Dragoon - Dragoon 163: Versus

I came from hell, looking for redemption! –“Revelation”
…………
What is redemption?
I think it should be a process in which a good person becomes bad and then becomes good again.
It’s like our clean birth, contaminated by the dust of one life, and then clean death.
Well, this is just a story. …

- Description from Uukanshu

Mu Yangling was reborn into a hunter’s family, and she expected to live a simple and happy life.However, a disaster almost shattered their home.His father was conscripted into the army because of a war, and the whole family had to follow and settle in a farming village.Unfortunately, they couldn’t even distinguish the seedlings of the five grains.As Mu Yangling looked at her mother and younger brother, who were on the verge of tears, she straightened, lifted her head, and said, “It’s okay. I have strength.”She also had some agricultural knowledge from a thousand years later!

Japan – National News BroadcastThe polished news anchor sat upright, her gaze sharp as she adjusted the stack of papers before her. The newsroom behind her hummed with quiet urgency, the weight of the moment settling over the broadcast.“Authorities are baffled by a sudden and unexplained surge in sleep-related deaths across Japan,” she began, her voice steady yet tense. “More and more citizens are passing away in their sleep without any prior health concerns. Experts are working tirelessly to determine the cause, but no clear explanation has emerged. Authorities urge the public to remain vigilant and report any unusual symptoms before bedtime.”A graphic appeared, displaying the spike in fatalities over the past month. Behind her, unsettling photographs flickered across the screen—blurred images of individuals found in their beds, their faces frozen in expressions of terror.The anchor’s tone shifted. “Health officials recommend citizens avoid excessive fatigue and maintain healthy sleep habits. More updates will follow as investigations continue.”---United States – Paranormal PodcastIn a dimly lit podcast studio, the host leaned forward, his eyes wide with curiosity. Across from him, a rugged man in a worn flannel shirt, gripping a faded photograph in one hand and a beer can in the other, leaned back in his chair.“So, you're telling me you saw this creature firsthand?” the host asked, clearly intrigued.The man scoffed, shaking his head. “Damn right, I did. Ugly thing had wings bigger than my body—slow but sneaky. Thought it could steal my pigs again, but I was ready this time—camera in one hand, shotgun in the other.”He slammed the table for emphasis, then shoved the blurry image toward the host. The photograph depicted a small, red-skinned humanoid figure with large, bat-like wings, its eyes glowing faintly in the darkness.“Spit, the thing didn’t know what hit it when I fired!” the man chuckled, his voice full of excitement.The host held up the picture to the live chat. “Alright, what do you think? Mothman? Demon? Or is our friend here just seeing things?”The chat exploded with theories—some skeptical, others eager for the investigation to continue.---China – Liangyuan Street MarketSurveillance footage from a bustling night market in China captured a chilling scene. A woman in a red qipao walked gracefully through the crowd, her figure striking in the soft glow of lanterns.Suddenly, she paused. Her body flickered—like a glitch in a video—before vanishing completely, as though she had never existed.The footage zoomed in, replaying in slow motion. In the final frame before she disappeared, her face distorted unnaturally, her eyes hollow and empty.The screen cut abruptly to black.

Struck down amid the battle, the Hero and Demon King meet their demise. As their souls linger on the edge of the afterlife, a mysterious force intervenes, merging their fragmented souls together with a new being. Rusty, the living armor, now affected by their memories and presence, embarks on his own quest. Will he seek revenge on those who betrayed the hero, or will he fulfill the desires of the fallen demon king? or instead, forge his own path?