[465] The Outbreak of War (1)
Dawn broke.
A massive Tagis roared as its engines spun to life.
A powerful electromagnetic wave struck Heaven dead on, and Heaven's air-defense system, Aegis, was completely paralyzed.
"Charge!"
Some 150,000 troops under the Unified Rebel Headquarters advanced toward Gates One through Six—excluding Arabot.
Thus the war with Heaven began.
"Senior, this way."
Shirone and Plu had successfully infiltrated the Third Gate, Shehakim, where the citizens who had gained immortality lived.
The rebels hadn't been able to breach Shehakim's gate yet, but that too was part of the plan.
The crucial thing was to somehow get the Terminator Shirone to Arabot.
They needed to draw enemy attention outward and slip only a few people into the enemy lines—a reconnaissance operation.
Shehakim, which they were seeing for the first time, was different from Shamain where the newly inducted citizens lived.
The Nor, Mecha, and Kergo peoples mixed together, but their housing followed a standardized style called Paradise.
White-bricked houses varied in size but were uniformly beautiful.
Even the passersby had set aside racial trappings and worn the flowing clothes of those who had attained immortality.
Immortality. Those freed from the fear of a fleeting life.
Although war raged on the outskirts, their lives hadn't yet undergone any drastic change.
"This is impressive. Confidence of the undying, huh?"
Plu watched them with a sharp look.
There was no hint of fear in the way they smiled and chatted as they passed.
"First, we need clothes. We can't go wandering around like this."
There were only two of them; they weren't a fighting force that could simply fight its way to Arabot.
Blending in with the crowd was the best option.
Shirone and Plu slipped into the nearest Paradise.
Inside was a swimming pool, and through a full glass wall a family was enjoying tea together.
Shirone moved to the rear of the building and leapt up to the second floor.
From the height he could see the city below, and countless fair folk moving about.
Since the war had already begun, security had to be much tighter than before.
Making eye contact with Plu, Shirone opened a window and climbed in.
They found Shehakim clothing in a wardrobe and immediately changed.
After swapping and stowing their original clothes in the Cubrick, the door opened.
"Huh? Who are you?"
Shirone and Plu froze and watched the girl warily.
Even with the Spirit Zone deployed, they sensed no presence.
"Could it be… are you spies?"
Shirone stepped back slowly.
She wasn't human.
It was obvious from the start that they'd walked into a trap.
Plu sent the Phoenix forward to block the girl's approach.
They already knew it was quasi-incorporeal.
The problem was finding a way out.
The illusion felt so real they couldn't tell it was fake.
"Is it an ability anchored to space?"
Plu shouted. "Get out of here!"
"Kyaaah!"
At the same time the girl screamed and changed form.
Her genteel features vanished; her lips split grotesquely and she became a witch's face that lunged at them. Plu activated Phoenix Technique.
A bird of flame shot up and hurled a massive fireball at the girl.
Flames spread and the scenery shimmered like heat haze.
Confronted with distortions beyond material limits, Shirone activated Diamond Armament.
Out-of-Regulation Rite — Paradise.
The ability of Orga, head of Shehakim's Citizen Affairs.
She mentally manifested Paradise and cast horrific illusions on anyone entering the building.
Shirone and Plu headed for the same window they'd come through.
But outside the window was nothing but hollow, empty darkness.
"We're completely trapped!"
Moments later the door opened and monsters with patchy, leprous scalps poured in.
"Kraaaagh!"
Shirone swung Armand's tentacles and cleaved them all at once.
The severed monsters were absorbed by the devourer Kuzen's power and converted into energy, which bolstered Shirone's physical strength.
Outside the door, creatures surged all the way to the bottom of the stairs.
When Shirone unleashed a barrage from his photon cannon, their bodies dented as if hit by hammers and tumbled down the steps.
He vaulted the railing and dropped down alone.
Plu followed, flying through the air to land on the opposite railing.
Paintings on the ceiling materialized and attacked.
Snakes, bats, gargoyles, nameless beasts—Paradise erupted into a wild spectacle.
No creature even managed to scratch Shirone.
Armand's tentacles quickened as Kuzen's absorption accelerated, vibrating almost beyond sight.
Only the sound of a gale lingered in the hall as countless monsters burst like fireworks.
"This won't beat us. But…."
They still couldn't find a way out.
If entering the building triggered the Out-of-Regulation Rite, then finding the door should be the most direct way to break it.
"Senior! The door…!"
Plu flipped through the air and slammed the monsters with the Phoenix.
Landing beside Shirone, she scanned their surroundings with a pale face.
The doors lining the corridor rattled open and even fiercer, larger beasts poured out.
"There's only one place where monsters don't come out."
Shirone had guessed it.
With no time to waste, they headed for the area with a basement.
"Kraaaang!"
Monsters blocking their path were shredded by the tentacles.
Even Plu—who'd fought with Shirone at the Second Rebel Command—was cowed by his overwhelming power.
But that power was exactly what the mission needed.
