Hounds of the Abyss: The Last Choice to Protect Paradise - Hounds of the Abyss: The Wavering Seal and the Mother's Last Words

Something stirred beyond the door—a low, grinding rumble. Deep beneath the Verdia Mountains, the great abyss Narva Grandis stretched twelve kilometers in length. At its very bottom, on the seventh layer, that door stood. Three meters tall, a meter and a half wide. Its black surface, made of some unknown material, was carved with countless patterns that now emitted a faint, pale-blue glow. The Terminal Door—the boundary connected to the bottom of the world, a threshold that must never be opened. Before it stood Fuwawa Abyssgard. "...The fracture is spreading." Her voice was swallowed by the depths, vanishing as if into the abyss itself. On the breastplate of her light armor—white and pale blue—the crest of the abyss was engraved. A spear of light rested against her right shoulder, and a small sealed vial hung at her hip. Her fluffy white hair swayed slowly in a wind that should not have existed this far underground. The tips were faintly tinged with pale blue, and from within that hair, a white dog's ear twitched quietly. She was a Hound of the Abyss. For generations, the twin guardians who inherited the names Fuwawa and Mococo. She was the one hundred and twenty-seventh. On the back of her left hand, the Brand of the Contract Fang glowed faintly. A special power only the Hounds could wield—the ability to devour the "memory of existence" of a target and return it to the void. The price was one's own memories. Use it too often, and the Hound itself would become nothing. Fuwawa gazed at the brand and let out a slow breath. (I must keep protecting this seal.) Some two thousand years ago, the world had nearly been swallowed by the void. The Hounds of that era sealed the Terminal Door, and the world was saved. But the price was the birth of the Hands of the Void. Black, tentacle-like beings that seeped up from the bottom of the abyss. Formless, they devoured the memories and existence of anything they touched. They possessed intelligence but could not communicate. Their only weaknesses were the spear of light and the Contract Fang. For two thousand years since, the Hounds had fought the Hands of the Void. And they would have to keep fighting forever. Fuwawa stepped toward the door and raised her left hand. She began repairing the seal. The spear of light was also used to maintain the seal. If she used it in battle, the seal would weaken. Within this contradiction, the Hounds had survived. *Gogogo.* The door was struck from the inside. Fuwawa's fingers stopped for an instant. *Gogogo. Gogogogo.* The knocking grew steadily louder. Something was trying to come through from the other side. The seal was wavering. Not from the outside—from within. Something sleeping at the bottom of the abyss was trying to wake. "...Be still." She murmured low and focused her consciousness on the brand on her left hand. The light intensified, and the patterns on the door flickered in response. The light of repair spread across the door's surface. But the knocking did not stop. It only grew more violent, as if resisting her repair. *GOGOGOGOGOGO!* "...Ngh." Fuwawa gritted her teeth. Her clear, pale-blue eyes shone cold as ice. When her emotions ran high, her eyes always turned that way. She knew. This battle was always hers alone. There was no presence behind her. No help would come. As a Hound of the Abyss, facing this door was always a solitary task. She pressed her left hand against the door once more. (I will protect it. For Mococo's sake, too.) The moment she thought that name, the old scar on the back of her left hand throbbed with a sharp, small pain. The cavern was utterly silent. The Gates of Narva—the cavern complex spreading from the entrance to the abyss. Home to roughly two hundred of the Hound clan, a place cut off from the outside world. In one corner, the White Hollow served as Fuwawa and Mococo's base. It measured about two hundred square meters. Glowing moss grew on the walls, bathing the entire cavern in a faint, pale-blue light. Fuwawa returned to the White Hollow after finishing the seal's repair. From the seventh layer to the surface, she climbed seven layers alone. The first layer was home to goblins and orcs, but they never approached when they sensed a Hound's presence. "Welcome back, Sis!" A bright voice flew from the depths of the cavern. A little of the tension drained from Fuwawa's body. "...I'm home." A figure came running from the back. Fluffy white short hair bounced, its tips dyed pink. Large dog ears moved energetically, and sparkling pink eyes narrowed with delight when they found Fuwawa. She stood a hundred and fifty-eight centimeters—just slightly shorter than Fuwawa. Her light armor, white and pink, fluttered softly with her movements. "You're late! You went all the way to the seventh layer today, right? How was the door?" "...Same as always." Fuwawa answered quietly and lowered the spear of light from her shoulder. When she leaned it against the wall, it lost its glow and vanished. A weapon generated from her soul. When unused, it returned within her like this. Mococo watched her sister's hands intently. "Sis, does your left hand hurt again?" Her voice grew a little smaller. Her pink eyes were fixed on the old scar carved into the back of Fuwawa's left hand. Beneath the Brand of the Contract Fang, the skin remained white and drawn, as if puckered. Fuwawa unconsciously pulled her left hand back. "...It was a long time ago. It doesn't hurt anymore." She smiled. Just the corners of her mouth, lifted ever so slightly. Mococo looked at that smile and tried to say something. But she couldn't. She had realized long ago that her sister's smile was, in truth, a sad one. "...Let's eat! I made mushroom soup today!" Mococo forced out a cheerful voice and took Fuwawa's hand. "Oh my, you cooked? That's rare." "That's mean! I can do it when I put my mind to it!" Fuwawa let herself be led by her little sister, walking deeper into the cavern. Mococo's hand