City of Magical Engineering (2)
Boyd, deputy director of the Chemical Company, escorted Monoras out of the Marquisate of Picaras.
"The boss told me to get to Laviet as soon as possible. If we hurry—"
Monoras's belly gurgled with the huge bribe he'd swallowed and he shifted direction.
"Then we'll do it like this. I'm far too heavy right now. I need to lighten the load."
His gaze landed on the gambling city of Unlucky.
"Deputy Director! We don't have time for this!" Boyd shouted, but Monoras's bulk was already flying toward Unlucky.
Meanwhile, at the Chemical Company.
"It's done."
Rete, having worked through the night, stared up at the ceiling with a tired face.
Her head spun and sleep pulled at her.
"...I still have to work."
She had sent Boyd, but this matter could not be left to others.
Pulling a ragged coat over her shoulders, she left the president's office. The staff who had just arrived bowed their heads.
"Madam President, where are you going?"
"On a business trip. To Laviet. I've cleared the pending approvals, so things should be fine for a while."
"You look exhausted. You didn't get any sleep last night, did you? You should at least lie down—"
"I'm fine. Everyone's working hard. Oh, and let's stop by the canteen. I should pick up some snacks Monoras likes."
"Yes. I'll tell them."
The employees liked the president of the Chemical Company.
"By the way, impressive. I don't mean to be rude, but I don't think I could stand the deputy director's personality."
"Haha, he's a good sort deep down. He's the deputy director—he must have his burdens."
'He seems to have none at all.'
Sometimes she wondered if he really didn't remember anything.
Morning in Hell.
Flames smelling of sulfur filled the sky, evaporating the night's frost.
"We have arrived."
The duke's castle was one of Laviet's largest buildings.
Unlike the desolate sprawl that gripped the city, it was neat and, above all, resembled structures from the real world.
"I thought you'd like it. Now, shall we go in? The Duke is waiting."
Guided by Bielman, they entered and found a luxurious banquet prepared.
"Welcome, Yahweh. And your party."
The duke at the head of the table set down his utensils and smiled.
An old man, his white beard reached to his chest; his expression was kindly.
'Duke Magritte.'
The fact Rian showed no particular reaction was clear proof he was nervous.
'He's something else.'
Compared to Hell's legions, facing a top-ten legion commander would feel like this.
"If you haven't eaten yet, why not join us?"
Steam rose from the freshly prepared dishes.
Rian swallowed.
Unlike the canteen fare, this looked like human food—and the tableware was familiar.
"Do you always dine like this?"
Shirone asked as he sat across from him, and Rian slid into the seat beside him.
"After you've lived this long, nothing in the world is that important. Still, we made a bit of an effort."
Magritte spoke fluently in the continent's common tongue, which only heightened Shirone's wariness.
'Not an ordinary sort.'
He might not be as strong as a legion commander, but in the current situation he was a key factor.
While they ate, Shirone asked, "I'd like to hear about yesterday directly. The demon you sent used a strange ability."
"Entertainment, mere entertainment. How dare anyone lay a hand on Yahweh with that?"
"So what is it?"
Their gazes met for the first time and the air chilled.
"Desire. A demonic substance I created."
Magritte took a step back.
"If you refine the tainted demonic matter with a special technique, you get a substance that reacts to desire. You can extract about 0.1 grams per human dropped into Hell."
How many humans had to be ground up for that?
"War drives technology. Humans fight desperately, but we don't intend to be outdone. I was certain this substance would bring victory to the demons. The problem is—" Magritte smoothed his mouth. "—the spiritual seal has been closed. Desire was sealed before it could be commercialized and distributed to the army."
Seongeum had been right.
"If it were a system corruption, you could fix it. But that woman used the system. She entered and shut it from within. It can't be reopened until she is purified."
Stripped of pleasantries, power hardened in Shirone's eyes.
"How long will that take?"
"I don't know. The Chemical Company probably knows, but I don't feel like asking. Research slowed after that, they were killing time, and then someone said Yahweh had arrived, so I played a trick."
Magritte leaned forward.
"Now I ask. You, who are busier than the company president—what business does this Hell have here?"
"To annihilate the demon realm."
A catastrophic system available only to a top-ranking legion commander was afflicting reality.
"I'm going to the Chemical Company to settle this. You'll likely have to put your weight behind it."
"Hmm."
Magritte stroked his beard.
"Of course, the demon realm's power is rooted in Hell. If you can't stomp out the sprouts, you burn the roots."
"Yes. I'll purify Hell. Even if it means every demon disappears. But you—surely you can find a better way?"
