Chapter 203
Chapter 203
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 203
Chapter Title: The Age of Upheaval (3)
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“Grrrgh! This can't be! To think I'd be defeated by something like this...!”
Taboo curled his body with all his might.
As an immense physical force pulled at the chains, Shirone immediately felt the resistance in his mind.
It was a terrifying display of strength.
Shirone channeled the durability of his Adamantine Body, further increasing the Shining Chain's tensile strength.
Unable to hold out, Taboo's body was forced open as a furious scream erupted from him.
“Kuaaaaaah!”
The price of resistance was steep. The chains of light shattered Taboo's hard surface and dug into him.
His limbs were bent at grotesque angles, and his back was arched at an impossible degree, as if it were about to snap.
“Kekeke, kekekeke.”
Taboo was dumbfounded.
Never in his life had he been reduced to such a pathetic state. And by a mere human, no less.
“Alright, so you've caught me. Now what are you going to do? You can't hold on forever, can you?”
Considering Taboo's durability, the only way to eliminate him was with a laser. The problem was that he couldn't cast another spell while maintaining the Shining Chain.
Iruki, with his unique thought process, could use the Double Spirit Zone, but it was extremely difficult for a normal person to think of two things at once.
Of course, some rules had exceptions, but most magic inevitably came with a delay.
A prime example was the inability to cast other spells while teleporting.
Shining Chain, in particular, was a sustained spell that consumed mental energy in real-time, much like Fire Wall, making it impossible to attack Taboo with another spell.
“Where did you take my friends?”
“To the Angel's Sanctuary. To bear the Nephilim. Kekeke, too bad. They won't be your children.”
Shirone's eyes became bloodshot.
The word Nephilim didn't even register. He didn't know the details, but he knew something terrible was happening.
Taboo stuck out his tongue, waggling it from the root.
“Kekeke! Give up! You lot, who struggled against a mere Ilgak Mara, will never save them. By now, the women are in a pathetic state... Urk!”
As the chains of light tightened with immense force, Taboo's neck bent as if it would break.
The sound of Shirone grinding his molars could be heard.
“Watch your mouth. Or I won't let you off easy.”
“Khahaha! How thrilling! But why not hear a little more? This is a fantastically interesting story! The real forbidden fruit, I tell you!”
Shirone pushed the tensile strength to its absolute limit.
He didn't know what that limit was, but right now, all he wanted was to stop Taboo from running his mouth.
“Kuaaaaaah!”
A scream tore out.
An irresistible force began to crush his body.
Taboo knew instinctively.
This was his end.
“Don't get cocky. I will return. On the day humanity's corruption reaches its peak, I will find you! I will... Kuaaack!”
Crrrrunch!
A sickening sound echoed from Taboo's entire body.
It wasn't like the snapping of human bones, but the sound of hard rock being crushed.
When the Shining Chain vanished, only Taboo's corpse remained. His entire body was grotesquely twisted, as if a clay doll had been crumpled in a fist.
The power of the Shining Chain sent a chill down Canis's spine.
If it could crush Taboo, it could easily obliterate most living creatures. They would be like rabbits caught in a trap, their lives completely at its mercy.
The moment he eliminated Taboo, Shirone collapsed to the ground. He clenched handfuls of dirt, his shoulders trembling.
He felt no thrill from succeeding with the spell, no sense of accomplishment from defeating Taboo. Amy, Tess, and Arin had been kidnapped. And they were being forced to bear Nephilim.
An impulse that felt like madness pounded in his chest. He had never loathed himself this much before.
Peope flew over to Shirone.
As a magic user herself, she could guess how much immense mental energy the Shining Chain had just required.
“Are... are you okay?”
Peope mustered the courage to ask, but Shirone didn't even react. Listening closely, she could hear him muttering, “It's my fault.”
For some reason, Peope burst with frustration, pointing a finger at him as she started to nag.
“You idiot! Why did you have to make things so much worse? Even if they're fallen angels, they're a higher law than Shamayim! What are the people in this district going to do now? It's all because of you...”
“Aaaaaaaah!”
Peope's shoulders flinched.
Shirone lifted his head, his face a mess.
Rage, anguish, and sorrow mingled together, making him look like someone falling from a cliff.
“Because of me... Because of me, Amy... Tess... Arin... It's all my fault.”
Peope couldn't bring herself to nag him anymore.
The light in Shirone's eyes was not that of the living. There was no trace of the boy who had defied the Tale of Ilwha and shouted back at Igyrrin.
“The women will be safe. For now, at least.”
Shirone looked back at Igyrrin. Immobilized as the price for her claim, she was lost in thought with a grave expression.
“Safe? How can they be safe?”
“Ikasa took the women because they are virgins. They implant angelic information into the body of a woman who has not borne a child to conceive a Nephilim.”
Canis said.
“Then that's even more dangerous, isn't it? I don't know about you, but for humans, there's such a thing as chastity.”
“What you're imagining won't happen. Angels consider relations with humans to be shameful.”
Rian said.
“To put it another way, that means it's possible, right? There's no guarantee it won't happen in a worst-case scenario.”
“Possibility and probability are different. Angels are a species with both genders. Thus, while they can have relations with humans, they would never do anything to tarnish their honor, no matter the situation.”
Shirone found a sliver of hope in Igyrrin's words.
If angels were rulers who abided by principles and beliefs, then there was still a chance to rescue them. Moreover, depending on the situation, Amy and the others might be able to create an opening themselves.