"You can do it! We just have to reach Arabot!"
When they entered the basement the door shut on its own and torches along the walls ignited.
No more monsters emerged, but they knew they couldn't return to the surface.
They followed the dim corridor to its end.
They entered a bright dressing room where a huge mirror waited.
But the mirror didn't reflect them; it showed a sultry woman with black hair down to her waist.
Out-of-Regulation Rite — Paradise.
- Mirroring: Equal Rights.
The woman smiling inside the mirror stepped forward and approached them.
Shirone and Plu raised their guard and backed away slowly.
"Be careful, Shirone. The complexity of the Out-of-Regulation Rite surpasses human scope. She's an incredibly powerful fairy."
Shirone couldn't disagree.
Even a fairy specialized in mental powers would struggle to realize a building in such detailed facets.
How on earth had she done it?
"Welcome. I am Orga, steward of Paradise. I've been expecting you."
Shirone didn't answer.
He knew this too was part of the Out-of-Regulation Rite.
As expected, she spoke immediately.
"To leave this place you must win a wager with me."
Plu asked, "What kind of wager?"
"Equal Rights."
Orga raised an index finger, her eyes cold.
"From now on we will make 'actionable proposals' to one another, and you must follow any proposal you accept. But when you propose something, you must also perform it yourself. Whoever cannot carry out their proposal loses."
Shirone's expression hardened.
He couldn't yet guess her intent, but the danger was clear.
Plu asked, "Who has to carry out the proposal? There are two of us."
"Only one of you needs to perform it. That is Equal Rights."
Once the Out-of-Regulation Rite was in force, there was no choice but to comply.
When Shirone and Plu nodded, Orga made her first proposal.
"Remove your top."
Orga removed her own top first and tossed it to the floor.
That fulfilled the condition; now it was Shirone or Plu's turn to remove a top.
'She's trying to force me to drop Diamond Armament.'
She couldn't directly command him to release Armand.
Under Equal Rights, a proposal must be possible for both parties; had Orga asked him directly to disarm, it would be an "impossible proposal" for her and thus invalid.
Plu was glad she was Shirone's partner.
Had he faced the mirroring alone, he would have been disarmed without recourse.
"I'll do it."
If she didn't comply she'd lose.
The penalty would probably be death.
Plu took off the Shehakim clothing and removed her top. Noticing Orga wore no undergarments, Plu matched her state exactly.
It was the correct move.
"All right. Now it's your turn to make a proposal."
"I'll go."
Shirone stepped forward.
Against a wielder of the Out-of-Regulation Rite, the proper tactic—Marsha had said—was to first identify the rules and then find a solution.
There was one fact he had to confirm.
If he inflicted physical damage, would Orga truly feel it?
If the woman before him were only an illusion, harming himself would only injure Shirone.
'No. That's unlikely.'
The abnormal rule of Equal Rights was clearly founded on strict equivalence. If an ability allowed damage to be dealt without affecting the caster, it wouldn't allow damage to the opponent either.
'She's crafty. With equivalence alone she can strike and adapt to many variables.'
So there was reason to hope.
'If this works….'
Shirone took a step forward and made his proposal.
"Break your left index finger."
He could heal it in a few hours with Kenser's recovery ability anyway.
The key was her true state.
Orga watched Shirone without changing expression.
There was no reason for her to accept a proposal she couldn't perform.
Shirone didn't look away; he gripped his left index finger.
He gritted his teeth and bent hard—the joint snapped outward with a sickening crack.
It hurt, but he had to endure.
Orga lowered her hand slowly and grasped her own index finger.
When the sound of bone breaking echoed, Shirone's eyes flashed.
He saw the mirror behind Orga tremble for an instant.
'Physical damage works. That means….'
As if to give him no time to think, Orga made her second proposal.
"Remove your bottoms."
Shirone clicked his tongue at her obsessive persistence to disarm him.
It made sense—this was the weapon that had wiped out countless monsters in Paradise.
'Ah, I get it!'
Seeing the beautiful jewelry adorning Orga's bare body, Shirone understood.
If this continued, he would inevitably be forced to release Diamond Armament.
Plu, already stripped, now had only the Cubrick.
Orga still wore two pairs of earrings, a necklace, two rings, and three bracelets.
If Plu were forced to discard even her rings, she could be put into a state where—under the rules—she couldn't make or perform proposals.
No matter how abnormal the situation, if it conformed to the rules, they would be the ones cornered.
'There's no time. We have to decide by the next proposal.'
If Diamond Armament were disabled, they couldn't handle Paradise's monsters—and that was Orga's goal.
Plu began to remove her bottoms, muttering, "Why is it always me…."
At her grumble, Shirone let out a short, involuntary laugh despite the gravity of the moment.
'Sorry, Senior.'
After all, Plu had made the same judgment and complied willingly.
Now it was time to finish this.
'We can do it. No, it's the only way.'
Shirone glared at Orga with a determined expression.
"My proposal is…. "