Apostasy (2)
"Ideara."
The state Ozent had ultimately reached.
It was almost right to call it apostasy—he wielded concepts that lay outside the world.
Not cutting with a blade, but forcibly imprinting the concept of cutting onto the world.
"But it's just as dangerous."
There was nothing beautiful or grand about it.
It was impressive only because a human had achieved it; in the end, Ozent's life as a living being had ended.
"The body couldn't withstand it."
As Rian's Idea supplanted Ozent's, Smille's phantom voice ceased to be heard.
"Would I have that kind of will?"
Ozent's monstrous obsession had made him nearly immortal, but Rian had merely inherited his genes.
"There's no reason to live that far."
Rian was not Ozent.
"Honestly, I don't even get it."
The biggest reason Ozent had come this far was that he resembled Smille's disposition more than anything else.
He hadn't swung his sword just to become the best?
"I will become the greatest swordsman."
If that pride wasn't larger than Ozent's obsession, the body would be utterly annihilated by this strike.
"Thanks for passing that on… but what does it matter? I won't stop."
For a moment Rian had the uncanny sense that Ozent was smiling.
Faust approached.
"To want to confirm the end—that is the fate of living things."
Even when he had been nothing more than a nameless bat.
"I once saw the clash of the two strongest beings. It wasn't a memory so much as a primal impression."
A murderous intensity poured from Faust's body as black smoke began to unwind from his feet.
"Where did we come from? What is this world we inhabit? There are many ways to seek answers, but the simplest is…"
Like a mountain set ablaze, vast smoke spouted up and darkened the sky completely.
"Become strong enough to destroy that world."
That was why Anke Ra forbade apostasy.
The smoke that filled the heavens twisted into sharp coils and surged toward Rian.
Even in its half-corporeal, half-phantom form, its sheer scale made it more powerful than Lord by far.
"Rian!"
As if all the darkness in the world were converging at once, Xenia shouted.
"I'll cut!"
Rian took a step forward and brought Shirone's greatsword down.
Divine transcendence—the speed of movement at the level of Idea—was already enough to burn flesh.
Skin charred first; muscles vaporized, and the skeleton glowed a deep, angry red.
Movement beyond human limits would melt even iron.
"Yaaaaaa!"
The Idea cannot be destroyed.
Rian's shout snapped off, and the vast smoke split cleanly left and right.
"Raaaaaa!"
When the black smoke parted in two while still half-corporeal, a clear night sky opened up.
Xenia's eyes filled with horror.
"This, this is…"
The sky cleaved, and another world bathed in an eerie radiance appeared.
Where was that place?
But the light vanished before she could question it, and a physical shockwave of reality slammed across the land.
Kwah-r-r-r-rung!
A shockwave with power akin to magic split the world and kept advancing endlessly forward.
By the time the sounds of collapsing buildings could be heard faintly, Xenia struck the glass globe.
"Rian! Rian!"
At the same moment, Shirone's greatsword clattered from Rian's hands as he stood, reduced to bare bones.
"No!"
The sword had been standing upright even without arms; with it falling, it felt as if Rian's life itself had slipped away.
Moments later, the pitch-black skeleton blew apart in the wind and scattered as ash.
"Kuuuu!"
Faust, split in two and returned to human flesh, collapsed to the ground.
I saw it.
There had been light.
It was a blinding light that revealed nothing, but it had been there.
What a pity.
He had wanted to remain in the world a little longer to see the end, but now only minutes remained for him.
"Rian! Rian!"
Hearing Xenia's cries, Faust slowly lifted the head of his left-side body.
Has it gone?
If the light he had seen was real, then its existence in this world would be impossible.
Now that it had come to this… he felt unwell.
"It's futile. In the end, nothing's left, is there?"
A wind blew from somewhere.
"I am Rian."
His voice rang through the entire cosmos, but no one could hear it.
Yes—I am Rian.
The sound diffused so perfectly it could no longer be called a sound.
Yet that faint ripple continued relentlessly, forcing something upon itself.
I know. I am Rian. But what does that mean?
He was too satisfied with the present state to entertain anything more complex.
"The greatest single sword…"
Even recalling that was bothersome.
"I am Rian."
Endlessly repeating himself was all he could do.
Like when Arius used Apoptosis, Rian existed as a concept.
Therefore he had no will.
All he had to do was repeat himself forever, permeate this world, and exist.
What is this?
So it was miraculous that this Rian formed a question about a specific object.
One concept forcibly collided with his.
"A sword?"
As information began to gain individuality, an annoying memory surfaced.
Yes—with this I delivered the greatest single sword.
Why?
To become the greatest swordsman.
It had felt so cool that he briefly thought, "Shall I stop now?" but that was far from reality.
