1 - The Prelude to Destruction is Always Silent
1 - The Prelude to Destruction is Always Silent
It was clear from the expression on Morlock’s face that his confidence had instantly abandoned him.
He was shaking. There was a cold sweat on his skin. These reactions were natural, but not to the degree he displayed here.
The sweat wouldn’t stop dripping down his face, and his shaking was sending it scattering everywhere.
Morlock was a veteran spy and saboteur, and he was only this scared because it was Akuto that he was facing. Akuto’s expression was that of a demon. It was a handsome one, and thus when it became twisted, it became more terrible than anyone else’s.
The look in his eyes was purely murderous. He was ready to kill.
“I was trying my best to come up with a reason to kill you... and I just found one.”
When he said this, all the mana in the surrounding air disappeared. There hadn’t been much to begin with, but the very atmosphere within the empire’s borders was suffused with mana. If it all disappeared, it could only mean that Akuto had instantly collected it within his body.
“Impossible!” Morlock shouted.
No one had ever been able to do such a thing, no matter how powerful they were. Even if you had the energy to do it, you still needed a mind capable of manipulating the mana down to the individual particle.
Akuto waved a finger. That alone was enough to freeze his body in the air, arms stretched out like he was nailed to a cross, and bring him in front of Akuto like he was being pulled by a magnet.
“Please don’t kill him!”
“Don’t kill me!”
Two voices overlapped. One was Morlock’s. One was Keena’s.
“Don’t kill him, huh? That’s smart. It’s better for me if I don’t kill him.”
Keena’s expression turned to relief. But Morlock had been through enough dire situations and deadly battles to know there were fates worse than death. The sadism hadn’t vanished from Akuto’s face.
“P-Please! Please, no!” he begged, but Akuto silenced him with a wave of a hand.
“If you’re going to beg for forgiveness, you shouldn’t go around attacking people in the first place.”
As he screamed, Morlock’s body began to shrink. He’d always had the power to grow or shrink at will, but this time it clearly wasn’t intentional.
“P-Please, no!”
Morlock’s shrinking ability didn’t actually give him the power to change his size. Instead, he sent most of his body into virtual phase space, and then built a new body with mana. Akuto had used this fact to his advantage.
“Ugyaaah!”
Morlock screamed and screamed, and his screams gradually began to get quieter. Akuto had sealed him inside the VPS, and reduced his body’s size to that of a few mana particles. Morlock was now the size of a few grains of sand, too small to even scream.
“Aaaah!”
Inside VPS, he was screaming and crying. But his voice went underheard in the real world. All he could see was a colorless, microscopic world. Even the particles of dust in the wind seemed the size of asteroids, and the salty breeze blowing over the ocean struck his body like a hurricane. He would be trapped in that tiny, lonely world for eternity, until the day that the mana ran out. As he watched, helpless and afraid, a wind blew up off the ocean, and carried it away with him inside its current, and he disappeared from sight.
“Ackie... What... what did you do?” Keena asked, fearfully.
“I trapped him inside virtual phase space. And I shrunk his body down to microscopic size.”
His tone was cold, but she could feel the fire behind it. The flames of his anger remained stoked.
“Ackie...”
Keena’s voice held a mix of fear and sadness.
“Y-You can’t do that... Because...”
“I didn’t kill him. I did just what you told me to,” Akuto said coldly.
“No... You know that wasn’t what I meant! The Ackie I know wouldn’t be so mean to me!”
Keena began to cry. There was a flash of emotion in Akuto’s eyes.
“But he’s working with the people who killed Junko...!” he said, angrily.
Keena fell silent. The silence continued for a moment, until suddenly it was broken by Korone.
“If you want revenge, that’s fine... But are you aware of what’s going on here?”
Korone was a Liradan, and so she was perfectly calm. Akuto seemed far from calm, however. There was a chance he didn’t even know what was going on.
“Of course I understand what’s going on. The guy behind all this is right over there!”
He pointed with a finger toward the airship that The One was aboard. Akuto was aware that a member of CIMO8, as well as the leader of the Republic, were aboard it. He knew that Marine, the Republic leader, had used the Faceless Power as well. But the conclusion he’d drawn from this beggared belief.
He would attack the airship and defeat them both. That was his only conclusion.
Only anger drove him now.
“Woooooah!” Akuto howled.
He leaped off the ground. As he jumped, a tornado formed around him.
Keena covered her face.
“No!” she screamed, but Akuto was already high in the sky. A shockwave formed around him as he flew straight toward the airship.
“Empress, please seal the Demon King’s power away.” Korone said sharply.
She gasped and nodded. Until now, she’d forgotten, but the Empress — that is, her — had the power to seal away Akuto’s power. She’d been using her power to “unleash” his full strength, when he needed it, but now she could use it to shut him down.
“As Empress, I seal...” she shouted. But her voice trailed off.
Confused, she looked down at her hand.
“...What’s wrong?” Korone asked.
“H-Huh...? I can’t do it.” Keena shook her head, trying to recover the sensation that was now lost to her.
“You can’t do it?” Korone asked, confused.
“N-No...! I need this power...! Come on! Come on!” Keena waved her hands again and again. But it didn’t help.
“She can’t use the Imperial power...?”
Korone considered the source of the Empress’s power.
—The Faceless Power.
It was the power of will, completely separate from mana. Probably, she thought, it was some kind of collective consciousness. If she couldn’t use it, it meant that Keena had lost her ability to access the Faceless Power. There was no way to tell if this was due to an external cause, or an internal one...
“Why...?! I want to stop Ackie! Just this once, I have to stop him!”
Keena’s cries went unheard, and Akuto was now practically on top of the airship.
Bullets and energy beams were pouring out from its gunports, but Akuto was ignoring them. A small plume of smoke rose up from the airship’s disc-shaped side. Akuto’s body had easily pierced its armor.
○
Marine was shocked at the results of his actions. He had made it possible to use the Faceless Power, yes. But he’d had no idea that this would be the result.
