The Definition of Love (4)
Etella walked on endlessly.
"Mom, mom."
The children of Limbo—those who'd never been born and had met death—had become space.
"I'm sorry."
The fear Limbo felt would be the same as the fear of the child in her womb.
"Mom is sorry."
Etella's heart felt like it would split apart.
Her flesh was probably torn to pieces, but the schema transmitted endless agony.
As if a Buddha had offered his body to the hungry ghosts, she too moved toward the system's end.
If I go there... she thought.
She, the child in her womb, and Limbo would all vanish into the eternal void.
Shagal.
She worried about him.
You must understand me.
Perhaps that was the only way Shagal could atone to the world.
"Mo…mom…"
Each step was heavy.
It didn't feel like moving forward so much as carrying this space—the weight of life—on her shoulders.
I mustn't fall.
Her mission to purify Limbo had not been broken, but it was truly beyond her strength.
"Ughhh!"
No matter how she strained, the weight of life stopped her; her knees gave out.
Is this all?
The cruelty of this world was that there were things no one could accomplish, even at the cost of their life.
I must go. I have to save these children...
Responsibility was the heaviest burden for a human and the most beautiful conviction.
"Mom, mom."
They were crying out that they wanted to live.
"You must get up!"
At that moment a phantom voice came into her head.
?Ah, scanning now.
What is that?
Etella, dazed for a moment, asked,
"Who...are you?"
- Ether resonance successful. Then now.... Ah, Your Majesty. Everyone, stand back.
What is this?
The sound of reality, heard from hell, felt eerie.
- Romi Etella.
After a cold, solemn voice, the woman who'd been speaking a moment ago began translating.
The voices of Jingang and Anchal came through almost at the same time.
- I am Jingang, Emperor of the Jincheon Empire. This place must be hell. My daughter is there.
Jingang.
The father of Jinseongeum.
- It might be kinder to those in hell if I said nothing. Yet once again, driven by my selfishness, cruel words spill from me.
"Your Majesty, can you hear me?" There was no meaningful response; Etella's words seemed not to reach him.
Ether resonance.
It was a method of carrying information via spatial waves.
- Save my daughter.
With her thoughts steadying, she fell silent and listened to Jingang.
- We developed the Parma Radiant Star to transmit information into alternate-world spaces. You are an outstanding seeker and mage; you can guess the principle. The problem is the coordinates. I originally intended to concentrate the energy into my daughter to blow up hell....
What tenacity, she thought. Responsibility.
- We ultimately decided to change the coordinates and send the energy to you.
Etella nodded.
It's possible. I'm inside the process. If the explosion happens, not only will Limbo be saved, the alternate world's purification system will be paralyzed. If that happens...
Jinseongeum's karma would also vanish.
- I do not know.
After the miscellaneous explanation, Jingang continued.
- I do not know exactly what situation you are in. It will be painful, of course; when the Parma Radiant Star's energy concentrates, even greater agony will come. Whether this is right—I might pray for your rest, even if it costs killing my daughter...
"No! No!"
Etella shook her head.
You can save him! You can save Jinseongeum!
Of course it was terrifying.
But she had seen in the Valley of Wailing what Jinseongeum had sacrificed for humanity.
He must live. He deserves it.
- To inflict pain on someone who cannot see or feel you is truly horrific. Especially to drive one who gave his body for humanity into agony... I feel as if I have become a demon.
"Your Majesty!"
When Etella cried out, Jingang's voice trembled.
- Save him.
Etella pressed her lips shut.
- Please save my daughter. I will die—let me fall into hell if you must...
Jingang would gladly do it.
A parent's desire to save a child is something not even death can fulfill.
Responsibility.
You cannot even choose to die as you will.
- Romi Etella, I cannot tell how you will react to my words. Perhaps you will curse me, or shout that I must not do this. Such imaginings drive me to more terrible places...
Jingang steadied his breath.
- I will believe. I will believe Romi Etella is the world's greatest seeker and someone ready to sacrifice for humanity.
Etella smiled and nodded.
-...May fortune be with you.
After that, no more voices came, and a hot energy flooded through her whole body.
This is the start.
Etella gritted her teeth and stood.
To maximize the Parma Radiant Star's efficiency, the burst had to originate from the system's deepest core.
"You can do this."
She could take responsibility with this life.
Jinseongeum, humanity still needs you.
Pain surged.
"No!"
Shagal screamed.
Nearly mad, he ran, flailing his limbs like an animal.
"Uaaaargh!"
When Etella's pain poured through the Taeguk chains, he dropped to his knees and his eyes rolled back.
- Time remaining until purification...
