Chapter 213
Chapter 213
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 213
Chapter Title: The Angel's Magic Formula (3)
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"I trust you. I won't let myself feel anxious."
Ikael smiled. It was a relief that Shirone was a quick-witted boy.
"Exactly. Now, let's begin."
Ikael closed her eyes and initiated the possession.
As her body of holy light delved into Shirone's mind, his eyes shot open.
A flash erupted from his pupils, and he felt the bizarre sensation of two minds merging into one.
-Shirone, how are you feeling?
-Uh, uh? What is this...?
Shirone, experiencing possession for the first time, was bewildered.
He couldn't distinguish whether the thoughts emerging in his mind were his own or Ikael's.
It felt like he was a madman, playing two roles by himself.
-Don't be confused. I am Shirone, and Shirone is me. Just let the thoughts come.
He understood the method, but even the thought that just surfaced felt like his own delusion, sending a chill down his spine.
Did I really have to think that? It felt like he could think of anything else if he wanted.
-Do not doubt! The moment you start doubting, everything that makes you Shirone will collapse. Possession is a delicate art. Just accept it.
Shirone decided to just believe. He concluded that even if the thoughts in his head were nothing more than his own delusions, they were the truth.
As his mind grew calm, his heartbeat stabilized.
There had been a small incident, but they had not yet even begun the angel's magic circle.
Ikael decided to move on to the first hurdle.
-Now, we will create the luminous form. Project your consciousness outward.
Shirone changed his Spirit Zone to the projection type.
An angel's halo is above the crown of the head, but Shirone projected his Spirit Zone directly in front of him.
It was the direction most familiar to humans.
-Like this?
-Yes. No, you did well. Whatever you do, your own decisions are what matter, Shirone. You must find the most efficient method yourself. Now, we will create the halo that will be the frame for the magic circle. You must draw a perfect circle with light.
Shirone waited without thinking. But no voice came to him.
-Um... you mean, I should do it now?
-Yes. Do it now.
Shirone, who had expected some advice, was flustered. But thinking there must be a reason for it, he expanded the light into the shape of a ring.
A halo one meter in diameter materialized in front of Shirone.
At first glance, it looked quite impressive.
It was a clean circle, and its brightness was just right. It seemed it would compare favorably even to an angel's halo.
-It's nowhere near enough. A distorted circle like this cannot compute such a vast amount of information.
As expected, Ikael's critique came. It seemed that on a scale imperceptible to the human eye, it was a complete mess.
He couldn't find a way. A perfect circle was merely a concept. How was he supposed to manifest something that didn't exist anywhere in the world?
-A perfect circle?
Shirone had a flash of insight. There was one thing—the only perfect circle that existed in this world.
-That's right, Shirone. The Immortal Function. That's why the Nephilim are called the descendants of angels.
Open the Immortal Function and expand your consciousness to its very limit. Only that was a perfect circle.
Because the whole is always perfect.
-But if I do that...
The being that is 'I' will disappear. Didn't I already experience that in Miro's time-space?
-You must activate the Immortal Function to one hundred percent. Then you have to grasp it again and manifest it as a form. I will control it, but it is certainly dangerous. Can you do it?
He had to return from the realm of infinity. This was the first trial required to learn the archangel's power.
-I'll try. I've done it once, so the second time should be easier, right?
In truth, he didn't think it would be easy at all. But if he didn't say something foolish, he felt like he would go mad from the tension.
Shirone opened the Immortal Function.
It was a release without brakes, without hesitation. His consciousness disintegrated, spreading out into infinity.
Shirone's consciousness became the Akashic Records. But because it was already perfect in itself, he could not obtain any information.
-Shirone! Shirone! Listen to my voice! You must not let yourself go! Engrave this sensation into your heart! Pull it in with your Adamantine Mind!
Shirone pulled his consciousness, dismantled to its smallest unit, into the confines of his Adamantine Mind.
A great ring of light swept up everything and surged into Shirone's mind.
A sound erupted, cold enough to feel like it was cutting glass. Then, before Shirone's eyes, a perfect halo with not a single flaw was born.
The speed of the light rotating on the halo's rail was, quite literally, the speed of light. Although it had been projected outward, the Spirit Zone was unequivocally a mage's consciousness. With such a thing spinning in his mind, his thoughts were on the verge of paralysis.
In short, Shirone had manifested the concept of the Immortal Function in the real world.
Ikael's voice grew sharp.
-Shirone! From now on, I will inscribe the archangel's unique omniscience onto your halo! You must not let go of your Adamantine Mind. You must endure to survive!
A red flash shot out from the front and collided with the center of the halo.
As red ripples spread, the simplest computational magic circle, one that distinguished the difference between 1 and 0, was born.
From there, the formula gradually began to grow more complex.
Flashes of various colors, their origins unknown, rained down upon the halo, colliding with it and inscribing magic circles.
Countless magic circles interlocked like gears and began to rotate.
The sight of the magic circles, spinning at different sizes, different speeds, and in different directions, was reminiscent of the inner workings of a clock.
Shirone's mind was on the verge of exploding.
The first gear turned a few other gears, and those gears in turn spun hundreds more.
The scale of the computation was growing larger and larger.
At some point, Shirone gave up on trying to calculate it.
He couldn't understand the meaning contained within the halo.
