Chapter 181
Chapter 181
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 181
Chapter Title: Reversal of the Law (2)
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“Alright, I'll explain. This place is called the Outer Hell. It's also known as Purgatory.”
“Purgatory? This place?”
“Yes, the Prison of the Land. It's where heretics who reject the Law live. I get it now. You denied the existence of God in the earthly realm. That's why you ended up here.”
Shirone didn't correct her misunderstanding. She wouldn't understand his explanation anyway, and she wasn't entirely wrong. After all, no one in his group believed in Anke Ra.
“Seeing you use magic, you must be descendants of the Nor. How pitiful. Now that you've fallen into Purgatory, the only thing left for you is death. You'll die eventually.”
“That's right, we'll die eventually. But so will you.”
Kanya lifted her chin, looking a little smug.
“Not at all. I am one of God's chosen subjects. That's why I'm guaranteed eternal life.”
Shirone recalled the myths of Kergo. If something could grant eternal life, it could certainly be called a god.
But it didn't feel real.
Living beings aged and would one day inevitably die. Preventing death was impossible, even with the power of magic.
Realizing the truth about Shirone's group, Kanya felt a bit more at ease. She disliked heretics, but these were pitiful souls who hadn't even had the chance to witness God's power.
“Well, it can't be helped. You're in luck. Follow me. I'll show you a place to stay.”
“Why the sudden kindness? If you're a subject of God and we're heretics, shouldn't you think ill of us?”
Kanya noticed no one was following and turned back.
“You're so suspicious, you must be descendants of the Nor. In Heaven, I'd have driven you out, but it's fine here. In Purgatory, no Law protects God's subjects. It means you and I are in the same boat. Anyway, we need to hurry. It gets dangerous when the sun sets.”
The deeper they went into the valley, the higher the cliffs soared. It was a desolate place, devoid of even a single insect. A hint of moisture and echoes. In the vastness of nature, only their footsteps could be heard.
“Don't tell me something strange is going to pop out again.”
“Don't worry. The Valley of the Whirlpool Snake is a place where a single, powerful Law exists, so dangerous monsters like the One-Horned Ogre don't live here.”
“What kind of Law?”
“The Whirlpool Snake. It's a monster said to have lived here for over ten thousand years. But it's probably sleeping now. It doesn't move around during the day. That's why I said we need to hurry. We have to get to the Nor's Shelter before sunset.”
“You said we were descendants of the Nor earlier, right? So, are the Nor not subjects of God?”
“Of course they are.”
“Then why is there a Nor's Shelter in Purgatory?”
Kanya was frustrated, but she remembered where they came from and added an explanation.
“There are three races of God's subjects living in Heaven. The Nor are one of them. The subjects have their lifespans determined at birth, and when their time is up, they gain eternal life. But it seems some of the Nor couldn't accept that. So they escaped to Purgatory and created their own independent society.”
Shirone didn't understand the concept of having a lifespan determined at birth, but he let it slide for now. It was, at least, less strange than the idea of gaining eternal life.
More than that, he was grateful for Kanya's consideration. She was guiding them to the Nor's society because she thought he was a descendant of the Nor.
“Thank you, Kanya. You're very kind.”
“What are you talking about! No subject of God is kind to a heretic. We're only going because we need something too, so don't get the wrong idea. Once we get to the Nor's Shelter, don't even pretend to know me.”
Despite her harsh words, she couldn't meet Shirone's eyes.
Seeing Kanya's pretense, Reina puffed up her cheeks and added a comment.
“That's right. My sister really is going because she needs something. But I'm going because I genuinely want to help.”
“Haha! Right, thank you. You're very thoughtful, Reina.”
At Shirone's praise, Reina's cheeks flushed red.
Kanya stopped walking. It was an impressionable age, so it was understandable to be drawn to a stranger, but as a subject of God who lived by the Law, it was a thought she shouldn't have.
She grabbed Reina's wrist and pulled her over to the cliffside. As Shirone and his group watched in confusion, she urged her in a hushed voice.
“Reina, what's gotten into you? You know we can never be with a heretic. Even thinking about it is blasphemy.”
“I know. But he is…”
“No means no! I know you're still young, but looks aren't everything. You'll be in big trouble if you choose a man like that.”
“How would you know? You don't have a boyfriend either.”
“You'll understand when you're older. Anyway, listen to your sister, okay? From now on, you be cold to that man.”
“I don't like Shirone because he's handsome, I like him because he's kind.”
“Kind? That boy?”
Kanya stared at Reina, bewildered. How was she supposed to take her sister's words?
He was certainly a unique boy. But the reason she felt that way was because he was a heretic. Freedom breeds corruption. In that sense, associating with Shirone was dangerous.
“You, tell me straight. Do you like handsome guys or kind guys?”
Reina was fourteen, an age where she could feel love. Kanya, who would soon have to act as a mother, felt the need to change her sister's way of thinking.
“Both, obviously. He has to be handsome, but he also has to be kind.”
“Sigh, I really don't get you.”
“It's okay, sis. I'm not going to fall in love with someone I've only known for a day. And… we're not so different from them right now, anyway.”
For a subject of God to enter Purgatory without permission was a violation of the Law. They might be punished, but it was something she couldn't give up on.
But she did regret bringing her younger sister along.
