Identifying Friend and Foe (1)
First Legion Commander Baal.
Even having a demonic realm capable of destroying a planet set him apart from the other legion commanders.
This was serious.
Above all, it was incomprehensible that the Ivory Tower—the gathering place of humanity's strongest mages—could be breached so easily.
Shirone knew it from Shing's composed expression.
"…Did you deliberately not stop it?"
"You brought this on yourself," Shing said. "You shouldn't have come here. If giving Taesung freedom is the alternative, it's better that the Ivory Tower be gone."
Shirone's eyes widened. "Why go this far? You've saved humanity from countless crises. Why now?"
"There was a time we needed Taesung's power. It's different now. If the outside world opens, the Selbuster will trigger. Taesung would be the vanguard of that destruction."
"That's not true."
"Believe me, Shirone. The Administrator is not human. They have no heart. The reason they've protected humanity so far is because they're a program."
"Even if they're a program, they have will. They care for the world they created."
"That's just how it's set." Shing said, cold. "Every being but me is an illusion. The only real entity in this world is me. My parents, my friends, everyone I've met—they're all just programs."
"I am not a program."
"Maybe. But how can you prove it?"
"I'm not insane. But deciding something based on a 'maybe' would saddle us with too much responsibility." Shirone's voice steadied.
Shing pointed at him. "How you define the Administrator changes humanity's future. The stars that follow me believe you failed to prove it. The stars that follow you simply believe in you. That's purely emotional."
"That's not true." Shirone shook his head. "Not being able to prove it doesn't make it false. If anything, the circumstantial evidence almost points to the truth. If it's almost true, it's far more efficient to act on that belief."
"That trust could lead humanity to ruin. Wake up, Shirone. Even if I concede a hundred of your points, isn't Taesung clearly the Administrator? I'm helping you—I remove the threat so you can investigate the outside world."
The Ivory Tower shuddered violently.
"Go, Shirone." Taesung spoke as Baal blasted through the seventieth floor. "We must prevent the Ivory Tower's destruction. Right now, you're the only one who can fight."
Shing added, "Leave the Ivory Tower, Shirone. You cannot come down. The stars will stand against you."
As she finished, Yin and Yang raised their hands in unison and invoked the Yin-Yang Law.
An overwhelming Law.
Shing's authority was the Ivory Tower's strongest. But the one she sought to bind was not Shirone—it was Taesung behind him.
Even across humanity's countless crises, there was no record of Yin and Yang ever intervening.
Why had Shing kept them hidden?
To fight the Administrator.
If her obsession ran this deep, it was impossible to persuade her by words alone.
"Taesung." Shirone glanced at Taesung, bound by the Yin-Yang Law, and spoke. "Hold on a little. I'll come back to save you."
Taesung nodded. Shirone's gaze slid to the door behind Shing.
"You'll regret this." The warning barely left her lips before Shirone stepped past Shing and went outside.
A day after the Holy War began, the rough outlines of alliances started to take shape.
Amid heated debates among leaders, clear camps emerged.
Jaive, Airon, Arakne—an alliance.
They were the three nations that had pushed the banquet last night, a pattern confirmed through Omega. On the surface, they claimed moderation. But beneath it…
Monsters of greed, every one.
"We'll take a one-hour recess." At lunchtime, heads of state left according to alliance lines.
"Let's go. Jaive will host." Gis, King of Jaive, escorted royalty from Airon and Arakne to the dining hall.
A girl ran down the corridor as Shirone watched. "Daddy!" "My, our princess."
It was Gis's daughter, Rebecca—about thirteen, bedecked in jewelry far beyond her years.
"She is our daughter," the royals cooed. "Such beauty already—Jaive has many beauties, after all."
"Ha! She takes after her mother. As her father, I worry—she trusts only her looks and is so naive."
"Daddy!" Rebecca snapped, and the royals laughed.
'Hmph, not even a seventy.' Prince Marcus of Airon was rating the thirteen-year-old when Rebecca's eyes widened.
"Huh?" Shirone stood at the far end of the corridor.
When Shirone bowed slightly, she smiled and waved. "Rebecca." At her father's tone of menace, she lowered her hand.
'Oops.' Gis was the sort who would kill his own daughter if she stood in the way of his ambition. Rebecca didn't mind—the things she gained were worth that one condition.
Watching the royals recede, Shirone wondered, 'Why did she wave at me?'
Jaive's princess was known to be spoiled and vain. The face looked familiar at a glance, but no exact match came to mind.