How could he possibly know what concept the 170,000 computational circuits and 4,800 magic circles were trying to reveal?
"Ughhh!"
A nosebleed trickled down. He gritted his teeth and endured, but a formula reaching 100 million lines was endlessly scrolling upward. Calculating this was a feat beyond human limits.
-Shirone! Don't try to understand! I am understanding it! You must accept it through the circuit of insight!
Shirone realized Ikael's intention.
There was no need to calculate. She intended to simplify the complex concept into a truth and stamp it directly onto Shirone's brain.
When the number of magic circles inscribed on the halo surpassed 40,000, Shirone was able to experience a divine realm.
It was none other than the computational speed of light.
The fact that it still took so long meant the concept contained within the halo transcended human capacity.
He still didn't know what it was, but it was certainly a vastness beyond imagination.
-I can't... Any more...
Cracks began to form in his Adamantine Mind.
It was only natural, as a human was forcibly accepting the omniscience held by a higher-dimensional being.
This was the third hurdle Ikael had mentioned.
-We're almost there, Shirone! If you can just hold on a little longer...!
The aftereffects on Shirone began to reach Ikael.
As the computation progress surpassed 90 percent, the magic circle automatically proceeded toward completion.
Shirone's mind was in a state of oversaturation. It felt as if a bomb someone had planted in his head had just detonated.
He could feel numerous cracks forming in his Adamantine Mind. His mind was breaking. In other words, he was going mad.
In reality, Shirone's mind was hurtling toward severe ruin.
Ikael watched with pity. Even if the magic circle was completed, he wouldn't be able to endure it in the end. Once the information reached 100 percent, his Adamantine Mind would explode.
At that moment, a special change occurred in Shirone's mind.
The Adamantine Mind was cracking and shattering into countless pieces. If this was the current state of Shirone's mind... Even Ikael felt a shiver at the thought.
But the result was different from what she expected.
Even as the durability of the Adamantine Mind converged to zero, the shape of his consciousness did not change in the slightest.
If one were to compare the Adamantine Mind to an iron sphere filled with water, Shirone's current state was the process of that water freezing.
When water begins to freeze, the iron sphere will break.
But what if it were a rubber ball? The ball would simply expand to accommodate the increased volume of the ice.
That was why Shirone had pulverized his durability down to the level of fine particles, adding flexibility.
Softness overcomes strength.
Shirone's iron sphere had shattered to pieces, but the shape of the ice contained within remained exactly the same.
Ikael's heart warmed. Was this the true potential of a human? Even though his mind had been ground to dust, even through what must have been tremendous mental anguish, Shirone had maintained his consciousness until the very end.
That will evolved Shirone's mind to the next level. It was the evolved form of the Adamantine Mind—the state of the Adamantine Form.
He had broken the frame. Only the contents remained.
With nothing left to be destroyed, Shirone could remain unshaken in any situation.
If the Adamantine Mind was the pinnacle of durability, the Adamantine Form, which had lost its frame, was the pinnacle of flexibility that humans seek.
The density of the information inscribed on the halo surpassed 95 percent. It was a truly staggering amount of data.
However, his mind expanded to match the increased volume. Then it tightened once more, trapping the angel's information.
-Congratulations, Shirone.
Ikael offered her unstinting praise. Could a human truly swing between such extremes?
Shirone had now acquired both strength and flexibility. It was, without a doubt, a quantum leap.
Buried in the angel's information, Shirone couldn't think at all. He only tried to endure, realizing that it had become easier than before.
When the angel's magic circle was complete, his consciousness finally returned.
His eyes fell upon the halo, where dozens of magic circles were rotating at different speeds. Inside, hundreds of times more were likely operating.
It was a truly beautiful magic circle.
The halo Ikael had cast had been wholly integrated into Shirone's experience. He couldn't understand the principles, but he could now produce the completed concept as if stamping it.
-I did it, Ikael...
With those words, Shirone closed his eyes. As his consciousness faded, the world sank into darkness.
@
Shirone grimaced at the intense light. When he opened his eyes, Ikael was looking down at him with a worried expression.
"Are you all right, Shirone? How are you feeling?"
Shirone sat up. He felt a little embarrassed for some reason.
He had already lost consciousness twice since meeting Ikael. He thought that associating with a higher-dimensional being was quite an ordeal.
Shirone clutched his throbbing head and asked.
"How long was I out this time?"
"A little long. About twenty minutes."
"What? Why...?"
Ikael surely could have woken him up sooner.
As Shirone looked back in disbelief, Ikael spoke with an apologetic expression.
"You were in a state of shock, Shirone. Forcing you awake wouldn't have let you fight in peak condition. Especially since using the angel's magic circle will require you to pour in all of your mental energy."
Ikael was right. But the fact that they had lost time was still a concern.
"You don't need to worry. This experience has strengthened your mind, Shirone. Besides, you've recovered fully, so you'll be able to reach the destination faster than before."
Shirone examined the changes in himself. A far more powerful effect than when he had reached the state of the Adamantine Mind was occurring in his body.
As his consciousness was drawn several times deeper than before, Shirone regained his confidence.
'If I go at maximum speed, I can make up for the lost time. I wonder what happened to Rian and Canis?'
By his estimation, they had either already arrived or were about to. If so, there was still a chance to catch up.