He’d intended to use it to stop the nuclear attack, but instead, he’d wiped a part of the Empire’s coast off the face of the Earth.
“The Faceless Power reacts strongly to collective will. The people of the Republic must have wanted that very badly,” The One said.
The One resembled a talking dog, but according to him, he was an alien being of pure mind merely possessing the body of a dog. And a servant of the devil too, at least by Marine’s estimation.
He’d baited Marine into using the Faceless Power, knowing full well what would happen.
“You tricked me!” Marine screamed.
But The One just smiled back.
“Hahaha! Give power to a life form, and it always ends up the same way. That’s all there is to it.”
“And if that’s not trickery, what is?” In this moment, Marine gave up on negotiating with The One. He accelerated his body to smash his fist into the dog’s face. But...
—Why?!
Marine’s body froze. He couldn’t move forward. He couldn’t even raise a fist. It was like his body was moving through a sea of heavy mud.
“Ha, hah!” The One laughed.
“I’m using something like hypnosis! I subjected you to it when I saved you. You can’t attack me. When I’m up against someone strong like you, it’s important to take precautions.”
“It can’t be... an implant?!”
There was no way to control another person’s mind with normal magic. With one exception. You could implant a device inside their body, where their mana was strongest.
“Very perceptive. That’s right. I can’t just take over completely, after all. I need you to use the Faceless Power...”
“Tch... You’re going to make me use it again? We’re already at the point where a world war is unavoidable...”
“Yes, we’ve succeeded in causing a world war. But I’m interested in what happens after that,” The One said.
“There’s... more?” Marine’s face twisted in even greater terror. He’d never even considered that they were planning something greater than a world war.
“That’s right. I’m going to destroy the world in a way you’d never expect. And for that to happen, I need the Faceless Power. And I’ll need more help from your subjects.”
Just then, an alarm sounded as a hole was blasted in the side of the airship. The One and Marine both looked up, confused at what had just happened. Akuto slowly walked out of the smoke, after blasting through the wall with overwhelming force. Neither Marine nor The One could say a single word.
There was no way they could’ve predicted that a man would fly toward their ship at a speed too fast to detect, blast straight through several walls, and then slowly walk toward them.
Akuto opened his mouth.
“I’m not interested in what you have to say.”
His voice was low, like a growl. It chilled Marine to his very bones. But at the same time, he couldn’t bring himself to look away. Along with the fear, he felt an incredible attraction. The same thing was true for The One.
“Have you come bearing death, cursed one?” The One asked. There was fear in his voice, but also a note of praise. But The One’s actions were those of a creature acting out of fear.
He grabbed the Jeweled Branch in his mouth, and jumped on top of a pilot’s seat that was shaped like a dog’s bed.
“I may be old, but I’m not senile enough to try and face you head on!” The One said, as shutters came down and sealed off the whole cockpit.
On the other side of the shutters, you could hear the sound of air pressure changing. The cockpit had probably been ejected from the airship.
Normally Akuto would’ve broken through the shutters and chased after him, but at this point he was far from sane. There was telling what he’d do.
“You killed Junko!” He charged thoughtlessly at Marine and attacked.
Marine raised a hand to try and block, but a torrent of power swept over him that made that impossible. Without even thinking, Marine used the Faceless Power. A light made of compressed mana, and a different, dazzling light, exploded between them.
“Gaah!”
“Guh!”
The two of them both moaned in pain and fell back from one another. There still seemed to be a burning heat in the air between them.
“That power...! Is that power what killed Junko?!” Akuto screamed.
“This... power...” Marine stared down at his hands.
He’d just used a power that wasn’t mana in combat. He could feel it. This was the same power that the Republic’s people had used to destroy the coast. The Faceless Power. A mysterious power that unleashed massive destruction in response to a strong human will. A forbidden power that The One had encouraged him to use freely.
Marine could feel that the power had reacted to his own will. His fear of Akuto and his self-defense instincts had caused it to activate.
“Did that evil within you kill her?” Akuto howled.
His power began to grow again. It was coming off him in waves of tangible pressure.
The mana was spreading out around him in a ball. And at the ball’s center, Akuto made it explode.
“Gwoah!”
Marine used the Faceless Power again. If he hadn’t, the shock wave would’ve ripped him apart. It was too much for the airship, which was torn apart from the inside.
How much power it would take to do that...
Marine didn’t want to think about it.
A warship like this would have armor only slightly less thick than a tank. And Akuto had blown it apart like a bursting balloon. Of course, Marine was just as capable of the impossible. The Faceless Power easily shielded him from it.
Fragments of the airship began to fall to the ground around him. The two of them were at the center of the explosion, but both were unharmed. Marine’s feelings about the Faceless Power were complex. It seemed equal in strength to Akuto’s mana. He had the power to fight Akuto, if he wanted.
Without it, he was dead, but it was hard to imagine such power as this not coming with a price. And then there was what The One had said to consider, as well.
“Stop this at once! You and I shouldn’t fight!” Marine shouted.
Akuto was unimpressed.
“Uwoooah!”
He rushed toward Marine once more.
Marine hadn’t lost control, and despite its incredible power, it would’ve been fairly easy for him to dodge Akuto’s charge. But instead, he blocked.
“Nuh...!”
He collided with Akuto head on. There was the sound of an explosion as their two powers collided. They both grimaced. But Akuto kept up his attack without slowing down.
“Uwooooaaah!”
Punches rained down on Marine. But Marine still just tried to block. And instead of using the Faceless Power, he blocked it with his own mana.
“Gaaah...!
He was blocking with his own mana-enhanced arms, but Akuto was using every ounce of his power. In the blink of an eye, his arms had sustained incredible damage.
“So this is your rage... your hatred....”
Marine had the vague idea that this was his punishment. Perhaps the Faceless Power was too much for humans to play with... For a single moment, Akuto’s fists stopped.
“What are you doing...?” Akuto asked.
