Triggering (2)
"Over there! Full attack!"
Watching demons swarm in from all directions, Minerva reached out a hand.
"Can you stand?"
The moment Shirone took her hand, a sharp popping sound rang out behind her.
Her transport—her jet—had plowed through the demons at incredible speed and was flying toward them.
"Damn it! Don't let them get away!" The instant Minerva grabbed the jet, the two of them were flung into the sky.
"Hohoho! Try and catch us!"
Flying demons belatedly filled the sky and gave chase, but they couldn't match the jet's speed.
Once they were safely outside the enemy radius, the pair circled the sky warily, watching for pursuit.
With one arm around Minerva's waist, Shirone checked the spot where the sword had pierced her.
"Are you all right? How did this happen?" Minerva asked.
"It was Baal."
"I had to take a hit to stop the Deadly Cross. But this… it's not healing right."
If Miracle Stream couldn't fix it properly, other recovery magics would likely be useless.
"It's a killing-type ability, isn't it? Murderous intent has lodged in the wound. Normally that would be an instant death," Minerva said.
"Baal will come back."
"Recovery comes first. Let's go to the hideout. There's a place our men use."
"…All right."
Having shaken off their tail, Minerva steered the jet into the deep mountain ranges of the Huig occupation zone.
Walking down a corridor at Delta headquarters, Shirone grimaced and pressed his hand to his side.
The wound from the Ivory Tower still ached.
"Ugh."
No visible scar was forming, but the quantum aftereffects were unmistakable.
'An injury to one finger doesn't injure the others. But the pain is felt by the whole hand.'
By that comparison, depending on the severity, a single wound could threaten the whole body.
"Ha."
Needing a moment's rest, Shirone leaned his back against the wall and watched the sunset through the window.
'Another day ends.'
No one in the sanctuary would be sleeping tonight anyway.
"Shirone."
In the otherwise quiet corridor—most had gone to dinner—a beautiful voice drifted over.
It was Miss Arachne, Varho Rangi.
Come to think of it… I have a fair connection with her, but meeting at the sanctuary feels completely different.
Arachne's strength is the beauty trap. And she stands at the center of that stratagem.
Why had she come to him?
Reading his wariness, Rangi put on a pleading expression. "Let's go somewhere quiet. I have something to tell you."
"…All right."
Miracle Stream wrapped around them, and in an instant they rose through the window into the sky.
On arrival, Rangi shivered.
"Hah!"
Beyond a spread of clouds like a comforter, a sun the size of a gold coin hung in the air.
"If we're out here, no one can hear us."
Her head swam; she didn't even have the nerve to fake a lie—that was incidental.
"I attended Arachne's banquet. And… the person I entertained was Gis."
Shirone's expression grew serious.
"Yes. I'm the one who tipped off the paper's tracking article about that incident."
The reporter's name was Meikle.
"The reaction was bigger than expected, but we couldn't draw Gis out. The article lacked credibility."
Shirone listened in silence.
"But if I get involved, I can crush him for sure. Tonight I'm meeting Meikle. An article bearing my name will run in tomorrow's paper."
"Why?" Shirone asked.
As far as he knew, Jaive and Arachne were allies.
"That incident harmed Arachne as much as anyone. She was willing to bear national losses…
Then Shirone understood.
"So that's how you could do it."
"Yes. From the start, Arachne planned to topple Jaive. A beauty trap looks like strategy, but it's more than that."
Rangi gave a bitter smile. "The side with nothing to lose is the one that ultimately wins." "If Jaive falls, our side's compensation is certain. I can't tell you which nation, though. The problem is… even if that happens, I'll be the one who dies."
It was an entirely predictable outcome.
"They'll call it asylum or identity change, but they won't leave someone who knows the truth of that day alive. She'll disappear without a sound, or be murdered and passed off as suicide. Call me paranoid if you like…"
Rangi turned to Shirone. "The more insurance I buy, the better. Just the fact that Shirone knows about me will lessen the pressure my country can put on me."
"You're asking me to make it public?"
"Yes. Lend me your name. If my article carries your name, I'll make sure Gis is exposed."
Shirone, who'd been troubled over Floo's matter, considered it a plausible outcome.
But could he trust her? If she had approached him with the same ulterior motives as Gis…
Shirone murmured, "Mika."
A voice lodged in his mind.
—Yes.
Is Rangi lying?
—I can't make a moral judgment. Her brainwaves and heartbeat are within normal parameters.
The portrait device supplied all mathematical data in real time, but interpretation was the observer's task.
For example, Mika could track every keyword associated with 'death' at that moment. But whether the emotion behind "I'll kill" was sincere or a joke was unknowable.
In any case, her vitals were steady for now. Any change would show up on Mika.
Above all, bringing down Gis would also be good for Tormia.
"Permission granted."
