Ultimately Human (4)
Balkan gritted his teeth and muttered.
"This is a bit humiliating."
The army of Hell was stationed on a mountain range sixty kilometers from the Abyssal Cliffs.
'So that was its power.'
As Havitz had theorized, it wasn't as if something cosmic could literally tear the veil of the universe.
'The definition of apostasy is transcendence of the system.' In human terms, apostasy simply meant surpassing the limits of living systems.
'But that woman is different.'
The force that shattered the Abyssal Cliffs approached the level of the natural order, not just the life system.
'That kind of power couldn't have been present from the start. When she faced Natasha, that force didn't appear.'
What mechanism could it be?
'회광반조. Rage. Some special law…' Havitz was analyzing Son Yoo-jung's mechanism when a commotion rose from where he stood.
"Your Majesty! Please calm down!" Havitz, kneeling, clenched all ten fingers and wore a chilling smile.
"How dare you... destroy the Siok?"
Each time the violet smoke rising from his body shimmered like a heat haze, the demons writhed in pain.
"Ughhhh!"
It was a sort of chaos phase.
If it consolidated, it might become the incarnation of Satan, but for now it was so enraged it couldn't hold a shape.
'This is the first time I've seen Havitz make that face. Why? Is the Siok that important?'
Havitz alone knew exactly which twelve apostles lingered at 0.666 seconds.
"Hold your positions, O Satan."
A woman passed before Balkan and spoke.
Under 150 centimeters tall, with jet-black hair and a pale face, she had unnaturally large eyes whose pupils revealed nothing yet gave off an unhinged air.
"Paimon."
The Ninth Legion Commander, Paimon—her domain was pestilence.
She had once served as a commander of Hell's forces, but Balkan had since usurped her seat as Grand Commander.
'Still jealous, huh?'
Havitz had spoken up despite the distance because he was conscious of Balkan.
'This time there's nothing to be done about it.'
If not for Paimon's ability, the damage from the quake would have been far greater.
She smiled at Balkan, and like a flowerbud unfurling, spread her fingers.
"Out-of-Regulation Ban—BAN."
It was an ability that isolated a specific space and drained the mobility of those trapped within.
'Handy for a strategist, certainly.' Aside from how cruel it was.
'She isolated six million of the demon army, allowing the remaining forces to redeploy sixty kilometers.'
She had also been the one who minimized the spread of Minerva's magical walking dead infection earlier.
"By your expression I can guess what you want to say. But this is human-made—both theory and ability."
Paimon bunched the skin at the corner of her mouth.
"Yes. Weak as they are, humans are cunning. This out-of-regulation trick is rather amusing."
Only deranged humans could become out-of-regulators, but that posed no problem for demons.
They'd already abandoned six million of their own without hesitation—proof enough they were beyond regulation.
Paimon waved a hand.
"Taking an interest in humans is a demon's pastime. Anyway, I'll be watching, failed Grand Commander."
As she moved away toward Havitz, Natasha quietly approached Balkan and asked,
"Should I kill him for you?"
"No. For now, let's watch. Satan's influence seems stronger than Havitz's at the moment."
Paimon leaned toward the muttering Havitz and whispered into his ear.
"..."
Havitz blinked and turned, and Paimon wore a smile as sharp as a blade.
"This will be most entertaining."
"Kukuku."
Havitz's scattered chaos phases fused into one, and a colossal incarnation of Satan surged up.
"Kwahahahaha! Kwahahahaha!"
"What could he possibly have heard to be like that?" Natasha, watching from afar, asked, but Balkan only rested his chin on his hand and fell into thought.
'Of course I'm... not a good man.' He had been the one to win the legendary world war game in his mind—the one who had killed hundreds of millions.
'I have tried every wicked thing a human can do.'
Havitz had been so bored that he studied the pupils of dying corpses until he stumbled onto a link.
"Is Havitz so excited he's going to die from it?"
When Natasha turned her head, sweat beaded at the corner of Balkan's eye.
"Truly, I'm a villain... so why now?
"This time the demons' creativity is frightening."
"Kyak kyak kyak! Kyak kyak kyak!"
Paimon laughed, squinting and covering her mouth while glancing sideways at Balkan.
? ? ?
Iruki shot up and shouted.
"Think it over one more time!"
The commanders turned in surprise, and Aromi hurried over to him.
"Grand Commander?"
Iruki's eyes snapped open.
"Ah."
A thought that had been circling his mind slipped out before he could stop it.
'Tremendous stress.'
He understood the feeling, but having the Grand Commander's inner thoughts exposed was problematic in another way.
"I'm sorry."
Iruki admitted straightforwardly.
"Bashka is a densely populated area. If an elemental bomb were to detonate there..."
He didn't even want to imagine it.
"Bashka is the capital of Tormia. It's also where the Mercodain family of the Grand Commander resides."
"That is—??????"
A commander cut him off.
"We know. We're not raising this out of selfishness. We feel the same. What we're saying is that ultimately this is your decision, Grand Commander."
'I must choose.'
The lives of everyone living in Bashka would be decided by the motion of his hand.
'What would my father have done?'
