Core keywords (3)
The stronghold of the Satanist cult.
The fact that the first Yora was Armand's first soyuja shocked Shirone.
"Armand. A peculiar carnivore among the noble houses. He accepted countless creatures willingly."
Before entering Imir's dream, Luber had once said something like that in the central dream of Dri Mo.
"He once, just a single time, voluntarily brought an objet into the world. That was Armand."
What was most strange was that the Omega records contained no mention of the first Yora or Armand.
"It's not erasure. Nor is it an OOPArt."
It had to be Luber's doing.
"If you use the engine of dreams, a non-physical engine, you can collapse the logic of reality. If they follow the logic of dreams, it wouldn't be surprising that I don't know about it, but…
The question is, why?
"Why would Mr. Luber break even the administrator's rules and bring Armand into reality?"
Shirone asked.
"How are Yora traditions passed down? If it's Armand, that would be from a very long time ago."
"Through dreams."
Eden said.
"Not everyone has them, but some Yora occasionally experience strange dreams. When you compare their accounts a single clear story emerges—probably the original transmission."
"Hmm."
Shirone felt more certain.
"So it seems these dreams aren't just from deep cultivation. We call them legacy dreams, but the cause of their manifestation hasn't been determined. I've never had one either. That's why I said I couldn't be sure."
"I see. The cause of manifestation…"
They couldn't verify it right away because the simultaneous events in Imir's dream had been cut off.
Nade said, "We've learned the Holy See's secret—let's return. If Seina testifies, it'll lend credibility. Then publish it worldwide via the Holy See's bulletin."
It would certainly affect the crusades as well.
Seina closed her mouth.
"You want me to denounce the Holy See?"
She was critical of the Rami Church, of course, but whistleblowing would be a betrayal of comrades.
Shirone said, "I know it's difficult. But if you, Seina, don't do it, no one will."
She wouldn't trust Yahweh's words.
"Many people are succumbing to Satan's temptation. Excellent clergy are being corrupted."
She squeezed her eyes shut at the memory of the lecherous rite performed by the once-revered High Priest Maximus.
"All right. I'll do it."
Eden stood.
"Good. Then take Seina back with you."
"What do you plan to do?"
"You can't just leave the Satanist cult's stronghold. We'll make the demons repent."
There was no fear in Eden's eyes as he scanned the enemy encampment alone.
That absolute certainty was precisely the faith Seina had longed for.
'This isn't an enemy or a war. It's life.' A life offered wholly to one's heart cannot be shaken.
Iruki said, "Then we'll come with you. The Satanist cult's executives are Catacom. They're all demon division commanders."
"You all have duties. If Seina stays here long it'll be dangerous."
She was the only one who could expose the Holy See's corruption.
"It's already too late."
At a sound from the roof, Shirone's group took battle stances and fell back.
"Kukuku, like rats in a nest."
A red-skinned demon with pointed ears crouched on the railing.
The Dark King Gultan.
A member of Yahweh's assassination organization, Catacom, he wielded the ability called Mental Craft.
"Amy told me."
Both his physical features and the burn scar covering half his face made that certain.
"I thought she was dead."
"Oh, that woman."
At the thought of Amy's total combustion his scar throbbed furiously.
"Kukukuku, just wait and see. After I kill you I'll cut off your head and present it to her."
Seina took an involuntary step back.
'An immense evil.'
Even if not on Siok's level, a dreadful dark mana that shouldn't exist in the living world was present.
"Catacom."
Eden said, "They're the hell-army division commanders drafted to produce over 6.8 times efficiency in the Great Yahweh War. The succubus Miyo seems to have been annihilated, though…"
Seina swallowed.
'6.8 times?'
Gultan curled his lip.
"Kiyorugi was right. They said if the Satanist cult grows, Yahweh himself will come."
"Where is Kiyorugi?" Shirone asked.
"Kuku, who knows?"
Gultan's tongue lolled out.
"Maybe in front of your grave?"
Blue lightning struck from the sky and the spot where he'd been exploded with a boom.
Nade clicked his tongue. "Damn! He's fast at fleeing." Using his wall-phasing ability, Gultan moved thirty meters and raised the middle fingers of both hands.
"No way."
An old, bearded man, a middle-aged woman, and a young boy gathered around him.
"Members of Catacom."
Then evangelist Elka of the Satanist cult led the villagers out.
"Hohoho! Caught you, Yahweh. This land is ours. None of you will leave alive."
The villagers, soaked in blood, were all naked and their eyes vacant.
"Heh… hehe…" Seina recognized the face of the man slobbering beside Elka.
"High Priest Maximus."
Once ranked third in the Holy See, Maximus had become a dog of the demon Elka.
"Good boy, my pup."
When Elka rubbed against him, Maximus trembled and stuck out his tongue.
"Hek! Hek!"
He too was staring at Seina.
"Ujuju. Ujuju."
Tears streamed down Maximus's face as he surrendered to pleasure.
"High Priest…"
It would be a humiliation perhaps worse than death, but utterly irresistible. It felt too good.
"Kukukuku! Look at their faces. Don't be jealous—soon you'll all be like this."
"Do not mock human frailty, demon."
Eden said.
"Go, Shirone."
Miracle Stream transformed into Hand of God, and Shirone charged ahead.