"If that's a threat, that's going too far. Even if the spiritual seal is closed, demons are born without end. Hell's army, the legion commanders—they'll be restored over time."
"You want to end it too. The weary cycle between reality and the other side."
Magritte's eyes half-closed.
"Do you believe that old lesson that not all evil refuses repentance?"
He rose from his seat.
"There may once have been such a thing. Long ago. But don't be mistaken—I am not some noble ascetic. I'm one of the common demons who hate Yahweh and detest humans."
"Is there room for negotiation?"
"Heh. Do humans bargain with dogs or pigs?"
A flash of killing intent crossed Rian's eyes.
"Don't misunderstand. If it offends you, call demons dogs or pigs. The point is we are utterly different. We could never share the same purpose."
Magritte turned away.
"Pleasant breakfast. Then may all your wishes in Hell—"
He sneered, but Shirone answered calmly.
"How about opening the spiritual seal?" Magritte's steps halted.
"...What do you mean?"
"Literally. If you open the spiritual seal Seongeum closed, will you help us?"
Magritte faced Shirone.
"So Yahweh lies too. No demon understands Hell's system better than I do. Seongeum—until her karma is expiated, she can never find freedom. In short, it's impossible to open that seal."
"You can break the karma chain."
"No."
"Rian."
At Shirone's word, Rian rose and poured a powerful force through his body.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The Chains of Gehenna sprang from his chest and drove into the ground; Magritte's brow tightened.
The next moment, four of the chains snapped taut and were drawn back toward Rian's chest.
"...How?"
Shirone smiled.
"You want to analyze it? Seems like there's a hidden code you don't know."
A system error?
Magritte, who had been staring hard at Shirone, lifted his right hand toward his chest.
At that instant, the chains popped out of Rian's solar plexus and into Magritte's grasp.
"Ugh!"
Annoyed, Rian pushed again and the heated, molten-metal sensation surged into Magritte's hand.
Ssssss!
Amid the sizzling sound, Magritte lowered his eyes to the chains and inspected them.
His face growing grave as he stared at Rian, he flung the chains aside; they thunked into the floor.
"Tch!"
Having confirmed Rian could snap them again, he folded his hands behind his back and walked to the window.
Silence stretched for a while.
'This is not an ordinary problem.'
The first person to come to Magritte's mind was the Chemical Company's president.
'Rete couldn't not know. So why hasn't she come? No—Yahweh arriving here before me means...'
Is Hell now beginning to collapse?
'If it's just the natural order, there's nothing to be done.'
How complacent to assume that in a vast cycle only Hell would remain unscathed.
"Tell them to prepare lunch." Saying so, Magritte snapped his fingers at Bielman and moved on.
"Open the underground laboratory." When they reached the duke's lab, a one-meter-tall young succubus came scampering.
"Hello, Duke. Hmm?"
The succubus went pale when she saw Shirone.
"Yahweh!"
Instinctively she tried to trigger her dreamer ability, but rather than seductive power she only found something cute.
"Guests. Treat them politely."
Her ability faded and the succubus stared blankly as the duke turned toward the central device.
"She is Merkede, who manages the lab. For now that child will attend to Yahweh's needs."
Rian looked around.
More than two hundred gigantic glass cylinders containing human samples filled the room.
"Are they all dead?"
"In the real world, death is an 'unwaking sleep,' but in Hell, death is purification. If you mean 'unwaking sleep' as on Earth, then yes."
Shirone asked, "Why bring us here?"
"Breaking Gehenna's Chains alone isn't enough to prove a system error. First we'll examine Rian's body. And if possible, Yahweh should assist too. It will be useful data."
Magritte activated the device and two capsules opened with a rush of wind.
"Enter here."
Rian pictured the two hundred sleeping humans in the glass tubes, but Shirone stepped forward without hesitation.
"Wait, Shirone. It could be a trap."
"It's fine."
Shirone didn't stop.
"The duke enjoys a war of wits, but he doesn't latch onto an opponent's weakness."
That was the Magritte Gehenna knew.
"Is that so?"
Magritte averted his eyes from Shirone and moved to the device.
"Go in. It won't take long."
When Shirone and Rian entered the capsules, the doors closed and clear liquid filled them.
As the water rose to their chins, Rian turned his head, but Shirone remained calm.
The capsule filled, then five seconds later the level dropped rapidly.
"Scan complete. Sending to the demon-realm screen."
Merkede reported.
"Hmm."
Magritte inspected a rectangular steel plate shallowly filled with blood-red liquid.
Rian's data had been extracted.
"Th-this…!"
Numbers—numbers never before seen on any demon—were etched into the red plate.