Muddying the Waters
“Young master has requested that pressure be applied to the exchange on the young lady’s behalf.”
[You know what that means. Mark every bastard who invested in that sector.]
“He wants them delisted entirely.”
[That’s illegal.]
“Until a moment ago, they were collecting live-subject experiment data. Their security was surprisingly lax.”
[Ah, so they started it? In that case, the story changes.]
One.
“Professor Stranoff, I am Master Eidel’s exclusive attendant. I should be able to reach you within three hours.”
[I’ve asked the chancellor to open a direct portal to Iryuel Academy. It’s classified, so be careful when you cross.]
“Understood.”
[And make sure you shake off any Outer Deities before you come.]
“That won’t be a problem.”
Two.
“Yes, Master. This is Sonia.”
[I’m in the north right now. I’ve pulled thirty emergency vessels; if any critical patients turn up, call me with the number I sent.]
“Thank you for your consideration.”
[No need for formalities between family.]
“I am an android.”
[You’re family too.]
Three.
Sonia stared up at the ship, her expression unchanged. The hull trembled with a faint vibration.
- Block A is clear. Captain Fadremont has successfully evacuated the civilians.
- The possessed entity exited through Gate 7, passed through Block C, and is heading straight for Block E. Captain Malkram is currently engaged. Reports indicate that the Rheinland student who arrived with the patient is also in Block E.
- The follow-up unit will restrain the remaining researchers. We will search Block E. If you encounter any monsters, avoid combat if possible and retrieve only the casualties. Move out. Today, we end the shadow called Adelwein.
The soldiers moved toward their objective. What she had to do was obvious now. As a maid, she only needed to go greet her young master.
***
— “Cartesia’s Hair” has been used.
— For a limited time, an Outer Deity will manifest at full strength.
— Time remaining: 03:00:00
Black mist. Hair tangled like thread. Navy-blue tentacles. A white book. Radiance. And madness.
She had somehow maintained a human silhouette, yet many parts were incomplete, as though mosaic. If forced to describe it, she resembled a humanoid slime. Still, recognizing her was not difficult.
Cartesia.
“What is it?”
She had manifested, however imperfectly.
“You can’t even manage a proper repentance manifestation, yet you attempt full strength? Have you lost your mind?”
[“It’s difficult because I’m still in exile.”]
She was still speaking through my mind. Proof that she had failed to manifest vocal organs in her true body.
“That’s exactly why you’re still treated as half-baked, Cartesia. You can’t defeat me in that incomplete state.”
Descartes-type Outer Deities were inferior to Maxwell-types in combat. But I hadn’t summoned Cartesia to fight.
“Hey, you honorless bastard.”
I raised my voice, steeling myself.
“How lacking in leadership do you have to be to kill six of your own allies and still fail to catch one person? And you call yourself an Outer Deity?”
“……Have you completely lost your mind?”
“Did you even once apologize to those Outer Deities? Or did you at least reach a proper agreement? You didn’t just crush them with brute force, did you?”
— “Steel Flowing Like Earth” expresses displeasure.
Then it came.
Sapaul, having lost his composure, lashed out with his tentacles. None of them struck me. Unlike moments ago, I now had a reliable shield.
[“Well, well?”]
Cartesia. She let out a sharp, elegant resonance.
[“You dare lay a hand on my host? Do you have a death wish?”]
Here was another fact worth remembering. The Descartes and Maxwell factions despised each other. That hostility extended even to the Descartes-type Outer Deities allied with Sapaul. They claimed to be bound by a covenant, yet in truth they were a loose coalition that could stab one another in the back at any moment.
They themselves didn’t realize it. They had been gaslit.
Now it was time to personally remove their blindfolds.
“Cartesia is tens of thousands of times better than you. At the very least, our Outer Deity doesn’t go around slaughtering weaker ones. She’s all about give-and-take.”
— “Goblet of Blood Wind” tilts its head.
“She gives clothes, she gives coins. Especially with coin distribution—she shares evenly, no discrimination. The amount she supplies is considerable, so everyone’s satisfied.”
— “Bridge of Pleasure and Displeasure” shows interest upon hearing the word “coins.”
“She even possesses mercy. When some ignorant Outer Deity tried to empty her black hole, she didn’t kill it. Compared to that, what does your leader look like……?”
— “Swelling Heart” voices discontent over the unjust sacrifices of fellow Outer Deities.
Good. It was working.
I spread both arms wide and raised my volume.
“Outer Deities gathered here, listen. Is it right to keep a leader who sacrifices so many just to kill a single human? I don’t think so.”
— “Rainbow of Melancholy Silence” nods.
— “Void and Substance” hesitates.
— “Wealth and Concealment” leaves a frond of condolence for the fallen Darwin-type Outer Deities.
I knew exactly what kind of personality Sapaul had. I also knew precisely how he would fall.
“Honestly, even I could do a better job of killing just one person than he can. Any Outer Deities who think the same…… raise a tentacle?”
Duplicity. Those whose words and actions differed—whether human or Outer Deity—were bound to be rejected. They chased after a lofty ideal only to be hooked by that very ideal. Naturally, they could not earn support.
— “Goblet of Blood Wind” raises a tentacle.
— “Swelling Heart” raises a tentacle.
— “Void and Substance” hesitates, then raises a tentacle.
— “Bridge of Pleasure and Displeasure” raises a tentacle while wondering about the source of coins.
— “Soundless Reverberation” lets out a hollow laugh at your rhetoric and raises a tentacle.
……
The twentieth stratagem of the Thirty-Six Stratagems.
Muddy the waters, then catch the fish.
“Do not be deceived! He is trying to sow division! If we are all to survive, if we are to oppose the ‘End,’ we must unite……!”
