Infinity (3)
"What should we do?"
Iruki's question assumed their suspicions were true.
"First, we need to get the full picture." A mage's instinct was not to pass moral judgment on a single incident too quickly.
"It could be completely different depending on perspective. If they were trapped here against their will and couldn't stand the hunger…?" Nade asked.
"Would that make it not a crime?"
"Well, that would be for society to decide… But I want to say this: a starving creature eating is a natural thing."
Iruki said.
"So it's a cold world."
"Yeah. There's one thing I want to know from them. Was the standard for that act the Law, or the heart?"
There was a chill in Shirone's voice, and his friends fell silent.
"Let's go. If they're still here, that means there's no exit."
"And if there is an exit and they still did this?"
Shirone took a long breath.
"…Then let's go in."
Shaking off the relentless hallucinations crowding his mind, Shirone stepped into the deep darkness.
The passage narrowed, then opened into a large chamber. When a torch's glare stabbed at his eyes, Shirone turned off his infrared vision.
"Are you the village chief?"
He had vowed not to judge, but his tone was rough—because of the old man's unnaturally sharp gaze and the smell of blood around him.
"I'm the chief of Kashiram. Where are you from?"
Nade spoke.
"We're from outside. If you don't explain what happened in the village—"
Before he finished, the chief flattened himself to the ground.
"Please save us!"
When Shirone's group stared, the man lifted his head and began to sob.
"I never thought we'd live. The entrance collapsed. That woman did it. We were all deceived. Ah, we should've listened to Ravika."
From the letter, Ravika seemed to be the only person left with her wits.
"Where is she now? Is she alive?" The chief shook his head.
"I was foolish. I only came to my senses after the paths were gone. We tried our best to get out, but it was useless. People died one by one."
Iruki asked, "How many survivors?"
"Seven, including me and these friends. There were over a hundred when it started."
Shirone's expression grew sour.
"Seven out of a hundred? How long were you here for that many to die?"
"I don't know. What day is it today? It's all darkness here. We formed search parties to find an exit, but they never returned."
The chief bowed his head again.
"Please! Please help us… tell us where the exit is!"
"First, let's see the survivors." Shirone stepped forward, and only then did the chief recognize who had spoken.
"Huh?"
He was far younger than expected, and he had no weapon.
"How did you get in without a light…? No, is there really an exit?"
Nade snapped, "There is—that's why we came in. Guide us."
Startled, the chief glanced back at the men and moved toward a side path. The men turned, and Shirone noticed the bloodied club held by one of them.
They followed the side path to a small room where layered clothes were spread on the floor. When the chief brought the strangers in, three people waiting there sprang to their feet.
A woman in her mid-forties and two small children who looked like her offspring.
"A woman and small children."
If the survivors had been only strong men, suspicion would have leaned even further.
"Chief, who are these?"
"Greet them. They came from outside to save us. We can live now."
The woman's eyes wavered, then she buried her face, overcome.
"Really… really, we can leave? My goodness, the gods have been watching over us."
"We'll see once we hear the story." Iruki said.
"We found a letter in the village. Did you—did you kill Ravika's child?" Shirone asked.
"Absolutely not!" the chief cried, holding out his hands.
"At first, we considered it. We were deceived by that wicked woman's persuasion. The village was on the brink. Animals and plants withered, and water we fetched from the mountain caused diarrhea and vomiting when drunk. Then that woman came. She said we had to offer a sacrifice to the gods. It was a child. The only child in the village was Ravika's."
He explained the situation as briefly as he could, then his eyes changed as he continued.
"But we came to our senses. The cave entrance collapsed and we realized we'd been tricked. The villagers who didn't come back probably all died. That woman is a witch. She surely took the child."
"Understood."
Storing the information, Shirone asked, "Then tell me what happened here. You survived more than three weeks in this place—was that possible because there were sacrifices?"
"Well, that—!"
Shirone cut him off.
"This isn't about blaming you. They were your people too—how did they become sacrifices?"
The chief looked at the woman and spoke in a sorrowful voice.
"At first, we tried to endure. We swore it wouldn't come to this, over and over. We grew exhausted, and one person died. The oldest person in our village."
Shirone didn't press for a name.
"That's when we reached an agreement—at least, I think so. No one openly suggested it at first, but we were so starving… We were desperate."