It was as weak a will as lying down and thinking, "Shall I die now?"
Why?
The most unnecessary of the five Ws—yet without it, nothing remained.
Why should I return?
At that point Rian's concept changed course and began to face the opposite side of reality.
And somewhere—a beam of light, whether far away or perhaps right in front of him—connected to him.
A signal coming from outside the world.
Thus the concept Rian was experiencing must also be nothing more than the effect of that signal.
What lies outside?
Rian tried to move toward the light, but he couldn't feel any forward motion.
I am Rian. I am Rian. I am Rian…
The more he refused to give up, the stronger the feedback grew, until he could think of nothing else.
"Rian! Rian! Rian! Rian! Rian! Rian! Rian!"
He feared he would lose even the ability to think, but he kept pushing onward.
Ozent Rian.
In the end, a single concept flickered endlessly in his thoughts and became his everything.
As everything clarified, his viewpoint spun to the opposite side regardless of will.
The shadow of a man holding a sword trembled at the edge of a dark world.
Do I look like that?
There was no way to confirm, but at last the first will to act arose.
Yes—I am Ozent Rian.
Shadows do not disappear.
"Shirone's sword."
When a human voice's waveform sounded, the world he occupied went pale as if it had exploded.
"Rian… if you die like this…"
Xenia sank against the glass globe, powerless, and began to sob.
They had put down True Demon Faust, but the hunters had lost a precious comrade—her feelings were no different.
"J-Jenia."
At that moment Katein pointed forward.
The air where Rian had vanished shimmered and began to coalesce into a human body.
Like filling an empty mold, specks of color dotted and gathered.
A human body formed.
Bones assembled, nerves and muscles spread over them, and finally skin regenerated at high speed to reveal Rian's face.
"H-how is this possible?"
Shock and disbelief gripped the hunters more than joy.
"Kuuuuuu!"
A terrible pain surged into the realm of reality; Rian gritted his teeth and dropped to his knees.
"This really feels awful."
Was this how Shirone had felt when returning from the limits of the Immortal Function?
"Rian??????"
Hearing Xenia's voice, Rian gripped Shirone's greatsword and slowly rose.
His stride as he approached was arrogantly confident—except that he was naked, which posed a problem.
"Ah—no—?!"
As Xenia frantically averted her gaze, a flash streaked across her vision.
Half of the glass globe, which had withstood every shock, was cleanly sliced away, and she turned back.
Standing there, already unconscious, was Rian.
"Rian! Snap out of it! Rian!"
Xenia ran and tried to shake him, but he seemed fixed, as if nailed in place—impossible to topple.
"Release us!"
They unlocked the Physics Machine's restraints and the hunters checked Rian's condition.
"H-how is this…?"
Even while unconscious, the Law that activated had the lifting force of roughly a ton.
After finally laying Rian down, Katein checked his state.
"What happened?"
"Fortunately he's breathing. But his pulse is weak. We should move him to the hideout quickly."
"Even if we move him quickly…"
With only the hunters present, it was all they could do to manage Rian's weight.
"There! Over there!"
Hundreds of constabulary officers came running from a distance.
Only after she saw Chief Benov's face did Xenia exhale and slump down.
But such power…
Every scene Rian's sword had destroyed made it harder to believe he was merely human.
"The world's strongest swordsman."
Whatever was to come, when Rian opened his eyes again everything would already have changed.
Deep within Niflheim, the frozen realm of the dead, Imir's eyelids snapped open.
The mere motion sent the vast ice sheet trembling.
"Has the time come?"
Through the symbiotic Suoi, she knew Anke Ra had disappeared.
Still, Imir had not moved because there had been no reason to.
"Ozent."
As promised ten thousand years ago, his bloodline had once again opened a world of apostasy.
"Rian!"
When his lips moved, the Suoi slid through solid molecules and quickly drew away, and cracks began to spread across the surface of the unbreakable sea of ice.
"Let's settle this!"
After Ozent left the world, Imir had been trapped here for breaking the principle of apostasy.
Talk of what lay outside the world or of protecting this world—all of it had been paralytic with fear!
Imir clenched his fist and pulled himself up; the surrounding ice vaporized into steam.
"Whatever it is, destroy it!" His tremendous presence twisted gravity and sent the ice sea into chaotic convulsions.
"I am the strongest!"
If not, he had no reason to exist.
"I am—"
Ku-gu-gu-gu-gu!
Hundreds of tons of ice masses rose into the air, staggering as they tried to find purchase.
"Imir!"
The shockwave spread; energy in its raw form pushed the ice walls aside, and the thunder shook the entire heavens.
Imir, King of Giants—his true body had been resurrected.