If Mercodain Albino were here, would he have sacrificed the capital's people for the sake of preserving humanity?
'No, he wouldn't.'
He would have found a solution in any situation. Then again—of course he wouldn't have been able to. The contradiction made the whole thought pointless.
'Throughout human history, this is a situation only I have faced. There's nothing to compare it to.'
Which was why the commanders had given him full authority.
'No, there is one.'
Shirone.
If Shirone—the Yahweh of Universal Love—were here, he would understand Iruki's situation and feelings.
'So he did. Shirone.'
Iruki's eyes reddened.
'You carried this absurd burden on your shoulders and you fought.'
The commanders, seeing him show emotion, called to him with concern.
"Grand Commander."
Iruki lifted his head without wiping his tears.
"Leave me be."
He wore a smile of resignation.
"Before I become a monstrous killer, a hypocrite's tears will do to charm people, won't they?"
Aromi's face crumpled.
'This can't be.'
Her duty was to keep the Grand Commander rational, but honestly, this was too much.
"Grand Commander, if it's too hard for you—"
"No."
Iruki issued an order.
"There will be no reversal of strategy. We will draw the demons toward Bashka."
I'm sorry, Shirone.
'This is all I can choose.'
Shirone could not do it.
"Summon the head of the Tormia Magic Association. And the administrator of ROPE."
Tormia's top-secret encryption system: ROPE.
"Rupist... and Dante, you mean?"
"Yes."
Iruki's tears had already dried.
"In the name of the Valkyrie Grand Commander, I authorize the activation of the Biogenesis Project 'Flowerbed.'"
Night had grown dim.
Amy, who had been training alone, entered a wooden hut to find Shura waiting.
"You've been buzzing around a lot. Have you fully recovered now?"
"More or less. Where's Nane?"
"Why do you care?"
Nane had been kind, but Shura had grown colder with time.
He had an inkling why, but he didn't want to think about it.
"I'm leaving tomorrow morning." Amy's eyes widened a little.
"I thought it best to say goodbye in advance. You've helped me a lot. Where is he now?"
"…On the hill behind the garden." Amy turned and walked toward the door.
"Right. Thanks for everything." Shura stopped her.
"Why are you fighting?"
"What do you mean?"
"You know by now. What's right is the Buddha. In a world where only merit counts, why are you so obsessed?"
Amy looked toward the door and began.
"A man who loved me died in terrible pain. He died to save me."
Corporal Berrick.
"When someone dies, that's it, right? Love or whatever—there's no chance to meet them again. But he chose death. When I asked why, he said…"
Amy turned her head.
"He wanted to become a truly admirable man."
Shura fell silent as he watched her sad smile.
"People die someday. But just because the outcome is the same doesn't mean the process has to be. He died, but he still lives in my heart."
"He lives on..."
Shura recalled Veron's parting wish, head of the Ten Elders.
—Live on.
"That's why I fight. Even if it comes down to merit, even if this universe disappears…"
Amy opened the door.
"My end will be more beautiful than yours."
The sound of the door closing was soft, but to Shura it rang like thunder.
Amy climbed the familiar path behind the garden.
Nane sat on the hill, grass in his mouth.
"…Was being with me that uncomfortable?"
He seemed to already know the answer.
"Thank you for your kindness. But my body has recovered, and I have a mountain of things to do."
"I figured you'd be busy." Nane pointed beyond the horizon.
"Do you see it? Evil's energy has just reached its greatest stir yet."
Amy turned.
"I don't see anything."
"I do. The hell that will unfold across this world. It will be beyond what any human can endure. It will be more painful than death."
Nane turned his face.
"I will end it."
Amy couldn't argue—she knew he wasn't the sort to deceive with lies.
"I've thought about it for several days."
Amy sat down beside Nane.
"You said you'd love me. Tell me—could you love me now?"
"I admit it. It's not as easy as words, but I've realized a lot."
True Buddhahood isn't found in extremes.
"Wherever one goes, one remains human. So you return as a human and transcend everything."
Nane's heart quickened as he looked at Amy.
"The me from before and the me now are different. Now I can understand. I truly—"
"What if I came to you?"
Nane's mouth closed.
"If you loved the part of me that isn't Shirone, could you fight to protect this world?" If that could bring happiness to the world, end the war, and save everyone...
Amy's love raced through Nane's thoughts.
"It would be happiness. Yes. If she stayed by my side, I'd want to protect this world too."
Time barely flowed.
'Ah.'
Even when he had delved into the truths of the universe, he had never been so beset by worldly doubts.
'Shirone.'
For the first time, Nane envied Shirone—the man who could include Amy in a life of universal love.
"I..."
Nane's face twisted as he spoke.
"My aim is the salvation of sentient beings. I love you, but I cannot abandon those who suffer."
"I understand."
Amy smiled with shared understanding.
She could see why Shirone had left the one he loved and why Nane could not compromise.
Such conviction.
'But now I'm the same.'
Amy reached out her hand.
"Take care. Thank you. It sounds strange to say it like this... but I hope you see it through."
"Haha."
Nane laughed and clasped her hand.
"Yes. You too. I truly hope you see it through."
In the end, there would be only one victor.