The rain poured violently.
Drops slapped the water's surface. The river rippled again and again.
A long-haired man in loose robes fished by the riverbank.
He held a bamboo rod in both hands—but looking closely, there was no bait. Only a hook drifting with the current.
"To think I'd be summoned by the Counter Force again in just a year…"
He sighed softly, as if talking to himself.
"I really don't know what that child is doing…"
A year ago, in 1908, the Gaia summoned the Beast Hunter Taigong Wang to Siberia.
Back then, he discovered the human Izaya, repeatedly confirmed there was no threat to humanity here, touched the fish, and left.
Unexpectedly, in only one year, Gaia had summoned him again…
And this time, it was a death warrant.
—The Beast of this world must be eliminated.
"What happened here? To the point that both Counter Forces can't sit still?"
Taigong Wang muttered, then smiled and glanced behind him.
"And… you've been watching me with clairvoyance from the start, haven't you, Lord Magus of Flowers? Isn't that a bit rude?"
As his voice fell, cold raindrops swept on the wind.
Countless pink petals drifted between heaven and earth, condensing into a silver-haired man in a white magus robe.
Merlin—the great magus of Britain.
The white-haired mage bowed lightly, performing impeccable etiquette.
"Is it fair to say you are worthy of being the Grand Caster?"
"To guide battle with an immortal body, and finally 'fish' out the destiny of centuries for a newly rising dynasty—seeing the legendary Eastern strategist with my own eyes is truly an honor."
Since Taigong Wang had revealed himself first, Merlin replied with understated words that carried a small counterstrike—showing just how well he knew him.
Taigong Wang casually lifted his rod. The sound of raindrops on water was crisp and pleasant.
He looked Merlin over, narrowed his eyes, and smiled.
"Seems you've truly been targeted by troublesome people."
"Ah, ah… If even I feel it's troublesome, then the one beside us… should be an even greater headache, no?"
Merlin's smile turned meaningful.
No one knew when it began, but a deep indigo flame ignited behind them.
A burly man wearing a skull helmet appeared like a ghost.
Taigong Wang narrowed his eyes, stared a moment, then raised a hand in polite greeting.
"Yo. Hello, Hassan."
"Hm. I never thought we'd meet one day."
Hassan could refer to any assassin…
But in this era, there was only one Grand Assassin qualified to be summoned directly by the Counter Force itself.
The King of Assassination among assassins—
The Old Man of the Mountain.
Gaia and Alaya were this planet's two major Counter Forces.
If Gaia was the Department of Earth's Ecology, and Alaya the Department of Human Civilization Continuance, then Taigong Wang was Gaia's specialist—while Merlin and the Old Man of the Mountain were Heroic Spirits dispatched by Alaya.
In the past, the two Counter Forces rarely cooperated like this.
But this time, they had found something unbelievable.
"I didn't think we'd encounter such a special situation," Merlin smiled.
"I don't know what happened in this era, but it's enough to force the two Counter Forces' hands…"
"And from the looks of it, it seems we aren't the only ones who accepted the summoning."
"To work this hard… truly rare."
Finally, Merlin's lips curved pleasantly.
"But as long as it's interesting, that's enough. Since everyone is here, this mission shouldn't be too difficult."
For Britain's great magus, the mission was secondary.
What mattered was whether what he saw and heard would be "interesting."
Bluntly put: he was a pleasure-seeking criminal.
Hearing that, Taigong Wang sneered.
"Lord Magus of Flowers—do you think just the few of us can settle this?"
The Counter Force never "personally" ends things without reason. This time, both Counter Forces had acted simultaneously—meaning something in this era had happened that both found difficult to handle.
According to the Counter Force's warning, the greatest problem of this era was the Beast of Cherishment.
The essence of Beast IV was an aggregate resentment of non-human life persecuted by humans.
This existence was not only "human evil" threatening humanity—it was also a twisted cancer of Earth's ecosystem.
But only a year has passed…
Is the Beast of Cherishment's growth already so fast that the Counter Force must step in and end it face-to-face?
If so, then this isn't going to be simple…
"Oh?" Merlin lifted a brow and smiled. "If that's what you say, then let's see what happened in this era."
He raised his gaze.
Clairvoyants who could see through "now" stared straight toward the horizon, where powerful magical fluctuations surged.
Siberia's cold wind and icy rain swept over endless snowfields.
It felt as though the whole world was wrapped in rain—yet in Merlin's sight, that monotonous curtain had already been peeled away with ease.
When the image at the horizon appeared, his pupils contracted.
Shocked.
…What is that?!
Beneath distant treetops, a spreading dark vortex was visible.
Two women stood quietly within it.
Countless energies that should've belonged to Earth—countless non-human lives, and resentment accumulated over hundreds of millions of years—had become a visible black torrent, constantly being swallowed by the vortex.
It was feeding a figure in final metamorphosis, formally forming "wings" toward a complete body…
A Beast.
"I see… so that's it…" Merlin whispered.
The frivolous smile had vanished. His eyes were deep, his face showing excitement and fear even he didn't notice.
"Is this why the Counter Force is desperately throwing us 'out-of-spec' men into this era?"
Two Beasts performing a coronation on this frozen land at the same time?!
How very interesting…
"Hm?"
At the edge of that massive storm of "resentment" that devoured everything like a black hole, Merlin suddenly noticed a tiny point of light.
So small it was like a speck of dust in the sea compared to the darkness covering the planet.
…It was a human.
At this moment, the "black hole" was swallowing everything in this land—yet that human stood at its edge.
And he wasn't harmed.
"Oh…?" Merlin's face showed surprise.
"In this era, in a land where life should have gone extinct… there's still a human?"
"And looking at it… he seems blessed by this land?"
Taigong Wang couldn't help looking up at Merlin.
"You must mean Izaya… I have dealt with him before."
"A human with deep ties to this land…" Merlin said softly. "I'm interested."
A dull sound came from the Old Man of the Mountain's heavy armor. He stepped forward, moving toward the black hole on the horizon.
"Then let's go."
"Ah—no fair doing something that interesting alone. Wait for me, old Hassan."
Merlin hurried after him.
Taigong Wang watched the two leave and sighed quietly.
"…Looks like my fishing time is over."