Chapter 296
Chapter 296
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 296
Chapter Title: The Great Secret (5)
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“We're here to save you! Where are you right now?”
“Shwoooooo!”
Nade bent his four arms taut and roared at the sky.
At that, all the Egoists froze.
Amy watched the situation, panting. Her heart pounded at the thought that her voice might have reached Shirone.
But what followed was disastrous. The Egoists stretched out as if being sucked into something, then shot up, defying the rain.
They drew a parabola high in the sky and began to be absorbed into Nade's Egoist.
The form of the Egoist that had absorbed its comrades began to change drastically. Its body grew to over three meters, and insect-like legs sprouted from its shoulders, sides, and waist.
Its tail swelled like the abdomen of a bee, and its face elongated grotesquely, looking like a bent sausage. Its facial area split open as if cleaved by a knife, revealing serrated teeth, and a long tongue slithered out from its throat, waving like a ribbon.
“Kieeeeeeegh!”
Amy’s face turned deathly pale. She couldn't possibly believe that thing was Shirone. The form created by all the nearby Egoists gathering together was horrendous.
As the monstrous creature took a step, the ground rumbled with a thud. *We can’t win against that.* Even as that certainty took hold, she fought to clear her hazy mind and prepared to fight.
She couldn't back down at just the 11th stage. Shirone couldn't be saved. She was prepared to fight, even if it meant dying right here.
“Alright, let’s go!”
“Good job! Now, run!”
As Armin spoke, passing by her side, Amy stared at his retreating back with a dumbfounded expression. But she soon canceled her spell and broke into a run. Reina immediately followed.
The three of them ran with all their might. From a distance, the Egoist’s monstrous shriek echoed, piercing through the sound of the rain.
Armin took refuge in a dark alley, leaning against a wall and slumping to the ground. Amy and Reina sat across from him, tilting their heads back and gasping for breath. Raindrops pattered against their faces like a shower.
Before she could even catch her breath, Amy asked.
“What in the world was that? This is Shirone’s consciousness, so how can a monster like that appear?”
“It's the selfish defense mechanism inherent in humans. It's mixed in with the projectiles. The stronger the projectile, the more powerful the Egoist.”
Amy recalled that Nade had been the strongest.
“But is it okay to just run away like this?”
“When the ego is attacked, the Egoist reveals itself using nearby projectiles. But when it becomes a horror like this, it loses its fundamental Egoist properties and can no longer track our location. It’s incredibly strong, and there’s no benefit to eliminating it, so it's better to run.”
Reina rested her elbows on her knees and buried her face in her hands. Steam was rising from her body from how much she’d run.
“Hoo, is it because we failed to inject the keyword?”
“It's not that we failed; Shirone rejected it. His guard is quite high. Of course, given the situation in reality, it’s understandable.”
Amy asked.
“Are we going to have to keep fighting things like that?”
“For now, it’s the only way. We have to keep injecting the keyword until Shirone accepts it. There’s no way to get down to the 1st stage without Shirone’s guidance.”
“But they’re still part of Shirone’s consciousness, aren’t they? Can’t we persuade them?”
Arius shook his head coolly.
“The Egoist is a self-defense mechanism that every human possesses. It perceives everything except Shirone as an enemy. The moment the keyword ‘death’ was inputted, even we, who had earned the trust of 7-Gold and 10-Gold, became no exception. It’s nothing to be upset about. The world is perceived as ‘me’ and ‘others,’ but for an Egoist, it’s only ‘me, me, me.’ The very concept of ‘others’ doesn't exist for them.”
Having felt the blind aggression of the Egoists firsthand, Amy shuddered.
“How are we supposed to fight from now on? It’s so strong.”
“No, this is still weak. The closer we get to the deep layers, the stronger the Egoists become. That’s why we must find Shirone’s avatar in the surface layers. If we go down to the 1st stage, the realm of instinct, the Egoists will seize control of most of his consciousness to protect Shirone. In other words, they'll wield power equal to that of Shirone, the master of this world. That's why divers never venture into the deep sea. Even Arius would have thought twice if Shirone's subconscious hadn't been weakened.”
Amy’s eyes lit up.
“Then aren't Arius and Zion in the same situation? You said the Egoists get stronger the lower you go, so they might die before they even arrive.”
Armin shook his head.
“No. He will likely bypass Shirone altogether. A grave robber is an expert on the human psyche. To us, it looks like an ordinary world, but the objects here hold their own meanings. Arius will interpret those meanings to find a direct path downward. Of course, the chances of getting caught increase below the REM zone, but by then, Shirone’s subconscious will have significantly collapsed. Arius jumped in, aiming for that.”
Reina said.
“In that case, why don’t we use Arius’s method? Amy knows Shirone well, so maybe she can interpret the objects here.”
“Hmm, the form of consciousness differs from person to person. Some are structured like staircases, others like plazas. There are corridor types and even topological spaces. But usually, the gate leading to the lower levels is configured as an underground area. That's what feels most natural to the consciousness.”
Amy said.
“Then can’t we just look for a basement here?”
Arius let out a short laugh.
It seemed these women still hadn’t realized just how terrifying the human consciousness was. Then again, this was only the 11th stage.
“I was speaking of general theory. The human mind is incredibly complex and delicate. Unless you’re an expert, you’d have to search every single basement in this world, and even if you found one, there’s no guarantee it would be the entrance to the 10th stage. We can’t get there faster than them anyway. But if we meet Shirone here, the situation could be reversed. We have to keep injecting the keyword.”
Reina said with a weary expression.
“But the Egoists will find us every time, won’t they?”
“This is the only way. That’s why I told you not to come. It’s absurd for me to say this after accepting your help, but.”