“Well... The only time a man can lose his cool is when his parents or lover are killed. And that’s probably what’s happening to you right now. But... I see in you a man who bears the fate of an entire country. And thus, as someone who wishes to speak to you as an equal, it is my duty to endure your fury until you regain your senses.”
Akuto sighed quietly when he heard this. But of course, it wasn’t nearly enough to quell his anger. He raised his fist and screamed.
“Then don’t block! I’ll end this with a single strike!”
The Demon King’s words were madness. But they were convincing. Marine lowered his guard, without even thinking about it.
“...!”
He was ready to die. If this was Akuto’s final strike, that was okay with him. It was his punishment for allowing himself to be deceived. But...
The shock he was expecting never came.
“Don’t do it!”
A high-pitched voice slid in between them. Akuto’s fist stopped. Marine’s body froze. It was something that no one could have ever expected, and so it easily caught the both of them off guard. Nonimora had slid in between the two of them. And...
She was kissing Akuto.
“What...?”
The feeling of her soft lips drained the power from Akuto’s body. The rage faded from his eyes. Marine was too shocked to move, as well. And then...
Nonimora flipped around in mid-air and kissed Marine on the lips, too.
It all happened incredibly fast.
“Calm down, boys.”
She moved her lips away from his, and then pointed an index finger at both of them to stop them.
“If you want to stop a fight, Muchumuchu is the best way.”
Akuto and Marine were both too surprised to move. Marine recovered first, probably because he had more experience with women.
“Please understand. I want to talk,” Marine said.
Akuto had lost his chance to start the fight again. He stared back at Marine wordlessly.
“You should calm down. When the Faceless Power is used by an evil heart, it becomes an evil power. The important question is who has the evil heart.”
Marine’s expression changed as Nonimora spoke.
“You heard her. I understand your rage. But it’s my people that you’re mad at. If I have to apologize for something, it’s that.”
Marine’s face seemed filled with despair.
“Rage... toward his people?”
Akuto was beginning to calm down, and as he did, his naturally sharp instincts were beginning to return. He was beginning to realize what those words meant.
“Are you telling me that people’s hatred was what scorched the land?” Akuto asked.
Marine nodded quietly.
“Most likely...”
Akuto understood what the look on Marine’s face meant.
“T....” Akuto gritted his teeth, unsure of where to direct his anger.
“The Faceless Power acts based on the mind. The prince is responsible for unleashing it, of course,” Nonimora said.
Marine nodded.
“I believed in my people. If you want to say that that was foolish, go ahead. I know what I’ve done can never be undone. But... I also saved the Empire from nuclear weapons. I want you... to understand that. Understand that it was a good power as well.”
Akuto shook his head.
“I’m not sure what the hell I’m supposed to say to that. So what am I supposed to do, then?”
“We’ll just have to believe... that a good power can be better than an evil one.”
Marine didn’t seem, however, to believe it himself.
○
“Ackie...”
Keena saw everything that happened in the sky from below. Of course, she’d seen Nonimora kiss him as well. She knew that she didn’t have a choice, but it still hurt. She wanted it to be her own kiss that calmed Akuto down. The fact that someone else had stolen that role from her... hurt more than she’d expected.
“Shall I strangle that primitive in her sleep, your majesty?” Korone asked.
Keena knew she was trying to lighten the mood, but it didn’t work.
“You can’t strangle her. You know that...”
“I see. That’s a shame.”
“It’s not a shame at all...” Keena sighed.
The three above them were coming down from the sky. The air was filled with gloom. Both Akuto and Marine had pursed their lips into a frown, and even Nonimora looked stern.
“Ackie...” Keena said as he landed, but all he did was give her a short nod.
“Are we following The One?” Korone asked.
That, Akuto responded to.
“Looks like we don’t have a choice. He stole the Jeweled Branch, and without it, we can’t steal the Faceless Power.”
Akuto glanced in Marine’s direction quickly. Marine didn’t nod, but he agreed with Akuto.
“I think we should. The Faceless Power needs to be sealed as soon as possible.”
“Despite the power it offers...?” Akuto looked at Marine with doubtful eyes. With the Faceless Power, Marine was every bit as strong as Akuto. But Marine agreed with him once more.
“It should be sealed. I’m counting on my people to use it as a good power... but The One said this: He was going to destroy the world in a way no one would ever expect, and for that, he had to continue to use the Faceless Power.”
Marine’s expression was serious. Akuto’s expression didn’t change, but he agreed, at least verbally.
“Then we follow The One. We get back the Jeweled Branch and seal the Faceless Power.”
“I’ll help with that... But there’s a problem. I’ve been given an implant which prevents me from attacking The One.” Marine said, apologetically.
“An implant?” Akuto said. He didn’t know how they worked.
Korone spoke up.
“A type of brainwashing that implants small machines into the body to directly control a person’s mana. It’s very difficult to deal with.”
She took an X-Ray device out of her bag and held it up to Marine.
“Let me take a look.”
The device, which looked like a speed detector, was displaying Marine’s abdomen on its monitor. Inside they could see the silhouette of what looked like a small capsule.
“With my surgical tools I can remove the implant itself. But that may be dangerous to your mind,” Korone explained.
Many implants contained traps to make them difficult to remove. The ones that just exploded were bad enough, but the most dangerous of them all were those that had a magical effect on the victim’s mind.
Nonimora suddenly spoke up.
“If it’s an implant, I can deal with it.”
“What do you mean?” Korone asked, but Nonimora nodded confidently.
“Implants have been a part of the village’s tradition for years. Of course, the ways to remove them have, too.”
“That’s right. Your village has lost technology, doesn’t it?”
“Do you not use them anymore? The best way to remove the trap is to do hem-hem during the operation. It makes it so it can’t affect your mind.”
Nonimora puffed out her chest.
“Truly one of life’s great mysteries,” Korone said, but she seemed sufficiently convinced.
“Okay, I’ll do it! Come with me, Mr. Handsome man!” Nonimora beckoned to Marine.
