Murder War (1)
While everyone in the council chamber chewed over Habitz's words, only Woorin knew the truth.
Habitz kills one person every hour at random. Of course, until Shirone dies. But why now? Until now, Satan had avoided a head-on clash with Yahweh.
That was the Law, that kind of incident.
Universal love and utter cruelty. They oppose each other over the world but hate getting directly involved—like a divorced couple. They loathe one another, but they don't want to meet face to face.
If they must confront each other—
Are they… like children?
Yesterday afternoon, Habitz said he'd met a little girl at a casino in the capital.
The hours after he met that girl—that's the key. Something happened that drove him crazy enough to abandon history searches.
Who on earth could she be?
Woorin shut the thought down and stood.
"This is unacceptable! Habitz's statement violates the peace treaty and is a provocation against the twelve nations! Kashan will not back down. We hereby declare Habitz a public enemy!"
There was no applause. Albino twirled his beard.
"…The Empress has lit the fuse."
Lupist nodded in agreement.
"A crimson wind will blow across the crusade."
"Habitz is serious. As long as Shirone lives, he'll kill one person every hour. He could be a low-ranking official—or the leader of a crusade nation. The biggest problem is—"
"Vanishing."
"Right. Even if Habitz kills someone, our system won't let us prove it. In that case, another nation could assassinate someone and simply pin it on Habitz."
Anything becomes innocent.
"In short, this isn't a threat. It's a gift from Habitz."
Albino's eyes narrowed.
"A license to kill."
The will of Satan—that he'd shoulder all the blame himself so others could kill freely—shut the mouths of the twelve nations' leaders.
"Le—let's take a short recess." Officials filed out, and Albino looked at Woorin, who had just risen.
Did he plan this far? Of course he did. But you know it's not a perfect strategy, right?
He'd carved his own trap.
"I'll have Tormia tear your throat out."
Smo and Zetaro, attending in place of Balkan, who was on sick leave, had grim looks.
"So that's one way to do it. Genius," Smo said.
"Rules are our specialty to break. Now new rules are set—let's see what we can do with them." Zetaro's face darkened. "Why the long face? Can't think of anything?"
"I have ideas. To be honest, a very good one just came to me… Habitz would like it too."
"I know the feeling. You wanted to kill with your own hands, didn't you?"
Zetaro's only wish was to see Habitz in the most delighted state.
"I think Balkan and Natasha would deserve that too. Habitz's closest friend is you—not a wizard."
A contradiction: love enough to kill.
This was exactly why Satan mirrored Yahweh emotionally.
"Right, thanks. First, let's tell Balkan. The plan won't work without that brat."
They sincerely hoped Balkan would stay alive until Habitz died.
The crusade conference declared recess, but the subordinate departments kept working without pause.
Seriel headed for the small chamber.
An assassination?
Heads of state had been involved in various incidents; Keshia was among them.
So Fermi… I should've treated him a little more kindly.
"Excuse me."
About two hundred people filled the seats when she entered the small chamber.
The small meeting—the working-level council.
If the general assembly handled the big proposals, the small meeting negotiated the specifics.
Heads of four crusade departments—Military, Economic and Social, Religion, and the International Court—gathered, excluding the General Assembly. Experts from crusade-affiliated agencies—World Climate, Communications, Health, Heritage, Education—were also present.
"Pope Constantine will be roughly ten minutes late. Please wait a moment."
Seriel took in familiar faces.
Acting military head Dorothy, Liz—co-founder of the Neyd Group—Alpheas School of Magic… Alpheas, Olivea, and Shiina were here too.
"Sorry I'm late."
Pope Constantine entered, trailed by holy knights of the anti-demon division in full armor.
Armed troops at a working meeting. They must've been delayed by the legal procedures for guards.
Habitz's declaration forced even the Pope to be thorough in his precautions.
The meeting began.
"Before we proceed from yesterday, let's summarize today's general assembly items. Last night, the Moon Kingdom attempted assassinations targeting certain countries."
The air chilled.
"Several countries suffered severe losses; in an unprecedented case, a monarch was killed. As stated in the prior report, there are legal procedures regarding charges against the Moon Kingdom and suspicions of Kashan's involvement. It would be best to hear the International Court's position before offering opinions."
Socrates and Shirano, who had resigned when the crusade opened, sat side by side.
The contrast between Socrates—over 150 kilograms—and the skeletal Shirano was grotesque, but…
"Why are you looking at me? I resigned ages ago," Socrates complained.
That was the problem.
"No, Ms. Shirano isn't formally processed on the paperwork. So officially, Mito Shirano is still the deputy head of the International Court."
A spark flashed in Shirano's eyes as she glared at Socrates.
