Chapter 201
Chapter 201
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 201
Chapter Title: God's Mercy (6)
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Shirone trembled as he forced himself to his feet. Although the pressure per unit area had dropped below seventy percent, it was an impossible feat without the mental fortitude of an unbreakable diamond.
The citizens stared with astonished eyes. It would have been one thing for a giant like Rian, but seeing the slender Shirone rise was nothing short of shocking.
“You people offer up your very lives to your god. You do whatever he commands. And yet, for just one second? If one second is so trivial to you all, then does this being you call a god lack even that much mercy for those who believe in him?!”
I-girin grit her teeth hard.
159 to 159.
The ratio of faith to doubt was perfectly even. If even one more count fell, her authority would vanish.
Rian’s movements became much lighter. Having endured pressure approaching one hundred percent, he could easily handle fifty percent and still swing his greatsword.
Rian gave up on the statue and began striking the glass spheres filled with black liquid. As he struck them repeatedly, they cracked with a sharp noise, and streams of fluid began to leak out.
“Damn it! Damn it!”
The more he tried, the more anxious he grew. The amount leaking from the cracks wasn't enough to prevent the subjects from drowning.
The citizens swallowed nervously, watching the delicate tightrope walk between life and death.
It was sure to have a negative effect on I-girin. Humans, by nature, want to side with the underdog.
I-girin resorted to her final measure.
“Do not be deceived! The scales of my heart are judging you! If any of you harbor doubt here, I will personally cut fifty years from your lifespans!”
Fear, the most effective tool for maintaining power, immediately restored the citizens’ faith.
216 to 102.
Her authority began to recover at a rapid pace.
As the pressure intensified, Shirone’s knees buckled again. He grit his teeth and held on, but it was irresistible.
The most agonizing part was feeling the citizens’ attitudes shifting against him through his own body.
“Shirone…”
At that moment, Kanya walked toward Shirone.
Her face was deathly pale. How could she be in her right mind when her mother was submerged in that dark water?
“Can she… really live? My mom, I mean. Can she leave with a smile, in front of me, Rena, and Dad?”
The citizens glanced back and forth between Kanya and the glass spheres.
To leave with a smile in front of your family. The time needed for that was one second.
“Of course. It’s not your mother’s time to die. You can meet again and smile.”
Tears streamed down Kanya’s cheeks. At this point, she didn't care what happened.
She just wanted to see her mom. She wanted to see the mother she had seen that morning, just one more time.
“Then please save my mom, Shirone. Please, save my mom. I don’t want this. I don’t want my mom to become a giant.”
27 to 291.
I-girin’s eyes flew open from the shock that struck her brain. Her authority had plummeted into the abyss.
Before she could even let out a gasp, the price of her false claim was enacted.
She fell vertically, her knees slamming into the ground. She couldn't move a single finger.
“Now! Everyone, go stop it!”
As the pressure vanished, Shirone’s party shot forward, their feet practically tearing up the ground.
Time was short. No, it had already run out.
Rian shattered the glass sphere with a full swing.
Amy switched off the liquid tank.
Tess plunged her rapier into a gap in the device, and an explosion erupted from within.
Families rushed forward and pulled the subjects from the broken glass spheres. But they were covered in a sticky liquid, making it impossible to check their condition.
The citizens approached with tense expressions. If they were dead, decomposition would have already begun.
They couldn't find the courage to witness such a gruesome sight.
The families began to wipe away the liquid. Gradually, skin tone was revealed, and eyes, a nose, and lips appeared.
Fortunately, decomposition had not set in. Kanya’s face, upon finding her mother, was a mess of tears.
“Mom, Mom!”
Though she hadn't dissolved in the liquid, she wasn't breathing. Kanya’s father rushed over and began artificial respiration.
He cleared her airway and pressed on her stomach. A thick liquid flowed back up, and her mother coughed.
The citizens erupted in cheers.
In that moment, the law was absent from their minds. There was only the joy of one life returning to the arms of its family.
Dong. Dong. Dong.
The bell tolled, signaling the end of the Rite of One Day.
A reverent silence fell over the central plaza.
The revived subjects looked toward the bell, supported by their families. According to the law, their lives were to end today, but not one of them had died yet.
2. The Age of Upheaval (1)
The bell tolled twelve times.
The sound of the bell became an unforgettable memory etched into the hearts of the citizens gathered in the central plaza.
They were still citizens, and they still followed the Law of Ra, but whether they could continue to do so was uncertain.
“Chief! Are you okay?”
Peope flew over to I-girin.
Seeing I-girin’s shattered knees, Peope was overcome with guilt. She was ashamed of herself for doing nothing while her comrades fought.
I-girin forced a smile, as if to soothe the startled heart of her distant junior.
“I’m fine. This is the price for the destruction of the extralegal rite. It is something I must endure. Are you alright?”
“Yes. I’m completely fine.”
“That’s a relief.”
Peope couldn't bring herself to meet I-girin’s eyes.
Even though I-girin must have known she hadn't participated in the battle, she didn't even reprimand her, instead worrying about her well-being.
The chief had always been intimidating, but in this moment, Peope couldn't help but acknowledge her.
I-girin surveyed the plaza with a troubled gaze.
The tilted statue, the shattered glass spheres, the device spewing black smoke.
The Rite of One Day had been completely negated. Today was an unprecedented day in Heaven.
‘The repercussions might be even greater than when Miro came.’
