[212] 5. An Angel's Formula (2)
"It was Goffin. The Goffin who made the Gate of Goffin, right? Why did Miro call that person's name at the last moment?"
Ikael blinked in surprise.
It had been unexpected that Shirone had heard that voice, but Ikael quickly continued in a calm tone.
"Goffin was the first guardian who protected your world from the armies of Heaven. Miro is, you might say… Goffin's successor."
"What? You mean Miro wasn't the first?"
"The circumstances the two faced were different, but yes. McClain Goffin—he would be one of the most outstanding humans in your world. No, he's superior to many Nephilim. That's probably why he separated humanity from the gods."
"Then where is he now?"
Ikael shook her head.
"He went to a place I cannot look down upon, leaving Miro as his successor."
"But that means—"
"She must remain as the barrier in a place where time does not flow, forever. If she doesn't, Shirone's world will be destroyed."
Shirone's lips trembled. Miro's face, the last thing he had seen, rose up vividly before him.
What must it feel like to be cut off from the world and forced into endless, promise-less solitude?
A chilling thought ran through him.
Pieces of his conversation with the headmaster returned one by one.
Alpheas had looked sad then. No—sometimes his expression had been terrifying, like someone very angry.
What if Miro didn't choose that fate herself?
What if she was isolated by coercion?
Shirone's skin crawled as the thought reached its end.
This couldn't even be called a crime. It was a decision to consign one human to an eternal hell.
"How long exactly must Miro—?"
"The armies of Heaven are already making full preparations for the final war. It might not take long. The metagate you all brought contains coordinates."
Shirone went numb.
Miro had used scale magic to seal Heaven's gate. But a metagate is essentially a new gate to Heaven.
"No way… that can't be…."
"It can. With a metagate, Heaven's tech can bypass Miro's timestream and enter."
Shirone felt the world collapse inward.
This wasn't just about their lives. This was the annihilation of all humanity.
He could hardly believe it. What on earth had they done?
"That's also why I want to help. Shirone's friends are being prepared for the Great War. Kariel will implant Nephilim data into the girls' bodies."
"Why? You said they're preparing for the final war! What do the Nephilim have to do with this?"
"The situation changed. Miro isn't a Nephilim. Still, she opened an Immortal Function by herself. Cases like that are extremely rare, but in Shirone's world they occur with some frequency."
That explained the confusion when he'd heard the word Nephilim at Nor's refuge. There were far too many unlockers to fit the simple picture of angel-descendants.
"That means Shirone's world has drifted from Ra's will. Goffin bought time so humans could come to understand the essence of the world. That will has now passed to Miro. Of course, the time she held is meager compared to Goffin's. But given her rate of growth, it's not something to ignore."
Shirone agreed.
Magic's development had clearly accelerated. Some analyses even said the last hundred years' achievements didn't match the last decade's.
"So humans won't be taken easily this time."
"Right. Though few, the rulers of the human world probably know of Heavenly beings. They're likely preparing in some fashion. Right now they need as many Nephilim as they can get."
Shirone ground his teeth. Implanting angelic information into human bodies to annihilate humanity—
The very idea of Amy bearing a child for that reason made him sick.
"Why did you stand by? As an archangel you could have demanded her release!"
Ikael looked at Shirone with sad eyes.
"Ah…."
That was it. Why did Miro dislike Ikael? Because Ikael had led Heaven's armies. Ikael had once been an archangel who delivered punishment to humans.
"Yes, I am an angel. If the final war happens… I would also have no choice but to fight humans."
Shirone felt all his strength drain away.
So this was it. He would have to watch his friends suffer without help from Heaven?
"If only it had been before I met Goffin."
Ikael flashed a wry smile and stuck out her tongue.
"Don't worry, Shirone. I want to help. Humans, unlike angels, hold infinite potential. I don't think the final war should ever happen."
Shirone stared blankly for a moment, then felt the weight behind her words.
If an archangel who had risen to command would stand with humans, there was hope even if the final war came.
She'd said it was before she'd met Goffin. He couldn't ask what sins Ikael had committed, but he could guess she had ties to that man.
"That doesn't mean we can relax. My power is sealed, and I can't even leave this room. Even if I help you, I can't give direct aid."
"But… I can't beat an angel with my power."
"That's true. Angels are strong. And if it's Kariel, he's a powerful archangel you couldn't face recklessly even before I lost my strength."
"What do we do, then?"
Ikael wouldn't have said that just to frighten him. Shirone waited, clinging to a thread of hope for a solution.
