Chapter 193: The Throne of the Heart
"So you're the little mouse who's been hiding."
Enel's body crackled, and the ions in the air around him became visible.
He had actually noticed this little mouse escape during his first attack, but the pest had hidden himself well, and Enel couldn't be bothered to find him. He never expected that the "demon" (Roland) would end up inside this mouse's body.
"Ha..."
A white vapor escaped Kaito's mouth, a sign that his body temperature had reached a terrifying high.
Enel frowned. He sensed something was wrong.
The next moment, the man in front of him vanished. A fist tore through the air, and black lightning pierced Enel's body.
Enel's pupils shrank. He felt himself being drowned by a turbulent Haki, so powerful that he couldn't even will his body to turn into lightning.
Bang!
A terrifying, monstrous force, mixed with magma-like fire, exploded in mid-air. A crimson lotus, dozens of meters wide, bloomed in the sky.
Enel spat out a mouthful of blood, crashing through countless flesh-tumors and flying nearly a thousand meters before slamming into the ground.
Kzzzt!
Currents danced across Enel's body as he tried to use electricity to shock his cells back into action. The paralysis in his left arm was only just fading. He felt... fear.
What was that black lightning? It was far more terrifying than Doflamingo's Conqueror's Haki. It had not only hit his real body but had also prevented him from activating his Logia form.
That ability...
Swoosh!
Kaito Shirogane tore through the air again. He threw a punch, and a purple-black fluctuation (Satsui no Hado) rippled from his body. This time, Enel felt it—like the Thunder God himself was being electrocuted. He instantly dissolved into a current and scattered.
Boom!
Kaito's punch hit the air, and the purple-black Satsui no Hado erupted in a terrifying storm, annihilating the "faces" on the ground. The blast wave traveled a thousand meters before exploding, kicking up a gale.
Enel's form recongealed in the sky.
Below, Kaito had already moved, appearing in front of the 100-meter-tall werewolf monster (Jabra) that was just getting up. Kaito punched the monster, making it stagger, then grabbed its tail, spun, and smashed it into the ground.
Enel felt a small amount of relief. This guy had no reason; he was in a state of chaos, attacking anyone who got close.
Enel stayed in the sky, preparing to snipe him. He raised his hand.
[Divine Punishment]!
A bolt of lightning shot into the sky, followed by a massive, ten-meter-wide thunderbolt falling back down. But Kaito's spiritual sense was too sharp; he was impossible to lock on to.
What was even more troubling for Enel was that his infallible [Mantra]... seemed to be completely useless.
The man's mind was a mess. He couldn't hear any useful information. It was as if he was hearing tens of thousands of voices screaming and wailing at once, as if another purgatory was unfolding inside the man's body. The only thing that made it to the outside was a pure, unadulterated killing intent.
Is this the demon's influence?!
Enel had a feeling that the "demon" (Roland) had also fallen into some kind of trap. This situation was now beyond the control of that heart-corrupting fiend.
In the blank space of Kaito's consciousness, [Morning Star of Hope: Roland]—or rather, [God Hand: Roland]—was confused.
He looked at the roiling [Underworld] river, which had been stirred into a frenzy by the riot of 33,000 Yin-Spirits. The [Death-Taint of the Myriad Gods] flowed within it.
Countless faceless Yin-Spirits were staring at the empty [Throne of the Heart] in the sky, agitated.
Their path to reincarnation was cut off. They had been trapped in this Underworld with no way out. But today, they saw that the iron-willed, mad primary consciousness—Kaito Shirogane—had been dragged from his throne by an external force.
Not a single spirit wanted to miss this chance to be reborn.
They began to frantically surge with spiritual power. Yin-Spirits, Vengeful Spirits, even Cursed Spirits... they didn't care what they became, as long as they could gain power, as long as they could reclaim a body, as long as they could feel life again...
That... would be so good!
Roar!
Roland watched as one tall, male Yin-Spirit, under the weight of his own emotion, degenerated into a Vengeful Spirit. His form stretched to dozens of times its size as he trampled other spirits, climbing toward the Throne of the Heart.
In front of him, tens of thousands of Yin-Spirits had already piled up, forming a black "Spirit Tower" that was growing closer and closer to the throne.
Roland realized the problem. In the future he had seen, he had successfully invaded this Reincarnator's body. And he had seen this Reincarnator grip Guts's Dragonslayer with the King's Left Arm and swing it at the God of the Abyss.
But... was that really him?
Roland had never heard of anyone's sea of consciousness looking like this.
He'd heard of two souls in one body, even cases of split consciousness with hundreds of personalities. But this... this was far beyond that.
This guy... this Reincarnator, "Mercenary Tao"... his body was a complete mess.
Roland turned his gaze. In another corner, he saw Kaito's own consciousness, laughing wildly as he tore other spirits apart, climbing the "Spirit Tower" himself.
He actually seemed to be enjoying it.
This guy is not normal.
Roland took a deep breath. A white light shone from him. The Vengeful Spirits, illuminated by the light, instantly reverted to normal Yin-Spirits, their hands clasped in prayer, as if they were about to ascend.
