Exo Universe (3)
"Do you know why I hate evil?" Shirone said.
"Because you mistake happiness and misery for an equal exchange. If someone hears ten praises and ten insults, should their heart remain perfectly calm?"
Shirone's fist slammed into Habitz's face.
"Ugh!"
"…Of course it feels filthy."
The human heart is not neutral.
"Don't keep pretending otherwise. No human treats happiness and misery as equal. There isn't a single person in the world who wants to be unhappy. Even you, who once fed on countless people for pleasure…"
As particle-destruction magic poured downward, Habitz collapsed to the floor and howled.
"Aaaah!"
"Isn't this one pain far worse?"
Why on earth—
"You spin that nonsense just so you can hurt others…"
Shirone grabbed Habitz's head with both hands and struck him with magic again.
"Uuuugh! Uuuugh!"
Sparks flickered in Habitz's eyes; blood streamed from his eyes, nose, and mouth.
"Why should I forgive you?"
Shirone was on the verge of tears.
"Tell me! You've had your happiness all this time, so this much pain is allowed, right? You mocked others, so show me a smile!"
To reach Ultima, perhaps one would have to accept evil in their heart…
Shirone couldn't bring himself to swallow that.
"O—Satan."
Twelve Siok, their faces blackened and charred, crawled toward Habitz.
"Kraaa! Kraaa!"
Howling, Habitz seemed to have an out-of-body glimpse into his own mind.
Light raced through him at a speed the world had never known.
"Uh, uh…?"
When thought became impossible, strange words slipped out without his knowing.
"…Mom."
Startled at his own voice, he snapped back to himself and activated Vanishing.
'Run.'
Anywhere without Yahweh.
'Now I know how. I don't have to kill him. Giyorg can kill him.'
Shirone rose.
"Too late."
He had already anticipated Habitz's Vanishing and murmured the spell.
"Elikia."
When Elikia's radiance exploded outward, Habitz's Vanishing broke and his jaw trembled.
"Ugh! Ugh!"
Without daring to look back, he ran with all his might.
'Mom.'
Was it a dream, or a near-death vision born of his dying brain?
Habitz tore ragged flesh from his battered face and let out a hollow laugh.
"Heh heh heh!"
In truth, he hadn't seen anything.
He had only felt, understood, and realized what he was in this world.
'Why chaos?'
Because there was nothing left to protect.
"Mom."
Unbothered by his skinned face, he laughed like a child and said,
"Shall we have some fun?"
The instant he finished, Elikia's flash struck his back.
"Protect Satan!"
When the Siok barred his path, the flash leapt like electricity and burned them all.
Kyaaaaa!
The Siok turned to ash; the ashes hung a long moment in the air, not even washed away by rain, before dissipating.
Shirone's face was calm.
"Hoo."
He had suspected before coming that he couldn't kill Habitz.
'Satan can transcend the Law and evade Yahweh—if he wills it.'
If Elikia had been used from the start, Habitz would likely have fled at once.
"I hope it gave them some solace." Shirone wanted the stars of the Ivory Tower and the victims caught in Satan's grasp to at least understand a fraction of that suffering.
'He said "Mom."'
Several possibilities occurred to Shirone when he heard Habitz's word, but they were only hypotheses.
'More importantly…'
Knights of the Rami Church and warriors from the south were still engaged in slaughter.
"Yahweh."
Chief Entara approached, supported by others.
"Chief."
"I saw you fight Habitz. It seems Elikia's power wasn't enough."
"He would have run anyway. Satan and I cannot resolve things by direct collision—that's against the Law."
That was why a wizard was needed.
"I see. In any case, the situation is urgent. Those fanatics seem intent on entering the cathedral."
Shirone turned to look at the mindless In.
'Those who have lost their minds and follow the will of the god. Their target is probably… Maya.'
For some reason, future records flagged Maya's death as significant.
Shirone remembered the words of the Yukus man.
- The singing was too loud; we couldn't stop it. There were too many songs; they had to cover the planet. Thicker, thicker, even thicker...
'Could it be related? But there's too little data to conclude.'
Shirone said, "I'll stop them. Help me."
Satan had fled and the Siok were annihilated; all that remained were the factions of the In.
"Of course we must—but…"
Entara looked down the main road.
"Can you stop them all?"
Where Shirone looked, the procession of the In filled the view to the horizon.
It felt like the entire world's population was converging here.
"…We have to stop them."
Shirone activated Miracle Stream and swept the crowd head-on with Hand of God.
"Ugh!"
A massive impact hit him.
'Magnetic field.'
If they were mere objects, Yahweh's will could reorder them, but OPARTs were different.
'If the In are the organs of the divine…'
Their existence was the Law taken to its extreme; each of them carried the force of Nane's sermons.
"Yaaaaah!"
Shirone gritted his teeth and swung, scooping people up with Hand of God.