You wouldn’t guess it from the way she was acting, but hem-hem was this village’s euphemism for sex.
“Are you serious?” Akuto asked. But Nonimora’s face was serious indeed.
“Asking if I’m serious is rude. I’m very serious. Of course, since it’s not a festival I don’t want to let people see it, so we’ll go into those bushes.”
“Um... wait...”
Both Akuto and Marine were hesitant. But Korone and Nonimora each grabbed Marine by an arm and dragged him off into the bushes.
“If it’ll get rid of the implant, I’ll do it...” Marine said, still a bit hesitant.
And then they went into the bushes and out of sight. Akuto and Keena were left behind, unsure of what to do next. The circumstances were incredibly serious, but still, something felt ridiculous about this whole situation. The two of them both sighed and sat down.
They could hear voices from the bushes, but couldn’t see.
“When do I remove the implant?”
“When the mind starts to focus on the hem-hem. That’s when you do the surgery.”
Marine didn’t seem to know what hem-hem meant.
“Hem-hem...?”
“You don’t know it? Well, that’s fine. Just don’t move.”
A minute later they heard Marine cry out in surprise.
“W-What are you doing?!”
“Don’t move. We’re going to do hem-hem. Of course I need to get naked.”
“Naked...? Why?”
“Because we’re doing hem-hem. Just like I said.”
“Wait... why are you taking my pants off, though?”
“Can you be a little more cooperative? Hem-hem is a two person job, you know.”
Nonimora’s voice was bright and cheerful, but Marine gasped in shock.
“D-Don’t tell me that hem-hem is...”
“Hem-hem is hem-hem, duh. Now stay put. We’re going to get rid of that implant.”
“But what does that have to do with anything...?”
“Hem-hem helps the mind concentrate. Weren’t you listening?”
It was hard to tell if Marine found this explanation persuasive or not, but he shot up.
“But I’m a prince, you know...”
“Who cares? It’s not like guys lose anything by doing it. Nobody else will know if you did or not.”
“But your body...”
“I’m very healthy. I don’t have any diseases. Do you?”
“No, I don’t... but...”
“Then we’re fine. Today’s a day where I won’t become pon-pon, after all. Now... huh? You’re not very baki-baki, are you?”
“I-I don’t know how I could be, considering...”
“Let go! That’s a very rude thing to do to a woman. I’ll make sure everything’s ready. Be grateful!”
“Hyah... uwah...”
There was the sound of something rubbing something else, and then muffled whispers.
“How do we handle the timing?”
“We’ll have to have him tell us. Take out the implant when he reaches his peak.”
“His peak?”
“When he dop-dops, of course.”
Akuto could do nothing but chuckle as he sat there listening. The whole atmosphere had changed.
“Y-You know, this is kind of...” Akuto whispered.
Maybe this was something Nonimora had that made her special. She’d just saved him a few moments earlier, too. If she hadn’t intervened, he would’ve killed Marine.
“Hey, Ackie...”
He heard a voice next to him. Keena was leaning up against him.
“What is it?”
“Um...”
Keena was fidgeting. They could hear lustful moans and the sounds of two things rubbing together from the bushes. Sitting in silence, there was no way for them to avoid it.
“Um, well... uh...”
Akuto tried to speak and trailed off too. Suddenly, Keena made her move. She wrapped an arm around Akuto’s body, and looked up into his eyes.
“Ackie...” she said, and pursed her lips.
Akuto knew what she meant. He remembered the conversations she’d had with Nonimora. He’d known for a while now what she wanted him to do. But...
Normally the feeling of Keena’s body against his made him relax. But now it just felt heavy. Part of the reason was that he’d betrayed her by killing Morlock. And part of it was that he’d just lost Junko, the other girl he loved.
Keena closed her eyes.
The moans from the bushes were becoming impossible to ignore. For some reason, Akuto felt like he was being forced into something he didn’t want to do.
“That’s not right.”
He didn’t know what wasn’t right, but he said it anyway. Keena’s face looked sad as she opened her eyes.
“I’m sorry. But um...”
Akuto shook his head. And then suddenly, he heard the sound of something popping within her. It was like a soap bubble being blown by a gentle breeze.
Akuto looked into her eyes, surprised. They were a mysterious color.
“Something sad, very sad, is going to happen. Your mistake began a long time ago, after all.”
He recognized the soft voice. The Law of Identity. That’s what she had called herself, he recalled.
“Keena?”
“The girl you call that is me, but not me. Especially now,” she answered.
“Why did you show up now?” he asked.
“Because her heart can no longer endure the pain...” The other Keena answered sadly. “That’s the answer that’s closest to the truth.”
“But I...” Akuto began to mumble. But the Law of Identity continued.
“This is your mistake. For a long time, and even now, you’ve continued to make a very small mistake. You let me do your thinking for you. You fought against other’s plots. But still, you never truly resisted. And this is the result. My prayer is that you will not make that mistake again.”
She was neither blaming nor consoling him, simply speaking the truth.
Akuto didn’t understand what she was saying. No, he didn’t want to understand. It had come out of nowhere, but she was talking about his sin. The being he called the Law of Identity had saved him several times before. When Boichiro Yamato had tried to do the ritual with her. When he’d been left on the moon with her. But now, she’d come out of nowhere to condemn him.
“Mistake? I don’t think what you’re saying is right. And I think of you as a savior...”
“That is your mistake. The false story that you’ve rejected for so long... If it is false, then the story where I am a savior is false too. Yes. I am who I am, and nothing more. Anything which is enough of a story that it cannot reject causality, is a mistake,” she said calmly.
“What...?”
In a vague way... he knew what she meant. But if that was true... if that was really true...
“Tell me... What should I do?”
“Nobody knows the answer to that. But only the passage of time will tell you of your mistakes. That’s all there is to it. With great power comes great responsibility. That is the way of mankind. The truth is that a great power can be used in any way its wielder wishes. But the results of how that power is used will always exist.”
