Chapter 298
Chapter 298
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 298
Chapter Title: Ruler of Consciousness (2)
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The figure looked familiar, and Jion tilted his head in thought.
“That’s… Vincent, right?”
Walking across the carpet, Arius explained.
“He’s likely a projection, for the most part. The superego is heavily influenced by one’s father. Normally, he would be strong enough to overpower even the egoist.”
Ignite welcomed them with a magnificent smile.
“So, you have medicine that can cure me?”
Arius was so shocked he couldn’t answer for a moment. He felt an overwhelming pressure, as if facing a ferocious beast.
‘This is absurd. This is his superego in a weakened state?’
Normally, a person on the verge of death would have their superego paralyzed. But Ignite was still exuding a powerful, robust aura.
‘I can’t help but be impressed.’
Even Arius, who had explored the minds of countless people, had never encountered a superego this strong.
One with a critical mind as hard as steel never lets their guard down, no matter the situation. The rumors that Shirone had the makings of a top-tier mage were based on this very trait.
Jion snorted and said.
“Putting on a brave face even when you’re about to die? Just like that bastard.”
Jion’s superego must be truly weak, Arius thought.
“There is no medicine that can cure my illness. Because this world is already sick. Now, what business brings you to me? I’ll forgive your first lie, but from now on, you must speak only the truth.”
Knowing that a clumsy lie wouldn’t work on the ruler of reason, the superego, Arius confessed honestly.
“Shirone must be killed.”
The soldiers lined up on either side glared at Arius in unison. However, under Ignite’s control, they did not manifest as egoists.
“And why should I do that?”
Ignite lifted the giant axe resting against the back of his chair with one hand.
The moment he gripped the weapon, the air grew as heavy as steel bars, tightening its grip on their chests.
Terrified, Jion drew Armand. Activating his Diamond Armament, the sword split apart and enveloped him like armor. At the same time, Ignite’s men raised their weapons.
Arius let out a reproachful sigh. But he needed Jion’s help to achieve his goal, so he abandoned his initial strategy and joined the use of force.
“Just hold him off for a moment. This will be over quickly.”
“What are you going to do?”
Arius walked toward Ignite. The bluish light of Confuse, a mind-based magic, gathered in his palm.
“...I’ll have to begin the mind alteration.”
* * *
“Cough! Cough!”
Shirone’s party burst through the door leading to the 7th stage, coughing violently. The stench from the landfill was so deeply ingrained in their minds that they felt they could still smell it.
But the situation here wasn’t much better. Shirone’s group stood frozen at the doorway, their expressions blank.
The plaza floor was littered with corpses whose heads had burst. People were falling from the rooftops as if it were raining.
In one corner, citizens were brawling, beating each other as if to kill. Even if it wasn’t real, they had never witnessed such a gruesome scene.
Armin watched the situation with a grave expression.
If the projections’ actions had reached such an extreme, it meant Xenoger’s threads were tightening around their necks faster than expected.
Shirone, who had been watching his world crumble with sad eyes, suddenly adopted a fierce expression. He then mischievously pulled the hair of Amy, who was standing in front of him.
“Ouch!”
Amy turned around with a bewildered look.
“What’s wrong?”
“Don’t block my view. I can’t see.”
Amy pouted.
She couldn’t understand why Shirone, who was as kind as his real self to everyone else, was only like this with her. Her temper flared, and she wanted to smack him one, but she calmed herself, remembering the resolve she’d made before meeting his avatar.
“Fine, my bad.”
As Amy shrugged and turned away, Shirone grew even more confused.
She was a good person, and she was on his side. So why did he feel so bad?
“Why did you come to save me?”
Amy flinched at the question that came from behind her. But without turning back, she paused in thought before giving a short reply.
“Because we’re friends.”
That phrase dredged up a memory from reality for Shirone. It was a terrifying, nightmarish memory.
The world was upside down, and his body felt like it was on fire. He could see Amy on the opposite wall, bound like a cocoon. He couldn’t grasp the situation, but he felt an extreme sense of unease.
“But you… you couldn’t save me.”
Amy lowered her head with a sad expression.
Was that it? Was Shirone disgusted with her weakness, her failure to act?
“Shirone, that’s…”
Just as Amy turned to explain, an egoist shot up before her. She hastily stepped back, and Arius and Reina also created distance.
The projections with burst heads began to transform into egoists one by one, forming a wall around Shirone.
Reina turned to Armin and asked.
“What’s happening?”
“Get back!”
Amy grabbed Reina by the waist and threw herself toward the entrance to the 7th stage. Turning her head, Reina saw a rain of arrows filling the sky.
Armin used the Flicker spell to escape the radius.
Egoists swarmed around Shirone. After confirming this, Amy shut the door.
*Thud! Thud! Thud!*
Dozens of arrows slammed into the door, making her palm, still gripping the handle, sting.
As soon as the rain of arrows stopped, she opened the door and checked on Shirone first. A grotesque number of arrows were lodged in the egoists, which had clumped together into a sphere.
“Shirone! Are you okay?”
The egoists separated and receded like the tide, revealing Shirone standing in the same position as before. Even more egoists approached with menacing postures to protect him.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Amy turned her head to where Shirone was looking.
A legion of soldiers was advancing. The archer units split to the left and right as the heavy cavalry unit took the lead.
“What in the world is that army?”
“It must be the antithesis. The egoist rationalizes the self, while the antithesis criticizes it. The stronger the superego, the more moral it is, so Shirone’s antithesis must be quite powerful. Don’t let your guard down.”
