Chapter 204
Chapter 204
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 204
Chapter Title: Age of Upheaval (4)
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Rian took Signa and Exde and examined them. Relying on another's weapons was a blow to a swordsman's pride, but with his friends captured, Rian wasn't in a position to care about such things.
“Thanks. But I might not be gentle with them.”
“It's fine. No, I don't care if they break. Please, just save my sisters.”
Peope was lost in thought.
Just a moment ago, these were the citizens who worried about their lifespan decreasing day by day.
But what about now? Each of them was shouldering a risk to crush the misfortune of others.
Why does the Law control humans?
Their population is maintained, their lifespans controlled, and they cannot even leave Heaven. What kind of danger could an increase in the human population possibly pose to Ra?
“Are you really going?”
Peope couldn't understand why she was asking such a thing.
Everything had changed since she met Shirone. He was chaos. A boulder thrown onto the placid surface of Heaven.
“You know I have to go. Thanks for earlier. For avoiding a fight. To be honest, I didn't want to fight you either. That, and how you lightened Kanya and Lena's sentences... I feel like we have something in common.”
Peope tried to ignore Shirone's words. She didn't want to hear that they had something in common.
How could a fairy and a human possibly have anything in common?
“Take good care of the citizens from now on. If I make it back safely, maybe we can become better friends then.”
Shirone turned his body toward the uncertain future.
Peope's small heart thumped. Shirone's figure, walking away with the Norin, looked blurry, as if veiled in mist.
“Then... will you save me too?”
Shirone looked back at Peope. Hesitantly, she gathered her courage and asked again.
“If I get captured, will you come for me? I mean... if we're friends.”
Shirone replied with a gentle smile.
“Of course.”
Peope lowered her head. *Of course?* In that case, Shirone would die.
He was walking toward his death.
“Even if you go to Sector 1, you won't be able to get past the gates of Jebul. I have a way to save the girls. So I'll go with you.”
Shirone's eyes widened.
She had clearly said there was a way to save them. Right now, he couldn't even imagine what it could be.
“Really? You can really save them?”
“I can't guarantee it. But if you guys go alone, you'll definitely die. That's why I'm offering to go with you.”
Shirone looked at Peope with a deeply moved expression. Blushing, Peope turned her head away angrily.
“Hmph! Don't get the wrong idea. I just feel a sense of responsibility to see this incident through to the end.”
Igirin calmly accepted the unfolding situation.
The citizens helping Shirone, Peope being drawn to a human—both went against the Law.
‘Is this how it's meant to be? No, what if this too is an undeniable part of the Law...?’
Having made a decision, Igirin spoke.
“Peope, come to me.”
Peope's shoulders flinched. She now realized she had made the decision without her superior's permission.
Contrary to her expectation, Igirin wasn't angry. Instead, she closed her eyes and transferred her memories to Peope.
New information began to settle into Peope's mind.
“This is...?”
“Peope, take my memories with you. They will be helpful for moving around in Jebul.”
Memory transference between fairies was common, but it held a special meaning when a high-ranking fairy transferred them to a lower-ranking one. It was like a letter of appointment, asking her to carry out the mission in her stead.
A prominent figure among the 72 ranks of fairies. Realizing the sincerity of her venerable senior, Peope thought of her own past self, filled with complaints and dissatisfaction, and bowed her head.
“I'm sorry, Chief. For disappointing you again.”
“I have never once been disappointed in you. You are a fairy born in Heaven's age of upheaval. Everything that happens from now on will be different from the Law you know. Therefore, you must see and judge everything with your own eyes.”
Peope's eyes welled up with emotion. For the first time in her life, she saw Igirin smile.
“You have a tendency to be reckless, but that is how you learn for yourself. Remember that a spiral observes all directions as it moves straight forward. I believe in you, Peope.”
Peope wiped her tears and nodded bravely.
The fact that she had been acknowledged by Igirin boosted her courage a hundredfold.
Shirone's group left the square with Peope.
The portal controller led them to a Norin building not far from the central square.
The interior was a complex maze, with magic circles drawn in every room, each housing a different spirit.
Opening a steel door in a corner, they entered a dark room where a spirit of light floated alone in the center.
The controller approached and gently grasped the spirit. Its movement ceased, and his arm began to glow white.
“Using the spirit's power, we can go straight to Sector 1. But it takes time to gather the essence. It'll take about five minutes.”
Having experienced it in Purgatory, he didn't have any particular questions.
While waiting, Shirone observed Peope, who was floating at eye level. She had her small bottom pointed toward him, fluttering her transparent wings.
Shirone raised his index finger and poked her cute little bottom.
Peope yelped in surprise and covered her bottom with both hands.
“Hey! What do you think you're doing?”
She might be a one-year-old fairy smaller than his palm, but she was still a girl, it seemed. Of course, he hadn't meant to tease her. It was just that besides the part where her wings moved, that was the only spot left.
“Thanks for helping. Let's get along from now on. You've given me hope.”
Peope pouted. But, as if sensing Shirone's sincerity, she turned back toward the spirit of light.
The five minutes of waiting passed slowly. This phenomenon, too, was a matter of temporal relativity.
Canis asked Peope.
