God's Shadow (3)
Uroboros.
A concept that symbolizes infinity, often shown as a snake devouring its own tail.
No matter how far it moves while swallowing its tail, the body grows to match it—there is no end.
But.
"I will devour it all!"
Shirone's teeth sank into the tail, tearing and swallowing with such brutality that Giyorugi had no time to regenerate.
"Graaah!"
Veins standing out on Giyorugi's neck, he poured every ounce of strength into amplifying the power of evil, but…
"Impossible."
In a balance already shattered, overturning inertia was nearly inconceivable.
Probably an understanding of infinity.
The technical gulf between Giyorugi, born with it, and Shirone, who had experienced everything from nothing up to the limits.
"Is that all?"
Yet that single difference toppled the balance and opened a cosmic chasm.
Giyorugi stopped struggling.
Twenty thousand cycles spun in an instant, and light cleansed the darkness completely.
"Ah! We're falling!"
Civilians who'd been floating plunged to the ground, and every speck of dust in the city rained down.
Fussssss.
Like snow, the scene wore a gray cloak as Shirone turned.
The Miracle Stream that had swallowed the dark circled briefly, then faded.
"Give it up, Giyorugi. You can imitate my current self, but you cannot imitate my experience."
Giyorugi curled one side of his mouth.
"Of course. I already know you can't topple Yahweh by brute force. Perhaps I'm even worse at it than you."
"Then why?"
Extending his senses, Giyorugi realized Miyo no longer existed.
"Call it… part of the tactic. And I wanted to clash once."
"Clash once?"
Shirone frowned.
"I don't understand. You think I'll give you two chances?"
"Don't delude yourself, Yahweh."
Giyorugi opened the Devil's Bible.
"This Bible is the only one from the Underverse and the source of all my power."
The pages turned on their own.
"In the first place, I don't possess Hexa. The ability that stands against you is Markina Scripture, Chapter 16, Verse 5. 'Thus chaos willingly becomes the shadow of God, trampled beneath his foot while endlessly imitating his form.'" Shirone noted the Bible ran to thousands of pages.
"Right, as I suspected. The Devil's Bible contains many abilities. Of course, not as many as yours."
Hexa held infinite potential.
"What are you getting at? So… you'll use every skill you have to face me?"
"That's one possibility. If you refuse the bargain."
Giyorugi lifted a page.
"If I let you go now, I will destroy this ability right before your eyes. And the only thing that can mimic Hexa is Markina Scripture, Chapter 16, Verse 5."
Shirone's brow tightened.
"Destroy it? That would be one of the core abilities that could have made you leader of the Catacombs."
If it were Shirone's Mara, he wouldn't bluff.
"And it's not a bad offer." Even conceding an edge in the Taeguk, an opponent who could imitate Hexa would be a serious nuisance.
"On the other hand, if he destroys Markina 16:5, I can respond proactively no matter what he does."
Shirone's gaze calmed.
"This one… really is like me."
He'd calculated everything from the start: test strength first, and if he failed, switch to a bargain; expect Shirone to accept…
None of that would be possible without a deep understanding of Yahweh.
It left a bitter taste.
"If he could think and judge like me… would he not also understand his own heart?"
Giyorugi prodded him.
"You've had plenty of time to think. Decide soon. The choice is yours."
Shirone didn't take the bait.
"Empty bravado, anyway."
Reading each other's minds was far too easy.
After a long moment of deliberation, Shirone sighed and said, "This is the last time. There won't be a second."
"…Then it's a deal." With a snap, the page containing Chapter 16, Verse 5 was torn free.
"Remember, Yahweh. You may be stronger than me, but evil always triumphs over good."
Watching the departing enemy, Shirone quickly snatched the paper fluttering in the wind.
"The Devil's Bible."
Lines from the Markina Scripture shone in Shirone's sad eyes.
Outside the city, Giyorugi found someone waiting twenty meters ahead.
"Still alive, are you?"
It was Gultan, a Catacombs operative. He'd changed into fresh clothes, but the burn scars on his face and hands were plain to see.
"…Not exactly a welcoming tone," Gultan grumbled.
He fell into step beside Giyorugi, but Giyorugi gave him no glance and kept walking.
"No, I'm glad you didn't desert. I just… didn't expect you to be alive."
"Hmph. That pathetic human girl."
It had been close.
The radius within which Gultan could move while quantum-shifted was barely a hundred meters.
To get clear of the mountain Amy had set ablaze, he'd had to re-jump seven times.
Though his total exposure to heat was under a second, the burns were nearly fatal.
"He needs treatment."
Even as Gultan limped along, Giyorugi didn't slow.
There was no comradeship among demons, but Gultan felt offended in a different way.
"By the way, what happened to Giyorugi? Didn't you meet Yahweh?"