Amy was startled when she saw the cavalry commander. He was a middle-aged man with a giant axe strapped to his back, and even from a distance, he had an extraordinary presence.
“Mr. Vincent?”
Except for being one-and-a-half times larger and having a scar on his face, he looked so similar that one could believe it was Vincent in disguise.
“I am Ignite, ruler of this city!”
Ignite’s roar thundered across the plaza. Even the on-edge citizens snapped to attention and turned to look at him.
Holding his great axe, heavier than his own body, horizontally, Ignite pointed at Shirone and shouted.
“Shirone! Your selfishness is causing everyone to suffer. What do you dream of, you commoner! That power is not something you earned through your own effort! It is only right that you relinquish it to another! Now, with your death, I will end all this suffering!”
Amy turned to Arius with a dumbfounded expression.
“That’s Shirone’s critical consciousness? That’s just the classic logic of a loser, isn’t it?”
“Indeed. It seems Arius has manipulated the superego. A human’s desire for death is as strong as their will to live. It looks like we’ve walked right into a serious trap.”
“Shirone! Answer me! Are you righteous? After causing so much pain, do you still wish to live?”
When humans are exposed to extreme fear or pain, the thought that it would be better to die begins to sprout. Arius had used the fact that Shirone’s world was sick to easily manipulate Ignite.
Shirone’s body trembled every time he heard Ignite’s voice.
To the ego, the message of the superego was a powerful resonance, like the bible to a religious person.
“He’s right! It’s all Shirone’s fault this world has become like this!”
“Killing Shirone is the only way to find peace!”
“Kill him! Let’s kill Shirone!”
The projections in the plaza sided with Ignite, raising the banner of rebellion.
They all became antitheses, and as their numbers grew, Shirone’s avatar became weaker.
“Get ready! They’re coming this way!”
Just as Armin shouted, the heavy infantry charged, shaking the ground. Archers drew their bowstrings from the left and right sides of the plaza, and the citizens also rushed forward like an angry mob.
“Things would be easier if you were gone!”
A citizen gripping a wooden plank took a full swing at Shirone.
Simultaneously, an egoist grabbed him and threw him to the ground. It transformed its entire body into teeth and began to chew, and the antithesis screamed as it was torn to shreds.
But Ignite’s men were not so easily dealt with. On the contrary, they swung their weapons with a strength that overwhelmed the egoists.
The egoists struck down by the antitheses disintegrated with a hissing sound, like air escaping a balloon.
“Kill Shirone! Everyone, charge Shirone!”
The dead projections turned into egoists and fought to protect Shirone. On the other hand, all the citizens became antitheses.
Desire and reason clashed in the center of the plaza.
In this razor-thin contest, the deciding factor was undoubtedly the presence of Ignite.
He was stronger than any egoist and far surpassed the might of the other antitheses. Every time he swung his great axe, the egoists burst apart, disintegrating like dust.
“Shirone! It is not yours! Let it go!”
Watching the battle, Armin was dumbfounded.
‘How can this be?’
Reason was defeating desire.
It meant his conviction was that strong, but considering the circumstances, it was absurdly strong. Even a soldier dying for their country would have a stronger desire to live when their life was on the line.
‘But desire is losing? While his neck is being severed in reality? Can this truly be the mind of an eighteen-year-old boy?’
Even Arius probably hadn’t expected the antithesis to win. After all, if Ignite captured Shirone, they wouldn’t be able to obtain Ataraxia either.
Shirone’s conviction transcended that of a normal human.
Like the prophets of history, Shirone was a man who could willingly die for his beliefs.
“This is bad. We have to join the fight.”
Armin cast Flicker and entered the battlefield.
In any case, saving Shirone was the priority right now. Because if the avatar was defeated, they would no longer be able to catch up to Arius.
Amy defended herself with Fire Mist and cast Fire Wall.
She sent a barrier of fire racing along the boundary between the egoists and the antitheses, splitting the crowd in two.
As she focused, the height of the Fire Wall soared. The heavy infantry soldiers, unable to remove their heated armor, writhed and screamed in agony.
Reina climbed onto a roof and sniped at the archer unit. The arrows she had bought from Nade’s projection had several times the penetrating power of real ones, easily piercing two or three people with a single shot.
“Out of my way! I will execute him myself!”
Ignite’s voice came from beyond the wall of fire. Immediately, he emerged, cutting through the fiery barrier.
With the great axe slung over his shoulder, he took a swinging stance. His first target was Amy. Countless egoists attacked him, but they were scattered with a single swing of his axe.
“Amy! Look out!”
Reina pulled four arrows from the quiver on her thigh, holding them between her fingers.
In a split second, she fired four consecutive shots. Moreover, each one aimed for a different part: shoulder, wrist, thigh, and heart.
Without taking his eyes off Amy, Ignite perceived the arrows outside his focus, gripped his great axe with both hands, and spun.
A gale roared with unimaginable force.
*Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!*
The highly penetrative arrows didn't ricochet even after hitting the axe blade. However, the arrow shafts bent at a ninety-degree angle, losing their momentum and falling to the ground.
“Foolish girl!”
Ignite continued his charge, brandishing the great axe with dazzling skill. Then, right in front of Amy, he swung the axe blade over his back.
As his torso straightened, Amy felt as if a wall had appeared before her. There was no time to cancel Fire Wall and cast another spell.