Rules of the Holy War (1)
The kings stood dumbfounded as they looked up at the congregation of angels filling the sky.
'I kept hoping it wasn't true.'
They'd heard reports that the heavenly host had vanished from Jaive.
'They drew the angels in?'
Humans will bargain with devils when they want something, and the news hit like a blow.
'Was there any chance for compromise? At that scale they could level a nation.'
Satiel scanned the formations of every country in an instant.
'Where's Ikael?'
She wasn't beside the Nephilim.
'Already spirited away? No—impossible. Not while I'm here…'
Her eyes snapped open.
'Satan!'
Gustav Havitz.
His form was different from when they'd fought in Heaven, but Satan's aura was unchanged.
The mastermind behind Heaven's collapse, the one who annihilated countless angels—including Metiel, the great archangel of union.
"How dare you presume where this is…"
Sensing Satiel's rising fury, Havitz finally showed interest.
"Oh? An angel?"
He climbed onto the saddle, sat back, looped an arm around Woorin's waist, and shaded his eyes with the other hand.
"Hmm, Satiel, is it? A familiar scent. Yes, I swallowed those things."
More instinct than memory—Havitz had absorbed all of Satan's past.
"My, how fearsome."
Through God's frequency, Havitz heard the angels' murderous intent and nodded.
"A very resolute resentment. That's their problem. They need everything to be absolute." Satiel's eyes narrowed into a fierce glare.
"E-e-e."
He stuck out his tongue and flicked it up and down, as if tasting Satiel in the distance.
Satiel's sacred radiance shuddered violently.
"You wretched insect!"
"Hehehe. E-e-e. Hahahaha." Laughing uncontrollably, Havitz made his tongue even fouler.
"I'll tear you apart!"
Satiel's sacred radiance blossomed into a halo, and the angels in the sky assumed bombardment formation.
"Hold it."
"Shut up. Don't tell me what to do, human. Want me to kill you first?"
"That's your choice, but if you make a scene here Ikael will like it." The ring of light collapsed back into a sphere.
"Satan is also part of the plan. Trust me. Ikael will be more miserable than you."
'—Ikael.'
Hearing Satiel gnash her teeth, Gis curled one corner of his mouth.
'Why Satiel can bargain with angels. Her motive is profoundly human.'
Even if Ikael lit the fire in the first place.
'Emotion is desire. Anything with desire can be controlled.'
Like the people of Jaive.
Satiel turned back toward the main hall and said, "It won't take long. Bring Ikael and make her weep tears of blood."
"...Understood."
As the rank-and-file angels vanished one by one, officials from the other nations wore grim expressions.
'One crisis after another.'
Shirone said, "Satiel's gathered over three hundred ordinary angels. Add the Mara and their firepower could rival a top-tier nation."
These were not the humans of old.
"One third of the world's population is gone. Thirty nations have vanished from the map. We lack core personnel, and there aren't any great powers left to act as before."
Lupist turned his head.
"The foreign powers aren't weak. Tormia is a problem, and your convictions will be hard to push through." Shirone's eyes cooled as she considered it.
"Total war."
"Argan. Frigi."
Shirone stopped where the Pyramid of Truth loomed on the horizon.
"Yes, Messiah."
While the rest watched in puzzlement, two apostles immediately dropped to their knees.
"Go to Jaive. Now."
"Sir?"
Nobody could understand why she changed course with the Pyramid of Truth in sight.
"Why—?"
"We found the angels' whereabouts. All twelve apostles will be assembled. Follow my orders there."
At the word 'angel,' the apostles' expressions shifted.
"Understood."
No sooner had she finished than the apostles kicked off the ground and transformed into dragons in flight.
At the sight of drakes and ice wyrms soaring skyward, Ares and his party remembered anew.
'Right, they were dragons.' They were the ones who had restored the parched Nagnak Oasis with enormous magic.
Glen frowned.
"Will it be okay without dragons? The Pyramid of Truth is almost entirely unknown."
With Rukia's emotion sickness put on hold, their next concern was safety.
Kanis barked, "If you're not confident, go back. We've done fine without dragons so far."
Glen didn't back down.
"I'm saying prepare properly. Losing forces is a huge variable in any situation. I heard mages were clever, but from what I see, not all of you are."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
The tension born at Nagnak Oasis threatened to flare again.
"So you're the type who—when your lover's sick—"
Kanis froze and cut himself off.
"Bah, never mind."
He also had someone precious named Arin.
Glen's resentment eased at that realization, but the point needed making.
"Yahweh did help Rukia. I could repay him with my life. But my faith won't be broken. I still deny Him."
"Who cares what anyone says? Fine, I get it."
Helping in expectation of payment felt petty.
Of course, not everyone could do what Glen had done, so he belatedly acknowledged Kanis.