Rian placed a hand on Shirone's shoulder.
“Shirone, how are you? Calmed down a bit? I've never seen you so angry.”
“I'm sorry, I got too worked up. I should have been thinking about how to rescue our friends first.”
“It's okay. I wasn't in my right mind either.”
Anyone would have been. Just as Amy was precious to Shirone, Tess was a friend Rian relied on. And Canis, too, had someone he had to protect.
‘Arin...’
Canis's heart burned hotter than ever before.
This was the Arin he had protected even through their brutal life in Radum. Yet she had been taken away so easily.
Why hadn't he been able to charge straight at Ikasa?
Because he had grown weak. Hope, a happy future... such things had softened his heart.
‘Arin, just wait a little longer.’
Canis decided to revert to the stray dog he had been in Radum. If he got another chance, he would focus on annihilating his enemies without a second thought for his own life.
Shirone asked.
“Tell me. How do I get to the Angel's Sanctuary?”
Peope asked back, dumbfounded.
“What are you going to do when you find out? Are you really thinking of going to save them?”
“Of course I have to go. Do you know the way?”
Of course she knew the way. She even had a rough idea of where Amy and the others had been taken. But that was precisely why she knew Shirone couldn't go. The Angel's Sanctuary was a place even Igyrrin couldn't enter without permission.
“They'll never let you in! Don't you get it? Whether you're a heretic or a Nephilim, if you go there, you'll die!”
“We won't know until we try.”
Peope beat her chest in frustration. Shirone had defeated a powerful foe in Taboo, but angels were on another level.
With skills that couldn't even touch the fallen angel Ikasa, charging in would be nothing but suicide.
“Snap out of it, you idiot! The place you're trying to go is the 6th Heaven, Zebul! It's where real angels reside!”
Angels are strong. Not just stronger than anyone else—they were beings who stood at the apex of all life from the moment of their birth.
But Shirone had to go where they lived. Amy, his friends, were waiting.
“Peope, if you were dragged away by someone, how scared would you be?”
“What are you talking about, all of a sudden?”
“What do you think you'd be thinking? Wouldn't you be desperately waiting for someone to come rescue you? Wouldn't you draw courage from the thought that your friends wouldn't abandon you?”
Shirone bit his lip.
“We might not be able to save them. But we can't extinguish our friends' hope. If we give up here, the ones who were captured will have nothing left.”
Peope couldn't accept it. No matter how you dressed it up with pretty words, death was still death.
The world is harmonious when everyone is faithful to their own death. Why do humans consider the impossible to be beautiful?
The Mecha man approached.
“The Angel's Sanctuary is in the 6th Heaven, Zebul. Geographically, it's right next to Shamayim. But it's five levels higher, so you can't enter directly. You'd have to follow procedure and go through the 2nd Heaven and so on, which would take several days.”
“We don't need procedures. How long would it take in a straight line?”
“A straight line, you say. Well, it's impossible to cross the barriers of Heaven anyway, but if you were to go directly from here to the 6th Heaven, it would take about a day.”
It was much farther than he had expected. Judging by Ikasa's flight speed, she would have already reached her destination.
In a situation where even entering Zebul was uncertain, a day's delay was tantamount to a death sentence for the women.
“There is one way.”
A man in his fifties walked over. Judging by his appearance and attire, he was one of the Norr.
“There's a way? What is it?”
“You go to the 1st District from here. It's the innermost district in Shamayim. It's close to the center of Heaven, so if you take the central road from there to Zebul, you should be able to save time.”
Heaven is divided into six pie-like sections with Araboth at the center. Therefore, the closer you get to Araboth, the shorter the arc length, which dramatically shortens the travel distance.
“How long does it take to get to the 1st District from here?”
“About twelve hours?”
Shirone's face fell again. It was shorter than a day, but still too far to do anything.
A smile played on the Norr man's lips.
“That's if you go the normal way. Within Shamayim, there are portals managed by the Norr. If you use a Light Spot, you can get to the 1st District in an instant.”
So there was such a method. Having traveled via a Light Spot in Purgatory, Shirone realized the man's suggestion was the only solution.
“Please take us there. Are there any other problems?”
“If I had to name one, it's that it's strictly controlled for the subjects. But that's something I can handle. I happen to be the controller who works there.”
Shirone was too shaken to even smile, his body trembling. For the first time, he felt a spark of hope.
Maybe... just maybe, he could save his friends.
Kanya approached, tears streaming down her face.
“I'm sorry, Shirone. This is all because of my family. But... thank you. Truly...”
Shirone wiped away Kanya's tears. His friends were in danger as a price for defying the Tale of Ilwha, but how could it be the subjects' fault?
The true powers that be always hide behind the system, out of sight. He knew where the arrow of his anger should be aimed.
“It's not your fault. I will definitely save them, so don't worry.”
“Wait!”
Rena came running from the fork in the square, clutching the Mecha equipment, Signa and Exceed.
“I brought these just in case. I thought they might help.”
Mecha items were protected by personal codes, but the sword and shield were considered common equipment, so anyone could use them.
Loaning them was forbidden by law, but with the Tale of Ilwha broken, no one cared.
The equipment would be necessary for Rian.
A mage had tricks to twist reality, allowing them to create variables even when fighting strong enemies, but a swordsman's strength was straightforward martial power. As such, equipment played a significant role.