[208] 4. The Truth of Heaven (2)
The cuffs were engraved with a pattern like the henna they'd seen at Nor's shelter; the markings seemed fixed to the space itself and wouldn't move, and no magic could be triggered.
No mere human would use something like that out of simple fear.
Amy thought of the frog they'd caught in the lab.
You bind a frog before dissecting it not because you're afraid of the frog.
A chill ran down her spine. At the very least, it meant some natural struggling was expected.
Tess and Arin were silent as well, maybe thinking the same thing — as if staying quiet could somehow make the taut tension between them hold forever.
The only small comfort was that Tess didn't have a drone on her wrist. When she reached Jebul she had sent the drone out without Ikael noticing — the work of someone trained by the Kanja.
How is this possible? Why can't I see anything?
Her effort was useless for now. The drone might guide Shirone's group to arrive faster, but nothing appeared on the retinal display. She didn't know that, because of the Meka system, the space itself had been isolated.
Kariel was inspecting machinery about seventy meters from the globular cluster. A colossal pillar reached to the ceiling, thousands of panels throwing off all manner of light. Kariel floated about ten meters up, arms folded, watching the screens.
They were filled with complex glyphs Amy and the others couldn't begin to parse.
Amy looked at Kariel's halo. Ikael's had been so vast and vivid that Kariel's ring could not compare.
Schematics and equations ghosted in and out inside the boundary like afterimages, and each flicker made the machine's displays shift rapidly.
-System check complete. Initiating the Rite of Life. Please input the molecular structure of the genetic material.
A chilling female voice echoed from the ceiling.
Even Arin couldn't analyze the machine's voice. Trying to psionically reach Kariel would be madness.
After watching the screens for a while, Kariel flew toward the women. A low vibration like a contrabass thrummed through the air.
He was a strikingly handsome man, standing 2.3 meters tall in white robes. His aureole shone so brightly it felt like a rent had been torn in the space.
Amy forced herself to glare at him. If anything happened, she would be the first to step forward. She didn't want to imagine Tess or Arin suffering before her while they were all held captive.
"Are you not ashamed to call yourself an archangel? Take these cuffs off now."
"Such a crude, human notion. I have bound you to fulfill my duty as an archangel."
Arin, staring at Kariel, bit her lip. This was a first for her. All she could see were vibrating strands — their oscillations forming shapes in a complicated, indistinct way. Kariel existed only as probability.
Amy shot back. "Duty? What are you going to do to us?"
"Now that you mention it, I neglected to introduce myself. I am Archangel Kariel. By Ra's command I was dispatched to the occupied territories to perform the Rite of Life. I will perform the Rite of Life on you as well. It is a glorious mission; you should accept it with joy."
"Are you joking? You're tying people up and spouting that crap? Take these off!"
Amy thrashed. The cuffs were fixed at waist height; all she could do was stamp and kick like a petulant child.
Tess, considering Kariel's words, asked in confusion, "Wait. Occupied territories? Do you mean Heaven is attacking other worlds?"
Kariel fell silent to think. The Law was always right, but persuading humans required a different tone.
"I merely convey Ra's will. The god loves humanity and wishes for their eternal continuation. Your world will, in time, submit to Ra's will."
A fearful thought gripped Tess. The notion that had just crossed her mind — that Ra was a cosmic tyrant — made sense: the citizens of Heaven had likely once been inhabitants of other, conquered territories.
"We've seen the Rite of Memory! Is that how you 'love' humans? You're no different from a perverted murderer!" Amy shouted.
"You fail to understand. Humans mistake love for power. Do not think being loved is a great favor. Ra values you because you are beings capable of being named."
Amy thought of the book of lifespans. The fairies control a subject's lifespan through names. But anyone can give a name — what did naming mean to Ra?
Tess sneered, "So what are you planning to do? Cuff us and then swing a whip while you 'love' us?"
"You have an important mission."
"Mission? What mission?"
"To bear my child."
Amy, Tess, and Arin flushed at once. Their hair stood on end; horror and fury rose together.
"You're a pervert! If you touch me, I won't let you get away with it!" Amy's jaw trembled as she screamed.
"Pathetic response. Do not worry. We will only transfer angelic information into your bodies."
That made Tess angrier. It was the kind of pedantic phrasing only perverts use to justify themselves.
"In short, you just want to have your filthy fun with us, right?"
Kariel showed a trace of displeasure. "Human expressions are so base. The Rite of Life is an exalted ritual only I among the archangels can perform. Do not compare it to the crude reproduction of inferior humans."
-Preparation for the Rite of Life is complete. Information accumulation rate: 100%. Replicate?