At sunset, Shirone returned to Delta and moved into the Tormia sector. When he opened the think tank's door, Lupist was listening to Floo's report—the messenger had just arrived.
"After that conversation, we ate and parted. The next meeting is tomorrow afternoon."
Albino nodded.
"It seems to be going through to some degree. There's still vigilance, though."
Shirone, who could guess the gist of the talk, sat without saying a word.
'The bomb goes off tomorrow morning. Either way, Floo won't meet Gis.'
Unaware of Shirone's intent, Lupist looked at him oddly.
'I expected him to erupt like before. Did he really understand and decide to go along?'
No—he wasn't the type to give up. Some new variable must have appeared. Of course he wouldn't say…
Seeing Albino's unusual expression, Lupist hatched a plan.
"It's intelligence from the national bureau."
He meant to probe Shirone's thoughts.
"There are a few reports on Gis's tastes. Funny as it is, it's top secret—perverts are perverts. Read them. We can make contingency plans."
Floo skimmed the documents quickly.
His expression didn't change much; it was the response Lupist expected.
"Gis is always flanked by twenty guards. Even when he sleeps with entertainers."
Floo handed the papers back. "Height. Among the twelve nations, they have a guard unit with exceptional response speed. Assassination will be difficult."
When Shirone still didn't react, Lupist finally couldn't hold back. "You okay? I thought you'd be tearing things up. You hated this strategy, didn't you?"
"I still do. But it can't be helped. He won't listen if we try to stop him. And wasn't cooperation with Tormia on this postponed?"
Lupist realized. Something was up.
Drawing a line between us and Tormia meant Shirone preferred to act personally.
'They didn't finalize this at the afternoon meeting. Something happened in the meantime.'
He wanted to ask directly, but to get an answer he'd have to abandon the beauty trap.
Hm.
Lupist fell quiet, thinking it over.
Dante, who had introduced the mage Liria to his subordinates, immediately set the investigation in motion.
"Look over these files."
Liria skimmed them and put them down at once. "I don't know—I'm not an intelligence person."
"I explained everything. Just classify which of the patterns I described these fit."
She inspected the documents again and finally nodded as if understanding.
"I see. You know the information changed, but you don't know why."
"Exactly."
"But there's someone suited for that—Shirone. He's versed in both intelligence and the Law."
Dante put a cigarette to his lips. "That's true, but you have to be able to trust him. I want to trust him, but I can't."
"…I kind of get it. I'm the same. I won't fight for the kingdom. The reason I'm here is for the peace of humanity."
"That's fine. Just sort them."
Because Liria couldn't decode the ciphers, she could calmly take the task.
If she had no conflict it would be a lie, but… 'Yes. If I leave it to Shirone he'll decrypt everything to Ultima.'
They weren't enemies, but their aims differed.
"All right. I'll try." Liria took a pen and began marking the pages.
"Hmm. This is fortunate, this is where luck turns to misfortune. In this section fortune continues…"
If Dante's analysis was sound, Liria's reading wouldn't be wrong.
'Like weather forecasting,' Dante thought, pretending to smoke while decoding the cipher from Liria's notes.
So that's what it was.
At last the meaning behind the case became clear.
"It diverges dramatically at this point. They say a demonic influence has crept in—look at this red line."
Liria's hand, flipping through pages, stopped dead on one sheet.
After a long silence, Dante stubbed out his cigarette and asked, "What's wrong?"
"This… it's a terrible omen. The auspicious paths they've relied on are all withered—it's a massive calamity."
"Let me see."
Sensing the gravity, Dante seized the document and read the cipher.
'It's an alliance code. An eleven-country alliance against the Moon Kingdom. Why is this bad?'
Dante's analysis marked the eastern kingdom of Faras as the most dangerous at present.
Liria added, "Beyond the catastrophe, this is the first Law to undergo the biggest change due to the pyramid construction. Look at the information at the very bottom. I don't know what it is, but that's what is turning a misfortune into a major disaster."
Dante checked that spot in silence.
'Alliance code… Kashan.'
They called the gathering of kings Kashan.
"Code One." It's a weight entirely different from the Code Two method administrators use to meet.
"Prepare in full."
Twenty kilometers from Delta, the temporary barracks door opened and Munryong stepped inside.
"Welcome, King of the Moon."
Woorin, seated at the end of the round table, smiled and gestured to the seat across from him.
The sea-dragon bowed and said, "It honors me that Her Majesty came in person. Thank you for deciding."
"Honestly, I was surprised the Moon Kingdom proposed Code One. But the attendants have brought wine."
"I believed you wouldn't disappoint. You are a person of great largesse."
The sea-dragon's mouth twitched upward.
"Shall we have a drink?"
Kashan was among the top of the twelve nations, and he was certain of one thing: she would never refuse. A colossal ill omen loomed.