Chapter 198
Chapter 198
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 198
Chapter Title: God's Mercy (3)
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“The Law? By any chance, does your law include the crime of murder?”
“Of course. A Subject may never harm another Subject. If one commits murder, they will receive a severe punishment according to the judgment of Internal Affairs.”
“Then what is this you're doing now? If your law forbids murder, why are you proceeding with the Ritual of Unification?”
“I don't understand what you're saying. Are you truly a Nephilim? You speak like a heretic.”
“I don't care if I'm a Nephilim or not. I am someone who doesn't know his own lifespan. That's why I can live each day to the fullest. But look at them. They are alive, but they are not living. How is that any different from the murder you speak of?”
No voices of blame or agreement rose from the Subjects. But the atmosphere was growing more and more charged.
It was a contradiction that every Subject had felt at least once.
The Ritual of Unification certainly seemed irrational. But the reason no one had ever refused it was due to the inertia of hundreds of thousands of years.
Countless people had become giants through the Ritual of Unification. The fact that everyone had done it and would continue to do so clouded the Subjects’ judgment.
“O you who deny the law of Ra, we were born from the giant. The Ritual of Unification is God's providence, allowing our lives to be reborn. Do you wish for your existence to be extinguished forever? If there is any among the Subjects who desires such a thing, step forward. I will personally petition for it to be so.”
No one stepped forward. According to the facts passed down among the Subjects for ages, the giant created by the Ritual of Unification would travel through Purgatory, return, and then be disassembled back into individual entities.
It was better to live forever than to die. If one had to die, one would want to leave open the possibility of returning.
That was life.
And that was how Ra controlled it.
Satisfied with the Subjects’ silence, the executor pointed a finger at Shirone and shouted.
“You are a heretic! No, even if you are a Nephilim, you have no right to interfere with the Law! Everyone, arrest that man! Make him pay the price for blaspheming the sanctity of Ra!”
“Shirone, things have gotten complicated! We have to get away now.”
Amy grabbed Shirone's hand. But Shirone shook her off and stood his ground.
“No, I'm not leaving. Kanya's mother… I have to save her.”
From the front, about ten Kergoin drew their swords and charged. Using the techniques of the giants, their speed was like that of a cheetah.
Shirone plunged into their midst. The leading Kergoin raised his sword. The others also surrounded Shirone, swinging their blades.
At that moment, Shirone's Radiant Burst exploded.
A curtain of light struck the Kergoin. The mass contained in the photons was minuscule, so at first, it was just a stinging sensation, but as they were struck at a rate of twenty times per second, a repulsive force that felt like their bodies were being torn apart washed over them.
All the Kergoin surrounding Shirone were sent flying.
Skidding across the ground on their backsides, they all stared at Shirone with looks of utter astonishment.
“A… a Nephilim? You were really a Nephilim?”
The light magic was highly effective psychologically. It was a phenomenon only angels could manifest, a magic that imprinted the fact that Shirone was a Nephilim.
Riding the momentum, Shirone focused his Photon Cannon.
Sensing danger, the executor moved to block the bronze statue just as a flash of light shot out from Shirone.
The executor twisted his body with animalistic reflexes. As the flash grazed his side, he felt a crushing pain in his innards.
But the pain was a secondary concern.
When the Photon Cannon struck the giant's statue, a magnificent resonance, as if a great bell had been struck, spread out.
As the sound waves vibrated through the square, the Subjects covered their ears and retreated.
They were shouting something loudly, but the ringing in their ears was louder than their voices.
And yet, the giant's statue was unharmed.
The Photon Cannon had enough power to crumple a steel door, but there wasn't even a dent on the statue.
Joy filled the eyes of the Subjects.
“Ooh! Ankh Ra! Save us!”
“Do not forsake us! Eternal life, eternal life!”
As the situation grew serious, Amy stepped forward. She had to get Shirone out of there, one way or another.
Just then, Rian grabbed her shoulder and spun her around.
“Wait. Shirone isn't finished yet.”
“That's not the problem. If we don't escape now, we'll have to fight them.”
“Then we'll fight, won't we?”
Amy finally turned her head. This had nothing to do with the friendship they had shared until now. The Rian of this moment was solely Shirone's knight.
“What is it, Rian? Is there something you want to say?”
“I do. You all are acting strange right now. What do you hope to achieve by stopping Shirone?”
“We have to escape, obviously. If we become enemies in Heaven, there will be no one to help us.”
“Then what about Kanya's mother?”
Amy's heart sank. She realized she hadn't been feeling the reality of someone's death.
“Shirone is trying to save Kanya's mother. Just like he did for Marsha, who was an enemy, and just like he did for the students at the magic academy. So why aren't you trying to help? Don't tell me. Is it because this isn't the world we lived in, you think you have no responsibility for the deaths of the people here?”
“Ah…”
Rian's analysis was spot on. Because this was a place with different rules and laws, she had thought there was no reason for them to take on the burden of a death these people had chosen for themselves.
“Amy, whether this is Heaven or anywhere else, this is happening right in front of our eyes. Shirone said he can save Kanya's mother. That's why I'm going to fight with him.”
Amy looked around the square. Surrounding Shirone were Mekain armed with Signas and Exdes, and Norin who wielded ancient magic.
The human spirit is not a trivial thing. Even if this was Heaven, the truth of life could not be different.
The conflict vanished from Amy's face.
“I trust Shirone, too. Let's go, Rian.”
