City of Arcane Engineering (3)
Magritte blinked, then double-checked the scan readout as if her own eyes had deceived her.
"Is this really human?" If she could have transferred the liquid in the scanner into the real world, it would have been closer to a 'feeling' than a substance.
The device read the imprint etched into the soul, called Yeongja (靈麥)—a hidden code also used in Karma Chains.
"Body growth index: 22 years, photon standard."
That simply recorded the course of his life—Rian's age couldn't be wrong.
But…
"Bodily ability index… sixteen thousand years!?"
In other words, Rian's training intensity relative to his actual age was roughly 730 times greater.
"That's not a physical measurement. A biological body doesn't work like that. But a training intensity 730 times higher far exceeds human limits."
This wasn't about belittling humans—no other creature should be able to do this.
"If it were merely suffering great pain, you could only endure it. Training intensity is different.
"You need the will to break limits. If intensity 1 is training until you can't take another step, then this body walked that same point seven hundred thirty times more."
A fearsome will—call it conviction.
"Of course, humans are a species with high bodily indices. Demons are strong from birth. But 730 times—that's a level no yaksha I know could emulate."
Shirone and Rian approached.
"Did you find anything?"
Magritte swallowed and turned to take Rian in with her eyes.
"Rian, huh…"
Imagining the path he'd walked sent a chill through her and an intense impulse ran over her.
"The pinnacle of life—no, a body that transcends the limits of life itself. How long would humanity need to evolve into such a body? No—impossible. The more civilization advances, the lazier creatures become. So this isn't evolution; it's actually retrograde evolution."
Magritte pointed at Rian.
"And the scale of that retrogression is, frankly, cosmic. Not merely a return to origin but an extreme negative evolution that even skips the earliest biological templates! In other words, like carbon reborn into diamond after eons of heat and pressure, this living body has been transformed into another substance!"
Shirone, who'd been listening dazedly, interjected.
"Uh, thanks for praising my friend, but maybe keep that inside?"
Merkede raised a finger to explain. "The Grand Duke is the smartest of the demons in Hell. But he's taciturn, so other demons can't read his great thoughts. That's why he's maddening—when he's truly impressed he can't help blurting it out. It's not common. Consider it an honor."
"Is that so? He's changed a lot."
They say you get childlike as you age.
"Hmm, sorry for the outburst. My apologies. But this body is remarkable. Still, that alone won't break the Chains of Gehenna. Perhaps it's the unique psyche that forged the body.
"Well, I'll investigate that from now on. I'll also analyze Yahweh's scan data. It's strange—never thought I'd be analyzing Yahweh's mind… gah!"
She pressed a button. The red liquid's imprint vanished and Shirone's data appeared.
"W-what the—!"
Arian Shirone.
Body growth index: unmistakably twenty-two years.
And bodily ability index: thirty-two years—about the level of someone who trained their physical strength diligently.
What surprised Magritte was the next entry.
"Mental capability index."
Five hundred and twenty million years.
"The number is the outcome of a state. You can't reach it simply by thinking for 520 million years."
Magritte herself had lived longer than five hundred million years, yet her mental capability index fell far short.
"Depending on enlightenment you can reach a state in an instant. But what on earth is a five-hundred-million-year mind? I never even considered that such a realm of thought could exist."
Something like the sea or the sun.
"A boundary between the living and the nonliving? No—perhaps a new system encompassing both. Is this Yahweh?"
Magritte spun to face Shirone.
"The extreme of self-destruction. The place reached after dismantling every logic—that unique contact point between nothingness and being. How many thesis–antithesis–syntheses must be repeated for such a mind to be possible!?"
In other words, the self as Taiji.
"This is the nature of a god, the stance of a god, the god's perspective! There is neither right nor wrong—only an 'undefined entity' of that moment! A kind of mental vacuum! Ah! Why doesn't such immense thought whimsically erase the world? Of course—gods are indifferent! Then why help humanity? For only one reason: miracles. A hallucination like a miracle triggered in a vacuum! That is Yahweh's essence!"
When Magritte finished her finger-pointing explanation, silence hung over the lab for a while.
"Right…something like that, I guess. Anyway, what now? About the Chains of Gehenna."
The excitement draining, Magritte slumped into her chair as if exhausted.
"Phew. Fixing the purification system's fault will take time. It doesn't look like a mere 'breakdown.' It seems to be a phenomenon arising from the special properties of Rian and Yahweh interacting with Hell's systems."
"Shirone didn't do anything, right?"
"Hidden codes act prior to causality. They aren't logical. For example, Yahweh's presence probably had a major effect on you breaking the Chains of Gehenna."
Rian fell silent.
"But if the error continues, it's inconvenient for those involved and damages Hell's systems. The immediate workaround is to control Rian's Gehenna—to isolate it from Hell's system."
"Is that possible?"