Nade and Iruki followed, and Eden advanced from the rear, erecting a defensive barrier.
"Hong."
Elka whispered something into Maximus's ear.
"Ah, ahh."
Ecstasy at the whisper made Maximus suddenly scream and bolt forward.
"For Satan!"
The third-ranked holy power bloomed as extreme emotion—mana.
'This is bad. They were once clergy.'
Their massive mana pooled and was absorbed by Marit, a member of Catacom.
"Haaah."
Marit, an officer of the Satanist cult.
"Emblem (Malyu's Idol)."
When evangelist Elka led people into the cult, Marit absorbed the believers' mana.
The absorbed mana rose as a crimson aura and transformed into an obscene shape.
Even cool-headed Iruki's expression soured.
"What is that?"
They didn't know precisely, but instinct said it was an extreme sexual form.
Nade felt dizzy.
'So obscene.'
Huge, slick, disgusting—and yet impossible to look away from.
'Demonic.' Shirone's eyes hardened.
'Why sexual?'
Why a form that is merely a biological organ should carry symbolic representation of evil.
'The split of good and evil from Ultima.'
Since Mitochondria Eve crossed the forbidden line, such original sin had been given to humanity.
'Break it.'
The giant fist of Hand of God surged toward the floating Emblem like a crushing blow.
The bearded old man moved.
"Klikklikklik."
The Satanist elder Euphrapus converted the mana Marit had gathered into force.
"Power of evil."
The crimson aura from the Emblem struck Hand of God in the shape of a gauntlet.
"Kruk!"
The force was far greater than expected—numbers beyond what corrupted clergy alone could produce.
"The whole world."
Marit spread her arms and laughed.
"The Satanist cult of the whole world." The Emblem intensified, and its male-and-female form threatened to drive human minds mad.
"Mika."
Shirone called, and a current answered.
- Yes.
'How many followers does the Satanist cult have?'
The apparition conveyed information across space-time.
- Zive Kingdom: 1,230,211. Tormia Kingdom: 573,433. Iron Kingdom: 2,030,000…
'Give me the total only.'
- 32,987,753 people.
Another voice added immediately.
- 7 added. Total 32,987,760.
To gain seven followers worldwide in a single second was astonishing speed.
Of course the world population is fixed, so that initial exponential rise wouldn't continue indefinitely, but…
'This time is different.'
Emotion Sickness.
If humanity couldn't respond to this unprecedented disease, they might miss the golden time.
Eden shouted, "Repent, evil!"
As Eden's divine power spread as a barrier, the cultists began to writhe in pain.
"Ah! Uwaaaargh!"
They were priests, so their mana was strong—but that also meant a higher potential for repentance.
"Huk! I…I…!"
Some of the roused believers regained their senses and, fueled by righteous anger at being used, charged Catacom.
"You wicked things!"
"Tsk tsk, see? You had your fun."
Catacom member Amidal turned a boy's small hand into the shape of a gun and took aim.
"Bang!"
Nothing came out, but a hole opened in the forehead of the priest leading the charge.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
As people fell, Amidal shaped all ten of his fingers into guns.
A demon's ability: Dreamer.
"Tutatatata! Tutatatata!"
Child's play, but the phenomena he imagined manifested in reality.
"Oooo! God Krea!"
But the priests' rage at being toyed with could not be extinguished even by death.
"Huh?"
When those purified by Eden swarmed like hornets, Amidal drew a dagger.
He gripped both the sheath and the hilt with both hands.
"A hundred cuts!"
Half-drawing and sheathing again, a storm of sharp sword wind swept out.
"Uwaaah!"
Limbs were severed and fell, and Amidal spread his palms toward them.
"Haha! Cannon fire!"
Cancellation.
As the Dreamer's ability was undone, white smoke rose.
'A booby trap?'
Bang!
He turned his head in haste, but the blast's shock tore half his face away.
"Kiiiiii!"
His pupils went black and he bared his fangs as he scanned the crowd—Iruki stood there.
"Enough of your rampage. I'm not in a good mood."
'What is this?'
Undoing a demon's ability should be impossible by human logic.
"Don't be surprised. If Siok is algebra, you were barely arithmetic."
Iruki's mind was comparable to the ancient weapon Ex Machina.
"Damn…!"
Veins bulged in Amidal's face.
Meanwhile, Gultan watched Shirone's struggle with the Emblem from underground.
'I just have to get in once.'
Mental Craft.
Able to touch the human heart directly, he intended to twist Shirone's emotions.
'If I bend it even a little, Yahweh's realm will be destroyed.'
Just as Hand of God and the Power of Evil collided again, he shot up from the ground.
"Now!"
Gultan, who controlled Shirone's back, thrust his hand out and struck through Shirone's body.
"Got it! I touched…!"
What returned after quantization was a finger smashed to bits.
It looked as if he'd tried to mold steel with his hand.
'What the…?'
Shirone's voice came.
"Piram, fall back."
Hand of God struck the back of his hand and Gultan's body flew as if repelled.
"Grahk!"
He'd activated quantization, but more than half the impact still entered his body.
"Kuuuu…."
Moaning and clutching his crushed hand to his chest, Gultan heard Maximus's voice.
"Seina. I…I…."
Having passed through Eden's holy barrier, he reached out with tears streaming.
"High Priest."
Seina began to cry as well.