Chapter 341
Chapter 341
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 341
Chapter Title: Trinity (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
His breathing grew ragged, and his oxygen consumption skyrocketed.
-Remaining oxygen consumption time: 1 minute 17 seconds. 1 minute 3 seconds. 42 seconds.
Light flew from all directions, embedding itself in Shirone's body.
Blocked from accessing him through the Laws, it was now trying to invade and melt his mind directly through physical means.
Armand reacted instantly.
-Observing neural junction points. Docking and copying.
Armand's tentacles connected with the needles of light. Then, even more light flooded in, piercing Shirone's body.
Dozens, hundreds.
The endlessly surging light demanded one thing.
Deconstruct.
“Kuaaaargh!”
Shirone's face twisted into a fearsome grimace, the bridge of his nose wrinkling.
The feeling of his existence being absorbed by another was a humiliation akin to being eaten alive by a beast.
-Remaining oxygen consumption time: 4 seconds. 3 seconds. 2 seconds.
At this rate, he would be completely absorbed.
“How arrogant…!”
Shirone focused his mind on an endless single point.
The Immortal Function opened, and his infinite mind spread throughout the entire world of Laws.
-Unmeasurable focal point detected. Infiltrating.
Armand's organic matter multiplied infinitely. Its tentacles extended and docked flawlessly with every thorn embedded in Shirone.
Having copied the information attempting to hack its master's brain, Armand began to construct a suitable firewall based on it.
And at last, Shirone and the Ice Queen came to share a single world as individual masters of their own Laws.
-Firewall complete. Activating.
Light exploded from Shirone's retinas.
Microcosm.
“Where am I?”
Shirone looked around.
It was a dark space, much like the world of Laws. The only difference was the complete absence of even twinkling stars.
But Shirone could see.
*‘How can I see?’*
Was it truly possible to see in a place with no light?
*‘Perhaps…'*
Shirone found an interesting answer.
Memory. There is no light in memory.
Because light does not linger in the past.
But he was in reality.
Therefore, this was a space where all of time unfolded. The entirety of time, where past, present, and future could not be distinguished.
As he took a step, countless versions of himself strode forward from the curtain of darkness.
“What is this?”
He turned in a full circle. An infinite number of himself surrounded him, as if the space were expanded by mirrors.
Shirone picked one and approached. As the distance shortened, the perspective narrowed, and numerous Shirones lined up in parallel.
A version of himself with pitch-black pupils and a wicked face stood there.
Shirone reached out his hand. The other Shirone reached out his hand as well.
He felt the cold texture of a glass wall.
*‘This is me?’*
No, this is not me.
Where am I? Outside the mirror, or inside? Am I the one looking at the mirror, or am I the reflection?
“Ah…”
Shirone finally realized.
“This is…”
The two Shirones spoke at the same time.
“You.”
*CRASH!*
All the glass walls, stretching out in infinite parallel lines, shattered, racing outward at the speed of light.
With the sound of shattering glass, the boundaries of the mirrors began to be destroyed at the speed of light.
Shirone's hand touched the other Shirone's. But before he could even feel the sensation, the Shirone opposite him vanished.
Within the Ice Queen's Law, Shirone and Shirone referred to each other, achieving a perfect trinity.
The wicked Shirone with black pupils was no more. There was only the absolute, immutable Shirone, unshaken by any Law.
A technique called Incarnation in the heavens. But mages considered it a state of being and called it this:
Mental Transcendence.
Having completed the trinity, Shirone's eyes flew open. Simultaneously, through the multi-Law network Microcosm, Armand began to counter-attack the Ice Queen's Law.
The world shook and the starlight flared. Unable to withstand Shirone, the Ice Queen stretched out her neck and retched.
“Gack! Gack! Gyaaaaaaaah!”
Watching from the ground, Amy's face turned pale. The sight of the giant face straining, its eyes looking as if they would pop out, was beyond horrifying; it was ghastly.
“Gyaaaaaaaaaah!”
As the Ice Queen gave one last heave, Shirone, covered in dangling tentacles, was vomited out. Spreading his Wings of Light wide, he froze in place, his first action to inhale.
“Hah! Hah!”
For the first time, he realized that air had a taste.
“Shirone! Shirone's back alive!”
Color finally returned to the face of Amy, who had been groaning as if on her deathbed. Even the grotesqueness of the Ice Queen couldn't overshadow the joy of Shirone's safe return.
But Dante's gaze remained grave.
Above all, the Ice Queen's condition was strange.
The Ice Queen was making a bizarre expression impossible for human facial muscles. But that very expression was the most accurate representation of her current emotions.
*‘Infinite? Infinite? Infinite? Infinite? Infinite?’*
The Ice Queen was confused.
*‘What is that?’*
As Armand built its firewall, the Ice Queen had also copied Shirone's information.
But there was a problem.
The Immortal Function, difficult to fully analyze even with Optrus's vast information, had been installed.
As a tremendous sense of euphoria that transcended the scale of Laws washed over her, the Ice Queen couldn't control her mouth, which opened on its own.
It was heading toward infinity.
That was the only thing the Ice Queen could comprehend.
Her endlessly widening jaw surpassed the joint's range of motion and eventually began to swallow itself in reverse.
Like a grape popping out as its skin is peeled, a new being revealed itself from within the throat.
*‘I am infinite.’*
It had human faces on three sides, and arms branching out from its shoulders multiplied into dozens, fanning out like a peacock's tail feathers.
The Three-Faced Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara.
It was the second manifestation of Optrus, which had absorbed the Immortal Function.
