[418] The Second Purgatory (5)
Shirone and his group cut across a battlefield raked with gunfire and headed for the command-post tent where the battalion commander was stationed.
Even though it was the command post, it sat right in front of the fighting, and you couldn't hear voices without shouting.
Only after they stepped inside the tent did the noise subside enough to speak.
The company commander, having already finished his report, was at ease in a corner, and Kanya had accompanied Shirone to smooth communications.
The battalion commander didn't take his eyes off the strategy map even after Shirone's group entered.
"I've heard the stories."
He was a cold-faced man with white hair swept back and a thick, stubborn mustache.
"Are you the Nephilim?"
Shirone did not deny it.
Whether true or not, letting them believe seemed more useful for manipulating the rebels.
The commander moved on as if uninterested.
"I'll be blunt. Why have you come back?"
Shirone didn't understand the question.
"You're a myth to the rebels. But myths are most beautiful when they stay myths. Some of the men call you an irresponsible deserter. You left the battlefield—why return now?"
Shirone intuited that one of those who thought him a deserter was the battalion commander.
"I don't have a grand reason. As before, I fight according to my convictions as a single mage."
"Convictions…."
The commander pulled back the tent flap and surveyed the battlefield.
"The light you brought to Sector 73 has become the sun to seventy thousand rebels. I don't want that light snuffed out. If you came here just because of some personal conviction, I'd rather you hadn't come at all."
Shirone realized the commander would not be moved.
Behind those cold eyes was not righteous resolve but a fanatical sense of mission born from having chosen what he now believed to be the wrong path.
"Even a small conviction can share the same purpose. I want to speak with the commander directly. Let me go to the rebel headquarters."
"No."
Hostility that could not be hidden hardened the commander's gaze.
"Fine, I'll be frank. The war is already lost—no, it's reached the brink of defeat. If Heaven's offensive hadn't suddenly stopped, it would have been over. The gap was that overwhelming. Countless men died. Our remaining card is negotiation with Heaven. If you're planning to spark something half-baked and run again, the light in Sector 73 will only be a hindrance."
"But the war continues. And Heaven isn't moving right now. This could be an opportunity. If we can understand exactly what's happening, we have a good chance."
"Hey—light of Sector 73."
The battalion commander leaned in.
"Don't judge the Mecha by the Nor mindset. The Nor started this rebellion, yes. But now? Who dies? Only we Mecha. Why did Heaven halt the fighting? Who can possibly know that?"
"I can find out."
The commander fell silent. His teeth ground behind his clenched jaw.
"Listen, kid. You think I don't know what you're up to? No—I don't know the details. But I can see you'll use us. People call you a myth, but to me you're a seed of disaster. At best a myth who managed to take down a single minister. Do you know how fiercely we fought while you were off running? You fled at the worst moment, and now you expect to change anything?"
"I will meet Ikael."
"Pff…."
Air escaped the commander's mouth.
"Ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha!"
It was enough to make anyone faint.
Archangel Ikael—she who sits at the top of Heaven's Law. Meeting her? If that were easy, tens of thousands of citizens wouldn't have died.
"Now I'm certain. You're no myth. You're a butcher who coaxed countless citizens to death with a silver tongue. Company commander! Arrest him! Do not let the troops know."
As the company commander reluctantly moved to obey, the tent flap flew open and an adjutant burst in.
"Commander! Emergency! The rear defensive line has been breached—giants are pouring through!"
"What? Why? Which idiot baited the giants here? What's the reason?"
"We don't have confirmation. Since Guroi Third Unit lost contact, the defense line's been collapsing..."
The commander slammed his fist on the tactical table.
"Damn it. Why?"
Variables in the giant-clearance operation were rare—the giants reacted uniformly because they lacked identity.
And yet the final rear line had been broken.
He didn't know where the Law had gone wrong, but after living through yesterday and today, he could think of only one cause.
The battalion commander grabbed Shirone by the collar.
"See? You're the root of everything. Guroi was destroyed because of you; that tactical hole formed, and now you plan to wipe out our battalion too!"
Kanya shouted, ready to die.
"Commander! That's an unfounded accusation! Shirone is—"
"Shut up! What right does a pilot who couldn't even protect his own gear have to speak in this situation?"
The adjutant barked.
"Commander! Give an order! If we do nothing we won't last thirty minutes!"
The commander took the Piper from the wall. He tucked an Arc into his pocket, grabbed his Signa and Xed, and left the tent, glaring at Shirone.
"Leave here quickly. I don't want to see you."
Kanya cried out.
"Commander! They can help our forces!"
"Did you not hear me? Shirone altered the giants' Law! Our job is to fight the enemy, not hide behind a deserter!"
When the commander left, Kanya had no choice but to follow.
She was a soldier; she couldn't just stand and watch her comrades die.
"Shirone, I'm sorry."
She stepped out of the tent with a sad smile.
"But I'm really glad we met."
It was her way of saying goodbye. Shirone understood.
But he hadn't yet abandoned hope.
'A change in the Law. They said the Law can change by will. Perhaps—'
"Things are worse than expected. Can we actually move the rebel forces this way?" Gaold said.
Sein added, "There are still many cards to play. Tagis too. The problem is headquarters. From what I heard about the logistics community, they're hiding their position. If that's true, there's a good chance we can't get info from the mainland. We have to act now."
Zulu said, "I think the important thing is which part of the giants' Law changed. The giants whose sole Law is to go to Jotunheim acting as a group doesn't make sense. Anyone who can explain this?"
No one answered.
In Heaven, where the Akashic Records had materialized, the Law was an artificial system. In Shirone's world, the Law was simply the universe's order. Like a butterfly's wing sparking a storm, even the smallest variable could ripple outward—so tracing exactly where the Law had shifted was impossible.