Hundreds were thrown aside, but even more slipped away as if he were trying to scoop up water.
'…This isn't easy.' Destroying them with magic might mean committing genocide.
The In spoke in unison.
"Yahweh."
A message from the god to Shirone.
"You are an error." Perhaps they were right.
In a cold, indifferent world, living things might have to obey the Law to survive.
"No."
Shirone's eyes flared.
"We will decide." To build a world without discrimination, without more sacrifices, without terrible misery.
"The masters of this world are hearts."
Shirone pushed Miracle Stream to its limit and swept up the In's masses.
Ooooooo!
As if the world itself screamed, the clash between hearts and Law made the ground tremble.
"Grrr!"
While every Law tried to negate the heart, a radiance exploded in Shirone's eyes.
"With this, the official program of the cathedral concludes…"
Applause echoed through the annex.
No one clapped casually, but their faces were stone.
They were all thinking the same thing.
'The repercussions of the clash at the main gate haven't arrived. Maybe we can stop them. If so…'
Do we have to kill Maya?
'If it goes to a vote, Tormia will be overwhelmingly favored. But we don't know yet. If we can engineer a reversal here, the outcome could change.'
The kings' hunger to become a world-leading nation fanned their murderous intent.
"Now, to conclude the cathedral's peace ceremony, a finale performance. Please welcome it with applause."
Clap…
A few hands met, but like an unspoken agreement the room fell quiet again.
Perhaps they felt ashamed at signaling welcome to someone they planned to kill.
"Um…"
The host faltered but guided the proceedings smoothly.
"Now introducing! Performing are the world's finest artists—the Panier Orchestra."
As if to make up for the earlier awkwardness, applause burst out and thirty-six performers took the stage.
Lupist said, "Shirone's holding them back well. He should be able to hold until the performance ends. Does that mean the future has changed?"
Albino's eyes narrowed.
"Hmm, there are still variables. First, the Iron king Basak. According to the prophecy, he kills Maya and claims the position of a world-leading nation. He will move without fail."
To seize the destiny given to him.
"But now everyone knows the future. Other nations won't stand idle. If Iron can be stopped here, the future might be altered."
Whatever Fermi thought, Lupist judged in Tormia's interest.
"I agree, but it's probably already factored into the calculations."
"What?"
"Fermi and Shirone. Those two share the same information but act oppositely. Fermi knows yet doesn't try to change it; Shirone knows and tries to change it."
"That's their nature."
"That's the key. It's as if those two behaviors split God's computation in two. Shirone will do everything he can to stop the In's procession. But because even that is within God's calculation, God will find a way around Yahweh to enforce the result. And that enforced result will be…"
Lupist realized.
"Fermi will change it again?"
"That's likely the strategy. Shirone probably knew. He may have found a way to control information. That's the true meaning of 'deceiving God.' Both of them are mad—so audacious."
Lupist agreed.
"In any case, the future is one layer above what we imagine. Even if something happens now, that might not be the true future."
As long as Fermi controls the information.
'Then…'
Lupist watched the artists on stage bow one by one.
'What future do we not know?' Pope Constantin walked down the corridor.
"Oh, Your Holiness."
Though not a follower of the Rami Church, the pope was a globally famous figure; the attendants saluted him.
"Yes, thank you for your efforts."
"What brings you here? Someone of your rank should be in the annex…"
The attendant's face went blank.
"Ah."
A momentary blue light flickered in her eyes, and emotion drained from her face.
"Follow the truth of the Rami Church."
"…Yes."
She turned and headed for the lodgings where cathedral staff stayed.
In a few hours, most of those in Delta would likely become followers of the Rami Church.
"What is the problem?"
Pope Constantin, a step late, moved toward the annex.
"What God wills."
As the orchestra played under Panier's baton, Elikia stepped forward first.
Her voice, singing for world peace, was so beautiful it seemed like light itself flowing.
But the audience did not waver.
'When do we kill her?'
What they waited for was the moment Maya stood center stage under the spotlight.
'According to the prophecy, Iron killed her after the performance. We have to strike before then.'
Panier couldn't see the audience but felt a chill crawl up his spine.
'What on earth is this?'
He had performed countless times, but never like this.
"Next, Maya."
Snapping to attention, Panier nodded slightly at her.
The spotlight shifted; Maya walked calmly to the center of the stage.
Officials from many nations watched with wide eyes.
'Is it now? Now?'
Maya turned to the audience, lifted her gaze slightly, and slowly parted her lips.
"I…"
The shock of that moment—
"When I was very young…"
It tugged at human hearts in a way neither the world-leading nations nor their murky bloodlust could have imagined.
"I met a boy."
A stillness deeper than silence fell.
"I was in love."
When she finished that line and smiled, everyone's eyes were damp.
'Why did they kill her after the performance?'
Albino realized.
'Perhaps… they couldn't bring themselves to kill her.'