Chapter 197
Chapter 197
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 197
Chapter Title: God's Mercy (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“I’m back, Department Head.”
“Ah, so it’s you, Feope, the Spiral Fairy.”
“Yes. You remember me.”
“Of course, I do. No other fairy has been born since your birth a year ago.”
Feope’s shoulders slumped. The youngest of the 72 Ranks of Fairies. That was the only reason Igirin remembered her.
Fairies were female in form and could not reproduce. To sustain their species, they had no choice but to wait for new individuals to be born, and Feope was the first fairy to be born in nearly a decade.
“What happened with the deserters? Kanya and Lena, was it?”
“Yes. I heard their confession, and they cooperated with the investigation.”
“And the verdict?”
“I sentenced them both to a one-year reduction.”
“One year?”
When Igirin’s expression turned sour, Feope swallowed hard. She had no doubts about the verdict she had delivered. But as a novice, she couldn't be certain she had made the right judgment.
“You may be young, but you are still an Executor of the Law. I suppose I must respect your decision. But I must ask. Was there any external pressure?”
“No. It was my own decision.”
She had been threatened by Shirone, but it hadn't amounted to external pressure. She had passed the one-year sentence because she realized an excessive penalty was unreasonable.
Igirin eyed Feope with suspicion.
Never before had a sentence of a one-year lifespan reduction been given for escaping Purgatory. For a fairy born only a year ago, the verdict was unconventional.
“Was there anything else of note? I heard a heretic followed one of the subjects in.”
Feope hesitated. Strictly speaking, those accompanying Kanya were Nephilim, not heretics.
But if she revealed everything from start to finish, her words could be misinterpreted. And that was not what Feope wanted.
“I did not see any heretics.”
Igirin waited for her to continue. The situation called for an additional explanation.
But Feope offered no further comment.
Sighing, Igirin waved her hand.
“Very well, you’ve done well. You may leave.”
“Yes. Please rest well, Department Head.”
Feope bowed her head and withdrew.
As the door to the residence closed, Igirin looked up into the air. She then asked her confidante, Mer, the Fairy of Truth.
“What did you find?”
“Feope spoke only the truth. However, I do not believe she told the whole story.”
“I thought as much. What on earth happened? She still has much to learn, but I worry about her developing such a strong will at such a young age.”
Igirin rested her chin on her hand, lost in thought.
“Find out about the humans who entered Heaven following the subject. There should be detailed records at Mecha Command.”
“I will leave at once.”
With that, Mer exited through a hole in the ceiling.
Igirin crossed her legs and massaged her brow.
Sector 73 was known for being a quiet, incident-free area. Yet now, a human—neither a heretic nor a subject—had entered.
Her intuition, honed over three thousand years, brought one particular heretic to mind.
“Adrias Miro…”
@
“Phew, I thought I was going to die from the nerves.”
Feope dragged her exhausted body home.
She had been alive for a year, so one would think she’d be used to it, but her body still stiffened every time she met Igirin.
The pressure was even worse on days like today, when she had to make a decision based on her own judgment.
“Hah, being an Executor of the Law is tough.”
“Hahaha! What's so hard about dealing with subjects? It's just because you're pathetic.”
Hearing the voice from behind, Feope scowled. She turned her head to see the three fairy sisters approaching, smirking as always.
She’d heard they were the youngest before she was born. Fairies, born of concepts, had no blood relatives, but since they were born around the same time, they were known as the three sisters.
“Hello, seniors.”
Feope forced a smile, which only made the three sisters’ expressions turn nastier.
Their faces hadn't always been like that.
Fairies born of emotion easily showed their inner changes on their faces.
Any fairy would end up like that after about ten years of being the youngest.
“I heard. You gave them a one-year sentence? You were swayed by a human, weren't you? I can tell without even looking.”
“No, that’s not it. That’s truly what I thought was right.”
“Oh, is that so? Then it was a truly foolish verdict. Now you're officially a pushover. You’d better not expect the subjects to respect you from now on!”
The three fairy sisters covered their mouths and giggled.
Feope was angry but couldn't show it. If you got on your direct superior's bad side, you'd be tormented for a lifetime. And that lifetime was at least ten thousand years.
All she could do was endure. Once the next youngest was born, they would leave her alone.
“Anyway, do your job properly. In the old days, someone like you wouldn't even be made an Executor. They're only giving you a pass because fairies aren't born from emotions as often these days. You need to squeeze the subjects harder.”
“I am.”
“What do you mean, you are? Who are you to talk back when you’ve only been alive for a year?”
Feope shut her mouth.
It was ridiculous for them to be lecturing her when they had only just passed the ten-year mark themselves, but in the strict hierarchy of the fairy world, a one-year-old had no way to voice her opinion.
“Understand? You have to make them fear us. That's how you get the subjects to obey. Make sure nothing like this happens again.”
After the three fairy sisters left with a final threat, Feope felt like she had aged ten years.
Perhaps because of that, she felt like she could take them on right now.
Of course, that was only possible in her imagination.
“Phew, I’m so tired. I want to get home quickly.”
Feope’s limbs went limp, and her flight faltered.
@
The next morning.
The central plaza of Shamaim, Sector 73, where they awaited the Elixir of Oneness, was bustling from early in the morning.
The Mecha clan inspected the devices, and the Norr clan checked the magic integrated into the ritual.