“Galgalgalgalgalgalgal!”
A sound like thousands of beetles chirping burst from the laughing mouth of the Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara.
“Kuh!”
Struck directly by the surprise sound wave, Shirone adjusted his hearing through Armand and then created distance. Then, the Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara's neck turned, and a face with upturned eyes and a downturned mouth took the front. The Law of Rage erupted, and countless fireballs shot out in all directions.
“Look out!”
As Lilia pointed to the rain of fire, Dante unfurled a massive defensive magic circle above their heads. The moment the fireballs slammed into it, the circle cracked loudly with a deafening boom.
“Kuh! Dammit!”
Dante's expression was anguished. In an isolated space, a spirit body's growth is limited, but after swallowing Shirone, this spirit body was a Law incomparably more powerful than the Ice Queen. It was probably the Immortal Function. Indeed, for a being that absorbed Laws, there was no better tonic than Shirone.
“Set up the Bakyojin right now!”
Lilia watched the battle in the sky with eyes full of confusion. Shirone was firing his Photon Cannon repeatedly, but it wasn't even scratching the Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara's body.
“Not yet. The Bakyojin's range is much smaller than the Sealing Formation's. If we can't lure it here, we're better off dying where we stand.”
Amy shouted toward the sky.
“Shirone! Push the monster this way!”
Armand copied Amy's voice. The voice, mixed with static, was transmitted to Shirone's brain.
“Push it?”
It meant they had found some method on the ground. But how was he supposed to push a monster that didn't even flinch at his Photon Cannon?
*‘I have no choice.’*
Shirone's eyes widened as he focused on increasing the power of his Photon Cannon. Then, the mind of Mental Transcendence attempted a great expansion.
The Immortal Function could borrow infinite mental power, but it couldn't increase the output beyond the Spirit Zone.
However, Mental Transcendence forcibly enhanced the Spirit Zone.
Of course, just like with Physical Transcendence, the mental backlash that followed was a separate issue.
Just as Rian's arm had exploded when he swung his sword at a speed beyond his body's limits, attempting to exceed his capacity would destroy his mind.
-Focal point expanding. Activating Overdrive.
But Shirone didn't hesitate. Feeling a massive output he had never experienced before, he stretched out his hand, and dozens of flashes of light slammed directly into the Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara's torso.
“Galgalgalgalgalgalgal!”
The body of the Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara, which had been motionless as if fixed in space, began to be pushed back little by little. It fired sound waves in all directions, but Shirone didn't stop his assault. No, as time passed, its power only grew stronger.
250 meters left to the Bakyojin installation point.
Those watching the battle from the ground were captivated by the sight of dozens of Photon Cannons flashing.
“How can he use magic like that…?”
Lilia, a sorceress, was the most shocked. The reason she classified the spirit body as a demigod was because it wielded Laws freely. A being of Law had to be sealed with Law. But Shirone was pushing back a demigod with sheer physical force alone.
“…And I thought he was just an innocent kid.”
Dante gave a bitter smile at Lilia's misconception. This was what happened when you judged Shirone by his appearance. A rustic boy who had no interest in dressing up and would calmly sew in a café. But that was the very boy who had defeated him.
“Well, he is at his coolest when he's a mage.”
Lilia was conflicted. She could see the Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara's movement slowing. If the Photon Cannon's power didn't increase further, it would be impossible to push it to the Bakyojin's installation point.
“Lilia. Set up the Bakyojin. Whether Shirone succeeds or fails, if we're going to do something, now is our last chance.”
*‘What… what should I do?’*
If the Bakyojin failed, the Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara would escape into the world. Even if the kingdom prepared for it, judging by the scale of its Law, it was an enemy capable of annihilating a small city in a matter of hours.
Lilia turned to Dante and said.
“I'll prepare the Bakyojin.”
She had no choice but to bet on Shirone. The people here were just as precious as the people in the outside world. This was a different situation from not killing the fiend.
“Good. Then I'll explain the plan. Once Shirone pushes it another 50 meters, I'll create a defensive magic circle around the mansion to trap the monster. It won't be the same as the Sealing Formation, but it'll be a minimal safety measure. In the meantime, Amy, prepare a spell to support Shirone with firepower.”
Amy nodded.
“Got it. I'll cast my most powerful spell.”
Jocre watched them prepare to fight for their lives. The contrast with his own helplessness made anger surge within him.
Why were they risking their lives?
They could just leave. He would be the one to pay for all the sins anyway, and the aftermath would be the kingdom's problem to handle.
“Why are you fighting?”
Dante, who was protecting Lilia, turned his head.
“What are you talking about? If you're thinking of interfering, I'll take care of you first.”
“Why are you fighting? You're innocent, you can just run away! Don't you want to live? You're so strong, so naturally talented! You have a bright future guaranteed, and you want to die a dog's death in a place like this?”
Dante stared at Jocre, bewildered. But then he sighed as if he understood.
“Did you learn magic because you wanted to be successful?”
“What?”
“Aren't you getting the order wrong? You learn magic because you love it, and success follows because you get good at it. If I ran away from this, wouldn't I be seething inside? I'm just fighting with the magic I've learned. So don't interfere, just shut up and watch.”
Having finished her sequence, Amy opened her eyes.
“It's done. I'm starting now.”
Her Red Eyes emitted a crimson glow, and two pillars of fire shot up from beneath her feet, merging into a colossal fireball. It was an Inferno several times larger than the one she had fired within the Spirit Zone's radius.
Jocre stared blankly at the fire blazing like the sun, then lowered his head in realization.
*‘These magic-obsessed lunatics…’*