[FMMISM] Chapter 47: A Dream and 666

At this moment, Ragna had a dream.

It was so real that he couldn't distinguish between reality and dream.

When he snapped out of it, the entire city in his sight was already engulfed in roaring flames.

As the city burned hot, the sky turned orange, people screamed in agony, and corpses littered the ground.

'Ahh... I couldn't resist in the end, even though I promised my mother.'

After effortlessly killing numerous humans, he made a sad smile.

However, that slightly sad smile lasted only a moment, quickly transforming into a sadistic grin.

As he looked upon the living hell before him, what surged from his chest wasn't regret for the lost warmth of daily life, but anticipation for the dark tomorrow.

Clearly, this was his true nature as a Beast.

At times intense, at times sweet, at times confused—attracting things of madness.

===

Every lonely night in the past, a being known as Beast would ponder.

Why must he suppress himself?

Such sadness, such pain.

Born from his mother into this world, he was a being more noble and powerful than any life.

His mother once said, "You, more beautiful than flowers, than stars, than gods themselves, surely a gift bestowed upon me by heaven."

However, the Beast knew very well that deep down, he was actually unbearably ugly.

After all, his body, akin to mud, emitted a staggering stench.

Obviously, there was nothing in this world uglier than himself.

After all, his form was constructed from the evil and desires of humanity—past, present, and future.

In truth, the Beast had a great mission.

It was to slaughter humanity to the last and, from the perspective of a god, eradicate kindness and beauty along with sin from this planet.

In the Beast's eyes, nothing else matters.

Unlike those world-destroying entities or tools in some myths, what the Beast sought to destroy wasn't an era but the traces of humanity's existence.

Yes, the Beast's enemy was humanity itself.

However, ever since meeting his mother, the Beast had changed.

His mother was just too beautiful, too dazzling.

His mother also didn't care about his ugliness and evil at all.

Eventually, as the time spent with her was so blissful, the Beast forgot his own mission.

However, despite being such a gentle mother, she was always treated cruelly by the world.

When late at night and the Beast seemed asleep, his mother, who usually embraced his neck, put away her radiant smile and showed a melancholy, sorrowful expression.

Occasionally, the Beast would also hear some unsettling rumors.

What the Beast heard was that his most beloved mother, might leave him, leave this city.

If that were true, didn't that mean he would return to the solitude of being alone?

Realizing this, the Beast felt unbearable sorrow and anger.

He knew that all of this was the fault of humanity.

Humanity, who hurt his mother, who tried to take her away from him, were, after all, existences bearing the original sin.

In that case, he should have exterminated humanity from the start.

With this realization, the Beast grinned fiercely with his blood-red eyes.

Subconsciously, the Beast swung out his tentacle, crushing a very strong man into powder.

"Hahahahaha! Look, humans are just like trash!"

Not only tentacles, the Beast also continued to spew flames.

He knew that there was nothing more effective than heat as a means of killing, since before the flames, everyone was equal.

Men, women, children, livestock, houses, streets—everything in the Beast's eyes danced enveloped in flames.

"Hahaha... hahaha... hahahahahahaha!"

As the Beast's mind was being overwhelmed by madness, he continued to evolve.

With each kill, his physical mass increased.

With each devouring, he lost some linguistic function.

Soon, with just a little more soul to eat, his seven heads with ten horns could take shape.

"..."

However, before that could happen, a girl emerged from the flames.

She had a graceful appearance, elegant limbs, and bright eyes.

She was undoubtedly noble and exquisite, a talented beauty.

Yes, she was none other than the Beast's mother.

"Welcome back, Mother."

Seeing his mother, the Beast smiled and hurried towards her.

"When you were away, I killed all those humans who were against you, you know?

"I gathered those people and their parents together and burned them alive."

"Oh, I also tore open their children, devouring their souls inside, so praise me, Mother!"

"..."

Not answering, the girl's mouth half-opened, her eyes widening—an expression the Beast had never seen before.

"Why... Why would you do such things..."

She bit her lower lip, her emerald eyes filled with despair.

"Mother...?"

Seeing his mother acting unusual, the Beast was confused.

'Why are you looking at me like that? Did I do something wrong?'

Questioning inside his mind, the Beast spoke up again.

"I'm sorry, Mother... I'm sorry..."

Lowering his head as much as possible, the Beast showed a pleading expression to his mother.

"I'm sorry... Can you hug me? Mother."

"..."

"I was harsh to you just now... I'm really sorry..."

In the end, the girl lowered her gaze, embraced the Beast's neck, and apologized.

With this, the fire that had burned for six days and seven nights gradually extinguished as the Beast's mood stabilized.

However, not long after, many people gathered in the square.

Survivors, refugees, and those who had lost their loved ones were wielding weapons, staring at the Beast and closing in on him.

"He is the root of all evil!"

"He is the monster that destroyed the city!"

"Kill him!"

"Kill him!"

"Kill him!"

"Mother..."

Seeing the people's hostility, the Beast's body trembled slightly, his gleaming fangs exposed toward the crowd.

Naturally, the Beast knew he had to kill these people, or they would surely harm his mother. Yet, she gently embraced him and shook her head while smiling, evidently knowing what he was thinking.

"It's alright now, good child... From now on, I will bear the number of 666 with you..."

After saying those words, she released the Beast and turned to face the angry crowd.

No.

At that moment, the Beast immediately realized that his mother would soon leave him.

"No, Mother! Stay by my side, don't leave—"

"I will always, always love you... Ragna."

Facing away from him, the girl's face bloomed with a rose-like smile, and in the next moment, she boldly declared to the angry crowd.

"It has nothing to do with this child! I was the one who set fire to Rome!"

With that, her deceptive statement to the world was the final confession left by the girl as the Beast's mother.

===

"Ugh!"

Hot tears streamed down Ragna's face as he abruptly woke from an endless, sorrowful dream.

"Hahh... Hahh... Hahh..."

Along with awakening came a crushing sense of loss.

From that dream, Ragna had learned the truth about the historical 'Great Fire of Rome'.

It was Nero who bore the unfounded blame in order to protect her child.

Clearly, the number 666, akin to her own name, was interpreted by the Church as Nero's name.

Ragna wondered, was that dream just now the memory of Beast VI from two thousand years ago?

However, back then, Nero did indeed call out his name.

"Ragna?"

A voice Ragna knew all too well brought him back to reality.

Ragna looked up and realized that there was Manaka's face.

"Manaka? Why are you here—wait, I remember I was..."

"In Tokyo Bay, you washed ashore with the waves." Manaka calmly explained.

"!!!"

Ragna immediately stood up and gazed towards the direction of the city.

What he saw was the city of Tokyo bathed in the morning light, vibrant and bustling.

Ragna sighed with relief and was glad that everything was alright and happened as planned.

It seemed that Manaka's timely phone call had prevented his rampage.

It seemed like when he parted ways with the Gigantic Horror, his past memories as Beast VI were awakened subconsciously.

However, this time, he didn't repeat the past mistakes in the dream.

Still, what happened to Nero afterwards?

Shaking his tangled thoughts, Ragna decided to temporarily set aside his pondering and moved forward.

"Manaka, let's go home."

"Mm."

Beside him, Manaka smiled brightly and held his hand tightly.