Chapter 203: The era of upheaval (3)

“Grrrr! This cannot be! That I would end up like this because of something like this…!”

Tabu gathered all his strength and curled his body.

When his overwhelming physical strength pulled on the chains, the resistance was transmitted directly to Shirone’s brain.

It was a monstrous force.

Shirone further increased the tension of the Shining Chain using the durability of Indestructible Body.

Tabu’s body, unable to withstand it, stretched completely and let out a furious scream.

“Kraaaaaa!”

The price of resisting was high.

The chains of light broke through Tabu’s hardened surface and embedded themselves into his body.

His limbs twisted grotesquely, and his waist bent at an impossible angle, as if it were about to break at any moment.

“He… hehehe…”

Tabu could not believe it.

In all his life, he had never been reduced to such a miserable state.

And even less because of a mere human.

“Fine, you managed to catch me. And now what will you do? You will not be able to maintain it forever.”

Considering Tabu’s durability, the only way to eliminate him was with a laser.

But the problem was that, as long as the Gravity Chain was maintained, he could not cast another spell.

Eruki, with his peculiar mental circuit, could use Double Spirit Zone, but for a normal human, thinking of two things at the same time was extremely difficult.

Of course, there were exceptions, but most magic inevitably involved a delay.

For example, during teleportation no other magic could be used.

And especially, the Shining Chain was a sustained magic that consumed mental energy in real time, like a Fire Wall.

Therefore, attacking Tabu with another spell was impossible.

“Where did you take my friends?”

“To the refuge of the angels. To breed Nephilim. Hehehe… what a pity. They will not be your children.”

Shirone’s eyes became bloodshot.

He did not even process the word Nephilim.

He did not understand all the details, but he knew that something horrible was going to happen.

Tabu stuck out his tongue to its root and waved it.

“Hehehe! Give up! If you cannot even handle a one-horned Mara, you will never be able to save them. By now, the girls must already be in a miserable state…”

“Ghk!”

The chains of light tightened strongly.

Tabu’s neck bent as if it were about to snap.

The sound of Shirone grinding his teeth could be heard.

“Watch what you say. I will not forgive you.”

“Hahaha! How exciting. But do you not want to hear more? It is an incredibly entertaining story. The true forbidden fruit!”

Shirone pushed the tension to the limit.

Even he did not know what the limit was.

But at that moment, he only wanted to stop Tabu from speaking further.

“Kraaaaaa!”

A tearing scream erupted.

An irresistible force began to crush his body.

Tabu understood.

That was the end.

“Do not get cocky. I will return. The day human corruption reaches its peak, I will come for you. Without fail… Kraaaak!”

Crack!

A chilling sound ran through Tabu’s entire body.

It was not like human bones breaking, but like solid rock being crushed.

When the Shining Chain disappeared, only Tabu’s corpse remained.

His body was twisted grotesquely, as if it were a clay figure crushed by hand.

Canis felt a chill as he saw the power of the Shining Chain.

If it was capable of crushing Tabu like that, any living being would be destroyed with ease.

Like a rabbit caught in a trap, it would lose all possibility of choosing between life and death.

As soon as Tabu disappeared, Shirone collapsed to the ground.

He planted both hands into the earth and his shoulders began to tremble.

He felt no emotion for having achieved the magic.

Nor satisfaction for having defeated Tabu.

Amy, Tess, and Arin had been kidnapped.

And they had said they would use them to breed Nephilim.

An impulse that drove him mad struck his chest.

He had never hated himself so much.

Peophe flew toward Shirone.

As a mage, she could imagine how much mental energy the Shining Chain had required.

“You… are you okay?”

Peophe gathered courage to ask.

But Shirone did not react.

As she approached, she heard a murmur.

“It is my fault…”

Peophe, without knowing why, became angry and began scolding him while pointing at him.

“Idiot! Why did you have to make this so big? Even if it is a fallen angel, it is still a law above Shamayin! What do you think will happen now to the people of this area? This is all because of your—”

“Aaaahhhh!”

Peophe’s shoulders trembled.

Shirone’s face, as he lifted his head, was completely broken.

Anger, despair, and sadness were mixed together, as if he were falling into an abyss.

“It is my fault… because of me Amy… Tess… Arin… it is all my fault…”

Peophe could no longer continue scolding him.

Shirone’s gaze was not that of someone alive.

There was no trace left of the boy who had challenged Igirin and denied the Liquor of Anecdotes.

“The girls will be safe. At least for now.”

Shirone turned toward Igirin.

Unable to move due to the punishment of her transgression, she had a serious expression.

“Safe? What do you mean safe?”

“The reason Ikasa took the girls is because they are virgins. They insert angelic information into the body of a woman who has not given birth, to gestate a Nephilim.”

Canis spoke.

“That is even worse! Maybe not for you, but for humans there is something called purity.”

“What you are thinking will not happen. Angels consider it shameful to have relations with humans.”

Rian intervened.

“Then that means it is possible, right? There is no guarantee that in the worst case it will not happen.”

“Possibility and probability are different things. Angels are a species with both sexes. Therefore, they can relate to humans, but they would never commit an act that stains their honor.”

Shirone regained hope upon hearing Igirin.

If angels were rulers who respected principles and beliefs, there was still a chance of rescue.