"Oh." Shirone's eyes widened. "Death Princess?" The Jaive banquet proceeded in strict secrecy.
Royals at the long table enjoyed a lavish feast. Rebecca sat at the end and found it dull.
'Boring.' She thought of Shirone. 'She really looks just like High Gear. Hah, that was fun back then. I wonder if she recognized me?'
She'd changed things—hair color and such—to hide her identity, but inwardly she was curious.
"I have no appetite." Basak of Airon complained. "Eating every day is a chore. Everything tastes the same. I envy commoners sometimes—ha ha!"
Gis chimed in. "For people like us, that's a real issue. We need to eat well to have the strength to govern. That's why I've developed a new dish."
"A new dish?" Gis clapped.
A door opposite the entrance opened, and five naked children, collars around their necks, were dragged out. Skeletal from hunger, their hollow eyes slackened. At the smell of food they trembled as if struck by lightning.
"Food! Food… ugh!" They crawled, flailing, breath ragged as their collars held them back. A muscular man kept their leashes taut just short of the table.
Airon and Arakne's royals watched dumbfounded while Gis smiled. "Does your appetite return now?"
It was a shameful sight—but after sharing last night's depravity, their bond was thick.
"Oh ho, indeed. My appetite is certainly rising," Marcus said.
As the meal resumed, the collared children reached toward the table. "Food… please give us food."
"The steak is exceptional. King Gis is an excellent chef," someone said. "Ha ha! Flattering."
Everyone enjoyed the scene, but Rebecca frowned at the children's condition. 'Ugh, if you're going to do it, at least clean them first. They really love filth.'
She had watched Gis indulge in pleasures under drugs since childhood.
A royal who had rekindled appetite began devouring food so fast he barely swallowed before speaking. "By the way—*smack smack*—Habitz is quiet."
"What can you do at a holy war? Their cruelty is all bluster. People must eat to live—what's wrong with doing what's necessary?" Gis waved his fork in agreement.
"Exactly. Who hasn't killed a man in their youth? Some fools put on airs. If he's Satan, then I'm Satan's father."
"Puahahaha! That's a pearl of wisdom!" the table roared, Habitz grinning widely.
"When you aim for great things, some die unjustly. Also, stress gets to you, right? Sometimes you just snap and lash out. We're men." "A beast, a beast. Kekeke." "Yes—beastliness! How else can a state be run without such boldness? People don't understand that."
Rebecca wasn't disgusted. 'Same lines over and over. Acting like they alone feed the country. I hope the auction starts soon.'
When something was clearly not their concern, people turned a blind eye.
"Thank you for the meal." Habitz set down his cutlery, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and stood.
He stared at the starving children, muttered, then tossed the table's food onto the floor. "Ah! Ahh!"
Amid gluttonous chewing, Habitz crouched and asked, "Does it taste good?"
One child looked up in surprise—but there was no one there. They only heard a fleeting sound, innocent perhaps, and that was all.
"Satan grandfather, huh." Habitz's interest cooled. He walked to Gis at the head table and grabbed his wrist. "Anyway, help me. A leading nation should mean unity, right?"
Gis's arm bent; the knife in his hand swung dangerously close to Habitz's eye. "Hmm."
Normally Habitz would have gouged it out. 'Tsk.' But with the deal with Woorin still pending, it wasn't time to touch the king.
"How dull. Isn't there anything fun?" Habitz circled the table and took the empty seat beside Rebecca. 'Should I try to flirt with Shirone? Daddy would like that. I'll buy some hallucinogens later.'
Habitz shook his head at the inner voice. "All the same everywhere." He kicked his legs up on the table and pushed his chair back. "Isn't there anything different?"
Something special to amuse him.
"Look, over there," Wizard said, pointing to the horizon where Jaive's capital rose in stately splendor.
"Simultaneous events can't occur in the same space. We'll disappear from here—meet at Delta." Amy and Shirone clasped hands.
"All right. We'll get Wizard safely into Delta, don't worry. Ikael will be there too." Wizard, watching that pitiful sight, lowered her head.
'That child…' As Ikael observed, Shirone put a hand on Wizard's shoulder. "Don't feel pressured. If something happens, I'll step in. I can handle it—right?"
To kill Habitz.
"Yes." Life returned to Wizard's eyes. 'I won't disappoint you.'
Shirone released the simultaneous-event lock. Amy held out her hand to Wizard. "Now, shall we go?" Wizard hesitated, then, unable to refuse, took the hand and moved.
'My master couldn't kill Satan. But I can. I just have to kill Habitz. Then maybe…'