Although the time had been cut by more than half since he first arrived, it was still dreadful.
"Why did you do something so stupid! If you leave like that, if you vanish like that...
I have to meet you.
Tremendous inner pain washed over him and his karma was greatly purified once more.
Shagal suddenly realized.
"Damn it! Goddamn it!"
The pain he felt now—the despair—was exactly the same as what he had inflicted on Etella.
I tormented her. I did that... I destroyed her.
Karma?
Wiping his tears, Shagal tore at his hair.
"...What do I do?"
Have I really ruined it?
"What do I do? What do I do? What do I do? What do I...
I can't take responsibility.
"No!"
Denying it, Shagal yelled.
"Why are you doing this to me! What do you expect me to do! Just come back!"
There are things that cannot be attained.
"I'll kill them!"
If even this Middle World were taken away, it felt as if he and Etella would be nothing.
"I'll kill them! I'll kill them all!" Shagal hurled his demon-battered body into hell.
Dong. Dong. Dong.
The cathedral bell tolled ten.
The faces of the national representatives and officials gathered in the annex theater had been solemn for half an hour already.
The cathedral's official ceremony would end after the finale performance.
What on earth is happening?
The situation was so fierce and urgent it didn't feel like it was over.
The prophecy says the nation that kills Maya becomes the world-leading nation? What kind of prophecy is this? Can we really trust it?
That was the conclusion drawn from analyzing the information Fermi had distributed to the nations.
Albino muttered, "More bloodshed is coming."
Lupist asked, "Do you really think so? The source is Apocalypse, but it could have been tampered with."
"Fermi doesn't tell sloppy lies. Lies beget lies and lead to self-destruction. The reason he's strong is because he's armed with logic."
Albino recited Apocalypse's record.
"At the end of the cathedral two women sing. Maya receives thunderous applause and Iron's army kills her. Iron becomes the world-leading nation."
"Not Jaive, but Iron."
Lupist scanned the seats.
"There's no Guis."
"That must mean Plu succeeded. The other nations don't seem greatly perturbed. In any case, things are proceeding as Fermi reported."
"But how does killing Maya make one world leader?"
"No one knows. I get the feeling Apocalypse records only the outcomes of core events in chronological order. Like... it was written by a machine, not a person."
Humans demand causes.
"Still, it puzzles me. Will Maya actually die? Don't the Yeins know?"
"No. It's classified."
"And our side?"
"For now...we've made preparations."
If the information is true, the nation that kills Maya should be Tormia.
"Ozent Rai?"
"No. Among the Yeins there's a pianist named Reina who's family. We can't entrust it to them."
"Right."
"It will be hard to carry out anyway. That Fermi knows means Shirone knows too."
"Now that you mention it, he's not here."
Albino twirled his mustache when Shirone didn't appear.
What are these bastards up to? It could be assumed Fermi released the information because security was breached.
Probably Iron. Otherwise why degrade the information's value so significantly?
Next was verifying the facts.
The timeline matches. Havitz's killing game had an hour gap. Guis's death... If so, will Maya die?
Shirone isn't coming. Is it false information? No, it's true. I'm only missing something.
Albino's expression hardened.
"Shouldn't we think the opposite?"
"Huh?"
"What if it's not that we kill Maya, but that circumstances will force us to kill her?"
Lupist blinked.
"This is an information-refresh trap. Human thought goes from cause to effect. If you kill Maya, you become the world-leading nation. But from a god's perspective it could be reversed. It doesn't matter who becomes the world leader. What matters is that Maya dies."
"But how could that happen? What would force us to kill Maya?"
"That's where it will happen."
Albino glared at the annex door.
"Shirone is—"
The entrance to Delta Headquarters had turned into a battlefield, a clash between protesters, the Anti-Demon Division, and southern warriors.
"Hmm."
Entara felt the balance of power that had favored him suddenly tilt.
This feels familiar.
Something was moving among the warriors whose throats were being cut for no reason.
And it's coming closer.
Havitz, eyes flashing with murderous intent, killed the warriors in his path and headed for Entara.
"Out. Out. Out."
The wave of the people affected him too, but it produced no special change.
"Interesting."
His mind was already chaos.
"This is the end."
Havitz stopped before Entara, sword raised, but did not strike.
Even if the south fell and the protesters poured into Delta Headquarters to seize control of the world, regardless of that political situation—
Havitz slowly released his vanishing effect and stepped back.
"Finally, I see you."
"Huff."
Startled, Entara drew a breath, but Havitz's gaze was already elsewhere.
"Yahweh."
"Satan, your life was spared."
Shirone, imbued with the light of Elikia, stood out against the battlefield.