Amy had no regrets about that. It was just unsettling that Shirone was attacking her.
“Hah. This feels strange. To think I have to fight Shirone’s mind.”
Armin shot her a cold glare.
“Amy, get a grip.”
“Huh?”
“This is no time to be sentimental. As you’ve just seen, another person's mind is an extremely dangerous place. It’s a place where even the best divers, on par with Arius, have lost their lives time and again.”
“I know. That’s why I’m on edge.”
“Are you really?”
Amy looked at Armin, puzzled. She really was on edge. No, she was even prepared to risk her life.
“You mustn't misunderstand. It’s not Shirone who is tormenting us. We're the ones who have entered Shirone's domain and are causing a ruckus. This is an extremely private space that Shirone would never want to show anyone. And you, Miss Amy, have entered it. To then get angry or disappointed by this world's reaction is a cowardly and base act.”
“That’s…”
Amy was at a loss for words.
Just as Armin said, she had never once considered it from Shirone’s perspective. If someone were to enter her mind and scrutinize everything… the thought alone was horrifying.
“We are not going to meet Shirone. We are going to meet Shirone’s avatar. The avatar is completely different from the Shirone you know on the outside. You couldn't make a withdrawal, Miss Amy. It might be upsetting, but perhaps to the avatar, it was only natural. If you were to see Shirone’s avatar, whatever it does, you would surely feel that it isn’t Shirone.”
Reina added.
“Even though that is, in fact, the most accurate version of Shirone.”
“Yes. What humans can know of others is only what’s revealed outside the body. But the avatar is different. That's because it's a mixture of all the emotions that make up a person. More accurately, it incorporates even the shameful and embarrassing parts one could never reveal to anyone. That is what we are going to see.”
Amy thought for a moment, then took a deep breath and slapped her cheeks repeatedly with both palms. Her face stung, but it helped her come to her senses. Just as Armin said, she wasn’t just lacking tension; she wasn’t even prepared.
“I understand. I won’t judge him at all.”
Only after seeing the steely glint in Amy’s eyes did Armin reveal a satisfied smile. Without that level of resolve, there was no way to survive in another’s mind.
What if the inner thoughts of a man who confessed his love were, in fact, nothing more than animalistic desire? What if the true feelings of someone you thought was your best friend were actually riddled with jealousy and envy?
How many people in the world could learn such truths and not feel betrayed?
Arius emphasized once more.
“Ataraxia will be in the deep layers, at least stage 3 or below. And that is a place where things one would never want to show others are gathered.”
“Yes. I won’t pay any mind to anything. I have inner thoughts I want to hide, too. I’m sorry for acting so childishly. I think my emotions were swayed because I couldn’t make the withdrawal.”
Reina said.
“It’s okay. I didn’t think that far ahead either. And if I couldn’t make a withdrawal, I would have been upset too.”
Amy smiled bitterly.
“Shirone must have things he’s upset with me about, too. I was thinking about it all wrong. Even with the mental strength of a Vajra Body, he’s still a human with the same emotions as anyone else.”
Armin, who had been watching the street outside the alley, slowly turned his head to look at Amy.
“What… did you just say?”
“Huh? Oh, that Shirone is a human with the same emotions…”
“No, not that. Did you say Vajra Body?”
Amy blinked, bewildered, but seeing that Armin’s expression was more serious than expected, she quickly replied.
“Yes. There's a famous monk at school named Teacher Etella, and she's the one who said it. She said that to wield Ataraxia, one must have reached the state of a Vajra Body.”
“That’s it, you idiot…!”
Armin slapped his own forehead with his palm.
Why didn't I think of that?
No matter how deeply it's engraved into one's instincts, Ataraxia is too vast a concept for a human to contain.
Normally, the sheer volume would shatter one's mind.
But Shirone was wielding it. So that teacher, Etella, was right on the mark.
“My apologies, Miss Amy. I’ve been acting like a know-it-all until now. I'm the real idiot. I feel like bashing my own head in a few times.”
“Huh? What did I…”
Armin gripped Amy’s shoulders and squeezed, infusing strength into his touch.
“You saved us. Follow me. We’re going to Shirone.”
Reina readied her bow and stood up.
“So we’re going to fight the Egoists?”
“No. We’re going to bypass them, too. Just like Arius.”
Armin was certain of success.
With this method, they could catch up to Arius. More importantly, it was a method that Zion's party couldn't use, even if they knew about it, because they had to avoid Shirone.
Armin led the two women out onto the street. The terrorized Egoist seemed to have moved far away, as it was nowhere to be seen nearby.
Wading through the ankle-deep rainwater, they arrived at the outskirts of a main road. A carriage was stopped, its driver sitting in the coachman's seat, getting soaked by the rain.
He wore a magician's hat with a narrow brim, but for some reason, his face was cast entirely in shadow, making his features impossible to discern. He looked like a man with no face.
As Armin approached, the driver spoke without even glancing at him.
“Not running today.”
Armin took out all his remaining gold coins and showed them to him.
“We have an urgent destination. Please, consider our circumstances.”
The amount surpassed Armin's credibility, so the driver couldn't refuse so firmly. As expected, his voice softened slightly. But he still sounded reluctant.
“It's difficult to operate on a day like this. The rain is too heavy. Where on earth are you trying to go in this weather?”
Armin glanced back once at the two women waiting behind him, then made his request to the driver.
“Let's go to a place where it doesn't rain.”
The driver's head snapped toward Armin as if he'd been electrocuted. The movement was so bizarre that the two women watching swallowed hard. Slowly turning to face forward again, the driver gripped the reins and said.
“Get in, customers.”
(End of Volume 12)
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