Even if Reina's lifespan was longer than her own, it had been an irresponsible decision as an older sister.
“I'm sorry, Reina. I…”
“I know, sis. Besides, I'm the one who begged to come. You don't have to take on all the dangerous work by yourself. I really want to get a gift for Mom, too.”
Kanya stroked Reina's head. The baby who used to cry for milk had already grown up so much. She prayed that Reina would receive God's grace and enjoy eternal life.
She was a lovely child; surely, Ra would grant it.
“Okay, I get it. Let's go.”
The valley was now becoming a maze. Shallow water flowed through narrow forks in the path, making the air damp.
Amy used her Red Eyes to notice that Kanya's path was all over the place.
It was the typical path of someone who was lost.
“This is taking a while. Is the Nor's Shelter still far?”
“We're not going there. We don't know where the Nor's Shelter is either.”
“What? You said we were going to the Nor's Shelter.”
“That's the destination. How would we, subjects of God, know the location of a place built by Nor who fled from Heaven?”
Sensing Amy's dumbfounded stare, Kanya added.
“Don't worry. We have a way.”
“What way?”
“Using a drone. The Nor's Shelter is an open market that anyone can go to. A guide dispatched from the market is waiting in the Valley of the Whirlpool Snake. We just have to find them. That's why I'm using the drone to search for a place where someone might be staying.”
Shirone looked up at the two drones flying across the sky.
Those flying objects were also the kind of thing that would be called ancient artifacts in his world. But despite the name, their technology was incomparably advanced.
He suddenly wondered what kind of expression Nade would make if he saw them.
“I get that those machines are scouting, but how can we see what they see?”
Kanya tapped her temple and said.
“It's connected to my head. We call it frequency.”
“Frequency?”
“Mm, it's like an invisible signal. Kind of like sound? It's a technology called Retinal Vision. The drone sends a wave to my frequency, and an image forms on my eyeball. Look closely at my left eye.”
A field like an electric current flickered in Kanya's pupil, and a bird's-eye view of the valley rapidly unfolded. Despite being smaller than her pupil, the resolution was so high that he could make out the landscape.
“This is the valley from the drone's point of view. It might not look clear to you, but it's actually taking up half of my vision. It's an image projected directly onto my retina.”
“That's incredible technology.”
Tess couldn't hide her envy. She had always been obsessed with ancient artifacts, but drones, in particular, were items that could change the face of espionage.
“Where can you get something like this?”
“You don't get it, you're supplied with it. It's an item issued only to the Mecha tribe. You get a drone when you turn twelve.”
“So, could you get one and give it to me?”
“No. The quantity is strictly managed, so if you get caught sneaking one out, you'll face severe punishment.”
“I see. I want one too…”
“Other subjects of God are envious of the drones too. But they're locked with a personal code anyway, so no one else can use them. If the owner changes, an alarm sounds and it immediately shuts down.”
The fact that it was an item for only one person made Tess even more upset. She wanted it. But if it was issued by the state, she couldn't just buy it with money.
Feeling jealous, Tess fell silent from then on.
“I've found a place where a Nor might be staying. It's not far from here.”
Kanya started running and arrived in front of a cave.
The drone landed on the back of Kanya's hand and transformed into a gauntlet.
An image of the last location it had spotted appeared on its surface. Kanya compared the picture with what she saw with her own eyes, confirmed it was the right place, and approached the cave.
Just then, Tess raised a hand to stop her.
“Wait a minute. I smell blood.”
“The smell of blood? I don't smell anything.”
“Heh, of course you don't. I've been training since I was a child. I guess that machine of yours can't smell, can it?”
“What are you talking about? Mecha technology can distinguish one hundred forty thousand different scents. This drone just doesn't have that function.”
The group finally realized there had been a subtle rivalry between Tess and the drone.
Indeed, the drone's scouting capabilities were, even to them, overwhelming. But to Rian, Tess feeling jealous of a mere lump of iron was just pathetic.
“Just get on with it. Don't feel inferior to something weird for no reason.”
Hearing Rian call it "something weird" cheered Tess up, and she used her Sensory Schema to track the lingering scent of blood.
She took a step into the cave, scanned the inside, then looked around outside for a long while.
After finishing her analysis, she turned to the group and said.
“The smell of blood is coming from inside the cave. Someone is definitely in there, but it doesn't seem like they've gone outside.”
“Why? You don't smell blood outside?”
“No. It's because the smell of blood is stronger inside that I'm guessing they haven't come out.”
“But you checked outside for longer, didn't you?”
“It's a kind of manual. If there was a smell of blood outside as well, there's a high chance the cave is a trap.”
“So it's not a trap, then. Let's go in.”
Shirone cast the illumination spell, Shining.
As a sphere of light floated above his palm, Kanya and Reina were startled. Although the Nor were a race that handled magic, they had never seen a spell like this in Heaven.
“Sis, did you see that? He made light come out of his body.”
“Yes. People from the earthly realm use strange magic.”
“Yeah. But that… doesn't it look just like… that thing?”
“Reina! That's a blasphemous thought. Quickly, pray for forgiveness in your heart.”
Reina's expression soured. The fact that her sister knew what she was thinking without her saying a word meant she'd had the same thought.
In any case, blasphemy was a sin, so she silently asked Ra for forgiveness.