As the Kergoin led the subjects to begin a rehearsal, Shirone clutched his aching chest.
A rehearsal for an event where people die. Just how little did the god of Heaven value human life?
Once preparations were complete, the subjects said their farewells to their families. Among them were Kanya and Lena.
“Mom! Mom!”
Lena’s tears wouldn't stop. Even the valiant Kanya was now just a pitiful daughter sending her mother off.
As the time for the ritual approached, Kanya took out the Epines and Corpin.
“Drink this. It will help.”
Shirone knew what Kanya was handing over.
Thinking about it after learning what the Elixir of Oneness was made his heart even heavier.
What help could stimulants and tranquilizers be?
No, he didn’t really know. When their brains would melt and they’d become a giant, there was no way to know how their minds would be altered.
Perhaps it was better than nothing.
For a parent, there could be no greater source of courage than medicine brought by their own child.
Once the preparations for the ritual were complete, the subjects spread out in a circle around the statue.
It was no different from the scene he had seen in Feope’s memory, except that there were ten subjects this time.
Kanya had told him that the one who administered the Elixir of Oneness was the oldest person in the sector. Being old meant they had continuously been granted extensions to their lifespan, making them the most faithful of the subjects.
This time, too, the executor was a Kergoin.
He had the appearance of a robust young man, but his age was said to be one hundred and eighty-seven.
Word was that he belonged to the noble class of the Kergoin clan and would soon gain eternal life and ascend to the Third Heaven, Shehaqim.
“The Elixir of Oneness will now commence! Subjects, come forth!”
The ten subjects approached the glass sphere.
It would be a lie to say they weren't scared. To be dissolved by a strange chemical and merged into one was the most unsettling and terrifying death for a human.
“Mom! Mom!”
Just as Kanya was about to run forward, her father held her back.
Though she surely heard her daughter's voice, her mother didn't look back.
Everyone was acting similarly.
The subjects smiled for their families, and the families hid their sorrow for the subjects.
Shirone did not find it beautiful.
He didn't know what value the Elixir of Oneness held for the subjects, but it was wrong from the start to have accepted such a dark ritual.
The subjects undressed and entered the glass sphere. Then, they sat on the cold glass floor, closed their eyes, and offered a prayer.
Rage surged within Shirone.
What were they praying for? What praise could they offer to the god who was driving them to their deaths?
“This is murder. I can’t allow it.”
Shirone finally said it out loud. It was the conclusion he had reached after agonizing over it all night.
He had to stop the Elixir of Oneness.
Anyone who understood that it was murder would do the same.
Shirone walked toward the statue. He intended to stop the ritual before the subjects died.
Tess grabbed Shirone’s wrist.
“Shirone, wait. I’m angry too. But this isn’t our world. There’s a saying, ‘When in Rome, do as the Romans do.’”
“I don’t know who said that, but it’s just a human thought. Kanya’s mother has committed no crime. To be killed like this is something that should never happen, under any circumstances.”
“But what can we do? Even if we stop the Elixir of Oneness, Kanya’s mother’s life ends today. We’ll only be putting ourselves in danger by trying to save her.”
“No, that’s not true. It’s possible Kanya’s mother might not die today.”
“What? What do you mean?”
The reason the Elixir of Oneness was performed even amid the subjects' doubts was that Ra controlled their lifespans. The fact that they would die today anyway compelled them to follow the law.
But Shirone said the law was wrong. If there was truly a flaw in the Elixir of Oneness, then the subjects were being deceived. It was a clear fraud. In that case, there was ample room to change the situation.
“Inject the fuel of life! Begin the Elixir of Oneness.”
As the executor shouted, the Kergoin bustled about. Once the water started to fill the sphere, there would be no second chances. He didn't know when their bodies would start to dissolve, but drowning would come first.
The moment a Kergoin approached the device, Shirone shouted.
“Wait! The Elixir of Oneness is unacceptable!”
The subjects’ gazes all focused on Shirone.
It was easy to spot him standing alone in the clearing. But since they didn't know the language, they couldn't understand his meaning.
Shirone looked back at Arin. He was asking her to translate. With a sigh, Arin reluctantly approached.
She knew better than anyone that Shirone had a prudent nature. His decision meant he would not back down under any circumstances.
Arin expanded her Spirit Zone. While mages of the mental school specialized in tentacle-type projections, simply widening their zone was sufficient for addressing a crowd.
Shirone repeated what he had just said.
The words permeated the minds of the subjects. Since it was an ability similar to that of the fairies, no one was surprised. But the meaning behind the words was something they could not ignore.
Hostility filled the subjects’ eyes. To deem an event worshiping Ra as evil was clearly the logic of a heretic.
The executor, unable to hide his anger, shot back.
“By what authority do you deem this ritual unacceptable? Are you not a subject? Do you wish to face death without a chance of resurrection?”
“I am a Nephilim.”
The area fell silent in an instant.
Just as in their original world, the Immortal Function was not a state anyone could reach.
For them, it was the first time in their lives that a Nephilim had appeared in Sector 73.
The executor was just as flustered.
He had faithfully carried out Ra’s duties to rise to this position. His age of 187 was like a medal to him.
But even such a medal was nothing before a Nephilim.
Nephilim were descendants of angels.
Although they couldn't interfere with the law, they were beings different from the subjects from birth.
“Why… does a Nephilim object to the Elixir of Oneness? This is the law established by God.”