Gaold offered his plan.
"First, sweep the giants away. If we save lives, someone will show us the commander."
Shirone raised his hand.
"Leave that to me."
"No. Too dangerous. You have a special mission. Don't think your life belongs wholly to you."
"No. I still think it's a Law issue."
Sein asked, "Do you have any guess?"
"Yes. But think of it as an experiment rather than a guess. There's something Heaven must verify."
* * *
"All units, attack! Never fall back!"
Seven giants grabbed a Guroi, slammed it into the ground, and began stomping it to pieces.
The cockpit was crushed; the terrified pilot screamed—then a second later the scream was cut off.
"Damn it! Aaaahhh!"
The battalion commander, arriving late, fired his Arc repeatedly. It was indiscriminate, almost point-blank tent fire.
Even so, the giants were hit.
And even so, they were unfazed—this realization crumpled the commander's face.
"Damn! Damn it!"
From the start they were beings beyond what humans could withstand.
What did it matter if tales of short lives were true? What did it matter that lifespan was finite?
By rebelling against the gods, humanity had lost the path to immortality. Now the species faced extinction.
"Aaaahhh!"
When the commander drove his Signa into a giant's leg, the wounded giant slowly turned its head in pain.
Seeing its unfocused pupils sent a chill through everyone.
"Purge the heretics…."
Its legs trembled and a groan leaked from between its teeth.
"Ugh—ugh—"
As the giant approached, the commander's face twisted with anguish.
He had seen countless deaths, but none like the thought of his own.
"Purge the heretics…."
"No, I'm not a heretic—"
The giant's fist smashed down. The commander let out a soundless cry and squeezed his eyes shut.
A deep, rumbling scrape echoed. When he slowly opened his eyes, an animal he'd never seen before stood like a black barrier.
Its fur was silk-smooth and jet-black; its body sleek like a leopard's. It had six legs, a flattened muzzle, and fangs over a meter long. Because it had curled its claws while taking the giant's blow, the ground was cracked.
"What is that?"
"What else? A Tier-3 monster—the Cougar."
Gaold's group had arrived.
Zulu stepped forward and snapped his fingers; the Cougar made an incongruously cute 'gharung?' and turned.
"Go play."
Kraaaarrrrr!
The Cougar sprang, and the sky seemed to open as if a black curtain had been torn away.
Wherever its claws struck, a giant's body was sliced cleanly.
In sheer athleticism the Cougar was rated the strongest among Tier-3s.
The commander, staring at the battlefield as if bewitched, turned his head slowly.
"Who are you people?"
Gaold split his mouth into a grin.
"Humans. The same as you."
* * *
"Rena! Rena!"
"Sis!"
Kanya lunged between giants and threw herself over Rena to shield her.
When a giant's foot slammed down where the two had been standing, their bodies jolted as if they'd landed on a rubber sheet.
Rena was terrified by the unfamiliar Law. When she realized Kanya had no armor, she reached out.
"Sis! Are you hurt? What happened to the Guroi?"
Tears welled in Kanya's eyes before she could finish the question.
Poor sister. Born into nothing good and about to be taken like this—she couldn't help but be heartbroken.
Rena seemed to sense something and smiled.
"I'm fine."
Kanya pressed her cheek to Rena's.
Rena was smart; she must have understood. Comrades' bodies lay everywhere.
Her last words had been decided long ago.
Because her little sister had waited just as eagerly as she had, she wanted to say this before she died.
"Rena, Shirone—"
"Shirone oppa?"
Rena looked up at the sky. Kanya followed, and shock ran through her eyes.
Shirone had spread golden wings and was flying.
'Is this Heaven's war?'
From above, the battlefield looked horrific.
Giants slaughtering humans looked no different from humans killing ants.
'But I can end it. If this works—'
Shirone cast Shining Impact. The brightness rivaled sunlight and blinded everyone.
Because it was dusk, the effect was especially strong.
"Gaaaaaaah!"
"What the hell—what was that?!"
After a moment, people's sight returned.
Deprived of vision and panic-stricken, the giants turned feral and screamed.
Then something flashed in the sky and a prismatic radiance spilled across the night.
As rainbow flecks shimmered over the plain where darkness crept, both giants and humans craned their necks.
"T-That—"
High above, Shirone had formed a massive Ataraxia; with wings unfurled he looked down on them all.
The Mecha were stunned.
Shirone's figure now precisely matched the being the citizens had feared.
"Uuurrrr— uuurrrr—"
Hundreds of giants thudded to their knees, dumbly opening their mouths and crying.
Giants were also beings of the Law.
Even stripped of identity, Ikael's magic circles exerted a powerful presence in their instincts.
"O Harmonizer of the Law…."
Not content with kneeling, the giants pressed their foreheads to the ground and lowered themselves even further.
Only then did the humans' shapes come into focus.
But they only glanced at each other briefly before returning their gazes to the sky.
"That's a Nephilim…."
A word long forgotten rose from the mouths of the heretics.
"Sis, Shirone oppa is here."
Rena, cradled in Kanya's arms, sobbed uncontrollably.
People could call him a deserter, say he had deceived them into defying the gods, regret what they'd done—but she had never doubted Shirone. This was a miracle to her.
"Yes, Rena. Shirone really is…descended from angels."
Bearing golden wings more splendid than any angel's and a multicolored radiant halo—the symbol of an archangel—hovering above him, Shirone had returned.
From the light of Sector 73, to become Heaven's light.
"Nephilim. Nephilim."
"O Harmonizer of the Law…."
Everyone knelt at Shirone's feet.