The woman's voice issued from the ceiling again. Kariel rose toward the sky as if no further words were needed.
"Replicate."
-Replicating genetic material. Estimated time: 2 minutes 30 seconds.
Kariel's aureole expanded into a ring more than twenty meters across. When he brought his index and middle fingers together, a bead-sized light formed at their tips. Small, but intensely bright — enough to outshine a world-shattering battle.
He shrank the ring and returned to the women. On the fingertip where the light had been, a purple, diamond-shaped glass panel had formed.
"This panel stores life information approaching infinity. Do you understand? To make a human, one needs the information of every life form that existed before humans."
"What do we care! We're not doing this!"
Amy barked. She was furious enough already; the lecture only made it worse. But Kariel, proud of the Rite of Life, continued as if speaking to an audience.
"Angel information is delicate and complex. Women who have given birth see the success rate for producing Nephilim drop dramatically; this is one reason. In that sense, you are fortunate. You have been granted the honor of carrying the descendant of a great angel."
"Nephilim... what are you going to do with them?"
"Send them to another world. In this case, your world."
"To civilize the humans there and offer them to God?"
Kariel fell silent at that direct question. Of course — make the occupied women's bodies bear Nephilim, have those Nephilim reform the humans there, and guide them to the god.
Tess realized the Nephilim were a kind of sleeper agent. Being free from the Law meant they could act without the enemy's legal constraints — exactly what an infiltrator would need.
Kariel held the floating panel out. "Do not worry. We will only transmit information into your bodies, so you need feel no shame."
If the glass panel was set to the forehead, glass spines would spring out and embed like roots into the brain. Through those roots the angelic information would flow and generate life from the woman's body.
As if checking size, Kariel brought the panel once each to the three women's foreheads. All three had tall, well-shaped foreheads — suitable places for roots to take hold.
"Hmm. Very well. Shall we let you choose? Who will be the first to receive this glorious rite?"
The three women shouted at the same time, "I'll go first!"
They looked at one another, surprised by the answer. The fact they'd fought together had bolstered their courage.
Kariel was satisfied. For the Rite of Life to succeed, the angelic information must be exact, but the role of the host mother also mattered. The success probability was roughly one in thirty; if it failed, the brain would be shocked and the woman would die. But the stronger the mind and the better the physical condition, the higher the chance of success. By that measure, all three were excellent choices.
-Replication of genetic material complete.
When the ceiling voice spoke, Kariel raised his hand. Identical panels formed to the left and right of the vertically floating panel.
"What a harmonious sisterhood. I cannot rank you, so I will implant them simultaneously."
The three panels drifted through the air toward them.
Amy and the others were seized by uncontrollable fury. They finally understood. Archangel Kariel was the worst kind of pervert.
@
Rian and Kanis arrived at Jebul.
As soon as they climbed the walls, the view was countless discs spreading outward — like a city floating on lotuses. As expected, the interior of Jebul was a dimensional maze. The way spaces leapt between one another was too complex for human calculation. There must be rules, but the two had no time to puzzle them out.
Relying on the memory Peope had given them, they moved strictly by coordinates. After several returns to the same spots, Kanis finally found the portal to Inggris.
"Let's split up here. Even if we know the way, finding it is another matter. Better if at least one of us gets there first."
"Are you sure? If I can't disable the Meka system, there's no point in me going first. If there are enemies in Inggris, it might be more effective to handle them together."
Kanis glanced back at the portal. No special device was visible, but from Peope's memory, this was certainly Inggris. They hadn't met anyone so far, so the chance of enemies there seemed slim. But if there were, they'd be at least Mara-class. From that angle, Rian's idea of moving together might have merit.
Still, Kanis didn't change his mind. He didn't know how long disabling the Meka system would take; wasting manpower in any situation was unwise.
"Anyway, nothing's certain. There's no guarantee two people will make it easier. Let's each do what we can. For now, that's the best plan."
Rian accepted it. After tuning the Signa and Ex Rena had given him, he headed east through Jebul. Kanis took a deep breath and stepped onto the platform.
There was nothing special to do. The moment his feet hit the coordinate, the floor split and light exploded with a pop. In the blink of an eye the scenery changed.
The Angelic Repository, Inggris.
Despite the warm connotation of "repository," the place had no trace of humanity — only a mechanical landscape. With a central control device as a reference, paths ran in a cross, and the walls were tiled with vertically set rectangular panels.
The Harvester appeared, looking displeased. To him, who sensed the world by vibration, Inggris was a space packed to the brim with vibration, without a single quiet place.
Kanis scanned for enemies. He would probably have to check every corner, but so far nothing noticeable had appeared.