with my hands. Good. These wounds wouldn't prevent me from walking. Of course, a normal person would worry about infection, but since all my physical injuries disappear once the job is done, I didn't need to worry about that.

I tapped the ground with my toes. No sensory issues either. At least my spine seemed intact.

Slowly, I raised my phone.

But you know what?

Thinking about it again, I was still in a pretty bad situation.

If I couldn't find Kudan, I might die stranded on this mountain that was only an hour and a half drive from Tokyo.

Damn it—

While thinking this and looking around with my phone...

"...!"

I had to clench my teeth.

It was a human face.

A middle-aged man's face.

The face of a middle-aged man with bull-like horns on his forehead and wild hair was staring at me blankly.

The goosebumps on my back made me momentarily forget all the pain in my body. Not that I was grateful for that.

Once again, the word "fate" crossed my mind.

Whether it was thanks to Shub-Niggurath's help or Kudan's prophetic abilities, I had merely run a short distance but ended up rolling down the mountain and stopping precisely near the forest where Kudan was hiding.

From this distance, I couldn't see the face clearly, but...

Have you ever seen a pale man's face peeking out between tree branches in the middle of the night, deep in a mountain forest where the branches overhead block even the light of the moon and stars?

Even knowing roughly what it was, it was truly terrifying. Even as I moved just millimeters at a time toward that face, the goosebumps wouldn't stop.

No, come to think of it, these weren't just goosebumps from fear.

Still, this Kudan creature was genuinely the scariest yokai I'd ever encountered. Not because of its appearance, but its atmosphere.

Ah, maybe I should ask for a sword.

I seriously considered it.

I no longer had any chi. I might not have enough blood left to draw out something new.

"Um, excuse me?"

I knew it was born recently, but somehow I couldn't bring myself to speak casually. Because its face was that of a middle-aged man? Well, that was part of it, but...

A cow's face is naturally larger than a human's. Even the biggest, bulkiest person I knew had a head smaller than a cow's.

But if a human head were attached to a cow's body, how big would that head be?

If it opened its mouth, I genuinely believe my entire head could fit inside, no joke.

It's a bit hard to comprehend. Even for a cow, a calf should be much smaller than this.

The Kudan before me wasn't just a calf.

...Could it be something else?

Another yokai living in this forest?

Running away wasn't an option in this situation. Even if I turned and ran, there was only the steep slope I had rolled down.

And if it was a yokai, it probably wouldn't try to eat me. They usually spit me out after one bite.

"...Kudan?"

Would it know that was its name?

Perhaps because I showed no hostility, that pale, large face just stared at me with its black eyes.

"..."

And finally, I managed to get close to it.

I slowly illuminated beyond its face.

There was—a spotted cow's body.

...So it really was this breed.

I guess I should have looked it up when they mentioned a ranch.

What should I do?

If it had been just a cow, or even if its face had been cow-shaped, I would have tried petting it.

But... that... well... you know.

Its face is like a flat-faced man.

Wouldn't petting it be a bit weird?

"...Can you understand what I'm saying?"

I awkwardly asked in formal speech.

Kudan just looked at me, then suddenly turned its head.

And walked away.

Since it wasn't running, I quickly followed.

Was it guiding me? Or was it trying to escape in its own way?

As I followed, I noticed Kudan's hair was slightly white.

Ring.

My phone rang.

Even in the mountains, being so close to Tokyo meant the network coverage was good.

I answered the phone.

[Kurosawa!? Where are you! Are you okay?]

Yuuki shouted in a voice that didn't sound okay at all.

I moved the phone slightly away from my ear before responding.

"I'm fine. I just got a bit lost."

[Where are you now?]

I looked toward Kudan.

Kudan had stopped ahead and was looking back at me.

The sight of a cow standing in the middle of a pathless forest, turning to stare at me, was bizarre. Especially with that human head.

...

Its white hair seems to have increased?

Is that my imagination?

After a moment's hesitation, I said:

"I found it."

[What?]

Yuuki was startled. There was a brief commotion on the other end. I could hear her grandfather's voice mumbling, and it seemed like several other people were there too.

Had they made some deal with the church people? No matter how skilled Yuuki and her grandfather were, they couldn't win by numbers. Especially if neither side wanted to kill the other.

"I'm following it now. I'll let you know the location once I can identify it."

I'd figure out how to tell them when the time came.

[Wait, Kurosawa! Kurosawa!]

"See you in a bit."

I answered and hung up.

...Prophecy, alone.

...Did that being already know even that?

As if it had been waiting for me to finish my call, Kudan turned its head again and moved steadily in one direction.