The woman named Miro had been vastly stronger than the blond-haired boy. But for that very reason, she hadn't acted recklessly. She was someone who knew better than anyone the impact her actions would have on Heaven.
‘What will happen now? An age of great upheaval is coming. Starting today, Heaven will change.’
Peope suddenly stood in front of I-girin, taking a fighting stance. Shirone’s party was approaching.
I-girin would be immobile for the next twenty-four hours. On top of that, her knees were shattered. No matter what happened, she couldn't afford to be afraid this time.
“S-Stay back! The fight is over! If you still want to fight, I’ll take you on myself!”
I-girin stopped Peope.
“It’s alright, Peope. I would like to speak with this boy as well.”
Embarrassed, Peope hesitantly stepped aside and stood next to I-girin.
Shirone crouched down, doing his best to meet their eye level.
Having only seen the flying fairies, seeing them on the ground made him finally realize their size.
They were truly no bigger than a handful.
I-girin lifted her chin, as if to show she had nothing to be ashamed of, and spoke.
“Hmph! Child from the world of the ground, just because I lost does not mean God’s law has been negated. I am but a high-ranking member of the 72 Ranks of Fairies. Do not let today’s victory deify you.”
“I don’t care about that. I just wanted to save the life of someone who helped me. Is that so wrong?”
I-girin didn't think it was wrong. But considering the future impact on Heaven, it was a question she couldn't answer with certainty.
Is one life less valuable than ten lives? Probably not. But what about a hundred million? What judgment would one make for a billion lives?
Miro had known this. That was why she had withdrawn from Heaven. In the brutal reality where one must be sacrificed for the many, she had found the only answer.
But this boy was different. He didn't consider efficiency when doing the right thing. It was surely the philosophy that a value could not be placed on human life.
Extreme good.
I-girin was now feeling what Arcane had felt before.
“Leave this place.”
It was the only thing I-girin could say.
“You have brought chaos to Heaven. Even I cannot predict what will happen now. So leave. Disappear from our world as quickly as possible.”
“But we…”
Before Shirone could finish, a red light flashed from the east.
The group turned to look, startled.
A flash of light was soaring up from the Second Heaven, Rakia. Judging by the distance, it was a massive discharge of energy.
Everyone in the plaza covered their ears.
A vibration, as if the world were ending, shook the heavens.
Like a descending awl, the crimson flash struck the center of the plaza. As the flash dissipated, an angel with tattered wings of light appeared.
I-girin’s pupils trembled in shock.
“The fallen angel, Ikasa… Why is he here?”
The Second Heaven, Rakia, was a place of exile for fallen angels.
Beings from the Second Heaven were permitted entry into the First Heaven, but it was extremely rare for a fallen angel to come to the domain of the citizens. Their pride, as former residents of the Sixth Heaven, did not allow them to interact with humans.
I-girin realized that the seeds of chaos Shirone had sown were already beginning to change the laws of Heaven.
“I am the lower angel, Ikasa. I was observing the sacred Rite of One Day when I witnessed this disturbance and descended upon this land.”
Shirone couldn't stop his body from trembling.
He was over two meters tall, with sharp, slanted eyes. Since he was once an angel, his beauty remained, but his temperament was so different from what Shirone had expected.
If the angel he saw at Nor’s Rest had reminded him of the brilliant sun, this angel exuded the aura of a fading sunset.
“So you are the ones who have denied God. Abominable creatures. Foolish beings who profane God, ignorant of the love you receive.”
Ikasa glared at Shirone, his eyes filled with hatred.
Fallen angels were beings of the Second Heaven, and thus, their rank was lower than the humans of the Third Heaven, Shehaqim, who had attained eternal life.
He could tolerate giants or fairies, but to be less than human? Why did God cherish humans so?
The rage he had harbored for twenty thousand years was on the verge of exploding.
“In God’s stead, I shall judge you.”
Ikasa’s aura of holy light expanded into a luminous ring one meter in diameter. The massive ring of light became a rail, accelerating sparkling particles of light like stars.
I-girin’s face turned pale. Fallen angels had been stripped of most of their power due to their sins, but even so, it was not a power that could be handled at the level of Shamayim.
“Lord Ikasa! You mustn't! If a fallen angel opens their luminous ring…!”
“Hohoho! The heretics will die anyway! Consider it an honor that I will dispose of you myself!”
The energy radiating from Ikasa’s body made Shirone’s mind grow distant.
He felt an absolutely insurmountable difference in power. This wasn't right. A being like this couldn't possibly exist in the world.
Shirone turned with all his might. Time felt like it was flowing in slow motion, as if he were under a slow spell. The air he had expelled from his lungs had yet to reach his throat.
When he was finally ready to make a sound, only one thought occupied Shirone’s mind.
“Run!”
Arin already had the Metagate in hand, ready to activate the device.
But for her, too, one second was far too long.
Faster! Faster! All she had to do was press the button with her finger, but the two-centimeter distance wouldn't close.
A wind blew from behind Shirone. The Metagate in Arin’s hand vanished as if by magic.
The party froze, utterly dumbfounded.
Standing beside Arin, Ikasa held the Metagate before his eyes, examining it with his left hand on his hip.
It wasn't that he was invisible. He wasn't as fast as light, nor as swift as the wind.
But he was definitely fast.
A speed that existed somewhere between a living creature and a natural phenomenon. It proved that from the moment of their birth, they were different from humans.