'…Still, a mage.'
As Kanis grumbled back to his seat, Arin smiled and took his hand.
- You held it together. Please calm down. This is a spiritual channel, after all.
- Me? You've been whining nonstop. I don't entirely blame you, though.
If Arin had been in that situation, it would have been awful.
"Hoho."
Arin looked at Kanis for a moment, then kissed his cheek in front of everyone.
Kanis's face flushed crimson; Shirone snorted and turned her gaze away.
'Still inseparable.' She hadn't expected Kanis to be flustered even by a cheek kiss.
'Worse than me.'
Glen watched with envy. Rukia raised an eyebrow when she noticed him glance away.
"What?"
"Hm? Oh, nothing. Just saw something."
"How lecherous."
Rukia pinched Glen's forearm hard.
"Ow! Sorry!"
There was no doubt about their love, but as priests they were awkward at showing it.
Ares put a hand on Shirone's shoulder.
"There are loves like this, and loves like that."
"Ah, yes. Indeed."
Silence settled.
Just as the awkwardness peaked, Ares leaned in and asked quietly, "Our little sister will be 'safe,' right?"
"Eh? Well…um…"
Shirone fumbled, unsure what 'safe' even meant, and Ares burst out laughing.
"I'm joking! It's obvious. As her brother I'll tell you—steel yourself. Karmis, once it starts burning, doesn't stop until it's the best."
Watching Ares stride toward the Pyramid of Truth, Shirone wore a hollow look.
'What kind of brother is he?'
Kanis and Arin, Glen and Rukia fell into step hand in hand.
There are loves like this, and loves like that.
'I hope they're all happy.'
Shirone followed them, while the taciturn Yupra and Zulu brought up the rear.
"Ohhh, the Pyramid of Truth—"
The structure stretched beyond sight; its sheer scale overwhelmed people.
As Ares knelt and performed his rite, Arin spoke.
"Kanis, this—"
Her voice trembled.
"Yeah. How does it look?"
Arin seemed to perceive everything as if for the first time, and this time it was extreme.
"I don't know. What is this? A colossal light, but scattered with black rings like noise…"
Light and darkness blended, but there was nothing harmonious about the colors.
'Disturbing. It's even hard to look at. How can this form heal emotion sickness?'
Zulu said, "The Pyramid of Truth existed before human civilization. The ancient Paras kingdom modeled many pyramids after it—those were the tombs of their kings."
Shirone said, "How significant. Did the ancient kings know the afterlife opened outward?"
The ultra-ancient civilizations erased their own records; even Omega held gaps.
"How much they understood of the outside world is unknown. But remember that the Paras kingdom gave birth to astrology—you can't deny they had knowledge."
"Astrology."
An ability that leaps across time.
"Ready."
Ares finished his rites and slung his pack over his shoulder.
"Let's go in. Whatever it is, investigation will reveal it. We might even meet a god."
"O Lord."
As Glen and Rukia murmured, Shirone walked into the Pyramid of Truth.
Compared to the whole, the cracks were small, but there was a gap large enough for people to enter.
Surprisingly, the interior wasn't dark.
"Strange."
Ares turned off his lantern; the light dimmed slightly, but they could still see.
"There's no place light should be coming from. How can we see?"
"Electrons, I think."
Shirone said, "Electrons in the air are emitting a faint glow. It feels very unpleasant."
Their skin prickled.
"Hm, but electrons emit light only when a certain amount of energy is applied. …Could it be?"
"Yes. It seems the pyramid itself is producing energy."
"Is that possible? This is prehistory-level tech."
"It's the same principle as OOPArts. Everything from the ultra-ancient civilization generates electricity."
"So perpetual motion?"
"At least from this world's perspective. More importantly, OOPArts' electric fields disturb brainwaves. They even seem to erase data from the Akashic Records. Be careful."
"Right. Now then—everyone be careful."
Ares made a dry joke, but no one was in a mood to laugh.
Kanis, searching rooms along the maze-like passages, wore a serious expression.
'It's truly vast.'
The overwhelming impression from outside couldn't match the experience of being inside.
'If we try to inspect everything, it'll never end. The problem is none of the rooms show signs of civilization.'
That was characteristic of the ultra-ancient peoples.
Ares, advancing while mapping the layout with his red eyes, suddenly halted.
"These aren't rooms. I can't find any intent. I think these spaces exist simply because a lot of space of this shape and size was needed."
"Maybe it's meant to control a flow?" Shirone suggested.
"Complex passages. Chambers of varying size. Irregular arrangement. If this structure was designed to create an invisible, special flow…"
"Which is why electricity is generated. Hmm."
While Ares was lost in thought, Arin glanced back, eyes wide.
"Kanis, look."
Blue characters on the corridor wall glowed, then began moving toward them.