"I don't know. It's unprecedented. But I have several theoretical hypotheses. The problem is Karma. We need to create a new program that can bypass the Yeongja (靈麥) signal. For that, we'll need Yahweh's help."
"You want help from me?"
"What we're about to do violates Hell's rules. Satan might find it amusing, but the Pyrotechnics Corps will surely take a different stance. If anyone finds out we helped Yahweh, we'll be stripped of our titles and purified."
When Shirone looked at her worriedly, Magritte cut off any misunderstanding.
"I don't care about annihilation. I've lived my fill. But if word gets out, it'll make work impossible. I hate being interrupted during research. I'll give you a list—get these from the shops. It's a task I wouldn't even entrust to my close aides."
If the information leaked, it would be the end.
"If we can avoid suspicion. But if Yahweh goes around collecting things, won't that cause disputes?"
"Of course it must be done secretly. We'll erase Yahweh's signature—his code, so to speak. No one will notice his identity, so he can move freely. First…"
As Magritte rattled off instructions, Merkende bit her lip.
"This is bad. The Grand Duke's really hooked."
From what she knew, when Magritte set her mind to something, even Satan couldn't stop her.
"The Pyrotechnics Corps won't stay idle. If it reaches Lethe's ears, the Grand Duke—" The succubus clenched both fists hard.
"I'll make sure it's protected. I'll control it so it never leaks."
Rian chuckled.
"Nice, Shirone. You look the part of a demon now. Too good to keep to yourself."
Shirone stood before a mirror.
"What is…this?"
He'd shrunk by a head, his skin was red, his hair black, and small horns had sprung from his temples.
"There are fangs too."
When he opened his mouth, needle-like fangs were perfectly set along his teeth.
Magritte said, "I changed everything except your facial features. Functionally, this form won't stand out too much in Hell. Not drawing attention will be better for doing your work."
Rian said, "It actually makes you look weak. I've never fought a demon with such a gentle face."
"Well, his face really is gentle. If you want, we can change him into something entirely different—three meters tall with eight arms, for example."
"…No, that's fine."
He wanted to keep his identity.
"I agree. No need to recoil—this is more disguise than transformation. The key is hiding Yahweh's code. Act as demon-like as possible. Suppression rate: 7 percent. If you get over 93 percent toward Yahweh, the disguise might collapse."
"Seven percent, huh."
It'll need the basics of an amateur actor's method, but the awkwardness was real.
"Here's the list." Shirone tucked the slip Magritte handed him into his pocket and got the general idea of what he needed.
"Hmm, this method…"
Guided by Omega's information, Shirone tucked the note away.
"All right, I'm off."
Seeing Shirone in loose clothes as a red demon, Rian felt an odd calm.
"Be careful. If anyone picks a fight, don't answer."
"Haha, I'm fine. Doubt I'll get beaten anywhere. I'll be back soon."
Shirone dragged his pants and headed for the door, then looked back at Magritte.
"You haven't forgotten the deal, right?"
Whatever solves Rian's problem must be a form capable of breaking the chains of true sound.
Magritte tapped her temple. "Noted."
Meanwhile, an unexpected visitor streaked toward the walls of Laviette city.
"Waaaaaah!"
A scream trailed behind as a jet of cloudlike vapor streamed out.
Richela, now little more than a head, rolled her eyes in fading consciousness—but then inertia vanished.
"Whoa."
Son Yujeong blinked at the city wall.
"Hey, this is the place, right? I don't see any other city nearby."
"Eh? Ah, yes."
Richela, almost recovered, shivered at the human face embedded in the wall.
"Eek! It really is Laviette!"
She'd never seen it in person, but she'd heard that humans captured by the Black Steeds were mostly used here.
"Hold. Who goes there?"
Two demons who had confronted Shirone two days earlier leveled their spears at Son Yujeong.
"They say there's some Grand Duke or whatever in this city—go fetch him quickly. If not, I'll go."
The demons looked at each other.
Laviette's gate guards were normally patient, but Son Yujeong's words had clearly crossed a line.
"Kukuku! Kukukuku!"
A murderous aura flared and the two crazed demons charged with their spears.
"Hoooaargh!"
Even seeing their faces inflamed with killing intent, Son Yujeong calmly drew a dagger.
"Arrogant fiends."
KRAAASH!
A deafening roar shook the ground and the demons in the city turned in alarm.
"Hurry! Clear out!"
Soon, armed constables ran in two columns toward the gate.
"Huh? What's going on?"
A cute-faced demon in a hood blinked, then asked the demon beside him, "What's happening? Where is everyone going?" A demon whose hair was as sharp as blades looked down and nodded.
"You're still too young to understand. They're the Grand Duke's constables who only mobilize in emergencies. They say the gate's been breached, but it's probably just a beastman."
"Hmm."
Shirone glanced toward the edge of the city.