[587] The Hidden Mastermind (2)
Within the massive shockwave pouring toward a single point, Eden felt fear for the first time.
"Afraid? Me?"
Under the care of a god and effectively invincible, that was an emotion she could never accept.
"That can't be!"
Eden resisted with everything she had.
Before a monstrous phenomenon so vast that even a planet would be small for humans—something a person might never experience in a lifetime—she desperately raised her faith.
"Huuugh!"
Tears fell because she could not overcome her fear.
If there is a god beyond the realm of humans, then Shirone's quasar was a god.
"No, no!"
A god had to reside somewhere far above that.
"Is this all it is?"
Was the faith that once encompassed the universe nothing more than the limited arrogance of an untested creature?
"No! My faith, my devotion—!"
As the number of flashes arriving via a fourth-dimensional route increased, the quasar's energy skyrocketed.
"Kyaaaa—!"
A scream burst from Eden's lips.
The Absolute Barrier still protected her, but nothing could steady her shaken heart.
"Give up, Eden!"
If she would not tolerate Gaold's pain… then her god was no different from a human.
"It's not absolute! That's not a god, Eden!"
It was collapsing.
She felt cracks form in the Absolute Barrier.
"This can't be!"
That, too, meant Eden's faith was crumbling.
"My god—!"
Eden poured out a prayer through her tears.
"I believe!"
Trapped by light and unable to move, she clasped her hands and knelt; the barrier's resilience surged to an unprecedented level.
"Incredible. Truly incredible."
How far could the human heart grow strong?
"Remain! Watch over me forever!"
Eden would not be destroyed.
A god existed because she believed in one.
At the limit of what a person could believe, the quasar kept hammering at an unyielding wall.
"Why are you angry? Why are you angry with me?"
Crack, crack—the sound of fractures echoed in her head.
"What did I do wrong? What's wrong with me?"
Crackle! As the barrier began to break, the shockwaves hit.
"Hah!"
Reality—the thing a human could not help but feel—swept over her.
"O my god! Why are you punishing me?"
The quasar's light, over a hundred meters across, swelled in an instant like an explosion.
* * *
"I'll admit the Servant's ability. But we still won."
Hersi lifted a corner of his mouth.
"You might think that if you don't take a Kang you can avoid wasting cards and just reshuffle, but in reality you lose out."
It was like throwing collected cards straight into the trash.
"Not meaningless. We forced a draw, after all."
"That was your mistake."
Hersi pointed at Iruki.
"You should have pressed the match somehow. You shouldn't have spent all the Scramble on me. Because we had Eden."
If they couldn't force Eden to retire, a draw was meaningless from the start.
"Passing the ball to teammates? How sentimental, Iruki."
"So what are you getting at?"
"First."
Hersi raised his index finger.
"You underestimated the opponent's capability. That was your error."
"Iruki, look!"
Dorothy pointed at the sky with a startled face.
Iruki confirmed it, and Hersi—turning his head belatedly—grew wide-eyed as well.
"What the hell is that?"
Like looking directly at the sun—thousands of light sources flashed, then multiplied in size and filled the night sky in an instant.
It was the birth of the quasar, seen from afar.
* * *
"Kyaaaa—!"
Even while hearing Eden's throat-rending scream, Shirone could only watch.
"This is bad! I can't stop it!"
Flashes came from every direction because space-time had been folded completely around the coordinate.
The amplification itself might not differ much from second-tier Ataraxia, but concentrating energy that should have been released in straight lines into a single point made its power a different order from ordinary magic.
"At this rate, she'll die."
As that certainty settled, Eden's barrier began to be shredded mercilessly.
"Hah!"
Her eyes opened wide at being truly bare, and her body arched like a bow.
Like a newborn to the world, the impact of reality pulsed vividly through her skin.
"Amgu!"
Shirone slammed an Amgu amplified by Ataraxia into the quasar.
There was nothing else he could do.
As the light's energy was sucked into the darkness, the quasar's glow visibly dimmed—very quickly.
"Please, please!"
Even so, Eden's survival could not be guaranteed.
When the quasar finally vanished, Shirone watched Eden fall from the sky.
He teleported and barely caught her, then checked if there was any breath left.
"Phew."
Weak, but her chest rose and fell.
"Put me down."
Eden's voice was faint.
Staying conscious required great will, but her body could not so much as move a finger.
"We need to get you medical attention. This is dangerous as is."
"Put me down."
She spoke with as much feeling as she could, yet even that was weak.
Shirone laid Eden on the grass and slowly stepped back.
"Why..."
A tear rolled steadily from her eye.
It wasn't just losing a match—her lifelong faith had been shattered, so Shirone hesitated to speak.
"Why did I lose?"
"Eden..."
She cut him off and burst into indignation.
"This can't be! Why am I worse than Gaold? I never went against the will of the god Yor! Gaold abandoned the gods!"
"Yes."
Shirone said.
"But it seems the gods did not abandon Gaold."
Shock shook Eden's eyes.