"We clashed. He was strong."
Giyorugi looked far too intact to have fought a brutal battle.
"Is that really all? You didn't purposely avoid anything, did you?"
"What do you mean?"
"Yahweh is certainly strong. But he must know how evil can overcome good."
Giyorugi fell into thought.
"Do I hate Yahweh?"
If a being split into two, the two would throw everything into killing one another.
"To become the only true one."
But could that be called hatred?
"It was merely a tactical retreat to achieve perfection. Summon all Catacomb members within three days. Revise our strategy."
"Understood."
Gultan still had doubts, but he lacked the nerve to press Giyorugi further.
Amy, Kaiden, and Maya phased in and landed before Shirone.
"How did it go? Giyorugi?" Amy asked.
"For now… consider it a draw. You don't need to worry for the time being."
"A draw?"
Could that really be the outcome against demons?
"Well, that's for the best."
Seeing Maya and Kaiden standing side by side, Shirone had a rough idea what had happened.
Maya approached awkwardly.
"Sorry. Because of me you got involved in danger. I have no face to see you or Amy."
"It's okay. I'm just glad you're safe." Kaiden stepped forward.
"Shirone, I—"
As soon as he entered range, Kaiden's right arm shot toward Shirone's face.
"Ugh!"
Shirone tilted his head. "What is this?"
Kaiden, however, was the one startled—his right arm had started writhing as if it had a mind of its own.
"Damn it! Stay still!"
Shirone watched, puzzled. "What's going on?"
"That is…?"
After Amy explained, Shirone nodded.
"Alien-hand syndrome." As if by a miracle, Kaiden's right hand stilled, and he turned, eyes shining.
"Alien hand?"
"It's an information-processing disorder in the brain. People used to say a god had possessed them, hence the name. I understand it often results from severe trauma."
Kaiden's case was different.
It's common for emotion to change the body. But for the circuitry of thought itself to alter…
Shirone could gauge how extreme the stress Kaiden had endured must have been.
"Let's get him checked in Vashka. I'll consult with Seriel about treatment."
"No, like this is fine. I'll give up anything if it means protecting Maya."
Maya's face flushed deeply.
Shirone, watching that content little scene, changed expression and raised both hands.
"Miracle Stream."
Two pillars of light-smoke condensed in the air and seeped into Kaiden's and Maya's heads.
"Hah!"
Agape's light settled in Maya's heart; hot tears streamed down her cheeks.
"Aaah—"
It was Shirone's love.
"For the time being, the Emotion Sickness won't manifest. But there's a condition. Maya, Kaiden—your help will be needed."
Maya nodded.
"If it's something I can do, I'll do anything. No—if I can't, I'll do it anyway."
Seeing Maya regain life, Kaiden's chest ached.
'I can't make Maya smile.' The reason his right arm remained still might be that he couldn't even feel jealousy toward Shirone.
'Don't be greedy.'
Finding a way to protect her didn't mean he had escaped fate.
'If I obsess, Maya will be in danger. Protecting her safely—that's all I'll think about.'
Putting personal feelings aside, Shirone's group set off for their next mission.
"Take Maya to Vashka. I'll be waiting when you reach the castle."
After hearing the account of simultaneous events, Kaiden gripped his sword and said, "Don't worry. Maya will be safe." Probably so, but the one Shirone worried about was Kaiden.
'It's not time to reveal everything yet. For now, this is fine.'
The fate of the Red Cross Star, the true meaning of the Law it held, was being told by Omega's history.
"Right. See you in the capital."
Kaiden drew his blade with the unbound hand and teleported away with Maya.
Watching the streak of light bend into the sky, Amy smiled warmly.
"At least it worked out. Kaiden can be with the one he likes." Shirone couldn't bring himself to say he should've given up Maya instead.
Kiiiiiing!
The sound of the teleport's vanishing returned on a flash of light from the horizon.
"Huh?"
An old man appeared, hands clasped behind his back, his kindly face belying eyes that flashed with intensity.
"Mr. Rampa."
It was Arnold Rampa, the world's top information mage.
"Lord Odaeseong."
Amid handling countless affairs, he had come to find Shirone and Amy's party for one reason.
"We've found Wena the Wizard."
A born-awakened— the only person with the purity to stand against Havitz.
"As I thought, she's alive."
"Yes. She's currently in the Kingdom of Stang. The Ten Magic Council is keeping watch and guarding her."
There were five first-class residents in the System Surveillance Department and the same number of satellites.
They were called the Ten Magic Council, and unlike other stars and moons, these were people Fried had trained.
Amy asked, "Now the real mission begins. What kind of kid is the wizard? She's a girl, right? Is she cute?"
"Well…"
Rampa, who'd lived one hundred and twelve years, rummaged through his memory and produced only two words.
"Yeah. Sort of."