“That’s crazy. That’s causality itself. Are you saying that you’re god, or something?”
“No. I am the beginning of the self. The first point of its existence. Since I have existed from the start of time, I have seen many mistakes made. Even I don’t know what is right. What those with power desire, is what becomes everything that is right.”
The answer given was one of despair.
“So you’re saying it’s my fault that I’ve lost so much?”
“Correct. But still, you must continue forward, as you always have.”
“But I can’t...!” Akuto trailed off.
And then he realized that there was nothing else she had to say to him. The strange color faded from Keena’s eyes. The normal Keena was back. By the time an awkward-looking Marine and oddly-satisfied looking Nonimora came back, Keena was looking at Akuto with a sad look on her face.
2 - About a Life That Will Soon Die
The state of the battle was as bad as it could be. Yoshie Kita and Yuko Hattori, who were sitting in the command room watching it unfold, were some of the few people in the empire who understood its true scale.
“The Northern Sea Theater has been wiped out!”
“Every city in Kyushu has gone up in flames!”
“There’s no answer coming in from Shikoku!”
“Central theater is requesting reinforcements!”
More and more terrible messages were coming in. They knew why. The explosion, no, the flames, that had killed Junko were now landing all over the Empire. It was the Faceless Power.
“If Brave’s report is right, the Faceless Power is the collective consciousness of an entire race,” Yoshie whispered.
“Why is it destroying a whole country? Nobody can be permitted to have a power like that!”
The tears were flowing endlessly down Yuko’s face. But Yoshie shook her head.
“If there ever was a power that could be commanded by human will, it would be dedicated to destruction, not creation. Of course, in the long run, it will turn toward creation, but during a time of war...”
“Then what can we do to stop it?”
Yuko’s voice was practically a scream.
Yoshie tapped the keys of the computer in front of her, analyzing the situation.
“The power isn’t something supernatural. Those colorless flames are heat, manifesting from another dimension. In other words, if there was some power that could control it, like virtual phase space...”
“The Imperial Capital Coast has avoided destruction. It’s the Demon King. The Demon King is pushing back the enemy!” one of the incoming messages said.
“That’s right... The Demon King has that power!”
“But this demon king isn’t Akuto, it’s...”
“It’s Kei Sakura...!”
The two of them looked at each other.
○
It was, in fact, Kei Sakura. Kei was alone, pushing back the forces of the Republic. He was at the front lines of the capital city’s defense. Kei was floating in the air, surrounded by a dazzling light, sinking one Republic ship after another as they swarmed in from the sea.
He looked less like a demon king, and more like an angel passing judgment.
“I never thought I had it in me to protect the whole capital,” Kei said.
He’d put up a screen to block the colorless flames coming down from the sky, as he used the rest of his power to sink the ships. It wasn’t easy, but it was possible for him now.
“I’m feeling sharper than I ever have in my life.”
But an opponent that would be difficult even for him was coming over the ocean.
“...Sigh. I didn’t expect him to come here,” Kei said.
It was Brave. He was flying low above the ocean, like a missile.
○
“Anti-Demon King Combat Mode.”
“Command received. Entering Anti-Demon King Combat Mode.”
Brave activated the mana canceler, and his mana-absorbing device began to run as well.
“In this situation, I’m at an overwhelming advantage,” Brave said to Kei. He wasn’t using the comms system. They were close enough that they could speak to one another.
“I know. But why are you attacking me?” Kei smiled.
“Because you’re a demon king!” Brave shouted as he flew toward Kei. Kei just barely managed to dodge the charge at the last second.
“I’m protecting the Empire though now, aren’t I?” Kei’s voice was calm, but his movements were hurried. He was putting up the screen, attacking the enemy ships, and fleeing Brave. Even for Kei, dodging Brave’s attacks was the most he could do.
“But you’re killing the Republic’s people!”
He brought his high-frequency blade down on Kei. Kei quickly jumped back to dodge. No mana would work within a certain distance of Brave. That’s how powerful the mana canceler was. For that reason, it was impossible for Kei to block the blade.
“The Republic’s people want the Empire destroyed. What’s wrong with trying to stop that?” Kei said, mockingly.
When he got far enough away from Brave, he began to fly about in a circle. He was beautiful, but there was something terrible about him, like a butterfly from a nightmare.
“But what happens after that? You’re going to die after that!” Brave yelled. The answer he got, though, wasn’t what he expected.
“I know that. The One wouldn’t make me a demon king out of the goodness of his heart. I’ve probably been given an implant. I assume.”
“What did you say?!”
Brave was shocked to find out that Kei already knew this, but what he said after that was even more shocking.
“I’m trying to destroy the world. So all that matters to me is the order of what gets destroyed when. In the end, of course, I’m going to die too,” he said, flatly.
Brave swallowed his shock and tried to understand what he was hearing. And then he realized again what it was he had to do.
—I need to kill Kei as soon as possible.
“You’re going to have to die, then!”
He charged again. Kei dodged, and then whispered.
“I’m not an idiot. I know your weakness.”
Brave’s weakness was that by surrounding him with VPS fields, the energy he needed could be cut off. Without that energy, he would have to run on battery. Kei had already blanketed the area in VPS fields.
“Well, I know that you know my weakness!”
Brave advanced faster. If he could reach the end of the fields, he could escape them. But...
“The VPS fields are affected by the mana canceler. But...”
Kei dodged his attacks like a dancer, and then pointed at Brave.
“...All I have to do is bring the field along with me as I move.”
He smiled.
“That weapon was created to kill the Demon King, but it was a failure. That was obvious when Boichiro Yamato failed!”
He laughed mockingly, but Brave answered him with a laser.
“Alright then...!”
The lasers fired from his back, and twisted and bent as they homed in on Kei, piercing through the VPS fields. But Kei blocked the laser with a mana shield, and instantly repaired the broken fields. All Brave had done was waste his energy.
“Your battery is about to run out,” Kei said confidently. And he was right. The battery indicator on Brave’s visor was flashing.