Nade didn't waver.
"And then?"
"One time was terrible enough. Why were there so many sacrifices? Back then there were over ninety mouths. One corpse wasn't nearly enough. It even came to fighting over scraps. It was pandemonium, and we decided to draw lots. And so… that's how we endured."
Silence fell. Shirone asked again.
"You drew lots?"
"Yes. That's how we survived. To avoid misunderstanding, I will say I drew a lot too. These children can testify."
The girl spoke up.
"It's true. Brother, please spare me. I can't hold on anymore."
Leaving one's life to chance was like handing it over to the Law.
In a cold world, there is no sin.
God is indifferent.
"If no manipulation was involved, and these people speak the truth…"
Shirone asked, "Where are the victims' bodies? You wouldn't have left no remains at all, would you?"
"Ah, that—"
The chief visibly flinched. Seeing the chance, Nade barked, "Tell us now! Where did you hide them?"
At that instant the man with the club narrowed his wild eyes and stepped forward. Well-fed and big-boned, the threats of lads barely out of their teens looked pitiful.
"Stop him. Aren't these the youths who came to save us?" the chief cried, unsettled by a question he couldn't place.
How did they get in? He had no concept of infrared vision; he couldn't know what Shirone's group truly was.
"Sorry. The remains were set far away. Too frightening to keep nearby…"
A boy began to sob.
"Please let us go. We want to get out quickly, yes?"
"It was almost perfect."
When Shirone took a step forward, the crying stopped and the chief and the men fell back.
What was this?
Looking into Shirone's eyes felt like an invisible sword piercing the heart.
As if—just like when I first saw that woman.
"W-what do you mean, 'perfect'? Are you saying we lied? If so, we can show you the remains right now."
"No, I already saw."
Shirone's Spirit Zone had swept the entire mountain beyond the cave in a synesthetic surge.
"I prayed there would be a reason. That there must be some reason they hid the survivors below…."
The chief's gaze slid to the side.
How did he know?
As Shirone moved, the villagers who had been stepping back pressed themselves flat against the wall.
"There's only one thing I find odd. That you, who committed such horrendous acts, left this woman and the children."
"It—it was pity…"
Shirone's stare sharpened on the children.
"Who are you?"
No sooner had he spoken than the man with the club lunged at Shirone.
"I'll kil—!"
At the same moment Nade threw himself into the man, driving an electric strike into his ribs.
"Aaaah!"
The man convulsed, eyes rolling, and collapsed. The chief cried out and fled.
"Stop them!"
"Kiiiii!"
Their true colors showed; their eyes were unhinged, but they were no match. Two went down from the Photon Cannon, and the woman, pushing the children forward, screamed, "Kill them! They're evil people!"
The children each grabbed knives and rushed, but Shirone's gaze never wavered.
He had already reached his conclusion.
"…Photon Cannon."
The flash struck the children, sending them flying to either side of the woman. She collapsed to her knees.
"What exactly are you?" Nade demanded, electricity coiling around his arm.
"You should reveal who you are. You'd do well to surrender. I'm terrifying, you know." The woman, who had been avoiding their eyes, suddenly stuck out her tongue and bit down hard.
Shirone's group watched, motionless.
Realizing her mistake, the woman drew a dagger and, blood pouring from her mouth, screamed, "Just leave me be!"
She fell to the floor, face choked as if her heart had been pierced.
"She's dead."
Iruki checked the body and turned his head.
"Go after the chief. We have to rescue the survivors first."
Shirone cast Shining magic and ran through the cave lit like daylight.
Riding down a nearly vertical shaft, they reached a barred enclosure where the survivors were trapped.
About twenty people were inside. A young woman gripped the bars and asked, "Who are you?"
Seeing clear, sane eyes, Shirone was certain.
"Ravika."
After a moment of shock, she steadied herself and shouted, "Grab the chief! Kill him before that woman comes! He's a devil!"
With Nade and Iruki covering their rear, Shirone took the side path.
"Heh heh. Heh heh heh."
An unsettling laugh and a sickening stench reached them before they rounded the corner.
Nade spat a curse. "Bastard."
The chief stood among more than twenty corpses, arms raised in ecstasy.
Long things hung from the place like garlands.
"Well done—you've come to God's holy sanctuary."