was warm. That warmth melted, just a little, the heart that had frozen at the bottom of the abyss. (Because this child is here, I...) She gazed at her sister's back. The tips of that white short hair swayed pink. (For her sake, I would do anything.) That had been their mother's dying wish. That day, when she was twelve. Fuwawa remembered her mother's final moments. Deep in the cavern, in the Chamber of Sealing. The Terminal Door was shaking violently. The Hands of the Void spilled from the gaps in the door, covering the entire cavern. Black tentacles crawled along the walls, hung from the ceiling, and swallowed the Hounds one after another. "Fuwawa, take Mococo and run." Her mother's voice was calm. Her white hair was whipped into disarray by the black wind of the Void's Hands. Her mother, too, was a Hound of the Abyss. The previous Fuwawa. "Mom, come with us!" The twelve-year-old Fuwawa screamed. Beside her, the same-aged Mococo clung to their mother's clothes, crying. "Mom, no! Don't leave us!" Their mother embraced them both. "...It's all right. You two must live on together." Then she placed her left hand over Fuwawa's left hand. "Fuwawa. I entrust the Contract Fang to you." The brand passed from her mother's hand to hers. A searing heat pierced through Fuwawa's entire body. A new brand was carved into the back of her left hand. "Protect Mococo." Her mother's eyes were fixed on Fuwawa. Pale-blue eyes—the same color as Fuwawa's. "You will protect Mococo. Promise me." "...Mom." "Go!" Their mother shoved Fuwawa and Mococo toward the cavern's exit. Fuwawa ran, pulling Mococo by the hand. Behind them, the Hands of the Void roared. She looked back and saw her mother's figure being covered by black tentacles. "Mom—!" Mococo's scream echoed through the cavern. Fuwawa did not look back. If she looked back, she wouldn't be able to run anymore. She wouldn't be able to protect Mococo. (Protect. I will protect Mococo.) That was her promise to their mother. And then, that day when she was fourteen. Fuwawa processed a Vessel of the Key for the first time. The Laws of the Abyss—the code passed down through the Hound clan. One: Show no mercy to outsiders. Two: Protecting the Terminal Door is the highest priority. Three: If you find a Vessel of the Key, process it. Four: Those who break the laws are exiled from the clan. Vessel of the Key. A being that harbored the key to the Terminal Door within its body. Born by chance in roughly five-hundred-year cycles. Often unaware, not knowing they were the key themselves. When a Vessel drew near the abyss, the seal grew unstable. Every Vessel in the past had been "processed" by the Hounds. The one Fuwawa processed was a young boy. "Please, I want to go home. I want to see my mom." The boy had said that through his tears. He'd been found by the Hounds wandering near the abyss's entrance. At his chest, an Arca Fragment—the small stone that served as the key to the Terminal Door—glowed dully. Fuwawa stood before the boy. "...I'm sorry." She used the Contract Fang. She devoured the boy's "memory of existence." Who he was, where he came from, what he had done—all of it returned to the void. The boy's body was wrapped in light and faded away. "No, no... I want to go home... Mom..." The crying lasted only a few seconds before it vanished. The boy's memories flowed into Fuwawa's left hand. A warm home. A gentle mother. Playing with friends. Small, happy memories. They were devoured by the void inside her. (What am I doing?) She stood rooted to the spot. Six years had passed since then. The boy's crying voice still lingered deep in Fuwawa's ears. At night, it came to her in dreams. The sensation of devouring memories with the Contract Fang revived in her left hand. She had killed someone. No—worse than that. She had erased a person's very existence. Even so, the laws were absolute. If a Vessel of the Key was left alone, the seal on the Terminal Door would break, and the world would be swallowed by the void. One life against the fate of the world. It wasn't even permitted to weigh them on a scale. Fuwawa lived carrying that sin. Beneath the mask of calm composure, she remained trapped in that day when she was fourteen. "Sis, is it good?" Mococo's voice brought Fuwawa back to reality. "...Yes, it's good." She took a sip of soup and answered. The umami of the mushrooms seeped into her tired body. The cavern was filled with the faint light of the glowing moss and the steam of the soup. "Right?! I'm actually a pretty good cook!" Mococo grinned proudly. Her large dog ears gave a little bounce. "...I suppose. But you cut the mushrooms too large. They'd absorb the flavor better if you cut them smaller." "Aw, this size has more bite to it!" The two sat across from each other at a stone table in the center of the cavern. Only Fuwawa and Mococo lived in the White Hollow. The other Hounds lived elsewhere in the cavern complex. Fuwawa watched her sister's face as she drank her soup. Mococo's pink eyes reflected the light of the glowing moss, sparkling brightly. (This child knows nothing.) Not the weight of their mother's dying wish, not the price of the Contract Fang, not the existence of the Vessels of the Key. Mococo fulfilled her duties as a Hound of the Abyss, but she still didn't truly understand the cruel laws at its foundation. No—perhaps it was precisely because she didn't understand that she could smile like that. Fuwawa was, just a little, envious. "Hey, Sis." "What?" "Today, I was playing outside the cavern, and there was this really beautiful flower blooming. A little pink one. I want to show it to you, Sis." "...Outside is dangerous. Don't go too far." Fuwawa's voice sharpened slightly. The fingers of her left hand trembled unconsciously. Just having Mococo a short distance away made her body react on its own. "It's fine, it's not that far." "Even so. The abys

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Episode 1

Name: Hounds of the Abyss: The Last Choice to Protect Paradise
Author: Novelia

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