Kei continued to provoke him.
“You can be the first victim. No, you’re not the first, are you? Some people in the Empire have already died.”
Brave snapped.
“Shut up! Don’t mock their deaths!”
“Their deaths? Who cares about death? Death is just skipping a single stage of events.”
Brave was serious, but Kei’s tone was light and mocking.
“What are you talking about? When people die, they’re not around anymore!” he yelled. But Kei’s attitude didn’t change.
“You do understand. That’s right. Unless you understand death the way I do, you’ll never understand the beautiful destruction I seek.”
“...Beautiful destruction? That’s bullshit!”
“The Demon King is...”
This time, Kei didn’t try to dodge Brave’s charge. He just raised his right hand. And then fired a mana ball with incredible strength. This was just when Brave’s battery ran out.
“!”
Brave took the mana ball head on. His mana canceler failed, and he was forced to face its full impact. There was the sound of an explosion. Brave fell from the sky, smoke trailing after him.
“The Demon King is what will bring death to all life in this world.”
He smirked as he looked down at the falling Brave. But just when Brave was about to splash into the sea...
“Switching to autonomous mode,” the Brave suit said. The lights on his visor came back on.
“It only comes on when the battery runs out...? Is this thing defective?” Hiroshi muttered to himself.
The Brave suit was absorbing the shock, but if Hiroshi hadn’t used his own mana to block, he would’ve died instantly.
“Micronuclear Reactor temperature stable. No radiation leak detected.”
“So this is the extra functionality that got added, huh?”
An internal micronuclear reactor. That was what was keeping Brave alive. It was the secret weapon that Kento had given him.
“What happened?” Kei said as he watched Brave’s plunge come to an abrupt halt.
“I’m still in the game!”
Brave flew back upward.
○
But Brave had other enemies.
“Stop it! Are you just a machine that exists to kill the Demon King?!”
“Demon king or not, he’s protecting us now!”
He could hear someone screaming at him from the mana screen he was monitoring. Yuko was watching the same screen.
“What’s going on?” Yuko said, looking at the screen, half-terrified.
The people in the Imperial Capital’s refugee camps were watching Kei fight on their monitors, and screaming. They were packed tightly into the evacuation center, but all of them were far more concerned with the fate of the Empire than their own plight.
“He’s fighting the Republic, so even if he’s a demon king, he’s OUR Demon King,” Yoshie said, sighing.
“But...!” Yuko screamed, but Yoshie just shook her head.
“Everything’s going just the way that new demon king wants it to. If the Empire gets the Faceless Power, they’ll want revenge. And they’ll probably do what Kei tells them to.”
Yuko’s blood ran cold.
“What exactly does he want to do?”
“That’s a good question... If we take him at his word, he wants ‘a beautiful destruction.’”
Yoshie was never perturbed by anything, but Yuko felt something cold run down her spine too.
“Beautiful destruction...”
“If he doesn’t mean destruction in the true sense, then it makes the question I had more plausible... My question, you see, is about the fictional nature of death in this world.”
From her expression, Yuko could tell that this wasn’t just one of her usual fancy speeches. There was a deeper meaning. If she was bringing the subject up now, no matter how strange it may seem, it must have had something to do with what they were discussing.
“The fictional... nature of death? Do you mean death isn’t real?” Yuko asked. Yoshie nodded.
“The existence of VPS. The existence of the Faceless Power. And then there’s Keina, who came out of nowhere and then disappeared. All of this indicates that we exist in some type of phase space accessible from the outside.”
Yuko didn’t understand what she was saying.
“W-What...? So death isn’t real, and other worlds exist? I don’t understand at all.”
Yoshie put her finger on her chin in thought, and then tried framing it another way.
“I’m talking about the afterlife. What if the things we call heaven and hell are real? And then the world we live in now is a lie. Maybe it doesn’t matter if you live or die. The technology to travel through time, as well as the existence of gods from the outer universe hint at something... What if all life in this world was fictional? That would explain everything.’
“B-But we’re living! We’re suffering! Right now!” Yuko shouted.
Yoshie nodded silently.
“We’re each independent. We each have our own thoughts. So the world exists. But we can’t deny the possibility that the world is fictional. Unless we face death, as death...”
“I’m totally lost... What are you saying?”
“I’ll explain the rest.”
Yoshie and Yuko turned around, and saw that the speaker was Fujiko Eto. She’d gone off on her own. If she’d come back, that meant..
“I went back to the land where the Demon King was born.”
○
It was well-known that Fujiko was researching information about Black Mages. But even though Fujiko had thought she’d prepared for any contingency, she’d found a secret that even she couldn’t believe. It was the reason the Demon King was born as a weapon. And the true nature of the world.
The key to the black mage traditions that Issei Suzuki had given her had teleported her to a secret lab deep within what appeared to be a jungle. The lab clearly predated the empire’s creation. It was an ancient building made from rotting concrete.
There was a sign on the entrance that read “_____ labs”, the name being impossible to make out. Someone had scratched it off.
—A lab... But it predates the Empire...
Fujiko became suspicious. Any labs dating from the time of the first development of magic would be old. But this place seemed too old. The most they could’ve done here was work on basic theories.
Fujiko went inside.
The lab was still in good order. There were rows of computers, and cardboard boxes stacked in various places. It looked like someone was about to move. But it was still ancient. The years and the plants from the jungle outside had done their work on the structure, and it felt like simply touching something would cause it to fall apart. When she went to open the top of a nearby cardboard box, the whole lid ripped off in her hands.
Inside, there were old papers.
The papers were in bad enough shape that she was reluctant to try and peel each piece apart, but she could still make out the words on the first page. It was a document having to do with early research into magic. Something involving nanomachines.
“So this was where the very first wave of research was performed, then...”
Fujiko went deeper into the facility, opening boxes as she went. She didn’t find anything useful, but at the very deepest part, she came to what looked like the director’s office. And there, she found a journal.