"There is one method. It raises the odds of rescuing your friends, if only a little."
"Really? What is it?"
"The angelic magic circle. You must wield it, Shirone."
"You mean… the halo?"
"Exactly. Angels accumulate information in the halo to activate abilities. If you learn it, you could create a single decisive opening at the crucial moment."
Shirone remembered Shamain. The pressure he'd felt when Ikasa unfolded the halo still lingered.
And now she wanted him to perform it?
He couldn't imagine it. Humans don't have Over-Spirits.
Without a radiant body there's no space to inscribe information—how could one form a magic circle?
"Of course it won't be easy. To wield an angelic magic circle, Shirone must overcome at least three hurdles."
Ikael held up three fingers.
"First is forming a radiant body. The human mind is bound to the body, but there's a special method to externalize it. Can you do that?"
Shirone nodded. The concept she described was the detachment-type of the fourfold method.
If he could detach his mind, he might at least imitate an angel's Over-Spirit to some extent.
"The problem starts after that. Even with a radiant body, unfolding the halo is a whole different dimension. You must draw a perfect circle. If the circle warps even slightly, the light's computation speed drops drastically; if it slows by even 0.1 percent, an angel's power cannot be realized."
Humans can't draw perfect circles. But in the mind's realm it's not impossible. Grasping the mathematical concept of a circle is crucial.
"It's a hard hurdle, but surmountable. The second is more severe. An angel's power comes from the enormous amount of information accumulated in the halo. In terms of formulas, it's more than a human could record in a lifetime. The halo's essence is computing that at light speed."
Shirone recalled Ikael detonating the Galliant volcano—raising a dormant volcano's activity twenty thousandfold until it erupted was beyond human scope.
"Even if we accept drawing a perfect circle, how do you handle the formulas? A human brain can't compute such immense information in an instant."
"But there is insight. We'll attempt a mental fusion. I will become Shirone and wield the halo. That experience will then be converted and preserved in Shirone's mind as firsthand experience."
"Is… that even possible?"
Ikael's eyes sharpened.
"Don't call it a method. It's essentially extreme violence inflicted on a human. If we're careless, Shirone's mind will shatter. And my mind, fused with his, wouldn't be safe either."
Shirone felt ill. He hadn't minded his mind being destroyed for his friends—he'd staked his life from the start. But if Ikael were endangered as well, it wasn't a decision to make lightly.
"What if you fail…?"
"Shirone, don't think like that. I said I will help you. Don't worry about me; focus only on saving your friends."
He took a deep breath and steadied himself. He had no choice but to follow her plan.
"What's the third hurdle?"
"Even if the magic circle's formulas are completed, whether you can withstand it is another question. Without sufficient mental durability, Shirone will be destroyed. That risk is separate from my danger. If you can't endure it, you shouldn't attempt this at all."
"Don't worry. I will endure it."
He was confident about the last gate. Since entering the Magic Academy his mind had shown exceptional durability.
And having reached something close to indestructibility, he believed he could hold out.
"You don't understand. I know Shirone's mind doesn't collapse under ordinary circumstances. But that alone may not be enough."
"You mean he could collapse even though he normally wouldn't? That sounds contradictory."
"No. They're different levels. If Shirone's mind is the vessel, his current durability might suffice. But the concept born in a higher dimension—the angelic essence—is of a different quality. A vessel may hold water fine, but if that water freezes, any container will crack."
"I see…"
Obstacle after obstacle loomed. None of the three Ikael presented were easy to clear.
But perhaps that was to be expected. For a human to learn an archangel's magic circle, such risks were inevitable.
"The halo will detonate Shirone's mind from the inside. The choice is Shirone's. If you know the danger and still want to try, I will help."
For an angel, mental collapse was tantamount to death.
If Ikael was willing to risk everything to help, Shirone had no reason to refuse.
It was also a rare chance to learn an archangel's intent—one that might never come again.
"I'll do it. No—please do it. I'll accept whatever happens."
"All right. From now on, the technique I'll perform on you is possession. It's a mental fusion used to control a human. Normally sent angels use it to convey Ra's will."
Shirone had read about possession in various texts. He'd been skeptical then, but hearing an archangel say it left no room for doubt.
"If possession succeeds, my mind and Shirone's will combine. If I harbor ill intent, harming you would be easy. And if you lose your purity, that corruption will seep into me."
It was a warning: irreversible consequences could follow if they weren't careful.
Shirone nodded again without hesitation. He trusted Ikael would not turn malicious.
Besides, even if he did lose his purity, Ikael was not some fragile angel who couldn't control it.