As Amy sprang forward, her friends immediately followed.
Just as the Subjects were closing in on Shirone, a flash of light erupted, scattering a dozen people outward. As Shirone, having cast Radiant Burst, came into view, Amy leaned her back against his and asked.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
“Yeah. The Signas and Exdes are weak at long range, and most of their ancient magic seems to be wind-based. It's weak, too. They seem less skilled than Clove.”
From Heaven's perspective, Purgatory was Hell.
No matter how clumsy Clove's skills were, he was a mage who roamed the harsh Purgatory, so his level was naturally higher than those here.
Shirone's party took their positions and received the Subjects’ attacks.
The problem was that counterattacking was difficult. In a situation where they needed to persuade the Subjects, any fatalities would only worsen the situation.
“Tsk! What a pain.”
Canis placed a hand on the ground and cast Shadow Wall.
Sharp thorns shot out from the surface of the shadow that rose like a fortress wall.
The Meka tribe blocked it with their Exdes at the forefront, but they too had no particular way to attack.
-Shirone, we can't hold out forever. You need to make a decision.
Shirone's thoughts became complicated. In truth, there was one way to end the battle without fighting.
It was the illumination magic, Shining.
If he could blind the enemies with a momentary, intense burst of light, the fighting mood would cool down rapidly.
‘But will Shining alone be enough?’
The biggest problem was that it was broad daylight. No matter how much he increased the intensity of the light, it couldn't overcome the sunlight.
The reason it was difficult to create a light stronger than the sun was due to the vibratory nature of light.
He needed to maximize the number of photons per unit area, but there was a limit to how much vibrating light could be compressed.
‘How can I increase the intensity of the light?’
At that moment, a glint appeared in Shirone's eyes.
The vibration of light cannot be stopped. But it might be possible to create a light stronger than the sun.
-Close your eyes! I'm casting Shining!
Shirone stopped moving and entered the Spirit Zone. Particles of light began to gather rapidly.
His friends closed their eyes, but Canis, who was maintaining the defensive barrier, turned to look at Shirone.
‘What is that? Why does the light look like that?’
The light gathering around Shirone was much dimmer than a normal Shining. Weak light meant its luminosity had been reduced. In other words, he was suppressing its vibration in some way.
‘He unified the direction of polarization.’
Some particles vibrate vertically, while others vibrate horizontally. Shirone had applied gravity to the photons to unify the direction of their vibration.
The result was astounding. A naturally impossible number of photons was gathering at a single point. Because they were more stable than ordinary photons, the color of the light was close to gray. By the time the Shining began to emit a white light, it boasted a density tens of times greater than normal.
-Casting now!
Shirone squeezed his eyes shut and released his control over the photons. The particles of light scattered in all directions like unbridled colts.
The brightness of the white light that swallowed the world reached a staggering 300,000 lumens. It was more than twice as intense as staring directly at the midday sun.
Without seeing, Shirone knew the magic had succeeded.
The light was so intense that even with his eyes closed, he could faintly distinguish shadows.
‘It worked! It really worked!’
The God Particle was the core principle of the magic Shirone wielded.
Mass for the Photon Cannon, energy for the Laser. And this time, compressing photons to create a flash explosion: Shining Impact.
Because it surpassed the intensity of natural light, it was a non-lethal magic that could incapacitate living beings regardless of time or place.
Even after the light faded, the Subjects kept their eyes closed. They leaned back, worried they might be attacked, with their arms covering their faces.
Silence fell.
Shirone's party opened their eyes first, and then the Subjects slowly lifted their eyelids, glancing from side to side.
“A… a Nephilim. O great Nephilim.”
As someone muttered this, the Meka tribe began to drop their weapons one by one.
Shining Impact did more than just stop the battle.
Even with a contract with a Spirit of Light, creating a light brighter than the sun is impossible.
If there was a being who could, it would undoubtedly be an angel who commanded the power of light.
Tess wiped the sweat trickling down her chin.
“Whoa. Shirone, what kind of magic was that? I was scared I was going to go blind.”
It was said like a joke, but she was serious. She had never been exposed to such an intense light in her life.
Rian sheathed his greatsword and approached.
“In any case, we've neutralized the enemies, so that's good. Now we just need to stop the Ritual of Unification, right?”
“It won't be easy. Unlike the other Subjects, the Kergoin aren't wavering.”
As Amy said, the executor and the other ritual officials were glaring at Shirone with fierce eyes.
Of course, they too were intimidated by the power of Shining Impact.
But if they thought of it as the power of a Nephilim, there was no reason for them to be mentally affected.
For those who followed only Ra, the laws of lesser beings were not to be feared.
“Did you think you would get away with this, O Nephilim? You have disrupted the sacred law of Ra. Once Internal Affairs makes its move, your lifespan will also end today.”
“Go ahead and try. You can't dictate a lifespan that even I don't know.”
The executor's nose wrinkled.
If he had his way, he would cut off Shirone’s head right now, but honestly, he had no will to fight.
He had dedicated his life to earn 187 years. With eternal life just within his grasp, he couldn't let his life end here.
A red energy gathered in Shirone's palm.
Now that the Subjects were frightened, this was his last chance. Rather than rashly provoking their anger with the Photon Cannon, his strategy was to definitively shatter the statue with a Laser.
As the crimson ray of light shot toward the statue, the Subjects recoiled in terror.
But no one else charged forward. If Shirone was a Nephilim, he was not a being the Subjects could handle on their own.