It was a black leather binder, with a sizable amount of pages. If this belonged to the director, he’d been keeping it for a long time. But when she glanced through it, she could see that he’d been doing more than just recording the days events. It was the musings of the director, who’d been grappling with a certain doubt. Specifically, that doubt was...
—A fictional world?
This research would undoubtedly bring happiness to later generations. But at the same time, that happiness depended on a certain falsehood. The results of the research performed at this facility was proof of that.
As she read the rest of the book, her body began to break out in a cold sweat.
Summarized, the contents were as follows.
“Many people have wondered if the world was fictional. For example, you may know that you exist, but perhaps the rest of the world is just an illusion. But there’s a clear response to that argument. The existence of other people. If you exist, then you must admit the existence of other people who think, and exist, as well. If you accept the death of others as equivalent to your own death, then you know that even if someone dies, the world remains.”
“So, even if you die, the world will continue on. But there is one thing that you cannot prove or disprove. What if this whole world is somebody’s dream? There’s no clear answer to that question. You can hypothesize that this world was made by god, or perhaps a story dreamt up by an author. But it’s impossible to prove the existence of god, or an author, from within the world.”
“Except, that has now changed.”
—Unbelievable... If this is true...
Fujiko shivered. The world was fictional. That was the answer the research described in this journal had come to. It said “If someone went to the afterlife and came back, they could prove that this world is fictional.”
The conclusion wasn’t spine-chilling, so much as it was maddening.
To die and come back... To “resurrect.” That concept was present in every religion ever to exist. Perhaps by believing in resurrection, people instinctively realized that they could make the world into fiction.
If the person who died and came back had the same mind, then you could prove the world after death existed. And if there existed a world after death, it meant that someone existed outside this world.
That being would be a god, in the true sense. A god of the outer world. If resurrection was true, then perhaps this world was a lie.
A fictional world created by this outer god.
The journal spent many pages discussing how to prove the world after death existed, but this next line was the only one that mattered.
Subject 1 went to the afterlife and returned, and for this reason he is called the Demon King.
—Of course, Akuto died... and was reborn! So the first demon king also...
Fujiko remembered what had happened then, and shuddered even more.
She read more of the journal. The lab director’s thoughts had begun to move in a direction that she hadn’t anticipated.
“The Demon King is a weapon, created by a portion of a network of computer gods. Where does his power come from? To answer this, we must think about the Law of Identity.”
“The Law of Identity. This is, taken literally, the immutable law that says that you are yourself. I’ve already discussed how the fact that you exist as a real, thinking creature, proves this world exists. But what happens if this world is someone’s dream? The answer to that is simple. The world is created by the Law of Identity of the world’s author.”
“So what is the world, then? The world is fiction. But at the same time, this fictional world is completely real when seen from within. From the outside, lies. From within, truth. Let us look at this world from outside, as fiction. How was it born?”
“When you take away everything from the Law of Identity except itself, you are left with yourself, facing your law of identity. That person is the first. Imagine a dreamer dreaming of a world wherein a dreamer dreams of a world where in a dreamer dreams... and so on, and so forth for infinity, but as long as one person is there, facing his own law of identity, that person is the first. And that person has swallowed up all of existence and all life.”
“This person is far too lonely to be called a god. A creature that is truly alone. Then what is the world? Anything miscellaneous added on to the Law of Identity... That is the world. If the world is fiction created by the Law of Identity, then it’s possible that this fiction can have a mind, and a life. It would be entirely possible and normal, in fact, for it to surpass the Law of Identity.”
“And if all of these fictional existences roam free, then some of them will try to learn the truth about this world. In our world, that would be the computer gods that form our system. The computer gods asked themselves. Is the fact that they, who are not living creatures, are capable of thought, proof that this world is fictional? And then they created the Demon King.”
“By revealing the falsehoods of this world, and overcoming “death”, the Demon King could take the computer gods and the people to the real world. That was the Demon King’s true role.”
—So this is the truth...?
Fujiko closed the journal and put it inside her clothes.
Was the man simply mad? Or was this all true? If she had to guess between the two, she would bet on it being true. If the Law of Identity was who the computer gods worshiped, then it was difficult to imagine the Demon King they created being a simple weapon. The fact that the computer gods tried to perform a ritual that involved killing Keena supported that too.
The part about overcoming death backed it up too. It was Akuto himself that proved that bringing back the dead in a way different from typical necromancy was possible.
—But if Akuto isn’t just a weapon, but human as well...
That would mean this world was a fiction, and any human could be revived.
Fujiko searched the desk further. Among various objects, she found a notebook with a picture of something she recognized. It was the Jeweled Branch.
“So that’s what they were working on here...” Fujiko said, and flipped through the book.
It contained entries for the Buddha’s Stone Bowl. The Robe of the Fire Rat. The Dragon-Neck Jewel. And the Swallow’s Cowry Shell.
“Each of these items was named after something from an ancient legend...”
Fujiko went through them all, and shockingly, some of them she’d already seen. The Begging Bowl and the Dragon-Neck Jewel. The former was the stone coffin that Akuto had used to come back to life. And the latter, Peterhausen.
“So that’s...”
Their strange, almost mystical powers, had been developed here.
“So there’s two more, then...”
The Robe of the Fire Rat. And the Swallow’s Cowry Shell. One was a sheet shaped like a parabolic antenna. The other a capsule that a person could ride in. Fujiko tucked this notebook into her clothes as well. Fujiko was sure that she’d come closer to the truth than anyone else.
But why had this truth not been passed down? Fujiko read further, looking for answers.
“If there are many other worlds like our own, when they realize their world is a fiction, they’ll attempt to make contact with ours. For this reason, these must never be used.”
○
“So the world really is fictional...” Yoshie whispered as she read through the journal Fujiko gave her.
“You could say we’ve found proof,” Fujiko nodded.
Yoshie nodded as well.
“You’re right. I was suspicious ever since I started wondering about this world’s space research programs. It felt to me like past this solar system, nothing existed.”