“That guy, Taboo. Is he really dead? No, to be precise, are Mara killable beings? Before he died, that bastard said something about coming back if humans become corrupt.”
Shirone suddenly grew curious as well. No, it was a crucial question. If the Mara were indestructible beings, their entire approach to combat would have to change.
“Hmm, how should I explain this? It's annihilation, but not an eternal death.”
“Explain it simply.”
“The Mara are beings made of concepts, so even if they die, they will eventually be revived. In Heaven, we call it a reset.”
“How long does it take to reset?”
“There's no set time, but they won't revive right away.”
“So if you kill them, they die.”
“That's true. But if you approach it from another angle...”
“That's enough. For now, that's all I need to know.”
Canis thought of nothing but combat. To get Arin back, he had to become stronger than he was now.
He began a simulation to increase his mental power second by second, a concept called the sequence method at the magic academy.
“Fine, fine, think whatever you want.”
Peope waved her hand as if to say, ‘suit yourself.’
Shirone thought it was more important to get more information than to focus on the sequence method.
Above all, there was still something he hadn't heard.
“You said you have a way to save our friends, right? What is it? You can tell me now, can't you?”
Peope rested her chin on her hand and fell into thought.
To be honest, it was a plan with no guarantee of success. But it was far more realistic than blindly charging into the angels' residence.
“It's not so much a method, but... there's someone who deeply loves humans. I thought perhaps she might be able to help you.”
The controller announced that the preparations to cast the ancient magic were complete.
Stepping into the cluster of light, Shirone couldn't contain his curiosity and asked again.
“Really? Who is this person?”
Peope spoke with a reverent heart.
“The leader of the angels, Archangel Ikael.”
A pillar of light ascended.
***
### 3. The Eternal and Immortal Ra (1)
After parting with the keeper at the exit of Shamain and walking for about thirty minutes, they arrived at a wall from which they could see the tall tower of the Seventh Heaven, Araboth.
Peope had said the girls would be in the Sixth Heaven, Jebul. This was because virgin conception was achieved through the Elixir of Life, and the one who managed it was Archangel Kariel.
Shirone said.
“How do we get into Jebul? There's no way to get through the gate.”
“Right. That's why we're going to enter Araboth.”
“We can't even get into Jebul, so how are we supposed to enter the place where God lives?”
“That's why we're getting help from Lady Ikael. Since she once served as the Chief of Angels, she might let us in if we plead with her.”
“That's even weirder. No matter how great an archangel she is, she's a being of the Sixth Heaven. How can she open the gate to the Seventh Heaven?”
“That's because Lady Ikael is currently staying in the Seventh Heaven.”
Shirone tilted his head. An archangel staying in Araboth instead of her own domain, Jebul, was unexpected.
“Are there circumstances we don't know about?”
“Yes. Lady Ikael committed some sin and was stripped of her title as Chief of Angels. But because Ra loved her so dearly, instead of letting her fall, she was exiled to Araboth.”
It was quite a shocking story. Based on his experiences so far, he had imagined God to be a stern judge who prioritized the Law above all else.
It was strange that such a God would make an exception, but the fact that she was exiled to Araboth, not the Second Heaven, was also peculiar.
“What kind of angel is she? What sin did she commit?”
“I don't know that either.”
“What? How can you not know? If she rose to the rank of Chief of Angels, it must have been a huge issue.”
“It probably was. But we've all forgotten it. We only know the fact that Lady Ikael committed a great sin and is now exiled in Araboth.”
Shirone felt a chill at Peope's words. To have forgotten meant that they once knew, but their memories had been erased.
Even if you erase someone's memory, someone else will pass on the information. Considering the speed at which information spreads, it was something that could only happen if everyone's memories were erased simultaneously.
Rian said.
“First lifespans, and now memories? That's literally omnipotence. How old is this God being? Like, a hundred million years old?”
“Age is meaningless to God. God is the beginning of everything. We don't know the beginning. And since we don't know the beginning, we can't know God's age.”
Canis said.
“Doesn't matter. We're not here to fight God. We just need to save the girls and get right back.”
Shirone noted that Canis had said "the girls," not just "Arin." They usually bickered, but it seemed he had unknowingly grown fond of them.
Arriving at Araboth, the group looked up at the wall. Though it was an inner wall of Heaven, it was higher than the outer walls. Moreover, there was no visible device to summon Ikael.
Canis said.
“Don't tell me we have to wait until that woman decides to take her dog for a walk or something?”
“Hmph! Your arrogance won't last long! Without Lady Ikael's help, you can't even enter Jebul.”
Although she was helping Shirone, Peope was an internal affairs officer of Heaven. She couldn't tolerate disparaging remarks about an archangel so respected by the citizens that Ra would erase the memory of her sin.
Shirone said.
“I'll apologize for him. He's just on edge. Anyway, what do we do now?”
Peope knew their situation was urgent, so she didn't press the issue.
“Alright! Then I'll try to start a conversation with Lady Ikael now.”
Shirone's eyes lit up as he asked.
“Oh? You can do that?”
“No, I can't.”
“...Are you kidding me?”
“What can I do, that's the truth. But it's not entirely impossible. Lady Ikael might be watching us.”