"Eden, I don't know whether gods exist or not. But the moment you tried to prove a god through Gaold, the god you believed in couldn't be a god."
Shirone stepped closer to her.
"Faith isn't that. Your faith is to become a great Yora and spread love."
"O my god..."
Eden's eyes burned hot as if afire.
Finally she understood.
Why the god had been so angry with her.
"Forgive me for doubting you..."
She opened her eyes slowly after a prayer of repentance.
"Take me to it."
"Hm?"
"The Master Card. It's not here. It has to be destroyed, right?"
"Oh, right. Where is it?"
"You can't go alone. I'll tell you the location."
"That's a bit..."
Only after the battle did Shirone realize she wasn't wearing any clothes in reality.
"Couldn't you at least put some on before we go?"
"Are you kidding me? How could I put clothes on over there? I can't even move a finger."
"Then use my clothes—"
As Shirone moved to take off his top, Eden stopped him.
"Let's just go. That would be weirder."
Realizing he'd already started to act, Shirone hurriedly stripped and lifted Eden.
"Where is it?"
Without meeting his eyes, she managed a weak smile.
"West. Near Training Ground 19."
* * *
"Huff! Huff!"
Amy trudged onward, exhausted.
Kaiden, ribs broken, was being dragged behind her, clinging to her back.
The mountain was on fire; if they stayed there they might suffocate and die.
Having escaped the blaze, Amy irritably threw Kaiden onto the ground.
"Ow! The more I think about it the maddening it is! You're really an unlucky man."
It was her honest feeling, but also a backhanded compliment to an enemy.
"I've heard that a lot. But I'm not taking compliments from Karmis."
Amy huffed and sat down on the spot.
"Yeah, what's the point? Neither of us are in a position to be jealous of the other."
"Why didn't you kill me?"
"Hm?"
"Why did you bring me here? You didn't want to kill me? You hate me, right?"
Amy stuck out her lip.
"Why did I spare you? Who knows."
There was only one answer she could give.
"Maybe it was me."
Kaiden turned his head.
"I came to the Magic Academy and fought fiercely. I knocked down countless rivals to get here. You probably did the same."
"..."
"Even if you hate someone so much you'd die for it, when you actually win, you don't feel the thrill of victory. All you feel is relief that you survived."
Amy looked down at her feet.
"It's because everyone gives their all that it's scary. Today I stepped on you to get ahead, but maybe it could have been me collapsing in that spot."
Amy hid a sad expression and gave a thin smile.
"That's probably why. People who risk their lives for something—even if you despise them—you can't truly hate them."
Kaiden stared up at the stars.
"I can't understand the way mages think."
"...I've been meaning to ask, why did you join the Magic Academy?"
"Not much to it. At first I just came. I didn't worry. I thought I'd do well wherever I went."
"Want another hit?"
"Until I met Maya I planned to stay only a little while and leave. But now it's different. I guess I felt comfortable?"
Kaiden looked back at Amy.
"Mages don't pity. Not like you."
Amy fell silent and his gaze returned to the sky.
"They see things as they are. Whether it's the Red Cross Star or whatever, calling something unlucky 'unlucky'—that's unlike the swordsmanship school."
"This may be presumptuous, but do you plan to reject your fate?"
"Really presumptuous."
"I know! I was just asking! You loser with a big mouth!"
Kaiden let out what was on his mind.
"There's no way to reject the fate of the Red Cross Star. But you can live by ignoring it. I might try learning swordsmanship again."
"Like after I tore you apart?"
"That's part of it."
If Kaiden started learning swordsmanship again he'd quickly become the best.
For one reason: he didn't want to be the best at swordsmanship.
"You'll forget Maya too, right? I can't get what I want. That's my life."
"Can you just ignore it?"
"If you become the best at something, it might not be such a bad life."
Kaiden smiled at the thought.
"In that sense, you taking a knight's oath would be perfect. You'd guard a woman you don't love and lavish your unloved swordsmanship."
"Ha! Just imagining it is horrifying!"
Kaiden, despite the pain, couldn't help laughing at how absurd it would be.
"A knight's oath, huh."
Rian floated into Amy's mind.
Compared to Kaiden, he was the perfect opposite as a swordsman, but remembering his chivalric spirit, Amy felt a little envious of Shirone.
"I know you want to be a painter, but I'd like you to be a swordsman."
"You're sending me a rival."
"You're joking! You don't stand a chance against me!"
Amy's shouted face calmed again.
"I don't really know... but there might be a big war coming."
That was what Shirone had told her.
"War happens all the time."
"Suddenly I thought: if fate really exists, then there must be a reason you were born under the Red Cross Star."
To gain the greatest talent, you must give up the right to achieve what you earnestly desire.
"A sacrifice."
Maya's face flashed through his mind.
"If a war comes and I can help, then in the end I might protect her too."
Maybe that would be the closest he could get to being by her side.
"...Still, I won't take the knight's oath."
"Hoho! Who'd even accept you? Try stabbing me with a sword in front of everyone. I'd kick your behind in public!"
"Anytime. That won't happen anyway."
The two boasted loudly.