I hurried after it.

*

A few minutes before Kurosawa Kotone tumbled off the cliff—

"Kurosawa!"

Yuuki was rushing toward the man blocking Kotone.

She didn't intend to fight. She just wanted to somehow break through the situation and protect Kotone.

But before Yuuki could reach him, the man's knife was already stabbing Kotone.

The 20-centimeter blade tip seemed to pierce near Kotone's neck.

"What—"

The man muttered.

Behind them, someone from their school, a year above them... whose name didn't matter, was shouting something. It seemed like he was criticizing the man for stabbing Kotone.

But before that, Yuuki was already charging at the man.

"Yuka! Don't!"

Her grandfather's shout snapped her to attention, and Yuuki quickly twisted her body to move the blade away from the man.

But she didn't slow down.

The man, tackled in the back and shoulder, fell forward.

And that was just the beginning.

Bam!

Quickly dodging a flying fist, Yuuki drove the end of her sword handle into the man's abdomen.

"Gah!"

The man staggered but didn't fall.

"...Hic."

Such a sound came from behind Yuuki.

The man had dropped his blood-stained knife on the ground. The blade was clearly coated in red.

Seeing that, Yuuki's heart raced violently.

It's my fault.

That thought struck her.

Kotone had been dealing with various troubles all semester. Not just yokai, but other incidents as well.

Her grandfather thought Kotone had handled the man-eating yokai that had been active until Yuuki arrived and then suddenly disappeared.

It wasn't an unreasonable deduction. Yuuki had already seen that girl cut her wrist to create a sword and go out to eliminate that being as soon as she saw the news article.

A good girl who, even in terrible situations, quietly helped people in the only way she knew how.

And that method was making her already terrible situation even worse.

There was a sound of wind being cut, followed by the clash of metal against metal.

It wasn't sword against sword. The grandfather had shot an arrow to knock away the sword the man had drawn. Yuuki used that opportunity to leap backward and create distance.

Then she looked in the direction Kotone had run. Kotone was already out of sight.

I need to go.

The girl didn't even have a flashlight. If she got lost on the mountain in this situation...

But as she tried to run forward to follow, there were people blocking her way.

"Move!"

Yuuki pointed her sword at them and shouted.

"Everyone stop!"

At that command, the men froze.

Yuuki looked back.

The upperclassman quickly approached where the man had dropped his sword.

And bent down to pick it up.

The sticky blood on the sword dripped down.

Her face was also covered in blood, making her look like someone who would definitely be reported to the police if a passerby saw her.

"..."

Yuuki glared at that woman too.

What on earth had happened?

Had Kotone sprayed blood? Or had that woman also stabbed Kotone...?

"Why did you do that?" the woman asked.

"What I stabbed—"

"You pointed a knife at her."

"You were holding one too."

At Yuuki's words, the woman looked at her.

"You were holding one too."

"I had no intention of stabbing. And I didn't stab anyone. I just blocked whatever balloon-thing she threw at me."

She spoke to Yuuki in a cold voice.

"More importantly, were you the ones who hurt that girl so badly? Why? Was some ritual that important? Is that prophecy so important that you'd make a child cut her wrists?"

"..."

At those words, Yuuki felt like she'd been struck in the head again.

"That girl was bleeding profusely. In her current state, she'll collapse soon. We need to find her first. We don't have time to fight."

The woman spoke calmly.

"But Kudan—"

"..."

At those words, the woman stared at the man's face.

The man closed his mouth.

Yes, that was right.

It was Yuuki herself who had called Kotone.

It was Yuuki who made her cut her wrist. She even prepared a first aid kit and bucket in the car.

When Kotone got in the car, she placed the shopping bag she'd brought as if it were something precious at the very edge of the seat. As if she didn't want it to get dirty with blood.

And she even mentioned having an appointment on Thursday.

...She had come knowing everything. That she would bleed, and might even end up hospitalized.

Knowing all that, she followed Yuuki's words without being told what to do or how.

Why had she thought that way? Why was Kotone the first person she thought of when she heard about the "catastrophe"?

Had Yuuki believed that stopping the massive catastrophe took priority, even if it meant sacrificing Kotone?

...

No, that wasn't it. Rather—

She had thought of it as something that would happen naturally.

Goosebumps rose on her back, like when facing a yokai.

Who exactly was the monster here?

"Yuka."

Her grandfather's voice finally brought Yuuki back to reality.

"Let's first check if we can contact her."

At her grandfather's words, Yuuki immediately took out her phone.

She quickly found Kotone's name and called.