He had once been a holder of the special card [Virtue], and had advanced it to the Third Sequence, embodying it as the [Morning Star of Hope]. He could not only give himself hope, but he could grant it to others.
This [Hope] wasn't a mental suggestion or an illusion. It was a tangible possibility.
Even if a normal person was at the epicenter of a nuclear blast with zero chance of survival, if they were "granted Hope," they would gain an infinitesimal chance to live. Whether the nuke failed to detonate, or aliens invaded at that exact second... in a world of infinite possibilities, one where they survived would be created.
This was the [Morning Star of Hope].
The spirits clasping their hands wasn't an illusion. They now had a minuscule chance of actually passing on.
Roland walked forward out of the shadows. His form was ethereal, with long golden hair, fair skin, and a blue-and-white suit with a flower on the lapel. He had an exceptional air about him... but from the chest down, he was a mass of black, disgusting tumors, with despairing faces opening and closing their mouths.
"Mercenary Tao, believe it or not, I will grant you one 'Hope.' But I must have this body."
He spoke, his voice shaking the entire consciousness-space. His spiritual pressure was immense.
Kaito, who was still savagely beating up other spirits, heard the voice. He turned and saw the half-white, half-black figure in the distance. He knew this was the true form of [God Hand: Roland].
He said nothing, just looked at the holy [Virtue] sigil on Roland's left hand, then at the crimson [Sin] sigil on his own right hand. His greed surged.
"Roland, don't you think cultivating both Virtue and Great Sin at the same time would be awesome?!"
Kaito had never considered himself a particularly evil person. He figured getting a [Virtue] card would be great. Compared to the [Tarot] sequence, which had requirements about the Reincarnator's nature, the directness of [Sin] and [Virtue] suited him just fine.
From opposite sides, they both advanced on the Spirit Tower.
But before they could meet, a tall, white-haired man (Gojo) appeared from another corner. He looked like he'd been lying there for a long time.
He leaped up. Countless spirits and Vengeful Spirits instantly grabbed for him. Tens of thousands of shrieks erupted at once.
The man formed a hand seal in mid-air and whispered, "Domain Expansion: Unlimited Void."
Vmmm!
The world seemed to stop. But the phenomenon was brief... or perhaps time just didn't exist in a spiritual world, and these consciousnesses had no brains to process the information.
When Kaito came to, he saw Gojo Satoru sitting on the massive throne that floated in the center of their consciousness-space, laughing wildly.
"Hey, hey, 'Gojo 2.5,' don't get so arrogant!"
While most of the spirits were still stunned, Kaito leaped up, grabbed Gojo's spirit-form, and threw him off the throne. In that instant, both of them froze.
Kaito had clearly felt his hand pass through some kind of barrier. Gojo, too, was stunned. This guy... he had just ignored his Limitless Cursed Technique? Was it because his spirit was absorbed by this body, meaning his Limitless was, in a sense, imprinted on it?
Thinking of that, Gojo's pupils shrank. He looked down at the tens of thousands of spirits.
Hey, hey... if one guy could possess this many Cursed Techniques... "The Strongest" wouldn't even begin to describe it... He'd be a monster. A completely unrestrainable freak...
As he was thinking, he was dragged from the sky. Kaito re-took his own body... but only for a moment before he was drowned by the surging Satsui no Hado.
He fought based on instinct and killing intent for a moment, before being dragged back down by the other spirits, falling from the Spirit Tower.
The sheer, overwhelming power of the Satsui no Hado... of everyone present, only Roland might have a chance of withstanding it, but...
Kaito, howling, began to run again, throwing a punch at Roland from across the space. Gojo Satoru, from the other side, was also blasting Roland.
No one cared if this sea of consciousness would be destroyed. One by one, the Yin-Spirits took turns, as if "buying a ticket for the ride," each one briefly touching the Throne of the Heart before being dragged off by the others.
Bang!
Kaito was sent flying, landing next to Coby, who still retained his Marine appearance.
"Coby, aren't you going to fight for it?"
Kaito asked, as if this wasn't his own body they were fighting over.
Coby shook his head, but he also stood up.
"I can't beat you guys. And even if I revived... what would be the point?"
He looked at Kaito and smiled.
"But I'll help you win. After all, we had an agreement. You still have to fulfill my promise to Cindy for me."
With that, Coby pumped his fist, showing he was at least stronger than a normal spirit. And since they were in the sea of consciousness, spirits couldn't really die, and only soul-related abilities worked. He could help.
Kaito's heart, which had been set ablaze by the chaotic brawl, calmed for a split second.
"Is that promise really so important?"
"It's just the empty words of a boastful Marine and a naive little girl."
Coby stopped, turned, and solemnly placed his fist over his heart.
"To me, it is."
"She believed in me. I have to honor that trust. That... is my true heart."
Coby charged at the advancing Roland. The white light of "Hope" washed over him, but Coby was unaffected. He didn't need hope. He just needed to see his true heart through to the end.
Bang!
Roland was knocked staggering back. Kaito, a cruel smile returning to his face, turned and charged the Spirit Tower once more.
(End of Chapter)
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