"You, you pig brat—"
"Ha! What can I do? The deputy head has always been the Red Line association head. There's no one else but you and me. If you were so keen, why didn't you become deputy first?"
"I'll kill you."
True to her nickname—the marsh-colored witch—Shirano's right hand extended long, claw-like nails.
"Oh? Want to fight? Let me tell you straight—my detonation magic shows no mercy."
Socrates' eyes narrowed.
"Kuk!"
The anti-demon holy knights tightened their guard; a palpable killing intent rose, perceptible even to ordinary people.
This is bad! Stop this quickly—
A second-rank or higher archmage can bypass top-level magical safeguards.
Amid the tension of an imminent explosion, Socrates burst into peals of laughter.
"Puhahaha! You jest! Who'd really do that? Indulge a spinster's hysteria for a moment—!"
Shirano struck Socrates' face and a sound both explosive and sanity-shattering rang out.
Not only had she used violence, but seeing that lumped into a single knock was truly grotesque.
Shirano dusted her wrist.
"Tch. You only listen when you get hit. What are you doing, pig? Hurry up and get up."
As Socrates jumped to his feet and sat, Shirano addressed the assembly.
"The paperwork will be processed today. I will not involve myself in this matter."
"You knew from the start, didn't you?" All eyes turned to Dorothy.
"You resigned because you knew this would happen once the crusade opened?"
"…Hmm."
Shirano crossed her legs.
"Yes, Military Head. The International Court represents the Red Line, and historically the retired association head has taken the office. Do you know why they insist on a 'retired' association head?"
Dorothy fell silent.
"The active ones won't step back. That's how mages are. What ruling do you expect me to make? That the Moon Kingdom is weakened, so we should side with Kashan?"
"Hey, Shirano—"
Socrates' face grew serious for the first time, but she raised a hand to cut him off.
"The crusade is a nest of snakes. Swallow first; worry about digestion later. No one here knows exactly what's happening. If you make the wrong judgment now, the blow lands squarely on the juniors."
Dorothy was Red Line too.
"Aren't many of you here just passing responsibility to the International Court because you don't want to be held accountable? Fine. I'll take responsibility. Dismiss me or detain me—do as you please."
Silence fell.
"Among the snakes that control the world, elders clean up shit for their juniors. That's an elder's job. The International Court will refrain from issuing judgments for the time being."
No one objected.
"What on earth is going on!"
Rebecca, daughter of Gis, entered Delta Headquarters escorted by the grand commander of the royal guard.
"We were just about to cash out! You've only made me lose!"
She'd been gambling all night.
"Sorry. Level-1 Zive alert. You should refrain from going out for the time being."
"Hah! That figures. For a moment I thought my dad had summoned me."
"The alert can only be issued by the supreme commander of the national forces, so yes—your father must've called."
Same result, different feeling.
I'm done. Everything's boring. I'll eat Dream Star and play in Undercoder until I'm sick of it.
High Gear was still running, but it had lost a lot of fun since Yahweh left.
Huh? Now that I think about it—Shirone isn't at Delta Headquarters.
That's it!
As Rebecca's steps quickened, the grand commander adjusted his pace to match.
She arrived at the corridor leading to the conference hall and saw Shirone walking in the distance.
There he is!
A man who fought for the world. She was the daughter of Jaive King Gis.
If I capture Yahweh… She cared little for worldly affairs, but she thought maybe something huge would happen.
"Shirone!" Rebecca shouted.
"Huh?"
Shirone registered the codename before the name.
Death Gongshu.
Because bonds in Undercoder mattered as much as in reality, he smiled and raised a hand.
"Hey, who's this?"
Escorted by her guard, Rebecca strode up to Shirone.
"Haha! We actually met? For real—"
In the next instant, Rebecca's neck was cleanly severed from her torso.
No way… grrrk!
Her head bounced on the floor. Habitz, passing by, wiped the blood from his longsword.
"One down."
59 minutes and 59 seconds until the next death.
Even as Habitz left the corridor, the grand commander hadn't yet realized a VIP had died.
"Huh?"
A tear welled in one of Shirone's eyes.
Why am I crying?
Because all human unhappiness was his, Yahweh felt dead at that moment.
The only reason Yahweh could not kill Satan was simple: Satan absolutely refused to confront Yahweh.
Killing intent glinted in Shirone's eyes.
"Ha-bitz!"
The corridor rang with the shout. Hair rose on Habitz's neck as he turned the corner.
That was close.
The moment the approach exceeded the limit the Law allowed, it felt like being struck by lightning.
But the Wena wizard—
This is only the beginning. Every human will rush to kill you now. You can look forward to it.
The curtain rose on the Murder War.