"Kurosawa!? Where are you! Are you okay?"

Kotone said she was fine.

She even said she'd found Kudan.

But she didn't say where she was, and the call ended.

The men's expressions changed when they heard about Kudan, having looked somewhat doubtful before.

But Kudan had long since vanished from Yuuki's mind.

Yuuki started running. She could hear people rushing after her.

Things had gotten completely tangled. Perhaps the church would kill Kudan before hearing the prophecy, which might provoke a reaction from Miura's side.

But—

None of that mattered anymore.

What weighed much more heavily was the thought that she had driven her friend into such a situation with her own hands.

But when she ran following the blood trail,

There was a steep downward slope that looked like no unprepared person should attempt to descend.

And near the path leading to that slope, there were marks where someone had been dragged.

And further down, continuously.

*

It's about time I acquired a different ability.

Come to think of it, it's a sword "made" from my blood. Perhaps I could follow a form other than a sword.

Like a gun, for instance.

It's just a solid material, right? I think it would work if I imagined having a portable 3D printer.

...No, I quickly rejected that idea. A gun has too many parts. Above all, our great and noble Outer God Shub-Niggurath wouldn't allow such a cheat ability.

It's an entity with thoroughly perverse tastes. It would probably reject me even trying to summon something by just sprinkling blood on my wrist.

In ancient Aztec times, they offered living sacrifices.

I don't believe the gods the Aztecs worshipped actually existed, but they stubbornly adhered to that method. They never considered killing or preparing the sacrifices beforehand. And the reason was probably "to please the gods."

And Shub-Niggurath is an Outer God. If it's not done the way it wants, it won't respond, or it will demand an enormous penalty.

What about a bow, then?

If I could shoot a bow, it could have been a great help against the Raijuu.

And maybe there's a way to utilize the blood I keep spilling...

...Though the fact that I had no reason to be part of that harem gathering was a big problem.

"...Ah."

Kudan stopped walking, so I stopped too.

"Is this...?"

It was a cliff.

Much higher than where I had rolled down earlier. The kind where if you misstepped and fell, they'd have a hard time finding your body.

The scenery wasn't very visible at night. But it would probably be spectacular in daylight.

The lack of railings suggested it wasn't developed as a tourist attraction.

And above all else—

"The sea."

I could see the sea.

The sea at midnight is beautiful.

The moon hung in the sky above the sea. And another moon floated in the seawater.

The horizon stretching far away was surprisingly visible even in the darkness.

"Did you come to see this view...?"

At my words, Kudan, who was already crouching near the cliff, turned to look at me.

And I was startled again by that face.

Kudan's face had completely aged. During our walk together, it had become an old man. The white hair growing from its head wasn't just my imagination.

"..."

I silently went over and sat down beside Kudan.

Perhaps this is what it wanted from the beginning.

There was no need to get rid of me. Unlike others, I wasn't trying to capture it to hear its prophecy, or kill it before that could happen.

What I wanted was just a few words before it breathed its last.

A peaceful death, not confined anywhere, not disturbed by anyone.

Since it was going to die today anyway.

We sat in silence for a long time.

There was no need for me to explicitly state what I wanted. Not if it already knew this would happen.

The goosebumps on my back were gradually subsiding.

Thud.

Kudan's face fell limply to the ground. With its legs completely relaxed, chin resting on the ground, it stared blankly at the sea stretching far away.

It would be nice if it could hold out for a few hours to see the sunrise.

"...It's time now," Kudan spoke.

It was an old man's voice.

"Yes."

"I wanted to see the future that only appears in my head."

"..."

"Having opened my mouth, I must speak the prophecy. I must speak and die. Otherwise, those who will soon arrive will kill me."

"...I'm listening."

"You don't have to listen. Just stay far away."

"But it will happen anyway. And I promised. I said I would listen."

"..."

Kudan hesitated briefly before speaking.

"You will die."

Death comes to everyone.

Death is the final destination of all life.

Strangely enough, no living being is born to die, and yet...

"By the hand of the one you trust most."

Yes, that seemed likely.

"I understand. Thank you."

"Mm."

Kudan responded.

And after that, there was no sound.

The goosebumps on my back had completely disappeared.

I remained sitting alone, thinking.

Kudan's prophecy isn't directed at individuals.

The way to avoid the prophecy is to hear the prophecy of the female Kudan born together with it.

...Combining those two points.

Does my death bring some catastrophe to this world?

Or conversely, is it telling those who try to save me to reconsider?

Slowly, the pain in my left wrist subsided.

I sat there hugging my knees for a long time, until I fell asleep.