[“Survive? All of us? We’ve already lost nearly half our allies.”]
[“Because of you, our Darwin-type comrades were forced to abandon eternal life. And yet you still shamelessly preach survival of the strong and threaten us.”]
[“Where did your grand cause go? Where is the grand plan to use this woman’s body to drive out Laplace?”]
[“You’re nothing more than a moderately strong fellow.”]
I did nothing. Likewise, Cartesia did nothing except block the incoming attacks.
[“Since you killed all the weak Outer Deities, we must be next.”]
[“Killing that boy here would be meaningless. Cartesia cares for him, so we would only be making more enemies.”]
[“The original plan has fallen apart. What do we do now?”]
[“Then we have no choice but to mourn those who went before us.”]
We had merely given the Outer Deities a push from behind.
— “Goblet of Blood Wind” and seven other Outer Deities make their declaration.
“I warned you. Even if you all swarm me now, you cannot win. If you want to keep your lives, cooperate in killing that human instead of me!”
— Declare “Steel Flowing Like Earth” an enemy.
“These bastards, at such a critical moment!!”
The intensifying attacks stopped abruptly.
Internal conflict had broken out.
***
The Outer Deity Biology Research Institute descended into chaos in an instant. The other Outer Deities began releasing their avatars en masse to enjoy the effects of Mad Wind themselves, and Sapaul twisted his body in resistance. As a result, a sinkhole formed in the central corridor of Block E.
[“I’ll cover the rear, so get to the dock somehow.”]
Cartesia urged me while blocking incoming debris. It was clearly a favorable situation, yet worry outweighed joy.
Sorry, Rustilla. I think I’m about to get pregnant.
“Outer Deity, will you be all right?”
[“Worried about me when you’re just a brat?”]
— “God of Wisdom and Curiosity” uses <Coordinate Transfer>.
In an instant, we had flown to the block in front of the dock. I said “we” because Captain Malkram, the civil servant Lakdalman, and Ire were with us as well.
The waiting inspectors rushed over in surprise. It was because of Captain Malkram’s arm. The bleeding was severe, but thanks to the protection of the entity possessing him, survival was possible.
As for Mr. Lakdalman……
“He suddenly collapsed.”
I quickly finished the briefing, then hoisted the unconscious Ire onto my back. When I threatened to take her to her father, everyone stepped aside without protest.
“Young master!”
Sonia came running from the opposite side.
“Are you all right?”
“More or less.”
“You secured Miss Haslen. I’m glad things worked out. Let’s go quickly.”
“Wait, over there……”
Cartesia was still there. I almost said it.
“Is there anyone else?”
“……No.”
There was no need for me to worry about the Outer Deities. If anything, I should be worrying about what would happen to me.
Thud, thud, thud.
Emergency vessels began docking one after another.
“The master sent them.”
After confirming that Mr. Lakdalman and Captain Cheongal-gung had boarded an emergency vessel, Sonia and I quickly climbed aboard a spaceship as well.
We didn’t have much time. Accounting for relativity, two hours to the portal, then another thirty minutes to Iryuel Academy. We had to arrive before Cartesia’s manifestation time ran out. In the worst case, the northern research institute could be destroyed and Ire and I could both die.
“Professor, it’s Eidel. Yes, I’ll be there soon. Yes, yes. You’re saying it’s in test operation right now? Understood!”
I didn’t know about anything else. But the professor had always been on my side.
***
Cartesia was on par with Sapaul. However, she was not specialized in combat; instead, she had spent her time in exile studying nothing but academics, which made her recoil at violence. Moreover, she was bound by invisible chains and could not even manifest completely.
A half-baked Outer Deity.
Actually, it was questionable whether something like this could even be called an Outer Deity.
Cartesia was absurdly frail compared to the knowledge and wisdom she possessed.
Therefore—
“Hah, you idiots. Is this the end?”
She had no choice but to lose.
The Outer Deities who had sided with Sapaul betrayed him, yet Sapaul, born specialized for combat, still held a slight advantage. Crossing between real space and imaginary space, he purged the eight traitors and reduced Cartesia’s true body to rags.
As a result, the research institute was completely burned down in two and a half hours, and a two-kilometer radius turned into wasteland.
“You fools. That’s why I told you. Even if you all swarm me, you can’t beat me alone.”
If she had manifested completely, Cartesia would have won. If she hadn’t been exiled, Cartesia would have won. If she had been aggressive and known how to exploit humans, Cartesia would have won.
She lost because she was half-baked.
Sapaul stood before Cartesia holding a device shaped like a cutter. He placed the instrument on her liquid, rippling shoulder.
“I am merciful, so I’ll give you a chance. You, and all of you—swear loyalty to me without betraying me again, and I’ll let you live as you are.”
— Time remaining: 00:00:30
“No matter how much we fight like this, we’re no match for Laplace. Once he begins operating in earnest, every cause and effect will flow in their favor.”
— Time remaining: 00:00:20
“None of us want everyone to die. Neither the lowly mortals nor our superior race. So surrender. Yes, Cartesia—kill that mortal and retrieve Ire Haslen’s body.”
— Time remaining: 00:00:10
“Then I’ll allow you into our club.”
Cartesia, the incarnation of knowledge and scholarship, knew this was politics. The goal was clearly to secure her allegiance while extracting absolute loyalty and unity from the remaining Outer Deities.
— Time remaining: 00:00:05
Cartesia—
[“……I don’t want to.”]
She stiffly raised her head.
[“I like that brat far more than you.”]
— Time remaining: 00:00:00
With those words, she ended her manifestation.
And at the same time, Sapaul felt all strength drain from his entire body.
Vwoom. Vwoom. Vwoooooooom———