“That’s right, when we went to the moon...”
“Yes. Research into space was forbidden. As if this whole world is just a tiny walled garden. And now it’s clear. Akuto overcame death... If anybody else can do the same thing...”
Fujiko finished her sentence.
“Then this world must be someone’s dream.”
“It’s impossible. It’s doubly impossible. But if something’s twice as impossible as normal impossible, then maybe it’s safe to assume it’s true...” Yoshie chuckled.
“If only humans can observe the world, then when humans are gone, the world will cease to exist. But if the same person that died can come back to life, that means that someone is controlling this world. Which means it isn’t real,” Yoshie said, and then rubbed her temples like she had a headache.
“And it’s equally possible that there are many worlds like this one...”
“The gods of the outer universe. They were the reason the computer gods of our world tried to turn humans into data and escape. They’re coming. And when they come, they’ll bring true destruction.”
“...It’s possible we’re looking at the true end of the world.”
“Should we be crying and screaming? Maybe not.”
“It’s not a simple binary choice,” Fujiko said, shaking her head.
“What are you guys talking about? Explain! I don’t understand at all!” Yuko screamed at the top of her lungs.
The one thing she knew was that something bad was happening. But she didn’t know what.
“Basically, this world is a fake, and someone created us. And whoever’s toying with this world is coming from the outside to destroy it,” Fujiko said, deliberately keeping her voice calm.
“What...?” Yuko fell silent.
Yoshie chuckled and continued.
“It’s not that bad. It’s possible that we won’t die. It’s possible that death actually just means going to a different world.”
“But that’s... that’s even worse...” Yuko whispered.
“You may be right... But...”
Fujiko shook her head.
“Then what do you think Kei is trying to do?”
○
“Death on a massive scale. Total destruction. These are the only things that matter,” Kei said.
“Are you crazy?” Brave yelled.
“An empty plain. A wasteland containing nothing but rocks and sand. These are the only beautiful things, aren’t they?”
“You’re nuts!”
“If I’m nuts, that just means that I’m different from the rest of our society,” Kei laughed.
“Bullshit!”
Kei and Brave had been fighting in mid-air for several minutes. Brave would chase and Kei would run. It felt like this game of tag would continue on forever. But then suddenly, Kei spoke.
“If it’s possible there’s life after death, then doesn’t that mean that what I’m doing is right?”
“....!”
Brave froze in place. He wanted to say that it was a ridiculous idea, but he couldn’t. He had an open line to the control room where Yoshie and the others were talking. He’d heard what they were saying.
“Then why...? Why protect the empire? Who cares if they’re all going to die?”
“These things need to be done in order, right? The users of the Faceless Power need to die first.”
“You mean...” Brave gasped.
It seemed like Kei had already known what Fujiko had just learned. What Kei said now seemed much more plausible. If the Faceless Power was a collective consciousness, it may well have something to do with the afterlife. At this point, not even Yoshie, let alone Brave, knew who was really trying to save the world, and who was trying to destroy it.
“Which means defeating me will help bring about the true end of the world!” Kei shouted, mockingly.
“Tch... What do I do?”
Brave didn’t know. But...
The image of a man’s face flashed through his mind.
“But even if that’s true... that’s the boss’s job!”
There was more than one demon king. Brave gave a shout and charged. Kei was caught off guard. The high-frequency blade tore open the surface of his chest. He managed to avoid a fatal blow, but it was clear that he’d taken damage.
“Uwaah!” Kei screamed.
Normally a wound like that would be instantly curable, but it wasn’t closing. Of course, that was due to Brave’s mana canceler.
“Damn it! Damn it!” Kei shouted as he fell, Brave in hot pursuit.
“High-temperature plasma ball, loaded!” Brave whispered, like a death sentence. A ball of plasma appeared around him with incredible destructive power. It covered his heat-resistant suit as he headed straight toward Kei.
“It’s over!”
Brave drew ever closer. Kei’s expression froze. He’d been stripped of his powers, and now there was nothing he could do. And then...
“Wait!”
Someone slipped between them.
“What..?!”
“...!”
Both Brave and Kei fell silent. Shockingly, it was none other than Kento.
“Stop it! Please don’t defeat him now!”
“Why, Kento?!” Brave yelled. But he couldn’t halt his momentum.
The high-temperature plasma ball burned Kento’s right arm, which he’d extended to shield Kei, right off.
“Gwaah...!”
A scream echoed across the sea.
○
“What’s going on...?” Yoshie gasped.
“It seems like things are going in the worst way possible. For some reason Kento...” Fujiko trailed off. But Yoshie wasn’t looking at Brave’s monitor screen.
“What is it?”
“An... asteroid.” Yoshie said, her voice trembling.
“An asteroid?” Fujiko peered over her mana screen. She had a bad feeling. The screen showed a small shining star, visible even in the middle of the day.
“Asteroids aren’t that rare, are they?” Yuko asked.
“This one is...” Yoshie pulled up data onto her mana screen. It showed the path the asteroid was traveling. “This one came from past Pluto.”
“Pluto...?”
“Just in case, I was gathering data on how weird space is. One of the reasons I was doing this is that like I said before, I don’t think anything past Pluto exists. That’d mean that it just appeared at the edge of the Solar System. I don’t know when, precisely, but I just found it now,” Yoshie said.
“It’s hard to imagine I missed it until now. It was picked up by the wartime air defense network. Surprisingly enough, the network picks up anything in the solar system that’s heading toward the empire.”
“It’s watching the whole solar system? That’s...” Fujiko’s expression clouded with terror.
—There was a chance that something may attack us from beyond outer space.
That’s what the lab chief’s journal had said, wasn’t it?
“It looks like this air defense network existed since the start of the empire. Back then, the Empire was monitoring the solar system. That backs up what was in that journal even more...”
“This is impossible...”
“The asteroid is 20 kilometers across.”
“20 kilometers...?”
“Enough to destroy the entire Empire.” Yoshie sounded grim.