And depending on the situation, Amy and the others might also generate a variable.

Rian placed a hand on Shirone’s shoulder.

“Shirone, how are you? Have you calmed down a bit? It is the first time I see you like this.”

“Sorry… I lost control. I should have thought first about rescuing my friends.”

“It is nothing. I was not in my right mind either.”

Anyone would have reacted like that.

Just as Amy was important to Shirone, Tess was also someone Rian trusted.

And for Canis there was also someone he had to protect.

‘Arin…’

Canis’s heart burned like never before.

He had managed to protect Arin even in the brutal life of Radum.

And even so, she had been taken from him so easily.

Why had he not immediately thrown himself at Ikasa?

Because he had grown weak.

Hope, a happy future those things had weakened his heart.

‘Arin, wait a little longer.’

Canis decided to become once again the wild dog he had been in Radum.

If he had another chance, he would not hesitate to risk his life to destroy the enemy.

Shirone asked.

“Tell me. How can we reach the refuge of the angels?”

Peophe asked, incredulous.

“And what do you plan to do with that? Do you really intend to go rescue them?”

“Of course I have to go. Do you know how to get there?”

Of course she knew the method.

Moreover, she could more or less imagine where Amy and the others had been taken.

But precisely because of that, she also knew that Shirone could not go.

Even Igirin could not enter the refuge of the angels without permission.

“They will not let you in! Do you not understand? Whether you are a heretic or a Nephilim, if you go, you will die.”

“We will not know if we do not try.”

Peophe struck her chest in frustration.

Shirone had defeated a powerful enemy like Tabu, but angels were on another level.

Even if he threw himself against Ikasa, a fallen angel they could not even reach, he would only end up dying.

“Come to your senses, idiot! Where you are trying to go is the sixth heaven, Jebul! The place where the true angels reside!”

Angels were strong.

Not only stronger than anything else, but beings who, from their birth, occupied the peak of all living beings.

Even so, Shirone had to go to that place.

Amy his friends were waiting for him.

“Peophe, if you had been taken by force, how scared would you have been?”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“What do you think you would be thinking? Would you not be desperately hoping that someone would come to save you? Would you not gather courage believing that your friends would not abandon you?”

Shirone pressed his lips together.

“We may not be able to rescue them. But we cannot extinguish their hope. If we give up here, those who were captured will have nothing.”

Peophe could not accept it.

No matter how much it was dressed up with pretty words, the fact that they would die did not change.

If everyone accepted their own death, the world would be harmonious.

Why do humans consider the impossible to be beautiful?

A man of the meca race approached.

“The refuge of the angels is in the sixth heaven, Jebul. Geographically, it is right next to Shamayin. But since it is five levels above, you cannot enter directly. You would have to follow the procedure and pass through each heaven from the second. That would take several days.”

“We do not need to follow the procedure. How long does it take in a straight line?”

“In a straight line? In any case, it is impossible to pass through the barriers of heaven… but if you could go directly from here to the sixth heaven, it would take approximately one day.”

It was much farther than expected.

Judging by Ikasa’s flight speed, she had probably already reached her destination.

In a situation where it was not even clear if they could enter Jebul, a delay of one day was practically a death sentence for the girls.

“There is a way.”

A man of about fifty years old approached.

From his appearance, he seemed to be a norian.

“There is a way? What?”

“To go to zone 1 from here. It is the innermost sector of Shamayin. Since it is close to the center of heaven, if from there you take the central route to Jebul, you can shorten the time.”

Heaven was divided into six sections around Arabot, like a cake.

That is why, the closer one was to Arabot, the shorter the arc distance, drastically reducing the route.

“How long would it take to reach zone 1 from here?”

“About 12 hours?”

Shirone became discouraged again.

It was shorter than a day, but still too far to attempt anything.

The norian smiled.

“If you go by the normal method, of course. In Shamayin there are portals managed by the norians. Using light points, you can reach zone 1 all at once.”

That method existed.

Shirone, who had already used light points in purgatory, understood that this was the only solution.

“Take us there. Is there any problem?”

“If you want to be strict, they are heavily controlled by the celestial citizens. But I can handle that. I am the supervisor in charge of that place.”

Shirone did not even have the energy to smile at the joke.

His body trembled.

For the first time, he felt hope.

Maybe just maybe… they could save them.

Kanya approached crying.

“I am sorry, Shirone. All of this was because of my family… but… thank you. Truly…”

Shirone wiped her tears.

Although his friends were in danger for having denied the Liquor of Anecdotes, it was not the citizens’ fault.

The truly powerful always hid behind the system.

He knew where he had to direct his anger.

“It is not your fault. We will rescue them, so do not worry.”

“Wait!”

From a fork in the plaza, Lena ran toward them.

She carried the mechanical equipment Signa and Exed in her arms.

“I brought them just in case. I thought they might be useful.”

Mechanical objects had personalized passwords, but the sword and shield were common equipment, so anyone could use them.

According to the law, lending them was forbidden, but with the Liquor of Anecdotes broken, no one was paying attention.

The equipment would be useful for Rian.

Mages could alter phenomena and create variables even against strong enemies.

But swordsmen depended solely on their direct strength.

That is why equipment carried much greater weight for them.